8. Trace
8
TRACE
I stroke Chloe’s soft hair, pulling her tighter against me. We’re sitting on the couch, Rocky curled up beside us, two plates covered in cherry pie crumbs on the coffee table. Today has been heaven. There’s no other way to describe it. After our first time together this morning, Chloe and I haven’t been able to keep our hands off each other. We spent most of the day in bed, and now that night is drawing in, we’ll be heading back there soon. My heart is already thrumming with anticipation, and I lean in to kiss Chloe’s soft cheek, breathing in her sweet scent.
“I love it here,” she says, sighing happily as she relaxes against me.
I smile at her. “Not missing Arizona too much?”
She shakes her head. “I love Phoenix, but I sure don’t miss the heat.”
“You have a lot of friends in the city?”
I’m curious about Chloe’s life back home. She told me about her past, but there’s still so much I don’t know about her present.
“Not really,” she says. “I made a few friends in art school, but we didn’t stay in touch.”
“I didn’t know you went to art school.” My eyes flicker to the painting of Rocky. “Figures. You’re so damn talented.”
She beams at me. “Thanks. I’ve always dreamed of being an artist, but it’s not that simple. I was actually about to start a job as a school receptionist before the death threat arrived.” She shrugs. “It’s not exactly my dream, but I want to pay my share of the bills.”
My brow furrows. I want Chloe to follow her dreams, and I’d do anything to make them come true for her. Hell, I’d do anything for her, period, even leave Crave County behind and move to Phoenix. But before I can formulate these thoughts into words, my cell phone rings. I don’t get many calls, so it’s enough to make me frown down at my pocket.
“Sorry, I should get this. Might be your dad.”
Sure enough, Roman’s name flashes up on my screen, and I accept the call, holding the phone to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Trace? Are you with Chloe?”
“Yes,” I say, hoping my voice doesn’t betray the fact that my arms are around his daughter.
“Okay.” He lowers his voice. “I’m going to tell you something, and I don’t want you to react in front of her. Got that?”
My heart starts to thump unpleasantly. “Got it.” I pull away from Chloe slightly, making sure she can’t hear the buzz of her dad’s voice from my cell.
“I got another threat today,” Roman says, his voice taut. “A note shoved under my windshield wiper. Says it’s my last chance to stop chasing Mercer or…or Chloe’s blood will be on my hands.”
My veins turn to ice. Chloe is looking at me curiously, but I force myself not to react, keeping my expression even.
“He’s almost certainly bluffing,” Roman continues. “I have no reason to think Mercer or his people know where Chloe is, but I need you to be on high alert, Trace.”
“I will be,” I tell him firmly.
“Good. I appreciate it.” He lets out a ragged breath. “Fuck, I won’t be able to sleep until we catch this piece of shit.”
“Me neither.” I swallow hard, fighting not to let my rage show. “Don’t worry. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“I know you will. If I hear anything more, I’ll call you.” There’s a moment of silence before he adds, “And Trace?”
“Yeah?”
“Tell Chloe I love her.”
With that, Roman ends the call. I try to arrange my expression into something neutral as Chloe asks, “Was that my dad?”
“Yes.” I clear my throat, pocketing my phone. “He says everything is fine. The case is going well, and he’s confident they’ll get Mercer soon. Wanted me to tell you he loves you.”
She smiles. Lying to her feels wrong, but I don’t want her to be scared. She doesn’t need to know about the new threat, but there’s no damn way I’m leaving her side tonight. My body is starting to suffer from lack of sleep, but I won’t give in to it, not when Chloe’s life could be at stake.
While she heads into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash up before bed, I make myself a black coffee and gulp it down. I stride through every room of my cabin, making sure everything is locked up tight. Adrenaline is pumping through me, keeping sleep at bay as I get into bed with Chloe, holding her close. The feel of her warm body reassures me slightly. She’s safe in my arms where nobody can hurt her, but it doesn’t stop me from staring around the bedroom, watching for any signs of movement in the darkness, eyes peeled like a predator waiting to pounce.
“Goodnight,” Chloe says sleepily, her sweet voice pulling at my heart.
“Goodnight, beautiful.”
I listen to her breathing as it turns slow and heavy, absent-mindedly stroking her hair. Once I’m sure she’s asleep, I shuffle out of bed as quietly as possible and grab the chair in the corner, positioning it by the door. I sit down, feeling for the trusty handle of my axe. It’s leaning against the wall beside me, close enough to grab if I need it. My eyes are dry and scratchy, my limbs heavy with exhaustion, but I’m determined to stay awake.
I will protect my girl no matter what.
This isn’t about doing my buddy a favor anymore. It’s so much more than that. It’s about keeping the woman of my dreams safe—the woman I’m falling in love with. I would die for Chloe a hundred times over, and I won’t let anybody lay a finger on her. No fucking way. I’ll keep her safe if it’s the last thing I do.
My body jerks to life at the sound of a creak somewhere in the living room. I’ve been sitting at my post for hours, and my phone says it’s just after three in the morning. The bone-deep exhaustion I’ve been fighting against is instantly gone when I hear the creek again, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. It’s a windy night, and the trees outside are groaning noisily as a gale billows through the forest, but the creak I heard sounded closer. Like it was coming from inside the cabin.
I silently stand up and grab my axe, my heart thudding against my rib cage. Rocky is growling from the living room. My dog never growls, not unless he feels threatened.
There’s someone in my cabin.
I can feel it.
Someone who wants to harm my girl.
With a quick look back at Chloe to make sure she’s still safely in bed, I slip into the hallway, my fist tight around the handle of my axe. Rocky’s growl turns into a bark, and I abandon my attempts to be quiet. I race toward the living room and flick on the light switch, illuminating a shadowy figure in a ski mask standing by the door. Rocky jumps up at him, yapping wildly, and the figure tumbles backward, swearing. He starts to scramble to his feet, but I’m already on him, pinning him to the floor.
“Fuck!” the man hisses, trying to push me away. “Get off me, man!” He’s strong, but not as strong as me. I lift his body off the ground before slamming it back down, knocking the wind out of him. Red-hot rage courses through me, my vision darkening.
“Who are you?” I growl. “What are you doing in my cabin?”
Rocky is still barking frantically, circling us. The man behind the ski mask doesn’t say a word, and I slam him down against the floor again, gripping his throat with one hand.
“Answer me.” My voice is a snarl, more animal than man. I tighten my fingers around the intruder’s neck until he’s gasping for breath.
“G-got lost,” he chokes. “In the forest.”
“Don’t fucking test me!”
I squeeze his throat hard, cutting off his breathing until he raises his hands in surrender. “Okay! Okay!” He coughs violently, his voice raspy as he says, “Will Mercer sent me.”
“To do what?”
The man is quiet for a moment, and that’s when I notice what’s on the floor beside him—things he dropped when Rocky knocked him down. There are zip ties, a blindfold, a roll of duct tape, and a syringe full of liquid. Revulsion churns my stomach, and my fists shake as I restrain myself from throttling the man again. First, I need him to answer my questions.
“What’s in the syringe?”
“Just something to knock the girl out.”
“The girl?” I growl. “You mean Chloe.”
“Yeah. Roman Drake’s kid.”
“What were you going to do to her?”
He’s silent for a beat too long and my anger flares, turning me feral. I swing my fist back and punch him hard, feeling the crack of his nose beneath the ski mask.
“WHAT WERE YOU GOING TO DO TO HER?” I shout.
“K-kidnap her!” The man’s voice is thick and muffled, and he groans in pain. “Will told me to take her to this ab-abandoned warehouse in Yuma. We were gonna keep her there until Roman agreed to c-cooperate. Will wanted him to stop working on the investigation and work for us instead. An inside m-man on the police force.”
“So you were going to kidnap his daughter and use her to make him play along with your plan?” I ask, baring my teeth at him. “Then what, huh?”
“If Roman agreed to be our guy on the inside, we were going to let his daughter go with a w-warning. As long as he kept his end of the deal, she’d be free.”
“And if Roman didn’t agree?” My body is trembling with rage. “If he backed out of the deal?”
“I…I don’t know. It would be up to Will.” A trickle of blood pours out from the bottom of his ski mask. “Look, man, I’m just following orders. I wasn’t gonna hurt the girl, I was just gonna take her?—”
He doesn’t get the chance to finish speaking. He’s cut off by my fist slamming into his face again, then again, my hand screaming with pain as I hit the son-of-a-bitch who dared to try and take Chloe from me.
“I’ll fucking kill you before I let you touch her,” I snarl between punches. “You think you can take my girl from me?”
“Trace!” I freeze, my fist dropping to my side as I look over my shoulder. Chloe is standing there in her pajamas, her eyes wide. She reaches out her arms toward me, and I leave the intruder groaning on the floor, hurrying toward her.
“It’s okay,” I say, hugging her tight. “Everything’s okay. You’re safe now.”
“Is that Will Mercer?” she asks, her voice breathless with fear.
“No. It’s one of his minions.”
“Oh, God.” She lets me hold her, trembling slightly. “How the heck did he find me?”
“I don’t know.” I raise my voice, directing my question to the man on the floor. “How did you know Chloe was staying here?”
“One of our guys…hacked Roman’s phone.” His words are slurred and heavy. “When Roman called you earlier, Will was listening. Heard the girl was staying with you…” He breaks off, coughing hard before he adds, “Will traced the call t-to here.”
My gut twists to know that our call put Chloe in danger. Roman won’t be happy.
“How did you get here so fast?” I demand. “The call only ended five or six hours ago. We’re nearly twelve hours from Phoenix.”
“I wasn’t in Phoenix. Was doing b-business in Santa Fe. That’s w-why Will sent me. I was closest.”
“Lucky you,” I mutter darkly as he’s hit by another coughing fit. Then I turn back to Chloe. She’s already on the phone to 911, asking for the police. Once they’re on their way, she throws her arms around me. I hug her back fiercely, my heart squeezing when I think about what might have happened if I’d fallen asleep tonight. I’d have woken up to an empty bed, an empty cabin, while Chloe was tied up and drugged, taken to some warehouse back in Arizona. It’s a thought that terrifies me, and I know it will haunt me for much longer than just tonight.
“Thank you, Trace,” she says, raising on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek, “for protecting me.”
I lean down, resting my forehead against hers. “I will always be here to protect you, Chloe. Always.”