How to Lose a Fiancé Page 8

  Jack tried to yank her toward his canoe. Kaimbrey jerked her arm free and swam toward where Brody had dived. Brody sliced up out of the water, only a few feet away. Relief rushed through her. He was here. Brody would never let Jack take her.

  Jack shoved her under the water, wrapping his legs tight around her torso and completely submerging her, basically sitting on top of her. Kaimbrey could hear shouting above her, but she couldn’t get out from under him. His weight was pushing her down into the freezing water, and she made the mistake of sucking in a breath. Her lungs filled with icy water and she couldn’t get any oxygen. She shoved futilely at Jack’s body as he held her down, but her movements became sluggish and darkness crept in. Apparently, Jack’s version of making things right was to kidnap her again, but when that hadn’t worked, he’d decided to kill her.

  Brody surfaced right as Jack shoved Kaimbrey under the water, pushing himself on top of her. “No!” Brody swam quickly toward them. He grasped the man’s arm and tried to rip him off of Kaimbrey but Jack had her pinned underneath him with his legs, using her as a floatation device, and he wasn’t letting her go. Brody had to get her free before Jack drowned her.

  Brody tried to dive underneath and pull Kaimbrey free, but the man had an iron grip on her. He resurfaced, wrapped his elbow tight around Jack’s neck, and shoved the man’s face into the water.

  Jack flailed and hit at him, but finally, his movements started to slow, and he released his clenched legs from around Kaimbrey so he could start fighting back. Brody shoved him away, dove down, and yanked Kaimbrey to the surface. Her lovely eyes were closed, and she was limp in his arms. No!

  Jack grabbed at Brody and pushed his face into the water. Brody held on to Kaimbrey with one hand, treading water ferociously with his legs, and elbowed Jack hard in the jaw. Jack’s head flew back, and he let go of Brody.

  Brody quickly swam Kaimbrey toward the rocks. He had to get the water out of her lungs and get oxygen back in.

  Jack jumped on top of him, plunging him back down into the water. Brody had no time for this. He flung his head back, slamming it into Jack’s forehead. He heard a yelp and the man released him.

  Just as Brody pushed Kaimbrey up onto the rocks, Jack rammed into him from behind and he landed on top of Kaimbrey. Turning, Brody braced himself on a submerged rock and slammed his fist into Jack’s face. Jack reared back.

  Two men—the police—swam up to them. One grabbed Jack and yanked him away from them. The other one scrambled up on the rocks and lifted Kaimbrey onto a flatter spot.

  Brody was relieved that they had come; now he could ignore Jack and focus on how to resuscitate Kaimbrey. He had to get her back. He climbed out of the water and knelt next to the man who was assessing her breathing and pulse.

  Glancing up at Brody, the man said, “Pulse is weak, no breath.”

  Brody wanted to scream or hit somebody, go drown Jack. He focused on Kaimbrey’s beautiful face as she lay there so still.

  The officer didn’t waste any time. He started rescue breathing. Brody wanted to do something, help somehow.

  He heard a struggle in the water and watched as the other policeman wrestled with Jack. A paddleboarder was fast approaching, and he rammed the tip of his paddleboard right into Jack’s upper back. Jack plunged under the water.

  The policeman stared up at the paddleboarder. “Thanks.”

  “Sorry I wasn’t quicker. I was clear across the lake when he tried to drown the woman.” He glanced over at Brody and Kaimbrey.

  Brody focused back on Kaimbrey as the policeman kept working on her. Jack had tried to drown Kaimbrey, not just any woman, the woman Brody was falling in love with. Brody prayed fiercely that Jack’s sinister effort was only a try. Please, please, Lord.

  Kaimbrey vomited and water spewed all over the policeman.

  “K!” Brody yelled.

  The policeman pushed her over onto her side as she continued to retch. Finally, her body relaxed, and the policeman rolled her back over and checked her pulse.

  “Kaimbrey,” Brody breathed. His heart seemed to have stalled in his chest, but now it beat more fiercely for her.

  She blinked open those beautiful deep brown eyes and stared up at him. “Brody.” Then she lifted her arms.

  Brody wrapped her up in his arms, lifting her close and slowly rocking her back and forth. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

  She cuddled against him, just clinging to him and coughing every few seconds, her body trembling.

  Brody nodded to the policeman over her head. “Thanks,” was all he could choke out.

  “No problem. Lucky the water was as cold as it is—shuts the body down and shunts blood to the brain and the heart, like a poor man’s hibernation. Saved her life.”

  Brody let out a shaky breath and muttered, “Yeah, lucky.” He was so grateful that Kaimbrey was alive. He said a silent prayer of thanks, knowing luck had little to do with it.

  The policeman pointed out to the water where the paddleboarder and the other policeman had loaded the beat-up Jack into the canoe. “We’ll let them get him across and cuffed, and then they’ll come back for you.”

  “What are you going to do?” Brody asked. He could’ve rowed him and Kaimbrey back in the other canoe, but right now he couldn’t imagine letting her go.

  “I’m going to swim over. Wash off this vomit.” He winked and dove into the water.

  Brody gazed down at Kaimbrey. He brushed her wet, heavy hair off her face. “You want to wash off the vomit too?” he asked tenderly.

  Kaimbrey smiled, but she looked exhausted. “A warm bath sounds lovely, but I don’t want to go back in that cold water.”

  “We’ll get you to a shower, then.” He kissed her forehead, fighting back the emotion surging through him. He’d almost lost her. He was falling in love with her, and this second intense situation made his devotion even stronger. Her family might have turned their backs on her, but he never would. He would protect and love her forever. He knew it.

  Kaimbrey clung to him as they waited for the police to return with the canoe. She still coughed every few minutes, but her trembling was settling down; the hot sun helped thaw them both out. Brody wanted to talk to her about so many things, but he needed to give her time to recover, so he just held her and said more prayers of gratitude.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It took forever for the police and ER personnel to release Brody and Kaimbrey. They did let them both shower at the hospital and put on scrubs, but he could tell Kaimbrey was still chilled and exhausted.

  When he finally got her back to Bri’s apartment, Bri was right there fussing over her; she’d already gotten a bath and some herbal tea ready. Brody wanted to just hold Kaimbrey all night and reassure himself she was okay, but he could tell she needed to take that bath and sleep.

  He kissed her forehead and told her, “I’ve got to meet with some clients tomorrow, but can I take you to dinner tomorrow night?”

  “Of course.” She smiled up at him with almost her usual amount of sass. “We’ll plan on dinner together being a standard date.”

  Brody grinned. He adored her. “I wish I could stay, but I’d better let you rest.”

  “Thank you for saving me, again.” She didn’t argue that she didn’t need rest, which told him she was definitely wiped out.

  Brody knew Bri was watching, but he kissed Kaimbrey then. He gave in to the heady sensation of her perfect lips and knew he was a goner. His days as a playboy were over, and he was thrilled to see them go.

  He finally released her and murmured, “Goodbye.”

  Bri walked with him out the basement apartment door and up the steps. It was a mild summer night. They reached his truck, and she gave him a brief hug. “Be good to her, okay?”

  “Bri, you know how good the Jepson boys are.” He winked.

  She smiled. “The best of the best, but Kaimbrey has … trust issues.”

  “The guy that hurt her?”

  “And her parents. Her mom’s
a serious wench.”

  Kaimbrey had only told him a little about her family. He wanted to know all about them and about her past. He promised Bri, “I’ll treat her like a princess.”

  “I know you will.”

  “See you soon, little sis.” Brody watched until she was safely back down the stairs and the apartment door closed. Then he fired up his truck and cruised to his parents’ home. He’d need to go home early in the morning, but he might stay here one more night.

  When he pulled up, Tate was pacing around the driveway. Brody parked next to his brother’s truck and then popped out. “Hey, bro. I hope your night was as good as mine.”

  “Doubt it,” Tate muttered.

  “Yeah, me too.” Brody wasn’t trying to be insensitive, but he was simply too happy and in love. “Kaimbrey is …” He whistled. “She’s the one, bro. Now I just have to slow down so I don’t scare her away. I want to tell her I love her, beg her to marry me.” He grinned and bounced from his toes to his heels. “I know, I know, I need to take it slow, but I’ve never felt like this before.”

  “Didn’t you fight with that Jack guy tonight?” Tate asked.

  “Yeah.” His grin faded, and he shivered. “He almost drowned Kaimbrey. At least we don’t have to worry about him anymore. Seeing her not breathing …” He shook his head. “It made me love her even more.”

  Tate stared at him, as if stewing about something.

  “What’s going on? Why are you looking so down?”

  “Cally told me she loves me, and she’s going back to Chicago in the morning.”

  Brody’s eyebrows shot up and he felt the gut punch for his brother. “How could she? Seriously? I used to adore Cally, but lately I just want to tell her off. Isn’t it bad enough she broke Colt’s heart? Now she has to break yours too?”

  “Not helping,” Tate muttered.

  Brody nodded. “Sorry. What are you going to do?”

  “What can I do? Wait around for five years and hope she comes back when the opportunity is right for her?”

  Brody shrugged and his eyebrows lifted. He couldn’t believe Cally was so selfish, but she’d done worse to Colt, so maybe he could believe it. “Or … you go after her.”

  “Yeah, ’cause that worked so well for Colt.” Tate pushed a hand through his hair.

  “Good point.” Brody pulled a face. “But maybe … Cally’s older and wiser and all that crap. Maybe she wouldn’t turn you away like she did Colt.” Tate seemed really gone over Cally. Not that Brody was surprised. He would’ve had to be an idiot not to notice that Tate had loved Cally most of his life. And now she was leaving him again.

  “Maybe.” Tate shoved his hand through his hair again. “She told me something else.”

  “Yeah?” Brody couldn’t stop thinking about Kaimbrey. It was going to be a long day working tomorrow until he could see her again.

  “She and Kaimbrey were both offered a million dollars to get a proposal out of each of us.”

  That slammed Brody back to earth. His gut churned, his eyes widened, and his mouth tightened. “What’d you just say?”

  “Sorry, bro, it’s true. The night of Colt and Bri’s engagement party, Emma Jensen offered them each a million dollars to start their charities if they could get one of us to propose by Colt and Bri’s wedding night.”

  Brody felt sick, deflated, betrayed. The joy had rushed out of his life so quickly, he felt sluggish and stupid. “No.” He shook his head. It couldn’t be true. “No. Kaimbrey’s into me. She likes me. I rescued her, twice. She shared her trust issues with me.” Trust? She wouldn’t break his trust like this. She wouldn’t. “You can’t understand the way she looks at me, the way she kisses me. It can’t all be an act for some … bet.” The words rushed out quick and frantic.

  “Maybe it started that way, but then she fell for you.” Tate said the words because that was the kind of loyal brother he was, but he obviously didn’t believe them.

  Brody’s jaw clamped as anger roared in him. He muttered, “I’m going to find out.” He didn’t even say goodbye, just jumped in his truck, pushed the start button, slammed it into gear, and pressed down hard on the accelerator. His mind was spinning faster than his tires, churning through everything Kaimbrey had said, the way she’d touched him, the way she’d kissed him.

  Could it truly all be a ploy? Yet he knew how charitably-minded she was. A million dollars would go a long way to help others. But why would she trick him? Kaimbrey came from wealth; why would she try to trick Brody into a proposal for money? She had shared that her parents had disowned her. Maybe she was desperate to get the funding to help others. She hadn’t even told him about some lofty charity idea. Why not? He would’ve been willing to help her. Maybe she didn’t trust him or care about him at all.

  A muscle flexed in his jaw and his hands were a vice grip on the steering wheel. It was a good thing Bri’s apartment was close, because he felt ready to explode.

  Kaimbrey felt like she was floating in the warm tub. She was so tired from the past two insane days, and the warm water felt heavenly. She closed her eyes and thought about Brody’s even more heavenly kisses. He was so sweet with her.

  Maybe she should tell him about the challenge and the proposal. But no, how could she do that and mess up all her dreams? She’d tried all through college to secure funding for her idea, and most people just patted her on the head and told her she was a cute idealist. Her parents had “tolerated” her idealism until her mom finally snapped and threatened to disown her.

  Kaimbrey knew her idea could help so many people in need. Her idea was more than a regular homeless shelter. She’d expect the people to work hard and help them secure jobs and make something of their lives. Then, when they were successful, they could move out and she could help more people. She imagined the people she’d helped would also eventually want to give back. Maybe she was an idealist, but now the money was going to be there. All she had to do was love and enjoy Brody and get him to propose and all of her dreams would come true.

  What if he hated her when he found out about Emma’s proposal? She shook her head. Not Brody. He was too amazing. He’d understand, and they’d make the proposal real. What she felt for him was more real than anything she’d ever felt. She’d just help him to see that and apologize and kiss away any frustration he might have at her keeping this from him.

  A loud knock reverberated through the apartment, and she felt a spike of fear. When would a simple knock on the door not scare her? She hoped Bri was still awake, because Kaimbrey wasn’t getting the door anytime soon, but then she started worrying. She didn’t want Bri getting hurt, but Jack and all the other bad guys were caught, right?

  Nevertheless, she climbed out of the tub and grabbed the towel on the counter. The pounding came again, and then she heard voices, one soft, one loud.

  “Where is she?” It was Brody. The sound of his voice should have soothed her, but he sounded … intense. Maybe mad. Maybe furious.

  Kaimbrey tensed as she rubbed water off her legs. What was wrong?

  “She’s in the bath. You go wait in the living room.”

  “Tell her I need to talk to her.” It was not a request; it was a demand. What in the world?

  The apartment was set up awkwardly enough that she’d have to walk past the living area to the second bedroom where her clothes were. She lifted the expensive robe she’d given to Bri last Christmas off the back of the door, wrapping up in the silky softness of it.

  Bri rapped softly on the door. “K?”

  “Come in.” Kaimbrey was wiping at the eyeliner that had run under her eyes. She quickly swiped some gloss on her lips and rubbed some coconut-scented lotion into her hands and neck.

  “Nice robe,” Bri teased.

  “I knew you would love to share with your best friend.” Kaimbrey winked. “Brody’s here?”

  “Yeah. And he’s … out of sorts. I didn’t know it was possible to get Brody this upset.”

  “What’s going on?” Alarm fi
lled Kaimbrey. They’d caught all the kidnappers, right? “Is it Colt? Tate? Cally?”

  “He didn’t say. Just said he needed you.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll be in my room.” Bri gave her a brief squeeze, then headed for her bedroom.

  Kaimbrey eased out of the bathroom and down the short hallway toward the kitchen and living area. Brody paced the carpet in front of the couch. When he saw her, his eyes flashed with desire, but then they turned cold—something she had never seen in his expressive eyes.

  She wrapped her arms around herself and asked, “You okay?”

  “No.” He strode toward her. Brody was around six feet, not nearly as tall as his brothers, but he was broad and tough. Kaimbrey was barely over five feet, and right now she felt … intimidated by him. That was crazy. This was Brody. He’d never hurt her.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, placing her palm flat against her throat.

  “A million dollars? Really?” His blue eyes turned stormy.

  Kaimbrey faltered. “How did you …?”

  The anger broke like a dam, and his eyes filled with hurt. Kaimbrey recognized it. She’d been there herself.

  “Cally spilled the truth to Tate,” snapped Brody. He clenched his jaw, and she could see the roiling emotions run across his face.

  “I …” What could she say? She couldn’t claim she was going to tell him, because she hadn’t been planning on it, not until after she secured her funding. “It’s for my charity,” she said weakly.

  Brody glowered down at her. “So that justifies lying to me?”

  Kaimbrey lifted her hands, palms up. “It’s not like that. I’m falling for you, Brody.”

  He harrumphed. “Really? And I’m supposed to believe that now?” He folded his strong arms across his chest. “You give me some spiel about how you have trust issues, how you’ve been hurt, when really you’re just playing me as the stupid sap who’s falling head over heels for you, so you can get a million dollars.”

  Kaimbrey knew he was hurting, but he was also being a jerk. “Some ‘spiel about trust issues’? About being hurt? I do have trust issues! I have been hurt!”