Killian Read online

  Slowly she stood and made her way to the en suite bathroom. She looked at her face in the mirror, shuddered, then used the facilities and washed up. When she stepped back into the bedroom, she let out a squeak.

  Instantly Killian raced across the room. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s me,” he said.

  She collapsed in his arms and cried. After a few moments, she got control again. “I woke up,” she said, “hurting so bad, and in a strange room. I didn’t know where I was, or who I was with, so I immediately thought the worst.” She shook her head. “When will this ever end?”

  “Soon,” he said. “Come on. Let’s get you back to bed.”

  She sighed and let him lead her to bed. “I’ll go get your medicine again,” he said, and he quickly disappeared. She sat up against the headboard, more shaken than she wanted to admit. The trauma of her kidnapping seemed destined to torment her nights now too. And her days, if she were honest. When he returned, he held out the pills and a glass of water. She quickly popped them back and then crashed on the pillows. “I’m not even sure I’m sleepy anymore,” she said. “That woke me up, like wide awake.”

  “Understood,” he said.

  “What are you doing still up?”

  “I had four hours’ sleep, and I just switched with Hatch. He’s fine, by the way,” he said, before she asked. “And it’s morning as well.”

  She looked at him in surprise.

  Then he walked over and opened up the blinds.

  It was clearly daylight outside. “Oh,” she said, feeling foolish. “And here I thought it was still the middle of the night.”

  “Nope, we’re all good.”

  “If you say so,” she said.

  “How about some coffee then?”

  With that, she tried to sit back up.

  Immediately he forestalled her efforts and said, “Hey, I’m playing nursemaid today, remember? I’ll go put on some fresh coffee, and I’ll bring you a cup in a minute.”

  “Fine,” she muttered. And she was honestly grateful. With her leg still as painful as it was, she could use the rest. Although, she had to admit, the original injury itself was feeling a bit better today. It looked kind of nasty, but the pain for the worst cut was definitely easing back. It was the combination of the new one that hurt so bad today. Yet she sighed happily, as she rolled over and just stretched out. It was good to be safe. Even with the residual stress she had from waking up so badly, now that she knew she was okay, she was starting to relax. When she heard a crash in the kitchen, she called out, “Killian, is that you?”

  “Yeah, it’s me,” he said. “Sorry, I just dropped a cup.”

  She sighed. “You keep doing that,” she said, “and I’ll never recover.”

  He came back and said, “Here is the last cup from the pot already on, and I started a fresh one.” Then he added, “Here. Let me help you sit up a little. Come here. You’ll be fine. Just relax.”

  “I know. I know,” she said, but it was hard to uncoil the tension inside her. “Any news?”

  “More than news,” he said. And he sat down with his cup of coffee and perched on the edge of the bed and told her all that had occurred while she’d been sleeping.

  She stared at him in shock. “And Dean got away again,” she wailed.

  “I know,” he said grimly. “Believe me. I know.”

  She immediately reached out a hand and said, “It’s not your fault.”

  “Well, Jerricho said get out, so I wasn’t sure what was happening, whether the house was being blown up or what,” he said. “But I went back after Dean, when I figured out what was truly going on. Then I followed him and found his vehicle, but he had already disappeared from there. So I don’t know if he got into another vehicle or not. He’s wily. He’s been doing this for a long time,” he said.

  “You think so?” she asked.

  “Yep, I’m just thinking about the Interpol rap sheet. I can’t even remember all his history.”

  “Well, I know he was really, really close with Max. It’s like they were blood brothers or something.”

  “Exactly. They were bound by a passion for hurting people, something that most people can’t admit. And, when somebody like that finds another soul mate, they tend to bond, very, very tightly.”

  “Well, that was them.”

  “But your husband is dead,” he said gently. “I’ve spoken to the hospital, and your father is doing just fine. He’s stronger this morning but definitely needs a few days to rest. He’s got a couple broken ribs, a broken wrist, and he took a bit of a beating last night. A few welts, a few bumps, but he will be okay.”

  She stared at him, as tears crept into her eyes. Oh thank heavens. She couldn’t find it in her heart to feel anything but relief over her husband. But her father… and a beating at the hospital? At least he was safe now. “My God,” she said. “I’m so grateful. Can I see him?”

  “Just give him time to heal now,” he said. “Maybe later, when this is over, not today,” he quickly corrected himself. “But, in a couple days, we can go to the hospital, so you can visit.”

  “You think I can talk to him on your phone?”

  “Probably,” he said. “This is the new one that I picked up.” He considered it for a moment and then said, “Better not. We need to keep this clear for high-priority calls,” he said. “It’s the one that I was called on to get out of Max’s house. I just don’t want anything to track it. We can get you a disposable phone.”

  “I guess,” she said.

  “You can use mine to play games or something, if you want to just sit here and rest.”

  “No,” she said. “Well, can I use it for—” Then she stopped and handed it back and said, “No, I don’t want to do anything that might get us noticed.”

  “It’s probably not a case of this phone being tracked,” he said, with a shrug.

  “No, it’s okay,” she said. “Whenever you get another phone maybe. Will it be today?” she asked hopefully.

  “I’ve already asked for two new burner phones.”

  “Why don’t you make that three?” she said, with a sigh.

  “Well, I have an encrypted laptop you can log on to check your emails and stuff, if you want.”

  “That would be good.”

  He got up, walked out to the living room, picked up a laptop for her, and came back.

  “It’s amazing just how hard it is to be disconnected from the world,” she murmured.

  “It is, indeed.”

  And feeling a little bit like the previous days after she’d been held captive, she spent the day recovering, just resting. By the time nighttime rolled around again, she said, “I feel incredibly lazy. I don’t know of a time in my life that I’ve ever spent this much time in bed.”

  “Well,” he said, “obviously you need the rest.”

  “I do.” Later on that night, when he came in with her pain pills, she smiled and said, “You sure make a great nursemaid.”

  “Thank you,” he said, with a gentle smile.

  She shook her head. “No, I mean it. You’re a very compassionate man.”

  He raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, just gave her a little shrug that basically said he didn’t know what she was talking about.

  She laughed. “And I am feeling much better.”

  “Well, you’ve slept, eaten, and slept some more today,” he said. “You should start to feel better.”

  “It doesn’t look very pretty though.”

  “Your legs are gorgeous,” he said. “Absolutely nothing any stitches will do to mar them.”

  “Says you,” she scoffed. “Look at that? Anytime I wear shorts, it’ll be a huge, thick, ugly line.”

  “Nope, it’ll fade down to a thin line before you know it,” he said. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Besides, it’s a small price to pay for being alive. Ask Hatch if he’d rather not have those scars or be alive. On second thought, don’t. You might get more than you bargained for. He’s been through a lot to look as g
ood as he does.”

  “That kind of puts it all in perspective, doesn’t it?” she said, with a nod. She laid back down again and said, “You know what? I’m not even tired.”

  “That’s what you said this afternoon, when you crashed too.”

  “True. Well, I’ll try to sleep, but, if I can’t, I’ll get up.”

  “You do that,” he said. “We’ll be in the living room, working.”

  “Fine, I don’t really know what work you can do though.”

  “We’re helping track all the cases from the John Smith guy, who kidnapped you off the ferry.”

  “Good,” she said. “Make sure you nail his ass to the wall.”

  “Well, there is some talk that he was supposed to come back down here.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Apparently, according to the authorities, your husband wasn’t happy that Smith let you escape. After all, John Smith was supposed to kill you.”

  “If he hadn’t been so greedy, taking time to get the money from my father as well, he might have done it too. He was clearly terrified of Max, and rightly so. I’m sure Max was livid when he found out. I’m surprised he didn’t go after the Smith guy himself.”

  “Well, Max may have had something to do with the way Smith got caught.”

  “That would be the type of justice Max would appreciate,” she said, with a nod.

  “Apparently the authorities traced Smith by his burner phone, and, so far, nobody’s talking about how they found his number.”

  “Ha,” she said, with a laugh. “That would be Max for sure. And, if my kidnapper knows that, then he would probably turn around and spill his guts, if he thought there would be some paybacks—assuming he doesn’t already know that Max is dead.”

  “That’s the trick they’re working on now. In the meantime, we’re working on finding any other John Smith cases.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  He leaned over, gave her gentle kiss, and walked out.

  She wanted a better kiss than that, but, if she would just crash and sleep again, she didn’t want another night of passing out on him. But woke several hours later. When he came back in, after hearing her moving around, she looked up and said, “I’m sorry. I keep trying to go to sleep, but I’m too wired.”

  “Well, just try to stay quiet,” he said. “Hatch is resting.”

  “Resting? Is that a euphemism for sleeping?”

  “In this case it is because he still has to heal too.”

  “Right,” she said. “Well, why don’t you sit here and visit?” And she shifted over on the bed.

  “Dangerous,” he said.

  “Hardly. I’m still injured.”

  “Not that injured,” he said.

  She looked at him with interest. “Really?”

  He looked at her in surprise. “It wouldn’t be that big of a deal,” he said.

  “Are you telling me that we could make love with this leg, and you wouldn’t hurt me?” she asked curiously.

  He laughed. “Are you asking out of curiosity or because you’re interested in trying it out?”

  “Oh, I’m definitely interested in trying it out,” she said, a twinkle in her eye. “Particularly if Hatch’s asleep.”

  “Well, he is. I just checked on him,” he said. “But I hardly think our first time together needs to be decided based on whether a friend is sleeping or not.”

  “Oh, you’ve got a point there,” she said. “Now I know you’re smart, and you’re really capable. So … if you think you’ve got this figured out?”

  “Absolutely I’ve got this figured out,” he said. And, with a surprise move, he flicked off the bedcovers, and there she was, just in her panties and a T-shirt. “Wow, that takes care of half the battle. You’re already mostly undressed.”

  “Not quite,” she said, stifling her laughter. She looped her arms around his neck, tugged him down, and said, “Remember your promise.”

  “Oh, I remember,” he said. “And I never break a promise.” And he lowered his head for a kiss. When he lifted it a few minutes later, she felt the same dizzy, all-encompassing disorientation she had felt the first time he had kissed her.

  “Man,” she said. “Your kisses just knock everything out of me, and I can’t even think straight.”

  “Good,” he said, and he lowered his head again.

  She moaned in his arms, twisting, as she felt part of herself come alive, after months and months of fear, torment, and disbelief in her own choices. Back then she had shut everything down and wouldn’t let her body respond to even the slightest attraction because it was just so hard to trust herself and those around her. She slid her arms up around Killian’s neck, tugging him even closer, pressing her breasts flat against him, his arms wrapped around her, holding her close.

  In a distant part of her mind, she knew the pain was likely to strike at any moment, but, so far, there hadn’t been any. She pulled her head back, giving him access to her neck, as he rained kisses down her throat and on her collarbone and down to the T-shirt’s edge, where he smoothly pulled it up over her shoulders and off.

  Then he lowered his head yet again, noting she was in the middle of the bed, her injured leg off to the side, and he was sideways on the bed, facing her. She had no clue how he would do this, but, as long as it didn’t hurt, she was happy to stay quiet and see. She didn’t want to stiffen up over any of it, but, at the same time, just that little part of her mind refused to disengage, battling with another part that needed him so badly.

  “Relax,” he said, sliding a hand down her thigh, the injured one, and yet she could barely feel it. It was like a feather drifting across her stitched-up skin. She watched in amazement as he curled down to her calf, slid down to the bottom of her foot and then up.

  “You’re so gentle,” she whispered.

  “You’re injured,” he murmured right back. “An injured bird. One that needs a little bit of love and care. So just relax.”

  She nodded slowly and reached down to curl her fingers in his hair and tug him toward her. But instead of going to her lips, like she so desperately wanted, he kissed the tip of her left breast and latched on to her nipple. She arched up with a cry, as he suckled hard and deep. She shuddered in his arms, already feeling explosions rising up, threatening to cascade over her. She twisted in his arms. “Dear God,” she whispered, holding him close.

  He moved to the other breast and the same thing happened.

  She murmured, “Why is it like this?”

  “Because, when it’s good,” he said, “it’s meant to be really good.”

  She shuddered and moaned and murmured, “I need you—now.”

  “No, you don’t,” he said. “Not yet.” And he proceeded to explore her ribs, her belly button, her hips. When he slid down to the plump lips at the center of her and had a long slow taste, she shuddered, her body exploding all around her. He slid a finger inside and gently stroked her passage.

  She pressed her thighs wide and whispered, “Please, please.” Her hands were in his curls, as she again tried to pull him toward her. He shifted around the bed, until he stood at the end. She laughed at the sudden movement, and then, when he tucked pillows underneath her hips, so that she was at the right height, she gasped as she understood.

  And he plunged in deep.

  She cried out, one leg wrapped around him, the other one off to the side. She wanted him so damn desperately. And yet her body was already surfeit with emotions. As soon as he slightly withdrew and then pounded in again and repeated the motion several times, she felt a second orgasm building within her. She twisted, trying to reach for him but couldn’t, as he leaned over her on the bed, careful to make sure that he didn’t touch her injured leg, as he drove in higher and higher and higher. When he finally rested, on the cliff, she twisted beneath him. “Come with me,” she heard.

  “You too,” she said. “I don’t want to do it alone.”

  He leaned over, took her lips with his, and sent them both flying
.

  Killian certainly hadn’t expected that to happen right now. But no way in hell he would regret it. He held her close. He felt her tears against his chest. He immediately pulled back and looked at her in shock. “Did I hurt you?”

  She shook her head. “No,” she said. “You were amazingly gentle and, at the same time, so passionate.”

  “You know I would do anything not to hurt you, right?”

  “I know,” she said. “At least I do now.” She leaned up, kissed him gently, and said, “Thank you for making it so good.”

  “It’s not hard to make it good,” he murmured. “It’s a matter of coming from the right place in your heart.”

  “Well, maybe that was what was wrong with my husband then,” she said.

  “He’s gone,” he said, pressing a finger to her lips. “Shhh, no need to think about him anymore.”

  She nodded and smiled. “I think I can sleep now,” she murmured.

  “Yeah, I imagine so,” he said. “Lovemaking is usually a great sleep inducer.”

  She smiled and said, “What about you?”

  “Nope, I’m on watch,” he said. “So I’ll stay here for a few minutes, but then I’ve got to get up.”

  “And it’s almost morning, right?”

  “It is, so I would look at getting us some breakfast.”

  “Do we have to order it in?”

  “We’ll order something in,” he said. “You just rest.”

  “Okay.” She yawned and said, “Just give me a few minutes.”

  “No problem.”

  He got up and wandered through the small apartment, checking on Hatch, who was still sleeping. Killian ordered breakfast, but this time he ordered it through the Mavericks, knowing that somebody needed to take a look and make sure that everything was okay before they started taking deliveries. As he waited for that to come, he sat down with their to-do list.

  One of the loose threads that they still had to sort out was the guy Killian had put the tracker on. It really bugged him because something was just so bizarre about him. As he sat here thinking about it, an idea crossed his mind. Of course. It was so far-fetched it didn’t make any sense, and, because it didn’t make any sense, he felt he needed to look closer at it because, dammit, nothing here made sense.