Risky Obsession (Wolf Security #3)

14. Kane

CHAPTER 14

Kane

M y heart pounded in my chest as I stared at the glass from the map. In the reflection, the asshole who’d broken into our room moved with stealth, silent and deadly. His presence was ghostly in the green glow from my phone charger. He was dressed in black, and the balaclava that hid his face confirmed he was prepared.

Did he have a weapon?

We were fucked if he did.

Tory hadn’t moved.

I have to stop this bastard before she wakes up.

My breath burned in my throat. The asshole slipped Tory’s bag over his shoulder and secured it across his chest like she always did. It took everything I had to remain frozen. Waiting for the perfect moment.

He glanced over his shoulder, and I snapped my eyes closed. Peering through just tiny slits, I watched his reflection in the glass from the map frame. His gaze lingered on our bedcovers.

Creepy fucker.

Was he just a random thief? Or did he know who we were?

He lifted my duffle bag onto the table, and when he reached inside, I decided he was looking for something.

It had to be the maps. Fuck. That meant he knew exactly who we were.

He rifled deeper into my duffle bag, turned slightly away from us.

Peeling back the bed covers, I charged at the intruder and tackled him around the waist onto the floor. We shattered a chair, and the contents of my duffle bag scattered around us.

Tory’s scream echoed through the chaos as I fought to control the big bastard. He punched my ribs. I rammed sharp jabs into his kidneys.

Adrenaline surged through me, fueled by years of Navy training as I hit him, blow after blow.

The world spun around us as I punched his sides and back, aiming for his kidneys. It was like punching a brick wall. His strength was unworldly.

He hurled a punch at me. I rolled to the side, grabbed the leg of the broken chair, and swung it at his head. The timber connected with the side of his face, and he growled as the wood broke into pieces.

He charged at me like a cage fighter. We crashed into the side table, knocking the lamp flying. My head hit the oil heater, and the bars clanged. Stars darted across my eyes as his enormous hands squeezed my throat.

I tried to buck him off. I tried to breathe.

Tory jumped onto his back, wrapped her arm around his neck, and wrestled him like she was a cowgirl wrangling a steer.

He clawed at her arm, but she put him in a chokehold worthy of a medal.

Fighting a wave of dizziness, I punched his face, feeling the satisfying crunch of bone beneath my knuckles.

Roaring, he jerked forward. Tory flipped off his back, dragging his balaclava from his face as she crashed onto the table, smashing it to pieces.

He was in his early thirties, scruffy red beard and hair, and his pale blue eyes radiated with hatred. I jumped to my feet. Tory launched herself upright like a gymnast. She favored her broken hand, and pain radiated in her expression.

“Run!” I yelled at her.

Her eyes darkened as she shook her head.

Fuck! She’s not leaving.

Bracing for another attack, I raised my fists at the intruder. “Who are you?”

His eyes flared with absolute rage. He grabbed a leg off the broken chair and swung it at my head.

I dodged the blow, and he pegged the chair leg at me. I slapped it away and it bounced off the window and fell at Tory’s feet.

She grabbed the timber and waved it like a baton .

The bastard stepped toward her.

“Get away from her!” I snarled, glaring at him.

“What do you want?” Tory yelled.

Spinning on his heel, in a lightning-quick move, the bastard launched both feet into my chest, catapulting me backward into the map frame. The glass exploded into shards and clawed my back as I hit the floor hard. Pain seared through my flesh.

Tory gripped the chair leg, shifting from foot to foot, ready to fight.

The bastard kicked Tory in the stomach. Screaming, she flew backward onto the bed.

“No!” My cry ripped from my throat as Tory sprawled across the mattress.

Primal rage burned inside me. “You’re going to die, you bastard.”

He grabbed his balaclava from the floor and escaped out the door.

Tory bounced off the bed and chased after him into the hallway.

“Tory! No!” I pushed off the ground and shards of glass crunched under my bare feet as I chased after her.

A neighboring door opened, and an old man poked his head out.

“Stay back,” I yelled as I sprinted past him.

The inn creaked and groaned around us, and the wind howled outside like a demon.

Tory disappeared into the stairwell, and I cursed her stubbornness. “Tory! Wait.”

I launched onto the stairs as she reached the bottom. She glanced up at me but spun around the balustrade and sprinted toward the bar area.

I thundered down the narrow staircase, gripping the wooden banister for support as I rounded the turn at the bottom. Forcing my legs to move faster, I chased her.

A couple of chairs were toppled over, and I dodged around them, desperate to reach Tory before she reached the back exit. “Tory. Do not go out there!”

Clutching the doorframe, she peered into the darkness outside.

I sprinted to her side, and icy wind howled through the doorway, cutting through my T-shirt. I clutched her arm. “Where’d he go?” I scanned the shadows beyond the exit for signs of movement.

Tory’s eyes burned with determination as she pointed left into the dark alley. “He went that way. Come on. ”

She took off, running like a gazelle.

“Fuck!” I caught up to her, and as we sprinted along the dark alley running parallel to a high stone fence, the cuts on my feet stung like a bitch.

Ahead, the man’s dark figure stopped, and he turned toward us. His face was just visible in the glow from the stars above.

“Back off.” His booming voice echoed off the stone wall.

Clutching Tory’s hand, I yanked her to stop.

“What do you want?” I yelled across the distance.

He shook his head, and his eyes dealt a deadly warning. Spinning away, he sprinted toward the stone wall, jumped up, and vaulted over it like a trained Marine.

Tory and I raced to the spot. I could jump the wall, but Tory was injured, and we were not dressed for this frigid air.

“He’s gone,” I said. “Even if we get over this fence, we won’t catch him in bare feet.”

“Damn it!” She thumped the wall with her good hand.

“You recognize him?”

Shaking her head, she shivered.

Frustration and fury knotted inside me.

“We need to get out of here.” I wrapped my arm over her shoulder, forcing her to walk away. The icy cobblestones bit into my bare feet, and I had no idea how Tory was keeping it together.

Her reluctance to return to the warmth was confusing. And the way she fought that guy was impressive.

Why does she know how to fight like that?

We reached the back door of the inn and paused to peer up the dark alley. It was deserted.

“He took my bag.” Her breath clouded in the frigid air.

“I know, but I think it was the maps he was after. Lucky I left them in my jacket.”

We entered into the bar and the elderly innkeeper strode toward us, tugging on a thick robe. “ Was ist los? Geht es dir gut? ”

I had no idea what he said, but his expression showed his concern. He scowled at the disarray of his bar.

“We had an intruder in our room,” I said, even though I knew he wouldn’t understand me. I clutched Tory’s hand as we climbed the stairs together .

Six people mingled in the hallway, all in their pajamas, and all of them looked terrified. I followed Tory as she wove between them.

Inside our room, the chair and table were both in pieces. The map frame was in splinters and glass covered the floor.

“Get dressed,” I said as I yanked my jeans over my shorts. “What was in your bag?”

She pulled on her running shoes. “My passport and Aria’s credit card, nothing else important.”

“Shit. Now he knows who you are.”

“I get the feeling he already did.”

“Yeah.” I tugged on my jacket and felt inside for the envelope.

“Still there?” Tory asked as she tugged on her jacket.

“Yeah, thank God.”

As I shoved my gear back into my duffle bag, sirens wailed somewhere in the distance. “Shit. Let’s move.”

The innkeeper stepped into our doorway. “ Oh, mein Gott! ”

“Sorry,” Tory said, zipping up a jacket.

“You ready?” I asked her.

“Shit, my phone’s shattered.” She showed me the cracked screen. “Damn it.” She shoved the broken phone into her jacket pocket.

I snatched the car keys from the floor and grabbed my bag. “Let’s go.”

“Excuse me.” Tory edged past the innkeeper with a determination that impressed me.

“ Was machst du denn da? Du kannst nicht gehen. Die Polizei ist unterwegs. ” His tone grew increasingly angry with each word, but the only word I recognized was police .

“Sorry,” I said as I shoved past him into the hallway.

“ Kommen Sie zurück. Ich sage es der Polizei. Halt! ” he yelled at our backs as we dodged past the people still in the hall and raced down the steps.

Tory burst through the front door ahead of me, and the wailing sirens filled the air as we sprinted across the parking lot. Gravel crunched beneath our shoes and adrenaline coursed through my veins. “Maybe we should wait for the cops,” I said.

“No.” She blurted.

I frowned. “Why not?”

“That asshole targeted our room, so they’ll ask a ton of questions about what he was looking for. And if they search our things, they’ll find the map.”

“Right. Good point,” I said, although I suspected she had another reason, but didn’t want to tell me. Or couldn’t tell me. That would suck.

The cold night air pierced my lungs, and our breaths were visible in the moonlight.

“I’ll drive.” I pressed the button on the remote to open the doors.

We tossed our gear into the trunk and jumped into the seats.

As I keyed the engine, Tory pulled on her seatbelt and winced in obvious pain.

“You okay?” I shoved the car into reverse and stomped on the gas.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t need to be brave for me, Tory.”

“I said, I’m fine.”

I put the car in first and raced out of the parking lot and onto the deserted road. As I shifted up a gear, the glow of blue lights lit up the road behind us. I turned off our car lights, praying they didn’t see our escape. Resisting touching the brake, I took a corner faster than I preferred and skidded on the ancient road, slick with damp air.

Once around the corner, I turned on the lights and jammed the accelerator to the floor.

As we sped through town, the moon cast an eerie glow over the quaint buildings, which didn’t have any lights on. Every time I shifted my position on the seat, tiny daggers seemed to scrape up my back. It was like a cat had used my flesh for a scratching pole.

I had a ton of questions, and Tory would, too, but it seemed neither of us wanted to be the first to speak. Instead, the frigid air in the car frosted our ragged breaths.

With the car in fifth gear, and Tory alternating between fiddling with the heater and rubbing her hands together, we left the edge of town.

“Looks like we got away,” I said, peering into the rear mirror.

“Good. Who do you think he was?” Tory’s voice was edged with frustration.

“Don’t know. But he was after the maps, so Gunter is involved.”

In the glow of the dashboard, her expression was both angry and beautiful .

“I can’t believe that happened. We need to be more careful.” She clenched her good hand.

“I’m surprised how fast it happened. We must’ve been right about someone watching us yesterday.”

“Yeah. So stupid.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Her eyes filled with doubt, and it only amplified the questions swirling in my mind about her. I knew some brave women—Indiana, Aria, and Maya—and Tory was right up there with them.

I adjusted the rearview mirror, confirming we were still the only ones on the road. “So, how’d you learn to fight like that?”

She shrugged. “Self-defense classes.”

I had a niggling feeling that wasn’t all the truth. “Mental note not to wrestle with Tory.”

She glared at me. “This is serious, Kane.”

“I know that.” I clenched my jaw. I could not work this woman out. “Do you want to stop?”

“Stop what?”

“This mission for Aria?”

She blinked at me like I’d proposed marriage. “Hell no. This attack proves that we’re onto something. We’re just getting started.”

I slowed down, and as I turned the car onto the road that took us back to the antique fair town, the stinging cuts on my back intensified. “In that case, we need to find Gunter again and get some answers out of him.”

“Exactly what I was thinking.” Her grin had an element of crazy in it.

Tory was keeping a hell of a lot from me.

I just hoped she hadn’t been lying to me all this time.

That would be a betrayal I couldn’t handle.