Davis, Keyonna - Faceless Enemy [Pine Valley 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

Chase cracked his eye open and squinted at her. “What’s so funny, little bit?”

Kerri giggled again. “I don’t even know why I’m laughing. I just know that was the best sex I have ever had. I guess I am just happy.” She rolled over on her side and stroked his jaw. “I’m happy here with you, Chase. I really am. Of course I am bored out of my mind being stuck in the house all day, but I know that it’s just temporary. I really like your family, and I like you a lot.” She didn’t tell him that she had grown to love his family and was falling in love with him. It was too soon for that.

“I really like you, too, Kerri. I love my family to death, but these past few weeks having you here have meant a lot to me. I know you’re here because you are still in danger, but I like having you around. I like being able to sit next to you on the couch and hold you while we watch TV. I have never had a woman spend the night in my bed. I want that with you, Kerri. I want to spend all night just holding you and wake up with you in my arms.” Chase finished his statement by kissing her.

His words affected her deeply, and she threw everything she had into kissing him back. He wanted her, and she wanted him. They made each other happy, and that was all that mattered in Kerri’s opinion. She tried to lift her leg to throw it over his hip, but the pain caused her to yell out instead. Chase was immediately up and pulling his jeans back up. Kerri groaned at the loss but knew that playtime was over.

“I’m sorry I was so rough with you, little bit. I tried my best to wait until you were healed, but I just couldn’t stop myself,” Chase said as he helped her slide her panties and jeans on.

“It’s okay. Nothing that a couple of pain pills won’t fix.” She lost her smile as Chase eyed her neck, and she could see the guilt in his eyes. There was no doubt that she was already bruising from his tight grip. “Hey, it’s not your fault. I should have never come up behind you like that. My dad has warned me about that before, but I guess I wasn’t thinking.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed.

Chase didn’t look too convinced, so Kerri played the damsel-in-distress card. “My leg is really hurting. Do you think maybe you could carry me back to the house? I think I need a shower and to lie down for a bit.” Kerri had to hide her grin when he lifted her and practically ran back to the house while grunting about her leaving her crutches behind.

In the bathroom, Kerri stripped slowly. Her muscles and leg protested every movement. She was paying for having sex in the barn, but she would do it again in a heartbeat. This was the second time that she was able to go to the bathroom and shower alone since the bottom of her feet had healed, but if she was honest with herself, she missed having Chase with her.
It’s official. I am going crazy.
What person wants their privacy invaded in the bathroom?
It seems I do
. Kerri shook her head and got in the shower. The hot water felt great on her skin, and she was determined to enjoy every second of it. After going over a week with only sponge baths, she would never take bathing for granted again.

Kerri’s leg felt a lot better after the shower, so she decided to skip the meds and just lie in the bed for a while. It seemed like she had just closed her eyes when she heard whispering and laughing. She cracked her eyes open and looked at Ali and Cane sitting on each side of her bed.

“What is it about the people in this family watching others sleep?” she grumbled.

“Wake up, sleepyhead. We have something to tell you,” Ali said, practically bouncing.

Ali was a little too excited, and Kerri wondered what they were going to say. She sat up and scooted back against the headboard. “What’s going on, guys?”

Cane spoke first. “Well, it seems as though my husbands are letting me out on parole for the night.”

Ali doubled over laughing. “She threatened bodily harm if they didn’t back off.”

Kerri laughed and looked over at Cane to see her blushing.

“Anyway,” Cane continued, “I get to have a night out, and I pulled some strings to have you included.”

“What? Are you serious?” Kerri was too afraid to get her hopes up. She had been begging Chase to take her off the ranch for a while now, and he refused every time. There was no way he was allowing her to go now. “What’s the catch? This is way too good to be true.”

Cane shrugged her shoulders before speaking again. “Well, the guys get to have a night out as well at the same place we are going. They will still be guarding us, but they will just be doing it from across the room. They aren’t allowed to bother us until we are ready to leave. That’s the best deal I could come up with, so take it or leave it.”

“Are you crazy? I will take it.” Kerri leaned over and hugged Cane as much as she could with her belly being in the way. “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.”

Between Ali and Cane, they were able to piece together an outfit for Kerri, and they helped each other get ready. Kerri tried to think of when she’d had this much fun and really couldn’t think of a time. She really liked it here. She liked Chase’s family. None of them had any ulterior motives, and she could let her guard down around them. She didn’t have to worry about her family name or if they were just trying to get close to her to use her against her father. It felt good to relax, and Kerri decided that she needed to do it more often. She just had to come up with a way to tell her dad that.

When Kerri was dressed, she limped into the kitchen where the men were waiting and came to a screeching halt.
Damn, look at that.
Chase and all his brothers and Gavin and Angel were already dressed and having a beer. They all looked good, but her eyes zeroed in on Chase. He looked good enough to eat. Kerri tried to swallow, but her mouth had gone dry. Chase was wearing a pair of black dress pants that hugged his ass and thighs nicely. He had a royal-blue button-down shirt on that was opened at the top to reveal a black T-shirt on underneath. Up until now, Kerri had only seen him in jeans and sweats or fatigue pants and T-shirts. He definitely cleaned up well. The one word that came to mind was “sexy.”

As if he could sense her thoughts, Chase winked at her and turned one corner of his mouth up into a knowing grin. It just made Kerri think of what happened earlier in the barn. She could feel the familiar heat and moisture invading her panties. If it wasn’t for the damn limp she still had, she would march right over there and tell him what he could do with those lips. Unfortunately she still had it, and she had to admit that her leg was still sore from earlier. Plus, she was not going to miss the chance to get out of the house and have some fun. She was going to have fun and relax even if she had to do it while under armed guard. She had no doubt that every man in the room was “carrying” except for Riley. Kerri had the feeling that he was more of a lover than a fighter, but from what she had learned about him over the past couple weeks, he would have no problem defending his family.

Chase came over and stood in front of her. “Damn, little bit. If I hadn’t already agreed to this night out, I would have you in my bed on your back in about two seconds flat. You look damn sexy.”

Kerri smiled and rubbed his chest. She didn’t think the skinny jeans and sparkly blouse that she was wearing were spectacular, but she was presentable.

“Great minds must think alike because I was just thinking the same about you.” She leaned up on the tips of her toes but she still couldn’t reach his lips, so she kissed his chest instead. “As much as I would enjoy another roll in the hay, literally, I am really looking forward to going out tonight.”

Chase nodded, but some of the heat went out of his eyes. Kerri had a feeling that he was not 100 percent on board with tonight. She knew that if he had his way, she would be locked in a closet somewhere until this whole situation was over.

“Listen, the only reason I agreed to this is because I’ll be there with you, and I know you can take care of yourself. Just don’t go anywhere alone, and don’t do anything crazy. If anything happens tonight, let me and my team handle it.”

He held his hand up to stop the argument that she was about to make. Kerri could see how hard this was for him, so she closed her mouth and nodded. She would do whatever was necessary to stay safe, and she knew she was taking a risk by going out tonight, but she needed a break. She needed to have fun and not worry about her dad, her kidnapper, and her relationship with Chase for just a little while. Once tonight was over she would find a way to tell Chase about her plan. Chase narrowed his eyes at her when he didn’t receive an argument, and nodded as if he came to a decision about something. Kerri saw what that was when he pulled a small pistol tucked inside an ankle holster from behind his back.

“Although I want you to let us handle everything, I would still feel better if you had a way to defend yourself.”

Kerri knew that Chase was only trying to keep her safe, but the fact that he was willing to give her a gun made her realize that she was no longer falling in love with Chase Matthews, but 100 percent completely in love with him. The only way to describe it was that he just “got” her. He was macho in his own right and very protective, but he was willing to give her room to breathe and grow. She felt safe in his big, strong arms, but he recognized the fact that she didn’t need to be coddled and could defend herself if she needed to. It seemed stupid to realize all of this because a man was handing her a gun, but she couldn’t stop the rush of feelings if she tried. Kerri had a lot of thinking to do about her future and a phone call to her dad to make, but not tonight. Tonight was about fun.

Kerri took the gun from Chase and strapped it around her ankle. It was a tight fit, but she got the jeans she was wearing pulled down over it. Hopefully she wouldn’t need the gun because the jeans were going to hinder her from getting to it fast if she had to.

* * * *

Daniel MacGregor was not a man to be messed with, and he was pissed at himself for allowing someone to threaten what was his. For years everyone told him that he only had one weakness, but he didn’t see it that way. Kerri would never be seen as a weakness in his eyes. She was his pride and joy. She was the one thing in his life that made him happy to get out of bed in the mornings. The sun rose and set with her. After all the destruction, corruption, and pain he had witnessed, she made him believe that there was a little bit of goodness in the world. She was the reason he fought to make the world a safer place to live in. If it wasn’t for her, he would have gotten out of the business a long time ago. He had been thinking of giving it up before all of this happened anyway, and now he was definitely considering it.

He should have been out in the field looking for the man who had the nerve to try and use his daughter against him. Instead he was here behind his desk, poring over security log-ins, trying to find out who stole from him. Someone breached security last night and stole data on all his active and retired employees. That info could be dangerous if it got into the wrong hands, and he had to get it back. He protected his employees and their privacy, but at the moment he just didn’t seem to care about the situation. He just wanted the threat to his daughter gone. He had almost caught the guy at the hospital when he tried to get in to see Kerri. By the time the nurse alerted him that someone was trying to deliver her flowers, the guy was already gone. From the description the nurse gave, it matched what little Kerri saw of her kidnapper. He had no doubt the guy was trying to get her back. Kerri was leverage, and whoever this guy was, he felt he needed to get back at Daniel for something. He’d made a lot of enemies over the years, so it was anyone’s guess as to why this man wanted revenge. Daniel just knew that the guy would never get it. Kerri had the best security possible other than him right now. No one other than he and Chase knew where she was.

Daniel froze.
Son of a bitch!
He knew exactly why the data was stolen. If someone knew what to look for, they could find out where Kerri was hidden. All they had to do was figure out who he trusted the most. And they had at least an eight-hour head start. It took all of his power not to run out of the building and hop the first plane to Kerri. He never made rash decisions, and he couldn’t start now. Kerri’s life depended on him staying calm and focused. He needed to find out who his enemy was and study him. Opening another file, Daniel took the thirteen names that were logged in at the time of the breach and cross-referenced them with the list of employees. Only one name raised a red flag. Justin Rawson was no longer an employee of MacGregor Inc. and had not been for over three years. The question was whose head was going to roll for not disabling his security access. Daniel remembered every employee that ever worked for him, and he definitely remembered Justin. His gut told him not to hire Justin, but he went against it at the time. That lapse in judgment was coming back to bite him on the ass.