Darkfall (8 page)

“I’ll become a vegan for you, Frank.”

She didn’t mention that she’d changed back to a carnivore as soon as she got away from him. Hamburger had never tasted so good.

He laughed, but there wasn’t a speck of humor in the sound. “Good. But that wasn’t half as bad as something else you wouldn’t do.”

The never-ending list. “Oh?”

“You wouldn’t have sex with me. Why was that?”

She wondered if her nose was growing from all the lies, but what was one more? “My loss.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I was afraid. You’re big and intimidating.”

He lifted the gun and placed it right over her private area. She winced in reaction. “Think so? Well, I am big, but you’ll have to wait to see it.”

He licked his lips, and the idea of Frank’s mouth anywhere on her sent revulsion curling through her stomach.

“Tell me what you’re going to do to make it up to me,” he said.

He moved the gun beside her hip, within inches of her left elbow. Not that she could shoot worth a damn with her left hand even if she could reach it in time. He lifted off the bed and with a smooth movement straddled her waist. She stiffened. He’d never raped her, but the thought that he might made her throat tighten with disgust and fear. She sucked in a breath.

“What are you doing?” she asked automatically.

He slapped her across the face, and sharp pain rocketed through her already addled head. “You didn’t say what you’re going to do for me.”

“I’ll be a wife to you. I’ll cook, clean, not talk back. Lose weight and stay home at your beck and call.” Every word of the lie almost burned. “Anything you desire.”

“Yeah, you will.” He grinned widely. “And more than that. You’ll bed me when and if I want it. Where I want it.”

A shadow fell over the doorway, and she started as a figure stepped into the room.

“Get the fuck off of her,” came Ian’s deadly voice as he pointed his weapon at Frank.

Thank God.
How long had Ian been there? Listening and waiting for the right time to enter? Ian looked no different than he had when he’d left her, and the relief was staggering. Penny wanted to cry again. Wanted to rage at him for being gone so long. Surprise registered on Frank’s face a half second, and she saw him glance at the gun near her hand.

She didn’t know if Ian could see it, so she took a chance. “He’s got a gun, Ian. It’s by my left hand.”

“Thanks, babe.” Ian’s voice was ragged with accent and anger. “But we won’t need weapons, will we Frank?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Frank’s smile echoed the sarcasm in his voice.

“I think we should approach this like reasonable men, don’t you, Frank?” Ian asked.

Frank glanced down at her. “Who is he?”

“A friend,” she said.

Frank threw a glance at Ian. “Just a friend?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Should I kill him?” Frank asked her.

“No.” The word shot out of her. “No. There doesn’t need to be any killing.”

“Get off her,” Ian said again. “
Now.
We’ll take this downstairs. Better yet, we’ll take it out to the back yard. Fight like real men. The guy who wins gets the spoils. Deal?”

Her heartbeat quickened at the idea of them fighting it out—she didn’t like this idea at all. Every muscle in her body felt drawn tight, ready to pop. Her breathing quickened, her heartbeat banging in her chest. “Ian, no.”

“Trust me.” Ian’s voice quieted, but it still held a fine edge of anger. “Trust me.”

Frank won’t go for this. Not when he has a gun right here.
She could reach for it. Snatch it before Frank—

“Okay,” Frank said as he shifted off of her and stood by the side of the bed with his back to her for a few seconds. “But she’s mine.”

Ian moved into the room and kept his weapon pointed at Frank, but he didn’t take his gaze off the man. “Then you won’t mind hand-to-hand combat to see who owns her, will you?”

Owns her.
Such a statement should have pissed her off, but she knew why Ian said it. He needed to play this game with Frank. Keep Frank thinking that’s what it was really about. Ownership of the spoils.

Frank brightened at the idea. “Most definitely. Sounds like fun.”

Without looking at her Ian said, “Stay here, Penny.”

She grabbed the gun Frank left on the bed and stood up. “Ian, don’t.”

“Trust me,” Ian said again.

Ian’s face held no emotion, not even anger as he herded Frank in front of him. She didn’t know where they were going, and she ignored Ian’s warning. She ran to the window, Frank’s pistol heavy in her hand. She looked down and saw Ian standing in the middle of the back yard with Frank. They began to circle each other.
This is crap. I’m not standing here while they fight it out.
She checked the gun and discovered, to her utter shock and blooming rage, that it was empty. Frank had threatened her with an empty fucking weapon?

She dashed out of the room and down the stairs as fast as her feet would carry her. She hurried across the foyer and at first glance didn’t see her own gun. What the hell had Frank done with it?
Had
he done anything with it? She doubted it, given how unhinged he was. Brute force and heavy-handed manipulation had always been his weapons, not brains. Seconds later she discovered the weapon halfway under a chair near the doorway. She grabbed it and headed for the back door. The door was wide open, and she stood just inside so that neither man could see her.

Frank and Ian continued to circle each other. As she watched, every muscle in her body felt as if it might shake apart.
Oh shit. Oh shit.

“Come on. Let’s rock.” Ian’s voice held a thick, no-nonsense sarcasm. “Or are you too dickless?”

Frank stopped moving and his lip curled. “You think you’re a badass or something?”

“Something.”

Frank said, “Well then, I’ll just kill you and take the bitch.”

Her blood ran cold. She knew Ian had training, and she knew Frank couldn’t match Ian for fighting skills.
Trust me.
Ian’s reassurance didn’t stave off the fear. Anything was possible. Her fingers tightened on the gun in her right hand.

Frank moved quickly. In counter, Ian’s quicksilver movements were frightening. This wasn’t fisticuffs, but speed, thrust, balance and power. She held back a cry as Frank tried for a jab. Ian blocked it and with one movement Ian’s fist came up. Frank flew backwards and landed on his back with a solid
thunk
. He lay unmoving. Ian stared down at him, chest heaving. He leaned down and checked Frank’s pulse.

“Ian.” She barely whispered the word, still half afraid Frank would rise and attack.

Ian looked up and saw her, but his cold face didn’t change. He stalked in her direction, but she kept her gaze on Frank. Ian stooped to recover his weapon from the ground. He tucked it in his holster.

When Ian arrived by her side, she finally met his gaze. “Is he dead?”

“No. But he’s going to have one hell of a headache and maybe a concussion. Do you have anything I can tie him up with?”

She thought quickly. “There’s some rope in the utility room. From an old clothesline.”

“Get it.”

She thumbed the safety on her piece and jammed it into her waistband. She ran back in the house and dashed to the utility room. After she found the rope, she returned to the yard. Ian took the rope and hogtied Frank so his hands were linked behind his back to his feet. Before they could say another word, they heard sirens.

“Come on.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the side of the house and the gate leading to the front of the condo. “Sounds like the cops. Maybe someone heard our fight.”

“I didn’t think anyone law-abiding was even left in the neighborhood.”

When they reached the front of the house, two city police cars cruised down the street with lights on but sirens off. Ian and Penny ran out to flag them down. Both cars stopped and the pair of cops in each car exited their cruisers with caution written all over them. Ian and Penny kept their hands away from their weapons, but all four officers kept their own hands near their service revolvers. In a rush Ian explained what had happened, and immediately gave them his Sentry Security ID. The officers made Ian and Penny turn over their weapons and searched them both. Penny didn’t blame the police for it—they already had a mess on their hands in Bangor and it was unlikely to get better. All four men wore suspicious expressions, and she couldn’t blame them for that, either.

“This is my condo,” Penny said. “My father is the owner of Sentry Security. He sent Ian to get me out of here.” She explained the how the roaming gang had chased her into the bunker twice.

“We got a call about a fight, but we also know there is a gang roaming around here,” one of the young officers said while his partner checked Ian’s credentials. “We’ve been trying to track them down.”

“We’ve got a big problem in my back yard you need to see.” Penny launched into another explanation about Frank, including the details about him stalking her in California. “Ian took him down. He’s hogtied in the back yard.”

One of the officer’s lifted one eyebrow. “I’m impressed.”

His partner kept a stern frown. “Did you hurt him?”

“Hell yeah, I hurt him. He’s probably got a concussion. He needs an ambulance,” Ian said.

The stern officer used his shoulder radio to call for medical backup.

A third officer asked, “I take it you were in the military?”

Ian kept an even stance, not even crossing his arms in what could be interpreted as a defensive or arrogant posture. “British Special Air Service.”

Penny relaxed a little when this seemed to break the ice with the officers. Two of the police officers went to the backyard while Ian and Penny waited with the one who’d questioned Ian about his military service.

When the other officer returned from the police cruiser, he handed Ian his identification. “Congratulations. You check out.”

“We don’t have wheels any longer,” Ian said.

Ian had already explained his mission and that he needed to get her back to Buckleport.

The cop shrugged. “Not sure I can help you. We’re up to our ears in crap here.”

Ian nodded. “Understood. But if you see me hotwiring a vehicle, don’t arrest me, okay?”

The officer grinned and nodded. “Deal.”

Eventually the ambulance came, but right before that, Frank woke up. Though Penny and Ian stood in the front yard, she could hear Frank yelling obscenities and accusing Ian of attacking him. But then he rambled on about Penny being the devil’s concubine and how she should submit to him. When they brought Frank around the side of the condo, his hands cuffed and stumbling along, Ian slipped his arm around Penny’s shoulders. She automatically looped her arm around his waist and snuggled into his side.

Ian held her tightly and whispered in her ear. “It’s all right.”

Frank glared at them and then his lips curled into an ugly grin. “Bitch! You’re the devil’s cunt, you know that Penny?”

“Watch your language,” the officer leading him to the cruiser said in a deadpan voice.

Frank obliged, and when the officer stuffed him in the car, Penny felt a sense of relief. The ambulance came a short time later, and Frank was transported to the hospital. It took a long time for the officers to finish questioning Penny and Ian. Penny said she’d press charges and signed some paperwork. Once the officers learned Ian was taking Penny to Buckleport to her father, they didn’t insist she stay in town, especially after they saw the trashed condition of the condo. When they left, Penny felt as if a million spiders were skating over her skin, her nerves prickling and jumping. She just wanted to run until she could escape this place. She turned to the condo, wanting to hide from everything that had happened. Ian followed and clasped her arm to turn her back to him.

His gaze was unyielding and with little understanding in his eyes. “Why the
hell
didn’t you stay in the bunker like I asked?”

Tears welled in her eyes and blurred her vision. Anger rode close behind. She sucked in a deep breath and turned away. She need a few moments. She headed straight for the bunker. Her heart was still pounding, and she thought she might start screaming. No, not screaming. She didn’t know what she would do. She heard him following and quickened her steps. When she reached the bunker she stalked straight for the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. She chugged, almost choking as she finished more than half the bottle. She slammed it onto a table and stood with her head hanging down. Her skull no longer throbbed, but her mind whirled. Part of her felt as if she might explode.

The bunker door shut, and she heard him lock it. Here they were again. Locked away. He went into the bathroom, and she heard the water running. Of course. He probably had blood on his hands or his knuckles bled or…Her stomach lurched.

After a few moments he returned.

“Penny. Hey.” His voice had that tone. Her father’s matter-of-fact tone that made her anger or concerns illegitimate.

She turned toward him but didn’t make a move. “Hey? That’s all you have to say?”

“Did you…” His mouth twisted a second. He planted his hands on his hips. “Did you still have feelings for him?”

“Are you kidding me?” Her voice rose. “No. God, no. I was afraid he’d get the drop on you somehow and kill you.”

Silence shrouded them for a few moments until he spoke again. “Did he hurt you?”

“No.” She heard the tremble in her voice and realized her body was shaking. “I mean…he knocked me down and I hit my head, but it isn’t anything.”

“Hit your head?” He sounded angry again. “Why didn’t you say something? You should have been in the ambulance.”

“Stop telling me what to do, Ian. How to feel. My head doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

“Doesn’t matter. You could have a concussion.”

Adrenaline mixed with pure happiness that Ian had returned in one piece and survived a very short fight. She’d never experienced both emotions at one time. It was a confusing array so sharp and harsh. Once more, a wave of awareness cracked her wide open and made her forget all the sense she was born with. Why? Why the hell couldn’t she resist this explosive, ridiculous attraction to Ian MacDaniel?