Dirty Ties (37 page)

And so I consumed her as she consumed me. Warm arousal replaced the chill on my spine, our bodies sliding and tangling together. When I pressed inside her, I let everything else go. Then I made love to her until all that existed was her and me and our finish line.

Four hours before the race, and the old chapel walls were closing in and thinning the air. My nerves rocked my body so hard I couldn’t sit down, couldn’t stand, couldn’t fucking breathe. I never felt like this before a race.

But this wasn’t about the race.

I strode to the bed where Kaci lay curled around a pillow, lashes spread over her cheeks, breathing steady with deep sleep. I crouched beside her and hovered a hand over her nude shoulder, her hip, her long, silky legs. Every inch of her was exposed except for the cover of her lacy black bra and panties. I wanted to touch her,
needed
to feel her. But I couldn’t steal her rest.

She’d risen hours before dawn, racing the MTT Turbine up and down the gravel road, learning the nuances of the bike and the technology in the helmet. She was as ready as she needed to be. I just wasn’t sure if
I
was ready.

I pushed away from the bed and paced the length of the building as the anxious voice in my head rose over the pounding of my heart.

There were a few who placed bets on her, mobsters and other vile criminals who would hunt her down after she lost the race and their money. But they wouldn’t find her. Not on another continent. Not under her new identity. Hell, they wouldn’t even know her true identity. I reminded her repeatedly
not
to take off the helmet,
not once
between my front door and the prearranged safe spot.

I wiped my slick palms on my leather pants and pulled in a ragged breath. The biggest threat to her was Trent. He would lose a fuckton of money at the same time that Kaci disappeared. Even if Benny raced in her place, he could connect Kaci to the scam. How hard would he try to track her down?

Fucking hell, I hated leaving that loose end. It made me feel itchy, restless, entirely too goddamned vulnerable.

The soft rhythm of Kaci’s breathing changed, but it was the quiet alarm above the front door that caught my attention. A motion sensor alarm that only went off when someone or something approached the property. My stomach caved in, and my pulse skyrocketed.

Benny was in a remote location near the county airport, setting up her gear to monitor the race. No one else knew where I lived.

“Kaci. Wake up.” I shook her shoulder then darted through the room as adrenaline spiked through my bloodstream.

The lack of windows meant no one could see in. But I could see out. I stopped in front of the TV monitor that hung beside the front door.

The bedding rustled behind me as I flipped through the channels, searching for the camera angle that showed the driveway. Darkness shrouded the street twenty-yards from my front door, but floodlights lit every corner of my property.

“Logan?” Her groggy voice drifted from the bed.

“There’s a gun under the mattress. Get it.”

The monitor showed the view of the drive and a black limo under glaring outdoor lights. My heart thundered, and ice filled my lungs.

I sprinted toward the kitchen area, grabbed my primary Glock off the counter, and checked the magazine. Fully loaded. I shoved it in the back of my pants and pulled the leather jacket over it.

Kaci appeared at my side, wearing only her bra and panties, with the gun from the bed in her hand. Her eyes widened as they locked on the monitor by the door. “Please tell me that’s not Trent’s limo.”

The doors hadn’t opened yet. It could’ve been Trent’s or Collin’s or who the fuck knew? But none of the options were good because
no one
knew my location.

I hit the button above the refrigerator, and the oak panels beside it rolled up. Then I moved her, damn near carrying her in my urgency, onto the hidden elevator. “When you get to the basement, hide.
Do not
come back up. I will come to you.”

Tension snapped through her body, and her eyes sharpened into pinpricks. She shifted to step off the lift. “Bullshit. I’m not leaving—”

I kissed her, hard and fast, then gently pushed her to the rear of the lift. My heart hammered as I tapped the code on the keypad and turned my back. Behind me, the elevator whirred its descent as I sprinted to the far side of the room to the shelving unit. There, I collected my six-inch blade and slid it and the sheath in my boot.

On my way to the front door, the oak panels returned to their closed position, concealing the elevator behind the wall. I blew out a strained breath and grabbed my helmet from the back of the couch. No matter what happened, she was safe two-stories down, and both elevators required a code.

Kaci didn’t have the code, but Benny did. If I didn’t make it through this, Benny would retrieve her.

The monitor showed the limo doors opening, and a man in a suit was shoved out. He sprawled on the ground, his hands bound behind him. When he turned his head, the sight of his terrified eyes, black hair, and familiar face locked my jaw in a painful clench.

Who had Collin and how the fuck did they find me?

He stumbled to his feet and backed up, yanking against his restraints.

Another man rounded the limo from the driver’s side, the gun in his hand trained on Collin. I knew that motherfucker. Big arms. Barrel chest. Crisp suit. Watchful eyes. The burly fucking babysitter from the office.

Trent stepped out of the limo, wearing one of his typical designer suits.

I shut down every violent emotion that ripped through me and measured my breathing. As they approached the door, I switched the camera views on the monitor.

Collin led with the burly man on his heels, the gun at his head, and his face shocked to a bloodless pallor.

I activated the intercom system, powered on the helmet to conceal my voice, and shoved it on. The facial recognition software immediately identified the gunman as Jed Williams.

They were going to threaten Collin’s life to convince me to open the door. Could I trust the fear glazing Collin’s eyes? Maybe he was good actor, and this was all a ploy to get inside.

Had he told Trent I was Evader? Probably. Was Trent here to kill Evader to ensure his winning bet? Most definitely.

It was a racing rule that had never been played. The race would proceed regardless if one of the racers no-showed. Anyone who placed a bet knew this. If Trent was here to kill Evader, he assumed Lady Silver would still race. He either didn’t know Kaci was the challenger or he didn’t know she was connected to me.

But Collin knew. How much had he told Trent?

Trent stepped around Collin and Jed and stared into the camera lens, his voice booming through the intercom speaker. “Where’s Kaci?”

Blood drained from my face. Motherfucker. I flexed my hands. Either Collin told him she was with me or he was operating on an assumption and hoping for a validation.

One I refused to give. “You’ve got the wrong house.”

Trent glanced at the phone in his hand, his posture relaxed, his tone completely void of emotion. “Her phone is twenty feet away.” He looked up. “Technology is amazing, isn’t it? She uses her personal phone to log into Trenchant’s private network and unwittingly installs little hidden tools on her device, like my GPS tracker.”

I closed my eyes long enough to stop myself from punching my fists into the brick wall. All my meticulous fucking planning, and I overlooked the vulnerability of a goddamned smartphone.

“Here’s what happens next.” His hard eyes stared into the camera, his expression flat. “If you don’t let me inside in three seconds, I’m going to put a bullet in her husband’s head. If your weapons aren’t on the floor by the door, Mr. Anderson is dead.”

Sweat formed over my skin beneath the leather jacket. They couldn’t get to the basement unless I gave up the code. She was safe, but for how long? They could shoot me and simply wait until she grew impatient or hungry.

Deep down, I knew what I needed to do. I should let him kill Collin for her sake and mine. Or to speed things up, I should just kill Collin myself.

But I couldn’t. My chest tightened. I wouldn’t.

Maybe I didn’t entirely trust Collin, but Kaci did. And maybe deep down, I wanted him to live because, fuck me, he was my brother, a bond I could potentially kindle—something I’d never allowed myself to hope for.

Helpless anger boiled through my gut as I set the gun from my pants and the blade from my boot on the floor, the only weapons left in the room. Then I punched in the code and opened the door.

Trent ran a finger along the kitchen counter as he looked around my living space. His filthy fucking presence in my home made my muscles tense to the point of pain.

He’d already checked me for weapons and inspected the bathroom and closets for Kaci. He hadn’t asked me to remove the helmet, and he could’ve shot me the second he walked in. Evidently, he was here for more than just my demise.

He lifted Kaci’s phone from the counter and checked the screen. “Where is she?”

In the center of the room, I widened my stance and slid my jaw side-to-side to loosen the tension. “She’s out for a jog.” A believable reason for her phone to be here. Thank fucking Christ I hadn’t told her to take it downstairs with her. “Soon as she sees your limo in the drive, she’ll take off.”

He studied me for a long moment. “We’re twenty miles from the nearest town. She’ll come knocking.”

A few feet in front of me, Collin slumped in a folding chair. His shoulders curled forward, his hands tied behind his back, his eyes hard and bloodshot as he watched Trent. He hadn’t said a word since entering, and didn’t seem fazed by the gun Jed aimed at his head.

The hidden elevator was ten feet behind Collin and Jed, a comfortable reminder that Kaci was safe two-stories below.

How much did Trent know? Evader wouldn’t give a shit about Collin’s life. Did Trent know who I was beneath the helmet? My only concern was keeping Kaci safe, so I stuck with silence to avoid giving anything away.

Trent prowled toward me, his hands behind his back and his expression hidden beneath his tight, polished skin. “As you can guess, you won’t be racing tonight.” His forehead furrowed. “Initially, I thought Kaci somehow knew about the bet I placed and had come here to warn you about the police raid. But I’ve checked all my connections in the Chicago PD. No one knows anything about a big race bust tonight.”

Fuck fuck fuck.
I didn’t twitch, didn’t speak.

He stepped into my space, his eyes level with my visor. “Remove the helmet.”

The fucker didn’t know who I was. I remained still, shoulders back, spine straight. “You may not like what you see.”

He looked at the floor, grinned, and raised his head. “I’ve been tracking her for a long time. She attends your races. She’s been here since yesterday. It’s safe to assume you’re sticking your dick in her. So why do you care what happens to her husband?” He looked over his shoulder at Collin and returned to me. “He’s fucking clueless about what Kaci’s been up to. Big surprise there.”

I stifled a heavy exhale. Collin hadn’t said shit.

His hand smoothed down his tie. “I brought him here, knowing she’d cooperate if I threatened him.” He cocked his head. “Interesting how you seem to share her sentiment toward this man. Why not just tell me to kill him?”

His proximity gnawed at the composure I was seconds from losing. “I know who you are, Trent. You won’t shoot your own son.”

“You have no idea.” He glanced back at Jed, who slipped a finger through the trigger guard, a command away from squeezing it. Trent’s eyes flicked back to me. “Remove the goddamned helmet.”

No sense delaying, and to be honest, I looked forward to his reaction. I gripped the sides, lifted it off, and tossed it onto the nearby couch.

His eyes flashed, and he took a step backward.

The refrigerator motor hummed. The clock on the wall ticked. The room waited.

He burst out in laughter. Threw his head back, barking a goddamn cackle into the rafters. The skin around his eyes wrinkled, and his over-gelled hair didn’t move with his bobbing head.

When he righted himself, he sniffed, as if dismissing his momentary loss of poise. His fingers steepled against his mouth as he studied me, his gaze weighted in thought. “You sent the watches?”