Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

C ady lay in Colton's arms as the early morning sun began to shine. They'd made love and she'd fallen asleep not five minutes later. Her body was sore from learning how to fight with a spoon and hand-to-hand combat class. And it wasn't over. She was going to be meeting with the Davies brothers again this morning before getting ready for the naming ceremony.

"Hey, hot shot, I have to get going. There are things I need to get done at the distillery before you pick me up for the ceremony and dinner," Cady said as she rubbed her hand over the ridges of his stomach to wake him up.

Colton groaned and rolled on top of her, making sure he didn't put too much weight on his shoulder. "I can think of some things we need to do together before you leave."

"Hmm, I wonder what you mean."

"I was always better at showing than telling." Colton dipped his head and brought his lips to hers.

So maybe she was going to be a little late for her workout.

"Again!" Miles barked.

"Who needs to know how to kill someone with a spoon?" Cady asked for the hundredth time as she stabbed the straw dummy with the spoon.

"Not only can you physically kill someone with a spoon, but it's a true test of your skills. If you can kill with a spoon, you have the power to kill with anything. Anything can be made a weapon to protect yourself. But a spoon? No one expects a spoon."

"Or a gnome," Cady muttered.

Cade grinned. "See, you are getting it."

"Have you ever thought of growing your own corn, rye, and barley? We have really unique soil here in Keeneston. I think it would taste really good for a small batch." Pierce was looking off over the empty acres at the back of her property. She had so much land and most of it was used for hay.

Cady placed her arms over her head and took in some deep breaths. "No. I'm good with chemicals, not growing things."

Pierce shrugged. "I have bots for that. Anyone could do it. I'm going to take a soil sample."

"Less soil more punching," Cy said, drawing her attention back to the other brothers. "Spoon time is over."

Cady caught the boxing gloves and strapped them on. "Let's do this."

Twenty minutes and she was covered in sweat. "I'm going to be too sore to even lift my arms tonight."

"Don't worry," Marshall said, holding up a bottle of oil. "We have something for that."

"Isn't that Aniyah's sex oil?" Cady asked, taking a step back from the stuff that had burned the most sensitive areas of several people she knew.

"It is," Marshall explained. "However, the heat is great for sore muscles. It might be a little painful..."

Cade took off her boxing gloves, pulled out a piece of leather, and grimaced. "You might want to bite down on this."

Marshall had on industrial strength gloves as he poured out some oil. Cady's eyes widened in shock and she tried to back away only to run into Miles. Before she could bolt, Marshall gripped her exposed shoulders and ran his hands down her arms. "Spin."

"This isn't bad," Cady said with relief as she turned around and he put the oil on her shoulder blades exposed by her tank top. "I don't see what all the fuss is about."

Pierce used metal tongs to take the bottle from the table and set it in a metal case. Marshall held out his hands and Pierce used the tongs to pull off the gloves.

"Give it a minute," Marshall told her. "Then you need to let it work for about ten minutes and then rinse it off."

Cady set a timer on her phone. "Great. Thanks guys. Wish me luck tonight."

"You don't need luck. You've been trained," Miles said stoically.

"There is one condition though," Cade told her. "Don't tell our wives we helped you."

Okay, her muscles were starting to tingle a little. "Why not?"

"They take this very seriously and we don't want them to think we helped you cheat," Cy said so smoothly she could see why he had made a good spy.

Cady was going to ask another question, but the tingling went to full flames. "I'm on fire!" She was swatting at her arms, but no flames were there.

"You got eight more minutes. You can do it," Cade said reassuringly.

"The hell I can!"

"It'll take you at least six minutes to run to your house," Marshall told her. "That's why we met out here."

"No more bourbon for you—ever!" Cady screamed over her shoulder as she took off running.

"Aw, you don't mean that. We're helping you!" Marshall called out as she sprinted toward her house. "Don't tell our wives! You promised!"

Flames had to be shooting out of her back as she ran. The distillery was closed today as the conference was being broken down and tours would go back on schedule the next day. There were some people from the rental company milling around, folding up tables and chairs, and loading them onto big trucks.

Cady didn't stop to ask questions or check on their progress. She had to get to her shower, now. Sweat was pouring off her, her heart was pounding, and tears were streaming as she unlocked her door. She didn't even remember if she closed it before she jumped in the shower, clothes and all.

Cold water had never felt so good.

It took a minute or ten and lots of soap to get it off, but finally there was blessed relief. Cady reached up to wash her hair and noticed the soreness was gone. She felt limber and loose. The burning was gone and all that was left was pure bliss.

"Still don't know how they use this for sex. No way." Cady shuddered at the thought before getting back to her shower.

Cady didn't know what to wear but decided on stretchy black jeans. Maybe she could hide in the shadows tonight and no one would shove a spoon at her to fight with. She also didn't want to have to run for her life in a dress, so jeans it was.

Cady stepped outside and looked around. She needed to calm down before Colton picked her up. He wasn't due for another hour, so she had plenty of time. She should probably go check on the rental company too.

Cady took off toward the main building. The trucks were gone. When she entered the building, it was empty and clean, just like the rental company had promised.

That was a huge worry off her plate. Cady looked around the wide-open space. It was all hers. She'd done something special, even if Bruce and Jordan tried to ruin it. Cady turned off the lights and locked the building.

" Meow !"

Cady turned to see George and Ginny bolting from the building where Cady's office and the tasting room were located. Cady frowned. The cats shouldn't have been in there. The door should have been locked.

The tasting room was on the first floor and the offices were on the second floor. Cady slowly approached the building. George and Ginny were beside her now, backs arched and hissing. Cady crept forward. The door was not only open but it was splintered. Someone had forced their way inside.

There were times to be brave, and there were times to be smart.

Cady decided to be smart. She stepped back to hide from view of the building and called the sheriff's department. "Keeneston Sheriff's Department. This is Cody."

"Cody, it's Cady. Someone broke into my office building. They might still be here, but I didn't go in."

"Andy is on duty out there. Hold on." Cody was a great guy. A bit of a player, but a nice one. He'd tried to get her to date him several times. Only his idea of dating was having sex a couple of times and then moving on. However, Cady never doubted that if she needed him he'd be there. He was a damn good deputy. "He's five minutes out. I also called Colton and he's on his way too."

"Thanks, Cody."

"Colton would kick my ass if I didn't call him. Now, how is thirty days for a wedding? Oh, and are you hidden?"

"Yeah, I'm taking cover behind my main building, but I can look out and see my office. The door was kicked in."

"Just stay on the line with me. You should be able to hear the sirens soon. I'm watching Andy. He's only a mile away. Anyway, thirty days would be lovely for a wedding, right?"

Sure enough, sirens could be heard. They were faint at first but then they grew louder. Cady didn't take her eyes off the building. Suddenly a man appeared at the door. A hoodie covered his face and he was wearing gloves. He took off in the opposite direction from Cady. "A man just came out. He was in jeans, a black hoodie, and black gloves. Just shy of six feet tall. He took off for the far end of the property where the woods are."

"Don't follow him," Cody ordered.

"Do you think I'm crazy? Of course, I'm not going to follow him."

Cody let out a breath. "You're not a Davies yet. So nice working with a normal person who doesn't do crazy illegal things. Don't lose that part when you get married in thirty days."

"Who said anything about getting married?" Cady asked, feeling safer as the sound of sirens grew nearer.

"If Colton's reaction to the break-in tells me anything, combined with you going to family dinner tonight, you're as good as married. Now, if you feel like running away, I'm your dark knight. Want me to pick you up so you can ride away with me from there?"

Cady snorted. "I'm good. Thanks anyway, Cody."

"And you're distracted and didn't do anything stupid. Andy is there. Colton's fire department SUV is three minutes out. Take care, Cady."

"Thanks for helping me stay calm, Cody." Cady hung up and walked around the side of the building. Andy, in all his gingerness, was standing with his hand on his gun as he took in the busted door.

"Thanks for getting here so quickly," Cady told him.

"Cody said the man ran off in that direction," Andy said, pointing toward the woods. "I'll wait to follow until Colton gets here, which should be any minute. Stay here while I clear the building."

Andy had changed a lot in the six years since Cady had first come to Keeneston. He'd been gangly and awkward before turning to weightlifting. His hair, which had been bright carroty red, was also darkening into a rich red. Now he was thick with muscle and filled out with the maturity of a man. He was similar in age to Cady and had a reputation as the nicest man in town. It was strange to see him so serious, but there was no worry that his niceness would hinder his ability to do his job. He looked every inch the capable deputy. He unhooked his gun and entered the building.

Cady tried to listen for any sounds, but Andy made none once inside the building. The only sound Cady could now hear was that of Colton's SUV racing down her long drive.

Cady glanced over her shoulder and waved to him. Colton was out of the SUV the second it was in park. "Are you okay?"

George and Ginny wound their way around Colton's legs as they purred. "I'm okay. George and Ginny came running to tell me about the trouble. Andy is in there now but I saw the man running off toward the woods."

Andy came out, and while his gun was no longer in his hands, he didn't look happy. "I'm sorry, Cady. It's a real mess in there. Colton, stay here with Cady while I check out the woods. I don't want him doubling back to get to her."

Colton put his arm around her as they watched Andy jog off in the direction she'd seen the man run. "I wish you'd go with him."

"He has a point. It would be really easy to double back. Come on, let's see what happened inside."

Colton kept his arm around Cady as they walked inside. It felt as if her whole world blew up when she saw the mess. Literally. Every single bottle behind the tasting bar was shattered. No wonder the cats had been scared.

Cady's shoes crunched on the glass and sloshed through the bourbon and gin as she walked around the bar. Every drawer and every cabinet were all ripped open and emptied. It was utter destruction.

"Why would they do this?" Colton asked, looking around before his gaze stopped on the slightly hidden staircase leading upstairs. "The door to the upstairs is busted. What's upstairs?"

"My office!" Cady rushed through the glass and bourbon and hurried to the stairs. Her office was her sanctuary. It was just as personal as if invading her house. The stairs led to a kitchen and a sitting area that she and the workers used. However, a small, narrow hallway ran along the side of the building and the kitchen area. She followed it past Harlan's office, whose door was not kicked in, to her office. The door was shattered.

Cady stepped through and looked at the total destruction of her office. Her office ran the length of the front of the tasting building. Four large windows looked out the front so she could see her distillery. Her desk was upside down. All the drawers were thrown over the floor. The bookshelves had been emptied. The contents of the filing cabinets were strewn everywhere. Chairs had been tossed. Even her en suite bathroom had been trashed.

"What would they want in your office that wasn't in Harlan's? And why did they destroy the bar?" Colton wondered as he went around picking up furniture and righting it.

Cady couldn't talk. She stared at the broken picture frame of her and her father. They'd even ripped the picture from the shattered glass and then tossed it on the floor. "The recipes. Bruce and Jordan want them. That's why they didn't look in Harlan's office. They knew he wouldn't have them. My guess is they searched my office and then trashed my bar out of spite for not finding the recipes."

"Where are your recipes?" Colton asked, but Cady just shook her head.

She trusted Colton, but the lengths Bruce and Jordan were going through to get them were too dangerous. "They could have bugged the place."

Colton nodded, then pulled her in for a tight hug, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "The guys and I will come out and help you get it all cleaned up tomorrow. We'll put up some strong doors too. You'll have the safest office ever by the time we're done."

"Thanks," Cady sighed. "How am I supposed to pretend everything is okay for the naming ceremony? Shoot, we have to go. You're part of it."

"I'll call Andy and let him know our thoughts and then we'll head out."

Colton held her hand as they walked outside. "Andy!" he yelled, but there was no response.

"Andy!" Cady tried. Nothing.

"I don't like this," Colton said, tugging her along to his SUV. "Let's check out the woods, but you stay in the SUV. In fact, you drive so if something happens you can take off. Got it?"

"I won't leave you, Colton."

"Then we're not going."

Cady looked off to the woods. She was starting to worry about Andy. "Fine." She took his keys and drove over the grass in the direction the men had gone.

Colton hopped out of the SUV and grabbed his ax. "Stay here. Keep the engine running. See anyone you don't know, run them over."

Colton didn't wait for her to agree. He took off at a jog, stopping every now and then to look at a tree branch or at the ground. He must have been tracking Andy. Then he disappeared from sight for six agonizing minutes.

Cady was about to call Cody when she saw Colton's head running through the trees. And he wasn't alone. He had Andy over his shoulder as he ran. "Colton!" she screamed from the open window.

"He's alive, but he was whacked in the back of the head and is out cold." Colton didn't put him down. He ran around the SUV, opened the tailgate, and then laid him down after putting the backseat down. "Call Jace and drive us to the clinic."

Cady watched as Colton went into paramedic mode. Blood pressure was taken. Gauze was put on the wound and wrapped tight. Cady called Jace and hung up. She glanced in the back mirror as she tore out of the distillery. There was another call she needed to make.

"It's Cady. Andy was at my distillery for a burglary call and someone bashed him over the head. I'm with Colton and we're getting him to Jace's. I thought you might want to know. Thanks. See you there."