Page 46 of Cannon
After only a moment’s indecision, I dart to the left, figuring most people would choose right. I throw open every single fucking door as I go, only stopping at each long enough to ascertain whether Elliot is inside. I grit my teeth. It’ll be obvious because I fucking doubt they left her anywhere. If I find her, I’ll find the Bainbridge bastards, too.
The longer I look and don’t find her, the more anxious I get, frustration bubbling up inside me. At the final room on the right, one that faces the back of this fuckin’ crazy McMansion of a house, I burst through, but stop short. I blink, sure I’m seeing things.
The girl I’d noticed earlier, who’d been watching the auction with angry eyes, sits on a window seat. She’s wearing some sort of filmy, frothy-looking nightgown and, at my intrusion, shuffles away from me, automatically attempting to make herself look smaller. Or downright disappear? There’s a weird as fuck vibe shooting from her that I don’t have time to worry about.
A loud gust of air leaves my lungs. I stare at her, and she stares right back. I wet my lips. I can’t bear to think what will happen to Elliot if we don’t find her. Squeezing my eyes shut for a moment, a cold sweat blooms on my skin. And when I open my eyes again, I blurt in my rough voice, “A girl was t-taken.” I pause, embarrassment flooding me. I clear my throat. “Do you know where?”
This girl, whoever she is, tilts her head to the side, studying me. Her eyes hold a hint of indecision before they shift to the left as her gaze fixes on something outside her window. I walk a few paces toward her before I’m able to see what she’s looking at. The poor girl flinches, and I hold up a hand, palm out like I’m dealing with a wounded animal, because that’s honestly what she seems like.
“Not here to hurt you.” My gaze swings to the view of the backyard. There’s an enormous pool out back. My eyes widen as I notice another building.They have her in the pool house.My gaze swings back to the girl, and I grit out roughly, “Thank you.” Spinning on my heel, I sprint to the end of the hall, and as I fly down the stairs. Fuck speaking; I have no choice but toroar.“Kingston! Archer! Out back!”
I waste no time, uncaring that there are still other people milling around the main floor of the house as they laugh and talk. Their drunken revelry pisses me off, adding fuel to my already furious fire. I tear through the house, darting between morons and shoving anyone out of my way in my desperation to get to Elliot. Heading toward the back of the house, I finally find a room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a set of double doors leading directly to a pool deck on the back side of the house. The area is lit up, and sure enough, just like I’d seen from above, there’s a path leading from it to the pool house.
It’s conspicuously dark, like some motherfuckers don’t want me to know where they’ve taken our girl. Well, fuck those losers.Here I come.
I want to plow through the motherfucking door, but before I can barrel in there, Kingston’s hand slams down on my shoulder, stalling my forward momentum.
His breathing is harsh in my ear. “You and me”—he jabs a finger toward the entrance—“we’re kicking that fucking door down.”
Grimacing, I take a few shallow breaths and nod my understanding.
Archer eyes the place before murmuring quickly, “You think she’s in there?”
I meet his eyes and nod again, then point back toward the house to the room where the girl is still sitting in the window watching us.
“Who the hell is that?” Archer frowns, a frustrated growl leaching from him.
“I don’t fucking know, but if she told you this is where they went, let’s hope she wasn’t lying. Or setting us up.” Kingston slides his hand around the back of his neck, tugging hard.
I give a sharp shake of my head. I doubt it. During the auction, she caught my eye. She’d looked pissed about what was going down but fucked if I know who she is or why she’d been upset.
Kingston surveys the outside of the pool house, then reaches out, carefully testing the door. The knob doesn’t turn, which is no surprise.
As the head of Hawthorne Hall, Kingston is the face of our brotherhood—the one everyone looks at—and I know he’s bound by certain restrictions. Rules. Tradition.
And that is about to go completely out the fucking door.
“Archer. If we get in here and find them, no matter what, you get Elliot the fuck out. I don’t want you to worry about anything else, don’t care that we’ll be outnumbered. Just get her to the SUV.”
He lets out a hard breath, his brow furrowing, then rubs his hand over his jaw. “You know I’m on it. Peaches is ours. No one else’s.” His jaw sets grimly as he moves off to the side, waiting as Kingston and I set up in front of the door.
“Kick on three.” Kingston wets his lips, staring with a hard focus at the door. “One… two…three!”
As we hit the wood, there’s a thunderous crack, and the door flies open, slamming against the wall inside. Kingston is lightning fast, lunging inside first, and I follow, hot on his heels.
Duke stands in the center of the room, his arms like steel bands around Elliot’s torso. The skirt of her dress is ruched up at her hips because of the way that oaf had been hauling her around before. There’s a whole lot of leg, not to mention her black panties, on full display for these arrogant dickheads.
Elliot’s eyes are frantic as they connect with mine. She squirms in Duke’s arms, which makes him bark with warped laughter. He glares at the three of us, his eyes flashing with hostility. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t your brothers here to save their pretty little pussy.”
“Funny. Pretty sure they’re pussies just like she is.” Bear cocks his head to the side as he and Mason come to stand on either side of Duke, squaring off with us.
“Let her go!” Kingston snarls, stepping close. His broad back heaves in his anger.
“Come on now. You may be top dog at KU because you’ve got the Kingston name, but when it comes down to it, your bark is worse than your bite, bitch. You’ve never been able to handle your shit.” Duke’s lips twist cruelly, glancing down at Elliot, and he shrugs. “You want her? Pay up. You three fuckers will have to top my winning bid.” He pauses, sliding his fingertips along her jaw and down her neck before coasting them teasingly over her collarbone.
I grunt quietly.Yeah, I’d pay any amount in a heartbeat.I eye the way Duke moves his fingers, not liking it one bit.Don’t you fucking touch her. Don’t do it.I glance at Kingston, and he nods, so I yank out my wallet, knowing this isn’t about the money in the slightest. It’s just Duke’s way of rubbing it in our faces that he’s won. I peel off the forty-two hundred, as requested and toss it onto a nearby table.
Duke bobs his head, not even looking at it. “Mind telling us how exactly this hot piece of ass came to reside with you? I want to know if Miss Elliot Ashford is indeed from Hawthorne Hall and isn’t from one of the sororities.” He puts his face at the side of her head and not-so-subtly breathes her in before he shoots Mason and Bear a smirking smile.“Surely,she didn’t mean what I think she did. She’s not abrother.”
