Chapter Twelve
C olt’s long legs ate up the ground to the front of the cabin. He burst in to see Gray scrambling to his feet. His knees dipped, and he staggered. Then he stood swaying.
Blood dripped from his nose at a steady pace. He raised a forearm and swiped the blood away on his coat sleeve.
“Son of a bitch got away.” His brother spat a glob of blood on the floor.
“He ran out?”
Gray gave him a grave nod. “I’m sorry, man. He got a bonus punch in that made me see stars. By the time I could see straight, he was gone.” Embarrassment seeped into his voice, thickened by his bloody nose.
Gray took a hasty step toward the door gaping open to the elements. “I’ll go after the bastard.”
Colt whipped an arm out, barring Gray’s path. “It’s my fault for leaving. I should have beaten the guy to a bloody pulp and made damn sure he couldn’t get up anytime soon.”
“You had to get Aspen safe.”
Gray took a step and swayed on his feet, his face draining of color. He looked about to collapse like a building wired with explosives.
Colt grabbed his brother by the shoulders and looked into his eyes. His pupils were blown.
“Fuck. How hard did he hit you?” He’d seen head injuries before, and Gray had one.
“I’m okay.”
“Neither of us is going after that motherfucker tonight. You need medical care, and I’m taking Aspen back to the ranch. Come on.” With his weapon in hand, Colt took Gray by the arm and led him out to the vehicle.
Through the windshield, he met Aspen’s wide-eyed stare. He gestured for her to unlock the SUV, and by the time he reached for the back door handle, she’d hit the locks.
“I got it.” Gray slashed a hand through the air in protest as Colt insisted on aiding him inside.
With another quick scan of the empty cabin yard, Colt jumped behind the wheel and took off into the night.
“Colt! Gideon got away!” Aspen’s raspy tone sent an ache into his chest.
“I know.” His jaw flexed with anger about Gideon’s escape, but he had more important things to concern himself with at the present time. Like getting his brother checked out and Aspen to a place where no one would ever be able to get to her again.
He shot her a look. Fear burned in her eyes, and he reached out to squeeze her arm in reassurance. “Gray’s injured. That fucker hit him hard enough to give him a head injury.”
“Oh no!” She twisted in her seat to look at Gray.
“I’m fine,” Gray muttered.
Colt stepped on the gas. “It could have happened to anybody, brother.”
A humorless laugh burst past Gray’s lips. “All those years you were the quiet brother, the guy who didn’t get involved. Now you’re giving me a pep talk?”
“If we could defeat every villain, the world would be perfect and we wouldn’t have to fight anymore.”
Aspen twined her fingers with his. Her shivers telegraphed into his arm, and he steeled his muscle to absorb them. If he could take on every tremble of her fear, he damn well would. And he’d take on his brother’s injuries as well.
Dammit. He blamed himself for Aspen getting snatched in the first place. He should have gotten her out of the cabin before the avalanche. He shouldn’t have left his brother alone, locked in hand-to-hand combat with a man who had nothing to lose and everything to fight for.
He gently extracted his hand from Aspen’s and pulled out his phone and dialed Willow. As soon as his baby sister answered, he growled out, “Willow, I’m coming in hot with Aspen and Gray. Aspen was kidnapped.”
She gasped.
“Gray has a concussion.”
Gray’s low groan followed. “Dammit, Colt. Why did you have to tell our sister? You know how she fusses.”
“What do you need me to do?” Willow’s voice was calm and cool despite what he’d just told her.
“Get the ranch doc to meet us in…” He glanced at the dashboard clock, checking their ETA. “Two hours. He can check out Gray and then the therapist can talk to Aspen.”
“Two hours? You sure you don’t need to get them to a hospital now?”
“No,” Gray spoke up loud enough for Willow to hear. “I’m fine. If I can’t handle a little concussion, I’m too weak to return to the military.”
Amusement tinged Willow’s tone. “Well, you’re a pilot. Don’t you have the softest hand in the military?”
“That’s the Coast Guard,” Colt spoke up.
“We don’t even count them as military,” Gray ground out. “And no, my hands are not soft. Why are we even having this discussion? You’re not in the military, Willow.”
She issued a low chuckle. “Sounds like you’re going to be okay, Gray. All right, I’ll get things rolling now and have everything in place when you arrive.”
“I’m going to drop you a pin. Get the police out to the location to hunt for a man named Gideon Page. About five-nine. Two hundred pounds. Muscular build. Brown hair, blue eyes. Last seen wearing a black coat.”
“Got it. I’ll have my phone on me, but I’ll be in the barn most of the night. One of the horses is colicky.”
For all her rough, sassy and tomboyish ways, his little sister possessed a tender streak when it came to all animals. She was the Malone sibling who dragged home stray kittens, and they all tried to hide them away from their father, knowing he would get rid of any animal he deemed useless. Unless it was a horse or cow that could bring in a dollar, their father didn’t see animals as having any purpose.
“I hope your horse is all right, Willow.”
“I have Dutch with me. Between the two of us, we’ve got it covered.”
“Dutch is good.” The veteran had been in the program a little over a year now, and after spending all that time totally mute, he was beginning to have breakthroughs. “Call the vet if you need to.”
“Oh, I will,” she breezed out as if that should be obvious. And it was—no one would stop Willow once she set her mind to something.
Colt scrubbed a finger under his nose as emotion struck. “Willow?”
“Yes?”
“I’m damn glad to have you in my corner.”
For a moment, his sister was rendered speechless. Silence throbbed in the vehicle.
“Are you sure you don’t have a concussion too, Colt?”
His rough laugh burst out, and Gray issued a hiss of mirth from the back.
He ended the call and set his phone in the cup holder, reaching for Aspen’s hand once again.
She clasped his hand, and he noted that she wasn’t trembling as much as she had been minutes before.
“Two hours,” he told her and his brother. “Hang in there, okay?”
“If you were a pilot, Colt, you could fly the jet and get us there faster.”
He snorted at his brother’s jab.
“Both of you are amazing.” Aspen’s words came out softly. “Your entire family is beyond capable. I feel so safe with all of you.”
Colt sent her a look, hoping that he was still good at masking his feelings, but the more time he spent with Aspen, the softer he felt himself growing.
He couldn’t let her see a single trace of sadness on his face. Later, once he had her safe behind locked doors, he would break the news to her—that she wasn’t safe.
Until Gideon was captured…or killed…Aspen wasn’t safe.
* * * * *
The thick woolen blanket that Colt wrapped around Aspen’s shoulders slipped down her arms, and she drew it more snugly around her. She curled into the warmth, but she didn’t seem to gain much from the blanket.
Could this day get any longer? It seemed like a week ago that they’d arrived at the Wyoming cabin. How carefree she’d been, eager to explore the space as a prospective destination for her clients.
And it seemed like ages ago that she and Colt had browsed through the shops in search of specialty items for a welcome basket.
They’d almost died. They could have died.
The terror of surviving an avalanche felt fresh in her veins.
The leap in her chest at being rescued felt like it just happened minutes ago, when really hours and hours had passed.
Looking up through the hole in the snow only to see Gideon’s face made her stomach bottom out all over again.
Unexpectedly, a huge yawn cut short the rest of her memories of the day. It was too many emotions for one person to feel in a year, let alone in twenty-four hours.
Colt hadn’t left her alone since they arrived at the ranch, hardly venturing more than a few steps away.
Right now he hovered close, on the phone with his oldest brother. When she yawned and huddled deeper into the blanket, he stopped talking to give her his complete attention. Deep gray eyes studied her with shocking intensity.
“Copy that,” he said to the caller. “For the time being, we’re here. I’ll see you in a little while.”
He swiped his thumb over the screen to end the call and set aside his phone on the rustic wood coffee table. It looked old, scarred from so much use. Aspen imagined the furniture had been in the Malone family for years and years, given how beat up it was. In contrast to the updated leather furniture in the space, it added a lot of interest.
When Colt dropped onto his knee in front of Aspen, she blinked at him in surprise. Just being so close to her savior created a new wakefulness in her mind.
He cupped her cheek in one broad hand. “You’re tired.”
“I’m okay. I know your brothers want to talk to me about what happened.”
He studied her for a long beat, gaze roaming over her face as though he was trying to puzzle out whether she was really capable of talking, though she’d already spoken briefly to the ranch therapist at his insistence. The ordeal hadn’t been nearly as painful as she thought it would be. The woman named Bella had asked only a few questions about her mental state before promising that they’d speak more the next day. Then the ranch’s medical doctor cleared her as well.
“Is there coffee? I could use some.”
“Coffee I can do.” He pushed to his feet in a smooth, graceful move, reminding her of an elite athlete.
She watched his broad back disappear through the living room doorway. God, she really was exhausted after all that happened. The comfortable cushions underneath her made her aware of all the aches and pains she’d suffered during her ordeal.
The back of her head, where Gideon had struck her to knock her out, pounded in time to her heartbeat. Her eyes slid shut.
The scuff of a boot on the floor made her eyes fly open. Across the beautiful living room, she met Colt’s stare.
He carried a small tray bearing two mugs. The rich scent of coffee perked her up, and she pushed into a more upright position. The blanket slipped again, and she drew it over her shoulder.
“I can’t seem to get warm.”
With a pinch of concern between his brows, he set the tray down on the coffee table. “No wonder, after being buried in that snow.”
“You don’t seem to be hypothermic.”
He gave her an appraising look but he didn’t respond to her statement. The expression on his rugged features told her enough—he didn’t want to talk about himself.
She knew that Colt was kicking himself. During the trip to the Black Heart Ranch, the hard line of his jaw suggested that he believed things should have gone much, much differently.
She slipped one hand free of the blanket and reached for him.
He took her fingers in his warm, rough clasp. “God, you are frozen.”
Without asking first, he sat down beside her and drew her into his lap. As he tucked the blanket around her body and shared his heat with her, she let out a contented sigh and snuggled into his embrace.
“Looks like being stuck on the ranch isn’t such a bad thing.”
“Thank god I got you back.”
His statement stunned her. Her lips parted, but no words came out.
For the first time in hours, his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners in something other than strain.
Just then, two more dark-haired, gray-eyed Malones entered the room, dragging her attention away from her lover. Her rescuer.
Colt’s siblings stopped in the middle of the room, gazes locked on her nestled in Colt’s lap. She started to wiggle off, but he banded an arm around her middle and held her against him.
“You know Gray. And Willow.” Colt’s brief introduction brought nods from his siblings.
Aspen returned it with as much decorum as a woman could when she was sitting on her lover’s lap. Colt didn’t want her to move—and honestly, she didn’t want to either.
“Carson’s ETA is five minutes.” Gray swept across the space to one of the big sofas and sank to it without so much as a twitch to convey that he might sport a headache.
Willow was as tall as a model, but the big leather armchair swallowed her up. Aspen didn’t know much about her, other than she had been in the wedding party and was friendly to her at the reception.
Colt reached out and hooked a long finger through the handle of the coffee mug. He held it in front of Willow, and she snaked her hands out of the blanket to accept it from him.
Curling her palms around the heated mug brought her comfort. The semblance of normalcy. Even though her world had gone topsy-turvy, there was still coffee. And for Colt, there was family.
She’d been through much, much worse in her life, but she had to admit that she was frightened. Those hours she had been trapped with Gideon, she barely held it together. The only way she hadn’t lost her mind was by stuffing down her emotions, shoving them to the back burner.
Now the Malones were going to drag everything out of her that she could remember. They meant to help her, and for that she was grateful. But she didn’t know how well she’d be able to keep it together once she started sharing what happened.
She sipped her coffee, and Colt grabbed his own. He took a big gulp and set the mug back down on the tray without so much as jostling her.
He tipped his jaw toward Gray. “How’s the head?”
“As hard as ever,” Willow spoke up before Gray could answer.
Gray gave her a flat look Aspen imagined only siblings were capable of giving each other. “Thanks, Willow.” He directed his attention to Colt. “Doc says I’ll be fine.”
“But he has a mild concussion,” Willow put in.
Gray widened his eyes at her. “Which is no big deal.”
Willow seemed to be enjoying herself. She crossed her amazingly long, slender legs clad in dark brown riding pants and gave him a sassy look. “Probably as a result of the fractured nose.”
Gray groaned. “A hairline fracture.”
Aspen winced in sympathy. “I’m sorry that happened to you. And I really appreciate you fighting for me.”
He returned her look with a short nod, acknowledging her gratitude.
At that moment, a door slammed shut somewhere in the house.
“That’ll be Carson.” Willow turned to look at the door. Seconds later, a third Malone brother appeared in the doorway. As tall and broad as Colt.
He strode into the room, casting off his heavy canvas jacket as he did. He tossed it over the back of the sofa and plopped down next to Gray.
“Your head?”
“Fine.” Gray shot Willow a warning look.
She caught Aspen’s gaze and rolled her eyes as if to say, “Boys.”
Suddenly, Aspen was wide awake and the chill in her skin vanished, leaving her toasty warm in Colt’s arms.
Carson’s attention fell on them, taking in how Colt held her on his lap with absolutely no apology or self-consciousness.
“Let’s get straight to it. I know Colt and Gray’s part of the story. Aspen, maybe you can fill in some gaps for us.”
She hesitated a beat, gathering her thoughts.
Colt’s voice rumbled close to her ear. “My family owns the Black Heart Security agency. We’re trained to handle this.”
She realized he thought she’d paused because she didn’t trust their credentials. With a shake of her head, she said, “Oh, I trust you all. With my very life.” One by one, she met each of their gazes, lastly twisting to look at Colt. “I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Carson nodded. “Can you tell us what happened following the avalanche, after you were pulled out of the snow?”
“I saw a man hovering over me. I thought it was Colt coming to my rescue, but then I realized I knew this man. It took me a minute to place him. When I said his name, he yanked me out of the snow. I don’t remember much after that. He hit me over the head, and he’s strong from hard labor. He knocked me out.”
Her gaze shifted to Gray. Only a small tightening around his lips told her that he felt the same aftereffect of Gideon’s strength.
“I woke up on the plane— my plane,” she continued. “Gideon is the nephew of my dear friend who passed away. He was furious at the reading of the will because… Well, she left me what was left of her fortune. It was enough money to set me up in business and purchase the jet that helps me shuttle my clients all around the world if they don’t have their own arrangements.”
Everyone listened, and she took another sip of coffee to wet her dry lips.
“Gideon told me that he caused all my recent troubles. He messed with the landing gear of my plane. He stole the wood from the first cabin so we’d freeze. When we went to another cabin, he got there before us and broke the furnace so it would poison us with carbon monoxide.”
“Jesus Christ.” Carson scrubbed a hand over his face.
“Then he confessed that he started that avalanche.”
“The avalanche is the first time he stepped outside of his wheelhouse.” At Willow’s contemplative statement, everyone looked at her.
“What do you mean?” Colt’s rough tone vibrated through his chest into Aspen’s body.
“Before that, he sabotaged mechanical things. The landing gear, the furnace. For the firewood, he only had to load it up and haul it away. But to create an avalanche, he had to do something much bigger and hope his plan went the way he intended. That disaster he created could have easily killed him too.”
A shudder ran through Aspen. “Gideon has snapped.”
“And got himself caught.” Colt issued a low noise like grinding stone. “Just before the avalanche, I heard an explosion. I thought it was just a tree branch hitting something metal in the area. Once I felt the ground start to shake, I knew what was happening. Now I realize Gideon probably used explosives.”
Aspen was suddenly bone-cold again, unnerved by the prospect of all the things that could have happened to her.
To Colt.
When he felt a quiver run through her, he cleared his throat. “You have enough to start the investigation. We’re going to stay in the guest room tonight.”
Willow’s jaw dropped. Carson and Gray both gave Colt identical looks, eyebrows cocked like that facial feature had been cloned.
Carson’s mouth twitched. “You always sleep in the barn, brother.”
“Not tonight.” Colt shifted forward, gently setting Aspen on her feet. The blanket started to fall off her shoulders again, but he quickly grabbed it as he stood.
Staring down into her eyes, he draped the wool around her body. “Aspen’s had a long day. I’m taking her to bed.”