In the Shadow of Vengeance (19 page)

Noah stood and took aim. “On two.”

The brothers fired in unison at the back wheels and the truck slowed to a stop, staying in the center of the lane. Noah set out in a hard run. The man exited the truck and aimed his gun. For the first time in months, Noah didn't doubt his brother's support. A blast from behind sounded and the man jerked back into the truck's door and dropped to the ground.

Noah yanked opened the passenger door. Elizabeth was sprawled unconscious on the seat. Placing two fingers at her neck, he waited for a pulse. Two strong beats pounced against his fingertips. “Thank God,” he said, lifting her into his arms.

“She's out cold, but has a strong pulse,” he said to Adam.

“Let's get her back to the cabin.”

Adam helped Noah cradle Elizabeth on the ski. Taking the ride back at a much slower pace, they made it to the dock without incidence. Derek stood as stiff as a ramrod on the last plank, applying pressure to his shoulder wound with one hand and holding his cell phone to his ear with the other. “How is she?”

“Drugged but safe.”

“And the man who took her?”

“Dead.”

Noah headed toward the cabin, leaving Adam to escort Derek. His breath grew labored at the top of the deck, not from carrying Elizabeth, but from the reality of what had just happened.

Adam controlled his property but not the lake. Noah should have never allowed her to go down there by herself. His mind had been on trying to deal with losing her when he should have been focusing only on protecting her.

He entered the cabin and took the stairs to his room. Setting her gently on the bed, he hurried into the bathroom. Returning, he pressed a lukewarm hand towel to her temples. “Come on, open those beautiful eyes,” he pleaded while gently patting her cheek.

Calista and the kids had to be in the safe room waiting for Adam's okay to come out. Noah didn't want the kids to see their mother like this. They were frightened enough.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Shit, too late.
He rose and approached the doorway as Danny and Erin barreled into the room. They came to a dead stop.

“What's wrong with her?” Danny hurried to the bed.

“She's been drugged.”

Erin took two steps into the room. “What do we do? How do we wake her up?”

“Whoever tried to kidnap your mom didn't want to hurt her but keep her from fighting him. The drug in her system will wear off.”

“When?” Danny asked, his eyes clouding with tears. He glanced at his sister. “We should have gone with her.”

Noah cleared his throat. “This isn't your fault, Danny.”

The teen shook his head. “Yeah, it is. They are going to keep coming after her until I stop them.” He shot an angry glare at Noah. “That's what the man said, remember?” He searched the doorway. “Where is Derek?”

And of course, the marshal picked that moment to enter the room with Adam behind him. Noah forced his hand out of a fist. The kids didn't need to see him pound the ass into the carpet. He should have protected Elizabeth.

Erin let out a loud gasp and raced into his arms. “You're bleeding. God, he shot you?”

Derek unclasped a button of his shirt. “I was wearing my vest. The bullet nicked my shoulder.” He lifted her chin. “I'm fine, Erin.” He hugged her to his uninjured side and said to Noah, “We need to talk.”

“You think?” Noah replied through clenched teeth.

Danny came off the bed, his shoulders stiff and expression hard. “No more secrets, Derek. Erin and I have a right to know what's happening to us.”

The marshal's expression softened. “You're right. You and Erin are part of this now.”

When he turned back to Noah, the softness was gone.

“I briefed my boss about what went down. We'll be ready to move in about two hours. You gave me the impression this place was safe and off the books. Someone knows about it and wasted no time getting to Elizabeth.”

Noah swallowed his anger. “Your point, Marshal Ramon?”

“We have a leak that needs to be plugged.”

“Maybe on your side. The people who know this place exists are my family, and your leak didn't come from a McNeil.”

“I need some assurances the Merlots are safe, or I've been ordered to move now,” he said, staring at Elizabeth.

“You're not taking her like this.”

Adam stepped between them. “I took Erin's and Danny's cell phones at the hotel and checked them for bugs. Noah's right. Your leak is coming from your end.”

“No, that's impossible.”

“You need to plug it before you make a move. The lake was an unfortunate oversight, and I take responsibility. But you can be damn sure no uninvited guest will make it onto my property or into this cabin,” Adam said.

A thought erupted in Noah's head, and before he could talk himself out of it, he blared it out loud. “While you are changing your plans, make room for one more person.”

“Who?” Derek and Adam demanded simultaneously.

“I'm going with them.”

“Like hell you are,” Adam roared, the sound vibrating off the walls.

Noah never considered himself a jump-headfirst-over-the-cliff type of guy. There was a force pulling them together, something he didn't understand or even want, but he couldn't ignore it either.

Danny charged into Noah, almost knocking him on his ass. Noah's hand rested on the teen's trembling shoulders. If he doubted his decision, the kid's reaction solidified it. “If Elizabeth agrees, I'm going into the program with them.”

Derek let out a hard laugh. “She'll never go for it, and we don't allow non-family members to tag along, detective.”

“Then I'll fix that,” he said, retrieving his phone from his pocket and hitting speed dial.

Jared picked up on the first ring. “Hey, what's going on? Got a frantic call from Jason …”

“We're fine. We got Elizabeth back. Jared, we need to find someone else to ID Mendoza's body. I can't make the trip after all. I need you to find Father Anthony and get him here fast.”

“Why?”

“I'm getting married.”

Noah's mumbled words sent a sharp pain into Elizabeth's heart.
I'm getting married.
After the night they had spent together, how could the damn man even think of marrying another woman?

She opened her mouth to tell him what she thought of him, but nothing came out. Her mouth felt as if it were stuffed with a wad of cotton balls. In fact, her whole body had that stuffed feeling. Her limbs were pinned to heavy weights, and when she tried to shake her head and open her eyelids, they wouldn't move an inch.

Danny's shout pierced through the jumbled muck in her head and everything rushed back: the man on the Jet Ski and Derek's chest covered in blood. Fear shot through her as she struggled to wake.

“Mom!”

Danny's panicked cry roared in her head, but she couldn't answer him. The weight on the bed shifted and someone placed a hand under her head.

“Elizabeth, take a little sip.”

Noah. The rat bastard.
If her arms weren't glued to her side, she would strike him in his cheating, dishonest head.

“Don't fight it. It's just water.”

Opening her mouth, she scraped her tongue off the roof and took in the cool drink.

“Try that again,” he ordered.

She opened her mouth a second time. The cool liquid felt wonderful rolling down her parched throat. By some miracle, it cleared her mind and her eyelids popped open.

“Danny, Erin, give her a chance to wake up,” Noah said, moving out of view.

She turned her head and met her children's tear-filled eyes. When she reached out a still-heavy hand to them, they each jumped on the bed and hugged a side.

“Hey, I'm okay,” she whispered, her voice sounding raspy and hoarse.

“Derek was shot and you were kidnapped again. That's not okay, Mom,” Danny howled, holding her hand in a vise grip.

She tried to sit up, but with 200 pounds latched onto her chest, that was impossible.

“Guys, let your mom get comfortable.”

Noah reached under her arms and scooted her back against the headboard. He grabbed two pillows and positioned them behind her. He was so close, his herbal scent washed over her, and for the moment, his blue eyes eased away the fear clutching her chest.

Somehow, she was safe, and she owed it all to Noah. With the fear gone, anger quickly seeped into every pore. “Thanks for coming after me. Now get your hands off me, you stinking, no-good rat bastard.”

Danny let out a loud gasp. “Mom, he just saved your life.”

“And I thanked him. But that doesn't excuse what he has done.”

Noah physically lifted Danny to his feet and took his spot on the bed, placing both palms on the pillows next to her head. “What the hell did I do this time?”

“You know. And I will not discuss it with my kids present. You should have at least an ounce of decency in that thick head to understand.”

Instead of anger, a sparkle of laughter edged into his expression. “Sorry, I just promised them I wouldn't keep anything from them since this affects them, too.”

“You have no right to tell my kids a damn—”

His lips landed on hers for a hard, demanding kiss. She twisted her head and broke their connection.

“Elizabeth, why am I a rat bastard?”

Her eyes began to sting so she shut them. She would not shed one tear for the damn man. Sucking in a breath, she lowered her voice to a whisper, “Last night meant something to me, you jerk.”

“And me, too. Stop calling me names. It's pissing me off.”

“Like I give a damn—”

Noah's mouth stole another mind-blowing kiss. This kiss sent a jolt into her stomach as heat rose into her cheeks. Again she yanked her mouth free. “Stop doing that,” she blared out.

“As it turns out, I don't like hearing you cuss. If you want me to stop kissing you, then stop cussing and tell me what the hell I did wrong.”

“Okay, you jerkball, how can you be with me and marry someone else? That is the lowest, most despicable thing—”

“He thinks he's marrying you,” Derek said, holding back a laugh.

“Me?”

The pieces began to fall into place. Fear swirled into the mixture of anger and hurt, sending her emotions into a tailspin. “No, that's not happening.”

“Now, Elizabeth—”

She shut Noah's response off with a hard shove at his chest. He moved enough for her to jump out of bed. The instant her feet hit the floor, the world began to spin in tight little circles and nausea roiled in her gut.

“I'm going to be sick,” she said, and stumbled into the bathroom. She slammed the door, turned the lock, and held her head over the toilet. She could only dry heave.

She grabbed tissues from the box on the shelf and wiped her lips. She moved to the sink and splashed several handfuls of cool water over her face before rinsing out her mouth.

A fist pounded on the door. “Let me in,” Noah demanded, turning the knob.

She leaned her body against the door. “Leave me alone.” Covering her face with both hands, she sunk to the floor.

The damn, stupid, bigheaded man was insane if he thought for even an instant she would consider taking him into this hell. Tears spilled over her cheeks. When the sob broke, she slammed her hand over her mouth.

She had been alone for so long. Trapped, always looking over her shoulder, never feeling safe. Every morning, she found the courage to make it through one more frightening day. Derek was there if she ever needed him, but he had his own life and several other witnesses he protected. To have someone like Noah to lean on, to help carry the burden, was something she never allowed herself to want.

She rested her head on the cool tile. All she had to do was say yes. On the surface, it sounded so easy, but like everything else, the cost was too high.

“You are real hard on a man's ego, sweetheart,” Noah said quietly. “Open the door so we can talk.”

“No.” She reached for more tissues and pressed them over her eyes. A click sounded and the door opened into her. “Damn you, Noah McNeil. Get out.”

He squeezed inside and shut the door, turning the lock. Dropping down to the floor, he crossed his legs and met her glare with one of his own.

“Another thing I don't care for is your always saying no to me. You are too important to me to allow you to leave on your own. I can help Derek keep you and the kids safe.”

He cupped her face and lowered his mouth, his lips tender, soft. Something dark, electric erupted in her, and she took control, dragging herself over his lap until she saddled him. Her time with this maddening, sexy, marvelous man was coming to an end. She was going to take this one moment and live.

Ending the kiss, she slid her lips over the stubble at his jaw as she arched into him. She loved the taste and feel of Noah McNeil. Without a doubt, he was ruining her for any other man, but that was okay. There weren't going to be other men.

“Does this mean yes?”

She eased back and met his stare, shaking her head. “This means good-bye, Noah. I'll never drag you—”

He took her mouth and the game changed, his hand cupping her bottom and yanking her into him. Hot jolts of need sliced into her core as her nipples hardened. She couldn't catch a breath, think, reason. When his other hand tore at her thin T-shirt, she almost begged to feel skin against skin. Noah wanted to brand her to him so she couldn't exist without him. It would be so simple to give in, to allow him to win this battle.

But death and horrific violence built the shields surrounding her heart, and not even Noah McNeil could penetrate them. Derek's partner's bullet-ridden body trumped everything. If anything happened to Noah, there wouldn't be anything left of her worthy of saving.

A loud fist hit the door several times. “You have three seconds to open this fucking door, Noah, or I'll break the damn thing down.”