Highland Sanctuary (The MacDaniels Book 1) Read online

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you, Barbara Clark, for everything you do for me! You keep me on track with my writing, tell me when I’m procrastinating (which I do a lot), and edit my work into something amazing! My books are getting out into the real world because you work so hard and I adore you for it!

  Thank you, Killion Group, for the wonderful cover! I’m so pleased that you were able to use the image that Stephanie Stone, of Stephanie Stone Photography, took for me, as a background! I absolutely adored those trees! I also love Jennifer Jakes’ ability to turn my final work into this wonderful, professional book!

  Thank you, Mom, for supporting me when I wasn’t sure I could continue on. I’ve been so ill for a while now that there’s been days that it’s tough to get anything done. On those days, you magically appear and it makes my day!

  Thank you to my nephews for making me smile, even when I’m up against deadlines and dealing with illness. You two are my world and I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

  Thank you to my co-workers for cheering me on and being excited about my writing. Not once have they made me feel like it wasn’t important. The confidence that gave me made me feel like I could do anything.

  Copyrighted by Brina Cary @ 2015

  Published by Magic Wolf Publishing

  ISBN: 978-1-945409-04-2

  Edited by Barbara Kirby

  Reproduction in any form is not permitted by law. All rights are owned by Brina Cary.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

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  Chapter 1

  POP! Such a loud sound. It echoed off the ranch style house, the tall pine trees that surrounded them, and the silent air around them. It slammed back into her with a force greater than anything she had ever known. Struggling to breathe, she watched as her brother’s Boxer, Rocky, stood over him, growling menacingly. The protective gesture came too late for Finn though. The world was crashing down. Everything she loved… She couldn’t move. What had once been a sanctuary for her was now a wretched, coldhearted, empty place.

  Betrayal was thick in the air. It mingled with the scent of gun powder and blood. Her eyes were open wide, taking in every helpless moment as she stayed rooted to the spot where Matthew had pushed her. “No…” Her voice was hoarse, harsh with emotion. The paralysis began to wear off, slowly replaced with anger. Her breaths came in gasps, and tears threatened to fall. How dare he!

  “Finn…,” she whispered in anguish. His name slid from her lips as the tears that she had held back for so long slid down her cheeks. The only one to ever try to stop the pain she received at the bastard’s hands, and he was dying—dying from trying to help her… Even from her spot she could see the blood that gurgled from his wounds. It was bright red with tinges of crimson — bright from oxygen. The bullet had hit his lungs. Helplessly, she watched as Finn coughed up blood… The last few breaths he would ever take had ceased, however, Rocky continued to try to protect him. Such a good dog.

  Matthew grinned. The bastard grinned. As he turned the gun back to her bile rose in her throat. Stalking forwards, he put the gun behind his back and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. “Jer, keep an eye on the dog.”

  “Can’t I just shoot him too?” The scruffy looking man eyed Rocky with wariness. Slowly shifting from foot to foot, he took a deep breath. With a nervous glance he waited, the gun aimed at Rocky. Silently, she begged the dog to stay where he was, where he might be safe from Matthew’s wrath.

  “Nah, he won’t leave Finn. Damn dog’s been protecting him for far too long. For the life of me, can’t tell you why I like that dog but I do. Maybe it’s because he’s loyal, unlike some people.” He glared at her. “Just keep an eye on him.” Matthew pushed the long sleeves of his thermal shirt up to his elbows, showing off the dragon tattoo that ran from his bicep down his arm to his wrist. It had been there for years now, the ink faded with age. Squatting down in front of her, he pushed his shaggy black hair out of his eyes. He’d let it grow— so different from how it had been in the Navy. He had changed too… Guess a dishonorable discharge will do that to you. “Now, sweetheart, you and I have some things to talk about.”

  She stayed where she was on the ground, where he had pushed her. The wet dew on the grass soaked through her jeans causing the chill to spread — the chill that had begun with the first POP of the gun — the same POP that cause her brother to lay a few feet away. The chill ran throughout her body, but despite this her heart seemed to beat faster. It felt like it was going to burst from her chest at any moment. Run! Run! Run! Her brain screamed it over and over again, but still she couldn’t move. All these warnings her body was giving her, all the flares of ‘save yourself’, but she was frozen. Her muscles locked in place from fear. Conditioning from years of his abuse had taught her one thing: moving or trying to run would only get her killed.

  “Matthew, please… Stop!” He jerked her up by her forearm and drug her back to the house. A shoe slid off her foot. The dew quickly soaked her sock. Her toes went numb from the cold, matching her fingers. Throwing her against the vinyl siding, he laughed. As he threw his hands against the house on each side of her head she flinched. “Please… Just leave…,” she begged. Closing her eyes against the onslaught of fear, she waited for his response. Fear, it came so natural to her when it involved him. Silently, she began commanding herself not to recoil at his touch, praying that her body would listen. It would only make him angrier if she made a single movement. Movements that radiated fear always made things worse — always made him edgier, determined to prove something.

  “Open your eyes.” She did as he commanded, bringing a grin to his face. “Good to see you still know how to listen to some things.” His dark onyx eyes burned into her hazel ones. “Your brother’s as good as dead, Ames. He’s not coming back. The idiot should never have intervened in the first place. It’s just between you and me. You should know by now that I wouldn’t tolerate anyone coming between us. I told you that after your… betrayal…”

  The word “betrayal” was spat like it caused a bad taste in his mouth just to consider it. It also came out as hate, pure and simple hate. He had used that to justify so much of what he had done to her. She had been trying to save lives. Was Matthew so hung up on money that he couldn’t see that? That he refuse
d to see that? An anonymous tip, that’s what she had left. Nothing to connect him to it. All in the name of saving lives… and it had cost her hers. So much pain. So many regrets. How was she to know that they would trace the tip back to her?

  Now Finn was dead. There was no time, or way, to put things right. It was just her that was left, all because she wanted to save a child — random child no one else seemed to care about but her. Everyone seemed to be paying for her mistakes. Maybe she deserved what damage Matthew wrought. Maybe she deserved everything that was happening. Maybe he was right. Maybe she never should have betrayed him. If she hadn’t though, another innocent child would be dead, having been used as a mule to transport drugs, and she would be to blame for that too. One child vs everyone she had ever loved? Was it worth it?

  He tilted his head and leaned forward, centimeters away from her bare neck. Breath hot and moist danced along her skin. Goosebumps raised on her arms. Desire to flee clawed up from her stomach. Willing herself not to let her fear show, she tried to steel herself from the shaking that threatened to overtake her. As he took another deep breath on her neck, bile rose in her throat and her knees almost buckled. If only she could pass out, maybe death would come quickly. The hope was futile though. He wouldn’t stand for it. He’d wake her just to kill her. “You smell so good. The things you do to me, even if you are just a whore.”

  “Please just let me go… You’ve taken everything from me! What more do you want!?!”

  The sound of flesh hitting flesh hit her ears before she registered that he had slapped her. Stinging pain laced her cheek, however, the pain was her last concern. It was not like he had never hit her before. Heck, he had done a lot more than hit her. The scars that laced her skin were proof of that. “I told you to never raise your voice to me. Seems you have forgotten some of the rules after all, Ames.” His hand was around her throat before she could even raise her arms to fend him off. “I think maybe I should just get this over with. Do you in once and for all. I really want to kill you. I just want to feel your pulse stop pulsing beneath my fingers and watch your eyes bulge. You know what it’s like to die from asphyxiation?”

  She felt his hand tighten slightly around her throat, the danger of the threat becoming more imminent. Was he that far gone? Looking in his eyes she knew. He was gone. Matthew was angry at her. Angry enough to finally kill her.

  “You ruined everything, Ames. Cost me my job with the Navy. Now, you’re costing me my livelihood.” He leaned close enough for her to smell the whiskey on his breath. “Diego is gunning for me. If that shipment doesn’t go down as planned then my head is on the chopping block. I’ve already lost one cozy set up because of you. I won’t lose another. What did you tell them?”

  Putting aside the fear that threatened to overwhelm her, she choked out, “Just… leave….”

  His lips turned upward in a sick smile, a sinking feeling began in her stomach. “Oh, Ames. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You have forgotten. Such a shame. You were once so beautiful, so lovely. You used to know how to obey. Such a shame that you have forgotten. Guess I’ll just have to remind you of the price.” He squeezed tighter. She gasped for breath, but made no attempt to scream. The burning in her lungs told her that it wouldn’t be long before she joined Finn. Then the nightmare would finally be over. She would finally be free. Matthew couldn’t follow her to the afterlife, although he would probably try.

  Distant sirens broke through the fog that had taken over. Was help coming?

  The hand at her throat pressed harder. He meant business this time. “Amy, I swear. I swear that I’ll kill you the next time I see you. Don’t you dare tell anyone about this. I’ll kill you if you say a single word.”

  Her brother was dead. Who would she tell? The only person that cared was lying a few feet away, his empty eyes staring at her. Cold and judging. Her brother was dead and the bastard was worried about who she would tell? More worried than he was about who she had already told.

  “Do you understand?” When she failed to respond fast enough he pulled her forward away from the wall. A whoosh sounded in her ears as he slammed her back into it. “Do you understand?” Her lungs burned and spots danced in front of her eyes. At her nod he released her. The jelly that her legs had become refused to hold her as she fell to the ground gasping in breaths. “Good. See to it that you uphold your end, or it’ll be the last thing you do.”

  It would be the last thing she did. He’d make sure of it. How could she possibly survive when there was no one left that would help? When no one was left that could help? How could she fight him when all of her strength had been stolen from her?

  Had her strength really been stolen? Was she no longer who she once was? Once upon a time the Navy had taught her strength. It had taught her the value of Honor, Courage, and Commitment; the Navy’s core values. Had she really forgotten them? Or had she just been so beaten down that she was just a shell of her former self?

  A small sliver of determination took root in her soul. Carefully, she raised herself up on all fours. She would stand up even if it killed her. Finn had died bravely — on his feet. She would do the same. “Remember…,” he commanded as he kicked her in the stomach. Her breath fled from her lungs. Pain blossomed as she rolled onto her side, her knees coming up to her chest. Her arms circled protectively around her. ‘Don’t cry. Don’t cry.’ She told herself to try to stop the tears. He didn’t deserve to see them.

  He stood over her, “I’ll kill you, Ames. I swear I will.” She fought the urge to vomit as he turned to go meet the sheriff’s car that drove up. Just as quickly as the determination had come, it had gone. There was no where she could hide, nowhere that would ever be safe. Matthew would find her anywhere, there was no point in trying to hide anymore. It was going to happen whenever he wanted it to… he would kill her and there was nothing she could do about it. Soon she would be just another casualty in his rage, another ‘thing’ he blamed on someone else instead of taking responsibility for his own actions.

  Flipping back over she crawled to Finn and Rocky. She took Finn’s hand in hers. As tears rolled down her face, she swiped the blood away from his cheeks. The motion only served to smear it, which made her shake from silent sobs. Finn was dead. The last of her family was gone. She closed his eyes, letting her hand rest for a moment. Rage burned within her, but it burned with a dim flame. She was angrier at herself than Matthew. What had she ever seen in him? How could she possibly continue on? Rocky whimpered, drawing her attention. She reached up and cupped his muzzle. Finn was gone, but he loved that dog… she would take care of him, for Finn.

  “Evening, how’re things?” Matthew’s disarming attitude screamed that something was off.

  The deputy climbed partially out of his car, his eyes wide with disbelief. Amy knew that he had seen Finn’s body. Things like this just didn’t happen here, in this small town. “What’s going on here?”

  “The dog was off the leash. I was just walking past, isn’t that right, Jer?”

  Jer nodded, “Yep, that’s right.”

  “The dog tried to attack us. I did the only thing I could. I fired my weapon, which I have a permit for, at the dog. Looks like I accidentally hit his owner though.” As Matthew got close to the Sheriff’s deputy he pulled the gun that he had used to shoot Finn with out. “Isn’t that what happened, Jer?”

  “Yep, sure is. Isn’t it, Deputy?”

  The Deputy looked back and forth from them to her, “Um…” His hand was still on the door to his cruiser. Unfortunately, he had never pulled his weapon, so he was at a loss against two guys with guns. Such an idiotic newbie move.

  “Deputy, this is what’s going to happen. Jer and I, we are going to walk away scot free. Our names, appearances, etc aren’t even going to be mentioned in your report.” He pointed to her, “She’ll keep her mouth shut and you get to live. How’s that?” The Deputy tried to take a step back. His eyes grew wider. “Deputy, I could just as easily kill you too… Put your hands up.” He did as he was told an
d Matthew stepped forward. Grabbing the gun from the Deputy’s holster he turned back towards her and Finn. “Ames, if you care about that dog then you’ll get him.”

  Grabbing at Rocky’s collar, she tried to drag him away. Rocky fought her, twisting and turning, trying to loosen her hold so he could continue to protect Finn. “Rocky…” she begged. Finally, she was able to get him to move. He snarled and jerked towards Matthew. Dogs knew when people were evil. Maybe if she had been paying more attention she would have seen what Rocky had before she fell for Matthew, before all of the events were set into motion.

  She had only gotten Rocky a few feet away when Matthew, standing next to Finn’s feet, raised the gun at Finn’s body. “You see, Ames, the trick is to shoot in the same path of the bullet. The other one was a thru and thru. This one just has to do the same thing. That’s the joy of using standard police caliber weapons. You know the size will be the same.” He fired the gun into Finn’s chest. The jerk of his dead body caused her to jump, a scream caught in her throat. Turning back to her he grinned, “The tracks will match and no one will know. No one will be able to prove anything different.”

  Chapter 2

  Six months later

  Alec MacDaniel’s hands tightly gripped the steering wheel of the fancy sports car. “Take deep breaths,” he whispered to himself. “Tis no one to be harmed here. Tis no need to protect anyone.” He released a deep breath on a sad sigh, “There tis no one to watch die.”

  Staring out, he took in the area around him. The small cottage resided on a plot of land on the edge of the small town of New Hope, that bordered a forest. The early morning frost gave off a steamy sort of fog that rolled through the air, making it hard to see what was right on the ground. When it rolled around to late afternoon, that frost that had long since burnt off revealed short grass, tall southern pine trees, and a few deer that were courageous enough to wander through the small forest close to the sparse homes that bordered it. Most people lived close to town, so it was always quiet. Solitude was something he prized.