Last Chance (11 page)

was an emergency room doctor in the largest hospital in London and worked

nights, Lucas told himself it was a kindness to invite his friend for dinner.

A troubling thing about Jared was that he had an uncanny ability to

read Lucas's mind, so he wasn't surprised when the question came. "So when

are you going after her?"

Lucas nodded his thanks to Conrad, his butler, who, formal as ever,

pulled out a chair at the dining table for him.

After taking a sip of his favorite cabernet, he answered, "I'm not."

Jared pulled out his own chair before Conrad could get to him,

causing poor Conrad to look insulted and Jared to grin. He looked at Lucas

as his words registered. "What do you mean, you don't plan to go after her?"

"Just that. Next move is hers."

He hadn't told Jared anything other than he'd seen her again. What he

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and McKenna had shared was between them. But he could understand

Jared's surprise. Lucas wasn't one to sit back and wait.

Ignoring the concerned look on his friend's face, Lucas dove into his

meal. Just because he sounded calm and sure that McKenna had to make the

next move didn't mean he liked it or was even sure she'd come to him. She

was teaching him patience. If he had pressured her or continued his pursuit,

she would disappear and he'd have to start looking all over again. He hadn't

found her the first time; she'd come to him. And he hoped she would again.

Waiting might not be comfortable, but he damn well couldn't risk spooking

her and having her run from him again.

That one kiss had almost blown his head off and destroyed his plan.

More than anything, he'd wanted to pull her back into his suite and show her

how good they could be together. If he had, she might have stayed for a

while, even let him make love to her. But he'd seen the look in her eyes. She

wasn't ready for what he wanted from her. Until she was, he'd pursue her

from another country.

Some people might call him either delusional or overly optimistic.

Lucas knew it was sheer determination and nothing more. They had

something. He recognized it; at some point, McKenna would, too. He just

hoped it didn't take her too much longer to realize it.

McKenna waited for Noah to arrive. She felt emptied out, almost

clean. She'd poured her guts out for an hour. Samara had listened and

nodded occasionally, and never once did McKenna see judgment.

Compassion hadn't been a part of McKenna's life in years. Hell, after what

she'd caused, she had never felt she deserved it. But she had wanted justice,

not for herself but for her family. That had been denied her.

Now Noah was due in to talk with her. She trusted Samara not to tell

him about her past. But McKenna had already made the decision to tell him

herself. If she came on permanently as an LCR operative, he deserved to

know her damage. She knew enough about LCR operatives to have seen that

most of them were wounded in some way. Having experienced hell gave

extra incentive to rescue those who were in the midst of their own.

She stood and turned when McCall came through the door. Since

Samara had only left a few moments before, she doubted they'd had much of

a conversation. Would he be surprised she had changed her mind? Probably

not. Noah McCall saw more than most people--more than most people were

comfortable with, too.

"McKenna, thanks for staying." He stalked over to the bar, took a

couple of water bottles out of the fridge, handed her one, and then sat in his

chair at his desk.

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Dropping back into her chair, she blurted the words out before he

could speak. "I screwed up the op in Marseille."

He didn't say anything for the longest time, just looked at her with

those piercing black eyes. She met his gaze head-on. Taking responsibility

for her actions had come at a high price. She'd once blamed everyone else

for her problems. No longer. She knew exactly when she fucked up and she

didn't back away.

McCall nodded. "You're right. You did. The girls could have been

killed. You and Dylan, too."

"I know."

"Is it going to happen again?"

"No."

"Good. You ready to come on board as an operative?"

"You're sure you want me?"

"You've proved yourself over and over again, McKenna. I don't

expect perfection from my operatives. You learn from your mistakes and

you move on."

"Then yes, I'll come on board."

"Good." He stood. "Stop by and see Angela before you leave. I know

we usually send your payments to an account. Let her know if you want to

continue with the same arrangement."

"And that's it?"

"You got something else to say?"

She took a breath. "I'd like to tell you what I told Samara."

"You know that's not necessary, don't you?"

And that was one of the biggest reasons she was going to talk. She

had trusted few people in her adult life, had trusted the wrong people as a

teen. It was time to spread her wings, and that meant trusting her instincts.

Noah and Samara had given her their word and their trust. She could do no

less.

"I was raised in Traylor City, Nebraska. It's a little town, maybe seven

thousand people then. About twenty miles outside of Omaha. My parents

were part-time farmers and had a hardware store in town. I had a little sister,

two years younger than me."

She took a breath. Telling it the second time was no easier than the

first. "When I was sixteen, I met a good-looking guy at a movie theater. He

was older, told me he was nineteen. I had only just been given permission to

date, so to my parents, a nineteen-year-old was too old. I didn't know until

much later that he was actually twenty-three. Anyway, they didn't approve

of me dating him, told me I couldn't. I ignored them, didn't listen to

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them...thought they were too old, too backward to know what they were

talking about."

Noah leaned back into his chair and watched McKenna open herself

up. After seeing Samara briefly before he came in, he knew whatever

McKenna had gone through was bad. He hadn't expected her to share it with

him, and as she talked, he was somewhat surprised that she was. As a

teenager, she'd made a horrendous mistake in judgment; she and her family

had paid the highest price possible. What boiled his blood even more was

the way McKenna had been treated after the fact. No wonder she trusted so

few. The very people she should have been able to depend upon had

betrayed her.

Dylan had told him the circumstances of the operation and how

McKenna had reacted. The man hadn't liked sharing that information but

knew it had to be done. Knowing his operatives' weaknesses and fears was

just as important as knowing their strengths. When a victim's life is on the

line, having an operative unable to function can cost lives. Noah had needed

to know.

After hearing the details, he'd made a decision. McKenna needed LCR

as much as LCR needed her. No employee of Last Chance Rescue was

infallible and few operations went off without some kind of glitch. Noah

himself had made some terrible decisions during operations. Perfection

wasn't expected. Guts, determination, and the fierce desire to help others

were. McKenna had those characteristics and then some.

Breath shuddered through her as she finished her heartbreaking story.

She'd shed no tears, but her deathly pale face and the dark hell in her eyes

told him how haunted she continued to be.

"Where's Damon Hughes now?"

"I haven't heard from him in a couple of years. After he killed my

neighbor, Mrs. Winston, I left Memphis. I managed to hook up with a good

counterfeiter before I left. I got a new name, new social security

number...new everything. I changed my appearance as much as possible.

Came to Paris." She shrugged. "The rest you know."

"Where did you get your training?"

A hard look crossed her face for an instant. "I was staying at a shelter

in Baltimore. A couple of guys roughed me up...tried to rape me. I fought

back, but it wasn't enough. Just before they got started, a man interrupted

them. Beat both of them to a pulp, then turned on me. Yelling and screaming

at me for being such a stupid idiot." Her mouth twisted. "He was right. I was

stupid...and untrained. Having him yell at me was the right thing to do. If

he'd been nice, I probably would've just melted in a puddle. Instead I got

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pissed."

"And he's the one who trained you?"

"Yes, he and two others. They own a private gym called Three

Brothers. Two of them were former Special Forces. The other one, the one

who saved me, had been in and out of jail for various things in his youth.

He'd turned his life around and was the one who opened the gym."

"They did a good job. How long did you train with them?"

"For about a year. They gave me a job there. I got an

apartment...things were going well."

"What happened?"

"Damon's people came. My friends gave them the ass-kicking of a

lifetime, but I knew if I didn't get out of there, Damon would find a way to

hurt them. I disappeared the next day." She shrugged. "It's best that I don't

form attachments."

"Do you plan to confront him at some point?"

"Yes."

"Are you actively looking for him?"

She clenched her jaw, and he saw the fear behind the bravado she

always showed. "Not yet."

She would at some point. Each person had their own timetable in

facing their demons. She would decide when the time was right. Right now

it was easier for her to have no life than to deliberately take another. He

could understand that mentality, but at some point she would come to the

end of her rope.

"If he ever finds you, will you allow us to help?"

A stubborn expression, one he'd seen too many times to count, crossed

her face. Often when it came to confronting their demons, people wanted to

do it on their own. He couldn't fault her for that. He understood it, too, better

than most. But she needed to remember she was part of a community of

people who'd been to hell and back in their own right. Not only were LCR

operatives committed to rescuing victims, they were damn good at banding

together to help one another.

She gave a slight nod. "If I think you can help, I'll let you know."

He would let himself be satisfied with that. If he pushed, she'd push

back. He'd have to trust her to make the right decision. McKenna needed to

learn to trust, and one of the best ways was for her to know that she was

trusted.

Noah stood and held out his hand. "Welcome to LCR officially,

McKenna."

Her hand felt delicate and small in his, and Noah had to remind

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himself that she might look like she was too young, too fragile, but physical

appearances were often deceptive and rarely had anything to do with

courage. Samara was even smaller than McKenna and was one of the

gutsiest people he knew.

"Thank you for your trust, Noah. I won't let you down again."

Noah nodded and watched as, head held high, she walked out the

door. After she closed the door behind her, he slumped back into his chair.

Lucas Kane had his work cut out for him. She'd given her trust to

LCR, but giving her trust to another man would be even more difficult for

her. A smile played at his lips. Actually, Kane might be the one man who

was up to the challenge.

But there was still the worry of this Damon character. Noah could

only hope she'd give LCR an opportunity to help when the time came. The

man was well past insane. From the sound of it, once he found McKenna

again, he'd never let her go, not even if he had to kill her to keep her.

Palm Beach

The call woke him from a restless sleep. Since learning McKenna

might have been found, he hadn't been able to rest well or concentrate. His

business would soon suffer. Since there were few people he trusted, he was a

hands-on businessman. People were less likely to screw you over when they

knew they were being watched. In his early days, he'd had to eliminate some

of his people to show them how things were to be done. It'd been years since

he'd had to kill anyone for business reasons, but his people knew he would

have no qualms if it became necessary. Keeping your employees on their

toes and scared as hell had gotten him where he was. He couldn't slack off.

But McKenna was more important to him than any business venture.

He had the wealth, but he needed the woman to share it with him. The only

woman who mattered.

The phone rang again. Groggy and pissed, he kicked the woman

beside him. "Get out."

She mumbled but didn't move. He grabbed the phone and barked,

"What?"

"Sir, I have more news."

"Hold on." Damon rolled over. Inches from the woman's face, he

shouted, "Get the fuck out of my bed!"

Sleep disappeared from her face as her eyes went wide with fear. She

slipped from the bed and slunk out of the room.
Stupid bitch
. He'd get rid of