Chapter Sixteen
C olt fucking hated this plan. He’d spent two days punching holes in it, only to see how strong it was.
Dammit, what he and his brothers had put together was going to work.
He wished to hell there was any other way to lure that bastard out of his hiding place, but Aspen was right. If they wanted to catch him now, and end this ASAP so they could move on with their lives, he had to put her at risk.
The California sun streamed through the big windows on the front of the restaurant. Around them, the buzz of indie music and the conversations of the hipsters who visited this local spot distracted the hell out of Colt.
He sank into his brooding thoughts of how to place safeguards around Aspen so nobody could touch her. Gideon was too smart and capable, and that made him an even bigger threat. He’d already proved once that he’d stop at nothing to get her.
Colt wished to hell he could make himself the target. But Gideon knew what he and Gray looked like. Neither of them could be the bait.
They sat around the table with plates of sandwiches in front of them.
Aspen had only picked at her sandwich, and Colt gave up trying to eat at all. He had no appetite when everything hung in the balance.
It was high time that he was honest with himself. During their initial planning back in Carson’s office, he’d almost slipped and blurted out that he wouldn’t let the woman he loved put a target on her back. Why had he stopped himself?
He knew what he wanted. She was sitting right beside him, close enough to reach out and touch.
Under the table, he settled a hand on her thigh. The warm, firm muscle twitched beneath his fingers. Then her silky fingers tangled with his. Their gazes connected for a moment, and in her eyes, he read what must be in his own.
She felt the same.
“There has to be a better way.” He thumped a fist lightly on the table. “Than to let my little sister…”
He thumped it again, harder this time.
“And my woman ”—he hit the table a third time, with force—“be the bait.”
Aspen let out a small noise, scarcely a puff of breath. A pink flush climbed her cheeks.
Carson pushed away his plate with a few crumbs left there and leaned forward, his voice low and urgent. “We fucking hate it too, bro. But if all goes according to plan—and we have to believe it will—then we will be the ones in control.”
Gray nodded. “In an hour, Aspen will arrive at the lake and drive slow enough for Gideon to see her. If he’s in the vicinity, he’ll follow. Aspen will continue on to the cabin, and Willow will meet her.” He cast a glance at their surroundings, making sure no one could overhear, but the closest diners were toward the front of the restaurant.
Brushing crumbs off her lips, Willow picked up on the thread of the plan. “Gideon will believe that Aspen is going to the Tahoe house to meet with a client. That client will be me.”
Colt narrowed his eyes at her. “How the hell can you eat knowing what you’re about to do?”
She blinked at him.
He barreled on, “No. Of course you’re calm. What girl with six brothers isn’t chill about danger? Hell, we urged you to jump off the porch roof into stacks of hay. You’re going to trust anything we ask of you.”
Aspen squeezed his hand. “Colt, you’re going to be watching us every minute. You won’t let anything happen to us.”
He hoped to hell they weren’t leading Willow into something much worse than the possibility of breaking her neck in a daredevil jump.
And Aspen…
Christ.
He had to bury all of his fears for this.
He shoved away from the table, the metal chair legs screeched on the floor. “Let’s get this party started.”
Willow raised her hands in the air and pulsed them in a mock dance, which had his brothers chuckling and a smile twisting Aspen’s sweet lips. But Colt was anything but amused.
He’d been in enough battles to know how quickly things could go bad.
As they left the restaurant and piled into the SUV, Colt worked on getting his head in the game. He was good. The fucking best. This son of a bitch wasn’t going to best him. He had the skills with a sniper rifle to end Gideon from half a mile away, and if it came to a threat against his sister or the woman he loved, goddammit, he would take the shot.
Everyone in the vehicle was silent as they drove to the next stop. The big car park had two cars planted just for them.
Carson stopped at the end of a row. “Red Mercedes. Third space in.” He twisted in his seat to level their baby sister in his stare. “Good luck, Willow.”
She tossed them all a smile and climbed out. Through the glass, Colt watched her walk with the long, confident steps of a woman who knew her role, but he couldn’t help but think how young she was. A baby compared to the rest of them who had seen war, taken lives to preserve others.
Before she even reached the Mercedes, Carson pulled away and drove to the back of the lot. In the row, Colt picked out the vehicle that Aspen would drive. His muscles hardened one by one.
Aspen turned to him. “This is me.”
She started to get out, but he wrapped his fingers around her wrist, keeping her in place.
Swooping in, he kissed her with a hard stamp on the lips. When he pulled back, he stared deep into her eyes. “Be careful, princess.”
With a nod, she smoothed her thumb over his bottom lip. Then she jumped out and took off walking with all the confidence that Willow did.
“Fuck, those two are going to kill me,” he muttered.
Carson scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know the feeling.”
Before Colt could catch a glimpse of Aspen again, Carson drove away.
The next steps of their plan continued seamlessly, with them driving to the lake and parking far away from the cabin.
Carson went off to man his position in easy access to the cabin.
Colt grabbed his rifle, prepared to head to the sniper position—the second floor of his own dock. He paused, swinging back to face Gray.
“You’re supposed to be back at base tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t sound excited about returning to his aircraft carrier.
Colt stepped up and gripped him by the shoulder. “Have you made a decision, then?”
“I’ve got a few more hours to make up my mind. This fight better live up to its promises and give me the adrenaline rush I need or I’ll be signing on that dotted line.” He sliced a grin at Colt.
He huffed out a chuckle. “For Willow and Aspen’s sake, let’s hope it doesn’t.”
Gray extended a fist, and Colt bumped knuckles with him.
Colt started to turn away.
“Hey, bro,” Gray called out.
He twisted toward him.
“Watch yourself. This guy is unstable.”
“Don’t you have a cloud to go fluff or something?”
Gray flashed a grin. “Cloud fluffing isn’t official pilot protocol.”
He snorted, and they went their separate ways.
When he took up his position, crouched out of sight on the second story of the dock, his heart thundered in sync to the hum of the comms device in his ear. He and his brothers were all linked, but Willow and Aspen were operating in the dark.
He steadied his breaths—the only thing he had control over. Soon Gideon would show up and Black Heart Security would end the threat.
This wasn’t about duty. It was about family. It was about making sure that Aspen could sleep without fear.
It was about protecting the woman who had managed to break through all his walls.
Three hundred yards away, a light snapped on in the cabin.
“It’s go-time,” he murmured. He clenched his fists, laser-focused on what he was about to do.
No hesitation. No mistakes.
They would end this—together. And when it was over, they would return to the ranch.
Then he would make damn sure that Aspen knew where she fit in…
Right beside him.
* * * * *
Aspen’s heart rattled around in her chest as she entered the lock code on the door. Pushing it inward and actually entering the space took a strength of will she hadn’t felt since the days of battling cancer. Then, she had to force herself to leave her house, to get in the Uber and go to chemotherapy.
She was in no less of a fight for her life now.
With a deep breath, she opened the cabin door and stepped into the cool space. Her boots scraped on the tile of the entryway. Now that she’d been inside the Malones’ home, she recognized several similarities between the materials used in both places. Willow’s touch was evident.
The hominess of the space hit her immediately. The lingering scent of cedar and pine seemed to have seeped in even though it was closed up.
As per her instructions from the guys, she set out through the house, switching on lights. She flung the patio door wide open to allow the cool fall air to circulate and clear out the smell of a house unoccupied. It also offered a quick entry point for Carson, who was lurking nearby.
Or an escape for her and Willow.
When she entered the living area, she stopped. The normally cozy area would have soothed her under any other circumstances. She envisioned nights in front of a flickering fire in the hearth, wrapped up in Colt’s arms.
As she passed by the sofa, she reached out and stroked her fingers along the plaid wool blanket that they’d made love on by the water.
Even though everything looked beautiful and calming, to her, the world was warped and ominous. The walls felt claustrophobic and looming. The rustle of branches outside the big windows made her heart seize. Her pulse spiked.
Did Gideon take the bait?
They had to hope.
She must be crazy to suggest that she put herself in the middle of danger. Gideon proved he would stop at nothing to hurt her…but she was counting on that, wasn’t she?
She continued toward the stairs, heart pounding. Each step she took, every creak of the wood beneath her boots, had her gut clenching.
Upstairs, she switched on the lights in the blue bedroom and the green. Then she went to the master bedroom and switched on the overhead chandelier as well as the light in the master bathroom. Then she stood at the big window she admired so much and gazed out at the view.
The lake reflected the gray sky of evening. The water was choppy from the wind, adding to the frightening feel.
Colt, Carson and Gray were out there, watching and waiting. They were wired, connected with earpieces.
Aspen hated being in the dark.
She glanced at her wristwatch—her mother’s—to check the time. Willow would be here soon.
Pulling her gaze away from the view, she hurried downstairs to wait for her arrival. A rustic clock on the mantel ticked a little too loudly. So did her heart.
A few minutes later, a knock at the door made her jump. She squelched a cry and rushed to answer it.
As soon as she opened it and saw Willow, relief passed between them. They were both on edge, but they had each other.
She slapped a smile on her face. “Welcome! You must be Emma.” Her voice carried just the right amount of forced cheer in case Gideon was close enough to hear.
“So good to meet you at last, Miss Grace.”
Reaching out, she clasped Willow’s hand. “Please, call me Aspen.”
The warm feel of her palm felt like a lifeline. They shared a smile and Aspen moved to close the door. The hair on her nape stood up as she realized Gideon might be watching them right now.
If everything went according to plan, he was.
Willow stepped into the entryway, looking around as if she’d never seen the place before. “Wow, this is just as lovely as you claimed.”
Their plan was to act their parts. Willow was in the market for a vacation retreat. Aspen was the travel concierge.
She waved a hand at the space. “Shall I show you around?”
“That would be wonderful.” Willow breezed through the rooms like she did this every day instead of working with veterans and horses.
They crossed the living room, and Aspen chattered on about the history of Lake Tahoe and what year this cabin had been built. She didn’t know the facts, but she made them up with far more ease than she ever guessed possible under such duress.
When they reached the open patio door, Willow stepped up beside her. They faced the outside, neither of them breathing.
This was it. The next stage of the plan. Aspen and Willow were supposed to go outside onto the wide deck and put themselves in the open. To show Gideon that they were here, alone.
In slow steps, they sauntered out. Willow moved to her side again. “Think he’s out there?” She murmured so quietly that it might be the wind blowing through the fall leaves.
“Yes,” she breathed back.
Long seconds passed…and nothing happened.
She caught Willow glancing down at the time on her phone. Then she looked up and held Aspen’s stare as if to tell her that they had to stay a bit longer in order to stick to the schedule.
Time ticked by with so much slowness, she felt like she was caught in a time warp.
“Think it’s been long enough?” she whispered as she stepped up to the railing.
“Let’s give it another minute.”
Her heart throbbed in her throat. Fear swamped her insides, knotting her up.
She started to count the seconds in her head. Then, as one, they turned away from the door and went inside.
She continued talking about the features of the cabin as well as its proximity to entertainment. Only a couple times did her voice wobble. Willow nodded and smiled encouragingly, pretending that she was excited about the property, but underneath every word, she offered sisterly support.
They walked around the kitchen, checking everything out even though Aspen knew it was rare that a billionaire on vacation would cook for themselves.
Her frayed nerves crackled like live wires, zapping in her chest until it was hard to breathe. Had Gideon fallen for the bait, or was this a wasted gamble?
She moved to the kitchen counter, her fingers curling on the cool granite. Looking out the window into the fading light of day, Aspen said a silent prayer for Colt, for Willow and their brothers. They were all risking their lives to end this nightmare for her tonight.
The silence pressed in on her, unnerving and thick.
It was too quiet. Too still.
Something was coming. Something big, like a storm about to break.