Man of Honor (Passion in Paradise Book 4) (63 page)

“You read my mind,
Miss Orla, because that’s exactly what I intend to do,” Zeke returned, leaning
in to kiss her cheek before he looked at his brother and jerked his head toward
the door.  “Let’s move.”

Paradise Sheriff’s
Station – 1:30 pm

Jake & Harmony

“We appreciate any
help you can offer us, ma’am,” Jake Stone said gratefully, shaking the
representative that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation had sent to meet with
them.  “I know as soon as the sheriff arrives, he’ll be just as grateful as we
are for any help you can provide.  These women are important not only to us,
but to the entire town.”

The woman in the
fitted black suit nodded.  “I’ll call and get some extra manpower headed this
way in the next hour, Mr. Stone.  Hopefully by then, we’ll have a lead on where
to direct our search.  Try not to worry.  Either of you,” she said, lifting a
hand to squeeze a worried Harmony McKinnon Stone’s shoulder.  “We’re going to
find your sister and her friend, Mrs. Stone.”

Harmony nodded
silently, her chin trembling as she tried to control her emotions. 

Jake waited until
they were alone to pull her against his chest.  “Wildcat, you gotta remain
positive,” he urged against her temple as he wrapped his hand around her blonde
ponytail and tugged her head back so he could see her crystal blue eyes
swimming with tears.

“He’s got her, Jake. 
One of those animals has my baby sister.  Again!  And now, he’s got Maggie,
too!  What in the world was she thinkin’ when she insisted on following Honor
and that freak to the car?”

“Knowing Maggie, she
didn’t want to miss a minute of the action.  And she probably knew Honor was
terrified and didn’t want her to be alone,” Jake said against Harmony’s
forehead.  “Fear is much easier to face when it’s shared with another person. 
Maggie would have never wanted Honor to be afraid and alone so in her typical
flamboyant style, she made sure she wasn’t.”

Leaning more heavily
against her husband, Harmony’s hands tightened on Jake’s waist.  “We’ll get
them back, won’t we?” she whispered.

“Baby, Ezekiel Monroe
would march straight through the center of Hell to confront the Devil on his
throne if it meant bringing home Honor.  And Ice… I was there with him when
news came in about Honor and Maggie.  He looked pissed when we were told that
Honor was taken, but when he learned this guy had Maggie, too, I watched that
man’s blood freeze in his veins.  You’ve seen the way he looks at her when he
thinks nobody notices.  He’s into her in a big way.  Together, those brothers
will find a way to get the girls back.  I can guarantee that.”

Harmony nodded. 
“You’re right.”

“Now, I need to go
call Abel.  He’s over at the courthouse with Patience huntin’ for property in
the Watson family’s name.  Do you want to stay here or go over to Hooks and
Books and see Heaven?  That’s where Sunshine and Verlena took all the kids. 
Melody offered to watch all the kids there since she had the back of the store
set up as a children’s play area and book nook.”

“I’ll stay here.”

Jake nodded, leaning
forward to plant one last kiss against her forehead.  “We’ll find them,
Wildcat.  I promise you we will.”

As Harmony watched
her husband head for one of the spare desks to use the phone, she prayed he was
right.

Paradise County
Courthouse – 1:40 pm  

Abel &
Patience

“Did you find
anything yet, Hellion?” Abel Turner asked, looking up from his computer monitor
to eye his beautiful wife.  With her head bent and her hair shielding her face,
he couldn’t see her, but he could tell by the hunch of her shoulders that she
was feeling the pressure.

“Have you heard me
screaming my head off yet, Abel?” his wife replied sarcastically as she tapped
the arrow button on her keyboard and kept her eyes glued to her own computer
screen.

Seeing that his woman
was barely holding it together, Abel frowned.  His woman was NOT a crier, but
he could see that her cheeks were damp and it didn’t take a genius to know
why.  “Patience, we’re going to find them.”

“You don’t know
that,” she whispered, biting her lip as she fought another wave of
helplessness.  When she thought about Maggie and Honor facing those fucking
pieces of shit alone, she wanted to commit cold-blooded murder.  “God, I want
to kill these fuckers!” she screamed in frustration, slamming her hand down on
the desk where she worked.  Burying her face in her hands, she took a deep
breath before lifting her head and shoving her hands though her short hair. 

“I know,” Abel
sighed.  “I’m feeling a bit homicidal myself,” he admitted as he scrolled down
through another list of properties that Watson Realty officially owned.  Most
of them were residential homes and businesses in town and easily found.  He’d
already emailed that list to Deputy Hightower and units were visiting them
property by property.  So far, the deputies hadn’t found anything.  Spotting an
odd address on the screen, his eyes narrowed.  “Yes!” he exclaimed, pumping a
fist in the air as a surge of adrenaline hit his bloodstream.  “Gotcha, you son
of a bitch!  Patience, I think I found something!”

Patience jumped out
of her chair to scramble around to the desk where Abel sat, ignoring the stares
of the courthouse employees gawking at them.  Leaning over his shoulder to scan
the screen, she frowned.  “What?  All I see is a bunch of rental properties.”

“Not this one,” Abel
returned, tapping a finger on the screen.  “Henry Watson owns a hunting cabin
way back on the Skyview Bluff.  It looks like it’s been in his family since
before his parents died,” Abel announced, jotting down the address on a piece
of scrap paper.

Whirling to look at
the huge map of Paradise County that was mounted on one wall, Patience quickly
located the general area of the cabin.  “Abel, there aren’t even any real roads
back there so it wouldn’t be accessible by car.  Either they’d have to walk or
use four wheelers to get on the property.  It looks like nothing but
wilderness,” she said, pointing at the map.

“It would be a great
place to hide out,” Abel grunted as he eyed the map.

Patience nodded as
Abel’s phone rang.  Closing her eyes, she listened as her husband reported what
they’d found.  Hopefully, it would be the detail the cops needed in order to
locate her sister and best friend.  Waiting until Abel hung up the phone,
Patience turned to look at him.  “Well?”

“Gave the information
to Jake and he’s passing it on to Zeke and Ice.  They just got to the station.”

“Zeke okay?” Patience
questioned.  She knew he’d been shot, but Faith had promised her it was only a
flesh wound.

“Okay?  No.  But he
will be once he finds Honor,” Abel replied. “The good news is that Diego called
in and said he’d traced the vehicle David should be driving.  It’s a red Impala
with a Titans sticker on the back.”

“The same one Sherry
said was there the night Honor got taken,” Patience murmured, shaking her
head.  All the pieces were sliding into place.

“Yeah,” Abel agreed. 
“And guess who used to own it?  None other than Henry fuckin’ Watson.”

“We need to find that
bastard, Abel.  Fast,” Patience ground out.

“Everybody that isn’t
looking for Honor and Maggie is out lookin’ for Henry.  Diego went to the
realty office and his employees say they haven’t seen him today.  Wrath McKay
took a couple of his MC brothers and went out to Henry’s place.  Wrath said it
looked like Henry left in a hurry - so much of a hurry that he left the door to
his wall safe hanging open.”

“He’s not planning on
coming back,” Patience whispered.

“They’ve got APB’s
out on both men with descriptions of the cars they suspect both are driving. 
Roadblocks are up at every entry and exit point to Paradise.  They’re
going
to get these fuckers, Hellion.  We’re not losing Honor
or
Maggie,” Abel
vowed confidently, settling a hand over Patience’s tense neck.

Turning into her
husband, Patience buried her face against his chest.  “God, I hope you’re
right,” she whispered. 

“I am,” Abel replied
confidently, hugging her slender body to him as she let the tears she’d been
holding back go.

Skyview Bluff
somewhere in the Smoky Mountains– 3:30 pm

Honor

“Come on!  Keep
moving,” David Watson urged roughly from behind them as he dug into the ground
with the stick he’d picked up off the ground half an hour earlier.  Using it as
a cane to help him keep his balance on the steep incline, the women that
followed him weren’t so lucky.

 Tired and out of
breath, Honor held her face up as the wind blew across it, letting the breeze
cool her down a little.  “We’re trying, David.  Really, we are, but don’t you
think we could stop and rest?  Just for a minute?  Please?”  Maybe if she could
slow him down, people would have a better chance of finding them.  And God, she
needed Zeke to find her.  Maggie had promised her during David’s race out of
town that the bullet that had hit Zeke was just a flesh wound and the reason he
was unconscious wasn’t blood loss, but rather because he’d hit his head on the
corner of the coffee table and knocked himself out.

 “We’re almost
there,” he informed them, his deep voice almost compassionate as the three of
them trudged up the steep hill toward a copse of trees. 

“Almost where?” Honor
heard Maggie retort sharply as the other woman stumbled slightly, her heel
sinking into the loose dirt and pulling her off balance. 

Reaching out her
hand, Honor grabbed Maggie’s arm and tugged lightly, shaking her head at the
irritated woman.  “Mags, don’t make him angry,” she whispered anxiously.  “He’s
already shot Zeke!  I don’t want to risk losing you, too.”

Maggie flashed her an
aggravated look but nodded slightly when she saw the look of sheer terror on
Honor’s face. 

“There!” the man
shouted excitedly, pointing a finger toward the small wood structure under the
trees as he held the gun on them with the other.

Honor’s gaze traveled
up the hill, and she squinted, trying to find what the man was so excited
about.  Spotting a lean-to situated between the trees, Honor shivered.  God,
what did he plan to do to them up there? 

“Are you kidding? 
That’s the spot you picked to hold us hostage?” Maggie growled, dropping her
hands to her hips as she stopped walking and stared up the hill at the
dilapidated structure.  “That doesn’t even qualify as a shack, you asshat!  It
only has three sides!   Do you know how cold these mountains get at night?”

“Maggie, hush!” Honor
hissed as she watched David turn to glare at her mouthy friend. 

Maggie ignored the
censure in Honor’s tone and focused on reaming their kidnapper.  “What?  He
claims he wants to protect you from his brother, right?  So, what?  He saves
you from Henry only to let us both die of exposure out here in the middle of
nowhere?  Is that your grand plan, you moron?” Maggie barked furiously,
swatting angrily at a bug buzzing around her face.

“Lady, you’re pissing
me off.  I done told you once to quit callin’ me names, didn’t I?” David roared. 
“I don’t
like
being called names!  It’s mean,” he shouted, stomping
toward Maggie and pointing the gun at her chest.

Stepping quickly in
front of Maggie before the situation could escalate, Honor shook her head and
held up her hands in front of her.  “She’s sorry, David.  Aren’t you, Maggie? 
Tell him.  Tell him you’re sorry,” Honor begged shakily, her eyes focused on
the big black gun the man pointed at them.

“Yeah.  Yeah, I’m
sorry,” Maggie apologized softly, biting her lip as she tried to move around to
get in front of Honor.  “I’m just tired.  And rattled.  You know how women can
be, right?  I’m sure you know what you’re doing.  Just ignore my outburst.”

“I let you talk me
into bringing you with us because I didn’t want Honor to be scared, but how long
you
stay
with us is up to you.  Keep running your trap and you’ll find
out that it won’t be long.”

Both women nodded as
David gestured for them to keep moving.

“Besides,” he began
as they began to climb up the grassy incline again.  “We’re not staying here. 
We’re just gonna use the four wheeler my brother left inside the shack to get
to the cabin.  I’ve got supplies and firewood there.  Both of you will be
comfortable enough, I suspect.”

Exchanging a look
with Maggie, Honor gathered her courage and asked, “How long do you think we’ll
be up there, David?”

David shrugged as he
lifted a hand to scratch the back of his neck.  “As long as it takes.”

“Takes for what?”
Maggie questioned suspiciously, shooting Honor a confused look.

“As long as it takes
me to find my brother and end this.”

Finally reaching the
top of the steep incline, Honor fought to catch her breath as she eyed the four
wheeler parked underneath the wooden structure.  “You’re going to leave us at
the cabin while you go after your brother?” Honor questioned nervously as she
watched David go inside the garage-like building and begin rolling out the
scooter.

“That’s exactly what
I plan to do.  You’ll be safe up there, Honor.  I swear it.”

“Yeah, you’re a real
peach,” Maggie spat, eyeing the four wheeler contemptuously.  “There’s only one
problem with your plan, genius,” she jeered, obviously forgetting to check her
bad temper again.  “How do you expect us all to fit on that thing safely?”

Glaring at her,
David’s jaw clenched.  “You’ll just have to hold on tight,” he snapped.   “I
only planned that two of us would need this ride.”

“Well, now there’s
three of us!  Have you seen what I’m wearing?” Maggie shrieked, pointing down
at her wrinkled outfit.  “This skirt is Stella McCartney.  Stella McCartney
isn’t meant to be worn while hanging on for dear life on top of a four
wheeler.”

“Mags,” Honor
whispered, her stomach sinking as she watched her friend gearing up for a good,
old-fashioned tantrum.  She’d seen it before.  Maggie could endure a lot, but
she became slightly psychotic when someone messed with her wardrobe.  She was a
small bit obsessive about it. 

Looking at Honor,
Maggie shook her head.  “Look, I didn’t say a word when he tromped us up a
wilderness trail and I stepped in what I can only
assume
was bear crap. 
My favorite Louboutins are
ruined
,” she wailed, holding up one foot to
show the dirty high heel to the nearby staring man.  “But, I kept a stiff upper
lip, didn’t I?  Yes, I did!  But now, this… this… person wants me to hike up
this year’s Stella McCartney creation and climb on board his redneckmobile?  I
don’t think so!”

David flipped off the
safety on his gun and leveled it at Maggie.  “Okay, would you rather I ruin
that fancy looking shirt with a bullet?”

Maggie’s eyes
narrowed and flashed dangerously.  “You know, I’m not usually a bloodthirsty
woman, but I think I’m going to enjoy watching the men in our family tear you
apart.  And they will, David.  It’s just a matter of time before the people
that care about us figure out where you’re stashing Honor and me.  And then,
your whole world is going to crumble.  You
raped
this woman,” she
accused, pointing at where Honor stood silently watching him.  “No matter who
goaded you into it, you still
did
it!  Do you actually think anyone that
loves either of us is going to let you live through this?  The best decision
you could make right now is to get on that four wheeler
alone
and pray
you can run faster than our loved ones.”

“She’s right,” Honor
agreed quickly when she noted the spark of indecision in David’s eyes.  “Unless
you managed to kill Zeke, he’ll come for me.  They’ll all come.  And when they
do, they’ll want your blood.  Leave us here and go and I’ll explain to them
that you regret your part in what happened to me.  I’ll tell them that it was
all Henry’s idea… that he pressured you into hurting me.  I swear to you, I
will
make
them understand.”

David pressed the
hand holding the gun to his head.  “No, no, no!” he groaned, squeezing his eyes
shut.  “I can’t let you go!  Henry wants to kill you for betraying him, Honor. 
He’ll hurt you.”

“Betray him?  How did
I betray him?”

“He wanted you for
his own.  Ever since that night, he’d been waiting for the right moment to take
you.  Tanner was supposed to help him when he came back to town.  My brother
was supposed to give our cabin to Tanner for some drug deal he was working on
and in exchange Tanner was supposed to give him
you. 
But it all went
wrong.  He got killed instead of bringing you to Henry!”

“Oh, my God,” Honor
breathed as Maggie wrapped an arm around her.

“Then you made my
brother even angrier because you kept growing closer to the sheriff.  Henry
hates
him in big way, Honor, and he despised you for letting the sheriff get
close to you.  He said he was gonna teach you a lesson you’d never forget. 
Then, he paid some teenager to slice your brake line on your car.   After you
got out of the hospital, you really crossed the line with him when you let
Sheriff Zeke move into your house.  My brother went crazy when he found that
out.  He had a pharmacist friend out of St. Louis that he was buddies with in
college get him a bottle of some drug.  When he got ‘em, he waited until he
knew you were at work to sneak into your house and replace your medicine with
his.”

“So, it was all
Henry.  All the threats and the phone calls and the notes…it was your brother,
Henry, the whole time.”

David nodded
miserably.

“He’s a bad man,
Honor.  You’re not even the first one he tried to kill.  When he shot that
lawyer lady…I knew he’d completely gone over the edge.”

“The lawyer lady… you
mean, Angela Hastings?” Maggie clarified, holding Honor’s trembling body
against her side.

David nodded. 
“Yeah.  Her.  She called Henry and told him that she was gonna tell the police
what we did to you in the woods that night, and my bubby flew into a rage,” he
explained, looking sadly at Honor.  “I’d never seen him like that.  He
destroyed his office.  Throwing books and turning over the desk.  I was so
scared.  Then, he made me get in the car and go with him to find her.  He kept
saying that we couldn’t let that bitch narc on us.  That all rats deserved to
die.” 

Shaking his head,
David wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand.  “We must have
drove ‘round for hours, goin’ all over Paradise looking for her car.  We
finally found it in the café’s parking lot.  I still don’t know what she was
doin’ there, but I always kind of thought maybe she was looking for you to
apologize for her part in stuff,” he said with a look at Honor.  “Anyhow, I
begged Henry not to do it, but he backhanded me and told me to stay in the
car.  I could see the whole thing happening though.  He just walked up to the
car and knocked on her window, waited for her to roll it down and pressed the
barrel to her temple.  Then, BANG!   Her blood and brain bits went everywhere. 
One bullet and it was over.”

Honor took several
deep breaths as she stood there beside Maggie watching David stare into
space.   Finally finding her voice, Honor took a small step toward the man with
the gun.  “You’re not your brother though, David, and I know you’re not going
to use that gun on either of us.  So why don’t you just put it down so we can
all figure out a plan
together?
”

“Oh, I’m sorry Kitty
Cat, but that’s not gonna be possible,” a deep voice drawled from behind them. 
“I think my brother is done talking.  For good,” Henry Watson said as he aimed
his gun at his brother’s head and pulled the trigger.

~~***~~

Outside the Hell
Hounds MC Clubhouse (2.5 miles from Skyview Bluff) – 3:45 pm

Zeke

Dry leaves crunched
underneath Zeke’s feet as he stomped toward Wrath McKay.  “Tell me you’ve got a
topo of this fuckin’ mountain range,” he called out to the men gathered around
the hood of Slade Cansler’s jeep. Watching the ex-SEAL’s head jerk upright, Zeke
nodded at him. 

“I got one,” Slade
returned as Zeke drew closer, “But gettin’ up to where you think they are
undetected is gonna be a bitch,” he continued, looking back down at the map. 

Nodding to Wrath as
he moved aside to let Zeke get a better look at the topographical map, he felt
his gut clench.  Watson’s cabin was way up the mountain and the only way in was
either on foot or on four wheelers.  The four wheelers would be heard well
before they rode into their camp and going on foot would take entirely too
long.

“Fuck,” Zeke snarled
as his hands fisted against the map.

“You see the
problem,” Slade stated quietly as he, too, stared at the map. 

Offering Honor’s
closest cousin a sidelong look, Zeke nodded.  “Yeah, I see it,” he grunted. 

Studying the map,
Zeke scratched his chin and considered their options.  “What if we took four
wheelers half way up and took the rest of the way on foot.  We reach the
halfway point and then we split off into teams.  We surround them and come in
real quiet-like from the south, the east, and the west,” Zeke suggested,
tapping three separate points on the map for emphasis.