Chapter 14
14
NATHAN
N athan was unceremoniously slapped awake.
“Caden.” It was a whoosh of breath that left his gut when he shot upward and slammed head-first into something horribly hard. “Fuuu-dge.”
He groaned and slowly lowered his aching body and head back down, not bothering to open his eyes, until the dizziness settled and the nausea didn’t overwhelm him.
“You okay, Princess?” He could hear the smile in her voice.
Relief sagged his shoulders at the sound of her low, husky voice. She was alive. They were alive. Captured again or not, she was alive. He cracked an eye open and located Caden in the cramped space. She was hunched by his shoulders, sitting on the floor of the car she’d stolen. A bone-melting kind of ease had him breathing deeply and smiling. She’d gotten them out.
“You’d think you’d treat a princess a wee bit better. Maybe, ya know, and this is just a thought, you could have kissed me awake—like any proper knight in shining armor knows to do.”
Nathan felt more than saw the utter stillness that settled over her after he spoke. No tiny movements, no fabric moving against skin, not even the sound of her breathing. He swiveled his pounding head in her direction and listened intently for any sign of a hidden enemy.
Her dark eyes were locked on his. That frozen darkness in her eyes shifted and softened just a tiny bit. She looked... vulnerable and innocent. Nathan was careful not to show any kind of shock on his face, not wanting to startle her out of this new mood.
The stillness in her melted and she leaned forward until the space between their lips could no longer be counted in centimeters. Nathan drew a shaky breath, watching as her dark eyes focused on his lips. Blood, sweat, and cordite hung in the air. He was in pain, or he should have been feeling his newly acquired bullet holes, but with Caden’s lips so close to his, all he could feel was anticipation and a sense of awe.
For a breathless moment, she pressed her busted lips to his. It was soft and sweet and short, but Nathan felt the touch in his bones. It left him breathless and excited and triumphant and possessive and all kinds of things that made his head swim.
She moved away the barest inch, wavered like she wanted to kiss him again, but then sat back on her haunches. That hard thing in her eyes was firmly back in place.
“You’ve been out for half an hour—maybe.” All business again, she opened the door and managed to get out only using one arm. “We’re in a barn. I doubt anyone’s followed us. You’re looking kinda shock-y. Here.” She put an open bag of Skittles in his hand and turned her attention to the pile of weapons on the floorboard of the SUV.
“What happened to your arm?” Nathan sat up, slower this time, so he didn’t bash his head against the SUV’s frame again. “What’d I miss?”
“You didn’t miss much. You fainted. I loaded your heavy ass into the vehicle, I got into it with this asshat, and I dislocated my arm. I thought about knocking over a mini-mart, but decided that we’d squat for now.” She selected a Colt, a hand cannon with stopping power, from the pile of guns she’d collected while he was out. “I’ll be right back.”
“Wait—where the hell are you going?” Nathan tried to stand, but he was too slow. She was already at the door. “Caden!”
“Stop yellin’! I’m going to make sure the house is empty.” She offered a smile, not the shark smile he was used to, but an honest to god reassuring smile that had him stumbling to regain his balance.
He was feeling pain now. It was like he’d survived getting run over by an eighteen-wheeler. Sharp pain was radiating from both his shoulder and his leg. When he put weight on his shot leg, lightning bolts of white-hot pain would shoot up his leg and set his nerves on fire. Sweaty and clammy and shaking like a leaf. God, he needed to nap. And shower. Especially if he was going to do any seducing. He couldn’t do any wooing smelling like blood and guns and dirt, at least not if he was planning on succeeding.
Nathan went still, pushing the searing pain to the back of his mind, and mentally took inventory of all his hurts. His limbs were shaking, not just trembling, but actually shaking. He was cold and getting colder. Nathan recognized the signs of shock and promptly swallowed a handful of Skittles. The sugar would combat the adrenaline crash.
The man absorbed his surroundings, looking for a makeshift crutch. The only light in the place was the sunlight shining through the walls. It was a standard barn with stalls and hay bales. A loft on his right with a ladder leading up to it, wood slats under his boots, and high ceilings. It looked as if it hadn’t been used in years.
Caden had obviously driven through the double doors on the far end of the building, effectively hiding the vehicle. The SUV had no bullet holes, not in the doors or the tail, which maybe meant they hadn’t even been pursued out of the compound.
He spotted a broom in the corner and limped his way to it. He could flip it over and prop the blunt end under his arm and hope that it would hold up under his weight.
“Nathan!” Her voice was sharp and almost panicked. “Oh.” She located him in the gloom and visibly untensed. “Don’t—don’t” Nathan watched her stutter and then scowl accusingly at him like he was somehow the cause of her speech problems. “Don’t wander off. Don’t go where I can’t see you.”
“Quinn, I’m a middle-aged grown-ass man.” Was she serious? How did he even respond to something so ludicrous? “I’m not gonna get lost. Well, I might, but I’ll be able to handle it.”
“Yeah, well, the last time you wandered off on your own, you got shot. Twice . That’s two, count ‘em, two near-death experiences, and all because you didn’t stay with me. And we’re still not outta the woods with your bullet wounds either, so you may still die. So, you’re staying in my line of sight or I’m gonna knock ya out and drag your ass around.”
Nathan didn’t possess the energy to fight with her, besides the fact that the whole situation had been one big near-death experience on top of a big ol’ pile of near-death experiences shared by both parties. She’d been the one to be in a near-constant state of peril. Not him. But it was nice that she cared enough to start making demands of him.
“Is the house empty?” He limped slowly back to where she was stuffing her pockets with their weapons, the makeshift crutch holding up under his weight. She spared him a cursory glance, still looking reproachful.
“Yep, looks like it’s been vacant for a while. You think you can make it—it’s a ways to the house.”
“Yeah.” He wasn’t feeling up to even walking, but there was a bed at the place she wanted him to go. A bed and a shower and possibly even food. “Let’s do it.”
It was almost pitiful the way they jointly hobbled together out the door. If he’d had the energy, he’d have laughed outright. He was limping along, trying to manage the broom under his good arm and trying not to jostle his other arm. Caden, bleeding and bruised, was laden down with weapons. She was favoring her right side, limping, and one arm hung limp and useless whilst she kept her handgun up and at the ready.
There was nothing but wide open spaces all around him. The grass was green but sparse. There were more dirt patches than anything. An old dilapidated tractor sat on the far end of the field. A few old rusted-out vehicles were scattered across the lawn. The house itself was tiny. The brown paint was peeling, but it looked as if it had been kept up. By the time they reached the front door, they were both out of breath and sweating.
“The bed’s all the way down the hall, first door on the right.” She grunted when they’d struggled through the door and into the living room. There was a layer of dust and a level of coldness that told him the owners hadn’t been home in a while. Nathan could only manage to grunt in response and move to do as she instructed, automatically absorbing his surroundings.
The room was small and packed with all manner of random things. Knick-knacks mostly, books, and clothes. It was organized and tidy, but still compact. The bed was big enough for the both of them.
Caden grunted something, placed most of her weapons on the bedside table, and then turned on her heel and went back out the door.
Nathan took that moment to carefully chuck his shot and battered body on the bed. It was soft and there were blankets. And goddamn pillows. How long had it actually been since he’d slept on a bed? How long had they been imprisoned? It felt like ages. Nathan shifted into the bed, trying to melt into the mattress, and all but moaned at the sheer pleasure of having something with a bit of bounce and cushion under his ass.
“Here.” She was back with two cups anchored to her body with her right arm, the left one still hung loosely at her side. Nathan took the cups and watched as she sunk onto the bed beside him.
“There any more Skittles?” She glanced over at him after a few minutes of joint heavy breathing. Her voice was low and slow, like it was taking too much energy to form words.
“Yeah, here.” He shook out the rest in her trembling palm. Her knuckles were busted and blood was crusted into all the little lines of her palm. “We should see about those cuts.”
“Sleep first.” Grunting and struggling, she pushed her body up so her back was resting against the headboard.
They were both experiencing an adrenaline crash. Nathan could see the exhaustion in the lines of her face; her skin was gray and pinched in pain. His face most likely mirrored hers, but there was a warm kind of giddiness that was taking hold of his gut and breathing life back into his limbs. They were free. They were alive. They were mostly in one piece. And hell, she’d kissed him again.
But what they needed most was a nap. Some actual food would be nice, but he doubted he would be able to keep anything with actual substance down. And a bath, preferably together. Though Nathan doubted he could do anything more than just flail around. It was a nice thought.
She shifted uncomfortably and then, wonders of all wonders, a soft, he’d even go so far as to say affectionate , smirk pulled at her lips when her eyes locked on something at the end of the bed. Nathan followed her line of sight, trying to identify the thing that put that softness on her face.
“What are you smirking at?” The TV on the dresser? The stack of books propped beside it?
“I was... do you remember that one time in California? LA, I think it was.” There was more energy in her voice now. The sugar was kicking in.
“LA? I never chased you there.” Had he? Nathan racked his brain trying to pinpoint just what the hell she was talking about. He’d been to Los Angeles a total of three times and none of those times had he been chasing Quinn.
“No.” She grinned down at him. “I saw you in Chicago and thought you were tailing me, so I double-backed and followed you.”
“And then followed me all the way to LA?” Damn, how had he not seen her? Had he actually been horrible at his job? “I knew you had a thing for me.”
“I didn’t have a job lined up.” She shrugged all nonchalantly like tailing the guy who’d arrested her twice and would have done so again without hesitation was normal. “And even if I did have a teeny tiny little smidgen of a thing for you—it died a painful death when I saw you dance.”
“Dance?” He racked his brain for a party he’d attended in LA. None came to mind.
“I mean, I couldn’t hear the lyrics, but I could just tell what song it was by the dance you were doing.” Her voice was all kinds of amused like she was trying really hard not to laugh in his face.
And suddenly he knew exactly what she was talking about. “Oh my god.” Nathan could feel heat rise to his face. His ears burned with the sudden rush of blood. “Oh god.”
“All the single ladies, all the single ladies,” she sang, and Nathan blushed harder. “Are you always that into the music or was that?—”
“Okay, first of all, stalking me is unfair. And secondly, it was on the TV. And, you know what, women aren’t the only ones who can shake their asses. I rocked that song.”
He had seen it on TV. The beat was catchy as hell and it had looked like fun. He had been bored and waiting for the gala to open.
“Yeah, you did.” She laughed out loud, holding her ribs with her good arm. The husky, slightly pained sound shocked him out of his embarrassment. Hell, if she was going to laugh like she had a soul, he’d make a fool out of himself all the time. “The hip popping alone. God, I laughed for days every time that song came on the radio.”
After her laughter died down, Nathan felt his embarrassment return. How many other dances had she seen him do without his knowledge?
“Shut up, ya big stalker. At least I don’t stalk people.”
“Ah!” she snorted in disbelief and turned her indignant, dark eyes on him. “Yes, you do. You stalked me all the time.”
“That was my job! Occupational hazard. ‘Sides, the most embarrassing thing you’ve done while I watched was... hell, I don’t know—pick a wedgie.”
She laughed again, this time more wheezy and pained than before.
“I’ll have you know I am a lady . Ladies don’t pick wedgies. Stop making me laugh. I might pass out.”
Then she smiled. A real, soft-eyed smile that had Nathan swaying where he sat. Maybe it was the blood loss. But hell, she smiled, and he about fainted.
“Want me to pop your arm back in?” It took him longer than it should have to find his voice again and change the subject, but he finally got himself under control.
“You up to it?” She motioned to his shot-up shoulder and sat up when he nodded.
Nathan had dislocated his shoulder before. He knew how incredibly painful it was to do and how much more painful it was to push back in. On top of the fact that she may have broken it as well just made it that much worse.
She clenched her jaw when he picked up her hand and pulled it up until it was straight out. All the good humor in her face was gone now. She braced herself, teeth clenched, lips pursed.
“You ready?” He rested her arm on his chest and stretched his good arm until it was even with her shoulder.
“Just do it.” It was a snarl.
Making sure her arm was perfectly straight, he drew his hand back, watched as she squished her eyes closed, and slapped her shoulder. He could hear the crack of the bone snapping back into the socket and feel it under his palm. The merc went completely white, eyes wide open now. They rolled in her head and she slumped where she sat.
“Caden.” Nathan knew she had passed out, but that didn’t stop a cold finger of panic from crawling up his spine.
He found a pulse and made himself calm the fuck down because her pulse was there and it was steady, if a bit fast. Taking a deep, calming breath, he resettled her on her back, figuring her ribs were causing more pain than the lashes on her.
He needed to get his shit together. He needed to make phone calls and get them the hell out of dodge. They couldn’t survive another capture. Well, Caden most likely could because she could survive anything, but he wouldn’t last. Not with two bullet holes and no medical attention.
All the things he should have been doing were second to the thoughts of Caden Quinn and just exactly how he was going to pursue a relationship with the notorious thief. Nathan wasn’t a ‘wham-bam thank ya ma’am’ kinda guy. Fucking went hand in hand with relationship-ing.
If she didn’t want him. Well, that would suck something fierce. She’d kissed him but, Nathan figured, it was mostly because she was about to dive headfirst into mortal combat and why the hell not just kiss him? He’d cross that bridge when he came to it, though, no use borrowing trouble. Either way, he’d still have to bring her home to his parents. Ellen and Bobby Savage had a way about them that could heal all wounds.
He just didn’t know how it was going to work. It helped that there wasn’t a whole hell of a lot known about the woman, but still. He was an ex-soldier, ex-government man, just exactly everything that did not mix well with a thief. His family was all pretty much the same, law-abiding citizens and all that. Actually, it was worse because the family business was specifically targeted at the lawbreakers.
The hair on his nape stood.
Fuck.
There was no telling noise that made his senses go on alert.
Shit.
The house was quiet. No betraying creek or cloth on cloth shifting.
Damn it.
There was someone in the house. He could feel it.
Silently, the ex-soldier threw a blanket over the unconscious mercenary, stuffed the Beretta in his pants, and palmed the Colt. He hadn’t had time to pick escape routes, and it wasn’t like he could throw Caden over his shoulder and run away. Ignoring the searing pain ripping his muscles apart, he positioned himself at the foot of the bed and waited for the invisible enemy to show themselves.
One second, the doorway was empty and then it wasn’t. His finger tightened on the trigger before recognition sparked. Nathan chucked down his gun and sagged in relief.
“Jackson.” Nathan should have been surprised to see his brother sweeping the room with his barrel, but he really couldn’t muster up the energy to do so.
It was Jackson. The goddamn, surly, marvelous son of a bitch. Which meant a Savage Security team was in company as well. Hell, maybe all four teams.
“Clear,” Jackson barked into his headset and turned his attention back to Nathan.
Reid and Holden were tailing him. Which meant Dax, Maddox, and Kade were coming in from the rear.
“You asshole,” was all Nathan could muster at that particular moment. Relief and elation were smothering every other emotion.
His brother cast a disapproving look before he motioned for Reid to see to him and Holden back out to notify the rest. Holden sent him a searching look and scowled at him before quickly doing as he was ordered.
“You did it anyway, didn’t you?” He tried to sound offended and pissed, but it came out all relieved and grateful. Not at all what he was trying for.
“What—the tracking node? Of course, I did.” Like embedding a tracking node in the flesh of a family member was the most natural thing in the world and he was daft for even commenting.
Nathan had fought that fight before and it never came to anything other than the knowledge that his brother was obsessively paranoid and protective. So he decided to bring the topic back up when Caden wasn’t dying and he had some food in his belly.
“Well, then what the fuck took you so long?”
“You said you weren’t gonna do this again.” Reid, the family medic, was shrugging out of his backpack and looking all accusatory and disappointed. Like Nathan had purposefully sought out trouble and got himself captured. “Just like you said, you were gonna stop drinking soda.”
“Not me.” Nathan dodged his brother’s hands and motioned towards the lump on the bed. “Caden, she’s hurt. She passed out. Some of her ribs are broken. Her arm might be too.”
“Trucks ready. Area is clear.” Holden glided back into the room and nodded towards Jackson before turning to once again scowl down at Nathan. “Some vacation. What the fuck happened this time?”
Jackson stepped aside to talk into his radio and then his cell phone. Holden slapped his uninjured shoulder and more bodies filed into the tiny room.
“Reid, if she’s awake, don’t touch her without letting her see you first. Tell her who you are.”
Nathan couldn’t turn his head without suffering a shock of pain, so he couldn’t see if Caden was awake or not. He didn’t want Reid to lose a hand or get dead.
“Nathan! God dammit!” Suddenly Nathan was engulfed in a bear hug and being painfully squeezed. “I thought you were dead this time for sure.”
“Ease off, Maddox—shit. I’m injured.” Nathan pushed the man away and couldn’t help but smile when Maddox threw his head back and laughed. It was more relieved than amused Nathan could understand. Maddox stepped back and bumped into Dax and Kade, who’d slipped in the door behind him. Apparently, they all had to see for themselves that he was alive.
“What the hell happened to you?” Nathan tried not to visibly cringe as he took in Kade’s two black eyes, puffy broken nose, and the slight hunch on his left side.
“Your girlfriend is what happened to me.” Kade, the six-foot-something, highly trained, ex-comando, was snarling and glaring.
“Caden?” When had they even crossed paths? “Why the hell didn’t you tell her that you’re my brother?”
“Oh gee, I don’t know Nathan—it didn’t come up in conversation. Oh wait, maybe that was because there was a firefight going on and I didn’t know who was the enemy and who wasn’t.” The man’s teeth were flashing with every other word. “And fuck, I thought the family resemblance would speak for itself.”
The sheer amount of indignant sarcasm was, in Nathan’s opinion, uncalled for. Aside from the fact that they were both tall and beefy and carried the surname, there were a few distinct differences. The one Kade was referring to was the fact that he was black, while Nathan was almost painfully white in comparison.
“She beat his ass, too.” Dax was grinning from ear to ear. Gleeful that Kade had finally been so thoroughly beat. “I saw the whole thing—I was surprised he didn’t assume the fetal position and cry. I woulda.”
“I wasn’t expecting her to break her own damn arm.” He glanced surreptitiously out the window. “Now, can we get the fuck outta this goddamn country? Shit always goes south in Moscow.”
Reid giggled from his position near Caden and Nathan arched an eyebrow in question as did the Savages around him.
“Coriolis effect.” Reid craned his head to the side and just waited. Like why the hell didn’t they know what he meant and why the hell weren’t they laughing at an obviously funny joke? After a moment when no one so much as cracked a grin, the man shook his head, muttered something under his breath about stupid Neanderthals not getting a simple joke, and returned his attention to Caden.
“It’s okay, Reid, maybe someday you’ll be a real boy?—”
“Oh kiss my ass, Maddox.” Reid scowled. “It ain’t my fault you’re too thick to get a joke.”
“A joke has a punchline, not some random ass reference to inertial force.” Maddox was rolling his eyes.
“Oh, so you understood the reference, but just decided to hop on the bandwagon and pretend like you didn’t get the joke.” Reid was angrily stuffing his supplies back into his pack.
Nathan breathed in the sounds of his family and allowed his muscles to relax. His brothers were there. He didn’t need to know anything else for the time being. Caden was going to be okay. He was going to be okay. They’d escaped.
“What joke?” This time, Kade chimed in.
“Can she be moved, Reid?” Jackson cut in, voice growly and raspy, shutting down the argument and glaring at them all collectively.
“Yeah, it looks like it. You wanna carry her, Dax?”
“Sure. Wanna put her out first? I don’t want her coming to and freaking the fuck out on me.” Dax shouldered his automatic and started forward. Nathan snapped to attention again.
“Be careful. She’s hurt badly. Her back, thighs, and arms are all cut up and her ribs are broken. Just be careful.”
“Yeah, Nate, I’ll be careful.” Dax patted his shoulder and Jackson stepped into his line of sight.
“Can you walk outta here, or do I need to get a stretcher in here?” Eyes stern and scowling as per usual, Jackson scanned him, frown deepening.
Nathan maneuvered to watch as Dax toted Caden’s limp body out the door. Panic slithered up his spine again. Shouldn’t she have woken up already? Was it bad that she was still out of it? Was she going to wake up?
“Yeah.” Nathan took a deep, calming breath and stood to follow Caden out the door. “I can walk.”