Innocent Target

by Katie Reus

  “Now. Or I’ll start with his knees.” He gestured the gun at her father. “It’s a painful way to die.”

  Axel’s face tightened. “Don’t—”

  The man cut Axel off and fired a shot into the ground. She nearly jumped a foot, her heart rate kicking up a thousand beats a minute. Because of the suppressor on the weapon, the sound didn’t carry. But it was all the motivation she needed. Still clutching her bag as if it was a lifeline she started for the ATV, her movements stiff. She didn’t look at her father or Axel because if she did, she’d break down.

  She was supposed to have been safe. Everything was supposed to have been over. But it wasn’t. This man was somehow here on her father’s secure property. Holding a gun on two people she loved.

  Heart racing out of control, she forced her legs to obey her as she slid into the passenger seat. As she sat, she slipped a small scalpel out of her bag before dropping the bag to the floor at her feet.

  “No. You’re gonna drive.” Ice coated the masked man’s words as he moved toward the vehicle. “And if you try anything, I’ll shoot you. Contract only says you have to be alive.”

  Instead of getting out again, she just slid over into the driver’s seat. Her palms were sweaty despite the chill in the air. And her chest hurt with each breath she dragged in as she fought the panic swelling inside her.

  “The guy who hired you, Fuller, he’s dead.” Her dad’s voice was dark, angry, a tone she’d never heard from him before.

  The man with the mask paused once as he moved toward the ATV, though his gun hand never wavered. “If that ends up being true, I’ll ransom her back to you.”

  “I’ll pay you double what Fuller offered you. Just let her go.”

  “You’ll pay quadruple.” The man grinned once, his white teeth and lips visible even with the mask. His smile was like a shark. “Even if Fuller’s not dead, I’ll be in touch. Get your money ready, old man.”

  As he slid into the passenger seat, she glared at him. “You’ll never get away with this. Even if you kill me, they’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth.” Something she intrinsically knew to be true.

  She saw the hand coming, knew he planned to backhand her either for her words or to send a message to her father and Axel. This was her only chance. She lashed out with the scalpel, stabbing at his leg and aiming for the femoral artery.

  The man screamed in pain as his hand went wild, grazing her forehead instead of her face. From there, everything was a blur of motion.

  Axel moved faster than should be humanly possible, attacking the man like an animal. His fist connected with the man’s jaw before he dragged him out of the passenger seat. The gun fell to the floorboard so she scooped it up even if she had no idea how to use it.

  Her dad was suddenly there, taking it from her hands as Axel pounded his fists into the man’s face. Over and over, the guy’s head slammed into the hard earth beneath them.

  “Axel.” She didn’t scream or raise her voice but somehow he must have heard her. He stopped, his hand around the throat of the now unconscious man. “Please don’t kill him,” she whispered. She didn’t want him to have any more scars on his soul or for him to go to jail. Even if this guy probably deserved it, she simply couldn’t stand the thought of Axel being the one to end his life.

  “Take her back to the main house, now,” her dad ordered Axel, tucking the gun in the back of his pants. “Do it.” A not so subtle order.

  “Dad—”

  “No. Go with Axel.” He gave Axel a hard look without even glancing at her.

  “But—”

  Without a word Axel took her by the elbow and scooped her up even though she could walk just fine. Gently, he set her in the passenger seat. When he cautiously took the bloody scalpel from her tight grip she belatedly realized she was still holding on to the thing. Then he brushed his lips over her forehead once.

  She wanted to ask what her dad was going to do or if they were going to call the cops but she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer. Her new reality… She wasn’t certain if it was something she could live with. She’d always viewed the world, if not in black and white, as at least governed by certain rules and laws.

  Now everything she knew had been turned upside down. And it scared her how easily she’d accepted everything.

  Neither of them spoke on the way back to the ranch. After he parked, he strode around to her side and carried her, ignoring her feeble protest. When they reached the back door leading to the kitchen she finally said, “I’m okay to walk.” At least she hoped she would be. She felt a little shocky.

  His jaw tightened once, but then he nodded and set her on her feet as if she was made of porcelain. When they strode into the kitchen and found not just Darcy and Brooks there, but all the others, including sweet six-year-old Valencia, she just about collapsed. God, what if that maniac had made it to the house? What if— Nope. She couldn’t deal with those thoughts now. Not when she was barely keeping it together.

  She realized that Axel had said something to push the others into action as Brooks and Savage bolted out the door but she couldn’t actually remember what he’d said. Could barely focus on anything as her trembling got worse. She could have died a few minutes ago. Her father could have died. Axel could have died.

  He was now saying something to her. Looking up into his blue eyes, she forced herself to focus on him, on his mouth. It was pointless because she didn’t comprehend anything. Jaw tight, he shook his head and scooped her up into his arms again.

  Minutes later they were in her bathroom as he stripped off her grimy clothes. Blood was on her fingers and she wondered if it was from the horse or from the man. When Axel guided her into the hot shower, for a moment she thought he was going to leave her and almost panicked.

  Then he stripped and dumped his own clothes into the pile with hers. Standing under the hot jets, he pulled her into his arms.

  “I’m sorry,” Axel murmured, his voice slightly muffled against the top of her head.

  “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

  “I was going to kill him right there in front of you. I…I’m sorry.”

  She tightened her grip around his naked body. “If you had, it would have been okay.” Even as she said the words she knew they were true. She didn’t ever want him to think she judged him. If they went into this relationship with him worried that she held something over his head or had moral superiority or whatever…just no. He’d made choices and he was living with them. Not ones she could ever make, but…she loved him.

  “Hadley—”

  She pulled back to look up at him. “I feel like a mess right now. A hot, flaming mess of emotions. I’m living in a new reality where my family doesn’t call the cops when there’s a kidnapping contract on me. One where the man I love used to kill people for a living. One—”

  His eyes went intense. “You love me?”

  “Yes?”

  “Is that a question?”

  “Yes. I mean no. I…do love you.” And now she felt a billion times more vulnerable, standing naked in front of him as she admitted it.

  “Thank God. I love you too.”

  Her heart turned upside down, relief rushing through her. “Really?”

  “I think I fell a little in love with you when you spilled coffee on me.”

  She smiled even as tension coiled tight in her belly. “I don’t know if I’m cut out for all this. For these shades of gray. For what…I’m pretty sure is happening to that guy right now.”

  His gaze was steady on hers. “Do you want to involve the cops?”

  “Would you be okay with that?”

  “Whatever you need to happen, I’ll make happen.” The truth was in his gaze.

  She shook her head. “No. It…can’t happen. I understand that on every level. I just… I don’t know. I think it’s going to take time for me to process all the changes in my life.”

  He stroked a big hand up and down her back. “I’ll give you as much time as you need.
”

  “Wait…I don’t mean without you.” She tightened her grip around his waist, afraid he’d bolt.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. I’m just giving you warning that it’s going to take time for me to process everything, that’s all.”

  “You can take all the time you need. I’m not planning on going anywhere.” He kissed her then, his lips soft at first before morphing into a hard, possessive kiss that sent spirals of awareness throughout her entire body.

  Yeah, whatever it was she had to do to deal with her new reality, as long as Axel was by her side, things would work out. She knew that without a doubt.

  * * *

  Axel’s gaze strayed over to where Hadley sat with Mary Grace and Olivia as the three of them listened to whatever the animated Valencia was telling them. The little girl was completely unaware of what had happened earlier in the day.

  Thank God for that.

  When he realized Brooks had said something to him, he jerked his attention back to the man and Douglas. “What?”

  Brooks just shook his head. “I said you’re welcome to stay here for the next week with Hadley—because she’s not going anywhere.” He said the last part like a challenge, as if Axel might argue.

  “Thank you.” It wasn’t like the other man could keep Axel from Hadley but he figured that responding civilly was the best way to go. “Did you ever figure out how he got on the property?” Axel asked quietly.

  Douglas nodded, his expression dark. “Stowed away on the bottom of the feed delivery truck. I’ve shored up that security hole. We’ll be doing more thorough inspections on all vehicles that enter the property.”

  “Good.” The hitter who’d made it onto Douglas’s property wouldn’t be a problem to anyone anymore. Axel didn’t know where they’d taken the body and he didn’t care. He only cared that Hadley was safe. She hadn’t asked any more questions about what had happened to the guy and he figured she might not ever ask. She might not want to know the truth.

  “How’s my daughter doing with everything?” Douglas asked.

  “She’s handling it. I think it’ll be difficult for her at first. She’s always lived by a set of rules, and this past week…” He lifted a shoulder as his gaze strayed back to her. “She’s resilient.”

  “At least we know the threat is finally over,” Brooks said.

  “You’re sure?” Because he’d thought only three men had been hired. Not four.

  “Yeah. Gage followed Fuller’s communication and money trails and it looks as if he was only in contact with this last guy once he lost communication with the first three men he hired. And now that Fuller’s dead…” Brooks shrugged.

  Axel frowned. “You’re sure?”

  Brooks pulled his phone out of his pocket, typed in his code and handed it over. Axel read the headline for the Miami Herald article. Deceased Magnate’s Son Dies of Apparent Overdose. He scanned the article before handing it back to the cowboy.

  “I’m surprised he wasn’t found shot or tortured to death.” The loan shark he’d owed money to was purportedly vicious.

  “Apparently Dixon is being watched by the police, and with Fuller’s loose relationship to him, maybe he didn’t want the extra heat so he faked the overdose. Or maybe Fuller really did overdose.”

  Doubtful, considering the guy had been dropped off to Dixon. But Axel didn’t care how the guy had died. Just that he was no longer an issue to the woman he loved. “I’ve started looking at places in Redemption Harbor,” he said abruptly. “I’ll make sure the place I buy has proper security and that Hadley is taken care of. So you better deal with it.” He looked at Brooks as he said the last part because Douglas actually seemed all right with him.

  Brooks simply returned the hard stare before holding out his hand. “Welcome to the family.”

  Blinking once, he took the other man’s hand and pumped once.

  Surprising him even more, Brooks continued. “Since you’re going to need a new job, how do you feel about working with our team?”

  He blinked again. “I like the sound of that.”

  “Good. We’ll talk more later. Go see Hadley.”

  Brooks didn’t need to tell him twice. It had taken all Axel’s willpower to be separated from Hadley for the last ten minutes, and only because she was within his line of sight. After seeing her with a weapon to her head like that… Hell, he wasn’t sure he’d get over that anytime soon. Or ever.

  She looked over at him as he approached and the smile she gave him was blinding. He really wasn’t certain what he’d done to deserve her, but he was never, ever letting her go.

  Epilogue

  —Be the person your dog thinks you are.—

  Five months later

  Hadley smiled at the sound of little puppy paws running across the wood floor as she stepped into the house she now lived in with Axel. They were in a gated community and Axel had gone a teeny bit overboard with the security. Not that she blamed him, and after what she’d been through, she was more than okay with some extra security measures.

  It sure helped her sleep easier at night. Well, that and the sexy, capable man who warmed her bed on the nights he was in town helped too.

  As she hung her backpack on the hook in the laundry room, she grinned as Lucky scratched the door separating him and her. She threw it open and crouched down to be inundated with kisses all over her face. The German Shepherd was afraid of his own shadow and acted as if he hadn’t seen her for eight years when in reality it had been a mere two hours.

  Seriously, this was the best way to be greeted every day. By the time she was done with cuddle and kiss time, she was ready for a glass of wine and food. Her class this afternoon had been good, but long. And she had a bunch of homework to start on tonight too. And before all that she needed to take Lucky out for a walk.

  As she stepped fully into the kitchen she froze to see Axel standing next to the island, a grin on his face. She launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck as she tackled him. “I didn’t think you’d be home until tomorrow!”

  He caught her to him, hugged her hard. “Job ended early… I wanted to see how long you were going to cuddle with Lucky. I swear he gets more love than me,” Axel mock grumbled as Lucky sat next to the two of them, whining.

  “You’re so full of it,” she murmured, brushing her lips over his. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too.” He kissed her again, harder this time, only pulling back when Lucky nudged his entire body between the two of them.

  Laughing, she crouched down and rubbed his ears. “I don’t know if he’s jealous of you or me.”

  Axel just snorted and went for the treat container. “I’m pretty certain he’s jealous of me—because you’re his favorite.”

  She shrugged as Axel pulled out a bone for Lucky to gnaw on. “He does have good taste.”

  “How was school today?”

  “Good. Long, but good.” It had taken Axel a while to be okay with her going to school after the whole kidnapping contract. But she couldn’t live her life in a bubble, something they both knew. At least she was more aware of her surroundings now and always carried pepper spray—and Skye had been teaching her self-defense. Or more accurately, ways to completely incapacitate people so that they were writhing puddles of pain.

  “I was thinking of ordering takeout. Will you grab the menu for me?” he asked as he pulled a bottle of her favorite champagne from the fridge.

  Ooh, champagne sounded like heaven. She pulled out the menu from their favorite restaurant and when she turned to face him—found him down on one knee with Lucky posed next to him, his tail wagging wildly. A little box was in Lucky’s mouth. Axel gently took it from him and opened it up, his hands actually trembling as he did.

  “Will you marry me?”

  Throat tight with too many emotions, she nodded as he slipped the ring on her finger.

  “I’m going to need an audible answer.” His tone was oh so serious.

&n
bsp; “Yes,” she rasped out. “Yes, yes, yes! And I don’t want to do a long engagement.”

  Grinning, he stood and pulled her into his arms, kissing her so thoroughly that pleasure curled out to all her nerve endings. Finally he pulled back. “I love you, Hadley. I knew my life changed the moment I met you, I just had no idea how much.”

  She felt exactly the same. Her entire world had shifted on its axis the moment Axel O’Sullivan had walked into her life.

  Her life had never been so full. She had a huge, often overprotective family—blood-related and otherwise—and now she was going to marry the man who’d brought so much color into her world. Even a year ago she couldn’t have imagined this would be her life. Now, she couldn’t imagine it any other way.

  Dear Readers,

  Thank you for reading Innocent Target. I hope you enjoyed it! If you’d like to stay in touch with me and be the first to learn about new releases you can:

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  Happy reading,

  Katie

  Acknowledgments

  It’s time to thank my usual crew! Kari Walker, thank you a thousand times over for all that you do! Sarah, thank you for all the behind the scenes stuff you do so I can write. I’m also grateful to Julia for her wonderful editing and to Jaycee for another gorgeous cover. For my readers, you all are the best! Thank you again for embracing this series. As always, I’m incredibly thankful I have such a supportive family. Last, but not least, I’m thankful to God for everything.