Page 9

As I surfaced, my mouth was dry, and my head felt too big for my body. Wow, what did I drink last night? I hadn’t felt this bad in years. The last time I got this drunk, it was my twenty-first birthday. I swore then I’d never do it again, but it felt like I had. Raising my hand to rub my throbbing head, I froze when a deep, masculine voice said my name. My memories came flooding back. Instantly, all thoughts of how bad I felt fled. I rolled in the opposite direction of the voice. I hit the floor on all fours. I tried to scramble to my feet and run but was woozy. I fell back to my knees.

“Keeley, stop. Relax and listen to me,” Beau said.

“Screw you, bastard,” I snapped.

I cracked my eyelids open enough to see a blurry room around me. I saw a doorway across the room. Since I couldn’t stand, I took off crawling and headed for it. I didn’t make it even halfway before powerful arms encircled my waist. I screamed my rage at him. I slammed my head back, hoping to take him in the face. But he was too tall for me to do that.

I wasn’t deterred. I’d find a way to hurt him and get away if I was lucky. Next, I struck back with my heel. It took him in the leg. I heard him make a painful oomphing sound. Too bad it wasn’t his crotch. I wiggled as hard as possible to break his hold, but he was too strong. Then, I was airborne as he stood with me in his arms. Beau swung me around, and I was placed face-down on the bed. His body came down over me. Panic hit me. Oh my God, was he about to rape me? I gave a strangled wail and fought harder. I pushed up, trying to dislodge him. My elbows and head slammed back. His response was to crush me further into the mattress. Tears pricked my eyes, but I refused to let him see me cry or beg.

His mouth against my ear bathed it in warmth, causing me to tingle. What was wrong with me? He was the enemy and about to rape me, and I was responding to him. I fought not to vomit.

“Keeley, babe, please. Stop fighting me. I’m trying not to hurt you. I need you to calm down. Listen to what I have to say. You’re safe. I swear to God,” he murmured.

“I wouldn’t believe a word you said even if you told me the sky was blue. I won’t stop. I can promise you that no matter what you do to me, I’ll never stop fighting. I will find my sister, and we’ll escape one way or another. So go ahead, rape me,” I hissed.

His whole body tensed. He eased away from me. I was stunned when he lifted off me. I rolled over to find him standing next to the bed, running his hand through his hair, wearing a pained expression. I swore he appeared to be hurting.

“Jesus Christ, Keeley. How can you say that? I’ve given you no reason to think I’m that sort of animal. I’d never rape someone. If you knew me, you’d see how ludicrous that accusation is.”

He turned and walked to the window to stare outside. The way he was holding himself broadcasted his anger and hurt. I knew I should be running for the door while his back was turned, but something held me there. I sat up slowly.

“What else am I supposed to think? You kidnapped me and then drugged me, Beau. I have no idea where I am. I don’t know who else is in this house. Wouldn’t you think the same thing if you were in my shoes?”

He sighed heavily and lowered his head. His shoulders sagged. Then he was nodding. “Yeah, I guess I would. I’m sorry. I needed you to listen, and you were trying to jump out of a moving vehicle. You could’ve seriously hurt yourself. I know I have a lot to explain. I’m asking you to let me do it. Then you can ask all the questions you want. If you still want nothing to do with me and don’t trust me, I’ll take you wherever you want. If you call the cops to have me arrested, I won’t run.”

I drew my legs up and wrapped my arms around them. I was still dressed in my clothes, but I felt vulnerable. Taking a massive chance, I uttered the following words.

“Go ahead and tell me what you have to say. I promise to let you talk first.”

He swung around to face me. He came closer but didn’t sit on the bed. Instead, he sat in a chair about five feet away. He studied me for several moments before he spoke.

“I came to Missoula to speak to you about your sister. That wasn’t a lie. I do want to help you find her, and I do know people who can help us hopefully find her and set her free. My name is Beau, but my last name isn’t Winters. It’s Powers.” He paused. My heart jumped, but I kept my mouth shut.

He continued, “I told you that I was Reed Dallia’s contact. The one who told him about the Black Outlaws, the Pagan Souls, and Thacker. That was a lie. I’ve never met Reed. I’m not a computer expert like I told you.”

Again, my heart jumped, but it didn’t settle back down this time. I clutched my legs harder and bit my tongue to keep from asking him anything. He never took his gaze off me.

“I knew about it because the people I work for have computer experts who do the things I claimed to do. They were alerted when you began to dig into those three names. My bosses sent me to find out what you were doing and to convince you to stop. It’s not a lie that you could paint a target on yourself if the people who took your sister have people like ours who are monitoring for anyone seeking them. If the Outlaws and Thacker were part of the group that took Kensington, you could endanger yourself. We don’t want that.

“My job was to convince you to stop and let us do the work. If we find her, we’ll bring her home to you if possible. I don’t need to tell you that it might not be possible, Keeley. Despite our best efforts, she might remain out of our reach. The last thing we want is for anyone to take you. I read everything our techs had on you and your dad. I used Dallia as my in. You haven’t been able to reach him because we’ve been blocking communication. I hoped I could convince you and be gone before you found out.”

I couldn’t sit there any longer. I rolled and got to my feet. I made sure to stay away from him. He was watching my every move. I clenched my fists and bit my tongue.

“I know you want to hit me. I don’t blame you. If it makes you feel better, do it. You don’t know how much I regret not telling you the truth from the beginning. My only excuse is that my bosses, well, three of them, didn’t want to expose us to possible repercussions if you decided to be upset with us. After I met you, I told them you wouldn’t back down. They gave me permission to tell you who I was, but I didn’t. It was never meant to hurt you. I swear. Okay, I think that’s it. You can ask me questions if you want.”

“Who do you work for? What is it you do if you’re not a computer specialist? Do you live outside Washington, DC, or was that a lie? What is your company’s part in this? Why are you so determined to protect those bikers and Thacker? Why not tell me once your bosses said it was okay?” I fired off. He hesitated a few seconds before he answered.

“I work for a company called the Dark Patriots. We’re a group mainly composed of former military personnel who do various work protecting individuals, companies, and our country. I’m an operative with the Patriots. I do various things, but computer work isn’t part of it. I guess you’d call me a hunter. I was a Marine, a part of the Marine Raiders. I live about three hours from DC in Virginia. Our headquarters is in Virginia. The Dark Patriots are working with others to eradicate as many evil people who traffic in people and other things as possible. We’re not trying to protect the Black Outlaws or Thacker. We don’t want you or anyone else to become a victim.” He paused there.

“You didn’t mention the Pagan Souls. What about them? They’re like the Outlaws.”

He shook his head emphatically. “No, they’re not. The Pagans and several others are nothing like those disgusting fuckers. They help rescue people from situations like that and more. They’re good men. It’s due to them that Thacker and that chapter of the Black Outlaws are gone.”

“Why didn’t you tell me the truth after your bosses said it was okay? Tell me a little about the Dark Patriots.”

“I have four bosses, technically. They’re the founders of the Patriots. Like me, they served. Based on what they found on your dad, Undertaker knew you’d never agree to back off and let us handle it. The other three hoped you would. Their wives told them the same as Undertaker did.”

I wanted to ask why his one boss was called Undertaker and how the wives got involved, but I needed to know why he didn’t tell me more. I raised an eyebrow at him. He knew what I was waiting for.

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to demand I leave. I wanted to spend more time with you and continue to get to know you. I wasn’t ready for you to hate me.”

His confession left me speechless. His tone and expression seemed to tell me he was interested in me for more than professional reasons. Was that true or just wishful thinking? My fear held me back from saying anything. His words, what happened now, and more kept running through my head. Suddenly, he was on his feet, slowly approaching me. I tried not to shiver. The heat in his gaze made my whole body react.