He’d put the emphasis on “my.” Yes. His brother knew what he was going to have to do. Cole shot him a glance tinged with regret and apology before striding out into the storm, slamming the door in his wake.
Burke’s stomach turned, but he forced himself to put his hands on her shoulders and help her to her feet. “Hilary? Are you all right?”
She raised her face to his, and her lips curled up slowly in a tremulous smile. “Better now that your brother is gone. He isn’t kind and gentlemanly like you, Burke. You’re…wonderful.”
Yeah? When Burke had what he needed out of Hilary, he intended to prove to her once and for all that he wasn’t a kind gentleman, either. He had to force back the urge to wrap his hands around her throat and squeeze until her eyes bulged for mercy—then keep squeezing. She’d kept him from his child, from the woman who should be his wife, all because Hilary, the fucking bitch, had some fantasy about him. He and Cole would have dropped everything the moment they knew Jessa was pregnant. Hilary was the reason they hadn’t been there for Caleb’s birth. She was the reason they hadn’t held Jessa’s hand and put together Caleb’s crib and waited with blessed anticipation. She’d stolen a critical year from them.
And now he had to convince this bitch that he cared about her. Fuck.
“It’s all right,” he soothed. “I won’t let Cole hurt you. Hilary, what’s going on? You shouldn’t be here. It’s dangerous. You should be safe in a hotel suite.”
He wasn’t going to admit he knew anything. He had to draw out her admission to get any information that might help Jessa. He had to let Hilary hang herself.
She sniffled, then stumbled into him, her wet chest plastered all over his. It seemed like a calculated move to force him to hold her. With deep disgust, he wrapped his arms around her. She was soaking wet, cold rain clinging to her. He was only conscious of his revulsion and the time ticking away.
“Oh, Burke, some men broke into the office earlier today and tried to kill me.”
Yeah, Delgado would want to tie up all the loose ends. “Hilary. I never meant to get you involved in this. How did you get away?”
Tears pooled in her eyes again. “Do you remember the woman who works in the accounting firm next door, the one who does our taxes? She was in the office so we could have a meeting. I had gotten up to get some coffee, and they just came in and…shot her. They killed her and thought she was me. She was sitting behind my desk. I don’t know why she would do that. I think she was trying to get into some files she shouldn’t have been looking at. You can’t trust anyone these days.”
A chill went through Burke. Hilary was playing the damsel in distress in fine fashion, and he wondered if she saw the irony in her statement at all.
The office had cameras. Hilary always had the security feed up and running on her monitor. But since Dex had taken all her computer equipment except that monitor, the only thing she’d have to do was watch that security feed. Hilary had to have seen the men coming in. What a stroke of luck that blonde, sweet Mary, the accountant from next door, just happened to be sitting there when Hilary left the room. Or had it been luck at all? Most likely, she’d set Mary up to take the fall. It was all Burke could do not to recoil back from the bitch. Hilary was willing to do anything to scheme her way into his love. Now Burke was going to use her desire against her.
“How terrible. I’m so sorry.” He almost choked on the words. “I’ll get you someplace safe. Then I have to help Cole go after Jessa.”
Hilary’s eyes flared at the mention of Jessa’s name. “I-is she your girlfriend?”
Burke hoped he looked brutally confused. “No, she’s Cole’s girlfriend. And she had his baby. We just found out yesterday. That private investigator we hired was apparently on Delgado’s payroll. Hilary, Cole has a son. I can’t let my nephew’s mother die.”
“But I thought…” She flushed. “I heard a rumor that you and Cole…shared women.” There was no mistaking the disgust in her eyes.
A little truth would help his lie. “We have in the past. But, Hilary, we never expected to live that way for the rest of our lives. I want a normal life with a nice, sweet wife who can stand beside me and be an asset to my business. Jessa is an artist, very Bohemian. She’s nothing like what I imagine my wife would be. I want someone more…traditional.”
Certainly, Hilary would see herself in that picture.
But Burke wanted Jessa desperately. He wanted to sit and watch her work. She was so talented. He loved her open mind and her generous heart. Hilary, with her perfect manners, wouldn’t know generosity if it bit her in the ass. Still, he could see that his ploy was working.
Hilary shook her wet, blonde head. “If she’s Cole’s, then let him handle it. He’s capable. I’m just so worried about you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Burke pulled away, letting a tiny bit of his disdain show. “Cole is my brother. Where I come from, family doesn’t let family down. I thought you felt the same way. I guess I was wrong.”
She grasped his hand, her fingers like claws around him. “You’re not wrong, Burke. Family is important. Even when they’re not what we could have hoped for. Of course. You should call the police.”
“I can’t, darling.” He shook his head, watching her eyes light up at the endearment. She was on the hook and buying into his act. “I’m sorry. I should be more professional.”
“No.” Her eyes practically begged him. “The feelings between us are more than professional. I think we both know it.”
Clearly, she’d deluded herself into thinking he gave a shit. How? He’d barely spoke to her past giving her orders and asking for updates. He’d never done more than shaken her hand before tonight. But she’d invented a whole bunch of crap about them in her head and convinced herself it was true. He could seal the deal by flirting. It was definitely in his skill set.
“You’re right, darling. We should stop pretending. The whole idea of you being shot at…god, I can’t imagine it. But, my worries must wait, Hilary. I can’t let my brother down. We’re going after this terrible man who tried to kill you. I won’t stop until we find him. Then I’ll come back to you and…” Burke forced a smile and a sigh, his hand to caress her waist. Bile rose in his throat.
“I heard them,” she blurted.
Now that she thought he was on her side, she was going to talk. He forced patience. “What do you mean?”
“When the two gunmen came, I hid. I didn’t know what else to do. One shot Mary, then they talked. The other made a phone call from the office phone. I overheard the conversation. They called some private airfield. They talked about getting everything ready for a flight. I’m sure the number is still on our phone. We could go back to the office and get the number, then Cole can go after her.”
Delgado was taking Jessa to a private airfield. Of course. It had to be private. He couldn’t exactly haul a drugged woman through security at DFW. A private airfield would allow him to simply drive into the hangar he’d rented and load the plane, far from prying eyes.
The door opened, and Cole walked in. Burke pushed Hilary away. He’d gotten everything he needed, and he’d fucking cut his hands off before he’d ever touched her again.
“He’s taken her to a private airfield,” Burke said. “How fast do you think Dex or Slade can get to our office and check the outgoing calls? Idiots called from there to make the last of their plans. They probably didn’t think about leaving behind evidence.”
“Or they were taunting us with the information, thinking that by the time we figured it out, they’d be long gone. We need that number.”
“Is that all the information she had?” Cole asked, his cold eyes raking her.
He grimaced. “It’s all I’m willing to touch her to get.”
“What are you talking about?” Hilary eased closer to Burke as Cole stalked her way. She turned her head from one brother to the other. “Burke, we should get out of here. Your brother can find the artist now. You’ll take care of me, won’t you? I…I think I might need to go to the hospital. I might be in shock. And I have to deal with the police about poor Mary’s murder.” She gripped his shoulders. “I need you, Burke. I need you.”
Cole held up a cell phone, utterly ignoring their former secretary. “The owner gave me her cell. If he’s taking Jessa to a private air field, I think it’s a safe bet that, at some point, he’s planning to take her out of the States. The woman in the lobby says there’s an airstrip about twenty minutes away. She’s always suspected that criminals use it. She’s a paranoid crazy. On the plus side, she’s armed to the teeth.” He held up a pair of Glocks. “But we have to pay cash. I also had to promise not to sue. She saw the whole thing, but she doesn’t want to call the cops. I suspect she has a record.”
“Good work,” Burke praised his brother.
“I’ll call Dex and get his help.” Cole stepped away, punching buttons on the phone.
“Burke?” Hilary called for his attention, starting to cry and cling again. “Burke. I love you. I’ve always loved you. I’m so glad you’ve realized that we’re supposed to be together. I know you want me.”
Burke only wanted to save Jessa. He jerked away from her and turned a face full of disdain on her. “The only thing I want now is to kill you. But I would never be able to explain that to my soft-hearted fiancée. You’re lucky. If it were up to me…you’d be six feet under.”
Her head shook violently. “Fiancée? You aren’t going to marry that tramp. You can’t.”
“I am. In my heart, she’s already our wife. And we have a son.”
Cole punched a button to end the call, then approached again, his eyes narrowed on Hilary. “We’ve got to go, start heading for that airfield and hope it’s the right one. Dex will call to confirm and to get the police out there. What about her?”
Hilary backed up. “No. No. This isn’t right. Burke, you and I are meant to be together. You don’t want that slut from New York City.”
Burke looked to his brother, his partner, his other half. “Did they leave us some rope?”
Cole nodded, a slow smile spreading. “And my best ball gag.”
“Then work quickly. We have to rescue our girl.”
Hilary screamed, but it didn’t take Cole long to shut that up. Burke spared only the merest glance at the woman who had become obsessed with him. In minutes, she was tied to a chair and gagged, her eyes angry and wide. Then they shut the door behind them, Burke satisfied Hilary couldn’t cause any more trouble.
They were already in the car, racing through the night toward the nearby airstrip when the phone rang again. Dex had their answer, and they were heading to the right place. Now he just had to hope they weren’t too late to rescue Jessa.
* * * *
Cole drove through the driving rain, his stomach in knots. The windshield wipers thudded, making a rhythm that did nothing to cut through the tension in the car.
“Do you see the turn off?” Cole asked.
Burke hadn’t said a damn word since they had tied up Hilary and gotten the call from Dex confirming the location of the airstrip and vowing to call in the police. After that, Burke had shut down.
“It shouldn’t be more than a half a mile. Do you think she’s already in the air?” Burke’s voice was a flat monotone.
“If they’re in as small a plane as I believe, they would be insane to take off in this storm. And Marco isn’t crazy. Evil, but very intelligent. She’s still here.” As Cole slowed the SUV, he hoped he wasn’t giving his brother false hope, but it was pouring, the rain lashing at the vehicle in straight lines. “Besides, he thinks Hilary is dead. From his perspective, we would have no way of knowing which airport they were at. This one isn’t even listed. It’s a miracle we had a number.”
It was a miracle. And a clue that they would get her back. Cole felt it deep in his soul. She was out there waiting for them. He knew he was the one who usually took the pessimistic view of life, but with his brother sitting beside him, guilt eating away at him, Cole had to bring the balance. That’s the way it had been all of their lives.
And they’d felt complete because they had found Jessa. He’d given up on her once. He wouldn’t do it again.
He caught sight of a line of flashing white lights blinking in the distance. He moved cautiously. “Get the binoculars.”
Either Marco hadn’t been sure of which car was theirs, or he’d been smug that they couldn’t catch up. Either way, the binoculars were right where he’d left them in the SUV.
Cole stopped the car. Burke peered through the lenses and turned on the night vision.