CHAPTER 1
“I need you…” Jessie whispered into the phone, catching Blake by surprise. “Please
help me, Blake.”
He knew this day would come. He just hadn’t thought it would come so soon. With her past threatening to resurface and take her out, Blake saw red when he heard the terror in Jessie’s voice. Blake switched his cell phone over to speaker and set it on the nearby coffee table while he quickly slipped into his boots, not even bothering to fully lace them up. In quick motion, he tossed his holster over his shoulders and tucked a loaded weapon in on each side before loading one into his ankle holster.
There was no telling what he was being called to do, and he wanted to be prepared for anything. History has a tendency to repeat itself, and Jessie’s history was one that made a bestselling thriller novel look like a sappy romance. It sent a shiver down his spine.
In a final measure of preparedness, he clipped his knife to his belt, tossed on his black leather jacket and grabbed his phone before flying out the door.
“Where are you?” he asked, in a low, monotone voice.
Quick heavy breathing came through the line, letting him know she was still there. She finally answered, giving him relief, “I…I’m in the closet. Hiding.”
“Where are the kids?” he asked, referring to Dawson and Sam’s children, who Jessie had been watching. If he remembered correctly, Colton and Meg Sparks’ daughter, Olivia, was there, too. He made a mental note of who should be there, and what or who to watch for, so there wasn’t an element of surprise that could put any of them in danger.
“I-I don’t know. I d-don’t hear them right now. Are you almost here? Tell me you’re almost here, Blake. Sam and Dawson aren’t due for a while. I didn’t know who else to call.” Her tattered whisper revealed a level of fear he hadn’t witnessed coming from her.
Jessie was a combat boot wearing badass who didn’t take shit from anyone, and she certainly didn’t get scared.
Grown men have cried in her presence and been brought to their knees as a consequence of her wrath. Jessie was a force of nature, who wasn’t easily backed into a closet – especially by choice. A chill coursed through him at the sound of her whisper and what she was finally forced to face.
“I tried to subdue them, but I lost control of the situation. And the smell – it’s overwhelming – I don’t even know what’s causing it, and I’m afraid to look.” She took a pause, her breathing still erratic.
“It’s okay. I’m on my way. I promise you’re going to be okay.” And God, did he hope he would make good on that promise. If anything happened to her, especially on his watch, he wouldn’t be able to live with the outcome.
“I think I can hear them. Oh, my God, I think they’re going through everything.”
“They’re tossing the house? Do you know if they’re looking for something specific? Or what they’re after?” he asked as the sound of a creaking door came through the phone.
He sent a quick text to Logan Traynor while keeping Jessie on the line. Logan was his new partner since Morgan Jameson had gone on maternity leave, and an extra, combat-ready back up might be the difference between life and death. Logan also happened to be Blake’s deceased best friend’s son – someone he gladly took under his wing when Logan transitioned from enlisted soldier to civilian life – he trusted Logan with everything.
This kid was loyal and highly trained as a special operative for various government services, having followed in his father’s footsteps, which also mirrored Blake’s. Logan looked up to Blake, would do anything for him, and didn’t require an explanation to drop everything and jump into action. He didn’t know Jessie’s story like Blake did or the trouble it was brewing – nobody did – except Blake, and if Jessie knew how he came about it, she’d skin him alive, right after she kicked his balls all over the place. There was no telling what Blake was about to walk in on, and whoever was with Jessie wouldn’t expect Blake or Logan. He really was the only person Blake could trust with a mission as dangerous and delicate as this.
“There’s shit everywhere. Blake hurry. Hold on…” The line went quiet for what felt like an eternity before she finally returned. “I heard one of them – they’re looking for me
.”
“Keep calm…and quiet. I’m almost there, Jess.”
So close yet so far away – how cliché, he thought. The woman who pushed his every button, who he fought with most and infuriated him more than anyone could, was now the woman he was fighting for. From cliché to irony, fate had an odd sense of humor…and terrible timing. Truth be told, despite their angsty banter, he cared about her and didn’t wish her any harm, which was why he needed to get there and fast.
Time seemed to slow, allowing a sense of panic to seep in, something Blake wasn’t accustomed to. He was ex-military – worked for branches of government that were off record
and had seen things the average civilian couldn’t imagine. Calm, cool, and collected – it’s how he handled everything, until now. Until this. Until her
. Though she aggravated the shit out of him, he needed her to be okay.
McKenzie Ridge was small and didn’t carry a lot of traffic this time of night, despite it being high season for tourists. Despite its size and lack of obstacles, he couldn’t seem to get from point A to point B quickly enough. He knew what was coming for her, even if she hadn’t told him, and he feared he would be too late.
“I think they have weapons, Blake. Where did they get those? What the…”
“Jessie, what’s going on. What do you see or hear?” he asked, trying to keep tabs on the situation so he could defuse it quickly once he arrived.
Once more, the sound of the creaking door came through the phone - only this time, it was much faster, as if the door had been yanked open.
“They found me. They know I’m in the…” The sound of a quick scuffle and muffled voices cut her off before the line finally went dead.
With his police lights on, he sped through town, killing the siren when he finally reached the dark isolated road that Dawson and Sam lived on. There were very few homes on that road, and they were spread out with acres between them, so he parked up the street, deciding to use the wooded surroundings to covertly find his way in, so as not to alert the intruders of his presence. The element of surprise would give him the upper hand and allow him to neutralize the threat promptly. As long as he wasn’t too late – he wouldn’t let his mind go there.
Blake didn’t like trouble in his town, especially when it involved his people. This was the kind of trouble that really got under his skin – murderers and rapists. This brand of trouble
had recently been released from prison, for good behavior
, after spending the better part of a decade behind bars. Jessie had been the one to put him there, hence his return to make good on his promise to get even
. Her assailant wasn’t the kind of guy to let a grudge go either, especially after what he did to Jessie that landed him in prison to begin with. He had unfinished business, said so himself before he was cuffed in the courtroom and hauled off to the state penitentiary.
With the high-level security clearance Blake still held, he had access to anything and everything. It wasn’t hard to find anything out about anyone with his reach. It may not be entirely appropriate to use his authority to keep tabs on those he cared about, but it was the only way he could really protect them. When he read Jessie’s case, it made sense of everything – why she dressed the way she did, why she kept people at arm’s length with her abrasive attitude, why she was…the way she was. Even more reason to get to her in a hurry – she was in real danger.
Worry stretched to anger as he wondered how this guy made it into his town, unseen, when Blake had eyes everywhere, watching for him. Something had been missed; there was obviously a flaw in the plan to keep Jessie – and McKenzie Ridge – safe. At a near run down the rural street, he was weaving in and out of the tree line, relying on the dark night sky and shadows it created to keep his cover. Blake was frustrated – time felt like it was working against him.
When there had been trouble in town the previous fall, he had assigned himself to Jessie, to watch over her and keep her safe until they eliminated the threat that had been brewing for years. The threat against her then had been minimal compared to what she faced now, which drove him harder. But, when all was said and done, and life had returned to normal, there wasn’t a reason to shadow her, and she was quick to point that out.
The only way to get her to agree to his protection would be to tell her he knew everything, and that wasn’t an option. So, to keep her safe, he watched her from a distance, except for tonight when she caught him following her and made him leave. Another failed plan on his part.
There wasn’t time to evaluate where he went wrong in his attempt to keep trouble away or why Blake even let Jessie get to him in such a way that he left her so vulnerable. He’d reflect on that later. Right now, he had a job to do, and it was to get into that house and take out the threat so Jessie wouldn’t have to worry any longer. So he wouldn’t have to worry any longer.
As he rounded the corner, coming up on the long driveway that led to the house, he was surprised to find it wasn’t guarded. Was this asshole that brazen? That he would just come in and do his dirty work alone in an unfamiliar house in an unfamiliar town? Prepared for anything, Blake made his way to the house, still vacant of any guards. Odd
, he thought.
The lights were on inside, easily seen from the front of the house, and he saw shadows moving through the curtains. A front door entrance would come without surprise – they’d see and hear him coming. So, he went around back, moving quickly and without a sound. Up the back steps and in through the unlocked back door Blake Cooper went, silently cursing Jessie for making it so easy for anyone to get in. Even more reason to kick his own ass for giving in to her stubbornness and leaving her alone. Surely, she knew there was a threat headed her way and that he
was out of prison – they send letters to the victims, alerting them of such. Why would she be so reckless, especially with kids in the house?
With his weapon drawn, he maneuvered through the dark halls of the house, following the sound of muted voices. Oddly, they were somewhat inaudible, a dialect that he wasn’t familiar with as it just sounded like gibberish. There was more than one voice; he could at least tell that, despite not understanding the conversation – it sounded like there were at least three. No problem
, he thought. He was trained to handle more with just hand-to-hand combat; this would be over before they
knew it.
One familiar voice finally came into earshot – Jessie. She was negotiating, probably for her life, so their attention would be on her. Perfect.
“I-I won’t tell…I promise,” he heard her say anxiously - he could almost see her big doe eyes wide with fear as she shifted from foot to foot, awaiting his rescue. “Just let me go, and we’ll forget this ever happened.”
With his back to the wall, he slowly and silently slid toward the room and gave a quick look around the corner when he reached the end. Confusion set in. What the hell? He peered around the corner once more and couldn’t believe what he saw.