Focused only on her children, Keeley barely noticed when another masked man ran up beside her. He threw his arm around her waist, picked her up, and started carrying her. Her only instinct to get to her girls, Keeley kicked and beat at him until he dropped her to the ground.
Terror exploding inside her, Keeley was back on her feet in an instant and running. Her babies were screaming for her; the man carrying them never looked back.
A hard arm grabbed her from behind. “Come on, bitch.” The voice sounded breathless and angry.
Barely pausing, Keeley slugged the man in the face and kept on running. She screamed, “Don’t you take my babies!”
“Bitch!” The second masked man was beside her again. He made another grab for her. Wasting precious seconds, Keeley turned around and put everything she had into the punch; her fist slammed into his head. She turned and started running again.
Their faces red and puckered with fear, her babies screamed, shouting for her. With a gasping sob, Keeley stretched her hand out and managed to claw at the man’s sleeve.
He shot a quick glance back and wrenched his arm away.
Oh God, don’t let him get away. “No!” Keeley screamed.
He reached the parking lot and ran toward the open side door of a white van. Keeley took a leap and sprang toward him, her arms outstretched. Once again she felt the brush of his jacket on her fingertips. He pulled away sharply and Keeley felt herself falling. Pain slammed into her as she smacked face-first onto the concrete pavement. On the edge of consciousness, the last sound Keeley heard was the cry of her daughters screaming “Mama!”
ALSO BY CHRISTY REECE
No Chance
Rescue Me
Return to Me
Run to Me
In memory of my sweet mother-in-law,
who was the complete opposite
of Elizabeth Fairchild in every way
prologue
Fairview, South Carolina
He sat on a hillside and surveyed the estate below. Icy gusts of wind blasted around him, swirling up frozen dust particles from the dry earth. Undeterred by the elements, Cole Mathison maintained his focus on his target below—a modern-day fortress. The massive brick wall surrounding the Southern-style mansion would stop all but the most determined. Hidden sensors covered the vast estate, designed to alert the owner to the presence of any intruder within seconds.
Keeley Fairchild and her daughters were well protected.
She had been given detailed instructions on how to protect her family and had taken that advice to heart. Other than its lack of armed guards, the estate’s security could rival some embassies’. This was a woman intent on ensuring her children’s safety.
Cole lowered his high-powered binoculars and released a harsh breath. Why the hell was he even here? There was no indication that she was in trouble or under any kind of threat. It had been more than a year since her husband’s abduction and death. From all accounts, there’d never been a threat to anyone else in the family. So why couldn’t he just forget about her and let this obsession go?
He stood and stretched his long legs, wincing at the stiffness. Three days of doing nothing but watching the nonexistent comings and goings at the estate was wearing. For a man used to a daily routine of physical activity, sitting on his ass for any amount of time exhausted him faster than a ten-mile uphill run.
None of the family had left the grounds since he’d been here. Two visitors, both young women, had come by for brief visits. That had been the only outside activity. Other than the occasional shadow that flitted by a window, he never saw Keeley Fairchild or her children.
She was fine; the kids were fine. So why didn’t he leave?
There was no reason to believe that she or her daughters were in the slightest bit of danger. Despite that knowledge, he came here every few weeks just to reassure himself. Damn stupid obsession had to end sometime. The need to protect this family was a bizarre and useless pastime. They didn’t need his help. Hell, they didn’t even know he existed. And with any luck, he could keep it that way.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. Grabbing it, he held the phone to his ear as he perused the perimeter once more. “Yeah?”
“We found him.” Noah McCall’s hard voice held a tinge of triumph.
Cole’s entire body stiffened at the news. “Where?”
“Still in his home base.”
The bastard had never left Mexico. Good, that’d make it easier for everyone.
“Figured he’d get out of the country,” Cole said.
“He may have tried … just couldn’t.”
“He suspect anything?”
“No. Staying below radar, but he’s set up shop. Got himself a little lab in the basement of an abandoned building.”
Sounded like the freak. A fanatical need to experiment had ruined lives, caused untold death and destruction. But now the man’s sick fascination to screw with people’s minds was playing right into their hands.
“You coming?” McCall asked.
Cole took another sweeping glance at the scenic and peaceful valley below. His instincts were off, had been since his capture. There was no hint of threat, no evidence of danger. Keeley Fairchild had gotten on with her life; he needed to get on with his.
Jerking his backpack up, he swung it over his shoulder and started down the hill. “Be there tomorrow.”
one
A female shriek, loaded with drunken laughter, ripped through the air. Oh yeah. The Saturday night crowd at Bug-n-Booze was alive and kicking. The aroma of roasted peanut shells covering the floor blended with the lusty smells of women who only wanted two things—to get drunk and to get laid.
Wesley Tuttle’s mouth slid up in an easy smile … his favorite kind of woman.
“Are you listening to me?”
With deliberate slowness, Wes turned back to his companion. She’d asked to meet him hundreds of miles from Fairview; least she could do was let him enjoy himself for a little while. This was his first time here and Wes already knew it wouldn’t be his last.
He eyed the woman sitting at the table with him. With her upper-crust, snooty attitude and expensive clothes, she looked as out of place here as a possum would at a pie-throwing contest. It was all for show; everything about her was fake. He knew more than most anybody about this particular rich bitch. Those clothes might make her look high class, but when she had a little liquor inside her or needed a favor, she could make a Saturday night slut look like a nun.
He gave her the smile he reserved especially for her, knowing it’d piss her off. “I want the woman, too.”
Shock reflected on her face for barely a second, then a skinny, manicured hand waved dismissively. “Don’t be ridiculous. If you make this more complicated, it will never work. You’ll get more than enough for the kids.”
He stared hard. This point was non-negotiable. If she wanted him to do the job, she’d come around.
Her eyes skittered away from his face. Good. She might be his employer for this particular gig, but she was scared of him. Just the way he liked it.
She chewed at her lower lip, smearing red lipstick over her teeth. “What do you want her for? Ransom?”
A grin tugged on his mouth. “You know money ain’t the reason I want her.”
Jealousy dripping from every word, she said, “What is it with you men? Her ass is the size of a double-wide and those boobs are freakishly large.”
It was all he could do not to laugh in her face. “If double-wide trailers were shaped like her ass, I wouldn’t mind living in one the rest of my life.”
The woman continued her rant. Wes ignored her, as he did most of the time. When she said something he wanted to hea
r, he’d tune in again.
She was pissed he wasn’t still trying to get into her panties. He’d been there and done that more times than he liked to count. Every time he made the return trip, he always swore he’d never go back again, but when he was horny, sometimes he needed the itch scratched without preliminaries. Given the proper incentive, this bitch was always willing.
“Are you listening to me?”
“I will when you say something worth hearing.”
Eyes flashed with a haughty fury; she reared back as only her kind could.
Wes snorted, not one bit impressed with her highbrow attitude. “Listen, we may be in business together, but I ain’t taking no shit off you. You tell me where I can nab the brats and the woman. I’ll take care of the rest. That sure as hell don’t mean we gotta be bosom buddies.” Wes swallowed another snort. Like she had any kind of bosom he could buddy up to. Hell, she barely had anything up top at all. Another reason she was so jealous of the woman. The difference between them was like an ocean to a mud puddle.
The anger in her eyes seemed to dim for the moment. Talking business was one way to keep that jealousy under control. “They’ll be hard to get to; she barely lets them out of her sight. And it’ll have to be done somewhere out of the house. It’d take a tank to get inside that estate.”
Wes shrugged. “So? Find a way to get them out in the open. I can get rid of anybody who sees me.”
“No, I don’t want anyone killed. That would attract too much attention.”
He cackled. Hell, she was dumber than he thought. “You don’t think kidnapping two little girls with that last name in this state ain’t going to cause an uproar? Especially after what happened to their daddy? FBI’s gonna be on it like flies on chicken shit.”
A small bit of fear flashed in her face and then she shrugged. “You do what I tell you to do and no one will ever find them … it doesn’t matter who’s looking for them.”
Man, she sure hated the woman. Wes wasn’t one to question other people’s motives. Most times he didn’t care. If he got money for it, there wasn’t a lot he wouldn’t do. He’d always prided himself on having no limits. Took balls of steel and major smarts to do what he’d done most of his life and not get caught. He eyed the woman again. Hell, might as well make the offer. It’d be some extra dough and no skin off his nose. “If you hate her that much, I can off her once I’m finished with her.”
Her eyes widened with what looked like genuine shock. “I don’t want her dead, you idiot. I don’t want anyone killed.” She leaned forward. “Understood?”
Fine with him. He sure as hell wasn’t going to do extra stuff he wouldn’t get paid for. “Fine. I’ll wear a mask or something. Don’t know why you’re so against killing all of a sudden. You sure didn’t seem to have a problem with it when you got rid of her husband.”
Her face went still for an instant and then her mouth tilted in a smirk. “Now, what makes you think I had anything to do with that?”
“’Cause I saw you right after they got married. Never seen you so pissed before. Besides, it sounds like something you’d do.”
She pressed a hand against her heart in fake outrage. “I can’t believe you think I’d be so vindictive.” The slight humor he’d seen in her eyes disappeared and the ice-bitch look returned. “Despite all the evidence that pointed to her, she was barely even considered a suspect.”
“Well, least you got the money for it.”
She waved a negligent hand. “Money is inconsequential.”
Spoken like a woman who had it to spare. To Wes, money would never be inconsequential. “What’d you have him kidnapped for then?”
A skinny, haughty brow lifted. “I never said I did.”
Wes swallowed a guffaw. Wasn’t no use denying it. He knew what the bitch was capable of. “Bet the outcome really honked you off, too. She got the money, the mansion, and got rid of a cheating husband to boot. I’d say you got screwed.”
“The only reason they believed her is because of her looks. Idiot men take one look at her and start thinking with their dicks. It’s disgusting.”
Unable to resist needling her, Wesley quipped, “Thought you said she wasn’t good-looking.”
Her mouth tightened at the reminder, but she stayed focused on business. “One hundred thousand to snatch both of them, plus the money you get from each buyer.” She slid a piece of paper toward him. “Here are the names, phone numbers, and addresses.” A blood-red nail tapped on the paper. “The dark-haired one goes to these people in Florida; the blonde to this couple in Pennsylvania. As soon as you make the delivery, they’ll give you the money. It’s all yours.”
Like he needed her telling him how to conduct business. Whatever she said didn’t mean squat. He’d do it his way. He already had a buyer set up for the blond one and would be getting a whole hell of a lot more than the fifteen thousand the people in Pennsylvania were willing to cough up. The dark-haired one might have to go to the Florida people, though. The blond one would be easier to pass off as his till he could drop her off; the dark-haired one looked too different to belong to him.
She continued with her instructions. “You’ll need to get out of town immediately after you take them.”
He knew how to take care of his business. Just ’cause she’d started the process didn’t mean she was going to run the show.
Once he got rid of the kids, he’d keep the woman for as long as he wanted, then drop her somewhere when he was through. Using her brats as leverage would ensure she’d do everything he told her to do. Wes squirmed in his chair as he thought about all the things that plump pink mouth would do to him.
Putting those needs on the back burner, he leaned forward, eager to get things into motion. The sooner he got the plans in place, the sooner he’d be getting what he’d been wanting for years. “Here’s what you’re going to do.”
Her face lit up and became more animated than he’d ever seen it.
Man, if she really hated Keeley Fairchild that much, why the hell didn’t she want her dead?
Two weeks later
Fairview, South Carolina
A gurgling giggle caused Keeley to smile. Even without looking, she knew the giggle belonged to Hailey. It had a tinkling, musical quality to it. Her sister Hannah’s giggle was softer and sounded more like a wind chime.
“Mommy, look at me!”
She turned and grabbed Hailey’s waist just in time to pull her down from the monkey bars she was trying to climb. The little knot on her head from last week’s adventure was barely gone. “Hailey, I told you not to go up there.”
She sat her daughter down on the ground and tried for a hard look. When her angel just gave her an innocent, adorable grin, Keeley figured she’d failed the stern-mother-glare test. With her light blue eyes and fair complexion, Hailey looked so much like her father that Keeley felt that familiar painful twist to her heart.
Going to her knees, Keeley brushed a blond curl from her daughter’s forehead and gave her button nose a gentle tap. “No climbing … promise Mommy.”
Another gap-toothed grin was her response. Keeley held back a sigh. How on earth had she managed to create a daredevil daughter? Hailey wasn’t happy unless she was doing something she knew her mother would definitely not want.
“Mommy, can I have some juice?”
She pressed a kiss to Hailey’s forehead and twisted around to Hannah, Hailey’s sister. Though the girls were twins, they were as unalike as if they came from different parents. Hannah was a miniature version of Keeley—light olive skin, ebony hair, and black eyes. Her personality was easygoing and pleasant. She could be entertained with a book for hours; her sister might hold out for five minutes.
Sometimes it amazed her how these two precious little girls had come from something so disastrous as her marriage to Stephen. Not that she’d known how bad it was until just before he died. But the gifts of her daughters more than made up for the other things. No doubt about it, they were heaven-sent.
> Keeley pulled a small juice box from the thermal picnic bag and inserted the straw into the box. Turning back to her daughter, she pressed a small kiss to Hannah’s silky head and then handed her the juice. “Here you go, sweet pea.”
Smiling her thanks, Hannah headed toward her sister, her tiny hands wrapped tight around the juice box as she sipped. Little Miss Careful never wanted to spill a drop.
Keeley turned to grab another juice from her bag, knowing once Hailey saw her sister with juice, she’d want some, too. She was putting the straw in when she heard the first scream.
“Mommy!”
Keeley whirled around. In an instant, she dropped the juice and ran. A large man in a black ski mask had both her babies in his arms and was running down the sidewalk toward the parking lot.
Her heart pounded as her feet flew toward the monster. “What are you doing? Stop!”
Focused only on her children, Keeley barely noticed when another masked man ran up beside her. He threw his arm around her waist, picked her up, and started carrying her. Her only instinct to get to her girls, Keeley kicked and beat at him until he dropped her to the ground.
Terror exploding inside her, Keeley was back on her feet in an instant and running. Her babies were screaming for her; the man carrying them never looked back.
A hard arm grabbed her from behind. “Come on, bitch.” The voice sounded breathless and angry.
Barely pausing, Keeley slugged the man in the face and kept on running. She screamed, “Don’t you take my babies!”
“Bitch!” The second masked man was beside her again. He made another grab for her. Wasting precious seconds, Keeley turned around and put everything she had into the punch; her fist slammed into his head. She turned and started running again.
Their faces red and puckered with fear, her babies screamed, shouting for her. With a gasping sob, Keeley stretched her hand out and managed to claw at the man’s sleeve.
He shot a quick glance back and wrenched his arm away.
Last Chance 05 - Second Chance Page 1