Bound by Tears (Cauld Ane Book 6) Read online

  Book #6 in the Cauld Ane Series

  2014 Tracey Jane Jackson

  Copyright © 2014 by Tracey Jane Jackson

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States

  Bound by Tears is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Photo

  Couple:

  Tracey Jane Jackson

  Landscape:

  Jökulsárlón Glacial Lake

  by

  Ira Goldstein

  Cover Art

  Jackson Jackson

  Cover Models

  Gordon Avery

  Jess Kirsch

  CONTENTS

  Copyright

  Acknowledgements

  Back Blurb

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  About Tracey Jane Jackson

  Other books in the Cauld Ane Series

  Bound by Blood

  Cauld Ane #1

  Bound by Fire

  Cauld Ane #2

  Bound by Secrets

  Cauld Ane #3

  Bound by Song

  Cauld Ane #4

  Bound by Dreams

  Cauld Ane #5

  Other books by Tracey Jane Jackson

  The Bride Price

  Civil War Brides Series, Book #1

  The Bride Found

  Civil War Brides Series, Book #2

  The Bride Spy

  Civil War Brides Series, Book #3

  The Bride Ransom

  Civil War Brides Series, Book #4

  The Rebel Bride

  Civil War Brides Series, Book #5

  The Bride Star

  Civil War Brides Series, Book #6

  The Bride Pursued

  Civil War Brides Series, Book #7

  The Bride Accused

  Civil War Brides Series, Book #8

  The Brides United

  Civil War Brides, Book #9

  Acknowledgements

  Ása Erlingsdóttir, thanks again for the Icelandic translations!

  Gordon & Jess…thanks for your gorgeous faces!

  Thanks to Ellen and Amanda for the edits and critiques…you guys are amazing!

  Praise for Tracey Jane Jackson

  I’ve followed Tracey Jane Jackson’s Cauld Ane series from book one and am constantly impressed by the way her characters keep growing and developing. Her dialogue is realistic and witty and her fast-paced storylines keep the series progressing nicely. I’ve enjoyed each Bound book, but Bound by Dreams is my favorite so far. I can’t wait to see what happens next! Amanda Washington: Author of the Perseverance Series and the Chronicles of the Broken Series

  “Sizzling and original!” Leah Banicki – Historical Author

  Back Blurb

  Jesska Shane has suffered a devastating loss, and now pushes away those who love her the most.

  Kaspar Baldursson is in search of answers concerning his brother’s sudden disappearance.

  When he finds his brother--and his forever mate in the process--he must uncover the threats surrounding his family and protect his mate at all costs.

  Will Kaspar’s love be strong enough to tear down the walls Jesska keeps building around her heart?

  Will he be able to save her before the secrets in their past destroy them all?

  For My Girls

  Vandy, Caren Ann, and Kim – you guys are the greatest Street Team Leads on the planet!

  For the Brihards & Cauldaniacs

  Thanks to the hard working members of my Street Team! I wouldn’t be here without you!

  For Brady, Lulu & Kai

  Love you guys!

  PROLOGUE

  Portland, Oregon

  Ten Years ago

  JESSKA SHANE RUSHED out of the last class of her last year of high school and ran smack dab into her boyfriend of nearly four years. Brady chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet. “Hi beautiful.”

  Brady King was six feet tall with dark-blond hair, chocolate-brown eyes, and the epitome of a high school jock. Quarterback on the varsity team and top wrestler in his weight class, but also funny as hell, and a guy Jesska admired greatly. She’d met him at church when she was fourteen, but both sets of parents had made them wait until she was sixteen before they could officially date.

  They’d spent a lot of time together over the two years they weren’t “official,” but Jesska tried to follow the rules, and Brady felt it was important to respect their parents. Sometimes that irritated the hell out of Jesska. She often wanted to sneak away to somewhere private whenever they could, but Brady would always talk her into doing what was right. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she was going to marry him, and she had a feeling he’d propose before they headed off to college.

  “Can you believe we’re done?” she asked, looping her arms around his neck and kissing him.

  “None too soon,” he said as he set her on her feet again. “I can’t believe your parents are going to let you come to Paris with us.”

  “Please.” She grinned. “I turn eighteen in a week, plus they’re more worried I’m a prude. They kind of think you are too.”

  “A prude? Not true!” He flexed his left arm, his purity ring sitting proud on his finger. “Who said sexy couldn’t be moral?”

  Jesska laughed. “Yes, I can see your humility is working overtime.”

  “Hey guys.”

  They turned to see Brady’s best friend Jason jogging toward them. Jesska gripped Brady’s hand a little tighter. He glanced down at her with a frown, but she forced a smile and he focused back on Jason. “Hey, bud. You ready to lose at bowling?”

  “You mean, am I ready to smoke you?”

  Brady chuckled. “We’ll see. I take it you’re coming today?”

  “Hell, yeah. I’m so over this dump…can’t believe I have to do a class over summer or I won’t graduate.”

  Jason Rogers had been Brady’s best friend since middle school. A couple of years ago, Jason had started smoking pot and decorating his body with tattoos and piercings, but Brady stayed close, hoping he’d turn a corner. His parents had both died of cancer, so Jason was forced to live with his grandparents, which didn’t seem to be going so well.

  Jesska used to adore Jason, but lately he’d gotten weird, trying to corner her alone at school and touching her “accidentally.” In general, he just creeped her out.

  “We’ll meet you there, bud,” Brady said.

  Jason glanced at Jesska, but didn’t say anything as he nodded and strolled out the door toward the parking lot.

  “Hey.” Brady squeezed her hand. “What’s going on with you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You get all squirrely around Jase now. Did something happen?”

  “Nope.” She shook her head and forced a smile. “Let’s go, Bradykins. I’m starving.”

  Brady frowned, but he
let it go. He always let it go, giving her space to tell him whatever she needed to tell him in her own time. Brady had driven this morning, so she tugged him out of the building and to his car. He opened the passenger door for her, but pulled her close before she climbed in, stroking her cheek as he smiled at her. “Do you know how much I love you?”

  She nodded. “You tell me every day how much you love me, so I have some idea.”

  He leaned down and kissed her, and she found her hands sliding under his T-shirt and up his back. She didn’t know if she could possibly ever love another human being as much as she did him. It was overwhelming at times.

  “Get a room, losers!”

  Jesska giggled, breaking the kiss and following the sound of her best friend’s voice. “Jealous much?”

  Amanda Winkler had long, dark-red hair, thick and curly, the kind most folks tried to achieve with hot rollers and curling irons. She and Jesska had been best friends since freshman year when they sat next to each other in biology. Amanda laid her hands over her heart and groaned. “I’m so, so jealous.”

  “Are you coming with us?” Brady asked.

  “Not today.” She held up her keys. “I have Marilyn.”

  Marilyn was Amanda’s VW Rabbit that was held together with duck tape and a prayer.

  Brady chuckled. “Nice.”

  “We’ll see you over there,” Jesska said.

  “Sounds good.” Amanda climbed into her car and took off, the VW backfiring its way out of the parking lot.

  “It’s getting worse,” Brady observed.

  Jesska laughed. “I don’t get why she won’t just sell it and get something that isn’t destined to kill her one day.”

  “Me neither.” Brady stepped back. “In you go.”

  Jesska climbed into her seat and secured her seatbelt while Brady walked to the driver’s side. They took off toward the bowling alley on SE Morrison, which wasn’t far from their high school in downtown Portland.

  The majority of Lincoln High School’s senior class squeezed into the large bowling alley, commandeering every lane available, although not everyone chose to bowl. Jesska gave Jason a wide berth, particularly because of the sidelong, creepy stares he managed to give her.

  When Brady bowled another gutter ball, he shook his head good-naturedly and then frowned down at his phone.

  “Everything okay?” Jesska asked.

  “My sister’s locked herself out of the house,” he complained.

  “Don’t your parents have that spare key…the one under the rock in the backyard?”

  “Oh, they have three. All of which she still has in her car, which she has also managed to lock herself out of. Either I go help her or she has to call Triple A.” He shook his head. “I should make her call a tow truck.”

  “You’re not far. Just go, babe.”

  “It’s the principal of the thing.”

  Jesska laughed. “I get it. Carly’s a little absentminded. Just go. I’ll play your turns.”

  Brady smiled, leaning down to kiss her. “This is why I love you.”

  “Because I’m a better bowler than you?”

  “Yes, exactly.” He kissed her one more time and then left to help his sister.

  Jesska bowled a strike and a spare with Brady’s next turns and then nature called, so she turned to Amanda. “Hey, Winky. Play my turn if I’m not back in time, okay?”

  “You got it,” Amanda said.

  Jesska finished up in the bathroom and took some time to fix her makeup. Stepping outside, she found Jason lurking.

  “Hey,” he said, and pushed away from the wall.

  “Hi.” She glanced around, her stomach churning to find them alone in the hallway. “Did you need something?”

  “Um, yeah.” Jason gave her a leering smile. “You.”

  He shoved her back into the bathroom and up against the wall, locking the door and pushing his thumb into her throat. “If you scream, I will press on this vein right here and make you pass out.” He kissed her neck and she tried not to cry out.

  “Stop, Jason. Don’t do this,” she whispered, hoping someone would bang on the door and interrupt him.

  “Come on, Jess, you know you want this. I don’t know why you’re fighting it.”

  When he kissed her, she bit his lip and he yelped, but still managed to keep hold of her. He slapped her. “Bitch!”

  She had shifted so she was in a better position, but he had her so tight, she didn’t have any leverage. “No!” she screamed. He hit her again, but at least it meant he had to back up a bit. With all the strength she could muster, she kneed him in the groin and ran. She heard him yell obscenities as the bathroom door closed and she rushed back to the group.

  “Jess, you okay?” Amanda asked. “Oh, my god, your lip is bleeding. What happened?”

  Jesska laid her fingers over her swelling mouth. “Jason just attacked me.”

  Amanda glanced at something over her head. “Okay, Brady’s back, let’s go tell him.” She wrapped an arm around Jesska and led her to Brady.

  “Babe? What happened?” he asked, studying her face. “Come outside for a second where it’s quiet.”

  She nodded and let him lead her out to the parking lot, bursting into tears as she slid into his arms.

  “Oh, babes, tell me what happened,” he said.

  “Jason attacked me in the bathroom.” She shook her head. “Shoved me into the ladies’ room and locked the door.”

  “What the hell?” He stroked her back. “Is he still in there?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m so sorry, Brady.”

  “Why are you apologizing?”

  “Because I don’t know if I did something to make him think—”

  “Is this why you’ve been so weird around him lately?” He stroked her cheek.

  She nodded. “He does stuff like rub against me, but then is all apologetic like he didn’t do it on purpose, and I can’t prove he’s being a perv, but he’s just so gross.”

  “Bastard.”

  “I’m sorry, Brady. I didn’t want to tell you in case I was wrong. I didn’t want to ruin your friendship.”

  “It’s okay, babes. I’ll take care of it,” he said, his face forming a rather terrifying expression she’d never seen before. Anger and disgust twisted his normally smiling face into something she didn’t like.

  “Can we just go home?” she asked.

  “No. I need to have a conversation with my good friend, Jason.”

  “Here? Now?”

  “As good a time as any,” Brady said with a nod.

  “Make sure you do it around other people. I don’t trust him not to hit you or something.”

  “I can handle myself, Jess.”

  “I’m not saying you can’t.” She grabbed his arm. “He’s just so slimy.”

  Brady leaned down and kissed her gently. “Don’t worry. I’ll just end our friendship, tell him to stay the hell away from you, and we’ll go to Paris. Okay?”

  Jesska smiled. “Okay.”

  She followed him back inside and over to their group. Amanda raised an eyebrow in question as Brady dragged Jason aside, away from eavesdroppers, but still within sight.

  “Is he going to kill Jason?” Amanda asked.

  Jesska nodded. “I think he wants to.”

  “Maybe he’ll leave you alone now. Good riddance, I say. I found your purse.” Amanda handed it to Jesska. “It was in the hallway.”

  “Oh, thanks, Winky. I totally forgot about it.”

  “I hope Jason doesn’t make a scene,” Amanda said. “He should just leave.”

  “I know. But he’ll probably be all weird…he’s always weird.”

  Jesska watched as Brady and Jason argued in the middle of the bowling alley, but what happened next was so out of left field, she wasn’t sure she could believe what she was seeing. When someone screamed, Jesska realized all too quickly, her world was about to come crashing down.

  “Knife! He’s got a knife!”

&
nbsp; As Brady collapsed on the floor, Jason took off, to where, she didn’t know and didn’t care. All she cared about was getting to Brady. Falling beside him, she saw blood flowing from his chest. She pressed her hands against it to try and stop the bleeding. “Someone call 9-1-1!” she bellowed.

  “I’m on it,” Amanda said, her cell phone to her ear.

  “Brady, come on Bradykins, open your eyes.”

  He blinked his eyes open with a grimace. “I didn’t count on a knife,” he rasped.

  “I know,” she said. “Try to stay awake, okay? Paramedics are coming.”

  “Hey, I love you.”

  She forced back tears. “I love you, too.”

  He coughed. “I can’t breathe.”

  “Help’s coming.” She pressed harder on his wound.

  He closed his eyes again, his breathing labored.

  “Open your eyes!” she screamed. “Open your damn eyes.”

  He did, but they were glassy. “Tell my family I love ’em, okay?”

  “No! No, I won’t tell them anything. You’re going to tell them,” she sobbed. “You’re going to be fine. We’re going to get married and have lots and lots of babies.” His arm dropped to his side and Jesska shook her head. “Brady King, you open your eyes right now! Right this minute!”

  Gentle hands wrapped around her arms and tugged. “Jess, the ambulance is here.”

  She glanced up to find the EMTs wheeling a gurney in and opening their bags. “Miss, if you’ll give us some room.”

  Jesska nodded, stumbling to her feet and into the arms of her friend. Once they had Brady loaded onto the stretcher, she tried to follow, but the paramedics wouldn’t let her.

  Amanda turned her around. “We need to call his parents. And yours. Jess! We need to call your parents.”

  Jesska nodded. “I’ll get my purse.”

  “No, wait.” Amanda pulled her back. “You’re covered in blood.”

  “What?”

  “Blood. You have blood on you. I’ll get your phone, okay? Here come the police. We’ll tell them what we know and then we’ll get you cleaned up.”