Take Me Deeper

by Jackie Ashenden

  Even if the cartel hurt her, even if they killed her, they could never take that from her. She could never regret the decision she’d made that had brought her to him.

  Not in a million years.

  “You’re awake?” The voice was male and horribly familiar.

  Iris snapped her head up in time to see a man come around one of the metal shelves. He was of medium height, with dark hair and a kind of bland handsomeness she’d once found moderately attractive. He wore a rumpled-looking suit and was smiling at her as if this were a bar and he was coming over to chat her up.

  Shaw. Dylan’s contact.

  She said nothing, watching him as he approached, a couple of thugs trailing at his heels.

  “Iris,” Shaw said. “Long time no see. You’ve caused us quite a bit of worry, did you know that?”

  She had two choices. Tell Shaw everything now and pray he took mercy on her and let her go, or stall him as much as she could in the hope that Zane was on his way to find her.

  Letting out a silent breath, Iris leaned back in her chair as if she were at home on the couch in the trailer park. “Sorry.” Her voice, thank God, was steady, not a trace of fear in it. “It was either leave town or testify. I thought you’d prefer it if I left town.”

  Shaw grinned. It wasn’t friendly. “Perhaps a better tactic would have been to not get arrested in the first place.”

  She could feel heat creeping into her cheeks. “I don’t know what happened. Dylan must have—”

  “That’s kind of not my problem, sweetheart, you know that. It’s one of the risks you take when you work for us.”

  With a conscious effort, Iris relaxed her muscles, trying to make herself less tense. “So why am I here? I guess it’s not because I did such a great job, you can’t bear to let me go.”

  Shaw wandered over to where she sat and stood in front of her chair, folding his arms. The look in his brown eyes made her uncomfortable because she knew what it meant. He wanted something from her and she didn’t need to be a genius to figure out what that was.

  “No,” he said after a moment. “There are plenty of people more hungry and desperate than you who can do drop-offs for us. We don’t need you.”

  “Then why? Obviously you don’t want me to testify, so why keep me alive?” Perhaps getting in his face was stupid. Then again, she had nothing to lose, and if there was one thing she did know about Shaw, it was that he did like to talk. Especially about himself.

  “A couple of reasons. First, my orders are to see if you told the police anything. And second…” His smile was white. “Well, second is to make sure you stay quiet. Permanently.”

  Iris kept her face blank. This wasn’t news. She knew the cartel wanted her silenced. But there was something that Shaw wasn’t telling her, she could see it in the slightly smug cast of his smile. “That’s obvious,” she said, like she didn’t give a shit. “So what are you waiting for?”

  He cocked his head, looking down at her, his gaze traveling down her body before rising to her face again. It was a blatantly appreciative look that made her feel vaguely dirty.

  You’re Zane’s. Not anyone else’s. He chose you.

  That feeling again, warm and strong inside her. Comforting. Reassuring.

  “Smart cookie, aren’t you?” Shaw shifted closer to her. “As it happens, I want to know about the guy who took you. The bounty hunter. Zane Redmond.”

  A small shock traveled through her at the sound of Zane’s name, her mind momentarily blanking. She hadn’t expected the question, though in retrospect, she should have, and now she had no idea what to say. “W-why do you want to know that?”

  Shaw’s gaze flickered and she knew he’d caught the slight stutter. And that it had pleased him. “You’re not the one asking the questions, sweetheart,” he said almost gently. “I am. Tell me about Redmond.”

  No, she wouldn’t panic. This was good, another way for her to stall him. She wouldn’t be escaping any time soon sadly, not given how she was tied, but Zane would be coming for her. All she had to do was keep Shaw talking until that happened.

  “I like your determination…”

  Zane’s voice in her head, not cold in the slightest, but hot, his arms around her so strong. Okay, time to show Shaw exactly how much determination she had.

  Iris lifted her chin. “You leave my sister out of this and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

  Shaw laughed. “I don’t think you’re in any position to make any deals.”

  “Maybe not.” She paused, letting him see the ferocity in her eyes. “Or maybe you don’t want any heat with the police should they pick up an armed man going into a schoolyard.”

  He stared at her silently for a beat. “Well, I guess we can afford a gesture of good faith.” Taking out his phone, he hit a button and, without taking his eyes off Iris, said, “Leave the girl. We’ve got what we need right here.” Then he disconnected the call. “There. It’s done.”

  “I want proof,” she demanded. Probably another stupid thing to do, but what the hell. She had nothing to lose.

  “Too fucking bad,” Shaw snapped. “You’ll just have to take my word for it.”

  She didn’t want to take his word, but he clearly wasn’t going to give her anything more. That would have to be enough.

  “Zane picked me up after one of your douchebags tried to kill me at the bar a couple of days ago,” she said.

  “Clive,” Shaw muttered. “Not one of our best. So what happened? Where did Redmond take you?”

  There wasn’t any reason to lie, so she didn’t. “He took me back to the Lone Star Bounty office. Like he would with any bail-skipper, I assume.”

  Something gleamed in Shaw’s eyes. “What’s with the five-star hotel? Or does he do that with every bail-skipper?”

  Again came the creep of heat in her cheeks. But she didn’t look away. “No, of course not.”

  The gleam in his eyes intensified. “So what was the deal? A blow job for a couple of nights in luxury? Sex in return for not turning you in?”

  She decided not to deny it. What she and Zane had shared wasn’t any of his business and was so far from what he assumed, there wouldn’t be any point anyway. “Something like that.” She lifted a shoulder. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

  He laughed softly. “Sure, sweetheart. The Lone Star brothers stick together though, that’s a well-known fact. You give them a party too?”

  She didn’t bother getting offended since that wouldn’t help matters. Besides, she didn’t give a shit what he thought about her. Instead, she studied him, trying to figure out what response would buy her the most time. Might be a good plan to make it look like Zane was on his own, then if—when—he came for her, they’d think he was acting alone.

  But what if he is? What if he doesn’t tell Quinn what’s going on?

  He was so angry at his family, she knew, she’d seen it in his eyes as he’d told her about his dad. So there was a chance he wouldn’t. A chance he’d want to solve this one on his own.

  God, she hoped he wouldn’t. Hoped that somehow what she’d told him about his father’s drinking not being his fault would have gotten through to him, lessened the anger and bitterness she knew he was carrying around with him.

  Made him see that he didn’t have to do this alone.

  “No,” she said at last, lying through her teeth. “They weren’t into it. In fact, they were pretty pissed that Zane was.”

  Interest flickered in Shaw’s gaze. “What? So he took you to the hotel so he could have you all to himself?”

  “Partly. His brothers didn’t want me at Lone Star.”

  “Because they knew we’d be coming for you?”

  “Yeah.” She made a show of slumping her shoulders and looking defeated. “I told him he could do what he wanted with me as long as he protected me and then, once the danger had passed, let me go.” Fixing her gaze on the floor, she added, “Guess that was a mistake.”

  Shaw s
aid nothing, and when she glanced up again, she saw he’d taken a couple of steps away, was holding his phone again and in the process of calling someone. He didn’t look in her direction as he began speaking and she couldn’t quite hear what he was talking about, but she caught the sound of Zane’s name.

  What the hell was that about? Were the Redmond brothers wanted by the cartel? Or just Zane in particular? And if so, why?

  She kept very still, trying to listen in, to catch anything that might be of use, but he’d moved a few more steps away and she heard nothing.

  A chill curled up suddenly inside her.

  Shaw hadn’t cared what she’d told the police. No, he’d only looked interested once she’d mentioned Zane. That, coupled with the long, uncomfortable survey he’d given her body, had made her suspect he wanted from her what she’d given Zane, but now…Now she wasn’t so certain.

  He wouldn’t need to make a call just so he could screw her.

  Which meant that he wanted her for something else.

  Maybe that something else was Zane.

  —

  Zane pulled open the door of his borrowed truck, only to have a large hand descend on his shoulder, jerking him back. He spun around, raising his fist in preparation to let it fly on the first asshole who dared to stop him from getting to Iris.

  It was Rush, who ducked the punch. “Stop, you fucking tool,” his brother said breathlessly, still holding onto him. “This is something I would do, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be that stupid.”

  In a small part of his brain, Zane knew Rush was talking sense, but he couldn’t seem to hear it over the roaring in his head. The desperation that was pulling at him, that was screaming at him to get in that truck and get the fuck out of there, find Iris. Save her.

  Jesus Christ, since when had he ever lost it like this before? Since never.

  With a monumental effort, Zane tried to get himself in hand. “This had better be good, Rush,” he said thickly. “Because the next time you stop me, you’d better pray I’m not holding a gun.”

  His brother stared at him, his blue-green eyes uncomfortably sharp. “Who the hell is this chick to you?”

  “What do you mean who is she to me? She’s a woman who needs my help, that’s who she is to me.”

  “Sure, and I’m Elvis fucking Presley.” Rush’s fingers dug into his shoulder, his focus narrowing. “A damsel-in-distress situation and you’re firing out of here like a goddamn bullet.”

  “What?” Zane jerked free of his brother’s hold and stepped forward, getting up in his face. “You expect me to stand by while those assholes torture her? Kill her?”

  In no way intimidated, Rush held his ground and stared back. “You need to calm down, little bro. Take a chill pill. You have no idea what you’ll be walking into and anyway, you’re sure as hell not going in there alone.”

  He’s right. You really don’t know what you’ll be walking into.

  Zane ground his teeth together, hating the thought. He didn’t want to waste any more time waiting for his brothers to get their shit together.

  Because you don’t trust them. You don’t trust them to be there for you.

  No, he fucking didn’t. Why should he when his father hadn’t? Which made it pointless to stand around talking strategy with Rush when the one person in the world he did trust was in danger.

  “Fine,” he said tightly. “Come with me then. But if you’re not ready to go now, I’m going without you.”

  Rush was quiet a moment, but the laser focus of his eyes didn’t lessen. “She’s more than just a skip to you, isn’t she?”

  Great. So now Rush was going to drop his easygoing, don’t-give-a-fuck facade and start asking uncomfortable questions. The asshole. “She’s not just a skip,” he snapped. “She was never just a skip. Like I told you, she’s a woman in danger who—”

  “Yeah, yeah, she needs your help. I get it. So you’d do this for any woman?”

  Zane opened his mouth to tell his brother that of course he’d do the same for any woman, but the words got stuck in his throat.

  Because it’s not true. Oh, you’d save any woman, sure, but you wouldn’t feel this desperate over someone who didn’t mean anything to you.

  There was something thumping loudly in his head, a roaring in his ears.

  They hadn’t known each other long, she was virtually a stranger to him. And yet so easily she’d overturned years of control, years of training.

  He’d let her get under his skin. He’d let her get to him.

  Ice slid down his spine. He cared for her. He cared for her and he didn’t want to. Because everyone he’d cared about he’d lost, no matter how hard he’d tried to save them. His mother. His father. Charlie.

  And now she was in danger, depending on him to come for her.

  Caring wouldn’t help. It only made things worse. Made you do stupid things like pour out booze from a bottle and rely on your family to do the right thing by the girl you loved. Caring only meant a kick in the guts and a dead woman in your arms.

  The ice spread out through him, cooling the thumping in his head, silencing the roaring in his ears, and he grabbed it, held on to it. The cold focus of the sniper was what he needed now, not to get all emotional about one small woman, because that wouldn’t save her.

  Zane gave Rush a long, cold look. “Iris is a special case. She’s got a little sister who’s depending on her, and I’m not leaving that sister without a family. Not today.” He paused. “I’m going in alone, Rush. You and Quinn can come along as backup, but this is my show. Understand?”

  Rush stared back, frowning. “This is all about Charlie, isn’t it?”

  But Zane was already turning away, back to the truck. “Does it matter? I’m not debating the past while a woman’s life is at stake.”

  At that moment, the doors of the building that housed the Duchess offices opened and Quinn came out, Nora at his heels.

  “Hey, asshole,” Quinn called, approaching the truck as Zane hauled himself into it. “If you think you’re doing this by yourself, you’ve got another think coming.”

  “Fine.” Zane met his oldest brother’s gaze. “You get me the floor plans for that warehouse, then text them to me. Rush can get Rose to check the security cameras, see if we can get a sense of what we’re up against.”

  There was a moment’s tense silence, both his brothers staring at him.

  He looked back, unflinching. “This is my mission. Not yours. And I’m going to do this my way. So you can either fuck off back to Lone Star and busy yourselves with something else, or you do whatever the hell I tell you to. That’s the deal, take it or leave it.”

  Rush jammed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and gave Quinn a glance that Zane couldn’t interpret. Then he looked back at Zane. “No need to get uptight, bro. You can trust us, you know that, right?”

  And Zane didn’t know what to say. How did his brother know? How had he guessed? “What?” he demanded. “So now you’re going to start spouting Dad’s bullshit just like Quinn?”

  “No,” Rush said flatly. “This has got nothing to do with Dad. Redmonds stick together. You and me and Quinn. Understand?”

  Both his older brothers were now staring at him, giving him back that unequivocal stare that meant they’d made up their minds and they wouldn’t be moved.

  But before he could speak, Nora said from where she stood behind Quinn, “As much as I love a family reunion, if you’ll excuse me boys…I’m riding shotgun.” And with that, she sidestepped Rush and Quinn, came around the side of the truck, and pulled open the passenger side door, hauling herself up into the passenger’s seat before Zane could say a word.

  He scowled at her. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “I’m coming with you. What does it look like?”

  “Why?”

  “Because I like a firefight.” She patted the Colt at her hip and grinned. “And I could use some target practice.”

  There was no time to protest
, but that was okay. As long as she followed his orders and didn’t get in the way, he was fine with it.

  He glanced at his brothers, still standing on the sidewalk glaring at him, knowing he had to say something. So he said the only thing he could. “Well? You joining me or not?”

  Quinn’s green gaze was sharp, the expression on his face unreadable. “I’ll get you those floor plans,” he said after a moment. “And Rush’ll take another look at the security cameras. Then we’re coming after you.”

  You trusted Iris. You can trust them.

  Well, maybe, since he had to, he would. But there was no need to make a big song and dance out of it.

  So all he did was give them both a curt nod. “Just stay out of my way when you do. I’m not going to let another woman die because of Redmond incompetence.”

  He didn’t wait for a reply. Pulling the truck door shut, he then turned the key and the motor roared into life.

  Then he planted his foot and took off.

  —

  The pain had settled down into a dull ache at the back of Iris’s skull, which was a blessing. But her mouth was still dry and she still felt like throwing up, which wasn’t. She couldn’t stop testing the ties around her wrists and ankles either, and now her skin felt raw and chafed.

  Yep, she was well and truly trapped. No escaping for her.

  Across from her, Shaw had finished his phone call and was now talking in a low voice to the two thugs.

  Iris watched them from underneath her lashes.

  That call had definitely been about Zane, she was sure of it. But what the hell could the cartel want with him?

  “Hey,” she forced out, her voice croaky. “Can I get some water over here?”

  Shaw finished up whatever he was saying to the thugs, then turned back to her, coming over to where she sat. The two goons disappeared behind the metal shelves.

  “Water, huh?” He cocked his head, looking down at her. “Yeah, I don’t think so. You’re not in your fancy hotel now.”

  Iris stared back at him, ignoring the jab. “You haven’t killed me yet. What’s the hold up?”

  “Why? You in a hurry?”