He was relieved to find out from Sheriff Archer that Autumn wouldn’t be charged for killing her kidnapper. The authorities had located Bud Brown’s cabin and a search of the grounds revealed the buried bodies of four other girls. It made Kai’s heart hurt to think of what they had lived through. He was kinda sad Bud wasn’t alive to pay for his crimes, but he supposed hell was a fitting punishment.
He tugged at the noose around his neck. He hated wearing ties. Originally the wedding was going to be informal but when the President of the United States officiates, suddenly everyone is dressed in a monkey suit. And they didn’t even have to ask her…when she found out about the double service, she’d offered.
Zoe hurried over to him. They’d become good pals and he hated to see her leave, but they planned on keeping in touch.
“Let’s go meet this dog I’ve heard so much about before I have to go,” she said.
#
Sawyer closed his eyes, savoring the feel of Harlow Duquesne in his arms. It’d been a week since he’d last seen her. Seven whole days since she’d shoved him into a secluded nook in the resort lobby and rocked his world. When her lips had touched his, he’d been shocked at first. Then she proceeded to drive every rational thought from his brain. If Logan’s voice in the earpiece hadn’t interrupted, he’d have taken her against the wall, his control was that far gone.
He’d been attracted to her from the beginning, but she’d been enduring a traumatic ordeal. After they reunited with the kids, they’d been separated and he hadn’t had the chance to talk to her again. He didn’t hear from her and he had no way to contact her.
That wasn’t exactly true. He had the resources to track her number down, but he didn’t know how she felt about him. Sure, they shared an explosive kiss, but that could’ve been gratitude that her sister was safe. She certainly hadn’t made the effort to track him down.
He’d been stunned speechless when she accompanied her grandmother and sister to the wedding. He had no idea she would be attending. And damn, she looked spectacular. He thought her beautiful with no makeup and tear-stained cheeks. But seeing her all dressed up with flawless hair and makeup and he’d been sucker-punched.
The song ended and she looked up at him with a smile. He didn’t want to ever let her go. He leaned down, intending to taste her soft lips again.
“Excuse me, Ms. Duquesne, we need to leave now.”
Sawyer opened his eyes and glared at the agent. The man didn’t even flinch. He finally had her in his arms and now she had to go? It was bad enough watching his so-called friends taking turns dancing with her all night while smirking at him. He’d be doling out punishment in the boxing ring next week.
“It was nice seeing you again,” Harlow murmured.
“Harlow, wait.” He snagged her hand and she stumbled into him. Framing her face with his hands, he did what he’d been wanting to all night. He kissed her. When he finally came up for air, it was to see her eyes glazed with passion, color riding high on her cheeks. “Be safe.”
She touched fingers to her lips as she unsteadily backed away from him. “You, too.”
With one last smile, she turned and walked out of his life.
###
Notes
I hope you enjoyed this COBRA Securities Short Story. Several characters from previous books made appearances in Kidnapped. If you would like to read their stories, you can find them here:
Logan and Jade Bradley from The Fan
Ben Colton and Peter Dennis from Committed
Dorian and Kendall Demarchis from Trust No One
Kai, Dante, Taylor and Gracie Costa and Sawyer Oldham from Hide and Seek
Alex Mylonas and Olivia Larrson from Vigilante
Luke Colton, Layla Brooks, Sean and Tiffany Mullins from Face the Music
About the Author
Velvet Vaughn is the author of The List, The Fan, Committed, Violets are Blue, Trust No One, Hide and Seek, Killer Cuisine, Vigilante, Face the Music, and Tough as Nails, the first ten books in the COBRA Securities series, as well as Saving Santa, a COBRA Securities Short Story. In addition, two novellas: A Christmas Miracle and Flying High Christmas are available as stand-alone books or in the anthologies All I Want For Christmas and Yuletide Treasures, respectively. The eleventh book in the COBRA Securities series, Total Surrender, will be published soon.
Connect With Velvet
Website: www.velvetvaughn.com
Facebook Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/authorvelvetvaughn
Blog: http://www.velvetvaughn.com/blog.html
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/velvetvaughn/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/velvetvaughn/
Email: [email protected]
From Velvet
Thanks so much for purchasing Kidnapped. I hope you enjoyed Kai Costa’s caper, along with a teaser of Sawyer Oldham and Harlow Duquesne’s upcoming story. If you did, I would appreciate you leaving feedback at Amazon.com or Goodreads. Thank you!
The eleventh book in the COBRA Securities series will be out later this fall. Total Surrender is Hunter McGrath and Talia Cohen’s story. You might remember Hunter and Talia from Face the Music.
If you would like to read the story of one of the characters from my books, let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website or my Facebook Fanpage. I'd love to hear from you. And be sure to like my Fanpage so you can take part in giveaways.
Thank you again for your support!
Kidnapped (COBRA Securities) Page 7