Captured by the Bodyguard (11 page)

But for now, he was prepared to wear the label of hateful beast, the devil himself since that was obviously how she now viewed him.

Cane heaved a sigh, lifting his head off the marble surface of the wall. Suddenly, even through the water rushing around him, Cane caught it. The sound. He frowned, his powerful, trained hearing sharpening as he suddenly heard the soft yet unmistakable click of the front door closing.

It took three seconds for Cane’s brain to register what was happening. Alexandra. She’d left the house.

He didn’t need to wonder if he was wrong. His gut instinct told him it was just the thing she would do, especially after last night.

Oh,
fuck no
, Cane thought with red-hot fury as he punched a furious fist into the wall, ignoring the pain he didn’t even feel as he grabbed a towel and headed out of the shower, his movements quick as lightning. He knew exactly what he was going to do.

He’d go after her. He’d bring her back, even if he had to drag her by her hair. And then, he’d turn her on his knee and give her such a spanking his whole arm would be throbbing once he was done. As for that juicy tempting bottom of hers…well, needless to say, sitting down on it would be a problem after he’d be finished with her.

“Alexandra!” he yelled, knowing she was probably not going to hear him. But if she had, she’d have been filled with a terrible dread. Because now Cane was mad. Hopping, raise-hell mad. In mere seconds, he was dressed in clothes and shoes and rushing out the front door after her.

Alexandra Duke had never ever really seen his bad side, fumed Cane. His extreme rage mode. Well, now she was going to get a first-hand lesson. Maybe the last one he’d give her before she finally got that replacement bodyguard she wanted.

Before then, he would make sure to give her exactly what she’d been deserving since he’d taken this role. A firm fucking hand, in more ways than one.

Cane knew that after that she’d definitely hate him, but right now he didn’t bloody care.
No one
tested his authority. Ms. Duke was going to learn the hard way what it meant to finally push a man like Cane Hutchinson to the edge.

***

“Where’s your shining white knight now?” Lamar sneered, his breath hot and clammy on her face as the knife pinched into the shallow nick which had started to bleed. Alexandra felt almost faint with terror.

“Does he get free use of this sexy body, hmm? You let him fuck you don’t you, you slut. He gets to use your gorgeous tits and sweet, hot pussy the way he wants, huh? Cunt!”

There was a sharp, blinding light that seemed to overwhelm her senses, stealing her breath away. Alexandra’s face felt like it was on fire and her right eye socket was throbbing with pain. Her eyes widened in alarm as she saw him rearing to slap her once more.

Alexandra whimpered, straining away as much as she could but she was trapped on the floor, beneath his crippling weight. In moments another harder blow landed on the right side of her face and she began to sob beneath her gag.

“That’s it. Cry, bitch. I’ve been waiting, hoping for a chance to get you, sugar boo,” Lamar continued with deceptive softness, his breathing harsh as he leaned close to her burning face. “Get you back for making a fool of me like you did when you broke up with me. Treated me like trash! Now, I’m going to earn some of that respect I deserve. Your father’s going to have to pay a whole lot of cash to get you back – far more than he’d have spent if you’d just let him finance that deal I told you about all those months ago. Sure, it was just a scam but wouldn’t you have liked that better than being kidnapped, bleeding and helpless at the back of my van?”

Alexandra’s eyes pleaded with him, the sounds behind her gag plaintive. But he merely shook his head, pulling away from her.

“Too late to turn back now. It’s done. I’ll have my revenge and all the money I’ll need to disappear,” he said as he tucked the knife in his belt, straightening to his feet. “Your father will be only too glad to do anything to get you back. Doesn’t mean I’ve made up my mind whether I’d let you go once I get the ransom. I have a mind to renew my acquaintance with this hot body of yours and after that…who knows. I’ll just have to see how I feel about letting you return in one piece – or not. So you better be good to me, sweet cheeks. Be very good,” Lamar added softly, bending to whisper the last few words in her ear before, ignoring her muffled pleas, he said with grim humor, “Hold on tight, baby cakes. We’re going for a ride.”

Chapter Eleven

Cane was letting out a string of curses as he sailed the Audi slowly along the trail Alexandra normally took when she went jogging. He was gripping the wheel so tight his knuckled were white and sharply defined. His eyes scanned the deserted track which led to the park which had a picturesque fence running the length of one end.

There was nothing picturesque about the images going through his mind as he went over the different kinds of torture he had in store for Alexandra.

He did feel a sudden squeeze of worry when he kept on the road and saw no sign of her. She couldn’t have gone that far; he’d known exactly when she’d left by the sound of the front door closing. He’d only been minutes behind, and that was why he took the car, all the better to catch up with her and…

She was gone. He could feel it. She should have been on this trail but she wasn’t. It was a long stretch of road and she couldn’t have made it down so soon to the end where the park stretched out in scenic greenery.

And then he saw it; the blue van. It wouldn’t have caught his attention as it was just one of the few other vehicles parked around. But then suddenly, a man emerged from the back compartment and into the driving seat before starting up the engine.

Something about the man caught Cane’s attention. He’d seen him somewhere before. Even with the beanie covering his head, Cane could make out most parts of his face. And Cane never, ever forgot a face.

It took moments to realize who that was. Lamar; Alexandra’s ex-boyfriend who had made such an ass of himself at Malia’s party just a week ago. What the
fuck
was he doing here?

Cane was coming in from the opposite direction, and when Lamar looked up, both men’s eyes met in an instant of recognition and surprise. But there was something else in Lamar’s gaze; the dark man’s eyes narrowed to vindictive slits as moments later, he shot the van past Cane.

Cane’s instincts, honed from years in the military and on the job as a protection agent, kicked in and he
knew
. Alexandra was in that van.

Son of a bitch
!

He wouldn’t have time to question his intuition. Lamar was speeding off like hell was after him. Cane had to react fast. His arms twisting sharply, Cane took precious moments spinning the car around. All rational, conscious thought told him not to let that bastard Lamar out of his sight. For the fact that Lamar was here, this early in the morning on the very same road Alexandra took when jogging…it didn’t take rocket science to figure out that Lamar had most definitely kidnapped Alexandra. Especially since she was nowhere to be seen.

Cane saw the van gain speed as the distance between them grew wider, but Cane wasn’t too worried. Let’s see you try to outrun an Audi R8, motherfucker, Cane seethed. There was a squeal of tires as he floored the gas, shooting forward so fast the surroundings became a blur.

***

Alexandra’s mind and heart were racing as she felt the van pick up monstrous speed. She was struggling against her shackles which was useless, as useless as her screams underneath the gag. She could hear Lamar swearing furiously and wondered what had got him so mad. Wasn’t he worried about drawing attention with his crazy speed? Unless…

It seemed almost too much to hope that someone had seen him abduct her and was now on the chase. Lamar was definitely driving like something was after him. Alexandra was thrown to the left and right of the cramped compartment, her body hitting painfully against the objects on the floor. Now she was just as scared of being in a crash, helpless to get out of the wildly swerving car. Was this fool trying to get them killed?

The van zoomed down an endless stretch of road and she guessed they were on the highway on the outer limits of the city. Apart from that, she didn’t know what the heck was going on.

“This son of a bitch ass is mine!” she heard Lamar growl from behind the wheel, and then came noises that sounded like he was rummaging through the glove compartment. Next thing she heard was a gun cocking.

Fuck. The bastard had a gun. Alexandra’s heart plummeted and she moaned against her gag. The van was still moving at a break-neck speed, and she was getting woozy from being tossed about, unable to brace her half-naked body against the impact of the many objects she bumped into. Her legs floundered, looking for something to hook into so she could at least keep still. Nothing. The dim interior of the van told her nothing and at the speed they were moving, all she heard was the squealing tires and Lamar cursing non-stop.

“That bitch-ass man of yours is fixing to get himself fucked up!” Lamar yelled back at her, and all Alexandra could think of was what man? She didn’t have a man. Who was Lamar talking about?

Bang!
Alexandra was jolted bodily by something slamming hard into the van from behind. Her scream was muted by the gag, as Lamar swerved, barely able to keep control of the car. He roared something about ‘killing that motherfucker’ and then suddenly, she heard shots ring out from his window. Lamar cursed furiously, not sounding very happy which made Alexandra suspect that whoever he was shooting at, he’d missed.

Her hopes soared again as she realized someone was trying to save her. Had to be. And it took seconds for her to work out who it could be. Lamar had said something about her ‘man’…did he mean Cane?

Oh God, Cane
, Alexandra thought with a strangled sob. She could just imagine him racing not far behind, hell-bent on rescuing her. Just wishing it was him was already making her feel better, like she had hope. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. He’d promised. She closed her eyes tight and remembered him saying it was going to be alright.

The impacts from the rear kept coming, like a battering ram. Lamar sent off another shot as soon as he got the van steady, which was becoming difficult with every hit from the following car.

They were fishtailing wildly across the road, before Lamar was able to get the van in control. But the next second, Alexandra could hear the other car accelerating hard before pulling alongside and suddenly slammed into Lamar’s side of the van.

Alexandra felt the van veering and then completely spin around. “Dammit!” Lamar swore, losing control of the van and the next thing, they were careening off the road. The last thing Alexandra was aware of was the sensation of the van tumbling down a short slope before slamming to a shuddering halt in a deep ditch.

***

Cane was outside the Audi the second he pulled to a stop just yards from where the van had swerved off the main road. Its back wheels were partly in the air and spinning wildly, but otherwise it was in one piece, the hood buried in the trench.

Cane’s steps quickened as he saw Lamar yank open the driver’s door and step out groggily, his beanie falling off his shaved head. Their eyes met and Cane’s face creased in a snarl. Lamar wiped at the blood seeping from his forehead and bared his teeth, bracing his feet on the pebbly ground as suddenly Cane advanced and with force, shoved Lamar hard against the smashed side of the van.

Lamar roared, grabbing at Cane’s throat with his fists. Using swift, precise chops of his hands, Cane hacked at Lamar’s face, neck and side. Lamar let out a howl but didn’t let go of Cane’s throat, squeezing harder. Cane’s arms wrapped around Lamar’s waist as he used his full strength to drag Lamar off his feet before crashing the man’s back down on the bodywork of the car, making it shake. Lamar was a big, solid motherfucker but Cane had no problem lifting him again and slamming him back down against the van one more time. Lamar grunted as his fingers slipped from Cane’s neck. Throwing back his arm, Cane soon connected his fist with Lamar’s face. He grabbed Lamar’s collar with his free hand and pushed till they were both rolling on the dirt floor, punching and grunting. Blood spewed from Lamar’s nose as Cane continued slamming his fist into Lamar’s grimacing face again and again.

“I told you want would happen if you ever came near her again,” Cane gritted out, before hauling Lamar back to his feet. The woozy Lamar threw in a weak fist from the side but Cane deflected the blow easily. That was when Cane methodically smashed his foot into Lamar’s calf, making the man scream in agony as he crumpled, the sound of breaking bone unmistakable. Lamar painstakingly rolled away groaning and spitting out blood. Cane advanced, his face a mask of dark, terrible fury.

“You sonofabitch!” Lamar howled, suddenly reaching behind him into his waistband before whipping out a gun which he aimed straight at Cane. Cane didn’t stop in his tracks. He saw Lamar pull the trigger and ducked sharply to the side. He felt the searing sensation of lead whipping through his shoulder, making him grunt. Lamar was staring at him wide-eyed, about to shoot again only to hear the ‘click’ sound that spoke volumes. “Fuck!” Lamar cursed shrilly, just as Cane reached him, making a grab for the gun. There was only a brief struggle before Cane had the gun in his hand, wasting no time in smashing the butt against the side of Lamar’s head, knocking him out cold.