by Linda Mooney
Another look around the room convinced her she didn’t want to sleep on a cot tonight. Taking the candle into the back bedroom, she discovered a holder on the tiny bureau near the double bed. A thin layer of dust and sand covered the surface, leading her to suspect there was a similar layer on the bare mattress. A hearty swat to the bed proved her correct.
“Well, since I can’t take the thing outside to beat it, there’s only one other option,” she murmured. Grabbing the handles on the mattress side, she gave it hard tug. The heavy bedding grudgingly budged an inch.
“Here. Let me.”
Slightly startled by his silent reappearance, Brenda let go of the mattress and watched as The Defender deftly lifted it off of the box springs.
“Flip it or turn it?” he asked her.
“Uhh, flip it.”
It was like watching the man toss pizza dough. The sight reminded her of the first time she’d seen him, waving the two reinforced steel doors in the wake of the explosion in order to extinguish the resulting fire. The mattress hit the frame with a cloud of dust.
“There. Like that?”
She coughed, smiling as she waved a hand in front of her face. “Yes. Thanks.”
He stood staring at her, waiting for her to make the next move. The silence grew louder as the distance between them became smaller. Two of his long strides would put them face-to-face, and Brenda felt her own breath quicken as she realized they were alone together. Isolated. In the middle of the night.
She would never get another chance like this.
There was the sound of hard swallowing, and The Defender broke the quiet. “The propane tank is half-full. You should be able to fire up the stove now. The cistern is also full, but the water’s brackish. Don’t drink it until you boil it first, but it should be safe enough to bathe with.”
“Thanks,” she repeated
“Will you be needing me for anything else?”
Will you be needing me?
I need you! The words she’d blundered over at their first encounter came back to her with renewed embarrassment. Did she need him for anything?
Yes, I need you! I need to find out if you’re worth all the hot, sticky wet dreams I’ve had about you, she almost told him. I need you to kiss me. I need you to hold me in your arms as if I’m the most important thing in the world to you, and not just another job.
She was unaware he had moved closer until he placed a hand on her upper arm. Brenda let go of the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, and stared up at him. “W-will you be staying the night?”
Hearing what she’d said, she felt a hot sheen settle around her. On the good side, she no longer felt the cold. But the request was definitely double-edged, and curse her for not feeling ashamed about it.
Will you be staying here with me? There’s a double bed in here. We can both sleep in it, unless there’s something you’d rather do than sleep.
The Defender smiled slightly. “I’ll be outside, keeping an eye on things. If you need me, just call for me.”
His fingers flexed slightly, as if they were reluctant to release their grip. He started to pull away, and Brenda automatically reacted by grabbing his hand. He paused, looking at her and waiting. She opened her mouth to say something, but her mind was blank. Her whole body was blank. Empty. Expectant. Anticipating what he would say. What he would do.
“How…how can I thank you for all you’re doing?” she whispered. She had no idea where the words came from, but she’d say anything at this point, no matter how stupid she sounded, as long as it delayed the inevitable. If he left now, this moment would never come again. She would bet her life on it.
She felt her muscles singing beneath her skin as the tension between them grew thicker. She had to know. She had to find out if what she felt was the beginning of the real thing, or if it was nothing more than unadulterated lust.
She opened her mouth again to say something else, but she never had the chance. The Defender turned back toward her, bowed his head, and covered her lips with his.
She clutched his hand and his jacket, lost in the movement of his mouth on hers. On the feel of his warm, firm lips caressing hers. There was no sound between them excerpt for the soft, guttural noises coming from her throat. The world had slowed to a gentle stop to allow them time to have this night.
He lifted his mouth and tilted his face to take her lips from the opposite direction. One arm eased around her waist, pulling her tightly against his body where hard, unmistakable evidence proved he was turned on. Just as turned on as…as…
…as I am. Right?
No.
Brenda opened her eyes, surprised by her body’s response. Or rather, the lack of it.
The Defender continued to kiss her in a most ardent way, treating her mouth with a combination of skill and tenderness that impressed her.
The dream. Maybe the last dream she’d had about him had changed all that. Maybe her dream had dampened any desire she’d had about The Defender, because the flames she thought she’d feel with him were more smoke than heat. Nothing he could do to her would match the burning she had felt when Lorne had kissed her.
Gasping, she suddenly broke away from The Defender’s embrace to stare at him in dismay. He gave her a shocked look in return.
“What? Did I hurt you?”
“No, no!” she quickly reassured him.
“Then why did you push me away?” His voice trailed off, as if he already suspected the truth.
“I’m sorry.” She pressed her hand to the front of his black leather jacket in case he tried to kiss her again. “I’m sorry, Defender, but I can’t.”
“You can’t?” He didn’t sound angry. It was more like he was confused. “Are you not feeling well?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s not that. I’m fine, but I… You see…” She hated to stammer, but she couldn’t help it.
“Is there someone else?”
His tone of voice eased her guilt of having to turn him down. It was almost as though he had suspected it all along.
“Yes.”
“May I ask who this new superhero is who’s managed to capture your heart?”
At that moment, Brenda knew who her future was meant to be shared with.
And always had been.
“I don’t know if you’ve met him, but you met his brother Luke earlier,” she admitted with a smile. “His name is Lorne Palmer. And, yes, he’s totally captured my heart.”
Chapter 22
Exchange
Luke!
His cry for joy was like a mental trumpet sounding the call. If big brother was asleep, his thunderous yell would definitely wake him up.
Yeah, yeah, I hear you, Lo! And I’m thrilled as all get-out for you! But the celebration’s going to have to wait until we can find out who is behind this mess, Luke responded without the least bit of sleepiness in his tone.
She loves me, Luke. She loves me. Lorne! Not The Defender!
He was doing backflips in the air, something he’d never tried before, but—what the hell—there was no better time than the present to try. Besides, he was high enough in the darkness of the night not to catch anyone’s attention. If he collided with anything this far off the ground, it would be an errant seagull.
I’m really, really happy for you, bro, but it’s time to come back down to Earth. Lee will be there in about twenty-five minutes.
Lorne paused, realized he was upside-down, and quickly righted himself. Already? Hey, did he get—
Yes, we got everything you asked for.
If Lorne didn’t know any better, he’d swear his older brother was laughing at him. And jealous.
Time for step three, Luke commented.
Gotcha. Only, do me a favor?
What’s that?
If you sense I’ve hit the ball out of the park, would you shut our connection down? No. Scratch that. I order you to close this link between us. I want my time with Brenda alone, got that?
This time the
re was no mistaking Luke’s laughter.
Lorne landed on the deck, aware of the fact that the light from inside the cabin could be seen in the cracks around the door and windowframe. Frowning, he knocked on the weathered wood. “It’s me,” he said.
The door opened an inch, and Brenda peered around at him. Her face and hair was wet, and Lorne smelled floral-scented soap.
“Sorry to interrupt your bath. There’s a car heading this way. I’m going to check it out.” Seeing her eyes widen with fear, he added, “There’s no need to panic. If there’s any danger, I’ll be right back to get you.”
She nodded. “I’ll hurry and get dressed,” she said, closing the door.
“I’ll hurry and get dressed.” Those few words sent a streak of heat pulsing into his groin as his overactive imagination tried to imagine what her body looked like wet and covered in soap suds.
Settle down, Lo. One step at a time. One base at a time.
Smiling, Lorne left the cabin and flew over the dunes to the cutoff a quarter of a mile away to wait for his brother. It wasn’t long before he spotted the vehicle zooming down the road. Getting to his feet, he waved to let Lee know he was there. The car pulled off onto the trail leading to the cabin and stopped.
“You made good time,” Lorne said, holding out his mask and jacket.
“Thanks. But if it wasn’t for Luke, I would have gotten lost at least four or five times. I’ve never driven up here on my own before.” Taking the jacket, Lee slipped it on and zipped it up, giving his shoulders a good shake. “Geesh, Lo. Why do you wear something so restrictive?”
“What do you expect me to wear? Tights and a cape? Hey, I got some great news to share,” Lorne continued as he ditched his black leather pants and pulled on the jeans Lee had brought him.
“Oh, yeah? I could use some good news about now. What is it?”
“The Defender put some moves on Brenda tonight, and she stopped him cold.”
Lee paused, a look of astonishment on his face. “No, shit. For real?”
“Yep. She apologized, but explained to him that her heart belonged to one Lorne Palmer.” Lorne couldn’t stop grinning as he told his story.
Lee gave a little whoop of joy. “Hot damn! That’s fantastic! So that’s why I had to go get those candles and shit, right? Oh, wow, Lo! I’m psyched for you!”
The brothers hugged briefly and pounded each other on the back.
“Oh, wow,” Lee repeated a bit more softly, shaking his head. “Okay, so I guess tonight’s the night, eh?”
“It might be,” Lorne admitted. “That’s why I need you to watch our backs.”
“Hey, I’m adding it to your tab,” Lee promised, and playfully punched his brother on the biceps with a fist. Holding his hands out away from his body, he took a couple of steps back from the car and posed. “Well? Think I’ll pass?”
The men were nearly identical in height and build, although Lee had a sleeker physique. The only big difference was that Lee liked to wear his hair in a buzz cut, while Lorne liked his to be on the long side. But in the dark, with Lee wearing The Defender outfit, and by remaining at a discreet distance from the cabin where he could still be seen but without revealing any details, the switch would be impossible for Brenda to detect.
“Oh, yeah. You’ll pass.” Giving his younger sibling a pat on the shoulder, Lorne got into the car. “Thanks again, Lee.”
Lee waved it off. “Hey, we all knew that sooner or later one of us would have to take the plunge to keep the Palmer dynasty going, right? I’m as grateful as hell we can finally bring Brenda into the family for keeps. Uhh, think you’re gonna tell her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth tonight?”
“I dunno,” Lorne said, mulling over it. “Maybe I’ll wait until after the wedding.”
Both men laughed, and after exchanging thumbs-up signs, Lorne drove off toward the cabin with a renewed sense of hope.
Chapter 23
Candles
Brenda sat in the chair with her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs as she waited for The Defender to return and either take her away to some other safe house, or to tell her things were okay. She hoped it would be the latter.
She didn’t like the way recent events were playing out. She hated the fact that she was now considered a criminal, blamed for something she had nothing to do with, and had no control over.
“Whoever is behind this chose me to be the whipping boy,” she mumbled. “Why? What did I have or offer that made them target me?”
She knew she could cry about her current lot in life, but she had enough common sense to realize the tears would be a wasted effort. Somewhere in her past lay the answer as to why she was being set up to take the fall. The key component had to be the person who had switched out the contents of her makeup kit for the stolen chemical.
Closing her eyes, she tried to clear her mind. Maybe after she had a chance to catch her breath, she might think of that one clue that could be the key to the answer she was seeking. A clue that would seem inconsequential now, but end up being what she needed to unlock this mystery.
At least there was one good thing to come out of this ordeal. It was realizing that the love she felt for Lorne was the real thing, and not some pseudo brotherly-sisterly love. Accepting it had been an eye-opening revelation. Somehow she needed to tell Lorne. She needed to hear his voice, now more than ever. He would help her cope with this mess. He would be able to make her laugh, and then feel as if redemption lay just around the corner.
But The Defender had the cell phone Luke had given them. “Damn. I wonder how far he is from the cabin?”
She unfurled her legs and started to get to her feet when there was a sharp rap on the door. Brenda froze, waiting to see if The Defender would announce himself again.
Or not, because it isn’t him.
Icy dread began to creep up her spine. It could be them. The people who were out to ruin her life. They may be out there now, ready to attack. Ready to haul her back to jail. Or maybe to take her to some remote place where they could take their time destroying her.
What remote spot? This place isn’t remote enough for you?
She started to back away from the door as her brain tried to wrench itself out the paralyzing fear that was overtaking her. Where was The Defender? Had they managed somehow to overcome him? Where could she hide? Where could she escape? Wasn’t there a stairway or some kind of ladder she could go down to reach the beach, or would she have to jump? She couldn’t remember for certain. Surely the Palmers had given some thought to what might happen if there was a fire.
“Brenda?”
Although the voice was muffled, it was unmistakable.
“Brenda, open up!”
Almost light-headed with relief, she threw the door open to see the one man she had been praying to see.
“Lorne!”
He stood there with one of his goofy grins on his face, looking exactly as he had that morning, right down to the black Fender t-shirt. But instead of holding empty cardboard boxes, he had an ice chest.
“Hurry up and open the door! This thing is heavy!” He laughed.
She held the door open and stood aside to let him in. Glancing back outside, she could see the car below, parked next to the beams holding the cabin above ground level. Looking out into the distance, she finally spotted a lone black figure standing sentinel with his arms crossed over his chest on a remote sand dune. She gave a wave, and The Defender waved back.
After dropping the ice chest under the table, he brushed past her and hurried down the stairs, back to the car.
“Need help?” she called out.
“Nope. Got it,” he answered, kicking the car door shut with his foot. He brought the rest of the supplies upstairs and into the cabin, dumping the bags on top of the table. “Close the door.”
Quickly, she obeyed, standing with her back to the door to stare at him. It was still difficult to believe he was here with her.
&n
bsp; “How—”
“Heads up.”
Lorne tossed her a can of corn, which she deftly caught.
“Right behind you is the pantry, in case you’ve forgotten.”
Obediently, Brenda opened the doors and began to stack the food he threw her way.
“How did you know I was here?” she asked, and immediately corrected herself. “I mean, how did you know I was in trouble? Did Luke tell you?”
“Hell, with all the police scanners and such that he owns, Luke knows about stuff going down before the police even know.” He juggled three oranges momentarily before setting them on the counter next to him. “Actually, he got a phone call from the station. As soon as he heard you’d been taken into custody, he contacted me. Said he was going to post your bail. A short while later he called and asked if I thought taking you to the beach house would be a good idea.” Giving her a quick smile, Lorne added, “Our original plan was for Luke to pick you up at the police station, and then come pick me up at the grocery store, and the three of us would come up here together. We never figured The Defender would step in to help.”
He threw a bag of navy beans at her underhanded. Brenda caught them and added them to the nearly full pantry.
“The Defender flew me here. He said he would protect me. Of course, I have no idea how long we’re planning on staying. Did you bring any milk?”
“In the ice chest,” Lorne replied, stuffing the empty grocery sacks in a bin under the sink.
Crouching down, Brenda lifted the lid to begin unpacking it, when she caught sight of a clear plastic container resting on top. Gasping in surprise, she looked up to see Lorne standing with his arms crossed against his chest, one eyebrow raised as he waited for her reaction.
“What’s this? Are these chocolate-covered strawberries?”
“If I remember correctly…” He glanced at his wristwatch with exaggerated movements. “We had a date for nine o’clock.” Tapping the watch with a forefinger, he added, “It’s that time.”
“But—”