by Devney Perry
The socks I’d put on her were on the floor, the sweatshirt gone. When I stripped off her shirt and bra, she pulled her arms in tight. Her skin wasn’t its normal smooth, creamy color. It was dotted with purple and covered in tight, angry goose bumps.
“Can you stand?” When she nodded, I picked her up and set her gently on her feet. Then I went to work on her jeans, unzipping them and pulling them down her legs, taking her panties along with them.
She stood there naked and shivering while I stepped back and whipped off my own clothes.
Bryce pressed a hand to my bare chest as I undid my jeans. “You’re cold too.”
Was I? I didn’t feel cold. From the moment that picture had hit my phone, fear had made me numb.
“Slowly.” I took her hand, helping her into the shower and under the spray. She winced when the water hit her skin. It felt room temperature to me, not even warm enough to create steam. “Too hot?”
“It’ll be okay.” She squeezed her eyes shut and the pain on her face nearly broke me.
“I’m sorry.” I wrapped her into my arms, pulling her into my body as the water ran over her shoulders. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” she said into my chest, giving me her weight.
We stood there, holding on to one another until she began to relax. Then I turned up the hot water, making adjustments every few minutes until we were cloaked in a box of steam and it was hard to even see her face.
Only when my fingers and toes began to loosen did I realize how cold I’d been too. The morning air had been cool on the race to the mountain, but adrenaline, my temper and worst-case scenarios had kept me from freezing. Then I’d been running. Literally. The guys and I had parked nearly a mile away from the cabin, hoping we’d be able to hide the sound of our bikes. Then we’d made a sprint for it.
I’d never run a mile faster in my life. And each time I’d checked, Emmett, Leo and Isaiah were right on pace, keeping up as we’d dodged trees and fallen limbs. Even Dad had kept up, showing that his daily workout wasn’t for nothing.
Christ, we’d gotten lucky. We’d gotten a jump on the guy, though as I’d dashed through the forest, my gun drawn, I’d been hunting for Genevieve, not a man cloaked in black.
What the hell had happened? When Bryce was warm, we’d talk. But for now, I was simply glad my heart was climbing down from my throat.
When the hot air filled my lungs, they loosened. The muscles in my arms relaxed. And as the color came back to Bryce’s face, some of my fears washed down the drain.
I kept her in the shower until we’d nearly run the hot water heater through. “Warmer?”
She nodded. “Much.”
“Good.” I tipped her head under the spray, then took some shampoo, massaging it in her hair and rinsing it out.
She’d smell like me today, but soon we’d get her stuff. I’d clear one of the built-in ledges for her. She could have all the space she wanted because she was here now.
Bryce was home.
She was my home.
When she was clean, I quickly scrubbed my hair, washing away the smell of panic and wind from the ride. Then I stepped out first, grabbing a towel to dry off.
“Give me your hand.” I extended my own, helping her onto the bathmat as she turned off the water.
“I can do it,” she said as I kneeled to towel off her legs.
“Let me.” I looked up at her from my knees. “Please.”
She ran a hand through my damp hair. “Okay.”
I closed my eyes, savoring that light touch. A few hours ago, I was sure I wouldn’t feel it ever again. My throat burned; a sting hit my chest. It was too much. Emotion. Fear. Love. How the hell did I process it all?
Clearing my throat, forcing it all down, I focused on my task, making sure every drop of water was gone from her skin. I squeezed the water from her hair until it was as dry as I could get with only a towel.
“Do you have a comb or br—Dash,” she gasped as I scooped her into my arms. “I can walk.”
“I need this, baby.”
“Okay.” She burrowed in close like she had earlier, this time not for the heat but for the touch.
I took her to my bed, ripping back the white down comforter I’d made flat yesterday morning. The morning before I’d known Bryce was pregnant. Before I’d spent the night working in the garage. Before she’d been taken.
That was on me. Forever, this whole thing was on me. And I’d spend forever making it up to her.
Settling Bryce under my sheet, I tucked us both in tight, turning her so I could press my chest against her back.
“Do you know . . . did they find Genevieve?” Her voice was scared and quiet.
“Don’t know yet, babe. Emmett will let me know, but in this case, no news is good news. Okay?”
Bryce clutched my arms as I wrapped them around her. She threaded her legs into mine. And there, when I could kiss the skin on her shoulder, I let one of my hands slide down and splay my fingers over her belly.
“Do you think it’s okay? The baby?”
Her breath hitched. “I hope so.”
“Me too.”
“Do you?” she whispered. “You said—”
“I know. I said I didn’t want to be a father. When you told me last night, I didn’t know what to say. How to react. The truth is . . . I’m fucking scared, babe.”
“So am I.”
I hugged her tighter. “You are?”
“Yeah. This wasn’t something I planned. I thought—hoped—maybe one day, when the timing was right. When I was married and settled. This was unexpected but . . . but I can’t say I don’t want to be a mother.”
Bryce would be a wonderful mother. She’d fight for her child—our child—like a warrior. She’d hold a firm hand. She’d give her love unconditionally. And I wanted her to have that chance.
I wanted to be along for the ride.
“What if—the stress of all this—” She sighed. “What if something happened?”
It was on our minds and neither of us would stop worrying. We might lie here, warm and quiet, but our minds were racing. Screaming what if.
Fuck it. I whipped off the covers, bouncing out of bed.
“What are you doing?” Bryce asked as I opened up a drawer in the walnut dresser in the bedroom.
“Let’s go to the doctor.”
“Now?”
“Now.” I took out a pair of jeans. “We gotta know.”
She was out of bed in a flash. “I don’t know if the hospital here will have the right equipment. It’s so early.”
“Then we’ll drive to Bozeman.” I crossed the room and pulled her into my arms. “Before the day is over, we’ll know.”
Rather than make her pull on the clothes she’d been wearing, I found a pair of sweats. The waistband was rolled to cinch them around her waist, the legs folded up so she wouldn’t walk on the hems. And then I pulled a T-shirt and my favorite Harley-Davidson black hoodie over her head.
“You’re beautiful.” Dressed in my clothes, her hair damp and limp, her eyes red and tired, she’d never looked better.
“I’m a wreck.”
I kissed her forehead. “Gorgeous. Ready?”
“No,” she confessed. “I don’t want bad news.”
“Me neither.” With our hands linked, I led her into the garage and to my truck.
She took one look at it and her shoulders relaxed. “Thank God. I need a break from your bike.”
I chuckled and loaded her into the passenger seat. She rolled her eyes as I buckled her seat belt but let me help her all the same. With the heat cranked up, I drove through town to the hospital. We marched right to the emergency room, and two hours later, Bryce and I were back in the truck.
I took her hand, pulling it across the console to kiss her knuckles. Then I stretched to cup her cheek, using my thumb to dry a tear falling from her beautiful eyes. “You good?”
“Yeah.” She sniffed, the tears still falling. Then she
smiled, the relief and joy hitting me square in the chest. Sweet relief. “I mean, a lot could still go wrong but—”
“It won’t.”
They’d called in the OB/GYN for us, the doctor who delivered all the babies in Clifton Forge. First, he’d ordered a blood test. Then he had wheeled in a cart, covered a wand with a condom and done an ultrasound of her womb. From everything the doctor could see, there weren’t any risks to the pregnancy at the moment. We stuck around, waiting for the blood test. When he confirmed hormone levels were where they needed to be and they’d picked up a heartbeat on the ultrasound, we were sent home.
And yeah, shit could still go wrong. But I wasn’t going to think like that.
“I need to call my parents. I’m sure my dad is worried since I didn’t show up for Sunday delivery.”
“Want to just go to their house?”
“Not like this. I’m a mess and they’ll worry. Can I borrow your phone?”
“Sure, babe.” I handed it over and let her call as we sat in the parking lot. She assured them she was fine and that she’d explain everything later. When the call ended, I pulled away from the hospital, driving to my house again.
“Should we go to the garage?” she asked. “I want to make sure Genevieve is okay.”
“Dad will come to my place. Let’s start there.”
“Okay.” She was so tired, her eyes drooped as we drove. But when we arrived home and there were three bikes in the driveway, she sat up straight.
I pulled into the garage and helped her inside where Dad, Leo and Emmett were already waiting in my living room. Leading Bryce to a couch, I sat down and put her right at my side.
“Did you get him?” Bryce asked before anyone else could speak.
Dad’s jaw clenched as he shook his head.
“Fucking bastard,” Leo hissed from the leather chair across from us. “We were close. Followed his trail right up past the cabin, but then he just disappeared. He had to know that area.”
“Goddamn it,” I growled as Bryce tensed. The last thing we needed was this guy still breathing. If he came after Bryce again, he wouldn’t find her alone.
“We split up and searched the area,” Emmett said. “Then hightailed it back to the road in case he got around us but then had to leave.”
“Why?”
“Fire.” Dad shook his head. “Fucker must have torched the cabin to cover his tracks. We saw smoke billowing up from the trees, knew we had to report it. We called it in to the forest service, then got the hell out of there before the authorities showed up.”
“And Genevieve?” Bryce asked. “Where is she?”
“We don’t know.” Dad shook his head. “When we got back to our bikes, Isaiah’s was already gone. Figured we’d find him at the garage but it’s empty. Tried calling him but he’s not answering.”
“What if the guy got her?” Bryce clutched my hand. “We have to find her.”
“Isaiah wouldn’t leave the mountain if he didn’t have her with him. He ran right after her.”
Except they should have been here already. With the time it had taken me to get Bryce home and shower, then for us to go to the doctor, Isaiah should have had Genevieve back in town by now.
I shot Dad a look, silently conveying my worry. With one nod, I knew he felt the same. But I didn’t want to worry Bryce even more.
“He probably took her someplace to get warm,” I assured her. “We’ll give them thirty minutes to call back. Then we’ll go looking.”
“Okay.” She nodded.
“All right. Since we’ve got thirty minutes”—Dad faced Bryce—“what happened?”
“I went to my parents’ house for dinner last night. It was almost dark when I got home. I was tired and didn’t bother turning on the lights because . . . I was tired. I just wanted to go to bed.” She sucked in a ragged breath. “Then he was there. I tried to fight him off but he was too strong. He taped my hands and ankles together, gagged me so tight I could barely swallow. Then he hauled me out the back door to the alley. No one would have seen us out there, not in my neighborhood. Everyone’s asleep after seven. He stuffed me in the back of a car. In the trunk.”
My stomach pitched. She’d been in a trunk? This fucker was dead. He’d put my woman in a trunk. If I had just been there, if I hadn’t left after she’d told me she was pregnant, none of this would have happened.
“It’s not your fault,” she whispered, lacing her fingers with mine as she read my thoughts.
“Should have been there.”
“He would have found another way. This was planned. He wanted you to think Genevieve had taken me so you’d go after her.”
“Why?” Emmett asked. “Did he say why?”
Bryce shook her head. “Just that he wanted to win an old war.”
“The Warriors,” Leo bit out. “Tucker lied to us.”
“You’re right,” I said. “It has to be the Warriors, but Tucker isn’t the kind of man who would hide his intentions. If he had a beef with us, he’d own it. Hell, he’d brag about fucking us over. So why hide behind a ruse? Why try to frame Genevieve? How did he even know about her?”
“My gut says it’s not the Warriors.” Dad stood, moving to stand in front of the fireplace. “That Tucker’s been telling the truth from the beginning. This is someone else. Someone knows I went to meet with Amina that night. He knows she—we—had a daughter and went after Genevieve too. Bottom line, this is all about me. Making me pay.”
“Who?” Emmett asked. “We’ve been trying to come up with a target for a damn month and we’re no closer now than we were the day you got arrested.”
“What else happened?” I asked Bryce. “After he loaded you into the trunk, what else happened?”
“We drove,” she said. “For a long time. Then he parked and got out. It was a while later that he came back with Genevieve.”
“Bozeman. Bet he took you to Bozeman to grab Genevieve after her flight got in. Probably took her from the hotel. Which meant he had to know she was coming. Do you know who else she told about coming here?”
Bryce shook her head. “As far as I know, it was just me. But if he was watching—I don’t know, can you hack someone’s credit card transactions?”
“Yeah,” Emmett told her. “It doesn’t take much.”
“That makes me feel safe,” she muttered.
I’d wait until a different day to tell her Emmett had broken into her accounts the day after she’d shown up at the garage.
“Let’s find out what hotel Genevieve was at. Maybe they have video footage of him taking her.” Though I wouldn’t hold my breath. This guy was smart. He’d taken precautions. Even in the mountains, he’d been covered head to toe. “Did he show his face?”
“No.” Bryce’s shoulders fell. “Not once.”
“Then he took you up to the mountains, right?” Dad asked.
“Yep. He made us pose for the picture. He said he wanted you guys to find me dead because then you’d kill Genevieve. He had me on my knees. The gun . . .” She swallowed hard. “The gun was to my head. I really thought that was it. Thank God, it wasn’t. I guess you got there faster than he’d expected.”
“Did he . . .” I swallowed hard. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” She gave me a sad smile. “He pushed me and Genevieve around, but nothing more.”
Other than trying to kill her.
He’d die for that. Except we’d missed our shot. “Fuck, I wish I hadn’t missed.”
When was the last time I’d missed a target? Years. But I hadn’t shot a gun in a year either. I needed to fit in time at the range. I’d been so close with my shot, but after sprinting up the mountain, my heart had been racing. Then to see the guy holding Genevieve, I’d made a split-second decision to shoot at him instead of Genevieve.
“I’m just glad you didn’t shoot Genevieve,” Bryce said. “Where are they? Can you call them again?”
Dad took out his phone and made the call. He didn’t leave the room as
he pressed it to his ear. The rings were loud enough for us to hear until they ended and he dropped the phone. “No answer.”
Shit. Something had gone wrong. Maybe this guy had caught up to Isaiah? I didn’t want to drag Bryce along to go find them, but it might come to that. I wasn’t leaving her alone or in anyone else’s care.
“After he got Genevieve, did you go anywhere else?” Emmett asked her.
“No, we drove right to the mountain. He made us walk to the spot where you found us.”
“Any trace of a car up there?” I asked Leo.
“None. Wherever he parked, it was far. Probably a trail we don’t know about.”
“Did you get a look at the car? Maybe a license plate?”
Bryce shook her head. “He took us out, faced us away, and I didn’t even think to look at the plates. The car was nothing special. It was a typical black sedan. Sorry.”
“It’s okay, babe.” I put my arm around her shoulders. “You did good.”
She’d lived. That was all she’d had to do. She’d fought. And when it was time, she’d run.
“He seemed so determined. Angry. This is . . . personal. It has to be someone you know,” she told us. “I could feel it, when we were up there. He hates you.”
Dad’s eyes met mine. Who?
We’d been asking that question for a month.
“If we haven’t figured it out by now, we’re not going to today.” I stood from the couch, pulling Bryce to her feet. “We need to find Isaiah. Let’s check the garage first.”
“Wait.” She tugged on my hand. “Don’t you think we should go to the cops and tell them about the kidnapping?”
I looked to Emmett and Leo, both shaking their heads. I sighed, turning to Bryce. “Babe, I know you trust Marcus. But I think this would be better kept between us.”
“Why? We’re trying to prove that Draven is innocent here. To show reasonable doubt that someone is out to frame him. If me being kidnapped makes them investigate, then shouldn’t we try?”
“They won’t find anything. If we didn’t, they won’t.” And if the cops were involved, I wouldn’t get the vengeance I wanted against the man who’d taken her.