CHAPTER NINETEEN

Brady jerked into alert mode when Hope threw back the covers.He sat and reached for her, meeting hot, wet flesh.She felt like she had a fever, and her skin was sweaty.

"Hope?" He put his hand on her shoulder and pressed lightly."Hope?"

She didn't respond, and that concerned him."Hope?" He spoke louder.

Still, there was no response.Wasting no more time, Brady rose, scooped her up into his arms, and carried her into the bathroom.

He stepped into the shower and balanced Hope with one arm long enough to turn on the water.The icy blast that sprayed down on them took his breath.

Hope never budged.Now Brady's concern hitched up a level.As he turned the water to warm and turned his back to the cold spray as the water heated, he considered the situation.The cold should have shocked her awake.Why didn't it?

When the water warmed, he sat on the bench recessed on the back wall, holding Hope.Brady reached for her neck, seeking a pulse.There.It was steady.Slow but steady.She didn't appear to be in cardiac distress; her breathing was normal, and her body temperature was starting to warm with the arrival of hot water.

"Hope, can you hear me?" Brady kept his tone neutral, not wanting to scare her with his concern.

"Hope?"

He gave up that approach when the fourth time failed exactly like the three before it. Instead, he stripped off her clothing and then his own, turned off the water, and stepped out with her in his arms.

Brady didn't care about wet sheets.He slung back the bedclothes, put Hope on the bed and climbed on beside her, pulling the covers on top of them.

It took a bit of maneuvering with her being limp, but he managed to get her on her side, with her back to him.His naked front chilled rapidly from the cold being emitted from her body, and for a few moments, he wondered if he would be able to sustain this position.If she didn't start to warm up, he wouldn't have enough heat to make a difference.

Hope's extreme body temperature changes elevated his alert level a couple of rungs.Brady's arms circled her, hands splayed across her breasts.Just as his hands started feeling drained of heat, he felt it—a bit of warmth.

"Come on, baby.Come back," he whispered."Hope?Come on.You can do it."

The fire licked at her from every angle. Hope would have screamed from the pain of it if she'd had a voice, but here in this hell was nothing but flames and pain.

Why? Why was she being tortured? What had she done? All she could do was pray for it to end. And just like that, it vanished, leaving something just as painful in its place. Cold. The kind that seeps into your bones, making you feel you're being frozen from the inside out.

Hope felt the cold like thousands of thorns against her skin, pricking and stinging. She felt it but had no power to escape it; she was trapped in this gray shroud. But why? Who put her here and why?

"What answers are here?" She thought the words but heard nothing. "Please, show me."

A memory came to her. Andy had just turned four and was learning to ride his new bike. Well, new to him. Hope found it at the local consignment store, sanded and painted it, put on new pedals, grips, and tires, and added some training wheels.

Andy loved it and begged to ride at the park every afternoon. This particular afternoon, he wanted to try riding without the training wheels. Hope had taken her wrenches with her, and when they reached the park, she sat on the ground to remove the wheels.

That's when she saw him. Rob. He was in the passenger seat of a new and expensive pickup. The driver was a woman and looked familiar, but Hope was too shaken by Rob's appearance to care about the woman.

She felt like she might throw up. She had to get Andy home, out of sight. She couldn't let Rob see him.

Hope knew that was irrational. Rob had never laid eyes on Andy. Heck, she'd not heard one word from him since the day he told her to fuck off, literally, in those words and others equally as insulting and hurtful.

He didn't care about her or Andy, she reminded herself. Rob only cared about one person. Himself. He gave you attention if you served his purpose or provided something he wanted or needed.

She didn't fit any of that, so he'd have no interest in her or Andy. Still, she made an excuse about not having the correct wrench and hurried home.

Why that memory surfaced was a mystery. Here, she was trapped in some limbo she didn't understand or know how to escape and was thinking about being afraid Rob would take Andy from her.

That thought jolted her. And a breach appeared in her prison. She felt warmth seeping into her from behind, then sudden warmth on her breasts. Almost immediately, she became aware of a voice calling her.

Brady. She reached for the sound, and suddenly, she was free, once more in Brady's bed, being held and warmed."You're back," Brady breathed in her ear."Thank God.You had me scared."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, wondering if she should reveal her dream and her worries."I—I don't know why that happened."

"What was it?'

"I don't know.A dream, I suppose.I don't know what else to call it."

"Can you tell me about it?

His obvious concern warmed her from the inside out.She rolled over to face him.He lay back and pulled her against him, keeping her warm and pressed against her side.Brady held her as she told him about the fire and the cold and the memory."

"And do you know what it means?" he asked.

"It means he will try and take Andy from me."

Brady thought about that. From the beginning, he knew it was a mistake to keep things from her.Clay told all his sons about his conversation with Rob Wingate.They'd quietly and quickly gone about securing the ranch and had enough armed men now that they were at ease.The man would be a moron to try anything here.

Their mistake was not telling Hope about the conversation or the added security.Now, here he was, trying to decide the bigger evil.To continue to keep it from her, or to admit it and suffer whatever anger or hurt it would cause her.

The easiest thing would be to keep his mouth shut.But in this instance, it was more important that she realize her fears were grounded.He didn't understand why she had such dreams or how she drew the conclusions she did from them, but damn if she hadn't hit the nail on the head.

Rob was a threat.

And she deserved to know that.What scared him was that revealing that knowledge might just have her losing trust in him.

What did it say about him that the thought of that happened ushered in cowardice? Brady had never let fear get in the way of doing what he knew was right.

Why was this different?

Because you're in love with her, idiot.

That slapped him and provided a dilemma he'd never faced. Did he risk her walking away from him and tell the truth, or try to keep it hidden to keep her from walking away?

"Look, I don't expect you to agree with me," she said when the silence became uncomfortable. "And it's okay if you think I'm cra—"

"I believe you."

He saw the surprise on her face that somehow made it worse. "You are right, Hope. He does want something. He wants to hurt you – hurt all of us."

"What do you mean?"

Brady laid it out like he would a mission briefing. He told her all he knew and had been told, and when he finished, she was quiet for a long time.

He started to wonder if he'd been wrong to tell her. Brady waited, wondering what she was thinking and or feeling.

Her soft whisper broke the silence. "If he tries to take Andy... oh God, Brady, I'm scared."

Brady squeezed her tighter. "Don't be. He won't. And even if he does, he won't succeed. I won't let him hurt either of you, Hope. If he tries, I will end him."

"Just like it's war," she whispered.

"Just like that."

She didn't comment, and after a good bit of time had passed, he felt her body relax. Soon, her breathing changed, and he knew she'd finally drifted off to sleep.

Brady thought about the situation. They'd covered the obvious bases with security and guards, but as he knew, if someone wanted to break into a place bad enough, they'd find a way.

He hoped, for everyone's sake, this Wingate guy would change his mind about picking a fight with Brady's family, using Hope and Andy as the point of contention. Clearly, the man had no morals and was a career con man with no scruples or compassion.

He didn't love Andy, and Brady couldn't imagine why he'd even want a child he didn't know unless he thought taking the kid would net him a hefty ransom.

If that was his thinking, then he was quite flawed. Blackstones didn't negotiate with those set on hurting them. They didn't run and couldn't be bullied. Instead, they went on the offense, and that's when people went to jail.

Or worse.