Perfect Picture [The ShadowDance Club 7] (Siren Publishing Classic) (18 page)

Lainy was glad she had thought to put on the bracelet Collin, Mitch, and Noah had insisted she wear anytime she wasn’t with a member of the security team. She had teased them at the time about being a bunch of bossy old mother hens, but she was mighty grateful now. She managed to activate the alarm on the bracelet just as the man took ahold of her arm.

When he started to lead her off the pathway, Lainy dug her heels in and brought them both to a halt. “Hold on. I don’t even know your name. Why would I leave here with you? Where do you want me to go? My mom and Noah are waiting for me. If I don’t show up at the house in a couple of minutes, everybody is going to be looking for me. How did you get past the Lamonts’ security anyway?” Lainy knew her voice had a tendency to go up in pitch when she got excited or scared. And the last couple of words she’d just spoken had sounded an awful lot like Minnie Mouse.

His grip on her arm just got tighter and he drug her along beside him through the trees. She found that it was taking all of her focus to stay on her feet and keep the tree limbs from slapping her in the face so asking more questions would have to wait. They headed down a steep slope and when she slipped again she dropped her backpack. When she finally managed to get her feet under her, she realized they were standing next to a large black pickup. “Hey, I dropped my backpack. I need it.”

“No, you don’t. I’ll provide you with everything you could ever want Ilaina.” His words were spoken softly, but they were hollow sounding. When he unlocked the truck and started to lift her into the seat she began to panic.

“I have to have that bag. It has my medication in it. If I don’t have that I’ll be sick within hours. And you can’t just take me to a clinic you know. My face is not exactly unknown as I’m sure you already know. People will have heard about this and the minute you walk into a hospital or clinic with me, they are going to have you in custody.” When she saw he was starting to weaken she knew to press further.
Wow…who knew having three older brothers to practice on all those years was going to pay off like this?
“Really, I need that bag and it isn’t far. See? It’s just by that tree root.”

“Fuck it. I’ll get your bag for you, but don’t you dare move. Give me any trouble and we’ll stop by and pick up that pretty blonde sister-in-law of yours on the way out of town. I happen to know exactly where she is thanks to Alex and Zach Lamont setting me up at the new motel.” He was gone from her side less than a minute and Ilaina had stood as still as a statue. She had planned to make a break for it, but his words about Layla had turned her blood to ice. She would never do anything to hurt any member of her family, she knew Noah and the others would already be looking for her, so all she had to do was stay calm and give them a chance to find her.

Suddenly remembering all the things Mia had mentioned during their training, Lainy decided it was time to start providing the Crow’s Nest staff with some useful information since the bracelet she was wearing was not only broadcasting her GPS location, it was also relaying an audio feed. As he walked back up to her and handed her the backpack she’d dropped, Lainy tried to smile, but feared it probably looked more like a grimace. “Thank you for getting my bag. Hey, what do I call you? You haven’t told me your name.”

“Call me Max. Now get in quickly and fasten your safety belt because we’re going to be traveling over some pretty rough terrain.” His voice was strained and she noticed for the first time a telltale trembling in his hands.

“Well Max, this is a beautiful pickup…and black is my favorite color, too.” Once he’d started the truck she found herself fighting panic and the black dots swimming in her vision weren’t helped by the fact that he was driving down a steep mountain trail that was better suited for a damned goat than a truck. For the first time in her life, Lainy was actually experiencing fear being in her beloved Rocky Mountains. “Um…Max? Are you sure this trail is made for trucks? I mean, it seems a bit steep don’t you think? I’m usually pretty hard to scare, I mean, I had three older brothers after all and one of them grew up to be a SEAL and another a professional bull rider, so well, you look like a pretty bright guy, you can probably see where I’m headed with this, right?” Just then they hit a huge rock and she found herself grabbing onto what her friends had always referred to as the “oh shit handle” and screaming those exact words.

Just as she thought they were going to end up cartwheeling the rest of the way down the slope, he seemed to regain control over the vehicle and turned sharply onto the highway at the edge of town. Without hesitation he pushed the gas pedal to the floor and within a few seconds they were moving quickly away from Climax and everyone she loved.

When Noah had gotten Elaina’s text saying she was on her way to the house because her mom was with Selita he had been puzzled at first because he’d been in the kitchen just a few minutes earlier and had spoken with Selita, but hadn’t seen Cora Red Cloud. And then just as he’d walked back into the Crow’s Nest and asked Collin and Mitch about it, the alarm on Ilaina’s bracelet had been set off and all hell had broken loose.

Noah stood to the side and watched as Collin Red Cloud switched from worried brother to rock solid professional in the blink of an eye. And while Noah was grateful for the man’s skill, he wasn’t sure he would ever be capable of being so
detached
when it came to his
cara
. Listening to the trembling in her voice as it wafted over the speakers he’d been torn between relief that she was able to provide them with great details and terror when he’d heard Ilaina’s scream when the lunatic driving her down the mountain had apparently nearly wrecked the truck.

Just as he turned to sprint from the room he heard Collin’s voice. “Drummond, sit the fuck down and answer phones. Get your head in the game man. We’ve already got all the team members we can manage out there looking for her. You’ll be the most help to us right here.” Collin hadn’t even looked at him while he’d been speaking, instead his eyes had been moving between three different computer monitors and Noah watched as the man’s fingers literally flew over the keyboard.

“Is your mother in the mansion? Ilaina sent me a text saying your mom was with Selita and she needed to speak with Ilaina immediately. That is why Ilaina left the gym without waiting for an escort.” Noah had moved to the chair beside Collin and was surprised to see both Mitch and Collin stop what they were doing to stare at him open mouthed.

Collin seemed to recover first. “No. Fuck, that means he’s tapped in to Mom’s phone, maybe we can back into his phone that way and find out who we’re dealing with.” Collin glanced up as Colt Matthews moved quickly into the room. Taking a seat on the other side of Mitch, as the head of ShadowDance’s security team, he was technically the one calling the shots now that he was in the security control center.

Noah had known Colt for years and had never seen the man fazed by anything, but he was obviously pissed that yet another woman had been taken while on what he was going to consider his watch. His clipped tone did little to hide his frustration. “Update me.” Noah could see the man was logging on to the computer network and was impressed that he was obviously listening to Mitch’s short summary of the situation while he typed on the keyboard and slipped on a headset that would put him in radio contact with every member of the team.

“Did you hear him tell Lainy to call him Max? Do you think we’re dealing with Maxwell Bradford?” Mitch’s question brought everything to a dead stop.

It was obvious Colt was considering Mitch’s words just as they heard Ilaina ask the man who had drug her off the mountain, “Where are we going, Max? And why did the Lamonts let you wander around their property? Did they know you were there for me? And why were you in the gym today? Did you know I was going to be there with my friends?”

Noah heard Mitch muttering exactly what had been going through his own head. “Calm down Lainy. We need you to keep your cool and feed us as much as you can. We’ve got eyes on you, but we need to know what we’re walking into.” And then Noah heard him muttering about needing to figure out a way to make two-way communication possible with the damned bracelet. Noah caught himself almost smiling at the incredible fluidity of Mitch Grayson’s mind. Despite the chaos that was surrounding him, Mitch was still thinking about ways to improve the devices they were currently using. The man’s ingenuity had saved Noah’s ass on several occasions and he was counting on it saving his woman’s life this time.

Noah had begun to wonder if the man was going to answer Lainy’s questions when he finally started talking. “I was brokering a business arrangement with the Lamonts, and fortunately for me, they didn’t listen to their wife’s concerns about me.” He’d paused for a moment and Noah assumed he’d glanced at Ilaina when he continued, “Don’t look so surprised. I really do pay attention—very close attention—to women. I knew Katarina Lamont didn’t like me and I’m equally sure she’d shared those concerns with her husbands to no avail. Something she’ll no doubt lord over them until you and I work this all out. Then you will be able to smooth her ruffled feathers and assure her that I really am quite charming when given a chance.”

“Jesus, Alex and Zach are going to go bat-shit when they hear this. How did this crazy-ass fly under our radar? And Jesus fucking Christ, there is going to be no living with Kat.” Colt’s voice was strained, but Noah could hear the smile underlying his words.

Noah kept answering calls as they came in, but grimaced when he saw Cora Red Cloud’s number flashing on his screen. Answering he wasn’t surprised to hear the alarm in Cora’s sweet voice. “Tell me you’ll find her, Noah. I know you love my daughter and she loves you as well, even if she has been too frightened to admit it yet.” Noah’s breath caught but before he could answer, Cora started to cry and he heard her handing the phone off to one of her husbands.

“Noah? This is Julian Red Cloud. James has taken Cora to try to settle her a bit. I know you guys are busy, but we wanted to let you know that…well, that we know you’ll take care of our little angel. I’m not going to keep you on the phone, keep us posted, please.” And then he disconnected. Only then did Noah realize that he hadn’t even ever gotten to speak.

Shaking his head he looked up and Collin was smiling at him. “Welcome to the family, Noah.” Those simple words were all it took to calm Noah and bring his focus back to getting his woman back in his arms.

* * * *

“When are you going to tell me where we are going? I don’t like driving down this highway so fast. And why are you taking me up Alpine Ridge Road? There isn’t anything up here except a bunch of cabins.” God she hoped the bracelet was working because if not, she was in deep shit. They wouldn’t think to look up the rarely used road for days unless they were able to track her.

“Ilaina I want to spend some time with you. We need to get to know one another if you are going to be my wife. We’ll spend the night at the cabin and then I have a chopper coming tomorrow to pick us up and take us to the airport.” Suddenly Lainy couldn’t catch her breath. The idea that he planned to whisk her away to an airport via a helicopter was just too much to process and she started to hyperventilate. She was barely cognizant of the fact they had pulled up to the front of a cabin and stopped. “See? That is why I wasn’t going to tell you the plan. Now you’ve gone and gotten yourself all upset, and for no reason.” His voice softened a bit and he turned to her. “My lovely fiancé…I don’t want to hurt you, I just want you to love me. You’ll see soon enough, I’ll be an amazing husband. I’ve waited for you my entire life. Following you around the world wasn’t easy, you know? And it took me almost two years to actually meet you.”

Various events from the past two years began to gel and things that had previously seemed unrelated slid into place like the pieces of a puzzle. Was it possible that she hadn’t had several stalkers, but in fact had only had one? It wasn’t that one
Looney Tunes
crazy wasn’t enough, but it also meant that she’d actually been in much more danger than she had ever realized. She wasn’t naïve enough to believe the man sitting across the truck cab from her wasn’t far more malevolent than he appeared.

Lainy couldn’t help but think back on how many late-night runs for snacks or coffee had she made over the past two years. How many times had she assumed she was safe just because there were so few people in the lobby? She’d stayed in hotels all over the world and now she shuddered at how easily she could have been taken and never again seen any of the family she cherished so much.
Oh my God! I would have never known the truth about Noah.

Lainy hadn’t even noticed the shift in the weather until the silence in the truck was cut through by the howling of the wind. This winter had been one that just didn’t seem to want to let go. Almost immediately the windows of the truck were being pelted with tiny balls of ice. Lainy hadn’t lived in Colorado for many years, but she remembered well how unpredictable the weather could be…and how deadly it was when underestimated. She had actually considered trying to make a break for it when he moved toward the cabin, but fleeing in these conditions in the clothing she was wearing would just be foolhardy.

When she finally came back to the moment, she realized the man who apparently believed he might be able to persuade her to marry him was watching her intently. His expression was so masked, his eyes so blank, it was almost as if she was gazing into nothingness. The total lack of affect was unnerving and she felt herself once again shivering. “Come on, let’s go inside. I can see that you are cold and that means I am not taking very good care of you.” When he had looked at her this time, she saw for the first time what she could only assume was a fleeting moment of regret.