by Victoria Sue
“Get mine,” Gray croaked. His would work. Rawlings had gotten hold of a good one not on the open market.
Seb raised his eyebrows when he pulled Gray’s phone from his pocket.
“Dial pound 666. You don’t have to say anything.” Gray blinked again, trying to push the last fuzziness from his head, and he stilled, trying to listen. “Please tell me you have my guns?”
“I had my arms full of you,” Seb snapped. “I think you dropped them both when the grenade went off.” Gray listened again and then noticed Seb’s hand—resting on his—was shaking slightly. Then he became aware of Seb’s hurried, choppy breathing. Shit. Seb was probably scared to death, but he’d kept his cool and managed to get them both to safety, however temporary it might be. He had protected Gray, not the other way around as it should have been.
Gray’s vision and head cleared of the last remaining effects, and he covered Seb’s hand with his other one. “You were great. If you ever get tired of singing, I bet Rawlings would have an opening for you.” He tried to make it into a joke, and the haphazard grin from Seb told him it was working.
“I don’t know how we’re not dead, as exposed as we were out there.”
Gray sighed, but Seb had to know. “They weren’t trying to kill you, and they couldn’t risk a shot at me because I was shielding you.”
Seb’s confused expression vanished. “They were going to kidnap me?”
“Yes, I think so. They didn’t shoot back. I don’t think they were expecting the gates to be reinforced. The speed at which they slammed into them should have had them coming off their hinges. As it was, it gave us the extra second or two we needed. The stun grenade was a last desperate measure as we shut the door.”
“But why would anyone want to take me?” Seb echoed in a small voice. “Sorry,” he added quickly. “Dumb question, I guess. Anyone with money is a potential target.”
Gray hoped that was all it was. A quick opportunistic grab for a rich kid would have made his life so much simpler, but he had a feeling it was more than that.
His phone lit up, and Seb read the text. “It says five minutes.”
“That was fast. They must have got the chopper up.”
Seb frowned, and Gray repeated it. “Helicopter.”
“They have a helicopter?” Seb asked, and Gray chuckled at the awe apparent in his voice. Then he shook his head, because it was nuts. The door could open any second, but he still couldn’t hear anything from the house and sat up higher, glancing around to see if there was anything he could use as a weapon. He looked at the wine rack in the corner. Throwing a few of those bottles wasn’t really going to help. “Is there another way out? Another room?”
Seb shook his head. “No, this is it. It’s just what my dad uses as a wine cellar.” He shivered, and Gray pulled him close until he was resting against his side, his brain skimming through as many scenarios as possible of what he could do if they got the door open.
“Why now?”
Gray looked at Seb, trying to rub his arms. The shivering wasn’t getting any better, and Gray was worried he was going into shock. None of his health issues and the fact the man barely had any fat on him to keep him warm were helping either.
“Why now what?” Gray clarified and hugged him tighter.
“I mean, why did they come to the house? Wouldn’t it have been easier to snatch me so many times in the past? The clinic, my piano lessons….” He trailed off.
“You can’t always put a rationale on crazy,” Gray pointed out, having no intention of voicing his own suspicions. Not at the moment.
Then they heard a noise, and Gray lurched to his feet, pushing Seb behind him as the door swung wide. He tensed and balled his fists.
“Jericho.” The shout came from the top of the stairs.
“Burning,” Gray shouted back. Then the cellar was flooded with light, and Gray squinted in relief as two men he recognized jogged down the stairs.
“We need to get you out. Cops are around five minutes away. The neighbors opposite called it in.” Gray let Seb go and got to his feet. Ringo looked him up and down. “Can you drive?”
“Yes,” Gray replied quickly and took the three guns Ringo and Mac—the other members of Rawlings’s crew—handed him. He quickly checked the Glock 26, the Ruger .38 Special, and the 9 mm M&P Shield. Satisfied with all three, he nodded at Ringo.
“They were gone when we got here,” Mac supplied. “Danny’s trying to pull CCTV, but it looks like they never attempted a breach.”
Ringo held out an envelope. “Sarge says get lost for a while as they try and piece things together.”
Gray took the envelope and grabbed Seb’s hand. Seb was looking from one to the other of them, and Gray doubted if he’d managed to read even fifty percent of the rapid-fire conversation when all of them were talking at once. Gray pulled on his arm to get Seb to look at him. “We have to go now. Stay with me, and I’ll answer all your questions once we’re in the car.”
Ringo headed for the cellar steps, and Gray pulled a shocked Seb behind him. “There’s a car at the coordinates. We’ll collect yours. Jay’s switching plates now, and everything you need is in there.”
“I’ll be in touch.” Gray didn’t so much as glance back but headed for his Mercedes, knowing the spare key would be in and the engine running.
“Gray, don’t I need—” Seb tried.
“No time,” Gray bit off. Whatever he needed, Seb would have to manage without. They needed to be gone before the cops arrived. He knew Ringo, Mac, and Jay would be as well. Rawlings would do the clearing up and smoothing feathers when everyone was safe. Gray pushed Seb to the car as sirens wailed in the distance. Seb seemed to catch his urgency and quickly got in. With a last glance toward Ringo, Gray slid behind the wheel. Another ten seconds and he had joined the traffic heading onto I-75.
He took a breath and turned up the heating in his car, knowing full well where he was heading. He didn’t even bother glancing at the envelope and the safe house address he knew would be in there. He made a quick decision that he hoped he wasn’t going to regret, but the stark fact was that Seb wasn’t some celebrity or some diplomat. He was far more important to Gray in all sorts of ways, and Gray would do anything to protect him, including the one thing he had been avoiding for four years. He risked a quick glance at Seb’s pale face. “We’re going to somewhere safe.”
“And then what?” Seb nearly wailed the question.
Gray heaved out a sigh. “We’re gonna eat some turkey.”
SEB HUNCHED lower in the Mercedes. He hadn’t asked many questions because he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answers, even if he really wanted to know what the fuck was going on. He risked another glance at Gray, who met his gaze.
“Are you warm enough?”
Seb nodded, not trusting his voice not to sound like a five-year-old girl.
“There’s water in the cooler.” Gray gestured to the back. “You need to drink some.”
Seb gazed at Gray, sudden rage bubbling up before he forgot he wasn’t going to speak. “Drink some water? Drink some water? We’ve just been shot at, someone tried to kidnap me, and all you can say is drink some fucking—” Seb snapped his mouth closed, as he knew he sounded hysterical if his words weren’t all slurred together. He closed his eyes in horror and shuffled down in the seat.
He didn’t even open them as he felt the car slow and pause, or when Gray put it in Park and leaned over.
Seb shook his head futilely, knowing Gray would have said something, but refusing to look. Gray very carefully, very gently, tightened his fingers around Seb’s wrists and slowly made him lower the hands covering his face.
“Hey,” Gray said, obviously for the second time, his breath warm. “That was shit, and I’m sorry that A, you had to go through it, B, that I didn’t look after you, and C, that I haven’t had a chance to explain anything.”
Seb wasn’t going to cry. He wasn’t some child. He swallowed and tried to summon the calm he could
feel leaching from Gray’s skin. For a stupid second, he was a storm-tossed boat and Gray was his harbor. He desperately wanted to lean in, for Gray to become his shelter. He fell into copying the same deep breaths Gray was taking. “You don’t have to apologize to me. If you weren’t so quick, we wouldn’t have been able to get in the house fast enough.”
“If you hadn’t kept it together when the stun grenade went off, I would probably be dead,” Gray pointed out. “Bodyguards that fail aren’t usually just out of a job, you know.” Then he smiled, and suddenly in the middle of everything, Seb just wanted to kiss him. He leaned over quickly and had a second to recognize it was desire that widened Gray’s pupils and not alarm, before their lips met.
Seb was lost. Gray’s taste. Gray’s smell. Warmth wrapped him up along with the two arms Gray slid around him. He was very nearly dragged over the console as Gray’s arms tightened, and he melted right into him. Gray pressed in and Seb opened his mouth in answer to the insistent tongue that swept inside and forced aside all his fear and doubts.
He couldn’t help the whine of protest as Gray broke off and just rested their foreheads together, his breaths coming hard and rapid. Gray tilted his head back until Seb could see him. “We need to get going.”
“Where?”
Gray blew out a long breath. “My sister’s.”
Seb frowned. “But I thought you never saw her.” Seb cringed, knowing that was probably one of the stupidest things he had ever said. He barely knew anything about Gray. Gray turned to glance out of the window, but he didn’t seem to look at anything particularly before turning back as Seb said, “But won’t it be putting her in danger?”
“Rawlings has the safest house I know of. He has armed guards patrolling twenty-four seven.”
“But….” Seb was confused. “Do you mean Rawlings, as in your boss?” Gray nodded. “But I thought you said we were going to your sister’s?”
Seb watched Gray’s lips tighten imperceptibly. “Diesel Rawlings is now married to my sister, Pink.” Gray carried on as if he was expecting the next question. “Pink married my buddy Aubrey as I told you, and they had a little girl. Aubrey died over four years ago. She knew Rawlings, and they married last year.”
“But you said you hadn’t seen her?”
Gray shook his head. “I haven’t been to Diesel’s home in nearly two years.”
Seb’s mind was whirling a mile a minute. “I’m not complaining, but what made you decide now?”
“Because you’ll be safe,” Gray said implacably. He took another breath. “We need help figuring out what’s going on. I’m not just going to take you to some random hotel. We need access to information, and Danny and Rawlings are the best there is.”
Seb was intrigued, even though he quite liked the idea of being in a random hotel with Gray.
Gray put the car in Drive and checked the road, waiting for an opening to pull into traffic. “It wouldn’t hurt you to just shut your eyes for a few minutes. We don’t need to ditch the car now, and it will take us nearly two hours.”
Seb relaxed back into the warm seat. He kept his eyes open and on Gray for as long as he possibly could.
Chapter Fifteen
SEB WOKE immediately when he felt Gray’s hand on his arm, almost as if he’d been waiting for it. He yawned and sat up, looking around him in interest as they drove down what looked like a private road that meandered through trees. “Where are we?”
“This is Rawlings’s estate, just north of Cleveland and only about fifty miles or so from the Chattahoochee National Forest. Very secluded. Very private.” Seb glanced in the mirror, and his heart sped up.
“There’s a black SUV behind us.”
“Yeah, it’s Rawlings’s men. They picked us up just as we left the village, but they know the car and know we’re in it. It’s just protection.”
“Who for?” Seb asked dryly and unscrewed the water bottle Gray passed him. “I need the bathroom.”
“We’ll be there in five,” Gray confirmed. Seb subsided and watched Gray. He was holding the steering wheel a little too tightly, and his breaths weren’t as unhurried as they usually were. He took no notice of the car behind them, so it must be what they were heading for that was making him nervous. His sister.
Seb couldn’t imagine how hard the next few minutes would be for Gray. He would have loved a younger brother or sister, and wondered what it must be like to blame yourself for the death of her husband and then having her marry his boss. He couldn’t imagine, and he had no idea what he could say.
He stared at Gray’s white knuckles resting on his knee; the other hand had a death grip on the wheel, and Seb was suddenly reminded of the times Gray had sought to reassure him in the oddly intimate way they seemed to have developed despite being nearly complete strangers. Moving his own hand and gently covering Gray’s, he surprised himself at his daring. Gray didn’t jerk away or even look at him, but Seb felt the fingers slowly relax. He turned to the window, not wanting speech to break the moment, and risked the small smile that seemed to want to come and play on his lips. He took a breath and relaxed the tension he didn’t know he had, and stared at the trees just as they cleared.
Seb watched openmouthed as the huge house came into view; it looked like it belonged on some period drama. Mrs. P loved some Brit stuff—Downton Abbey—and he’d even watched one with her a few years ago. From what he could remember, it could be nearly all filmed here.
Then he saw the man standing discreetly by the main wooden doors and in particular the gun held in his arms. He doubted that visual would have been in any of Mrs. P’s shows. As they drew nearer, as if by some unseen signal, two massive wooden doors opened, and two men hurried out and looked toward them as Gray pulled into a gravel-covered lot in front of the house. He recognized Danny, followed by Sadie at his heels, but didn’t know the older man with him as they jogged down the steps toward them. Gray heaved a sigh and moved his hand. Seb let it go quickly and then immediately missed it as they both got out. The older man—well, older than him anyway, but he guessed he must be the same age as Gray—had his hand held out in greeting to him while Danny headed around to slap Gray on the back. He saw Danny make some comment about turkey, and then Seb realized the older man was standing in front of him waiting for a response.
Seb flushed and clasped his offered hand.
He wasn’t surprised at the firm grip. “My name is Diesel Rawlings, and you are very welcome. I hope you’re hungry.” He grinned and turned to Gray as he walked around the car.
“Sorry,” Gray mumbled, but Seb caught the word.
Rawlings shook his head. “You did exactly the right thing.”
Gray whipped his head up quickly, and Seb glanced around to see what Gray had heard and saw the woman who appeared by the open front doors. Seb knew immediately who she was. Gray’s same tilt of the head bent her neck as she stared at him. The same straight nose and the same color of brown eyes that was in at least one of Gray’s. Her hair was also black but without any gray mixed in. She raked her eyes over Gray hungrily but didn’t attempt to walk any nearer.
Seb’s eyes fell to her protruding belly. She was obviously pregnant, and not that Seb was an expert, but she definitely looked like she was going to pop any day. He glanced at Gray just in time to see the knowledge register in Gray’s eyes and the small tightening of his lips. The barely soundless inhalation missed by everyone but the person who couldn’t hear it. Gray hadn’t known? Seb almost shook his head in disbelief but stopped. His own family dynamics were far from perfect. Maybe Gray had known but not acknowledged it. Sometimes the hardest person you needed to tell was yourself. Seb knew Gray suspected his father had other motives besides pure altruism for his operations, but Seb hadn’t really wanted to think about that possibility.
Seb felt the brush of something on his jeans leg and bent down immediately, more than happy to have his arms full of Sadie, who was ecstatic to see him. He laughed and glanced up, catching the look of surprise on Rawlings�
��s face and the shrug of Danny’s shoulders. He stood and was pleased when Gray stepped in close as they followed Danny and Rawlings up the grand stone steps.
Pink’s eyes narrowed as they approached, and Seb didn’t mind she only had eyes for her brother as Gray stepped toward her. Seb could practically see the tension rolling off Gray, and then Pink seemed to launch herself at him, and he closed his arms around her, holding her firmly but with his usual gentleness. She leaned her head forward, her belly stopping her getting any closer. Rawlings shot Danny a look that seemed to say he was satisfied with how things were working out even if they were invading their holiday. Then Pink shocked them all as she stepped back and punched Gray hard in the shoulder. “You ever let it go this long again and I’ll hunt you down with a gun myself.”
Gray swallowed hard, nodded in answer, and drew Seb closer to him. “Seb.” Gray glanced at him, checking he was looking and could see his lips. Seb smiled at the insane idea he might be watching anything else. “In case you hadn’t worked it out, this is my sister, Pink.”
Seb returned his gaze to Pink, but she was holding her arms out for a hug. Seb hesitated a second before he allowed himself to be drawn as near to her as her belly would let them get, relieved when she pressed close for only a second. She stepped back and eyed him critically. “I have some arnica for that.” She glanced at his sore cheek where Gray had hit him. Gray’s pained look immediately turned to guilt, and he took a step toward them. Pink held up her hand to forestall him and turned back to Seb. “I got this, big brother,” she said and graced him with a slight smile. “Let me show you to your room, and then we’ll eat when you’ve had time to freshen up.”
“And then you’re going to spend the rest of the day sitting with your feet up,” Rawlings admonished in what Seb imagined was a stern voice. She rolled her eyes and clasped Seb’s arm.
“Come on,” she said conspiratorially. “You may need to winch me up the stairs.”