The next morning, Rhett dropped Kinsley off at Remy’s magic shop. As she was getting out of the truck, he said, “Listen, we’ve taken protective detail off your bar, not on your person. For now, just stay clear of it. All right?”
Cold bit into her that had nothing to do with the freezing temperatures outside. “You think they’re coming back?”
“We don’t know the answer to that”—his gaze flickered to his rearview mirror—“but I’m only thinking about keeping you safe. If you want to go anywhere, Cameron goes with you, all right?”
“Okay.” She smiled and was unsurprised to find Cameron sitting in his cruiser behind Rhett’s truck. She glanced back at Rhett through the window. “I’ll see ya later then.”
He winked. “You will.”
She leaned away and waved at Cameron, who was drinking his coffee, while Rhett drove toward the station. She was not at all surprised that the guys in her life were going into full protective mode. She entered Remy’s store but stopped short when she saw that Remy was with a customer. “I’ll go see Peyton for a bit,” she said quickly.
Remy gave her a quick nod and a wave then turned back to the customer, who was looking at a love potion. Kinsley smiled, thinking maybe that love potion had some merit now as she shut the door, chiming the bell.
Cameron opened his car door and got out. Kinsley assured him quickly, “Just going to see Peyton.”
“All right.” Cameron got back in his car.
Okay, the babysitting might end up annoying her, but being safe mattered more. Truth was, that attacker’s eyes still rattled her. She’d never seen eyes so dead before.
She strode past her bar, missing it like crazy. Whiskey Blues had been her whole life for so long, but maybe the break wasn’t terrible either. Her current plate wasn’t only full but overflowing now.
When she entered Peyton’s shop, she found her behind the counter, scrolling through her phone. “You look happy this morning,” Peyton said by way of greeting.
Kinsley shrugged, letting her mind wander to where it had gone after Rhett’s nightmare last night. “I am happy, but I’m also…” She hesitated. “Actually, I don’t know what I am.”
Peyton’s brows lifted. “Damn, girl, that sounds complicated. Come have a seat.” She pulled the stool around from behind the counter then patted the top. “You’re usually the town’s therapist at the bar, but I’m a really good listener too, so spill the beans.”
Kinsley plopped her butt up onto the chair, resting her elbow on the counter and her head on her hand. “Where to start?” she muttered.
“At the beginning is usually a good place.” Peyton leaned a hip against the counter, one arm folded, the other hand holding her coffee mug.
Kinsley missed coffee something fierce. She inhaled the nutty aroma while drawing in a long breath, pulling all her thoughts together. She finally looked up at her sister-in-law and spoke the truth. “I don’t know how to help him.”
Peyton’s brows rose. “Help Rhett, you mean?”
Kinsley nodded. “He has nightmares.” She hated admitting that truth to anyone, but she needed to talk this out. Her head felt heavy this morning. Her heart even more so. She wanted to break through those nightmares, keep him here in the present, and save him from his past. Emotion clawed at her throat and she fought the tears. “I hate watching him struggle.”
Peyton’s eyes saddened. “No one wants to watch anyone struggle, but that’s the thing, Rhett needs to want to come out of whatever is haunting him for himself. No one can help him do that.”
And that was exactly why Kinsley wanted—no, needed—to talk to Peyton about this. “You came out of what haunted you.” Peyton lost her first husband in what she thought was a car accident, but later turned out to be a murder. Sometimes Kinsley didn’t know how Peyton survived that, but then, she was just so happy now that she’d found Boone. “What you went through is unimaginable. Sometimes when I think about it, I can’t believe you had the strength to not only wake up every day, but to start this brand-new life.”
Peyton sipped her coffee, then returned her mug to the counter. She sighed very, very heavily, her eyes going distant, far away from there. “I did get through my past, but let me be honest with you, it was hard. Unbelievably hard. And I had to do it myself. Nothing anyone said or did would have helped me.”
Kinsley figured that, but part of her was hoping for a magic answer. Something that she could give to Rhett to make him…better. “Do you think it’s possible…you know, for him…”
“To be happy again?” Peyton offered.
Kinsley nodded. “Yeah, exactly.”
“Of course.” Peyton took Kinsley into her arms, and Kinsley settled into the warmth of her embrace, as she went on. “Anything is possible, Kinsley, especially when love is involved.” She leaned away, keeping her hands braced on Kinsley’s shoulders. “You’re bringing Rhett out of his shell. Everyone is seeing it. Especially Boone. And believe me when I tell you that no one expected him to act like this. So if this is possible so far, then yes, I think that love can help Rhett. Especially the way you love him, so fiercely, so loyally.”
Kinsley hoped so. “I know Remy thinks deep down giving Rhett a chance is a big mistake, but what do you think?”
Peyton regarded Kinsley intently. “Remy is protective of you, and Rhett’s past screams danger. I’m sure, out of anyone, Rhett is not the guy anyone would choose for you. He’s got his issues. But I know that sometimes one life ends, and another begins. Rhett’s becoming this guy that is surprising everyone. He hasn’t fallen down yet. And you know what?”
“What?”
“The fact that through all of this, the danger around you, the stuff with your bar, and that you’re pregnant too, you’re still thinking about him and how to love him better…that has to stand for something.”
Kinsley smiled, warmth spreading down into her chest. “Maybe.”
Peyton returned the smile then patted Kinsley’s hand. “All I know is, I never thought I’d be happy again after Adam passed away. It seemed inconceivable to me. But look, here I am in this amazing town, surrounded by the best people.” She lifted her chin, grabbed her mug again, and said, “So to answer your question, no, I don’t think this is a big mistake. Rhett will either find his way closer to you or he won’t. And it sure looks like he’s trying very hard to follow you. Fate made you strong, Kinsley. And maybe that’s because fate knew you needed to love Rhett.”
Kinsley shot off the stool and wrapped her arms around Peyton, spilling the coffee from her mug onto the counter. “See, this is why I come to talk to you,” Kinsley said, not caring about the coffee. “You always make me feel so much better.”
“What else are sister-in-laws for?”
Kinsley leaned away to grab some tissues from the box and clean up the spilled coffee before tossing the tissues into the garbage. When she rose up, the same gorgeous cherry red lingerie nighty that she’d admired a few days ago once again caught her eye on the hanger. The loose fit in the front would surely accommodate a growing belly. “So, you know, with Christmas around the corner, if you’re going to be making a list for Santa anytime soon, that”—she said, pointing to the nighty—“would make this girl a very happy one.”
Peyton laughed. “I’ll make sure to send Santa a note.”
Kinsley stopped at the door and glanced back over her shoulder. “Seriously, Peyton, thank you. I really needed this talk. Love you.”
Peyton’s smile warmed. “Love you back. I’m here. Always.”
Kinsley left through the door, all loved up. She peeked into Remy’s window again, and she was busy with two different customers now. Today would obviously be long, and Kinsley was useless when it came to explaining Remy’s magical items. She’d offered to work the cash register today and help Remy out while the bar was closed, but she realized she needed something to do as well or else the day would take forever to end. She figured if she was sitting at the counter, she might as well grab her books and get caught up on all the things that she’d been putting off. Especially because right now she’d rather be in bed with Rhett, not worrying about anything or thinking about life’s realities, just enjoying the hard lines of his amazing body.
She caught Cameron getting out of his car again. Poor guy. “I just want to grab my books from my office. Is that all right?”
“Yeah, of course,” Cameron said.
After she unlocked the door, she headed inside, and Cameron followed her in. Silence surrounded her as she walked through the main room. Which was both depressing and nice too. She missed the bar, but her head had too much in it to really process anything right now, including this mess her bar found itself in.
Cameron entered the back room first, but he’d taken only two steps inside when he yelled, “Run!”
Time slowed. And yet everything happened so fast. Cameron drew his weapon, only to be grabbed around the neck. He was disarmed in mere seconds. Kinsley’s purse fell to the ground as a group of men wearing ski masks all turned to her. Two things occurred to her at the same time.
The first, her alarm was disabled. She hadn’t entered a code when she walked into her bar.
The second, the man who attacked her stood only a few feet away. He turned those cruel, dead eyes to her.
Run…Kinsley…run…
The words came as clear as she’d heard them in her dream. She turned and sprinted for the door. She begged her legs to run faster. The door was right there; all she had to do was get there. Masculine yells erupted behind her, igniting a fear that hit her straight into her soul. She’d only begun to taste happiness. This surely couldn’t be it. Her baby needed her. Rhett needed her.
Faster.
Run…
She screamed and pushed harder, her muscles burning. The door was so close. She reached out to grab the handle, but her fingers slipped away as a hard body slammed into her, taking her down to the ground. She forcibly shifted onto her side, desperate not to land on her stomach. Her hip took the brunt of the fall. But that pain seething through her was nothing compared to the fear she felt staring down the barrel of a gun.
Her attacker growled, “Time’s up.”
* * *
The morning had been long and exhausting, and last night with Kinsley occupied Rhett’s mind. He felt torn between finding the bastards threatening her and keeping her safe and close to him. Rhett never felt torn, and it was beginning to eat away at him. He wanted to see that smile, feel that warmth she offered him, listen to her talk. Instead, he spent most of his time on the phone with the NYPD discussing the Wild Dogs, who they were and what Rhett and the guys were facing. The news was grim, and still, Rhett had no idea how to even find the men who’d attacked Kinsley. He had no leads. Nothing. Josh was still MIA; no hits had come on the APB that Rhett had put out. And he hoped that when Boone and Asher came back from wherever or whatever they were doing, they had a better answer for him.
With a curse, he grabbed his mug to refill his coffee, but when he stepped out into the cubicle area, he was met by a flurry of activity. “What’s wrong?” he asked one of the rookies who rushed by.
“Whiskey Blues is on fire.”
It took Rhett a few seconds to process what that meant. His coffee mug smashed to the floor and he charged for the door. He was vaguely aware that people were yelling at him when he ran out of the station. Get there, his instincts roared at him. He listened. Regardless of the fact that his head told him everything was all right, he sprinted down Main Street, spotting the dark, thick smoke billowing up to the sky, as well as Cameron’s empty cruiser. Peyton and Remy stood at the curb, matching looks of horror on their faces.
Rhett took note of the pedestrians on the street, and one person was missing. “Where’s Kinsley?” he asked the women.
“She was going to Remy’s last time I saw her,” Peyton said.
Remy shook her head. “She never came back after this morning.”
Peyton’s face went ashen. “But she left my shop this morning and said she was going to yours. She never came?”
“No,” Remy said, reaching out for Rhett’s arm, fright shaking her voice. “No, she never came.”
Rhett snapped his head back to the bar as a window burst and flames licked out. He charged forward while the women yelled for him to stop. When he reached the door in the back parking lot, he spotted that it was ajar. Rhett grabbed his gun from his holster, then pulled up the front of his shirt and held it to his face while he got down on all fours and crawled beneath the thick smoke through the back room. Kinsley…
His heart thundered, the worst thoughts filling his mind. He’d been in the most dangerous missions of his life, but this shook his hands now. A cold sweat washed over him, a stark contrast to the heat at his flesh. A rawness rocked him to his very core. The fire roared, a sound that reminded Rhett to move swiftly. He crawled through the back, clearing Kinsley’s office and the kitchen, but then he met a body.
Cameron.
He checked for a pulse and found one. Rhett grabbed Cameron and yanked him out the door before he charged back inside. Desperate to find Kinsley, he touched the door to the main bar and was relieved to find that his skin wasn’t scorched. He lay flat on his stomach and opened the door. The fire had been set at the front of the bar, and currently the only thing not on fire was the floor. Rhett’s training clicked into place. His objective to search for a victim was the only thing on his mind.
He cleared the bathrooms, behind the bar, the stage, and when he knew for certain Kinsley wasn’t lying injured in the bar anywhere, he crawled his way back out. The moment he cleared the outside door, he was greeted by sirens and lights as the fire department arrived. He burst into a coughing fit and was pulled away by a fireman, an oxygen mask shoved on his face. The world spun slightly, and for a moment he couldn’t quite piece together why he was there or what had happened. Until Boone grabbed his shoulders, and with the oxygen returning to his body, he said beneath the mask, “She’s not in there.”
“Thank God,” Boone said, holding Rhett steady.
Rhett tried to get his bearings. The paramedics were working on Cameron, who began coughing; obviously he’d been knocked out. Peyton and Remy stood just behind Boone, tears in their eyes as they held each other. No, no sadness. Rhett couldn’t take it. He grabbed his phone and called her. The call went straight to voicemail. “Does she ever turn her phone off?"
Boone shook his head. “No. Never.”
Rhett took in another long, deep breath then tore the mask off and dropped it on the ground. He grabbed Boone’s arm. “The security cameras.” He took off running, with Boone hot on his heels, and the firefighters yelling at them to come back.
Every step burned his lungs a little bit more. He stormed back into the station, glancing at the chief’s empty desk. Rhett had failed to keep his promise. He shoved the shame aside. He’d find her…and the baby…his chest constricted tightly, but he shoved that thought aside too, desperate to stay sharp. By the time he was sitting behind his desk and powering up his computer, he was still coughing. He logged into Kinsley’s security system and fast-forwarded through the morning. Nothing.
“Stop there,” Boone snapped, glancing at the monitor over Rhett’s shoulder. “There.”
Rhett hit Play again but now in slow motion. A black van drove up to the back door and half a dozen men wearing ski masks got out, reaching for gas canisters. They gained entry by picking the lock. One man stayed by the door, an obvious lookout.
One minute went by…then two…and then two men charged forward out of the door. One held Kinsley by the waist, the other held her feet.
Life for Rhett stopped then.
Rhett knew pain. He knew what it felt like to have a bullet rip through his flesh. He knew what it felt like to lose people, to watch them bleed out and for the life to fade from their eyes. This…watching helplessly as men shoved Kinsley into a van was something he had no idea how to deal with. Pride filled him as she fought. Kicked and squirmed and punched, but the truth remained. They were physically stronger. And in a minute, they had her shoved into the van with the doors slammed shut. She didn’t come back out.
Kinsley. His child.
They were…gone…
Something inside him cracked and then broke, shattering until he could barely get air in his tight lungs. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t move. Kinsley…
Boone was on the phone, snapping at the person on the other line, “I need an Ashanti Alert issued.” Much like the Amber Alert, this act helped find endangered adults. “Victim is five-foot-five, brunette, twenty-nine years old, wearing a black jacket and dark jeans. Numerous suspects driving a black van. License plate unknown.” He ended the call abruptly, shoving his hand into his hair. “Why the fuck would they take her? Why? Where?” He frantically paced by Rhett’s desk, looking for all the answers that Rhett couldn’t find either.
Rhett rose on shaky legs. He placed his hands flat on his desk and breathed deep. Kinsley needed him sharp and strong. There would be no finding where they’d taken her fast enough. Unless they found the van, but judging by the timestamp, they were a good hour ahead of them.
Boone loosened a breath. “If they hurt her, I’m going to kill them.”
“No, you won’t,” Rhett said, finally looking up. Boone was too good. Too clean. Rhett…wasn’t. “But I will.” Planning to do whatever it took to find those men, he pushed away from his desk.
“I have—”
Rhett stopped dead, finding Asher in the doorway, looking like he’d seen a ghost. “Fuck,” Asher finally spat. He thrust his hands into his hair, his eyes fraught with worry. “I have no idea how to fucking say this.”
“Talk now,” Rhett ordered, feeling dread seeping into his bones.
Asher glanced at Boone and then back at Rhett, pity in his eyes. “A body was found twenty minutes ago on the 102 near Whitby Falls.” Rhett flopped back in his chair, all the strength gone from his legs, every bit of air squeezed from his lungs as Asher added, “She’s a brunette.”