Page 45 of Rough Start

“That’s about the long and short of it,” Kye agreed as he watched her. Pulling her bottom lip into her mouth, Eliana was the silent embodiment of emotion. He saw her go from realization to anger, to hopelessness, to panic, to resolution.

“I’m going to need my bag,” she said, pointing to the pew behind him. Kye turned to look where she was gesturing but saw nothing behind him. When he turned to look back at her, she had already silently sprinted toward the door to the church.

She was running.

Eliana was grateful she’d already removed her shoes. She wouldn’t have made it far if she’d still been in heels. She’d managed to make it out the front door of the church and down the steps before she heard Kye yelling her name. With her keys gripped tightly in her hands, she pressed the unlock button and yanked the door open.

Kye was much faster than her, however, and the moment she opened the door, he shoved it closed again. Eliana rounded on him and shoved him hard enough in the chest that he stumbled backward and landed hard in the mud. She yanked her car door open once more, but before she could climb inside, she heard the terrifying click of a gun being armed. She froze.

The rain was still falling hard, the cold drops like tiny needles, but not hard enough to obscure the sight of Kye sitting in a mud puddle with a gun pointed at her. So this was it? She’d be dead not three days after her dad. Who would bury her? Who would give her eulogy?

“Drop the keys, Eli,” he ordered, and she defiantly shook her head. His jaw clenched, and the muscles in his neck looked strained. “You’re not thinking clearly. You’re not in any danger if you come with me.”

“Says the guy aiming the gun!” she replied and was painfully aware of how shrill her voice sounded. Kye slowly rose, mud now staining his jeans and suit jacket. Eliana backed up and was starting to enter the car when Kye suddenly shifted his aim and shot out the front tire. A scream tore through her at the loud sound, and she jumped a second time when Kye fired and also shot out the back tire. “Stop shooting!” she yelled and threw her keys at him.

“Stop running away!” Kye countered and ducked before the keys could hit him in the face.

“I’m not going with you!” He lunged for her and with no other escape route, Eliana dove into the driver’s side of the car and tried to climb over the center console. A strong hand grabbed her ankle and yanked her backward. Crying in anger, Eliana kicked as hard as she could, her heel connecting with Kye’s jaw. Yelling both in pain and frustration, he jerked her back even harder, and she slid out of the car and onto the ground.

“Why do you have to be so difficult!” Kye snapped as he looked down at her. Mud had splattered all over her legs and dress. Her hair was soaked and matted over her face. She wiped the shorter locks out of her eyes, smudging her face with mud as she glared at him.

“Why are you even here?” she yelled back and struggled to stand. Instinctively, he reached to help her, but she swatted his hand away while simultaneously losing her balance and slipping again.

“Stop being stubborn,” he said, taking her by the arms and hauling her to her feet. He didn’t release his hold, and she started struggling. Pulling her against his chest to try to keep her still, she kicked his shin. “Goddamnit!” he hollered. His blue eyes turned fierce as the twig holding his temper in check snapped. Kicking her car door shut, he spun her around and shoved her abdomen first into the vehicle.

“What are you doing?” Eliana cried as Kye held her in place with a hand on her back. His hips were dug into her backside, and she felt him shifting around. One by one he grabbed her arms, pinning them behind her back, only to feel them secured in place with the tie he had been wearing. “Kye!” she yelled and pressed back against him, trying to make him move. He thrust his hips, causing her to slam into the car again.

“Stop moving,” he muttered as he finished tying the silk tie around her wrists. When he was finished, he turned her around so her back was now against the driver’s window. Both of them were still trying to murder the other with their eyes, and Eliana forced herself not to feel entirely humiliated that he’d just tied her up. She was still wiggling against the restraint when she saw his eyes soften. Lifting his hand to cup her face, he brushed the dirt and grass off her cheek. Eliana froze. “You’re still so beautiful,” he admitted out loud.

She’d been planning on kicking him again, but when his touch turned softer and his eyes dropped to her lips, her thoughts turned incoherent. Kye looked unearthly standing in front of her. His rain-soaked hair hung loosely in a half ponytail, and drops of water beaded on the short hairs of his kempt beard. The hand that had been on her cheek moved to the back of her head, and he pulled her up onto her toes before kissing her firmly.

His mouth was like a warm bonfire in this cold rain. Unable to move with her bound hands and shock, she was at his mercy, and Kye knew it. Using his height and size to his advantage, he pinned her more firmly against the car. Her soft chest rubbed against him, and his hands moved from her head to her shoulders and down her sides. The feel of her against him when she finally started to return the kiss was blissful. But it was short-lived.

Kye abruptly pulled away, and her dazed eyes turned confused before he dropped his shoulders to her stomach and hoisted her over his right side. “Kye Driscoll, put me down this instant!” she shouted, and her legs kicked in protest.

“If you keep that up, I’ll drop you,” he informed her, and it was enough for her legs to still. “Good girl,” he teased and gave her butt a hard smack. She yelped and started kicking again, but he had already opened the passenger side of the SUV he’d had dropped off during the burial. Somehow, he’d known Eliana wasn’t going to come quietly, and toting her on the back of his bike was going to be much more difficult than a car.

“Ow!” Eliana snapped as he deposited her head first into the vehicle. Hitting her head on the underside of the dashboard, she wiggled and squirmed from the floor to try to get her hands out from behind her back. By the time Kye had reached the driver’s side, she had managed to slide them past the back of her legs and now held them in front of her.

“Christ, Eli,” Kye said in exasperation. He clicked the lock on the door before she could reach the door handle, and he began unbuckling his belt. Eliana’s eyes widened as he yanked it free from the loops with one swift tug and he leaned over to her side of the car. Grabbing her adjoined wrists, he wove the belt through them, pulled her into the passenger seat, and hooked the belt to the handle just above the window. “Now,” he said with his face only inches from her, “sit still and behave.” His eyes flickered to her mouth again. “I don’t have many more clothes to tie you up with,” he said with a flirtatious grin. She growled at him and he laughed as he sat back in the driver’s seat and fired up the car.

“Why do I feel like you’ve done this before?” she grumbled as she yanked on the leather belt to test how secure it was.

“What?” he asked, glancing at her with the smug smile on his face. “Tied a woman up?” he joked with a wink.

“No,” she bit back at him, “kidnapped someone.” Kye felt his smile falter, and he didn’t reply as he shifted the car into drive and pulled the vehicle out of the church parking lot.

* * *

“Do I even dare ask how you knew where I lived?” Eliana questioned when Kye pulled the car into her driveway. To her dismay, she saw two other men sitting on motorcycles, one of which she recognized as Kye’s, and smoking cigarettes. There’d be no chance of escape now. Both men were large, bigger than her father had been when he was healthy, and twice as fit.

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to,” Kye said, turning the car off and exiting. He greeted both men with a handshake, uttered a few words that elicited laughter from them, and all three sets of eyes turned to her. She swallowed hard. Kye took a few drags off a smoke he was offered, clearly not in a hurry before he made his way back to her. Opening the door, he crouched so he was eye to eye with her. “Are you going to behave, or do I need to carry you again?”

“Patronizing me isn’t going to help,” she said, narrowing her eyes. Kye grinned and placed a hand on her bare knee.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” he said with a jovial sincerity that seemed inappropriate considering she was currently tied up. “Listen, neither of us is in a comfortable situation here…”

“Really?” she interrupted and tugged at the restraints for good measure. Kye began untying the belt from the handle.