Saint James, Elle - Unbridled and Unhitched [The Double Rider Men's Club 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (26 page)

This trespass would not go unpunished if he had anything to say about it. A breach of security was tantamount to a confession of terrorism to Clay’s way of thinking.

* * * *

Alexis felt the edge of the laundry chute cut into her butt. She was poised on the very brink of escape from a scary stranger with a gun. And then Brett’s annoyingly calm and sincerely concerned tone of voice carried through the door of the upstairs hallway bathroom and threatened to make her vomit. She put a hand to her mouth to quell any sudden sickness, as if she could halt the queasiness with mere fingers over her lips. She took a deep breath. That helped.

What the
fuck
was Brett Bogner doing here in Colorado? How had he possibly found her
here
of all places? She’d seen Clay’s invasive security for herself. It was unlikely anyone with commando skills could get through, let alone a pampered, prissy, milquetoast like Brett.

But that was his voice. “Alexis. Please answer me. You can’t imagine the worry you’ve put me through. I went all the way to Las Vegas to find you.”

She almost answered him. The urge to call out and tell him to back off made her mouth actually open. But she closed it again.

A nagging unease overwhelmed her all of a sudden. How
had
he found her here?

The doorjamb splintered suddenly as if he’d kicked the door down. The door started to swing open.
Crap
. Alexis took a quick breath and launched herself down the laundry chute. She heard a
ping ping
noise and thought it might be gunfire.

The journey to the basement via the laundry chute might have been fun on any other day. She heard an inhuman shriek echoing down behind her that made her skin crawl.

She knew one thing. Whatever Brett had been in the past was no longer valid. She feared him. She didn’t want to be caught by him. Her only option at this point was to run as fast and as hard as she could.

Alexis landed in the oversize, industrial-looking laundry basket with a quiet thump. She scrambled out of it, knocking on its side as she escaped the laundry room and headed out the walkout basement sliding doors.

She took the time to close them, hoping Brett wouldn’t realize she’d left the house. It was a mistake. He was faster than she expected. She was barely off the porch when she saw his angry, twisted expression framed in the sliding-door window.

Alexis turned around and ran toward the woods bordering the edge of the lawn as if her very life depended on it. Given what he’d done to Valentina, she knew he was, at the very least, unstable.

She pretended she didn’t hear the sliding doors open wide before she made it to the trail leading into the woods behind their house. Jackson and Derek had five acres of land surrounding their home. But the DRMC property went on a long ways past their personal property line.

Right up there on her top five list of things she truly hated and listed directly after hide-and-seek, was her next least favorite childhood game. Tag was yet another test of her imperfect skill set. Alexis was by no means a runner. She was always tempted to look behind her to see how close her pursuer was, and thereby slowed down and got caught. Every stinking time.

Today’s exercise in fleeing her not-so-benign stalker was no exception. As she raced through the wooded area behind her, she fought the urge to look back and see how close he was, or if he even followed behind her.

She knew if she darted into the woods and went off trail, he’d be able to hear her thrashing through the area, so she kept to the trail and hoped her sluggish running skills had improved with age.

She listened as she ran. She didn’t hear heavy breathing or any footsteps but her own. She wanted to look back so much to see if she was safe.

“Why are you running from me, Alexis?” Brett’s unnaturally odd and suddenly singsong voice carried. He was not far enough away for safety. She wouldn’t be able to outrun him. The sudden urge to look behind her overwhelmed any common sense with a tidal wave of insistence.

The quick look back confirmed her fears, slowed her pace, and also managed to make her trip over a root in the path.

She fell headlong into the opening of a fifteen-foot-wide clearing near a deer stand. Brett was on her in seconds. He merely touched her shoe and she scrambled forward on her skinned hands and knees, not caring about the stinging pain.

Alexis didn’t get very far. Brett not only caught up, he passed her and walked calmly around to where her head was. She resisted the urge to simply put her head down, close her eyes, and accept whatever fate had in store for her. She’d run out of road to run on.

The memory of this special clearing and the joyous time she’d spent here with Jackson and Derek was about to be spoiled by a man she had just realized she reviled. How dare he chase her down like a rabid dog? How dare he ruin her special memories of her time with Jackson and Derek?

Alexis lifted her head and stared up at the man who had just gone too far. She moved onto her hands and knees and pushed herself up until she was kneeling. She looked up into his face and knew without a doubt he’d gone far around the bend. He was bat-shit crazy. But Alexis decided she wasn’t going down without a fight. She glanced over his shoulder at the deer stand up in the tree and suddenly smiled. Maybe there would be justice in this situation after all.

“Why the fuck are you here, Brett? I thought running to Las Vegas, a place I loathe, by the way, would let you know that I wasn’t interested in anything you had to offer.”

His face softened. He was about to say something calm, and she refused to let him make her feel like she was the one who didn’t understand things. So she continued and cut him off when he opened his mouth and started to speak.

“Alexis—”

She cut him right off. “I guess I didn’t quite realize how slow on the uptake you are, so let me spell it out for you in smaller words. I am married to another man. I love him. I am not interested in you. I was never interested in you. Get the fuck away from me, and stay the fuck away from now on. Is that clear enough for your thick fucking mind to comprehend, or do I need to draw some elementary flash cards?”

His expression suddenly shifted from wild-eyed and enraged to wide-eyed and head twistingly crazier. His breathing increased, and he gripped the handle of the odd gun he held.

She reviewed the words she’d just said and realized that perhaps she’d gone too far.

* * * *

Jackson, with Derek beside him in the Jeep, headed home after the unsettling information they’d received regarding Virgil having escaped custody in Las Vegas the day before.

“You don’t think Virgil could have found his way here do you?” Derek asked.

“Nope.” Jackson was fairly certain Virgil had more on his plate than revenge. If he’d escaped, he was likely hiding out or looking for a way to stay out of the limelight.

“Me neither,” Derek remarked under his breath. But Jackson could tell that he was worried, and the sooner they got back to the house and held Alexis in their arms, the better they’d both feel.

They passed the service truck for the propane tank, but didn’t see the serviceman around anywhere. The guy must be in the truck.

He accelerated, drawing Derek’s attention. “Better not let Clay see you speeding.”

“I have a sudden need to get home.” He didn’t let up on the gas pedal.

“I’m with you. Step on it.” Jackson stomped the gas pedal again even harder.

They rounded the bend coming from the side of the house to the front. As they passed the side yard, Jackson saw Alexis run like demons from hell were nipping at her heels. She disappeared into the woods at the back of the house. He drove over the curb at the same time Derek said, “Did you just see that? Where is she running to?”

And then they both saw the man chasing after her with the odd gun dangling from one hand.

* * * *

When his roaming security men finally arrived, Clay pointed to the van and took off in the northerly direction the paved road led.

He hadn’t gone a mile when he came upon Jackson and Derek’s house. The scene there did nothing to allay the dread now slamming his chest repeatedly.

The front door to their house was wide open. The vehicle Jackson and Derek had used when they left from his security building was parked awkwardly on their property. It was half off the road in the yard, and half still in the street. Much like their home, the front doors of the Jeep were wide open, as if they’d bailed out of the vehicle in a real fucking hurry.

But the engine was still running. A spike of pain worked its way from his belly to his head.

Clay ran across the front lawn, took the front stairs two at a time, and practically vaulted onto their porch. He didn’t see anyone near the door, but as he got closer and looked inside the open doorway the voluminous dread returned. He saw small shoes sticking out near the open door.

Fuck
.
Was it Alexis?
Clay entered slowly, looked down expecting to see blood or something worse.

Instead, he locked gazes with Valentina. She was flat on her back, just looking at him.

“Valentina?” Clay squatted next to her. “What happened?”

She didn’t speak. She blinked twice and stared at him.
What the hell?

Clay grabbed her hand, but it was dead weight. Then he saw the small dart sticking out of her chest. Tranquillizer.
Fuck
. This guy was so dead. But he couldn’t leave Valentina alone. He reached for his phone and called for yet another ambulance. He pulled the dart out carefully. She didn’t move. Not even her head. He came into her line of sight. She blinked at him again.

“Don’t worry. I won’t leave you.”
Blink
. “I’m just going to check around the area here, okay?”
Blink
.

Keeping Valentina in sight, Clay quickly checked most of the first floor. He called out toward the upstairs, but there was no response.

He had a utility knife strapped to his belt, but what he really wanted to be holding in either hand was a gun. God help the man who had breached security and put down a woman in his wake. Clay would make him pay for what he’d done.

And then
maybe
he’d put in a call for a third ambulance today.

Chapter Seventeen

Alexis crossed her arms with a defiance she wasn’t sure would work.

Brett was practically frothing at the mouth, he looked so very angry. He backed up a step then started talking and pointing the gun at her.

“You underestimated me, Alexis.” Both of his arms went up and over his head. “Everyone in my life has always undervalued my abilities. But now you see what I’m capable of, don’t you? I’m smart. I’m worthy of your attention. We belong together. Don’t you see that?”

“You gunned down my helpless friend, Valentina, when she opened the door. I wouldn’t exactly call that brain surgery. You only had to move one finger. Big deal.”

“That shot was meant for you.”

“Really?” Alexis wanted to rail at him for missing his target. She’d gladly trade places with Valentina. Her new good friend. Alexis’s anger elevated to dangerous levels. “Then why don’t you just shoot me and get it over with. What are you going to do with me then? Bury me out in these woods.”

He tilted his head to one side as if he didn’t understand what she’d said, and continued on with his own conversation. “No. I planned to take you away from here and marry you. We belong together. I brilliantly plotted our engagement, you know? That day you left for Las Vegas. I followed you to the airport. I wasn’t that hard to figure out what flight you took. Especially after I broke into your apartment and looked up the recent information on your computer. I couldn’t believe you went to that deplorable, repugnant place. It’s dreadfully hot there. But I accommodated you.” His expression was suddenly laughably smug. As if he’d done her a favor by burglarizing her home and stalking her all the way to Las Vegas to ensure his plans of crazed domination succeeded.