Ball & Chain

“Oh God,” Ty whispered. He was apparently just realizing that he’d knocked unconscious the only man on the island who might know where the kids were hidden.



Amelia might not have been Zane’s blood, but he still considered her his niece. She was somewhere in danger, being hunted by ruthless people who’d already killed to get to her, and they were all helpless to find her.



“Ty,” Zane grunted. “We have to go find Amelia. Doc and Emma will take care of Nick. Come on.”



Ty met his eyes, nodding dazedly. He turned his attention back to Kelly. “Where would Nick stash them?”



“He said he didn’t know,” Kelly snapped. “Maybe if he was conscious he could lead us there!”



“If he was going on instinct, where would he have gone?”



“I . . . I don’t know,” Kelly stammered. “There’s so many places inside those walls he’d . . . it has to be the basement. He always took his sisters to the basement when his dad was drunk. He’d have gone down until he couldn’t go anymore, then he would have hid them. Anything underground. Look underground.”



Ty gave a curt nod. “Okay. It’s a start.” He looked down at Nick one last time, hesitating. “Tell him I’m sorry when he wakes.”



Kelly glanced up, glaring briefly. “Tell him yourself.”



Zane pulled Ty away before he could respond. They turned to hurry back to the mansion, but Kelly called after them.



“He always booby-trapped the stairs! Be careful! Think like Nick!”



Ty groaned. “Think like Nick. I’m going to fucking die in Scotland.”



Chapter 11



When they approached the front door of the mansion, the feeling of foreboding once again crept into Zane and settled in his stomach. This time, though, he was pretty sure he had a good reason for it.



They slowed as they came to the door, left ajar to reveal the gaping black hole of the interior. Both of them took out the weapons they’d stolen from the Snake Eaters, checking that they were loaded, making sure the safeties were off. It was something they’d done a hundred times before, maybe a thousand times: readying themselves to head into danger, taking that last moment to prepare. As partners. Sometimes side by side, sometimes with only a voice on an earpiece to let Zane know Ty was with him.



Zane glanced at Ty, who was shoving the clip back into his gun. They would never be partners again. The realization hit Zane hard. Ty met his eyes.



“I love you,” Zane said quietly.



Ty stared at him for a few breaths. “Should I ask you to marry me now?”



Zane couldn’t stop himself from grinning, but he shook his head. “Ask me after we live through this.”



Ty stepped closer and placed a gentle hand on the back of Zane’s neck as he kissed him. “I love you too,” he whispered.



“You find Amelia,” Zane said, his voice hoarse when Ty moved away. “I’ll go for Stanton, make sure he’s safe. He’s probably the next target.”



Ty nodded, and they headed into the house.



In a few steps, Ty was gone, vanished into the darkness. It was a not-so-gentle reminder of what his lover was capable of, but it comforted Zane in ways he didn’t want to examine too closely.



He made his way to the dining room, where he could see the flickering light of the fireplace, candles, and hurricane lamps. He lowered his gun when he stepped into the room.



Earl was sitting in a dining chair facing the doorway, a rifle aimed at Zane. He lowered it and nodded to him, setting the weapon across his legs again.



Zane gave the room a quick glance.



Mara sat with her arm around Susan Stanton, who was crying quietly. Mara’s cheek had been roughly bandaged. Several others appeared to have been wounded by the falling glass. They needed to get Kelly in here to tend to them.



Stanton sat with his son, Theo, their heads bowed over a table as they spoke quietly. They were examining a map or blueprint, making marks on it. A dozen other guests were huddled around dining tables, some with blankets or coats wrapped over their shoulders, others conversing quietly or simply staring at Zane.



The Snake Eaters were gone.



“Where’s English and his boys?” Zane asked Earl.



“Did you find the kids?” Earl asked.



“No.”



Earl’s shoulders slumped. He looked older than he usually did, but the shadows from the fire did odd things to people’s appearances. “Stanton ordered them to search the house for Amelia. He told them her safety was more important to him than his own, so they went out.”



“Shit,” Zane hissed. “Ty’s off looking too; if they run into each other there’s going to be some—”



“Blood,” Earl provided wryly.



Zane grunted.



“I figure if Stanton’s a target, then you’re looking at last line of defense,” Earl said with a tap to his chest. “We found this rifle on the wall above the fireplace. It’s loaded, but I don’t even know if it’ll fire.”



“You have a knife?” Zane asked. Earl nodded and patted his hip.



Stanton had noticed Zane there and was making his way to them.



“Did you find Nick?” Earl asked.



Zane nodded, waiting until Stanton and Theo joined them. “He interrupted the nanny and the groundskeeper trying to kidnap Amelia. He stopped them, and sent the kids into the passages within the walls. He hid them somewhere inside the walls and then ran as a decoy for Fraser.” He met Stanton’s eyes. “Did you know those passages were there?”



“Yes, we used to play in them when I was a boy,” Stanton answered. He was nearly mumbling, frowning so hard his eyebrows were touching. “Jockie Fraser? I’ve known him since he was little. He was Theo’s playmate on the island during the summers when we’d visit.”



“Jockie did this?” Theo asked, looking horrified. It was the first time Zane had seen the man with any sort of expression. “I don’t believe it.”



“We caught him with a gun, threatening to send pieces of Amelia to your father. Believe it,” Zane growled.



Theo and Stanton both blanched. Zane could hear Earl growling, and he took a deep breath, sorely tempted to go off the rails with them and rage about the threat to the little girl. Others had drifted closer, listening in, probably wanting to know if they were safe now, if it was all over. Zane looked over them and raised his voice to be heard.



“Nick couldn’t tell us where he stashed the kids, so it’s simply a matter of finding them before anyone else does now. Who else knew about the walls?”



“My wife. Some of the older staff. We never told the kids when they were little, we were afraid they’d play in them and get hurt or lost. Frankly, I’d forgotten about them. What about Jockie? Did he talk? Tell you who else is involved?” Stanton asked.



“He’s not capable of much of anything right now,” Zane admitted. “But when he is, we’ll get everything we need out of him, I can guarantee you that.”



Hamish Boyd, the butler Zane had only met the day he arrived, forced his way through the crowd. He used a cane to do it, shoving at people with it to clear his path. “Did I hear you say Jockie and Maisie are responsible for this?”



Zane met the old man’s eyes. He’d lost his wife to this ordeal, possibly the greatest loss of anyone on the island. Zane wasn’t sure how to answer him.



“How were two locals connected to the bodyguard lady?” Earl asked. “Or the maid of honor?”



“We don’t know yet,” Zane answered, mirroring their growing frustration with his own. “All we know is the target, and that is the information Mr. Stanton is protecting.”



There was a ruckus from several of the people standing in front of Zane, and when Zane looked over his shoulder, Kelly, Nick, and Emma were there, Jockie Fraser supported between Nick and Kelly. He was unconscious. And very, very bloody. Kelly had really worked him over. Zane was beginning to see the doc in a new light.



“Has he said anything?” Zane demanded.



Kelly shook his head. Nick didn’t much look like he should be supporting anyone’s weight at this point, not even his own, and Emma was having a hard time helping him. They cleared off one of the dining tables, and Zane helped Kelly heft Fraser onto it as Emma and Earl guided Nick to a chair.



Earl came up beside Zane and looked down at the unconscious Scot on the table, then around at the people gathered and gawking. “Someone get some rope.”



Ty took the steps two at a time, racing up to the third-floor nursery. Every step jarred his shoulder, but he knew putting the damn thing back in by himself would just risk permanent damage. He was out of breath and his arm was on fire by the time he reached the door. Deuce and Livi both stood when they heard him coming, their eyes wide and hopeful. They clung to each other as Ty stepped into the room.



“Anything?” Deuce asked.



“We found Nick. He’s the one who took the kids. He hid them to keep them safe.”



“Why?” Livi asked.



“He heard the nanny here trying to take Amelia. She was working with the groundskeeper.”



“Jockie?” Livi asked in horror. “But Maisie and Jockie have lived on this island all their lives! Her mother was my nanny, and his father was the groundskeeper before him. We played with them when we were little.”



“I don’t know the whys,” Ty said impatiently. “I don’t have any answers yet. All I know is Nick couldn’t tell us where he hid the kids, just that he did, and then he went running to lead Fraser away from them. I need to get into the walls and find them.”



Livi glanced at the entryway, gaping open beside the fireplace. “Daddy’s men went in there ten minutes ago to look. They said my dad insisted.”



Ty jerked toward the opening, alarm streaking through him. One Snake Eater had already been proven to be a traitor. And one Snake Eater was dead. How the hell could they trust any of the ones left?



“What’s that look, Ty?” Deuce asked.



Ty met his brother’s eyes. “I don’t know who the fuck to trust out here. I’m at the ‘shoot first and feel bad later’ stage.”



Deuce nodded, then brought Livi’s hand up to his lips and kissed it. “I’m coming with you.”



Ty thought about arguing, but he knew from the look in Deuce’s eyes that he’d never keep him out of those passages. His baby girl was in there. Ty nodded. “You take the flashlight. I’ll take the gun.”



Livi held on to Deuce’s hand when he took a step toward the fireplace. “I’m coming too!”



Ty stopped and watched them, eyebrows raised.



Deuce opened his mouth to protest, but Livi pointed her finger in his face. “Don’t you tell me I can’t come ’cause I’m a girl. I’m smaller and more mobile than either of you; you might need me in those passages.”



“I wasn’t going to say you can’t come because you’re a girl,” Deuce said soothingly. He reached into the passage and grabbed a handful of spiderwebs, complete with desiccated bugs and one very pissed-off spider. He held it up to her face. “I was going to say you can’t come because of this.”



Livi barely restrained a scream, but she did manage to smack Deuce in the face before hopping away and doing a little “get it off me” dance. “Fine!” she cried.



“Head downstairs so you’re not alone,” Deuce told her, then followed Ty as he ducked into the passage, aiming his powerful flashlight toward the curving stone steps near the exterior wall of the house.



Ty could already feel himself panicking a little over the closeness of the walls.



“You going to be okay in here?” Deuce asked softly.



Ty nodded. “If a bunch of kids can follow a crazy guy with a Boston accent and a gun down here, I can do this.”



Deuce chuckled almost desperately. When they got to the stairs and Deuce pointed the light down, Ty’s breath left him in a rush. It was so narrow they would both have to turn sideways to get down it. Ty’s shoulders might not even fit. He certainly couldn’t lead with his gun. “You’ve got to be five-finger fucking me,” Ty muttered.



Deuce patted him encouragingly. If his brother could be calm and supportive when his toddler was down here, in danger, with nothing but a ten-year-old with a gun and this maze of darkness to protect her, then Ty could deal with his claustrophobia.



He started down the steps, cussing the entire way, scraping rock and dust off the walls with his shoulders, wondering if it would be easier just to miss a step and ride down the damn things like a slide at a waterpark. It was certainly steep enough. The walls were so tight Deuce didn’t even have trouble with his bad leg. All he had to do was flex his arms and the walls held him in place as he took each torturous step.



It seemed like an eternity until they reached the next floor. The passages went off in three directions. They followed the outer walls, but also went into the heart of the house, probably between two bedrooms.



Deuce shone the light down each passage, cursing under his breath.



“He’d have kept going down until they couldn’t go anymore,” Ty said, echoing Kelly’s advice.



“Why do you think that?”



“Because it’s Nick. Nick always took his sisters to the basement to protect them from his dad. Then he’d go back up and push his dad’s buttons so he’d be the target instead of them. It’s the way he works.”



Deuce was silent, nodding sadly. They continued down the winding stairs. Ty had to take deep breaths to keep himself calm, but whenever he did, he’d get mouthfuls of dust, cobwebs, and musty air. He had to fight not to start coughing and alert anyone to their presence. Concentrating on the struggle was the only thing keeping him from panicking.