Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

K age

Before I could take off running toward the horrible sound, I noticed Max was on the ground. Kneeling down, I fisted my hand before feeling for a pulse. While there was no blood that I could see, I sensed he'd been hit hard with something. When I noticed a thick limb tossed nearby, I hissed. "Oh, buddy. I'm so sorry. It's going to be okay."

He opened his eyes, extending one leg to give me his paw.

His whine nearly broke my heart.

"I gotta go, buddy. I'll come back. Just rest. I have to save your mommy dog."

After grabbing my weapon, I took off running toward the sound, trying desperately to listen for anything that would lead me toward her. While I was grateful to hear sirens in the distance, it was drowning out the more subtle noises in the forest.

I jogged one direction then the other, crouching down when I noticed a single drop of blood and a cigarette butt. While I wanted to call out Noel's name, I also didn't want to draw attention to the fact I'd arrived to join the twisted party. The element of surprise was exactly what I needed.

As I sprinted, I continued scanning the perimeter. Suddenly, Max was there right beside me, refusing to allow some asshole to break either his body or his spirit.

"Go, Max. Find her. Find your mistress."

He didn't need me to tell him twice, flying high over the areas of snow, all four paws off the ground as he took off running. It was tough to keep up with him, but I managed, suddenly seeing two sets of tracks in the snow.

And neither one belonged to me.

Her shout of ‘help' came from the right seconds before I heard a rumble. There was no chance a vehicle of any kind had made it through the forest and the snow.

Fuck.

It was a goddamn snowmobile.

Which could go in excess of one hundred and fifty miles per hour. If I didn't get to her quickly, I wouldn't stand a chance.

And neither would she.

Thank God I was in decent shape, but the wind was impeding my advancement. Max sprinted ahead of me and I pushed myself to try to follow closely behind him. I was jumping over logs, trying to avoid all the pitfalls snow could hide.

As Max flew through the air once again, my attention was drawn to the forest to the right. Fucking Jesus. Rage unlike the shit I'd experienced before tore through me. Joel had Noel in front of him on the snowmobile, preparing to take off. She was struggling but I sensed the man had her in a stranglehold.

I couldn't let them get away from me.

Before I could react, Max took off at full speed. This time, as he flew through the air, I could swear the boy was ten feet off the ground.

Joel had already started to head off, the snowmobile still running at the moment of contact, Max knocking both him and Noel into the snow. There was no time to waste. As Max snarled and yelped, Noel was screaming once again.

Sirens were blaring.

But it was my heart beating rapidly that I concentrated on. It allowed me to know that I was very much alive.

I rushed forward with full force, barely missing the still advancing vehicle as it rolled forward from the momentum. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Noel trying to get away, fighting to crawl through the ice and snow.

When Joel wrapped his hand around her ankle, Max jumped on the man's torso, baring his teeth as he growled and barked.

"Kage," she managed, her voice full of agony.

I'd never been one to fall into moments where time was slowed, but in this case, I was grateful it had. The phenomenon allowed me to calculate every move as I flew through the air, tumbling down on the fucker dead set on following through with a horrific crime. I managed to smash his face with the side of my gun, but the guy was strong and quick, getting off two hard punches to my jaw.

"Move. Move!" I yelled at Noel, praying to God the sound of my voice wasn't muffled. I also hoped Max would ease back, taking care of his master instead of fighting a monster of a human being determined to strip lives away.

I got off two punches myself as we pitched and rolled, the bastard stupid enough to try to yank the weapon from my hand. We rolled again and I'd be damned if the asshole almost knocked the Glock from my hand.

We were both grunting but the evil son of a bitch was also laughing. He was enjoying this. I managed to get from his grasp, backing away then taking aim at his stomach. Issuing one brutal kick, I send him flying by several feet, his body slamming against a tree.

I heard Max snarling and barking. I threw a look over my shoulder, the slow motion still occurring. Noel was several feet away, doing her best to hold onto Max's collar.

When she screamed, the sound as muffled as every other one occurring around us, I snapped my head back in the direction of where I'd pummeled Joel's body. The fucker was almost on me. All I had time to do was throw my weapon face forward, firing off a single shot.

Now the sound was deafening.

Then it seemed all was quiet, not a peep happening in the dense forest.

Without a second thought, I rose to my feet, holding out my weapon as I approached the fallen man. When I took aim at his head, I heard the lovely voice of the woman I was falling in love with directly behind me.

"Don't. Please don't, Kage. He's not worth it. Think of our life. Think of our love."

Love. The woman could love me after all this shit?

I cracked my neck as I turned it once again, trying to weigh the sense of what I wanted to do versus the ramifications. I decided the man needed to die. "I need to do this, Noel. Please forgive me."

With my finger on the trigger, I also realized we were surrounded.

"Put down the weapon, sir. We've got him. It's over."

Over.

Someone would need to explain to me how and when it would truly be over.

I held the weapon in the same position until Noel placed a hand on my forearm, Max crowding closer, even pressing his head against my thigh. Only then did I realize what I'd told Dan was the truth.

I wanted a life, a second chance and killing him wouldn't allow that.

As soon as I lowered the weapon, she threw her arms around me. I barely felt when some cop eased the Glock from my fingers. But what I did was the warmth of her shaking body and the love she emanated as she pressed her face into my neck.

And I never wanted this feeling to end.

"You were willing to die for me."

Noel's words would haunt me perhaps for the rest of my life. We were sitting on the couch inside the cabin, Max curled at our feet. I couldn't believe the pup was unhurt, other than maybe a few bumps and bruises. "Yeah, both Max and I would have."

The noise inside the house was horrific, the number of police officers swarming the area outside to be expected, but that didn't mean I wasn't tired of the interference. I wanted to get her the fuck out of here to somewhere that didn't remind her of yet another freak show.

I'd find a place. If fucking Saldono dared try to show his ugly face, bringing goons with him, I would kill him without hesitation.

It was my right and I was finished with any motherfucker taking advantage of me or attempting to hurt the woman I would protect at all costs.

She pressed her hand against my face, forcing me to look in her direction. "Thank you. I'm so sorry I interfered."

"Baby. While you shouldn't have jumped into the middle of my business, I'm damn glad you did."

"I can't stand what you went through. I just can't." A single tear slipped past her long lashes and it jerked at my heart all over again.

The police had taken both our statements, taking way too long in doing so in my opinion. They'd looked at us incredulously, as if we were to blame for the incident. "We'll get through it. We will."

As she leaned her head forward, pressing our foreheads together, I took a deep breath. My ribs hurt but the pain was well deserved for leaving her alone. I would likely never forgive myself.

A copycat killer.

What the fuck?

I eased my hand between us, gathering the salty bead on my finger before gripping the side of her neck, pulling her lips against mine. She was still shivering, her body seeming so tiny in my arms. I kept the kiss tender and loving, hoping she would feel the heat of my body, taking at least some comfort from it.

There was no reason for me to have such scattered thoughts, but I reminded myself that I was the kind of man no one wanted to cross. Things ended badly. The fuck secured in the back of a police car on his way to jail had learned that the hard way.

Even if I hadn't been able to finish the job.

While I knew little about the man's story, the fact he'd used his position as an attorney to shadow one of the most notorious monsters within the United States was just as disgusting as the heinous crimes committed. The cops weren't telling us shit but I'd overheard enough to know it appeared Joel had been responsible for at least two recent kills within the Denver city limits.

"Thank you," Noel said as soon as we both pulled away. I doubted either one of us liked the fact we were constantly being watched.

"We're leaving when the fuckers are done with their investigation."

"What about the snow?"

"Fuck the snow. We're going to take our fur baby somewhere opulent where we'll order room service and fucking champagne until we can't stand up straight. Then we'll sleep until noon, grabbing a huge breakfast afterwards and fuck it. We'll go shopping."

The tears returned to her eyes, but I gathered a sense of gratitude.

"I'd love that."

"Ms. Young. Mr. Bronson. I think we have all we need for tonight but I'm certain there will be additional questions."

The young man had gotten the short end of the straw in telling us.

"Not tonight. I'm taking her out of here," I told him, slowly lifting my head.

"Understood. We have your number. Someone will call you when you need to come down to the station."

"You do that." I was still disgusted with the entire situation, barely able to stay patient as the bastards started to get ready to leave. I knew I was just in a cranky mood and shouldn't blame the officers for anything. But I couldn't help if my thoughts continued to drift back to the concept that if they'd done their jobs, Noel wouldn't have gone through the shit she had.

As soon as the door was closed, I heard her sigh of relief just a split second before she let off a single racking sob.

That alone was enough to make me wish I'd killed the bastard.

"Let's get our shit together and get out of here. This isn't our life."

Isn't our life.

I'd been the one to say the words, not her. I'd also called Max our dog, not hers. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew it was still better for her if I was out of the picture, but I was no martyr nor was I the kind of man to pay attention to anything rational.

I wanted her.

I needed her.

And in truth, I could tell she needed me.

Two fucking damaged souls and one fluffy broken dog.

Weren't we a trio?