by Sheila Kell
“Blake?” Elizabeth’s panicked voice kicked him in the gut.
He ignored her and told the man holding the gun to her head, “Let her get dressed. Privately. I promise to comply.”
The tall intruder appeared to consider this. He never looked at the shorter man holding his gun on Blake. So, Tall, Dark, and Menacing was in charge. That knowledge might help Jesse. The man nodded. He stepped back from Elizabeth and waved his gun. “We’ll step away for you to get dressed. Quickly. If I even perceive you are doing anything funny, I will kill him and then you.”
Elizabeth gasped.
The tall man put his weapon in the back of his pants and came toward Blake. From each of his pockets, he withdrew pieces of rope. Christ. They planned to tie him up so he couldn’t go after them. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Turn around and put your arms behind your back,” he directed Blake.
With one last look at Elizabeth’s fearful eyes, he complied as he’d promised. “Elizabeth, get dressed,” he said while turning from her. Please God, don’t let this be the last I ever see of her. “I love you.”
As his arms were pulled behind him and his hands tied so tight together he worried about circulation, he finally heard the bedsheets rustle, signally Elizabeth moving.
“Sit down,” Tall, Dark and Menacing demanded, pushing Blake down on the armchair in the room, after he’d finished tying his hands.
While his feet were tied and with rage consuming him, Blake wanted to do nothing more than headbutt the man tying him up and find a way out of this. He wanted to inflict pain on the men who threw his and Elizabeth’s lives into chaos.
Blake had already started trying to work with the knots on his wrists. No success yet, but he’d give it his full attention when the men were gone.
“Lie down on your side and pull your feet toward your ass.”
Oh, fuck no. They were going to hogtie him! Fear skittered up his spine. He’d be helpless and not able to get free and start the search before his sons arrived. If no one checked on him and Elizabeth, he could be like that for days.
The intruder pulled his gun from the waistband of his pants, stepped back and pointed it at a now dressed Elizabeth.
“Okay, okay.” Awkwardly Blake got on the floor, trying to keep his feet far enough away to generate some slack.
The rope scratched roughly against his skin as it was looped around his feet and hands, then pulled tight, drawing his feet back into the most godawful uncomfortable position. “What do you want from me?” Anything to get his Elizabeth back.
“Our boss will be in touch.” He tightened the rope and stood.
Blake lay helpless, tied up like an animal at a rodeo. His chances of getting free flew out the window. Not that he wouldn’t give up, but he was also realistic. He’d have to rely on his children to save him. That was so damn backward to how life should be for a family. All of them, except Trent, had relied on him at one point or another in their life. Maybe this was payback time. No matter what, he needed them. Not only at the house, but looking for him and Elizabeth so someone would find him. Then, they could go into warrior mode—hell, he felt it coming on himself—and they’d rescue her.
“Wait,” he said, stalling, while the shorter man grabbed Elizabeth’s arm. “What are you going to do with her?”
“Don’t worry. You follow our boss’s instructions, and she’ll be returned to you, unharmed. Oh, yeah, this goes without saying, but no police.” The tall kidnapper switched off the lights and led the shorter man and Elizabeth out the door. Then he reached inside the door and engaged the lock.
Son of a bitch. That would keep everyone away. Knowing he couldn’t let Elizabeth go without something, he shouted, “Elizabeth, do what they say and stay safe. I’ll come for you.”
The intruder looked as if he had an issue with his statement, and maybe he did because Blake hadn’t said he’d do what they wanted. He said he’d come after her. The intruder stepped back into the room and walked over to Blake. He knelt beside him and shoved a foul tasting cloth in Blake’s mouth. With the butt of his pistol, he hit Blake on the back of the head.
Pain exploded from where the handle hit his skull and then spread out like a spiderweb, shooting agony with it. He wanted his hands to grab his head and massage it, do something to make it feel better.
“Missed.” Before Blake could react, the man struck out again with the butt of his pistol. This time, he hit his mark as stars swam before Blake’s eyes, and he couldn’t stop the darkness encroaching from the sides of his vision.
He closed his eyes to clear his eyesight and wasn’t able to open them again as blackness took hold.
“WHAT’S UP, BUTTERCUP?” Jesse Hamilton’s brother, Devon, asked their four-year-old niece, Amber, as she walked by the small couch the two men had commandeered once the fasten seatbelt sign had been turned off.
The entire family, minus Trent and Kelly who’d travel separately from Montana, were on the large private plane bound for Oxford, Mississippi, to visit their dad for some mysterious weekend outing. Actually finding time when everyone was available was a miracle in itself, so he looked forward to whatever their dad surprised them with.
Amber’s hands rushed to her hips, and she gave Devon a stern look. “Uncle Dev, you know my name is Amber, not buttercup. Can you quit calling me all these different names and call me Amber like you’re supposed to?”
Devon grinned and his shoulders shook as his fight to hold in his laughter appeared to be failing miserably. He rubbed his chin in thought. “Amber, huh?” Dropping his hand, he nodded. “Okay.”
“Good,” she said firmly before skipping off to her mother.
Those within earshot erupted in laughter. When the noise began to break off, Jesse asked, “Are you really going to start calling her Amber?” He hadn’t since she’d been born.
“Hell, no. It’s much more fun this way.”
“Just don’t start aggravating my daughter.”
Devon shook his head. “She’s too much like you and Kate. She might kick my ass for it.”
At seven years old, she’d already been begging Kate to teach her how to fight. While he wanted her to be able to defend herself, Jesse hadn’t figured out how he felt about it.
Jesse’s twin brothers Brad and Matt ambled over and took the two chairs flanking the small couch. As if noticing something might happen without him, their baby brother AJ hurried away from his wife and six-month-old son.
“Why do you think Dad’s doing all of this?” AJ asked, waving his arm to encompass the private airplane. They’d flown here in this level of comfort before, but that had been when they’d been transporting their sister, Emily, and her daughter, Amber, who’d been in danger. Typically when they came to Oxford, they flew commercial. It wasn’t that their dad couldn’t afford it. Hell, there were probably enough people who owed him favors that he got the ride for free. It was just that he did it. Jesse knew that meant he was softening them up for something.
Emily and Jake, the Hamilton foster son and Emily’s husband, walked toward them. “A family meeting without us?”
Matt leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs. “Think he’s going to tell us he’s retiring?”
The group remained quiet. The topic had been brought up once before, but like now, no one commented. It was as if speaking the words might make it so.
They wanted the best for their father who’d done his damnedest to raise six boys—one not even his own—and a daughter without a mother figure in the household. If they hadn’t kept running off the nannies who had been hired, life would’ve been easier on him.
Devon braved the topic. “I don’t know. But if he is, I’ll support him.”
Jesse almost growled. “Of course we’ll all support him. It’s just what brought it on.”
“Do you think the secret of Trent is it?” AJ asked.
Shaking his head, Jesse sighed. “No. He plans to tell the world as soon as Trent is ready, so if it got out early, that woul
d just piss him off, but not make him leave office.”
Emily gasped. “Is there some scandal we don’t know about?”
Jesse’s heart pounded. That was his concern. Something his father couldn’t beat. No one had said a disease because after losing their mother from cancer, they didn’t want to consider something happening to their father.
Kate walked up to the group. “I know this is family time, but have you thought it might be about a woman? Hasn’t he been dating the same woman for a while now?”
Awareness shot through the group, and they each sat up straight. Was their dad ready to move to the next level and marry someone? He’d been single since their mom died way too many years ago.
“I like that idea better,” AJ said with a wide smile. “Let’s go with it.”
Before anyone could insert their opinion, the pilot came over the speaker and told them to prepare for landing.
Jesse slipped away with Kate to ensure their two children—Jason and Reagan—were belted into their seats.
“Is this a mission?” Jason asked. They’d adopted the fourteen-year-old not long after he’d turned thirteen. While he’d been recovering from an infection due to his leukemia, the boy’s parents had died. Kate had developed such a close relationship with him, Jesse couldn’t do anything else but adopt him. The budding football star was an amazing kid, and Jesse was glad for every day they had with him.
Jesse pushed aside the edges of his belt buckle and sat. He turned in his seat while he picked up the belt. “What makes you say that?”
A half-hearted shrug lit Jason’s shoulders. “I saw you all meeting.”
With a shake of his head, Jesse turned back around. “No. We were just making plans.” And they were, each silently with how they’d deal with whatever this trip tossed at them. At least this time they hadn’t had to bring their equipment.
After they’d landed and taxied the small airport at Oxford, he stepped onto the stairs and looked around. It was a habit he never expected to lose. In his sweep of the area, he saw the four minivans waiting for them. What he didn’t see was their father. He stepped down the stairs expecting that he was just running late. They still had to unload and get all of those damn car seats and booster seats set up.
By the time the family was loaded up, Jesse had called their father’s phone six times and received no answer. Even texts went unanswered.
A rock hit the pit of his stomach. This wasn’t like his father. Either Blake Hamilton had a big-ass surprise waiting for them or something wasn’t right. He swallowed past the lump forming in his throat. Something told him it was the latter.
AS the minivans pulled into the long drive of the Hamilton Oxford home, Jesse noticed that it did so behind a blue sedan that stopped in front of the house. He smiled when Trent stepped from the obvious rental and waved before he opened the back door. Little Ashley would be with him and Kelly. Seeing Trent as a father about floored him as much as it did when AJ became one. Big men fall hard for little ones. Hell, he’d probably been just as mushy when Reagan had been a baby.
Having Trent here would mean a lot to their father. Although Trent wouldn’t admit it, Jesse felt it meant a lot to Trent also. With the man who raised him dead, a gaping hole remained in Trent’s life. Blake could fill that better than anyone else. If Trent allowed it.
When the lead van, carrying Jesse and his family, came to a halt, he opened the door and jumped out, needing to see his father for some reason. That tight grip around his gut wouldn’t ease. He glanced at the open front door and only saw Mary, the housekeeper they all loved as part of the family. No Blake Hamilton.
Christ, could the surprise really be his health and he was stuck in bed, unable to greet them? Could he be dying? A fist clenched over his heart at the thought of losing their father. Oh, it’d happen one day, but Jesse preferred it to be when Blake was old and ready to move on.
Trying to remain calm for his family, he turned around and began helping them out of the van. His eyes almost misted at Reagan in her booster seat. In one more year, she’d be out of it. Depending on the state they were driving in at the time. Either way, she’d grown up so damn fast. Hell, she was already in the second grade. He wanted it to stop. Wanted her to stay young and innocent.
“Daddy, I can’t get out with you in the way.”
Jesse started. He hadn’t realized he’d been blocking her exit while dreaming about her remaining young. She’d undone her own seat belt—something she’d learned way too early—and was ready to jump down. Instead, he grabbed her under her arms and swung her around to standing behind him. Her giggle about undid him. It was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.
“I think I can get out on my own,” Kate said, poking her head out.
Oh hell no. Not after that statement. He reached up and grasped her under her arms and pulled her out of the van and swung her around. Her laughter was the second sweetest sound to his ears.
“Um, I really can get down by myself.”
Jesse released Kate and spun around to Jason. He grinned, and when it made his son a bit nervous, he stepped back out of the way. “By all means.”
A loud sigh of relief hissed from inside the van before Jason disembarked.
After seeing to their luggage being unloaded, the family swarmed the entrance to the house and one waiting woman.
“Hello, Mary.” Jesse pulled her up into a bear hug, her feet dangling in the air.
When he set her down, AJ picked the woman up and swung her around, narrowly missing the family members. AJ placed her back on her feet and planted a big kiss on her cheek. “Hello, Mary.”
When Mary and Henry had started working for their dad, AJ had still been young and impressionable. With her being the closest thing to a mother figure he’d had, the two had bonded closer than of the other members of the family, even with Emily, who was the youngest.
More hugs were administered and introductions were made. Yet, no Dad. He didn’t like this at all.
Once most of the family had dispersed, Jesse asked Mary, “Where’s Dad?” It wasn’t like him to not only miss seeing them at the airport like he’d said he’d do but to not greet them at the door. Something had to be wrong.
A blush exploded on the older woman’s face. Wasn’t there an age when blushing stopped? Well, apparently not if Mary was capable of it.
“He’s with his lady.”
By Jesse’s side, Kate did a fist pump. “Yes! I got it right.”
He held back his chuckle at her exuberance. A woman. Someone who was so important he didn’t greet the family he’d invited. One slice of relief hit him when he realized that meant no terminal disease. “Have they not been down this morning?” he directed at Mary.
As she fidgeted with the white apron she wore, Mary shook her head. “No.”
Furrowing his brows in concentration, Jesse took a deep breath to still his racing heart. No. No matter how much into this woman his dad was, he wouldn’t forget his children. If by chance that was the truth, then they wouldn’t want her to be part of their father’s life. “Did you knock on their door?”
Another blush. Hell. “I did when I saw the first car turn in the drive. All I heard was… a moan.” Her voice changed to a whisper. “I didn’t want to interrupt their… well, you know.”
A moan and nothing else. His pulse rate rocketed and his palms grew sweaty. He took off at a run to the staircase and his father’s room. Something was definitely wrong.
He pounded on the door with his fist.
His brothers arrived in a rush behind him.
“What’s going on, Jesse?” Matt asked.
“Shh,” he directed. Only a low moan. He checked the doorknob. Locked. No problem, he had enough adrenaline rushing through his veins right now to lift the house if necessary. Stepping back, he charged at the door with his shoulder. Wood splintered around the frame, but it didn’t give. Dammit for solid woodsmanship.
He stepped back to do it again and Matt stopped him. “Let me.
”
No need to argue because Matt doing it made more sense. Brad and Matt busted the shit out of players on the scrimmage line when they had played football in high school and college. As a former SEAL, Matt kept in shape, so this would be child’s play for him.
Sure enough, Matt broke the door on his first try. Mind, Jesse had helped loosen it.
They rushed into the room to find their father, naked and tied up. That was just what he wanted to see—his father naked. No one wanted to see their parents in the buff. Then again, he also preferred not to see his father tied up like a pig ready to roast.
Jesse pulled the cloth from his father’s mouth while someone behind him opened a knife. With the cloth free, their father rubbed his tongue in his mouth a few times before speaking with a rough, raspy tone. “They have Elizabeth.”
Who the fuck is Elizabeth? And who the fuck is they? he almost said out loud. He had to wait to ask those questions until their dad was free.
“Let’s get you untied, Dad,” Jesse said while Brad cut through the ropes.
It seemed to take forever for Brad to cut through everything. Jason, who’d snuck in, rubbed his grandfather’s ankles once they were loose while their dad rubbed his wrists that were raw from where he’d obviously tried to get free.
AJ dropped a pair of jeans, underwear and a blue shirt onto their father’s lap thankfully covering his junk. It was hard to think of his dad being in here and with a woman. Not that he couldn’t do something like that, but thinking about it was pure gross.
Knowing his legs would be weak from being that position for so long, Jesse helped his father stand and stood beside him while he dressed. Just in case he needed the help. Jesse also checked his father’s body over—discreetly—for any wounds he might’ve endured.
Nothing. Just tied up and—
Blake rubbed his neck, and Jesse peered closer. Big-ass goose egg. The intruders must’ve knocked him out also. Jesus Christ, tying him up as they had and stuffing a rag in his mouth hadn’t been enough? Did they expect him to turn into Superman and break through his bonds with his super strength?