Dual Release (6 page)

For a few moments, she stopped and watched from the window in the warehouse office. Two of the three hooded thugs were arrested. The other one must have escaped or made it into the van without being seen, because he was nowhere to be found in or around the scene. The man she initially thought she recognized, the one who entered the warehouse first and threatened them, was being loaded onto a gurney. Apparently, he was still unconscious, so an ambulance had been called to escort him to a hospital.

She wrung her hands as she turned and made another pass around the office. How the hell had she been so stupid? She’d set the twins free only to land them in immediate jeopardy. One was hostage in the back of a van. The other was chasing them through the countryside in a beat-up Volkswagen Beetle, according to Charles, who had made it around the corner in time to see him get in and the car speed away.

How was she going to explain this to the other MacKinnon brothers already freed from the curse? Oh god, she had to tell them. Maybe they could help. May walked outside to Jameson’s van and retrieved her cell phone from her purse. This was going to be a hard call to make. She leaned against the van for support. Her legs were so tired, as was the rest of her, but she had to do this, she had to make this call.

Ericka answered on the second ring. May took a breath. “Ericka, I’m sorry to be calling so late.”

“It’s okay, Aunt May. I’m hoping it’s good news at this hour.” Ericka sounded groggy from being awakened.

“I found the twins, but—”

“Really!” Ericka squealed. “So they were the pair of statues you saw in the paper?”

May could see the image of Ericka in her head clearly. She’d be dressed in one of her husband’s shirts, her auburn hair a tangled bed-head mess and a hunk of a man wrapped around her snuggled beneath the covers. By now, Gavin would be sitting upright at her side in bed. His arm was probably around his pregnant wife and he was more than likely leaning with his ear close to the phone to hear the conversation.

“Yes, I was right. But…” May huffed heavily into the phone. “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”

After a second of silence, Gavin’s voice came through the phone. “May, what be the trouble? Need me and
mi
brathairs
in London?”

“Aye, Gavin,” May admitted sadly. “A situation has arisen and I truly believe Leod is behind it. I’ve spoken the anti-curse. Your brothers are free to suffer the partial release. But I didn’t get the chance to explain it to them.”

She started to cry. Gavin’s usually soothing deep brogue did nothing to ease her distress though she knew he tried. “May, suffer no pain because of your effort to help. It be because of your love that any of us are free.”

May did her best to hold back her tears while she tried to tell Gavin what happened. “One of the twins is a hostage in the back of a van. I have no clue where they were headed. The other is in a car in pursuit of the van.”

“
Och
, what a way to learn about the horseless carriage,” he joked and she knew he tried to cheer her. He cleared his throat. “
Mi
brathairs
and I are on our way. Ye can fill us in on the details when we arrive at your hotel.”

“Thank you, Gavin.”

“You okay?” Jameson asked from behind her. She’d been so focused on trying to speak with Gavin she hadn’t heard him arrive. May disconnected the call, wiped her eyes and turned to face him.

“Not really,” she said, forcing a thin smile. “I made a horrible mistake. In my rush to find the twins, I let my guard down and Leod got the upper hand.”

His right eyebrow rose. “I think there’s a lot more to this story than you’ve shared with me so far.” He took her hand and pulled her onto his lap. “But right now you’re exhausted. I can see it in your face. The police are almost done here. When they are, Charles will drive us to your hotel.”

She leaned against him, accepting the safe haven his lap offered. What a mess she’d made of things. “Thank you, Jameson. I don’t know what I would have done without your help tonight.” She brushed a kiss to his cheek. “You gave me the best present I could ever have asked of you.”

His brows arched as he met her gaze. “As I remember it, we seem to have temporarily lost the gift. One’s been taken from us and the other has run off in hot pursuit.”

She smiled. “Temporarily. I like that term.”

“I meant it, May. We will get them back.”

Cait sat down hard in the far corner of the van. She hugged her knees to her chest and lowered her forehead onto her knees. What a night. Here she was captive in the back of a van with no clue what the hell was going on other than the fact some lunatic brotherhood might be behind it. Ugh. Why did she listen to a drunken nutcase in a bar? Jenny was right. Jenny! She jerked the cell phone from her pocket.
No signal.
She couldn’t call her or the authorities.

Ohmygod.
She prayed Jenny was okay. If they survived this, Jenny would never let her forget this ordeal. A crazy man and his hooded band of misfits, a guy in a wheelchair and a lady, all fighting over a crate of supposedly cursed statues. It sounded like a really bad B-movie.

She searched her thoughts, hoping to piece together what might have happened to Jenny. Everything occurred so fast. Squeezing her eyes tight, Jenny came into view in her mind’s eye. The last she’d seen Jenny, one of the hunky twins was defending her.

And the other twin ended up in here with her.

She lifted her head and opened her eyes but it was too dark to see. She pulled a soft leather manicure case from her back pocket. She’d converted it into a practical emergency supply kit. Jenny picked on her for carrying it everywhere, but she didn’t care. Now she was grateful she had it. Cait slid the zipper open and felt for the miniature flashlight. Once she located it, she pushed the button. The light wasn’t bright, but it was enough to see whatever she pointed it directly on.

Quickly, she evaluated the contents of the kit—a small multi-tool pocketknife, a full book of matches, bandages, a foil packet of antibiotic cream, a couple of alcohol wipes, a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer, a spare battery for the flashlight, tweezers, a nail file, a needle, a thin packet of thread and a firecracker just because you never knew when you were going to need one. Her eccentric uncle’s words whispered through her head and she smiled. Now there was a man who loved to blow things up. She zipped it closed, then panned the light around the van.

Her companion was crouched in the center as if ready to pounce. Holding the flashlight with her mouth, she scooted on her hands and knees over to him. Once at his side, she took the flashlight in one hand and touched his arm with her other hand.

“You okay?” Pure fear danced across his pale face and his skin was clammy.

“What sort of beast be this?” he demanded in a shaky voice.

Cait opened her mouth, ready to mock his choice of words but her voice stalled in her throat. Had what she’d seen at the warehouse been real? Was it a magic trick of sorts or were they really two men cursed as the older woman claimed? She’d heard the woman speak a beautiful verse and saw the statues shake and crack. Dust filled the air so thick nothing could be seen. When it settled, two gorgeous men sat in the statues’ place. But had they somehow replaced the statues with living, breathing men while visibility was nil? Was there a trapdoor under the crate like that of a magic show’s stage? So many questions cluttered her brain to the point her head hurt.

Deciding to play along until she figured it out, she simply answered his childlike question. “This is a cargo van.”

“What be a cargo van?” He stumbled over the words as if they grated his tongue.

Cait rolled her eyes. So this was how he planned to play it. “A cargo van is a motorized vehicle, which is larger than a car and used to haul big loads.”

“Milady, I no understand. Where are the horses?”

She licked her lips as she configured her response. Now really wasn’t the time to play twenty stupid questions. “Listen, I’m not sure if I believe in this curse bit. So if’n you’re an actor playing a part, you might want to stop now. Whether you realize it or not, we’ve been taken hostage and are locked in here for lord knows how long by lord knows who.”

His stare hardened as if he’d considered her words and found them offensive. “Lassie, I know not of which ye speak. I am no actor. I am a hostage same as ye.
Mi
name be Donnell MacKinnon of Clan MacKinnon. Last I remember was lying down in a drunken stupor next to
mi brathair
. How I came to awaken in this foreign location be a puzzle.”

Even though she wasn’t totally buying the cursed-man thing, she did believe he was in the same boat. They both were locked in the back of this van against their will. She sat back on her heels and kept the light where she could see his face without it being directly in those gorgeous green eyes.

Casually, she let the light flicker over the rest of him. In the warehouse, she’d gotten a decent look at him that had sparked her libido. But now he was all hers to enjoy. A bit of dirt and dust coated his flesh, adding validity to the cursed theory. Okay. So
if
he was a man who’d been imprisoned in stone, he had to be in need of a good woman. And what better way to kill time while waiting to find out where they were going and why? Maybe, just maybe, he’d let slip
who
he really was and what was going on
if
his guard was down.

And when was a man’s guard down?

She smiled, remembering the advice of her Gran.
If’n ya ever want to know the truth from a man, ask him during sex. The blood seeps from the brain to his dick, lowering his mental locks and loosening his lips. If’n that don’t work, get him drunk.
She almost laughed out loud at the memory. Now there was a woman with spirit. Cait looked at Donnell and knew what Gran would do if’n she were a younger lass. She’d go for it. A grin split her lips. This was one piece of advice she didn’t mind taking.

Since she didn’t happen to have any liquor handy, sex seemed to be the justifiable method of choice.If she played him just right, he’d drop this act and his real identity would surface. If nothing else, she’d at least have a good time while being bounced around like a couple of balls. Might as well bounce for fun.

Sex was sex, plain and simple, and with a hunk like this one, all she hoped was that he wasn’t gay. It’d be just her luck. Locked in a van with a gorgeous man and she wasn’t his flavor. She slid a little closer and tested the waters. Being confined with him was making her horny. Or was it the fear of possibly dying at the end of this trip making her hormones run rampant with the idea that this might be her last chance at a good tumble? She shrugged. It didn’t matter which. She needed information and was willing to make the sexual sacrifice to get it.

Cait positioned the light so she could see his face and he could see hers. “MacKinnon, if what you say is true, it’s been a really long time for you and I know it’s been quite a while for me.” She stretched upward and leaned closer, giving him her best wickedly inviting smile. “What say you to a bit of sex? If’n I’m going to die when this van stops, at least I’ll go out happy.”

Boldly she slid her hand under his kilt and up his thigh. His eyes widened with surprise that quickly flashed into desire the moment her fingertips made contact with his cock.
Nice
was the only word that filled her thoughts at the flesh in her hand.

“Milady, no let it be said a MacKinnon denied a lady’s request. Would nay be gentlemanly.”

Sheer heat scorched her from her lips to her toes when his mouth took command of hers. The man could kiss. She had to give him that one. His hands skimmed her arms then cupped her arse, causing her to shiver. Before she lost the flashlight, she managed to tuck it in the front pocket of her jeans. The head of the light pointed out of her pocket, illuminating the area as best as possible.

As she caressed his cock, it twitched and hardened. Oh baby, she needed to be naked and fast. Cait released him and separated from the kiss. As she untucked the shirt from her jeans, he grabbed the material and pulled it up her torso. Apparently, he wanted her naked as well. Cait crossed her arms and lifted it off over her head and dropped it at her side. His hands found her breasts as his face nuzzled between them.

“I do love a well-endowed lass,” he claimed. The heat of his breath to her skin sent chills across her breasts and straight to her nipples, instantly turning them to steel points. As if he couldn’t wait for her to remove the bra, he lifted her breasts from the cups, thumbing her areolas in gentle circles before flicking each nipple once with the tip of his tongue.

Moisture flooded her pussy. Damn. He was good at getting her wet with his skilled foreplay. She second-guessed the rapid response of her body. It had to be the stress of the situation heightening the effects of his ministrations. All thought left her brain when his mouth engulfed a breast, sucking it in deep, grazing its tender flesh with his teeth, then capturing the nipple in a pleasurable tug. If she wasn’t wet before, she definitely was now.

Cait squirmed, wanting to ride him hard and fast. She popped the hooks on her bra and flicked it off her arms. She undid her jeans and attempted to graciously wiggle out of them as she toed off her flats. Hot, naughty sex was the best. Doing it in the back of a van while being held hostage was a first, and the thrill of it had her hungry for this hunk’s cock. Danger excited her. Always had. As she fought with her jeans, he slid his hands along her bared flesh, making her wish she undressed faster. With the jeans off, she quickly laid them so the light was kept on them. She liked being able to see the gorgeous man.

His fingers found her slit and his mouth left her breast. Awe filled his tone. “
Mi
little minx be shaven clean. Ye are a treasure chest of surprises.” Before she could think, he had her on her back and he lay between her thighs. “
Och
. To have the chance to taste ye
brèagha neamhnaid
—pretty pearl—without the nuisance of hair.”