Christmas on the Last Frontier (Last Frontier Lodge #1) (23 page)

Up to that point, Gage had somehow managed to keep his fury toward Kent in check. But when suspicion ballooned into reality, the fury thundered back. He stood up and started down the hall, Aidan on his heels and Marley running after both of them.

Chapter 20

Marley ran into the parking garage, racing to catch up to Gage and Aidan. As she came around the corner to the row of cars where they’d parked their rental car, she saw Gage paused by the car. The driver’s side door was open and he was poised to climb in. Aidan was saying something, but Gage looked past him, his eyes locking onto her. He waited until she reached his side.

Out of breath, she came to a halt and gulped in air. “Gage, where are you going?”

He reached over, his hand threading into her hair. He tugged her close for a quick, searing kiss and then pulled back, his hand sliding out of her hair and cupping her cheek. “Stay with Aidan. I’m going to take care of something.”

Marley stared at him. “Don’t go after Kent,” she said, afraid that was his intent.

Gage held her gaze, his gray eyes flashing like lightning. “You don’t need to worry about me doing anything stupid, but I’ll make sure Kent never hurts you again.”

Before she could open her mouth to reply, he swung away and slammed the car door shut, shifting into reverse and peeling out of the parking garage. Marley turned to Aidan.

“Let’s go,” she said. All she could think was they had to follow Gage and stop him. What she knew about Kent at this point scared her, and she didn’t want Gage putting himself in the middle.

Aidan glanced down at her, his blue eyes assessing. “No,” he said flatly.

Marley tried to argue the point, but Aidan was implacable. He escorted her back to their hotel room and sat quietly at the table while she paced back and forth. His phone rang. After he glanced at he screen, he looked to her.

“I need to take this. I’ll be in the hall. You okay for a few minutes?”

Marley nodded. She felt tossed and turned inside with the tumult of emotions inside. She was dealing with the aftermath of once again recounting the events the night of the robbery, along with coming to terms that it was becoming frighteningly real that a man she’d known had robbed and assaulted her. On top of that, she was worried about Gage. He’d felt coiled so tight at the police station, she thought he might explode. Energy came off of him in waves.

There was a sharp knock at the door. Marley swung the door open, assuming it was Aidan. Her heart froze when she saw Kent in the doorway. He looked ragged. His dark blonde hair was mussed, his tie loosened and his jacket hanging open. She gasped. Without a word, Kent pushed into her, kicking the door shut behind him. She tried to scream, but her voice was trapped. Kent shoved her against the wall, his elbow pressing against her throat.

“You stupid fucking bitch! Who the hell did you send to my house?”

Fear crashed through her. She felt frozen inside—all she could manage was to shake her head. Kent shoved her again, the pressure against her throat crushing. She struggled to breathe. Her vision blurred and she lost focus. Kent kept ranting and swearing, but she couldn’t hear. All she could think was she wished she’d told Gage she loved him.

There was a bang against the door. Suddenly the pressure on her throat disappeared when the door crashed open, the frame splintering as it did. Gage plowed into Kent. She collapsed against the wall, gulping air in. In a blur, Gage grabbed Kent by the collar, yanking him off his feet and throwing him up against the wall. Aidan was right behind Gage. He kicked the broken door shut and stood in front of it.

Gage held Kent against the wall almost effortlessly. His gray eyes were flat as he stared at Kent. Kent struggled against Gage’s grip. “Who the hell are you?”

“Doesn’t matter who I am.” Gage’s voice was low and laced with fury.

Kent glanced at Aidan and over to Marley, his eyes wild.

Aidan said nothing. Marley stared at Kent, the fear still pounding through her, but slowly abating now that Gage and Aidan were here. “Why are you here?” she finally asked, wondering how Kent had known she was here in this particular hotel room.

“I need that fucking flash drive!”

Gage tightened his grip on Kent’s shirt, shoving him harder against the wall. He glanced at Marley and nodded, making her realize he was giving her the chance to ask questions if she chose.

She looked at Kent, her stomach queasy. “How come you’ve been pretending like those emails were from HR if they were from you?”

“Because I need the damn flash drive, that’s why.”

Marley realized Kent was still oblivious to the ongoing police investigation and unaware he was already facing legal trouble.

“Why do you think I have the flash drive?”

“Because I hid it in your damn apartment, that’s why. The last time you were out of town and Becky watered your plants, I went with her. I needed to make sure it was somewhere safe. Your apartment was perfect because no one would connect it to me. What the hell did you do with it?”

Marley shook her head slowly, glancing between Aidan and Gage before looking back at Kent. Gage still held him easily, almost casually. At a glance, Aidan appeared to be lounging against the hotel room door, but she knew he was ready to back Gage up in a split second if needed.

“I didn’t do anything with it. I never knew it was there. Where did you hide it?”

“Inside your dictionary. You had it way on the top shelf, so I figured you didn’t use it much.” Kent kicked against Gage. “Who the hell are you? You showed up at my house. That’s how I found Marley. By following you back here, dumbass.”

Gage’s nostrils flared, but he barely moved as he pressed his forearm against Kent’s throat. He remained silent and nodded to Marley to continue.

“Well, no wonder you couldn’t find it when you robbed my place. I took a load of books to the big library sale a few weeks before. Your flash drive went with them.” Marley paused as she considered her next question. She glanced to Aidan. “How much does he know?” she asked, angling her head toward Kent.

“Doesn’t matter. Say whatever you want.”

“Why did you have to hurt me?” Marley asked, fighting the rush of anxiety that welled inside. She reminded herself she was safe now. Gage and Aidan wouldn’t let anything happen.

Kent slammed his head against the wall, struggling against Gage. Gage swiftly slammed back. Marley wondered if Gage would tire, but he seemed too amped up for that to happen.

“You weren’t supposed to be there,” Kent choked out. “If you hadn’t shown up, it would have been no big deal. I just needed that flash drive back.”

Marley felt sick as she stared at Kent. “But why?”

“Because it had info I needed to keep. That’s all,” Kent said flatly.

He suddenly arched his back and kicked out, managing to break free from Gage’s grip. As Kent stumbled to the floor and attempted to bolt past Gage, Gage leaned back and drove his fist into Kent’s face. Aidan’s only move was to straighten his stance. He completely blocked the door, so there was no way for Kent to easily leave. Kent fell against the wall and tried to swing at Gage, but missed completely. Gage grabbed him by the collar again and held him high. “Here’s the deal: you just gave us exactly what we need to make sure you’re locked up. And this is for Marley.” He drove his fist into Kent’s face again, literally pulling Kent forward into his fist as he did. Blood spurted from Kent’s nose. Gage pulled his arm back again when there was a pounding on the door, the police announcing their presence.

Gage dropped his arm, but didn’t release Kent. The police barged into the room, immediately taking over and cuffing Kent. Marley was separated from Gage and Aidan as they were respectively questioned. Much later, after they’d returned to the police station for more follow up, Marley walked back into the hotel room with Gage. He’d called ahead and asked the hotel to clean their room. The door had already been repaired and the room was tidy. Marley tossed her jacket and purse in a chair and sat on the edge of the bed with a sigh.

Gage had been quiet to the point of brooding ever since the incident with Kent. He threw his jacket on top of hers and walked to the window, his hands tucked in his pockets. She considered what to say. In a few short hours, the weight of her robbery and assault had been lifted since she now knew for certain who had done it and why. She would still be stuck with the aftereffects, but at least she no longer had to wonder. Her body was tired and wired at once. Emotionally, she was overwhelmed. She didn’t know how to thank Gage, as he’d been the one to ask for Aidan’s help and had stepped in without hesitation today.

She was nervous and uncertain why he was so quiet and withdrawn. It was enough that she was stumbling about while her feelings for him grew by the day. His actions the past few days wound the invisible threads between them tighter. She couldn’t quite fathom what to do with her feelings. She recalled Becca’s comment that it was clear Gage loved her. Marley watched him, her heart in her throat.

“Gage.”

He turned away from the window, his eyes immediately on her. His expression was guarded.

“Are you okay?” She forced herself to speak, even though she was nervous.

He nodded sharply. “Are you?”

She held his gaze, willing her nerves to settle, as she stood and approached him. “I’m fine. Thank you for everything today. If it wasn’t for you and Aidan, I don’t know if we’d ever have found out what happened.”

She stepped in front of him and gasped when he tugged her close, engulfing her in a tight embrace. She tucked her head into his shoulder and just held on. She could feel his heartbeat, beating in time with hers. Tension hummed in his body, his muscles were taut, his breathing labored. She pulled back and glanced up. His smoky eyes met hers. He loosened his hold and stroked a hand up her back. “You don’t need to thank me,” he said, his voice gravelly.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. “Yeah. Sorry if I seem tense. It took everything I had not to beat Kent senseless. The only thing holding me back was knowing it wouldn’t do you any good for me to be sitting in jail alongside him. Not to mention, I knew Aidan wouldn’t let me do anything stupid, and he’s strong enough to stop me if he had to,” he said wryly.

Marley’s pulse ricocheted wildly when Gage looked back down at her. He cleared his throat. “I’m used to being in control. When it comes to you, not so much. I love you, you know.”

His words, gruff with a tinge of vulnerability, seared through her. Her heart swelled and tears filled her eyes. His somber, austere expression softened as he brought a hand around and stroked his thumb across the tear that rolled down her cheek. She tried to speak, but no words came out. Joy crashed through her in a wave. She reached up, cupping his face in her hands, and smiled through her tears. “I love you too…I’ve been wondering what to do about that.” Shyness followed her words. Her hands slid down his cheeks, coming to rest on his chest. His heart thudded against her palm.

Gage’s mouth quirked in small smile. “Well, that’s good to know. I, uh, don’t have too much experience with this kind of thing. I figured since I almost lost my mind over you today, I might as well get over myself and tell you how I felt.”

She bit her lip as she studied him. This man, so strong, so sexy and so handsome, had stolen her heart. Seeing him look vulnerable tugged at her deep inside. She curled her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down to meet her for a kiss.

***

Marley caught her bottom lip with her teeth, and Gage thought he might explode. He wasn’t sure how declarations of love were supposed to go, but all he wanted right now was to bury himself so deep inside of her, he forgot where she began and he ended. He’d spent the entire afternoon on edge, barely able to keep himself sane. When he saw Kent pinning Marley to the wall, rage had almost blinded him. It had taken every ounce of willpower he had to remember he needed to keep it together for Marley. He was relieved beyond measure Aidan had been present because he’d known he could count on Aidan to make sure things didn’t go too far.

He was so proud of Marley. She’d kept it together through everything today. He looked down at her. Her forest green eyes were bright with tears. He hadn’t counted on her telling him she loved him, but when she said the words, his heart felt like it was going to explode. When she tugged him down for a kiss, he let go.

He dove into the warm sweetness of her mouth, delving and stroking, savoring the wild tangle with her tongue. He laced a hand in her hair while the other stroked down her back and cupped her lush bottom, pulling her against his arousal. She gasped in his mouth, and he tore his lips free, pausing for a moment to look at her. Her eyes were pools of heat, her lips kiss-swollen, and her cheeks flushed. Lust surged inside, tightening its hold on him. He traced her mouth with his thumb. Her breath came out in gasp, and he was lost. He wanted to taste every inch of her. He molded his mouth over hers again for a deep, hot kiss before nipping her earlobe, savoring the shiver that followed. He tore at her blouse as his lips traveled down the side of her neck and traced the edge of her collarbone. When a button caught, he tore at the fabric, swearing until it gave, the button tearing out and bouncing against the wall.

Her lacy black bra awaited him. Glimpses of her pink nipples teased him through the lace. He closed his mouth over one, groaning against her when she arched into him and whispered his name. He teased her nipples until the lace was drenched and they were hard and pebbled. Shoving her blouse off of her shoulders, he finally flicked the clasp between her breasts. The coil of longing tightened inside when her full breasts tumbled free. He cupped them in his hands, rolling her nipples in his fingers. Her breath was ragged as she arched into his hands. He took a step back and she followed, shoving his shirt up. He reached behind his head, lifting it off in one move.

Marley stepped closer and ran her hands up his chest before dragging them back down to stroke his arousal. He was so hard, he could have come right then and there, but he latched onto his control, his breath hissing through his teeth when she unbuttoned his fly and curled a palm around his cock. He walked backwards until his knees bumped against the bed. Sitting, he pulled her between his legs and drew a nipple into his mouth again. He toyed with the other as he sucked and nipped, alternating between them until she was gasping and writhing against him. Lust drummed through him and longing lashed at him as he paused to look at her. Her auburn hair was rumpled, her lips kiss swollen, and her skin dewy. He traced the paths of freckles dotting her skin and almost lost it when her breath hitched.