What was he thinking at this point, that she didn’t have a brain in her head?
They would dump her as soon as the feds had Greg in custody. And she couldn’t blame them. How much had her actions already cost people? She was transporting diamonds that had been mined by slaves. She was working with factories that probably used child labor.
A sharp knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts. She didn’t need anyone to see her like this. “I’m in the shower.”
“Kinley, let me in.” Riley’s voice sounded through the door.
He was the last one she needed. He was so smart. Riley had resisted his physical attraction to her. Now he probably wished he hadn’t given in. “I’ll be out in ten minutes.”
Maybe she could compose herself by then.
There was a slight rustling sound, then the door popped open. Riley had his driver’s license in his hand. “Interior doors are a breeze. And you lied. You are not in the shower.”
But she was naked. She grabbed a towel. “Privacy please.”
He frowned, his eyes on the towel. “Why? You didn’t want privacy before. You were perfectly happy to be naked in front of me. Or is it only Dominic and Law you’re comfortable around? What happened, Kinley? You decide you didn’t really like three men?”
“God, you are so damaged. That’s where you go? Everything has to be about you?” She was just about done with his attitude. “It can’t be that I just figured out how much of a fool I am? No, we have to go back to your problems and your issues. Go away, Riley. I’ll be out when I’m ready.”
She turned away from him, brutally aware she’d just been a complete bitch.
Riley’s arms wound around her waist and pulled her back. “I’m sorry. It didn’t occur to me because I don’t think you were a fool. I think you’re sweet and loving, and had no way to see this coming. You’re far too good for the likes of Jansen…and me. But I’m going to ask you to overlook that little flaw because I’m crazy about you.”
Tears filled her eyes. “That’s not fair.”
She wanted to be alone. She wanted to wail and blame herself for everything and Riley wasn’t going to let her.
“It’s all right, sweetheart.” He said the word like he really meant it, his hand smoothing back her hair as he cuddled her close. “It’s okay. You made a mistake, but it was an honest one. You did it because you were hopeful. He took advantage of your giving nature.”
“Just like it happened to you.” If she could get him to understand that what Simone did wasn’t his fault, maybe all the pain would be worth it. “There was nothing wrong with you or Law or what the three of you want. Simone had the problem.”
He stared down at her. “All right, Mary Sunshine. I’ll go with it, but only if you promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Don’t let this change you. Stay as sweet and hopeful as you’ve always been, and I’ll try to find the positive guy inside me.” He grimaced. “I’m warning you, though. He’s buried deep. It might take me a while.”
She could wait. “Okay. It’s a deal.”
Kinley tilted her head back, looking up at Riley as he kissed her, sealing their deal.
Reluctantly, he pulled back. He reached into the shower, turning the water off. “We need you to skip the shower. No cause for alarm, but we’re thinking it might be a good idea to change locations. You know, stay safe, just in case.”
“What about the FBI? Aren’t they coming to see us?”
Regret skipped across Riley’s face. Then the lights flickered and died.
His whole body stilled. When she began to ask about a generator, he shoved a hand over her mouth. His eyes bored into her as he whispered. “No talking. Give it a second.”
The lights came back on. And died seconds later. A loud buzzing followed, an alarm signaling something.
“Fuck.” Riley paled. “Listen to me very carefully. The security system is offline because someone cut the power to it. The generator is top of the line, and so is the backup. We have to assume someone took both of them out.”
Shockwaves pinged through her system. “Do you think it’s FBI agents working some sort of sting? They’ve been looking for me.” She’d signed the affidavit that she wasn’t a hostage, but who knew if they’d believe that or assume she’d been made to sign under duress.
“The feds would announce themselves, and the feds know what we’re doing. I’m starting to think that Jansen has someone on the inside, and we’re screwed. Here’s what’s going to happen. Jansen wants the diamonds. I have to hide them. If he gets his hands on them, he’ll kill us all. My gun— Damn it, my gun is back in the office. Law is out at the hangar, and Dominic should be rounding up the dogs.”
“Greg is here?” Oh, god, if he was in this house, he was coming after her. And he wouldn’t come alone.
Suddenly, she heard an odd popping sound.
“Gunfire. Shit. Sweetheart, I need you to hide. I’m not sure where that gunfire came from, maybe the back of the house.”
Kinley grabbed the clothes she’d brought in with her. She’d picked them up without thinking. She was holding a pair of jeans covered in blood diamonds. She never wanted to see another pair of jeans again.
An idea struck her. She quickly opened the medicine cabinet. There was a nail file, the metal kind with a nice pointed end. She went to work on the stitching in the back pocket. After a couple of good twists, it was easy to pull the heavy scrap of fabric apart from the rest of the pants. “We need to hide the diamonds, but the actual jeans are bulky and it would take too much time to pry each stone off individually.” She reached for the bottle of her favorite shampoo. She dumped half of it into the shower and then stuffed the pockets in one at a time.
Riley kissed the top of her head. “I will spank you if ever call yourself dumb again. You’re brilliant. He needs them all. Every single diamond.”
She nodded. “All right, but I think Dominic took the rest of them. I don’t know where they are.”
“I do. He took them to the office. He was going to put them in a bag or something so you didn’t have to look at them.” Riley’s face tightened. “I need to get to those jeans.”
Riley hesitated, but Kinley knew his brothers could be out there dying right now. Her men were in danger, and she would do anything she could to stop it. “Go. I’ll stay and be exactly what Greg expects me to be—a hostage. He won’t kill me.”
“You don’t know that, Kinley.”
No, but… “You have to leave. Greg and his goons could be here any minute.” Her hands were shaking as she pushed him away. “Go. If you can find a way to get to the jeans, hide more of the diamonds. Hurry. We’re running out of time. He won’t kill me until he has them all. Can you get out the bathroom window?”
Riley drew her close, kissing her hard. “I can get out of it. You stay alive. Do you understand me?”
With a nod, she dashed into her room, the damaged jeans in her hand. She folded the jeans neatly, so the damage didn’t show. Her heart pounding, she retreated to the bathroom where Riley was just disappearing through the high window.
She was alone.
“Kinley!” Greg’s voice floated from down the hallway, inciting a sharp pang of terror. She bit her lip. Being brave didn’t come naturally to her, but she had to find that within her now. “Come out, you bastards. There’s no place to hide!”
He was getting close. She had seconds to decide how to play this.
Hide in plain sight. Like the diamonds.
She turned the shower on again. There was really only one thing to do. God, she didn’t want to do it, but she pulled his shirt over her head and stepped into the shower. Cold water sluiced down her skin. She shook but forced herself to soap her hair.
The door shook as it came open.
“What do you want, you assholes? Are you going to rape me now? Trust me, the cold shower is working just fine to soften me up. I swear when my fiancé gets ahold of you, you’re going to be sorry.”
“Kinley?”
She hated the very sound of Greg’s voice, but she forced herself to gasp in surprise and poke her head out of the shower. “Greg?” She asked the question tentatively as though utterly hopeful. “Oh, my god. Is it really you?”
He was standing there wearing dark pants and a black turtleneck. It was elegant, but now Kinley saw why he’d chosen it—black wouldn’t show the blood he intended to spill. He was a well-dressed viper, waiting to strike.
He was also a damn fine actor. His face softened. “Oh, my sweetheart. I thought they had killed you.”
He reached out his hand. With her stomach in knots, Kinley took it.
Chapter Sixteen
Dominic hid behind the west wall of the house, moving as silently as he could across the deck. The key was to stay close to the wall. He edged along, stopping every few seconds to listen and ensure that no one was sneaking up behind him.
Surely someone had heard the gunshots. One of Jansen’s men would walk out any minute now and see the dead body on the lawn, but Dominic didn’t have time to hide it. He needed to get into the house and get Kinley out. Unless Riley had already done it. He’d been the only one in the house with her. Dominic prayed that his brother had heard the gunshot and spirited her out to the hangar with Law. They had weapons there—and a radio. With any luck, Riley, Law, and Kinley were holed up and formulating a plan, just waiting for him to reach them.
Or his brother could be dead, and Kinley could be at the mercy of a man who had none.
What the fuck had gone wrong? This was all his fault. He should have moved her once a day, but no. He’d been so sure that no one would find them in the wilderness. Breaking Kinley down had been more important than protecting her from the monster she’d nearly married.
Dominic cursed under his breath. Guilt threatened to overwhelm him. He should have thought of her first. He should have put his revenge on hold and simply helped an innocent woman.
But then he would never have known what it was like to hold her, to watch her laugh, to love her.
God, he was in love with her, and now she might die.
Gigi yipped as though barking at him to move him along.
He looked down at the two dogs following at his heels. If he hadn’t been in the woods while they ran around and did their business, he might have heard Jansen’s SUV coming up the road himself.
“Hush,” he hissed as quietly as he could.
Butch sat back on his haunches, looking up. He was a good little soldier, the mutt. But Gigi was one high-strung rat thing. It was probably getting close to meal time for her. And she was going to get him killed if she didn’t shut up.
“Handle your woman,” he muttered to Butch as he continued his slow, creeping steps toward the back door.
“How did you find me?” Kinley’s voice was soft, but he could hear her through the thick pane of glass. He was standing right beside the window to her bedroom. His heart threatened to leap out of his chest when he realized who was in there with her.
“I have my ways, darling. I’m just so glad that I got here in time. You have no idea what the last few days have been like.” Jansen’s voice was deep with emotion. Dominic would hand it to him for that Oscar-worthy performance. “Tell me, Kinley, did they hurt you?”
He heard her sniffle a little. “Yes.”
What game was she playing?
“How?”
“They scared me, Greg. They drugged me. They threatened my dog. They kept me awake for long periods of time. They tied me up. And then, just when I thought they were letting up because they allowed me a shower, they made it ice cold. They were going to make me as uncomfortable as possible. I don’t know why. Why does that man hate you?”
Oh, he was so going to smack her ass for ever calling herself stupid.
Law was in the hangar. Kinley was with the enemy. Where was Riley? God, he had to pray his brother wasn’t in there with Kinley.
“If it’s who I think it is, darling, then he hates me because I was married to his sister,” Greg said. “You know how I felt about Carrie. I loved her. It took me years to find another wife I felt I could care for as much. She was just…well, she was broken. I’ve kept this secret for far too long, but she told me her brother sexually abused her. He’s insane, Kinley. Which is precisely why I need you to gather all of your things so we get you out of here. He could hurt you. He would do it because he knows it would kill me.”
Dominic’s vision nearly went red. He wanted to throttle that fucker. How dare he?
“You mean, he isn’t in custody?” Kinley asked. “Didn’t you come with the police?”
Dominic calmed slightly because he could hear the worry in her voice. Greg would think she was worried for herself, but Dominic knew the truth. His brave and smart sub was worried for her Master. She was doing such a good job. He couldn’t let his temper get them all killed. For the first time in years, he’d found something he needed more than revenge. He’d found Kinley Kohl.
