Cold Heat (Seasons of the Heart #1) (14 page)

Taking a deep breath to steady both hers and Jenny’s nerves, Kaylie found Rafe’s number and hit
send
just as more windows exploded across the room, screams erupting from her throat. “Come on guys, answer the phone,”
she whispered into the mouthpiece, unsure of what was coming next.

Brian was watching all of this from the shadows of the tree line as he lowered his smoking weapon, not with cool detachment, but with an evil eagerness to get his hands on Kaylie again. He’d had the deputy watching his wife for the past few days and he knew the time to strike was now that the man she had been staying with had left, and Kaylie was alone in the house. He signaled the men to stay back as he raised the heavy gun in his hand and fired once again into the house, disturbing her peaceful nest of happiness. He let out a bark of laughter when she dropped after the initial shot was fired into the house, destroying the windows. Like an animal scenting its kill, he set off across the yard to get his wife.

Drake was in Rafe’s kitchen playing poker with his friends, giving Kaylie a couple of hours to herself after she all but shoved him out of the house. He’d been keeping his eye on the weather through the window, knowing that if the snow started coming down any heavier he would need to head back to her. He understood that she needed some time without his hovering over her, but damn it, he hated leaving her there. Drake still had Rafe’s phone in his pocket when it started ringing, pulling it out he saw that it was his number calling him, he cut his eyes to the other men, a worried look creasing his brow when he answered, “Kaylie?”
He pulled the phone away from his ear when he heard gunshots and Jenny’s growling over the phone line, but not Kaylie on the other end. “Goddamn it!”
he bellowed as he knocked his chair over in his hurry to get out. He kept the phone line open so he could hopefully hear what was happening in his house as all four men began moving.

While listening to the sounds coming out of the phone, the three other men ran to get their weapons, as Drake flew out to his truck. The other three men came out of the house at a dead run, jumping into the truck before Drake sent snow and gravel flying in his haste. Drake handed the phone over to Cal to hold, the phone on speaker, as they sped through the night, windshield wipers working to knock the wet flakes out of his sight.

“Drake,”
Rafe began, “you need to get your head right about this man. We can't just go in there balls blazing. If we do, the odds will be against us. Think about it, man, we need to go in with a plan of some sort. Zach, call 911 and let them know there’s a break in at Drakes, possible hostage, female, dark hair, and that we are headed in loaded.”

Brian stepped into the house, his boots crunching on the broken glass that was scattered over the cabin’s floor. Snow began swirling in through the broken windows behind him, landing in stark relief of white against the black of his coat and pants. His eyes were scanning the interior of the cabin, his lips curled in disgust at the simplicity that was spread in front of him. “Knock, knock, honey. Did you miss me, bitch?”
His menacing tone chilled the air in the cabin further. “What have we got here? A little love nest for the unfaithful.
How fucking pathetic.”

Kaylie was still hiding on the floor with the phone in her hand when she heard his heavy footsteps. She looked at the phone hoping that Drake would know what was happening in the house, as she slid it under the mat in the floor. She sucked in a deep breath, old fears crashing down on her at the sound of his voice. Her mind began replaying memory after memory of the times when Brian had snapped. Her body began to tremble as tears started clouding her vision, her breathing turning shallow and ragged. She could feel the anger radiating off of him as he neared her. She tightened her grip on Jenny’s collar, not really sure when she had grabbed hold of it.

The hairs on her arm and the back of her neck were standing up on end when she saw his shadow looming over her. Screaming when he reached down and grabbed the hair on her head, and hauled her to her feet, the pleas coming automatically. Her hand was pulled loose from the collar, and Jenny leapt at Brian to attack, but before she could connect, he swung out a booted foot and kicked her in the sides, a pained yelp coming from the dog before she collapsed. “Jenny! No, you bastard!”

Letting go of her hair, he spun her around to face him. “Did you really think it would be that easy to get away from me? You really are stupid, aren’t you? I told you long ago that you were mine, and what do I find when I get out of fucking jail?”
Brian flung her back into the counter behind her, smiling at the gasp of pain when her back hit the edge of the granite. “I find out that you’ve left. You left your rings in the safe, Kaylie, on top of the cash that was in there. You left your rings and took some of my money, for what? To come up here to this shit hole and open your legs for the man you’ve been staying with?”
He reached up and backhander her across her cheek, laughing at her cry of pain. “How long have you been fucking him, Kaylie?”

The four men in the truck were listening to this on the speaker of Rafe’s phone. Cal, Zach, and Rafe had been checking the guns and ammo while they listened in silence, making certain that they would each have enough ammo going in. When he heard the loud sound of flesh on flesh through the phone, Drakes grip on the steering wheel tightened, his foot pressing the accelerator further into the floorboard, urging the truck to faster and faster speeds.

“We need to stop here, Drake. If we get any closer, they will be sure to hear us coming. We can come in through the woods from here, using the snow in our favor. Cal can get up in a tree and cover us. If we’re going to save her, we need to go in on foot.”

Drake, knowing the man was right, pulled the truck over and killed the engine. He reached across the front of the truck as his friends got out, opening the glove box and getting out his handgun and his knife. Climbing out of the truck he looked at his friends as they once more checked their weapons in silence, while he attached the sheathed blade to his belt. Knowing that no further words between them were necessary, he held out his hand, accepting the M16 and extra magazines from Cal. The men began moving through the silence, communicating primarily with hand signals. Drake was in front at point with Rafe and Zach behind him, Cal taking his position in the back. When the men were within fifty yards of the cabin, Cal broke off to their right, his rifle across his back.

Chapter 22

Kaylie’s back and cheek hurt. She could see in Brian’s eyes that this was barely the beginning of what was to come. No matter what she did or said, there was going to be no way out of this. She closed her eyes and brought Drakes image to mind, hoping to draw the strength she’d need to survive.

“I asked you a question,
wife,”
he sneered the last word as he grabbed her hair again, pulling her head back, forcing her to look at him. “How long have you been fucking him?”
Brian began dragging her through the house, her hands were grabbing onto his, hoping to pull herself loose, or ease the pain, she didn't care which. Her feet, covered in nothing but heavy socks, catching on the glass from the shattered windows leaving smears of blood in their path.

“Brian, stop, please!”
Kaylie pleaded with him, tears streaming down her face. “I was never with anyone else, I swear it!”

Brian stopped short, yanking her up with the grip he had on her hair, pulling her body up close to his and bringing his lips to her ear he whispered, “Stop fucking lying to me.”
Feeling her body shaking, he reached his other hand between them, up under her jaw, squeezing and cutting off her air supply.

Kaylie tried fighting him, clawing at his hand in her desperate attempt to breathe. She was losing the battle, black spots creeping into her vision as her body responded to its loss of oxygen. In one last desperate attempt for salvation and using her last surge of adrenaline she brought her knee up to his groin, drawing in a deep breath when he released her. She turned, trying to escape him.

Drake, Rafe and Zach came across the path of a series of footprints in the snow. They followed the trail, coming up on the first two men standing in the shadow of the trees watching what was going on in the house. Rafe and Drake slipped in behind the two men, each one reaching up and quickly snapping their necks before dropping the men in the snow and moving forward.

Drake could see Kaylie’s struggle in the house and could hear the sounds of her pleading with him to release her. He watched, helpless, as Brian began squeezing her throat. He had to focus on getting past any men that stood between him and Kaylie if there was any chance of saving her. All Drake could hope for right now was that they would be able to get to her in time.

Brian roared in pain, his hold on Kaylie slipping when she kneed him. He saw her turn to run, but he was able to take advantage of her weakened state and grab hold of her arm once again. “You bitch!”
He spun her to face him, to see the hatred on his face before he backhanded her across her face again.

Kaylie was stunned, losing focus of Brian when the back of his hand connected with her cheek and eye; she could already feel the swelling on the side of her face. She hoped that Drake knew what was happening in his house, but she knew that he would never make it there in time to help her. The only way she would ever be able to see Drake again was if she fought Brian with everything she had; God she really wanted to be able to see him again. She had so much to tell him. Why was it now that she could see things so clearly about her life? “You really want to know why?”
she asked him, focusing not on the man in front of her, but on the man who had claimed her heart. “He’s more of a man than you could ever be,”
she hissed, gathering her courage, knowing she had very little to lose now, she spat in his face.

Drake couldn't keep his eyes off of Kaylie as the other two men with him continued forward, silently eliminating the men who stood between them and her. All three men stopped what they were doing when they heard Brian’s roar, grinning when they realized what she had done.
Atta girl,
Drake thought,
fight for your life.

Brian wiped her spit off his face with his free hand before reaching behind his back and withdrawing the pistol he had stuck there earlier that evening. “That was a very. Big. Mistake.”
He ground out between his clinched teeth as he brought the gun up between them.

Kaylie’s eyes went huge in her head when she saw the metallic black barrel of the pistol he pulled out of his waist. It couldn’t end this way, not in Drakes house, not for him to find her here. She looked into Brian’s eyes, a chill crawling across her skin as she saw certain death staring back at her. She knew what she had to do if she wanted to live so she brought her own hands up and began fighting Brian for the gun.

Drake could swear his heart stopped beating when he saw Brian pull the gun out and bring it up between his and Kaylie’s bodies. His reflexes took control, running across the remaining distance, hollering her name when he saw her start to fight Brian for the gun. He knew that the other three men would have his back as he ran. He pulled his own pistol free from his waist, raising it up, ready to fire if he could get a clear shot, but Kaylie was in the way.

Brian couldn’t believe what had come over Kaylie as she continued fighting back. He knew that he would have her complete submission when he pulled out the gun, expecting nothing from her at that point except for her to give in and go with him. She kept shocking and surprising him with every turn, this one being no exception.

Kaylie was fighting Brian with everything she had. She had just started to live again, and she knew that she had discovered what real love was, and she was not ready to give it all up yet. She felt like she had been fighting with Brian for the gun for hours, but she knew it had only been a few seconds when she felt Brian’s fingers start to slide in for the trigger.

Brian’s look turned triumphant when he was able to get his finger around Kaylie’s to the trigger, he knew he had won. It was too bad she would have to die first, instead of watching her bastard lover die, but he could kill the man, after letting him watch as Kaylie died. The smile on his face was lethal as his finger began tightening around the trigger.

Rafe and Zach were running across the field behind Drake, bodies of men scattered in the woods behind them, discarded in their rush to catch up to Drake and get to Kaylie. Both men watching the scene playing out in front of them, shocked as they watched Kaylie fighting the larger man for the gun. Both men hoping Cal was in position and could take the shot before the worst could happen.

The adrenaline rush that had propelled her this far was fading, and Kaylie knew Brian had won. Tears were running down her face from the pain that she was feeling both across her body and in her heart. She knew Drake was out there, she could feel him, hear him, but her fight was gone. She looked out over her shoulder and saw him, the man who had healed her heart, the man she realized she loved, running towards her and Brian. Looking back at Brian she knew exactly what he would do when he killed her, and she couldn’t stand for that happen. She put her finger over Brian’s on the trigger and pulled.