Chapter 7 Payton
PAYTON
Where was I?
I caught a glimpse of a moose head on the wooden wall before the world stopped, and all I could see was the three men who’d taken me.
My heart thundered so loud and fast that it felt like it might leap out of my chest.
I tightened my grip on the scissors, raising them when the blonde man sitting on the table shifted to the left.
He looked at his two friends, and all three of them watched me with what looked like a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Where were the others?
The man who’d taken me from the river was nowhere in sight.
That didn’t mean anything.
If these three had taken me away from the others, they couldn’t have any honorable intentions.
I shivered, and the scratchy wool blanket fell from my shoulders to pool in my lap.
They’d taken my coat.
I frowned at the thought and shifted my weight, checking to make sure the rest of my clothes were in place.
My body felt normal, except for the ache in my head.
The blonde one was talking.
His mouth moved, but my ears rang too loudly for the words to penetrate.
He held up his hands in a show of surrender and stood.
He took a step around the table, putting more distance between us.
The brown-haired one sitting near my feet followed the blonde’s example.
Reed.
I plucked his name from my memory. He was the one I’d knocked the breath out of during my escape.
Knowing his name didn’t help. “What do you want?”
The three of them lined up, hands in full view.
Damn they were tall. I craned my neck to keep them in view. The blonde one stood between the two darker-haired men.
The tallest one, the one I’d run into when I fled the room, ran a hand through his black hair.
Gray eyes swept over me.
A shudder tore through me. It should have been revulsion, but the softness in his eyes brought out an unexpected feeling I had no name for.
The brunette shifted his weight onto one foot, the move bringing him closer than the others.
Hazel eyes met mine, and he gave me the kind of heartbreaking smile that put my heart into overdrive.
His look held the heat of attraction, and no matter how much I tried to deny it, the way he devoured me with that look started a whirl of nervous butterflies within me.
I raised the scissors higher and swung my feet around to the floor.
If they decided to come after me, I’d head straight for the windows.
No doubt the door was locked. I’d have to take my chances with the glass.
“Who are you, and what do you want with me?” Anger and fear coalesced into a hardness I’d never thought I’d have to use.
I straightened my shoulders and stood, determined to meet them on their level.
A silent panic swelled my lungs. They were huge.
All three of them towered over me even when I stood.
Their shoulders would fill a doorway.
Hell, they could probably bench press my body weight, especially the one called Reed.
He lowered his arms, revealing a thick patch of tattoos on his upper arms.
The black-haired one on the other side lowered his hands, too.
Great. They were not afraid of my pathetic weapon.
I readied myself for a plunge through the glass and into the snow.
A howl of wind rattled the windowpanes, making me second-guess my decision.
“Payton.” My name rumbled from his lips in a deep, authoritative voice that rang with calmness.
“What?” I snapped toward him. Then it hit me. He’d said my name. “How do you know my name?”
“Because I know your father.” He motioned at himself. “I’m Maverick. That’s Tarron.” The blond dipped his head. “And that’s Reed.”
The one with hazel eyes swept his arms out and bowed. “At your service.”
My fingers ached from my tight hold on the scissors. My arms shook, and I almost collapsed onto the couch.
“Your father, Frank Rivers, sent us to retrieve you after he received a frantic phone call from your adventure guide.” Maverick paused, probably to let the words sink in.
They tried, but all I could think was that I’d told my captives these details. It didn’t prove anything.
They might be trying to gain my trust for some crazy reason.
Maverick didn’t move, but there was a sudden shift in the energy that lifted the temperature a few degrees.
“The state police have been looking for you, but your father didn’t want to leave anything to chance.
He called us because we are the best in the business.
I promised we’d bring you home, and that’s exactly what we plan to do. ”
“Home?” The trembling that started in my hands spread to my entire body.
I’d told myself I’d survive long enough to go home.
Standing in front of these three men who might or might not have been sent by my father, proved that I had never really believed it.
Relief tried to settle in my bones and help hold me up, but I needed more.
“Would you like to talk to him?” Maverick’s mouth was a thin slash across his face.
Understanding warmed his gray eyes.
They should have been full of anger, full of stormy shadows.
Instead, they were the kind of warm gray that reminded me of home.
“We have a satellite phone, and your father gave us explicit instructions that we’re to call anytime, day or night, to keep him updated. We would have called him earlier, but we were a little busy with your escape.”
Dad. Tears pooled so thickly in my eyes they obscured my vision. “I want to talk to him. Right now.”
“Okay.” Maverick dug into a pocket on his thigh and extracted what looked like an ancient cell phone.
He turned to the side, angling the antenna toward the windows.
Seconds that felt like hours passed as I tried to hold onto that sliver of hope and relief that promised all this was real and not a figment of my overwrought imagination.
“Please don’t try to run away.” Reed shifted again, almost like he wanted to move toward me.
I shuffled backward, keeping the scissors between us.
They were a pitiful weapon, but they were stronger than my fists.
“Sir, Payton would like to speak to you.” Maverick had the phone to his ear, and he turned slowly to face me. “Yes, sir. She’s right here.”
My chest caved in as my father’s voice carried across the entire room with a boom. “Put her on the phone. Now.”
“Daddy.” I dove for Maverick’s outstretched hand and yanked the phone from him, slamming it to my ear. “I’m here.”
“Payton. It’s good to hear your voice.” He sounded close to tears.
The thought caused my own to fall. “Yours too. I thought they were going to kill me.” I cupped a hand around my mouth. “Can you describe the men you sent to get me?”
“Why?” He barked out the question with such harshness that I trembled.
“I want to make sure I’m with the right people.” I kept an eye on all three of them.
Reed’s low laugh sent that same flurry of butterflies dancing in my stomach.
Maverick and Tarron shook their heads at Reed.
Dad blew out a long sigh.
“Payton, the man who called is Maverick. He’s the one I gave the phone to.” He gave a description of each man, all the way down to the tattoos on Reed’s arm. “I only met Maverick in person, but I ran full checks on all three men.”
“You trust them?” I’d never had to be so suspicious before. I hated it.
“I sent them after you, the most precious person in the world to me. I trust them more than I’ve trusted anyone except for you.”
From Dad, that was a ringing endorsement.
“Now, answer me. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” The wounds I’d suffered were nothing compared to what they could have been. Dad didn’t need to hear about any of that. “I was so scared. They didn’t hurt me, though. They wanted to ransom me because they thought some arms dealer was my dad.”
Tarron snapped his head around to look at Maverick, whose eyebrows had drawn down into a hard V.
The windows rattled with another howl of wind, and static crackled across the phone.
“Payton? What’s going on?” Worry laced Dad’s voice.
“We’re in the middle of a storm.” I made my way around the room, taking in the rustic and slightly outdated furniture.
The cabinets held an assortment of canned goods that were probably expired.
Thick flannel curtains bracketed the windows.
I stopped in front of one and peered into the gloomy darkness.
Ice hammered into the glass and obscured my vision of anything further than an inch away. “I’m sorry, Dad.”
“This was not your fault. Don’t you ever apologize for the sins of others.” His voice cracked. “I’m glad you’re okay. You’re the only thing in this world I can’t bear to lose.”
“I love you, too.” I placed my palm against the window and let the cold seep into my skin.
It grounded me to the threat that lingered out of reach. We still had to get out of Alaska. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Let me talk to Maverick.” The clear order told me he’d recovered from the shock of losing me and was ready to move on to the next step.
I held out the phone to Maverick without moving away from the window.
His reflection appeared in the window behind me, his height and the breadth of his shoulders making me look small.
I almost grinned at the thought, but held it back.
Maverick put the phone to his ear and met my gaze in the glass. “Yes, sir, I’m here.” He nodded. “Our timeline has changed a bit. We’re facing some complications.”
“Complications? Like what?” Dad had never been subtle.
Maverick took it all in stride. “Nothing we can’t handle. We’ll have her home as soon as possible. And we will keep her safe.”
The savageness that twisted his face would scare me if it weren’t directed at my safety. He meant every word. He nodded one last time, then ended the call.
I dropped the scissors onto the table beside me, letting them fall to rest beside a checkers game spread out on a flannel square. “What kind of complications?”
Maverick wore a look I recognized.
“Don’t lie to me. I deserve to know what we’re up against.” I crossed my arms and turned so we stood face to face.
Reed and Tarron closed in on either side of Maverick.
The three of them together created an intimidating wall of muscle. I ignored that the best I could.
“We didn’t make it out of the mercenary camp unnoticed. We were chased and forced to abandon our transportation and our original plan of escape.” He said it all without emotion, like this was nothing to him.
My face heated as I remembered what I’d done when they showed up.
I’d never been mortified before, but I recognized the feeling sweeping through me. “It’s my fault, isn’t it?”
Reed’s grin stretched wider and wider. He clamped a hand to Maverick’s shoulder. “It’s okay. We like a challenge.”
“Reed.” Tarron put a warning in that single word.
Reed made a flapping motion with his hands, brushing off Tarron. “It’s fine. Really. I’d even say it was worth it. We like a woman who keeps us on our toes.”
My body warmed with more than the flush of embarrassment.
I crossed my arms over my torso as a shiver tracked down my spine and into my hands.
The way he said those words combined with the sultry look in his eyes.
Between the two, it almost seemed like he found me attractive for the challenge I presented.
“You sure about that?” I jutted my chin up to meet his laughing hazel eyes.
He crossed his arms too, making the T-shirt ride higher on his deltoids and exposing more of his tattoos.
Flames wrapped around the lower half and spread up his arm until they met a series of lines that created a geometric pattern I didn’t recognize.
He caught me looking and smirked, flexing and rolling his arms around to show me more. “Like what you see, kitten?”
“Nuh-uh.” I ticked my finger back and forth, unable to stop myself. “I don’t do pet names. You scared the shit out of me. You don’t get to call me anything.”
“Bet.” Reed stuck out his hand, his cheeks dimpling with his smile. A tiny cut marred his lip, and I swung my gaze around to check Tarron, who also had a split lip.
Wow. I’d really gotten a lick in on both men.
My own lip twinged when I met Reed’s grin with my own. “You should know better than to bet with me, but since you’re so smug about it, sure. What are the stakes?”
“I’ll let you know.” He winked and moved away. “I’m going to find something for us to eat.” Heat built in his words when he looked back at me over his shoulder. “I’m starving.”
He was too attractive for his own good.
Now that I wasn’t running for my life and terrified of them, I was able to take in their attractiveness without anything holding me back.
They possessed the kind of bodies gifted by the gods and honed by hours of physical exertion.
I’d never seen so many muscles on one body, much less three side by side.
And I was in a cabin alone with them until the storm blew over.