Everything to Lose (7 page)

* * * * *

By the time she finally made it downstairs, she actually was hungry. And whatever he had cooking smelled divine. Asian spices teased her nose halfway up the stairs.

“What smells so good?” she asked when she stepped into the kitchen. Her heart fluttered at the sight of Sean, sans a shirt, standing in front of the stove. They’d just made love again in the shower and she still wanted more.

He glanced back and winked. “Simple chicken stir fry.”

While he cooked, she set the table, then sat back and watched his backside with pure appreciation. Her stomach was thankful when he served food onto their plates but she missed the view.

“So, did you mean what you said upstairs?” he asked as soon as he sat down across from her.

“Yes.” She didn’t bother to ask what he meant.

“So, what does that mean for us?”

“Honestly, I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“Well, will you be moving back?”

She took a sip of her water and nodded. “I’ll need to work out some things and I might be unemployed for a while but…yeah, I guess I am.” Saying the words aloud terrified her but in a very good way.

“Can I ask you something?” He put his fork down.

“I think you just did.”

“You know what I mean. Will you still take jobs overseas?”

Okay, now she put her fork down. “Is it a problem if I do?”

“No. I just want to be a partner in the decision making.”

She felt an internal weight lift off her. Even though she’d planned to stay stateside, she needed to know that he was okay if she didn’t. “That’s fair. But this has to work both ways. You can’t leave me in the dark just because you think I’ll worry. We’re a team and you have to include me in things even when you don’t want to.”

He nodded and took another bite and she could practically see the gears turning in his head as he mulled over her words. He spoke again, “So, when do you think you might take another job?”

She chewed on her bottom lip and stared down at her half empty plate. She’d been planning to move stateside permanently a year ago. Her work was taking a toll on her mind and body but Sean had just kept pushing and pushing. She’d almost just given up last year and let him win. In her heart, she knew if she had, he’d take that as a sign that he could run roughshod all over her for the rest of their lives. And she couldn’t live like that.

“Hello? Caitlyn?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking. Actually, I probably won’t take any more jobs overseas. Not for a while anyway.” She threw in the last part for good measure in case a brief assignment came up she wanted to take. She might not want to live overseas for months at a time anymore but if a natural disaster hit, she wanted the option to pack up and leave for a few weeks if necessary.

His eyes widened but he didn’t say anything. She took that as a good sign.

The rest of the afternoon was leisurely. They walked down to the lake once but for the most part they stayed in bed. Any time she suggested an outdoor activity Sean rolled his eyes and pulled her back toward the bedroom.

Not that she was inclined to complain.

Sean sat up in bed and glanced around. Muted beams of moonlight shone through the wooden slat blinds, partially illuminating the quiet room. The digital clock on the nightstand read four in the morning. The house was quiet but they weren’t alone. In his gut, he could feel it. An odd silence had settled over the cabin, enveloping it. Grabbing his gun from the top drawer of the nightstand, he slipped out of bed and pulled on his boxers with one hand.

Caitlyn sat up at that moment and through the dim light he saw her eyes widen when she saw the gun. He put a finger to his lips and she nodded. She followed his lead and got out of bed and pulled on a sweater and jeans in record time. He grabbed another handgun from his duffel bag and gave it to her. Using hand signals he motioned for her to stay put but she just shook her head and glared at him.

“Stay here,” he whispered, hating to talk. Hating to make any sound at all.

“No,” she whispered back.

There was no time to argue. He couldn’t take her with him. If he did, his focus would be on her safety, not the objective.

So, he did the only thing he could. In a few swift moves, he had her flat on her stomach on the large bed, hands secured behind her back. He didn’t tie her, but his grip was ironclad around her small wrists. “Don’t struggle or he’ll hear us,” he murmured low in her ear. He was assuming that whoever was in the house was a he. It was more or less a given.

“You son of a bitch,” she whispered through clenched teeth. Her entire body was tense and he could feel the waves of anger rolling off her they were so potent. If it had been different circumstances she would have struggled or at least put up a fight but as it was, he knew she wouldn’t attempt to fight back. That was one of the reasons he didn’t tie her wrists. That and he wanted her to be able to defend herself if someone breached their room. Before he could change his mind, he picked her up, went to the walk-in closet and dumped her unceremoniously onto a pile of blankets. He placed the gun next to her just in case she needed it. Now that she was in the closet, he knew she wouldn’t struggle. She might hate him for leaving her, but she wasn’t stupid enough to make a ruckus. And he could live with her anger because right now, all that mattered was getting whoever was in the house, away from it and away from Caitlyn. The man who was after him had a long rap sheet and sexual assault was among his list of crimes. Sean had to keep Caitlyn safe. He’d fucked up a lot of things in their marriage but he’d be damned if he couldn’t protect her now.

He had to do this one thing right.

After he slid the door into place, he twisted the flimsy gold latch into the lock position. The lock addition wasn’t modern but Sean knew the place had been built in the fifties. Hell, it was either lock her up or put her in a sleeper hold and he really didn’t think she’d appreciate that. And if he was honest, he couldn’t actually do that to her and live with himself.

As an afterthought he placed two of their overnight bags in front of the door so it looked impossible for anyone to be inside. “I’ll knock three times when I come back. If the door opens without any knocks, just start shooting,” he murmured through the thin opening. There was a slight rustling behind the door, then all went silent. Good. She couldn’t let her personal feelings about what he’d done get in the way.

Sean had two options at this point.

He could go out the window and try to survive a fall from the second story without breaking any bones, or he could walk out the bedroom door. If he went out the window, he opened himself up to be shot by a waiting sniper. He seriously doubted there was a sniper waiting in the trees but for all he knew, someone was just waiting for him to make that mistake.

He chose the latter choice. Keeping his gun in hand, he took the compact mirror he’d grabbed from the bathroom and slipped it under the door.

When he was as sure as he could ever be, he opened the door and breathed an internal sigh of relief when no one was in the hallway. A muffled grunt came from the direction of the kitchen and he tensed. That made sense, he realized.

The rest of the house was fairly secure, with windows high off the ground, including the first floor. It would take a giant or a ladder to get through one. The most obvious place of entry would be the kitchen because it connected to the back deck. Someone could also get through the window of the guest room with the small balcony but that would require equipment.

Inwardly, he cursed his complacency as he moved down the stairs, back against the wall. He hadn’t used cash and the cabin wasn’t connected to him but he still should have been smarter. He had no one to blame but himself for his incompetent behavior. If he wasn’t so worried about bedding Caitlyn 24/7, maybe his brain would be clearer.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he grabbed a small vase off the foyer table and crept past the wall and toward the front door. From where he was, he had a partial view of the kitchen opening and could see a shadow moving around. His main objective was to get outside and lure whoever was inside after him but if he could subdue them before getting outside, that would work just as well.

No matter what, he had to keep Caitlyn safe. God couldn’t be that cruel to take her away now. Not when they’d come so far. The chance of anyone else being in the house was slim. Antonio Lewis worked alone and if Coleman ordered him to make a hit, Sean doubted he’d bring anyone with him. He only had a second to make a decision. Hoping it was the right one, he threw the glass vase as hard as he could in the direction of the front door.

The loud crash resounded with an overwhelming reverberation and just as he hoped, a shadowy figure came barreling through the kitchen archway, gun out like an idiot. From his crouched position by the long-legged table against the wall, he waited until the man’s back was completely to him.

“Don’t move,” Sean shouted as he jumped from his hiding spot.

The man stopped in his tracks, gun still in hand. His arm twitched slightly and the weapon waivered.

“Don’t be stupid. So far, you’re only in trouble for breaking and entering. Don’t make this worse for yourself.”

He paused, then his shoulders loosened. “All right, I’m putting it down.” He slowly bent down and dropped the nine millimeter.

“Now turn around and kick the gun this way.”

The dark-haired man did as he was ordered and when Sean got a good look at his face, he wasn’t sure what was going on. The man standing in front of him was most definitely not Antonio Lewis. In fact, he was certain he’d never seen him before. He wasn’t one of Coleman’s regular thugs.

Before Sean had time to contemplate anything, the man in front of him glanced past him, his eyes widened, then blackness engulfed Sean.

* * * * *

Thankful she’d left her phone in her jeans, she retrieved her cell from her back pocket. With the neon blue light, Caitlyn felt around for something long and thin enough to fit through the closed door. When her hand landed on one of her toiletry bags, she reeled in a shout. She fished around until she found a nail file.

A crash sounded downstairs, and her heart beat an erratic tattoo against her rib cage. The thought of anything happening to Sean tore at her heart. Especially when she planned to wring his neck herself.

It only took a few seconds to wiggle the flimsy lock free but when she finally got it to push up, she slid the door open with gun in hand. She tripped over one of his bags but the plush carpet broke her fall, muting any noise. A pair of handcuffs had fallen from the bag so she shoved them in her back pocket just in case. From downstairs, she heard Sean shouting at someone. She was moving toward the bedroom door when a dark shadow passed under.

Crap!
If Sean was downstairs, then someone was coming after him and he had no clue. Her throat constricted at the thought of Sean hurt or wounded. After counting to five and saying a short prayer, she eased open the door and peered out.

She tightened the grip on her gun as she stared at the backside of a man moving down the stairs in a perfectly measured pace. Her first instinct was to shout at him to get his attention but she had to make sure Sean was okay. If he came running to help and the other man shot him, she’d never forgive herself.

Crouching low, she used the dim lighting to half walk, half crawl to the top of the stairs. The man in front of her was so focused on what he was doing, he didn’t even sense her presence. She wanted to shout out and alert Sean but couldn’t afford taking him off-guard.

When the man reached the bottom of the stairs, she picked up her pace and practically slithered down the stairs trying to keep up. She could hear Sean talking, then there was silence and what sounded like a thud.

Screw being quiet.
She rushed around the corner and instinct took over. A man she didn’t recognize had both hands raised in defense and Sean was on the floor. She had no clue if he was injured and another man stood over his body.

He heard her not-so-quiet entry and turned, gun raised. She fired first.

She clipped his left shoulder. The impact threw him to the floor and his gun fell from his hands. Thanks to Sean she’d trained and practiced shooting but part of her had always wondered if she’d ever be able to actually shoot someone. Now she knew.

“Son of a bitch!” he howled in pain and clutched his bleeding shoulder.

Without bothering to ask questions, she pulled the handcuffs from her back pocket and threw them at the other man. “Put these on now and go sit in that corner!” she shouted and pointed to the area next to the front door.

Eyes wide, he just nodded and did as she ordered. She’d never been so terrified or at a loss of what to do in her life. Careful to keep her distance from the man still groaning in pain, she bent down and felt Sean’s pulse.

Her heart leapt. It was strong and he had no visible wounds. Since there wasn’t a house phone and she wasn’t about to leave the two men unattended she pulled out her cell phone to call the police.

Then she realized she didn’t know where the hell she was except for somewhere in southern Georgia.

Her heart seized as panic finally set in. Yeah, she wasn’t cut out to be a cop. Helping victims she could deal with. Shooting people? Not so much.

Still crouching down, she gave Sean a few light slaps. He needed to wake up. She needed to know he was okay.

The bleeding man tried to sit up and she aimed her gun toward him. “Don’t even think about it.”

He mumbled a few curses and laid his head back down on the wood floor. She glanced at her cell phone and tried to think of a plan if Sean didn’t wake up soon. Screaming in frustration was the only thing that came to mind. She’d always kept her cool under pressure but for the first time in her life, she was absolutely panicked.

Sean groaned and some of her fear subsided. His eyes opened into two slits and he smiled at her. “Shit Caitlyn, let go of my hand. You’re crushing all the bones.”

She glanced down and realized she’d been holding on to him in a death grip. He pushed up took assessment of the situation and took the gun from her.

He also took her cell phone and started making phone calls. For once, she didn’t mind him taking control.