by Cynthia Eden
Wasn’t that the problem?
Ranch hands were still trying to spray water on the flames, but the fire was too far out of control. She knew time was of the essence. If Brodie and Davis didn’t get out, they were dead.
The scene was chaos. The ranch hands were running everywhere, and two horses were racing around wildly. She dodged the horses and made her way back to—
“Got you.”
Once more, hard arms had closed around Jennifer, but this time, fear raced through her. An instinctive, chilling fear. She couldn’t see who held her, and when Jennifer opened up her mouth to scream, he put his hand over her mouth. She was fighting fiercely, but he was too strong for her. Every move that she used against him, every kick, every twist of her body, he seemed to anticipate.
Her captor didn’t lead her toward the fire.
He didn’t lead her toward the sprawling ranch house that she could see about fifty yards away.
He took her away from the light. Away from everyone else.
He’s going to kill me.
Now she understood what was happening. Her stalker hadn’t been able to reach her at the McGuire ranch, so he’d lured her and Brodie out into the open.
Another fire...
Only she hadn’t been meant to die in those flames. The fire had been the distraction. His way of catching her off guard.
She heaved against his hold, and then Jennifer felt something sharp press into her neck. A knife.
Jennifer froze, fearing that he was going to kill her right then. He could. One fast swipe of his knife, and it would be over for her.
“It won’t be that easy,” he whispered into her ear. “You’ll suffer...just as I did.” Then he kept dragging her back, far away from the others.
No, no! She could still see the flames. In a few more moments, she wouldn’t, though, because they’d be too far away. No one would be able to help her.
Brodie. I was supposed to help Brodie! He’s still in the flames!
Ignoring that knife, Jennifer drove her elbow into her attacker’s gut with all her strength. Groaning, he jerked back.
She lunged forward, racing away from him as fast as she could.
Chapter Six
Brodie dragged Mark Montgomery out of the burning wreckage that had been the stables. Davis was at Brodie’s side—Davis and Mac were bringing out the last stallion. Mark’s prize—Legacy.
But the horse wouldn’t have been worth their lives.
“Damn it, Mark, you cut it too close,” Brodie snarled as he dropped his friend to the ground.
Blisters covered Mark’s right arm, and his clothes were as singed as Brodie’s. “Sorry...didn’t mean to...risk you...”
Brodie fought to suck in a deep gulp of air. He looked down at his hands, and they were black from all the ash in the air.
Mark managed to heave himself up into a sitting position. His shoulders shook as he struggled to take in clean air, too. In the distance, Brodie could hear the wail of a fire truck’s siren.
Too late.
The stables were gone.
“What the hell happened?” Brodie demanded as his gaze slid around the scene. The horses had all been corralled now. Ranch hands were still trying to put out the flames—and the flames weren’t spreading, so it looked as though the ranch house was safe.
Mark coughed. “Damn thing...just seemed to explode. Heard the horses...we all raced out...fast as we could.”
They’d all nearly raced to their deaths.
Brodie’s gaze tracked around the scene once more. “Where is she?” He’d singed his right hand when he’d pulled Mark out from under a burning chunk of wood, but Brodie ignored the pain. He’d deal with the wound later.
“Who?” Mark muttered. Then his eyes widened. “Ava? Did you bring your sister with you?”
What? Hell, no. Ava wasn’t even close by. “Jennifer,” he snapped as he turned his attention to Davis. “Where is she?”
But Davis wouldn’t know. Davis had been in that burning building when Brodie left Jennifer. Brodie had run back in because he sure as hell hadn’t planned to leave his fool brother and Mark there to burn.
“She tried to go in...after you,” Mac said, coughing into his fist. “I’d just gotten here. Heard the call on the police scanner when I was heading for our ranch.” He ran a weary hand over the back of his neck. “I stopped her from going into the fire. Told her to stay back or you’d have my head.”
He searched the area once more. There was no sign of her.
He whirled back around, stared at the fire. Don’t be inside... Terror started to rip through him.
“She ran away,” Davis muttered, voice tired, angry. “Should have seen it coming...took the first opportunity and ran. That was her plan, right?”
Mark staggered to his feet. “Who are we talking about?”
Brodie knew he was going back into the flames. If Jennifer was in there—
“Help!”
He whipped around even as the scream died away. His gaze flew to the left. To the right.
“Brodie.” Davis frowned at him. “Man, look, you knew she wanted to run, so—”
“Didn’t you just hear her scream?” A woman who’d run away on her own wouldn’t scream.
And she wouldn’t leave me to the fire.
Davis hesitated, then shook his head.
Brodie glared at Mac. “You heard her, right?” His heart was thundering in his chest.
“No, I just hear those damn flames.”
He’d heard her cry. Brodie knew that he had. So he took off, running toward the trees—trees that would eventually separate the Montgomery property from the McGuire ranch.
I’m coming, Jennifer. I’m coming!
His feet pounded against the earth as he ran as fast as he could because he knew with utter certainty Jennifer had just screamed.
Help.
* * *
HE’D CAUGHT HER. He’d tackled her, and Jennifer had screamed as loudly as she could right before her body had slammed into the dirt. He held her there, pinned beneath him, and the knife was back at her throat.
But he said he wasn’t going to kill me quickly. His mistake. He’d given her an advantage by letting her know that death wasn’t imminent.
“The SEAL can’t save you this time,” he told her.
Maybe. Maybe she could save herself just fine.
His voice was so low and rasping. Was he trying to disguise it? Or just make sure that no one overheard him?
His hand fisted in her hair. “I don’t need you awake for this part.”
She knew he was about to knock her out. She clenched her teeth against the pain as she tried to twist her body away from his. She needed to see his face. “Get away from me!”
She rolled and twisted. The knife cut over her shoulder, and she was pretty sure she lost way too much hair, but she managed to get a few feet away from him. She crawled back, spiderlike.
“No one can hear your screams.” He stood. It was so dark—he was just a menacing shadow as he closed in once more. “Not over the crackle of those flames. Not over the cries from the horses. You could scream until you had no breath, and no one but me would hear you.”
She was hearing him loud and clear, and, now that he’d stopped using that thick whisper, his voice seemed familiar to her. “I...know you.”
He laughed then. “Almost intimately.”
Ice squeezed her heart.
“Was it all a game?” he suddenly asked her. “How many others did you lure in? Only to turn on them, just as you did me?”
Clinging tightly to a tree, she pulled herself up to her feet. She still couldn’t place his voice. But I know him.
“I went to hell because of you, dear Jennifer. A living hell. And before I’m done with you, I promise that you’ll share my nightmare.”
She already was. I need a weapon.
“Now, we’re leaving here. You can fight me if you want. That will just give me a reason to hurt you more...” He laughed
again, and the chill around her grew worse. “As if I need a reason.”
She wasn’t leaving with him. She was dead if she left. And she was dead if she didn’t get away from him right then.
“Jennifer!” That roar was her name, and she could hear it so clearly—because it was close.
Brodie! He’d gotten out of the flames. He’d heard her cries. “I’m here!” she called out, lunging away from the tree. “I’m—”
Her attacker caught her and slammed her head into the tree. The hit was hard, brutal, and Jennifer’s body slumped forward as everything went completely black around her.
* * *
“I’M HERE!”
Brodie jerked at Jennifer’s desperate cry.
“I’m—”
Her scream was cut off.
He was already racing straight ahead. Racing and—
He burst through the trees. Brodie saw a man in black, a man who had Jennifer slung over his shoulder.
“Put her down!” Brodie shouted.
The man stilled. He didn’t look back at Brodie. “This isn’t your fight.”
Brodie bent and yanked a knife from his ankle holster. He always kept that knife close. Jennifer wasn’t moving. She hung limply over the man’s shoulder. What did that guy do to her? “It damn well is my fight.” Because Jennifer is mine. “Now put her down and back away!”
The man backed away, sliding deeper into the covering of the trees, but he didn’t free Jennifer. “Why does it matter to you? Why does she matter?”
“Let. Her. Go.”
“She’s a liar. She’ll betray you the same way she did me.”
Brodie’s fingers tightened around the knife.
“The SEAL,” the man murmured. “You think you’re the hero? Hasn’t she already brought enough torment to your life?”
A low moan came from Jennifer.
“Walk away,” the man said in a rasping voice. “And I won’t destroy your family.”
Brodie took a step forward. “Let her go.” I will destroy you, no matter what.
The fellow slid Jennifer off his shoulder, but he didn’t free her. Her body swayed in front of him as he held her with a steely grip. “In case you can’t see it,” the jerk told him, voice chillingly calm, “I have a knife at her throat. One fast move and she’s gone.”
“In case you can’t see it,” Brodie snapped right back, “I have a knife in my hand, and my brother Davis has a gun pointed at the back of your head.”
Silence. Didn’t see that coming, did you? “Now let her go!” Brodie ordered.
The man threw Jennifer forward. Her body pitched toward the ground, and Brodie lunged to grab her. He caught Jennifer right before she would have slammed, face-first, into the earth.
Footsteps thundered as the man ran away. Brodie wanted to rush after him—he’d been bluffing about Davis and his gun—but when he touched Jennifer’s hair, he felt something sticky and wet.
Blood.
“Jennifer?”
Her head sagged back against his arm.
“Jennifer!” His hand found the hard, bleeding knot on her head, and when his fingers slid down to her shoulder, he could feel her blood there, too. “It’s all right, sweetheart,” he promised as he lifted her carefully into his arms. “I’ve got you.”
He had to get her out of there. The attacker had vanished, but at any moment, the man could strike again—with his knife or any other weapon that the guy had on him.
Brodie backed away, his heart racing too fast in his chest. Jennifer was a deadweight in his arms, and fear was growing within him. Head wounds could be so tricky, so deadly. “Hold on,” he whispered to her.
Then he heard the sound of rushing footsteps coming from the right. The Montgomery ranch was to the right and—
He heard a high-pitched whistle. An old signal that he and Davis had used since they were kids. Brodie whistled back, and, seconds later, Davis was in his path.
“What happened to her?” Davis asked. He came closer, and Brodie saw the gun in his hands.
If only Davis had been there a few minutes sooner.
“Her stalker is here... He hurt her.” He jerked his head to indicate direction. “The guy ran that way—he’s armed.”
“On it.” Davis brushed by him. Stopped. “You got her?”
His hold tightened on Jennifer. Normally, he’d be joining Davis on this hunt, but not when Jennifer was hurt. Not when she needed him. “I’ve got her.” And he wasn’t letting go.
Davis headed into the darkness. He could handle himself, Brodie knew it, but...
“Be careful,” he growled after his brother because he could still hear the stalker’s threat. I’ll destroy your family.
The hell he would.
* * *
THE MOTORCYCLE WAS just where he’d left it. He jumped on the bike and sped away from the Montgomery ranch as if the damn devil were chasing him. Maybe he is.
He kept his lights off as he headed down the dirt road. He wasn’t looking to attract any more attention. Not then.
Brodie McGuire had Jennifer.
She’d been his for the taking. Justice had been at hand, but Brodie had interfered. Again. He’d tried to warn the man. After all, his battle wasn’t with the McGuires.
He’d done his research on that family once he’d learned of Jennifer’s connection to them. All the McGuire brothers were supposed to be tough and deadly, all ex-military. They played hard, and they didn’t mind getting their hands dirty—or bloody.
He hadn’t wanted them as enemies. He’d just wanted his pound of flesh from Jennifer.
He’d told Brodie to walk way. He’d warned the man.
Why wouldn’t he listen? Why was Brodie so connected to Jennifer?
She must have pulled him into her web, too. Jennifer, so tempting, so beguiling with her wide, dark eyes and that slow smile. Once she’d made him think that she was actually falling for him.
Until the authorities had come for him.
Until he’d woken in that cell.
So many days of torment. One after the other.
He wasn’t going to let her get away. Jennifer wouldn’t escape his punishment, and if Brodie McGuire wouldn’t get out of his way, then he would have to take out the ex-SEAL.
I warned you, McGuire. You should have listened.
There would be no more warnings.
* * *
SHE WAS IN an ambulance, and the shriek of the siren was making her head hurt. Jennifer groaned as the EMT leaned over her.
“Ma’am, are you in pain?” He touched her forehead, and her breath hissed out. “You’ve got a concussion. We’re taking you to the hospital.”
She grabbed his hand. “Where’s Brodie? Brodie McGuire?”
He didn’t answer her quickly enough, and she shot upright. Nausea rolled through her as the pounding in her head grew about a hundred times worse. “Did he get out of the stables? Is he—”
“I’m right here.”
Her head turned. Brodie was standing just beyond the open ambulance doors. Jennifer’s breath came out in a relieved rush. “I was afraid you were trapped in there. In the fire.”
His gaze searched hers. “Do you remember what happened?”
She remembered the flames. Her fear. Her—
“Ma’am, you need to let me finish my exam.” Jennifer realized she had a death grip on the EMT’s hand.
“He was here.” Her stalker. He’d been at the scene. He’d hurt her. Her breath came faster, and her heartbeat doubled.
“Ma’am, you need to calm down.”
Her gaze was still on Brodie. “Did you see him?” He must have... The last thing she remembered was Brodie calling her name. He’d been in the woods. Brodie must have found her and stopped the guy who’d been attacking her. “Do the cops have him?” she asked before he could respond. “Where is he?” She needed to see his face. To stare into the eyes of the man who’d tried to destroy her. I need to find out why.
Brodie’s face tensed. �
�He got away.”
Her racing heartbeat stopped.
Brodie jumped into the ambulance.
The EMT tried to push him back out, but Brodie ignored the tech. “Davis is searching for him. Mac is combing the woods. We’re going to get him.”
She let go of the EMT. Her hand rose to her shoulder. Jennifer remembered the slash of the knife against her skin. She flinched when she felt the bandage that had been placed there. “He...he started the fire in the stables.” He could have killed you! “Your friend, is he—”
“Everyone got out.”
“Uh, excuse me.” The EMT’s face had reddened. “I need to take care of her. You two can talk at the hospital.”
She didn’t want to leave Brodie. There were so many questions she needed to ask him, but the pounding in her head was growing worse and spots were starting to appear around her eyes.
Jennifer slid back down onto the stretcher. “I’m glad you’re safe. That everyone’s...safe.” Because if anyone had been hurt, it would have been on her. She’d brought this danger right to all of them.
“Sir, you have to leave now,” the EMT said.
Brodie leaned toward Jennifer. “I’ll be following right behind the ambulance.”
Tears stung her eyes. Jennifer managed a small nod. “I’m sorry.”
A muscle flexed in his jaw. “If I’d gotten there a few minutes later, he would have already taken you away from me.” The words were a dark rumble. “What would I have done then?”
Before she could think of any kind of answer, Brodie slid out of the ambulance. The EMT leaned over her and started asking her how many fingers she saw.
She pushed his hand out of her way. Jennifer craned her neck so that she could stare at Brodie. “What would I have done without you?” she whispered.
Another EMT slammed the ambulance doors, blocking her view of him. A few moments later, the ambulance lurched away.
* * *
BRODIE PACED THE hospital waiting room. Just being in that place made him too damn tense. He’d been in this hospital a few months back, when his brother Grant had been injured—and that scene sure hadn’t ended well.
He went up to the nurse’s desk for the fourth time. “Can I see her yet?”
The nurse, an older woman with stern blue eyes, frowned at him. “Sir, I’ve told you that your fiancée is still being examined—”