Charmed by His Love

by Janet Chapman

  She turned her attention to Chris. “Are you insane? Why are you doing this?”

  He just smiled.

  “Is getting even with me for buying your mother’s land worth going to jail for years and years?” she shouted over the roar of the powerful engine going full throttle. “You’re a woodsman, Chris; getting locked up would kill you. It’s not worth it. Just beach the boat and walk away, and I promise I won’t press charges.”

  All that petition got her was a laugh.

  “Look, there’s a marine radio. At least call someone. Ezra; he’s got a radio in his store now. Call and tell him to send someone after my boys. They’re four years old, Chris! If anything happens to them, that’s murder.”

  He eased back on the throttle, and Peg looked around to realize they were already nearing the end of the fiord. “They can’t lock me up if they can’t catch me,” he said past a smug grin. “And by this time next week, we’ll be far enough into Canada that nobody will find us.” He slowly guided the boat up a small stream until it became too shallow, running it up onto the bank around a bend so it couldn’t be seen from the fiord.

  For the love of God, he was taking her to Canada? “Um, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I got married several weeks ago,” she said as he walked to her.

  He squatted down and clasped her jaw in his grimy hand. “I heard you married that MacKeage bastard.” She tried to pull free when he leaned in, and his hand tightened painfully. “So is that why I never appealed to you, Peggy? You like your men big?” His fingers dug into her jaw, his thumb pressing her flesh against her teeth as he leaned closer. “Only this time I see you went for rich as well.” He licked his tongue across her lips, then reared back with a laugh when she tried to bite him.

  “He’s going to kill you. And I swear to God, if anything happens to Jacob and Peter, I’m going to help him.”

  “Yeah, him and you and what army?” Chris said, untying her from the post of the seat. He shoved her down when she tried to scramble away, then grabbed her hands and quickly retied them, leaving a length of rope to pull her to her feet. “Like I said, Peggy darlin’, he’s going to have to catch me first. Come on,” he growled, giving the rope a yank as he stepped onto the bank. “It’s a long walk to Canada.”

  Peg fell onto the ground, then scrambled to her feet when he started dragging her after him. Dammit, she needed to do something! Had he taken the keys out of the boat? Where in hell was Aaron? He gave another jerk when she apparently wasn’t moving fast enough, the rope chafing against the cuff on her left wrist. Yes, the magic! Surely it could help her get away. Or maybe she could at least use it to rattle Chris enough to get him to make a mistake.

  “Um, do you believe in the magic, Chris?” she asked, only to bump into him when he suddenly stopped and turned to her.

  “What in hell are you talking about?” he growled, looking as if she were insane.

  So Peg gave him the best insane smile she could muster. “You know, magic; the kind that moves mountains and turns lakes into inland seas like what happened here a few months ago? The scientists still haven’t been able to explain it, so people are starting to think this entire area might be … cursed,” she whispered. “You believe someone can put a curse on a place or a … person?”

  “What in Jesus kind of question is that?”

  Peg dropped her gaze and shrugged. “I was just wondering if you believe in stuff like magic and curses and bad karma.”

  He turned and started walking again, giving the rope another violent snap.

  Peg let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. “It doesn’t matter,” she said, adding an insane little laugh, “because I’ve been told the magic goes about its business whether you believe in it or not, and that it especially likes to sneak up and surprise a person.”

  Chris glanced over his shoulder at her, and yup, he was definitely looking a little rattled. Okay, husband, Peg silently petitioned; it’s time to use your mountain’s magic to save me like you promised—after you save Peter and Jacob.

  Duncan stopped in midsentence and turned away from the blasting contractor he was talking to and opened the door on his truck. He reached in for the radio mike and ordered all the men driving machinery in and around the pit to shut off their engines, then tossed down the mike and walked toward the beach. But he changed direction and started running up the knoll to the tote road when he heard barking and screaming coming from the fiord, and spotted Pete and Jacob and Hero in the strange boat heading into the cove.

  Realizing the boat was going too fast for the engine only being at an idle, Duncan ran into the water and caught it just as he saw Leviathan back away from the far side and slip under the surface—only to have to catch the twins when they threw themselves at him, sobbing loudly and both talking at once.

  “You gotta save Mom!” Jacob cried as he hugged Duncan’s neck.

  “A bad man stole her!” Pete added in a wail, also clinging to his neck.

  Duncan waded out of the water onto the road, Hero jumping out of the boat and following. He shook his head at Paul when the contractor tried to take one of the boys from him just as several of his crew ran up to them. “Slow down and tell me what happened,” he said calmly, kneeling to stand the boys on their feet and hug them so they wouldn’t see his own terror. “Where’s your Mom?”

  “A man smashed right into our boat and jumped in with us,” Jacob said. He leaned back to look at Duncan. “H-he hit Mom really hard, and he throwed Hero in the water when he tried to bite him. Then he tried to grab Pete and he kicked me.”

  “Then he threw me in his boat,” Pete added.

  “And he hit Mom again,” Jacob continued with a shudder that racked his whole body. “And he threw me at his boat, too. But I fell in the water ’cause it was too far, but Pete pulled me inside.”

  “And he tied up Mom to the seat and left in our boat,” Pete said as he started crying again. “And she hollered to us to sit down, ’cause someone would find us.”

  “But no one was f-finding us,” Jacob said with huge sobs. “And we pulled and pulled but we couldn’t get Hero in the boat.”

  Duncan rubbed their tear-splotched cheeks with his thumbs, saying nothing so they could get it all out.

  “But then Leviathan helped,” Pete said. “He just floated beside the boat so Hero crawled right up his back and got in with us.”

  “And we pulled the handle on the rope like we seen you do on the old boat,” Jacob continued in a rush, “and the motor started and … and we started going.”

  “In circles,” Pete added, swiping his puffy eyes with a trembling hand. “But Levi bumped us and we started going straight.”

  “W-we tried to go after Mom,” Jacob said, valiantly trying to suck up his sobs. “But Levi kept pushing us this way. And when we got close, Hero started barking so we started screaming.”

  “I heard you,” Duncan said, pulling them against him and kissing each of their foreheads. He held all three of their heads together with Hero having pushed between his thighs. “You did good, boys, and so did your pup. You’re all rescue heroes for staying calm and brave and coming to get me. So ye don’t worry now, because I’m going to go save your mom.” He kissed them again, then leaned away to pat his hind pocket with a reassuring smile. “I’ve still got my badge in my wallet to show the bad man.” He folded the twins back against him and looked up at his crew. “Jason, get on the radio and have Robbie and Alec get down here, but tell them to pick up Jeanine and Bea on their way out the road.” He looked back at Pete and Jacob. “Can ye tell me where the man took your mom? Did he go toward Bottomless or farther up the fiord?”

  “U-up it,” Jacob said, pointing north.

  “He went so far we couldn’t see them no more,” Pete added in a whisper.

  Duncan scooped them up in his arms and started toward the house. “Jon, you and David catch that boat and pull it onto the beach.” He stopped and looked at the other men. “Do Charlotte and Isabel know any of you on sight?” he
asked, only to start walking again when several of them shook their heads. “Jim, call the Trading Post and have Ezra meet the girls when they get off the school bus. Then I want you to drive Bea into town to get them and bring them home.”

  “We need to call the sheriff,” Paul said, walking beside him. “And the warden and forest services; they can have a plane and chopper in the sky in an hour.”

  Duncan sat the boys in the front passenger seat of his truck after motioning for Paul to open the door, then let Hero jump in on the floor in front of them. “Jacob, Pete, did you recognize the man who took your mom?” he asked softly. “Or did she call him by name?” he added when they shook their heads.

  “Yeah,” Jacob said even as Pete nodded. “Mom called him Chris.”

  Duncan gave them each another kiss, then turned to the contractor. “You call the sheriff and let him know that Chris Dubois has my wife, Peg MacKeage. But you tell him I don’t want anything in the air as long as she’s still with Dubois. After I get her away from him, then they can go after him with everything they’ve got.”

  Paul’s jaw slackened. “How in hell … You expect to go after him all by yourself?”

  Duncan turned at the sound of a truck racing down the road and into the yard and watched Robbie pull to a stop directly behind his pickup. All four doors opened; Alec and Robbie jumped out of the front and Jeanine and Bea out of the rear doors.

  “Peter, Jacob!” Jeanine cried. Duncan stepped away so she could lean inside to pull both boys into her arms. “Ohmigod, you poor babies, are you okay?”

  Duncan walked over to Robbie and Alec when he saw Bea open the driver’s door and slide in to hug the boys along with Jeanine. “Can ye get to Peg?” he asked Robbie.

  Robbie shook his head. “I’m still powerless. Only you have any authority over the magic in this area, as your mountain is the sole source of energy at the moment.”

  “But I woke it up, so why in hell can’t you use it?”

  Robbie shook his head again. “It’s tuned only to you, Duncan, and will remain so until Mac chooses to release all the magic again.”

  Duncan glanced back at the truck to see the women still hugging the boys, then looked toward the fiord and rubbed his hands over his face. “Christ, I can’t imagine the hell he’s putting her through.” He turned beseeching eyes on Robbie and Alec. “What if the bastard’s already killed her?”

  “Nay,” Robbie said quietly. “He wouldn’t have bothered taking her if he merely wanted her dead.” He gestured at Duncan’s right arm. “Go quiet and focus on your cuff. It’s connected to Peg’s. Listen to what it’s telling you.”

  Duncan faced the fiord again and took a calming breath, focusing inward until he felt his cuff softly tighten against his pulse and vague snapshots started flashing through his mind. Only instead of seeing Peg, he felt her emotions hit him with enough force to nearly drop him to his knees.

  “Sweet Christ,” he whispered, closing his eyes when her calm yet utterly lethal anger resonated through every cell in his body. “She’s toying with Dubois, trying to scare him with the magic so he’ll panic and make a mistake.” He turned to Robbie and Alec. “She’s in pain; I can feel every bruise the bastard put on her.”

  “The connection to your wife runs in both directions,” Robbie said. “Send her your strength, Duncan. Have Peg feel you the same way you’re feeling her, and let her know you’re coming for her.” He grinned tightly. “Ye may also want to convey that anyone who tries to manipulate the magic in anger could find themselves with more power than they can handle.” He set a hand on Duncan’s shoulder. “And I suggest you remember that as well when ye come face-to-face with Dubois.” He dropped his hand away with a shrug, his smile turning genuine. “Then again, if ye happened to accidentally … say, send the bastard back a few centuries, I believe Providence would understand you’re still getting used to the magic.”

  “The sheriff’s on his way,” Paul said, walking over to them. “We’re in luck; dispatch said he’s nearby. She’s sending the state police and game wardens, too.”

  “Thanks,” Duncan said, striding to the pickup. He gently moved Jeanine out of the way and clasped both twins’ trembling shoulders as they clung to each other with Hero’s head squeezed between them. “Ye have my word, boys, I’ll have your mom home by sunrise tomorrow. Your gram and gram-auntie will stay right here with you and the girls until I get back, and so will Alec.” He gave them each a kiss on their foreheads, then wrapped his arms around them in a careful hug. “Ye just continue to be the brave heroes ye are,” he whispered. “I love you.”

  He gave them a reassuring squeeze, then turned to Jeanine. “One of my men will drive you or Bea to Ezra’s to pick up the girls. Then I would ask that ye keep the children here until I get back. Ye don’t worry about my crew; they can cook their own supper. I’ll be back with Peg by daybreak.”

  “Wait,” Jeanine said, grabbing his arm when he turned away. “You can’t mean to go after her all by yourself. Is the bad man the boys are talking about Chris Dubois? Then he knows the backcountry better than anyone,” she continued when Duncan nodded. “How are you even going to know where to look?”

  He pulled his frantic mother-in-law into his arms. “Ye need to trust me, Jeanine,” he whispered. “Because I have a secret weapon that’s going to make Dubois sorry he was ever born.”

  “W-what weapon?” she asked against his shoulder.

  Duncan gave her one last squeeze and stepped away. “Your daughter,” he said with a wink, just before he turned and headed toward the beach. “I already know how to manipulate time,” he said as Robbie and Alec fell into step beside him. He stopped at the front of his pontoon boat pulled up on shore and looked from one man to the other. “So once I decide where he’s taking her, I’ll get ahead of them and be waiting.”

  “There’s a lot of wilderness out there,” Robbie said, even as his deep gray eyes suddenly lit with amusement. “But then, your mountain did have the foresight to give ye a tracking device to put on your wife, didn’t it?”

  “Aye, apparently the magic took pity when it realized it had given me such a contrary woman,” Duncan said, leaping onto the deck of his boat and walking back to the steering console. “Keep an eye on things here, as we don’t know if this might also be a diversion for Aaron Jenkins to take another shot at the resort road.” He started the engine, letting the powerful motor warm up at a quiet idle. “And try to stall the sheriff from mounting a search until morning, if ye can do it without drawing suspicion.”

  Robbie and Alec nodded, then both grabbed the front deck of the boat and pushed it off the beach when Duncan slid the engine into reverse.

  “Where’s your sword?” Alec softly called after glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was in the immediate area.

  Duncan put the motor in forward. “In my cave. I need to stop there first, anyway, and have a little talk with my mountain.” He looked at Robbie. “I’ll see if I can’t persuade it to share its power with ye before I go after Dubois, on the off chance I end up sending myself to hell with him.”

  Robbie chuckled. “I’ve a fear ye may have to go through Peg to get there. Godspeed, Duncan.” Robbie gave a wave and turned away just as the sound of a fast-approaching siren echoed up the main road.

  Alec jogged down the beach to keep pace as Duncan idled toward the fiord. “Are ye sure you don’t want to take the pup?” Alec asked.

  “He’s too young to know the art of stalking yet,” Duncan said with a shake of his head. “And the children need him now.” He slid the engine out of gear when he reached the narrow channel in the old tote road and let the boat glide toward shore. “Alec,” he said as his nephew waded into the water and grabbed the side of the deck. “You’ll look after the children?” he asked quietly, leaving the full request unsaid.

  “Aye,” Alec said with a nod. “They’ll never want for love and family.” He tapped the side of the boat with a chuckle. “Not that I’m worried,” he said, givin
g it a shove toward the fiord. “Since we both know contrary always triumphs over stupidity.”

  Duncan gave him a nod and pushed the throttle all the way down, the powerful engine making the boat surge into the fiord with surprising speed as he headed toward his mountain. Aye, and if the stupid bastard Dubois didn’t already know it, he was going to be living that very truth before the day was through.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Peg was growing more exhausted from trying to slow Chris down than from trying to keep up with him, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could go before she collapsed. One of her eyes was swollen nearly shut from one of the blows she’d taken, and her wrists were bleeding and her hands were swelling up like balloons. Her shoulders felt ready to fall out of their sockets from Chris’s constantly jerking on the rope, and she was afraid she was getting hypothermia because all she had on was a thin shirt under her life vest.

  Peg grasped the rope in preparation for the jerk she knew was coming. “Please, Chris, we need to stop,” she pleaded, falling to her knees the moment he did and then collapsing onto her side with a groan. “I need water. And if you don’t untie my hands, they’re going to fall off.”

  He stood with his fists on his hips and stared down at her. “Ain’t so prissy now, are you, Peggy?” He squatted down and grabbed her chin, his fingers biting into her jaw. “You want water, you’re gonna have to earn it.” He pressed his thumb into the corner of her mouth. “Say, the longer the kiss, the longer the drink.”

  She jerked away and turned her face into the ground, only to cry out when he pulled her upright by her hair and smashed his mouth down on hers. Fighting not to gag, Peg forced herself to open her lips and push her tongue inside his mouth, even making a soft moaning sound as she pressed toward him.