Vow to Protect (16 page)

Cord's hand touched a blade. He pulled a boning knife from the drawer. Grabbing the locked knob, he lowered a shoulder and slammed into the cabin door.

The wood splintered and flew open. He lunged into the room.

Diana, Ethan and Melanie sat tied on the bed. Sylvie lay on the floor.

Reaching across Melanie, Kane held a knife blade in front of Ethan's face. Before he could react to Cord, Melanie threw her body forward, slamming her forehead right above Kane's ear.

Kane swayed. He reached out to the mattress to steady himself. The knife fell from his hand and landed on the mattress between Mel and Ethan.

Melanie rolled toward Ethan, shielding the boy with her body.

Cord lunged across the tiny room. He threw himself on Kane, knocking the killer flat to the mattress. He grabbed Kane's left arm and twisted it behind his back. With his other hand, Cord held the boning knife to the side of the monster's throat.

One slash and he could slice Kane's carotid artery. One flick of the wrist and Dryden Kane would die in minutes. No more threat. No more games. There would finally be justice for all those women. And the men who had gotten in his way.

If Cord wanted, it would all be over. Just like that.

Silence hung in the cabin. No sound except Kane's labored breathing.

He could feel Melanie's eyes focus on him.

He could feel Ethan's eyes.

Kane hadn't taken them. He hadn't stolen them. They would have that future, that bright future Melanie had talked about. A future that might just include him.

Unless he did what he wanted to do. What he was burning to do.

Unless he killed Kane.

He shoved his knee in the small of Kane's back and leaned on him with all his weight. He hadn't let Kane steal his future. And he'd be damned if he'd throw it away this time. Not for any reason.

He would have to trust the system to work. Trust the authorities to keep Kane locked up. Trust the police to keep him and his family safe. Taking a deep breath, he pulled the knife away from the killer's throat.

He looked up, into Melanie's tear-streaked face. Into her beautiful smile. And for the first time in his life, he knew without a doubt he belonged.

Shoving a hand in the killer's pockets, he found a handcuff key. He held it up and turned to Mel. “The sooner you can get those cuffs off Diana, the sooner I can put them on him.”

Climbing to her knees, she opened her hands where they were tied behind her back and he dropped the key into one palm. Maneuvering back-to-back with Diana, Mel started working on the cuffs.

Kane grunted under his breath. “You're wasting your talent. Your power.”

“Shut up, Kane.”

Footfalls sounded from the deck. McCaskey. The police. No doubt McCaskey wouldn't be thrilled Kane was alive, but that was his problem. Cord was no murderer. It wasn't in him. And he knew that whatever happened with Kane, Cord was ready to bask in that bright future. A future with Melanie and Ethan by his side.

“Cord!” Diana screamed. “He has a—”

Mel rolled over Ethan shielding him.

Cord saw the weapon. He saw Kane's hand rise. He saw the barrel level straight at him.

Bam, bam, bam.

Kane's head exploded. His hand fell to the mattress. His body went limp.

Standing in the doorway, Reed McCaskey lowered his weapon.

The minister stood at the front of the old white church with the steeple and talked about love and marriage and all sorts of junk like that.

Well, not junk really. Ethan liked some of the stuff he was saying. The stuff about his mom and dad being together forever, through good times and bad. He figured they'd already gotten a lot of those bad times out of the way. Now he was ready for the good.

Ethan's mom and dad had been planning this wedding for months. Picking out clothes and music and food. They'd even let him eat cake samples and choose the one he liked best. And the day of their wedding had finally arrived.

Ethan looked up at his parents. Mom
and
Dad. He liked the sound. He liked that they were all living together in his house. He liked just about everything. The good times had already begun.

Even the counselor he'd been seeing wasn't too bad. She was so nice he didn't even feel bad about telling her all that had happened. Finding his dad. And all that stuff with his grandfather, Dryden Kane.

He didn't think about Kane as much anymore. For a while after what had happened in Uncle Bryce's boat, he'd had nightmares. He'd wake up screaming, the sound of gunfire still ringing in his ears. But his nightmares were gone now. He could even concentrate on school again. And even though he had to go to summer school so he could pass into sixth grade, he'd deal.

A squeal echoed through the little white church. Ethan looked back at the pews. Uncle Bryce and Aunt Sylvie sat in the first row, his baby cousin, Ronnie, in Aunt Sylvie's lap. If you asked him, Ronnie looked ridiculous in her frilly little dress and that lacy band around her head. Like some kind of commercial for dumb girly baby stuff. But no one asked him, so he didn't say anything.

For Christmas, he'd give her a Brett Favre jersey. After all, that's what cousins were for.

Pleased with the idea, he grinned up at Aunt Diana, who stood beside Mom. Aunt Diana was going to have a baby, too. Her tummy looked so big in her matron-of-honor dress, he was betting she'd
have two. He sure hoped they would be boys. He'd be really outnumbered if he had three girl cousins.

Heck if he did, he'd buy them all Packer jerseys and teach them how to wrestle.

Uncle Reed stood up at the front of the church with them. He was wearing a tuxedo, just like Dad and Ethan, only Uncle Reed looked like James Bond in his. Ethan wondered if he had his gun, or maybe the gun was hidden in the heel of one of those shiny shoes.

“The rings?”

Even if Uncle Reed was like James Bond, no one was as cool as Dad.

“Ahem.”

All the times he'd wanted a dad, he'd imagined a lot of things. How strong his dad would be, how smart, how he would help Ethan and his mom and laugh with them and do cool stuff with them. But having Cord for his dad was more than he'd ever imagined. And someday Ethan wanted to grow up to be just as strong and smart as he was.

“Ethan?” Dad's whispered voice cut through his thoughts.

He looked up. “Yeah?”

Dad held out his hand. “The rings. You got 'em?”

Quiet hung in the church, and Ethan suddenly realized everybody was looking at him. His cheeks got hot.

Mom smiled. “In your pocket.”

He reached into his pocket. His fingers touched nothing but a piece of lint.

He looked at Mom then Dad, his heart beating so loud the whole church must hear.

Dad put a steady hand on Ethan's shoulder. “Your other pocket.”

Ethan shoved his hand into the other one. He touched metal bands. Smiling, he pulled them out and gave them to Dad.

That was close.

Dad gave one to Mom and they slipped them on each other's fingers. Then together they said the words Ethan had heard them both practicing for at least the last month. “I take you to be my partner in life and my one true love. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart and my love, from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.”

Ethan blinked his eyes and brushed his cheeks with the back of one hand. So it was a little mushy. So what?