Davis, Keyonna - Faceless Enemy [Pine Valley 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)
Pine Valley 2
Faceless Enemy
Chase Matthews dropped everything to move home and take care of his family after his parents died in a tragic car accident. He never thought he would hear from his old life again until he gets a call from his former commanding officer asking for his help to guard his daughter.
Kerri MacGregor didn't have the life that most girls had growing up. While other girls were playing with dolls and learning to wear makeup, she was learning how to shoot guns and wearing camouflage. She never thought escaping a kidnapping would bring her face-to-face with the man that she has had a crush on since she was fourteen.
Chase realizes that Kerri is not the gangly teenager that he first met, and sparks begin to fly between them. Unfortunately, the kidnapper is still out there and wants revenge, and he needs Kerri to get it.
Genre: Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
Length: 38,926 words
FACELESS ENEMY
Pine Valley 2
Keyonna Davis
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
FACELESS ENEMY
Copyright © 2012 by Keyonna Davis
E-book ISBN: 1-61926-430-7
First E-book Publication: April 2012
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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Regarding E-book Piracy
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This is Keyonna Davis’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Davis’s right to earn a living from her work.
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DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my son. Without his countless hours of playing a certain video game, I would never have had the inspiration for this book.
FACELESS ENEMY
Pine Valley 2
KEYONNA DAVIS
Copyright © 2012
Prologue
How many days had it been since she was locked in this damp basement? Kerri couldn’t remember. There were no windows in the basement to tell time by, and she had no watch or her beloved cell phone. The only reason she could see was because of one small, bare bulb lit over the steps that led to what she guessed was the first floor of a house. It seemed like she had been down here forever, but she really didn’t know. All she did know was that she was cold, hungry, and scared out of her mind. She had been that way since she was shoved up against her car leaving the mall and had a cloth with a foul smell held to her mouth and nose. When she woke up she was in this basement lying on a cot, naked, and covered with a thin sheet. She had the worst headache and a very dry mouth. There was a plastic cup with water sitting on the small table next to the cot, but Kerri was too scared to drink it. She was terrified that it could be poisoned, and she was not about to find out.
Kerri sat up on the cot and had to fight off dizziness and nausea. She saw spots and had to blink several times to clear her vision. Once she was sure that she wasn’t going to pass out, she was able to explore as much as a person could in an open basement and found no way of escaping or her clothes. The door at the top of the stairs was locked, and it was the only exit that she could see. She went to the small bathroom located under the steps that had only a toilet and a sink in it. After letting the water in the sink run until it turned clear, she quickly gulped the cool water down until she couldn’t drink anymore and went back to her cot, listening to her stomach growl. Kerri felt like she hadn’t eaten in days, but it could have been only hours as far as she could tell.
Kerri cursed her stubborn, independent streak. She was twenty-four, and she decided that she needed to move out on her own. She wanted to make a name for herself and know that she accomplished something on her own and not because of who her dad was. She loved her dad with all her heart, but she felt the need to be on her own and live without his “eyes” as she called his bodyguards constantly watching her. Why did I not listen to dad and accept the bodyguard that he insisted I have?
The sound of footsteps overhead and the basement door opening snapped Kerri out of her thoughts. She tried to remember the exact position she had been in when she woke up and imitated it. She tried to be as still as possible and not flinch when she felt a hand on her forehead. Barely cracking her eyes and looking through lashes, she could see that whoever had kidnapped her was male from the body size and muscles. Whoever it was dressed in all black, including black gloves and a ski mask. The only thing she could see was his eyes, and they seemed to be as black as tar. She had never seen eyes as lifeless as those and never wanted to again. Her kidnapper sat on the side of the cot, and Kerri tried her best to remain still. Her dad made sure she was trained in self-defense by the best ex-military guys when she learned to lose her bodyguards as a teenager, so she was not worried about what this guy would do to her. She just had to wait for the right time to make her move, and she could escape this idiot.
“I know you are awake so you might as well stop pretending.”
Damn, so much for the element of surprise, Kerri thought and opened her eyes to look at her kidnapper full-on. “You know you will never get away with this don’t you? My dad will find you, and he will make you pay for taking me.”
Dan
iel MacGregor owned MacGregor Inc., one of the best security companies in the world. They did everything from security systems for homes and businesses to bodyguard services for the rich and famous. They also did services that the public did not know about. The main breadwinner of MacGregor Inc. was the many government contracts they held. The easiest way to describe what they did was to say they were in the mercenary business. No, MacGregor Inc. did not do contract killing. They mainly specialized in protecting foreign dignitaries and rescuing political kidnap victims. For any mission that the government wanted pulled off in secret or did not want certain countries to know the U.S. was involved in, they came to her dad. Her dad didn’t run a Fortune 500 company specializing in search and rescue for nothing. If anyone could rescue her, it would be him.
Her kidnapper just laughed. “No, your father will be the one paying if he ever wants to see you alive again.”
Why did his voice sound so familiar? Kerri tried to place the voice and the strange eyes, but came up with a blank. Up close she could see that his eyes weren’t really black but midnight blue. You would think you would remember if you had ever seen eyes like that before, she told herself. Kerri watched as the guy stood and began pacing the room.
“The way I see it, dear ole dad will pay just about anything to have his precious little girl returned unharmed. How much do you think I should ask for? Ten? Twenty million?”
Now it was Kerri’s turn to laugh. “You can’t be serious. If you know my dad so much, then you know that he has never paid a ransom, and he has no plans of starting. Now I suggest you let me go if you value your life. That is probably the best offer you are ever going to get.”
“Shut up! He will pay, or I will give you back to him piece by piece. He will live the rest of his life not knowing when he will receive the next piece of you.”
Wow, this guy has really lost it, Kerri thought. Can somebody say psycho? The crazy gleam in his eyes told her it was time to be truly scared now, and she knew she needed to get away from this guy as quick as possible. From the look in his eyes, she had no doubt that he meant every word he said and would have no problem carrying out his threats.
As Kerri watched her kidnapper pace the floor, she slowed her breathing and cleared her mind so the she could come up with a plan. She knew that she couldn’t depend on her dad to rescue her in time, so she had to take matters into her own hands. She thought back to all the things her dad taught her. Okay, step one, assess the situation.
She could hear her dad’s voice in her head. Always be aware of your surroundings. Entrance and exit points, potential weapons that you can you use, and what can be used against you.
Well, Kerri thought, the only exit was at the top of the stairs, so that narrowed down her choices considerably. The only potential weapons she had were a thin sheet and the bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. Oh, and the lid off the back of the toilet. Kerri tried to remain calm as a plan began to form.
She could hear her dad’s voice in her head again. Remain calm. The only thing panic will do is get you killed. Keep your head clear and follow through with what you plan. Don’t second-guess because even the slightest hesitation could mean the difference between life and death.
That seemed like a harsh lesson to teach a twelve-year-old girl at the time, but Kerri was truly grateful now to have those lessons drilled into her head. Ever since her mother died when she was six, it had just been her and her dad. He was very protective of her, and although he constantly surrounded her with bodyguards, he also taught her how to fight and protect herself. It looked like she was about to test those skills. She had to just bide her time and wait for the right moment to put her plan into action. If—no, when—she made it out of this situation, she would never doubt her father’s need for security again.
Kerri didn’t notice her kidnapper leave until she heard the door at the top of the steps slam. Damn. She had to pay more attention and focus if she was going to be able to do this. Okay, no more daydreaming. The next time the psycho came in, she would make her escape. Now that she had a plan, there was no use in waiting around for him to decide she was not worth the effort and fulfill his promise of chopping her up into tiny pieces. She would take the first opportunity she could to get away from him.
Chapter 1
Loading the last bale of hay in the barn, Chase Matthews couldn’t be happier that he was done working for the day. He was tired and aching all over. Some days it seemed that working his parents’ ranch—well now his and his brothers and sister’s ranch—was harder than his days in the military and Special Forces had ever been. He could never remember being this tired before. Thank goodness he had the weekend off. Ever since his parents died, and he’d moved back home to take care of things, Chase had worked nonstop. This was going to be the first weekend he’d had off in almost two years, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
The nightmares and flashbacks were back, and he was hoping that a little rest and relaxation would help him push them back into the dark corner of his mind where they belonged. Evidently, his family was starting to notice his lack of sleep and grouchiness because they were all eager to pick up the slack and run the ranch for the weekend while he was gone. Now all Chase had to do was shower and grab his bag that was already packed thanks to help from his sister, Ali, and sister-in-law, Cane. The two were almost inseparable since Cane joined the family a little over six months ago. Cane decided that it was her mission to make Chase and his little brother, Riley, “as happy as she was” by finding them someone special. She would have felt the need to find someone for Ali if she wasn’t so young, but at seventeen, Ali was the only one that didn’t suffer the constant comments and hints. His brother, Duncan, and brother-in-law, Logan thought it was amusing, but they were so in love that he doubted there was anything that Cane could do that wouldn’t amuse them. It all just made Chase’s teeth ache from clenching his jaws so hard.
At thirty-two years old, and after all the violence and horrors that he had seen throughout his military career, Chase was happy to be alone. He had his family, and he had his land. As far as he was concerned, that was all he needed. He needed a wife like he needed a hole in the head. After all that Cane went through in her past, though, he just didn’t have the heart to tell her to stop with the matchmaking. He would just spend the weekend in Carlton, which was about sixty miles away. There he would lounge around the hotel room, maybe catch a movie, and just relax. Chase hoped that, by the time he returned home, he would have the nightmares back under control. It was the best plan he could come up with.
Walking into the house, Chase heard grunting coming from the kitchen. Running in that direction, he came around the corner to see Cane standing on the tips of her toes trying to reach a serving platter on the top shelf of a cabinet.
“You know, you could have asked someone to get that down for you,” Chase said, laughing.
“It’s not funny. I used to be able to reach that. Now I can’t do anything with this belly in the way. This morning I couldn’t even get out of bed. I just flopped around like a beached whale until Duncan and Logan came to check on me. Duncan had to grab my legs while Logan pulled my arms just to get me up.”
Chase tried his best not to laugh but couldn’t stop the small smile. At almost seven months pregnant, Cane was sporting a pretty huge belly. It was slightly bigger than normal because she was carrying twins. After being told that she would probably never have children because of what her psycho ex did to her, Cane was speechless when she found out that she was not only pregnant but with twins. Chase couldn’t be happier for her and his brother and Logan. They deserved each other.
“I feel like a blimp. My ankles and fingers are swollen, and I have nonstop gas, and don’t even get me started on how many times a day I have to pee. The next time your brother and Logan even think of coming near me again, I may just have to castrate the both of them,” Cane said as she turned to stir something in a pot. Okay, way too much information for me. Chase snuck away bef
ore Cane could turn back around.
After showering and eating dinner with his family, Chase loaded his truck and hit the road. It was around five in the evening, and if all went well, he would make it to Carlton around six fifteen. In a little over an hour, he would be able to finally relax.
* * * *
After two days of waiting, Kerri finally heard the lock turn in the door at the top of the steps. The grating noise of metal rubbing against metal, after what felt like an eternity of silence, nearly had her jumping from her hiding space under the steps. She heard her kidnapper flip the light switch a couple of times before he finally gave up, realizing that the lights were not coming on. All Kerri needed for him to do was come down a few more steps, and she would be able to make her escape. Trying her best not to second-guess herself, Kerri slowed her breathing and listened for the sounds of his footsteps. One, two, three…she counted in her head. Come on, just two more steps.
“Kerri, you should know that this is not going to work. You have no way of getting out of here, so you might as well give up. Don’t make it any harder on yourself.”
Was that laughter that she heard in his voice? That bastard is laughing at me. Well, we will see who will be laughing in about ten minutes when I kick your ass. Silently talking to herself, Kerri almost missed the sounds of his next steps. Just as her kidnapper lifted his foot to take the next step, she yanked at the sheet she had tied across the stairs, causing the man to fall down the last six. Not giving him time to get up, Kerri ran out of her hiding place and quickly lifted the heavy toilet lid over her head and swung it down, hitting the man. Because of the dark, she couldn’t be sure of where she was hitting her kidnapper or if she was causing any damage. She swung several more times just to make sure he wasn’t getting back up. Not hearing any movement or breathing coming from the man, Kerri threw the toilet lid down and quickly untied the sheet from the steps. Wrapping it around her, toga-style, she felt her way to the stairs and reached under the bottom step to grab the lightbulb she had hidden there. Figuring the toilet lid would be too heavy to carry if she had to run, she realized the bare bulb that she had carefully broken would make a pretty good weapon.