by Lisa Childs
He had never felt as deep a connection to any other human being—not even his twin—as he had to her. They hadn’t just made love; they’d become one. One heart. One soul.
Feelings had overwhelmed him. And perhaps he had overwhelmed Jessica. As she had complained, he was too arrogant, too autocratic. King Omar had trained him and Antoine to be the rulers she’d accused him of being. Ruthless. After his years in the military, ruthlessness came too easily to him.
Tenderness and gentleness did not. He was not the man she needed. After all she’d been through, she deserved someone as sweet and sensitive as she was.
The animals shifted restlessly in their stalls, drawing his attention back to his task. He’d watched Jessica write out the directions, but that had been a couple of days ago. He didn’t remember exact measurements of the feed, so he just filled the bowls. The animals remained restless though, the horses skittish while the cats hid in the loft.
His stomach muscles clenched, his gut sending him a warning. Too late. Because it wasn’t cats he’d heard in the loft. Nor was it a cat that jumped from the loft onto his back, knocking him to the ground.
It was a burly man whose heavily muscled arm encircled Sebastian’s neck, cutting off his breath while straining the bones. He hadn’t used hand-to-hand combat in the military, but he’d learned it. He knew how to break someone’s neck, and apparently so did this man.
That military training had been long ago, but he called on it now—not to save himself but to save Jessica. Once he was no longer a threat, they would go after her. He slammed his elbow into the guy’s side, then bucked him off. Before the guy could roll to his feet, Sebastian was on top of him, throwing punches. The man’s face was already deeply gouged, but now blood spurted from his nose and lip. Still, he managed to get his hands around Sebastian’s throat.
The guy’s grip tightened, threatening to squeeze off Sebastian’s airway. His lungs burning for air, Sebastian pulled the guy’s hands from his neck and lurched back. But before he could get to his feet, something struck the back of his head and shoulders, knocking him to the ground again.
Dirt and straw burned his eyes while pain radiated throughout him. A foot kicked his side, the pointed toe of the boot striking his ribs. Ignoring the excruciating pain of a cracking bone, he grabbed the guy’s leg and pulled him off his feet.
The guy grunted when his head struck the ground. The gun he had used to hit Sebastian over the back of the head flew across the barn floor, picking up dirt and straw as it skittered away. Sebastian dived for it, but the other guy, still bleeding, swore and launched himself at it, too.
Sebastian caught him with his elbow again against the guy’s jaw. But the man did not let go, pummeling Sebastian’s sides with his fists. He stretched, trying to reach for the weapon. But it was too far.
So he used other weapons. His fists, elbows and knees until the guy rolled off him and onto the floor, groaning in pain. Groaning himself, he lurched to his feet and reached for the weapon, but another gun cocked.
He looked to the guy who’d struck him with the gun, but he still lay on the floorboards. So he turned toward the barn door and the blond-haired man who stepped from the shadows. His eyes glinted as coldly as the Glock he held, the barrel pointed directly at Sebastian.
“How did you get onto the ranch?” he asked. “What did you do to my men?”
“Nothing,” Evgeny replied with that smirk that made Sebastian want to smash his fist into his face. “They were eager to betray you.”
Sebastian shook his head. Antoine had vetted the men; they would not have turned easily. Not without a lot of incentive. “No.”
“Don’t feel too badly,” Evgeny said. “I was wrong about my men, too.” The men in question lurched to their feet, the one who’d lost his weapon quickly retrieving it. “They are much weaker than I thought—for a pampered prince to have been able to overpower them.”
“Put down the guns,” Sebastian challenged, “and I’ll show you how pampered I am. Just you and me. Man to man.” He hated Jessica’s ex enough to kill him with his bare hands.
Evgeny chuckled. “I am tempted. It would not take me long to show you how a real man fights. But I have already kept my sweet Teresa waiting too long for me. I would rather show her a real man.”
Heedless of the guns, Sebastian jumped forward but the first man kicked his legs out, knocking him to the ground. Then, as if to prove to his boss that he was not weak, he struck Sebastian repeatedly with his fists. Blood trickled into his mouth, but that was not what he tasted. He tasted fear—not for his life but for Jessica’s. He never should have allowed her back onto the ranch. This was all his fault.
Rage filled him. Like his father, he would not go down without a fight. He swung out, dropping Evgeny’s man with one fist to the jaw. Then he vaulted to his feet and launched himself at the boss.
But before he could get close to Evgeny, a shot rang out. He dropped to the ground, more from instinct than because he’d been hit. Hell, he was in so much pain from the beatings that he wasn’t certain if he had been hit.
A GASP SLIPPED THROUGH Jessica’s lips. She didn’t believe she had hit anyone, but then she’d never fired a gun like the one Sebastian had brought to the ranch. She’d fired into the loft, but maybe Evgeny had fired, too.
And hit Sebastian. He lay on the ground, unmoving, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth over his stubborn chin. Fear and pain clutched her heart. She needed to go to him, needed to help him.
But she wouldn’t be helping him if she moved. The only movement she could make was shoving the barrel of the gun between Evgeny’s shoulders blades. “The next shot will go right through you,” she warned him, “taking out your heart, if you actually had one.”
“You know I have one,” he said, his body tense. But his eyes, his evil eyes, must have directed his men because they moved toward Sebastian, dragging him to his feet.
Blood spattered his chambray shirt and jeans but didn’t saturate the cloth. He had no gunshot wound, just swelling and bruising. But no matter how hurt he was, his concern was all for her. Because while Evgeny’s men held him, they had weapons pointed at her.
“You know I love you,” Evgeny continued. “I have always loved you.”
“Prove it,” she challenged him. “Let me go.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Then let him go,” she urged.
“I can’t do that, either,” Evgeny said, feigning regret as he had so many other emotions since she’d known him. “He tried to take you from me. I can’t let him live.”
She forced a chuckle. “He doesn’t want anything to do with me but to protect me. Just like Sam, he has that overdeveloped sense of responsibility.”
“That overdeveloped sense of responsibility got your brother killed,” Evgeny replied.
Skin prickled on her nape. Was there more to her brother’s murder than Evgeny had told her? “What about Sam?”
He tensed even more but shook his head. “We’re talking about the prince now. Cavanaugh here doesn’t just want to protect you,” Evgeny continued. “And you know it.”
She forced another laugh. “You think he wants me? A married woman with a child? He only wants the information I can give him about his missing friend.”
“Then he’s talking to the wrong person,” Evgeny said. “I can tell him more than you can.”
“You know where Amir is?” Sebastian asked.
“Better yet, I know who’s after you.” He laughed. “I know who’s after all of you.”
Sebastian snorted, probably calling the Russian’s bluff. “No, you don’t.”
“Of course I do. I rule a much larger world than you do. I have connections you will never have. That is truly how I found Teresa. A former associate of mine, here on business, recognized her from the picture I have hanging in my office.”
He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Our wedding picture. He said you’d changed your appearance, though, so he wasn’t ent
irely sure it was you. That was why I sent Dmitri and Nic ahead to seek you out.”
He nodded at Sebastian. “And when you held that little press conference of yours, you made that easy for them, just like you and your friends are making it easy for your enemy to kill you.”
“What enemy?” Sebastian asked.
“It doesn’t matter now,” Evgeny said, “because you’ve made a far more dangerous enemy in me.”
Jessica nudged the barrel deeper into Evgeny’s back. “Tell him who is trying to kill him and the others.”
He glanced over his shoulder again. His eyes cold and hard, her husband warned her, “You know that I do not like being told what to do.”
“If you don’t do what I tell you, I will shoot you,” she threatened.
“And then my men will shoot your white knight.”
The guy who’d grabbed her a few days ago pressed the barrel of his gun against Sebastian’s temple.
“And after they shoot him, they’ll shoot you,” Evgeny promised.
“You intend to kill us anyway,” she said. “At least this way you’ll die, too.”
“I do not want you dead,” he said. “I just want you. I want my wife and my child. I want my family.”
“She isn’t here.” And she had never been so thankful to be separated from her baby.
“She’s with his brother,” Evgeny said. “For now. Soon she will be with me.”
This was why she had always feared him. There was nothing he didn’t know.
“You won’t get to Samantha,” Sebastian said, his blue gaze promising Jessica that her daughter was safe.
“After your friend Brenner talked to you, he called Prince Antoine. You think he’s still at the resort when he knows his brother is about to be killed?” Evgeny shook his head. “You know him better than that.”
He was right. Antoine would definitely come to his brother’s aid. After their parents’ brutal murders, they were all each other had.
And Samantha was all Jessica had.
“When he rushes away from the resort, he will leave Samantha with someone who will bring her right to her loving daddy,” Evgeny gloated.
“You’re just giving me another reason to shoot you,” Jessica warned him. She needed to pull the trigger, her finger twitched against it. But Evgeny wasn’t lying; his men would do as he’d told them. And she and Sebastian would die, too.
“I just want my family,” Evgeny said. “That’s all I want.”
“Then let Prince Cavanaugh go,” she urged him again. “If you let him leave here, unharmed, I’ll go with you.” Especially since someone was bringing Samantha to him.
Evgeny chuckled. “But if I hold on to him, I could get his brother to pay a handsome ransom for him.”
“But you don’t want money,” she reminded him. “Since taking over your father’s enterprises, you have more than enough of that anyways.”
Evgeny grinned. “Probably more money than your prince here, since he’s in America to beg for trade agreements—to beg for money from our government.”
“Yes, that’s why he’s here,” Jessica reminded him. “Just for business. Not for me. He’ll go back to his island nation and leave me alone.”
“I will never leave you alone,” Evgeny said, making the same promise he had at Sam’s funeral. Then, his vow had touched her heart; now, it chilled it because she knew he spoke the truth.
“You said you want me,” she continued, choking on the bile that rose in her throat at the horrible thought of being his wife again. “Let me be Prince Sebastian’s ransom. I’ll leave with you, and I will never run away from you again.”
Evgeny turned his head so that he could meet her gaze over his shoulder. Hope warmed his usually cold gray eyes. “Really?”
“I’ll be your wife,” she promised. “Samantha and I will be your family. Just don’t hurt Sebastian.” Any more than his men already had.
“Then put down the gun,” Evgeny said.
“Don’t do it,” Sebastian warned her, his blue gaze intense. The guy pressed the gun harder against his head, cocking his neck at a painful angle.
Ignoring the prince, she asked her husband, “Do I have your promise?”
“If you promise to never run away again,” Evgeny negotiated.
“I swear,” she vowed. “As long as he lives, I’ll live with you.”
Sebastian cursed. “Don’t…”
“Then we have a deal,” Evgeny said, nodding toward his men who pulled the barrel away from Sebastian’s head. “Drop the gun, Teresa.”
“Don’t do it,” Sebastian pleaded. “Just shoot him.”
Jessica shook her head, unable to pull the trigger. “This doesn’t concern you,” she told him. “This is between me and my husband.” Then, her hands shaking, she dropped the gun.
The barrel no longer pressing into his back, Evgeny whirled around toward her. Using his gun, he struck her across the face, knocking her to the ground.
Pain exploded in her head, momentarily blinding her. But she blinked back the tears burning in her eyes and focused on Sebastian. The men held him back as Evgeny, his hand tangled in her hair, dragged her to her feet.
“You, wife, don’t tell me what to do,” he said. “You will never leave me…because I will never let you.”
He turned back to his men and ordered, “Kill him.”
Chapter Fifteen
Fighting not just for his life but hers, Sebastian swung his arm, knocking the gun from the hand of the man who’d had it pressed against his temple. A blast went off, sending the animals into a frenzy. They kicked the sides of their stalls, whinnied and neighed.
But the real animal was Evgeny. His hand still fisted in Jessica’s hair, he dragged her toward the open barn door. But she wrestled against his grasp, kicking out, kicking the long rifle toward Sebastian. He grabbed it up, but before he could focus and fire it, Evgeny squeezed off some shots, not caring if he hit Sebastian or his own men.
Sebastian rolled across the floor, taking cover behind some stacked bales of hay as bullets ricocheted around the barn.
“The next shot is going straight into her head,” Evgeny warned.
Jessica screamed out, more desperation than pain in her voice. “Don’t let him get Samantha. Please…”
“She’s safe,” he assured her.
He had made Antoine promise that no matter what the situation he would not leave the little girl alone. Antoine would never go back on his word.
Neither would Sebastian. He had vowed to protect Jessica; he would not fail. But when he edged from behind the hay, more shots rang out. Not from Evgeny’s gun but from the man Sebastian had not disarmed. He covered his boss while Evgeny dragged Jessica toward a car parked behind the Suburban. The tires of the rusted SUV had been slashed, leaving him no way to pursue them.
Especially if his security team had been compromised or killed. Antoine could not have been wrong about Brenner and the other men. Brenner had sounded strange when Sebastian had called him earlier; he’d been coerced into saying that all was clear.
How had Sebastian failed so badly in his surveillance that he hadn’t even noticed their approach to the ranch? Because he’d been making love with Jessica instead of protecting her.
He had already broken his promise to her.
He leaned out farther, but gunfire drove him back. The other man had retrieved his weapon. They were both shooting at him. But Sebastian had to keep his gaze on Jessica; he could not let her out of his sight.
The car engine revved as Evgeny threw it into reverse, backing up to the barn before slamming the transmission into Drive and heading toward the road. Just as she’d feared, her husband had come for her. And while Sebastian hunkered down behind bales of hay, the car was getting farther and farther away.
JESSICA HAD KNOWN that Evgeny wouldn’t keep his promise. But she hadn’t known how else to buy herself and Sebastian some time. The prince had given her a chance to take back her life; she’d had to do the same for
him. Despite his brother’s call to the ranch warning her that the perimeter guards had been compromised, she hadn’t obeyed his order to hide. She’d known that he wouldn’t be able to get help to his brother before Evgeny killed him.
Only she could save Sebastian. So she’d grabbed up his gun and headed out to the barn.
Evgeny laughed. “How does that man rule a country? He is weak and stupid. I can’t believe you trusted him to protect you.”
She trusted Sebastian. To protect Samantha. It was too late for her. She had to protect herself now, as she should have years ago. “Sebastian is honorable. He keeps his word, unlike you. You promised you’d let him go.”
“You think you are a worthy ransom for a prince?” He laughed. “There is a far bigger price on his head than your life.”
“Who?” she asked. “Who put the hit out on him and the other royals?”
He laughed. “Why do you want to know? You will never speak to him again. I am sure he is already dead.”
She gasped as pain clutched her heart. She couldn’t imagine a world without Sebastian in it, even if he was a world away on his island nation.
“That is what happens to anyone who tries to come between us,” Evgeny continued. “Your brother had to learn that, too.”
“Sam?”
“He knew I was going to propose to you. He didn’t think I was good enough for his sweet sister.” Bitterness twisted Evgeny’s face into a grotesque mask of evil. “He was going to try to keep you away from me, just like the prince tried.”
“You killed Sam?”
He sighed. “I hated to do it, but I wasn’t going to lose you. Then or now.”
“But he was your friend.”
“So?” he scoffed. “I turned on my father, too, for you. When you served me with those divorce papers, I had to get out of prison. I knew the only way out was to offer the Feds what they wanted most.”
“Your own father?”
“You’d begged me to do it for years,” he reminded her, “because of how he’d hurt me. You loved me, and you didn’t want me to become what my father was.”