Arden knew. They’d killed before. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill again. No, she couldn’t, in good conscience, leave Kane to face off against them.
Sure, he was former Special Forces and looked like he could take care of himself. She’d seen him sparring with her brothers at the gym while he and Jace were on home leave one summer. She knew he was quick, sharp-minded and lethal, but GeoArray had money and power behind it. So did its CEO, Marcus Emory. They wouldn’t fight fair and could afford to hire the best fighters and trackers to hunt down what they wanted.
At this moment, what they wanted was Arden.
They were desperate to get their hands on her and the files she’d taken from their networks.
She’d given them a golden opportunity, thanks to her love for Christmas and Sebastian. Now, she had to get out of their reach, and she needed to get Kane out, too.
She dragged the canvas tarp off the motorbike her landlord had left in the shed. A 1952 Vincent Black Shadow. Admittedly, the bike had seen better days. But Arden appreciated the handcraftsmanship of the vehicle and the fact that, in its heyday, the model broke speed records. Very few had been made.
Arden suspected the property owner had no idea of the value the bike would bring if restored. If he did, he might not be so quick to leave it in an unlocked shed for his renters to use.
“A motorcycle?” Kane pressed close to her back, in her space again. Usually, she despised having people that close. Currently, she didn’t have time to worry about it or to tell him to back off.
“Does it look like something else?”
“It looks old.”
“It is.”
“Does it work?”
“Yep. It came with the rental—it’s a way residents can get up and down the access path to the parking area more quickly.”
“I’m afraid to ask how loud it’s going to be when you start it up.” He glanced toward the window. “There’s someone out on the beach. I can’t tell if he’s alone.”
“It’s too far down with no easy way up. Anyone on the beach shouldn’t pose much of a threat. The bigger threat is whoever’s coming up the access path. The shed’s in clear view of it. Once we’re in the open, we’d be easily picked off by anyone with a high-powered rifle.”
“What are you suggesting?”
She turned her attention back to her phone, scrolled through the live video feed from her security system. “They’ve got no clue I know they’re coming. Logic says they’ll head for the house. As soon as it’s breached, we can start her up and head for the trail at the back of the property. We’ll be out of the line of fire before they can make it to the back door.”
He glanced at the phone in her hand. “You’ve set up an elaborate monitoring system.”
“Wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, but I’m in the security business.”
“I am, too. It’s just a different kind of security.”
Kane cracked open the shed door, his broad back blocking her view.
“See anything?” she asked. She’d have edged in closer, stuck her head under his arm to get a look, but Sebastian was getting restless. His fuzzy ears poked through the top flap of the carrier and bumped against her collarbone as he tried to figure out what was going on.
“Just a lot of darkness, but I don’t like the way it feels.”
“Darkness has a feeling?”
“Danger does.” He grabbed the bike’s handlebars, tugged the motorcycle forward and out of her grasp. “We need to move.”
She could have argued, but she’d heard her brothers talk about going with their guts so many times, she didn’t think it would be prudent to ignore Kane’s instincts.
“The trail’s kind of hidden. It’s just behind the shed and winds toward the bigger path you walked in on.” She leaned past, poked her head out the door and pointed at what looked like driftwood and scrappy bushes covered with a fresh layer of ice-crested snow. She wasn’t sure if the owner of the property had meant to provide a quick escape, but she’d known as soon as she’d seen the narrow trail that she’d have one if she needed it.
She hadn’t expected to need it.
Maybe that was part of her problem. She trusted in her intelligence a little too much. She relied on herself more than she relied on anyone else. She’d been one of the guys for as long as she could remember—the ultra-capable younger sister of four ultra-capable men. She’d never been in a situation she couldn’t handle on her own, and she hadn’t expected to find herself in one. She’d expected to go off the grid, get the proof she needed to take GeoArray down and go right back to her life. That wasn’t how things were turning out.
She found that more irritating than alarming.
“You’ve ridden a motorcycle before, right?” she whispered, pocketing her phone as Kane pushed the vehicle outside, putting the shed between them and the access path to the cottage. The wind stole her words, but he must have heard.
“Not one this old,” he responded.
“The age of the vehicle is irrelevant,” she said, ignoring his sarcasm. She loved old vehicles and had restored several of them with her dad while helping out in his shop during the summers. She’d ridden this one enough to know it was in good working order. It was also fast. That was going to be an asset.
“Its working condition is not irrelevant.”
“It works.” They’d reached the brush, and she skirted past him. Not an easy feat considering his size, but there was no way she was letting him drive them out. She knew the trail. She knew the bike. She’d be the driver.
She brushed his hands from the handlebars and climbed on, balancing the bike as she scanned the dark path and the beach below. The light was still there. Farther away and moving at a steady pace, parallel to the shore. Whoever it was wouldn’t find a way up from there, but night vision goggles and a long-range rifle could make a long-distance kill easy.
GeoArray wanted her alive. For now. That was one thing she had in her favor.
Kane, on the other hand, was simply in the way.
Her phone chirped, the sound chilling her blood.
“They’re in,” she muttered.
Kane climbed on the bike, wrapping his left arm low around her waist. “Just be careful,” he warned. “The temperature’s dropped and the snow’s crusted over with ice. If we wreck, it’s over.”
“Warning duly noted.” Arden zipped her jacket up to her chin, completely covering Sebastian. She didn’t need Kane to tell her to be cautious. Wrecking the bike and getting herself caught was not on her agenda. Seeing her brother’s business partner—one of his closest friends—killed wasn’t, either.
She was sorry Kane had been dragged into this, but she wasn’t surprised her brothers called for reinforcements. Grayson and Jace were cut from the same cloth, both willing to do anything to help those they cared about. It would be hypocritical to fault them for that. After all, that’s how she ended up in this mess in the first place. Of course, Juniper Westin wasn’t just anyone. She was Arden’s best friend, the sister Arden had never had.
They’d met halfway through first grade. Juniper had walked into the classroom, and Arden had known they were kindred spirits—two oddball mavericks sitting in a room filled with average Joes.
The whispering had started right away, and Arden had felt the overwhelming need to stand up for the new girl the way she’d always had to stand up for