KanesBounty (10 page)

“Mrs. Flack, can you grab some water and a bit of food?
Should only need enough to get by for the day,” Joshua said.

Peggy nodded and went to the pantry.

Joshua turned to his brother. “Well, little brother, you’re
going to have to go it alone. I’ll stay here while you and Lena lead them away.
They likely won’t be interested in us for more than a few hours once Lena’s
gone. Take the car, it’s bulletproof. Get out of here and leave it somewhere.”

Kane nodded. “I’ll manage, Josh. You keep these people
safe.”

They embraced quickly and Kane looked back to her.

She ran into her grandmother’s arms. “Gran, you take the
stones. I’ll come back for them.” She thrust the stones into her grandmother’s
wrinkled hand. “If I’m captured, at least they will be safe.”

Rose nodded and hugged her again.

“Lena, we’ve got to get out of here.”

Car tires sounded down the long drive. They only had a few
moments before the house would be surrounded.

Peggy returned from the pantry with two sacks that looked
heavy.

Joshua took one of them and Bill the other. They started
toward the back door.

Bill turned back. “Lena, you could take two horses and get
as far as Max’s farm. Just leave them there and take one of Old Max’s cars. He
won’t miss it for days and I’ll explain when I can.”

“Good idea, Uncle Bill.” She took one last look at her
grandmother as they moved out of the house toward the bunker hidden in the
woods.

Kane gripped her hand and tugged her through the mudroom and
they ran in plain sight down toward the barn in an effort to draw Banta away
from the house.

The barn door rolled easily open on its track. Lena opened a
stall and pulled a bridle down. She saw Kane do the same in the next stall out
of the corner of her eye. It only took seconds to get the bridle on the bay,
but it felt as if it was an hour. She could hear the car rolling closer. No
time for a saddle, she swung up onto the horse’s back and gave him a nudge
toward the door. She ducked under the doorframe and kicked a bit harder toward
the woods leading west.

Kane was beside her an instant later. She hadn’t even asked
him if he could ride, let alone bareback. However, he looked as comfortable on
the gray as any horseman she’d ever seen.

Halfway across the field, she heard gunfire and pulled the
reins back. “Gran!” The horse reared up on its hind legs. She had to grip hard
with her knees to keep from falling.

Kane yelled. “They’re shooting at us, Lena. Your grandmother
is safe. Joshua won’t let anything happen to them. Come on.”

She looked back to verify if he was right. The white sedan
had gotten stuck in the muddy, rutted field. Four people stood shooting at them
with the car doors still open.

She saw Troth Banta run toward Bill’s ATV. He was bigger
than the rest and she could easily make him out, even dressed in all-black
armor.

She kicked her horse into a gallop and headed toward Max’s
farm. There was a thick wooded area between Wilmar Farm and the nearest road.
She could hear the loud motor of the ATV gaining on them once they reached the
woods and had to slow the horses down.

Lena knew these woods. She’d spent her youth riding and
playing in them. Her mother and grandmother had brought her here every summer
and she remembered the terrain as if she’d only been gone a week. She found an
old trail that was not too overgrown and brought the horse back up to a lope.
As a kid, she had crossed these woods and trotted down the country roads with
friends.

The motor sound got louder. A shot was fired.

“Shit!”

She turned her head.

Kane clutched his upper arm. “Go,” he yelled.

She pushed the horse faster in spite of the thick foliage.
Ducking her head did little to keep the limbs from scratching and bruising her
arms and legs. Finally, the woods ended, leaving them exposed. She checked for
traffic and took off at a gallop across the street. She tucked up and jumped
the wood fence, heard Kane come down cleanly and kicked the thoroughbred into a
gallop across the cow pasture.

When they reached the next line of trees, she jumped down
from the horse, took the bridle off and left it on the ground. Kane did the
same and they took off running. About twenty feet later, they found themselves
in a small yard with a very large barn.

Max’s barn had been painted bright red with white trim, just
as if it was a picture postcard, but when she opened the large door, they were
in a very elaborate garage complete with over a dozen cars of various makes and
models, and all in mint condition. Some of the cars were up on lifts with other
cars beneath them.

“The keys are always in them,” she said.

“Is this guy nuts?” Kane gaped at the cars. “These cars are
worth millions.”

Lena laughed. “Max is different. He doesn’t like locked
doors. I used to grab the Corvette all the time when I was a teenager. I think
he knew, but he never said.”

She pointed to a black 1971 hardtop. It was perfectly
polished and gleamed in the open doorway. Kane whistled his appreciation.

“Do you want to drive?” She leaned into the open window and
pulled the keys out of the glove box.

He tossed his duffle into the back and jumped into the
driver’s seat. “Damned right.”

Lena smiled and got in the passenger’s side.

Kane tore down the drive and onto the paved, winding roads
of western New Jersey. He headed northeast. Lena closed her eyes and let the
wind whip around her. There was some relief in not having possession of the
stones. She knew it wouldn’t stop Oscar, nothing would. He would find her and
he would eventually find her grandmother, but this would slow him down.

She felt Kane’s hand wrap around hers and hold it while he
sped north on the New Jersey Turnpike toward Boston. Her trial was in a few
days. They had no proof of her innocence. The only thing she could hope for was
an honest judge who was not in Oscar’s pocket. It was more likely she would go
to prison, and once there, her ex-husband would find a way to manipulate her.

Kane’s gentle squeezing of her hand gave her some comfort.
It was late when they pulled off the Mass. Turnpike. The day had gone on
forever. Lena watched as Kane expertly made his way through the small town and
pulled up to Fairfield Inn and Suites. He pulled in front of the doors of the
hotel. “Stay put.” Pulling a jacket out of his duffle, he shrugged into it.

A few minutes later, he returned. They drove the Corvette
around to the back of the building and slipped into the side door with the key
card. The people at the reception desk never saw Lena, which was the point. Her
face had been on television. She might be recognized and that was the last
thing they needed.

The room had two queen-size beds, a desk, a dresser and a
flat-screen TV. Lena ignored all of it and walked directly into the bathroom.
She turned on the shower, stripped off the clothes Joshua had brought her,
grabbed soap and shampoo from the vanity and stepped under the hot spray of
water. She felt as if the day had begun a week ago. Her muscles ached and her
mind was numb.

It was no surprise when Kane stepped in behind her. He
wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his hard chest. He kissed
her neck and took the shampoo from the small sill where she had placed the
bottle. A moment later, his fingers lathered up her hair, massaging her scalp.
When he’d finished, he directed her to stand under the spray and rinse out the
soap. Then he tore the bar of soap from the paper wrapper and carefully washed
her. His hands caressed every part of her body, leaving nothing untouched. It
was stimulating and sweet at once. He made no move toward sex, but only washed
her, knowing she was nearly too tired to do it herself. When he’d finished with
her, he washed himself. She watched, but made no move to touch him. He was done
in minutes, rinsed the soap off them both and turned the water off.

He stepped out of the tub onto a small mat, grabbed a towel
and dried off before tying the towel around his hips. With another towel, he
dried her from shoulders to feet. She spotted the long red cut on his upper
arm. Guilt flooded her as she stepped out and took the towel from him.

“My god, you were shot. I completely forgot. I’m such an
ass.”

He looked down at the wound. “It’s just a scratch, not even
bleeding anymore.”

“I should have remembered.” She was the most selfish person
on Earth. How could she have forgotten he was hurt?

He smiled. “It’s nothing. The bullet barely grazed me. Don’t
worry about it. Come on, let’s get some sleep.”

Lena looked in the semi-fogged mirror and ran her fingers
through her dark hair. Blue smudges marked the skin under her eyes.

He took her hand and led her back to the bed.

Lifting the covers, he waited for her to climb in before
tucking himself in behind her. She could feel his hard cock pressed against her
ass, but he didn’t try to make love to her. Within seconds, Lena felt her eyes
shut.

* * * * *

She felt him in her head before she woke up. He nudged her
gently, lovingly. Having Kane in her head was as if a warm blanket had been
tossed over her mind. It reminded her of coming home after a long time away.
Opening her eyes, she saw the sun was not yet up. The digital clock on the
nightstand told her it was four ten in the morning. Lena rolled over so she
faced him. His hand slid down over her ass and pulled her tightly against him.

“I want you,” he said against her ear.

“Mmm.” She closed her eyes and pressed her hips forward
against his shaft. Immediately, her clit ached for more and she moved against
him, creating delightful friction.

She wound one arm around his back, skimming his muscled
shoulder to his arm. No part of Kane was soft. He was a series of bumps and
ridges and she wanted to investigate every one.

“Open your eyes, Lena.”

She did and found his face mere inches from hers, his
bright-blue eyes staring into hers. A flurry of excitement bubbled inside her.
His lips found hers, his tongue plunging into her mouth and swirling with hers.
He kissed her cheek, her ear, and each time slid back to her lips.

She kept her eyes open and watched the passion burning each
time he looked at her.

“I want all of you.”

Her heart pounded. “What does that mean?”

His hands skimmed her waist to her hip and down her thigh.
Ducking his head, he latched on to her nipple and tugged. She gasped as
moisture seeped between her legs.

One strong thigh slid between hers and he hugged her close.
His cock pressed between their bodies. She felt a nudge of another kind. Kane’s
mind poked at hers, asking for admittance.

He said it again. “I want all of you, Lena. I want to be
inside your head and inside that sweet pussy of yours at the same time.”

A rush of panic made her move back on the bed. He held her
firmly in place, his eyes boring into hers. “I don’t know, Kane. It’s so
intimate.”

He took her face between his hands. His nose was a
centimeter from hers. “I will never hurt you. Trust me.”

How could she resist such a plea? He was begging her to let
him inside every part of her, to expose herself in a way that would expose him
as well. She had felt his mind in the safe house. It had been wide open and
full of anger and worry. When he’d come, she’d felt it too. Nothing had ever
been as erotic. But to open herself up while making love, it might be too much.
“I’m afraid.”

He tucked her head against his chest and hugged her tightly.
“To be honest, I’m a little scared too, but I’ve never wanted anything as much
as I want to share this with you. We may not get another chance, Lena. This could
be the end for us.”

The fact that the following morning he would turn her in to
the Boston police so she could be held over for trial had not escaped her
notice. She had known from the beginning he would turn her in. Kane had never
given her any false hope that he would help her escape trial. Reluctantly, she
admired his resoluteness.

She saw it on his face as soon as she let her walls down.
His smile was worth anything that might happen. His mind joined with hers as he
opened up and probed her consciousness.

His lips covered hers, branding her and making her forget
what was happening between their minds. But she couldn’t forget altogether.
There he was, just inside her brain, and she could see herself through his
eyes. The way he loved the swell of her hips, and as he thought it, his hand
slid over that curve. Then he traced a path down to her knee before sliding up
the inside of her thigh.

She gasped as his fingers slipped between the folds of her
pussy. One finger slid back and forth through her wetness. It was heaven the
way he touched her, but then she felt his craving for her satisfaction. The
sensation intrigued her and she paid attention as her own orgasm started to
build, at the way his desire stirred hotter with each press of his finger.

His cock pressed against her leg. She reached forward and
ran her fingers up its length.

Kane hissed. She heard the sound in her ears, but also in
her mind. She felt what her fingers were doing to him and it increased her own
arousal. Her body tightened. “Kane?”

“Come for me, Lena.” His fingers moved faster, sliding
through her sopping-wet slit and teasing her clit to the point where she could
no longer think of anything but her own pleasure and how it affected Kane. He
bent his head and took the taut peak of her breast into his warm mouth. Still
rubbing her clit, he tugged on her nipple.

Lena screamed as her body pulsed and the orgasm crashed down
around them both. His cock jumped under her fingers, but she was too consumed
by her own sensation to think about much more.

She did notice, as her rapture cascaded around her, that his
heart beat faster and sweat beaded on his forehead.