Page 5
“It’s not like we’d pimp our wife out. ”
“It doesn’t matter. That’s how everyone would see it, especially among Kinley’s old-money circle. It won’t work. ”
“I think you’re wrong. ”
Riley sighed. “I think we have to get her out of here before someone wonders where the bride is. This ceremony is supposed to start in less than thirty minutes. ” He grabbed the heavy canvas cover they had brought along to hide the fact that they weren’t pushing the laundry around.
Law shook his head. “Don’t cover her yet. We have to get her luggage. ”
Riley rolled his eyes. “We are not bringing the princess’s luggage. ”
His brother wasn’t thinking. “She can’t run around in her wedding dress the whole time. We don’t know how long she’s going to be with us. ”
Riley picked up his cell and started texting. “Then you’re in luck. She can run around naked. Actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing her naked. She is fucking gorgeous. Too bad she’s in the habit of banging a douchelord. What the fuck does she see in him except a whole lot of zeroes in his bank account?”
“She doesn’t sleep with Jansen. They don’t spend the night at each other’s places. When they travel they have separate rooms. And we’re taking her luggage. She could have medication packed that she needs. ”
She didn’t. She didn’t take anything more than a couple of vitamins a day, but his brother didn’t have to know that. Having her belongings around Kinley would comfort her.
God, when had he turned into a guardian angel? Law wasn’t suited for the role. He was pure muscle, good at killing scumbags or making them wish they were dead. He didn’t know a damn thing about taking care of a woman. Riley was probably right. She was too sweet to want what they needed. Even the suggestion would probably shock her down to her painted pink toes.
So he’d have to settle for watching over her in Alaska.
Grumbling, Ry grabbed the first of her suitcases. There was room in the cart…if they mashed down the shit ton of puffy fabric in her dress.
Gently, Riley laid the first piece next to her. Law helped him with the next three bags. He guessed she’d gotten them all secondhand because they were embossed with someone else’s initials. Someone really fucking liked themselves. There were little gold Ls and Vs all over the luggage. If Kinley was his woman, he would make sure everything had her sweet name on it.
“Dominic is having trouble finding a parking spot. We have to hold tight for a few minutes. Damn New York traffic. ” Riley cursed at his phone, then lifted the drape to peek out the window as though he could see where Dominic was circling the building. This high up, there was no way. Everyone looked like ants from this height.
He tucked the last of the four cases around her. She moaned a little, and the sound made him goddamn hard. Why did he have to ache for this woman?
“Why the fuck does it have to be her?” Riley asked. Sometimes Law thought his brother could read his mind.
He shrugged. “It doesn’t. It won’t. You’re right. She won’t want me. ”
Again those eyes rolled. His brother needed a better form of communication than sarcasm. “Oh, she’ll probably want you. I just don’t think she’s going to keep you. Or any of us. Women like a ménage for sex, but no one wants to put up with three dudes for life. The laundry alone would choke her. ”
Law didn’t think that was funny. “I can do my own. All of us can. ”
“Look at this from her point of view. If by some miracle, Kinley could handle a relationship with all three of us, would the pressure from her family or the tabloids be too much for her? How long would it take her to want to leave? Maybe you should try to win her on your own. ”
And leave his brother and best friend behind? “No. ”
He wanted what the James brothers had. He wanted a family. He’d spent too many years needing someone watching his back to go it alone. Maybe it was his perverse nature, maybe it was something he’d learned, but he didn’t even want to try making this a solo act with Kinley.
And there was a little voice inside that worried what would happen to her if he died. He couldn’t leave his wife alone the way his own mother had been. He couldn’t stand the thought of her turning to a terrible life on her back just to feed herself and her kids.
“Nah. I just like her, okay? I’ll get over it. I don’t particularly love the idea of going into the kidnapping business, and she’ll want nothing to do with me after this, most likely. ”
God knew he’d been forced to play the bad guy most of his fucking life. One more time shouldn’t matter. He just couldn’t stand the idea that she would be afraid of him.
“We’re saving her life. Eventually, she’ll understand. ” Annabelle slipped into the room through the adjoining door, her voice low. “Is she all right?”
The curvy secretary approached the laundry cart and looked inside.
“She’s fine. She’ll sleep it off on the plane. ”
As soon as he grabbed her handbag, they were out of here. But when he lifted it, Law frowned. It felt heavier than it looked. What was she carrying? Not that it mattered. He laid it in the cart beside her with the rest.
“How is it coming from your end?” Ry asked.
The law firm of Baxter, Cohen, and Kent was working on their side—to bring Jansen to justice and to try to keep their asses out of jail. Law wasn’t sure which would prove to be the harder job.
“I brought Eric with me. He’s waylaid her sister. She was probably coming back in to snip at Kinley one more time. Good, you got her luggage. She’ll be calmer if she can keep her things around her. ” Tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks. “Am I doing the right thing?”
He’d pondered the same question every day since they’d decided on the assignment. “You tried to tell her the truth, and she wasn’t accepting it. ”
Annabelle shook her head. “I know. Kinley is so loyal and wants to believe the best about everyone. If I’d pushed too much more, she would have gone straight to Greg and demanded explanations. You know how he would have taken care of the situation. ”
“We’ll make sure she’s safe,” Law assured.
Riley stepped up. He was always the one to handle the ladies. Being somewhat civilized, he didn’t tend to scare the crap out of them the way Law did.
His brother gave her his surest smile. “She’s in good hands, Annabelle. I went to college with Kellan. He’s talked to you about me, right?”
She nodded, relaxing a little. “He said you were a good guy. ”
“If you trust him, then trust me. I’ll be good to her. And Law here is already half in love with her, so there’s no worry. ”
Law felt his jaw drop. “You motherfucker. ”
Riley shrugged. “Hey, I tell it like it is. ”
Annabelle went silent, her dark eyes staring through him. Damn it. Riley’s sense of humor was going to get him gutted one day. Now Annabelle would be afraid to let Kinley go with him. The secretary could cause real trouble.
“I’m not going to…” Law struggled. How did one politely tell someone that he wasn’t going to molest her friend? “Touch her. I swear. ”
“Oh, I sincerely hope you do. ” Annabelle stepped up and smoothed down his tie. “You charm her and seduce her and you make her very happy in bed. That’s practically an order. ”
He hadn’t heard that right. “What?”
She stepped back, wearing a mysterious smile. “I love that woman. She’s my sister and she deserves someone who can make her feel good. You’ve been watching her. I see the look in your eyes. You seem like a smart man, Law Anders. I know Dominic Anthony is. No truly smart man is going to be able to resist my best friend. ” Her eyes narrowed as she studied Riley. “I don’t know about you. You might be dumb. ”
“I graduated top of my class at Harvard. ” Riley seemed slightly put off.
“Then you’ll get with the program because s
he’ll need the security and affection all of you can provide. Just remember…if you taste that particular icing, you’ve bought the whole cake. If you try to get out of taking the cake home and enjoying every bite, I will come after your asses. And you have not seen fury until you’ve seen it from this girl. Are we understood?”
They both nodded dutifully. Law was pretty sure that Riley had been struck as mute as him.
Annabelle took one last look at her friend, then stepped to the door. “I’m going to make sure the coast stays clear. You two think about what I said. And take care of Gigi. She can be a handful. ”
Annabelle disappeared, leaving Law with one final question.
“Who the fuck is Gigi?”
Riley shrugged. “I don’t know. I think that girl might be crazy. Are you thinking of trying Kinley’s cake?”
“Well, I couldn’t just eat the frosting and then not take a bite of the cake, if you know what I mean. Hell, I’m not sure what I mean. I’m confused. ”
Damn, he didn’t understand women half the time. Shaking it off, he looked down at Kinley, who appeared to be sleeping so peacefully, despite her awkward position. She was really the most fucking gorgeous thing he’d ever seen. And what had he done? He’d shot her full of tranquilizer, stuffed her into a laundry bin, and dumped her luggage inside.
Very smooth.
“I really want to try the frosting,” Riley admitted. “But Annabelle will take our balls off if we do and then don’t eat the cake. ” He frowned. “Is that what she’s saying?”
“Dumbass. ” Sometimes he wondered if Harvard was all it was cracked up to be. “She was saying she approved. ”
“I kind of thought so. She shouldn’t. ” Riley stood beside him staring down, too. His brother’s face softened. “We’d only get hurt if we started something with her. She really is quite lovely when she’s not biting my hand. ”
His phone buzzed, and Riley’s whole body went on alert. “We’re a go. ”
Law grabbed the canvas and covered the bin. “Sleep well, princess. When you wake up, you’ll be in a whole new kingdom. ”
And he would very likely be in hell.
Chapter Three
Riley stared down the long hallway just outside Kinley’s suite and wondered what jail would be like. If he and Law were caught, they’d probably be sent to a maximum-security prison for violent offenders. He hoped he wouldn’t be popular there, but he worried. Because deep down, he knew there was no fucking way they got away with kidnapping and transporting a debutante across state lines. Hell, with the amount of Louis Vuitton luggage Kinley Kohl had, they would probably get nabbed for grand theft baggage, too.
He was going to end up living out the rest of his days as some thug’s girlfriend, being traded for cigarettes and sexual favors. It wasn’t really how he’d expected his life to play out, but he couldn’t back out of this assignment. A man didn’t have much if he didn’t have any loyalty.
“We’re clear to the elevator. ” His brother was cool as a cucumber. Not a single line on his face revealed a hint of anxiety. He wasn’t thinking up ten different ways he could be shanked in prison. No. Law Anders was steady.
It was the way he’d been all their lives. Nothing fazed his big brother…but for a few minutes, Law had warmed up while staring down at the woman who would likely cost them twenty-five to life. Just for a moment, there had been something like hope in Law’s normally barren expression.
If they weren’t careful, Kinley Kohl might cost them more than their freedom.
Riley pushed the laundry cart forward, keeping his expression carefully blank. Nothing to see here, folks. Just a couple of average Joes doing their job, kidnapping a blonde with nice tits. Happens every day.
Actually, Kinley’s tits weren’t just nice. From what he could see, they were gorgeous. Round and full… At first, he’d suspected they were cosmetically augmented, but then he’d held her close and she’d been so fucking soft against him. His cock had gotten hard as a rock. Then she’d bitten the holy shit out of him.
And he’d gotten even harder.
Riley wondered what she would look like when he tied her up, when he had so much of his rope around her that she couldn’t move. He could imagine the pattern on her fair skin, a tortoiseshell that would mold her curves and wrap around those breasts, making them thrust out proudly. He would dress her in silk rope and nothing else. Well, next to nothing else. Those ridiculous heels she was wearing would look awfully good wrapped around his neck while he shoved his cock into what was likely a very tight pussy.
“Is there a problem, brother?”
Riley nearly groaned. He was in the middle of a criminal endeavor, and he was hard as hell, thinking about all the ways he could violate his pretty little hostage.