Rescuing A Runaway Bride Read online

  “Shh, keep it down,” she said.

  Samantha tensed as she watched Kathy scan the diner. Probably looking for fellow cops. What the hell is so hush-hush? She had to restrain her outburst. She needed to be just as stealthy as Jake if she was going to get to the bottom of this and rescue him.

  Kathy spun back to look at her saying in a low tone, “We’re working in concert with the Chicago PD and the FBI. The big time, girlfriend,” she said with a grin, adding in a hushed tone. “The chief is babysitting this one personally and I’m only a pawn in the game.”

  “What game would that be?” Samantha asked.

  “From what I’ve picked up, there was trouble back in Chicago. I’m not high enough on the food chain at the PD for much Intel. All I know was he had some thefts back home and he’s super paranoid about burglars, thus the silent alarm and patrols.”

  “So that explains why he completely overreacted when I showed up,” she said, remembering the way he’d tackled her. But it didn’t explain his standoffish attitude today. Why was he trying to get rid of her? The only way to find out was to confront the big lug. She surged to her feet. “I’ll see you later, Kath. I’ve got a goon to interrogate.”

  Kathy smiled. “Just don’t kick his sexy ass. I’d hate to have to arrest you.”

  Samantha breezed out of the diner with a smile on her face. Kicking his ass wouldn’t be necessary she hoped as she started her car and took off. But whatever it took she was going to save his stubborn ass. She was still coming up with a game plan as she drove out of the sleepy little town and turned onto the road that wound around the lake to the cabin. She’d get to the bottom of whatever was bugging Jake and then propose her offer to make him her erotic arts instructor. He’d be the perfect intro to erotica one-o-one. She sighed relaxing.

  Then a big black SUV roared up behind her making her jump. Good lord, had she been dawdling? Chagrinned she sped up apologetically looking in the rearview mirror. The SUV’s dark windows were so dirty she couldn’t see who was inside. Loud rock music blasted out of the vehicle’s windows as it gunned its engine and weaved in the lane behind her. A drunk driver this early, crap he was probably partying all night from the looks of things.

  She couldn’t pull off to let him pass. A guardrail was the only thing separating her from the lake on her passenger side, and a rocky outcropping flanked the other side. Shit she stepped on the gas shooting ahead of the dangerous drunk. He zoomed up behind her blaring his horn as he revved his engine. A chill went up her spine at the classic show of road rage. Apparently her slow driving pissed him off.

  Concentrating, she gripped the wheel tightly focusing on the smooth stretch of road coming into view. If she could just make it there, she’d be in the clear. There was a cornfield on the left and a grassy verge on the right. At least she wouldn’t hurtle off into the drink. Reaching her safe zone she eased to the side letting out a sigh. Then in a millisecond the maniac behind the wheel of the van cranked his wheels her way. The bone-rattling smack on her rear fender sent her spinning dizzily into the cornfield as she screamed.

  Cornstalks snapped off all around her buffeting the car and almost blotting out the sun as her car skidded to a halt. Shaking as she took a deep breath, she was amazed that she’d survived the crash without an injury. But what about the drunk? She needed to summon help, check on the jerk. She fished her cell phone out and frowned when she saw it was dead. Apparently she was too far out in the boonies to pick up a signal. Then the sound of the SUV’s roaring engine as he sped away made her growl. Typical hit-and-run driver, the jerk. Well at least she wouldn’t have to worry about him. And she was still alive and so was her old beater. It was still running, rough, but running. She might be able to scrape up the extra cash to bang out the dents but it would be tight.

  Opening her new branch of Samantha’s Special Affairs Catering and Ice Cream Parlor extended her finances. But she’d deal with that later. Now she had to get out of here. She’d just have to save herself. Gripping the wheel she stepped on the gas and the tires bit into the ground. She let out a sigh of relief. Now all she had to do was drive out of the corn maze. Easier said than done as she drove blind through the tall cornstalks but eventually she came to the edge of the field. Smiling when she was near the rutted farm driveway ahead she eased up onto it and managed to get up on the road.

  A bit more shakily than she would have liked, she drove off toward the cabin and Jake. She had a lover to interrogate. Dealing with the cops and her insurance company would have to wait until she got there and found a working phone.

  Chapter 6

  Jake smiled when he heard Samantha’s car return then tensed when he heard her tire whine as it grated against her fender. What the fuck? Had she gotten in a fender-bender in town? He was about to check when he told himself to hold back. Shit a rich girl like her probably didn’t sweat a dented fender but then that didn’t jive with the ten-year-old compact car she was driving. He’d eventually find out her secrets. But now he needed to cling to the game plan he’d concocted. If Samantha wanted sex lessons from him, he’d give her all she could handle but he wasn’t going to get emotionally involved. Hell, once she found out he was here to bust Tad, she’d hate him anyway.

  Then she trooped into the cabin and he ran out of time to think. He stood motionless looking her over for signs of trouble. She appeared unhurt despite the fender bender but the fiercely demanding look she pinned him with was anything but tame. What the hell was wrong? Had someone told her what he was here for, poisoned her mind against him? He closed the distance between them in a flash and reached for her arm only to have her give him a scared look and back away. He felt like he’d been kicked in the gut. “What happened?” he demanded, stepping into her personal space.

  “Who are you doing the surveillance on?” she shot back.

  Well hell, that answered a lot of questions. Had Samantha been so pissed she slammed her fender against a telephone pole? He rejected the thought immediately, the teenage joyriding version Sammy Jo might have reacted that way. Samantha wouldn’t. “Who told you?” he demanded, closing in on her.

  “Does it really matter?” she asked tiredly.

  “It might,” he said, taking in her shaken look. “What the hell happened out there? What has you so scared?”

  She scowled up at him. “I’m not scared, I’m mad as hell. Some drunk ass road rage idiot ran me off the damned road.”

  His gut tightened at her words. “Grayson,” he bit out angrily.

  “Now who’s paranoid?” she questioned with a smile then frowned. “He drives a bright red sports car. Not the battered black SUV blowing out cranked-up tunes and beer cans that clipped me.”

  He tried to keep his cool as he took in the picture she made. Anger turned her cheeks red and her breasts were heaving as she glared up at him. But he tried not to take it personally as he contemplated the accident. Damn she could have been killed. “Where and when?”

  “The lake road about twenty minutes ago.”

  “Did you report it?”

  “No. I couldn’t get a signal. Never mind the diversionary tactics cause they’re not going to work on me. Tell me who you’re doing the surveillance on.”

  Damn, had Kathy talked? She wasn’t supposed to be in the know. But people gossiped, especially cops. He decided in that instant he trusted Samantha not to play him. If she wanted to go after him she’d do it directly. He closed the distance between them pressing her against the countertop with his stupid cock throbbing at her proximity. “Who told you that?”

  She frowned up at him refusing to be intimidated. “I have my sources.”

  Jake had to admire her loyalty and her spunk. When she started to feint to the side his hands came down on the countertop on either side of her holding her trapped. The fact he felt even more trapped by her sexy intoxicating presence made him a little crazy. How the hell was he supposed to concentrate on this mission with her close enough to touch? Heat surged through him as she gazed up at h
im defiantly. They still wanted each other¼nothing could change that. Except when you take her baby brother down for espionage then she’ll drop you in a New York minute. Shit there was no way he could keep her.

  “Does it really matter who talked, Ramsey? I know the truth and you’re a big liar.”

  Well hell, it was just a preview of what was to come. “Shut up.”

  “Make me.”

  He took a deep breath knowing one of them had to hold it together. “Let’s just settle down. There’s no need to get into a fight. You’d never win, brat, and you know it.” He knew he’d miscalculated badly when Samantha bristled at his condescending tone.

  “Don’t be so damned patronizing, Ramsey. I’m not some dumb teenager you can order around anymore.”

  Jake waited a moment, and then let out a heavy sigh. Hell, he knew she was a woman, a desirable woman and she was driving him mad. Time to pull the plug on this half-assed romance and make her see him as he really was. “Look, I know this is a rough way to find out. I’m here to haul your baby brother’s ass out of trouble. You might say his life depends on me. And, if you don’t want things to get complicated real fast, you’d better settle down.”

  Chapter 7

  Samantha thought she was going to faint when Jake’s words hit her. I’m here to haul your baby brother’s ass out of trouble. You might say his life depends on me. Only sheer force of will kept her standing on her feet as Jake cast a rueful look over her. She realized he was regretting the admission. He thought she’d known, and he was cursing himself for revealing the truth as he saw it, she could read it all in his eyes before he went granite on her again. What might it take to make him forget how to shut her out? Probably a hell of a lot more than she had but she was feeling reckless.

  Jake’s bit back a curse as he watched her.

  She stared back at him knowing she needed to come up with a game plan fast. Planning was what she did, she could do this and save both of the men she loved. It hit her like a brick as she stared Jake down that she loved the stubborn guy, probably always had if she was honest with herself. That didn’t mean he was going to love her back but that was okay. First she had to establish the facts. “Just what do you think you have on Tad? And what kind of trouble was he allegedly in?”

  “You didn’t know,” he said, sourly adding under his breath, “I shot my fucking mouth off, complicating things to no end, and you didn’t know.”

  She placed her hands on his chest whether to push him away or hold him fast she didn’t know. All she knew was she needed to connect with him. When her hands flattened on his pecs, she felt the burn all the way inside her. But there wasn’t any lovelorn look on his hard face, only grim determination. He wasn’t just worried about Tad, maybe he was concerned about her. Maybe he cared a little. She let her hands drop to her sides breaking the connection so she could think straight and demanded, “Just what kind of trouble is Tad supposed to be in?”

  He frowned. “There’s been a loss of technology from Logan Industries. We traced the loss down to a handful of people.”

  “A handful of suspects,” she said, a faint smile curving her lips. He was jumping to conclusions as usual. “Doesn’t that show you it’s probably somebody else?”

  He continued on implacably, “I intercepted an interoffice email from your brother about a drop at the boathouse.”

  She had to admit, at least to herself, that did look bad, but there had to be a logical explanation. Tad was the golden child in her family, her dad’s favorite, and deeply loyal. There was no way he’d steal from the company he’d someday take over. “It could be someone else trying to frame him.”

  Jake shook his head. “Who else would know about the old family vacation spot? No one in the family has used this place in years.”

  “Lots of people probably know about it,” she said, bluffing her way out. There had to be some distant friends and family who knew. Even though her words were defiant she could see Jake sensed her own doubt. Shit this doesn’t look good. “So what do you plan to do?”

  “I’m going to catch him in the act and read him the riot act¼”

  Thank heavens. Samantha let out a sigh of relief. If Tad did show up, and she didn’t think he would, she could reason with him.

  “Then I’m going to turn him over to the FBI and wash my hands of the case.”

  Samantha gasped as the words rolled off his lips. He couldn’t mean that. But a look at the determination on his face told her otherwise. “You can’t do that, Jake. If you’re right and Tad is involved, there has to be a logical explanation. He’s probably trying to find out who’s responsible for these thefts.”

  Jake rolled his eyes. “Your kid brother is too busy having a social life to do anything that serious. The kid’s only six months out of college and still in frat-boy party mode for god’s sake.”

  It was true but Tad would settle down and do his duty to the firm. “I know he’s still young but he’ll settle down and do his duty to the family. At least one of the kids should make my father proud. That’s why this is so ludicrous.”

  “You’re grasping at straws, and you know it,” Jake said then added with a frown, “And you do too make your father proud. You’re both just too damned alike to see eye-to-eye on things.”

  Samantha was warmed by Jake’s praise but knew better. She and her father had never gotten along and now with her botched nuptials, they never would. She also knew a diversionary technique when she heard one. Jake wasn’t going to sidetrack her that easily. “You don’t have to act like my brother’s innocence is such a farfetched idea.” Samantha raised her chin a notch. “I have absolute faith in my brother’s integrity.”

  Jake gazed at the obstinate set of her chin. “You haven’t even been around for years. How do you know he’s so noble?”

  “I just do.” Her militant expression softened. “Did you ask Tad what was going on?”

  “And tip my hand?” He shook his head. “Now you see why I tried to get you to leave. You shouldn’t be here when this goes down, Samantha. Especially now that somebody tried to run you off the road.”

  His concerned tone got through to her like nothing else could. He was expecting trouble, maybe a shoot out. She already knew he was armed and dangerous. She knew he wouldn’t be met by Tad because there was no way she’d believe her brother guilty. No, there was some other nefarious character behind this. And Jake was here like a sitting duck. The man didn’t even have back-up according to Kathy. Fear for him outshone everything else. “Oh my God.” Her eyes widened. “You’re afraid of trouble, aren’t you?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  Damn, but she could read him like a book. He was lying to her and doing a piss poor job of it. Does he have a death wish? Well there was no way she was letting him risk his neck. “You didn’t have to say it.”

  He shrugged. “It’s a distinct possibility. That’s why I want you to leave and keep your mouth shut, brat,” he said, leaning into her.

  He was back to calling her brat again, a sure sign he wanted to paddle her ass. Said ass was burning in anticipation but she wouldn’t be diverted by sex or the fact he was trying to scare her away. “No way. I’m not leaving,” she said, giving him a determined smile of her own. “I’m going to stay and look after my brother’s interests.”

  His eyes flickered and he leaned in closer. “Samantha, I’m perfectly capable of looking after your brother.”

  Umm, she loved the way he said her name, all rough and commanding but she wasn’t leaving. She rubbed against him seeing the pulse race in his throat, and a flicker of something dark and dangerous in his eyes. Oh yeah, she would get her way. “I know you can look after him but that’s not the point. I have a lot riding on this,” she said, feeling the rapid beat of his pulse against her sex. Like maybe my whole future.

  “I’m not the heartless bastard you take me for,” he said gruffly.

  Hell, of course he was misinterpreting her resistance. It was par for the course in the
ir relationship but this was too important for her to worry about his bruised male ego. “I never said you were.” Then he reached out to brush a wisp of hair off her flushed face and she melted. He had to care about her a little.

  “A little time in the slammer just might straighten your brother out.”

  His words burst the romantic bubble she was feeling making her try to push him away. The problem was he wouldn’t budge.

  Jake frowned at the telling action and let his hand drop to his side. “However, I doubt if it would go that far. Your father wouldn’t want his son locked up.”

  “No, he’d simply cut him off from the family and the business. Tad’s always been the apple of our father’s eye. He couldn’t stand the isolation. You can’t just throw him to the wolves. If you’re right and he is involved, there have to be some mitigating circumstances.”

  “Drink, drugs, gambling, a woman. Any one of them could be the catalyst for a man’s downfall. But they’re just excuses. A man has to be fundamentally weak to let them consume him.”

  She wrinkled her nose reading between the lines. “From your tone, I can tell you’d never let yourself be that weak.”

  He quirked an eyebrow in response to her scathing tone. “Drink, drugs, and gambling aren’t a problem. But a certain woman I know is driving me crazy right now.”

  The feeling is mutual. She glumly stared up at him. He was so implacable, so sure he was right. Was she fighting a losing battle? After all Ramsey took his marching orders from her dad, maybe he already knew and thought Tad was guilty too. It was a horrible thought but she had to know. “Does my father know what you’re up to?”

  “He knows I’m here.”

  Her heart leapt with joy at what Ramsey wasn’t saying. If her dad had given the orders Jake would tell her, wouldn’t he? Of course he would. “He doesn’t know you’re here laying in wait for Tad, does he?” she said victoriously.