Call My Bluff

by Elizabeth Knox

  The room had been locked up tight.

  I tensed, my focus moving from Grace behind me, across the room and out into the hallway. Someone was coming down the hall, slowly, deliberately, taking his time as he anticipated the encounter.

  I reacted on instinct. Forcing Grace to take a step back, then I silently reached behind me to push her downward. I had to hope that she would understand I needed her to stay down. I reached again under my shirt and held the gun loosely, my finger away from the trigger until I knew exactly who we were dealing with.

  We were trapped in this room, on the ninth floor. There was no way out except back through the living room, down the hall.

  “Come out, come out wherever you are!” He came slowly along the hall, calling out to us in a singsong voice.

  I pressed my legs against the end of the bed, raising my weapon, bracing myself for the recoil.

  “Did you think you could come here and stop me from being with my Grace?” he called from just outside the room. “Did you think I wasn’t watching your every move? I know every square inch of this building. Every little nook and cranny. Every single one of your hiding places.”

  He was outside the door now. I could see a flash of his uniform reflected in the window.

  “I used to watch Grace all the time until you got here.” He went on, “Grace, I could even sneak inside this suite and stand at your bedside while you slept.”

  I was trembling, picturing him creeping around the rooms, watching Grace sleep. Watching me.

  “Then when I saw you, Grace, wearing that special t-shirt, I knew it was meant to be. I knew it had to be you. You would be my first.”

  My grip tightened, and I felt Grace’s hand gently work the gun out of the holster strapped around my ankle.

  “I need you to come with me tonight, Grace. I know you’re close, I can hear your heartbeat. Can you hear mine?”

  I knew on some level that it was my own heartbeat thudding in my ears, but I still wanted to press my own hands to my ears and scream.

  “Come out, Grace. Come out and see what I have for you.”

  He pounced, more quickly than I was anticipating pulling his gun out. I fired one shot, slicing through his upper arm, wounding him but not felling him. He staggered back, his eyes wild as he gripped his arm and took a deep breath.

  Coming at us again, I took another shot, just as the bang sounded from his gun. He froze for a split second and then he toppled backward to the floor, his eyes open as he stared blindly at the ceiling.

  I rushed to Grace’s side, checking to make sure she wasn’t hurt, then trying to hold her close.

  In the distance, I heard someone call my name before everything went black.

  Chapter Twelve

  SAWYER

  Hurrying through the long hospital corridor I realized how much I wanted to be there when Honor opened her eyes. The doctors had said it might be hours, but Angel told me in her experience Honor was a fighter, and it wouldn’t be anywhere near that long.

  When I arrived at her hospital room it was just in time to see her wake and remember some of the horror that had happened the night before. As soon as the doctors and nurses left, I stepped away from the wall and took the only chair in the room, pulling it close to her narrow bed before sitting.

  “Are you—”

  “I’m fine,” she replied quickly, then reached out with her good hand. “How are you? How’s Grace?”

  “Grace will be excited you’re awake, she has been worried about you. You were rushed away and into surgery to remove the bullet. Good news, it didn’t hit anything vital.” My attempt at humor felt flat as I longed to see her smile.

  “I am so glad you and Grace are both okay.” Her voice was raspy, so I offered her the ice water near her hospital bed.

  Placing the drink back on the side table, I said, “In all the commotion, we haven’t had time to discuss us.” Smiling down, I waited for her response.

  “What’s there to discuss?” Her nonchalant tone stung a little, but I hoped the more we talked the more she would understand how much I wanted her in my life.

  “I should have listened to you. You asked me three times to look into the background of all my brother’s security hires. I didn’t want to make things worse between my brother and me, so I didn’t check, and in doing so I put you and Grace at risk. I’m sorry.”

  “Did the agents find out anything about him?”

  “Yeah, he had a shit load of previous convictions. Never should have been working in security. He had absolutely been Grace’s stalker. The damn asshole had photos of her everywhere in his home. My brother hiring him, and several others, was part of my brother doing a ‘solid’…” I used air quotes, “… to help out his drug dealer. He had been hoping to have a nice business running drugs through the casino.”

  Rylan had gone into rehabilitation this morning, finally admitted he needed help. Partially because his actions had meant Grace’s life was at risk. Mostly though because he needed to work through his grief.

  “Grace wants to see you.” Everything in me wanted to claim her, demand her attention, to tell her it was not just Grace, it was me, I wanted her. But I couldn’t want it enough for the both of us. She needed to fight for us too.

  “I’d like that. I’d like to spend time with her.” She watched my face carefully as she said, “But what does that mean for us?”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” The words were out, and it felt good to tell her I was in this for the long haul. I watched her face fall. The nurse walked in and Honor looked me straight in the eye, and said, “I’m really tired. I’m going to sleep.”

  Thinking I would give her a few hours to sleep, and visit her again, maybe make some plans to bring Grace tomorrow, I walked out of her hospital room feeling in control.

  Chapter Thirteen

  HONOR

  Angel arrived as the sun was rising, exactly one week after I had arrived in Vegas. I was ready, the bag of the bloody clothes I had been wearing shoved in the garbage. I had asked her to help me get back to Los Angeles, then I told her she could come up to Portland with me, or I would help her if she wanted to start over someplace else.

  But I had everything crossed she would come back with me and join the agency. She would be a huge asset, and Ravi and I both trusted her already.

  Angel brought me in a bag that had a soft, fluffy set of cheap sweatpants and a hoodie, all brand new, with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Tucked inside were the underwear I needed, and a pair of slip-on shoes. I felt supported and cared for. Exactly what I needed.

  When I stepped out in all my new not-quite-finery, she gave a low wolf whistle, and we both giggled.

  “Whaddaya think?” I drawled at the nurse who had brought in my rushed discharge papers, and she was currently strapping my arm in a sling. The nurse smiled and shook her head as she left the room.

  “I’m free!” I was pretty sure that the only reason they had let me go so quickly was because Angel and the head nurse on last night had trained at nursing school together, and had kept in touch over the last few years.

  “Well, I’m not free. But I can be cheap and easy for the right person,” Angel snapped back with a head bob from side to side that made her large hoop earrings swing erratically.

  As we made our way quietly through the corridor, and out through the lobby, I spied my trusty car pulled to the curb.

  “You’re brilliant! How did you get my car?” Realizing that the back seat held all the belongings I had brought with me and left in my room at the casino, I felt blessed and thankful again for the amazing woman now sliding in behind the steering wheel of my car.

  Leaving Las Vegas was bittersweet, the thought that I wouldn’t see Grace or Sawyer again burned a little.

  Once I was home, I would send Grace a care package. But for now, it was probably for the best, if I guarded my heart and headed out of town.

  I tried to convince myself I straight out didn’t give a fuck.

  Ep
ilogue

  SAWYER

  The large furniture truck pulled slowly away, the driver waving a friendly greeting as Grace and I pulled into the driveway of the picture-perfect two-story house on a tree-lined street in Portland. It was almost too pretty to be real, and Grace was grinning from ear to ear as we climbed the steps to the front porch.

  “Okay, so all this is for how long? Will it be a project?” Grace was trying to hold back her excitement.

  I realized how much the largescale projects I had done as she was growing up cost her. She hadn’t had any place to really settle, to grow roots. I still wondered if that was part of the reason she had worn the t-shirts of bands she didn’t like, just to fit in. Create a quick identity, that helped her fit in easily wherever we landed.

  “Well, I think Portland is pretty cool. You need to stay put and study now and do well in high school so you can go on to do great things.”

  Taking a deep breath, I continued, “How about if we stay here until you graduate? It’s ours now for as long as we want. I gotta warn you though, sometimes it snows here in the winter, and this street is crazy about Christmas.” No matter what, I wanted to give whatever was left of her childhood a bit of magic.

  The movers and cleaners looked like they were just finishing placing the books on the shelves and fluffing the couch cushions in the living room, as we walked upstairs to see the bedrooms. All the furniture we had purchased so far looked great, and I was looking forward to choosing a couple more things with care, now that we were in the house.

  “Can we go get something to eat?” Grace seemed to have hollow legs, and since the movers now seemed to be taking up all the space unpacking and putting away things in the kitchen, I said yes. There would be lots of time now that we were here to make our new place a home.

  “Feel like a burger?” I asked once we backed out and were driving into the center of town.

  “When will we see Honor?” Grace’s quick question came straight out of left field.

  The truth was I didn’t know. “How about we stop by and ask her to join us for lunch?”

  Grace’s quick reply of, “Yes,” was all I needed to know that my life was finally beginning to go in the direction it was supposed to.

  Pulling open the heavy door to the discreet entrance of the agency was not what I expected. It looked like any other massive apartment block on the edge of Laurelhurst. The room we walked into was a small waiting room, and the only door at the far end was locked.

  “How can I help you?” a polite but firm voice was loud in the small empty room, seeming to come down from the ceiling.

  “Grace Ford here for Ms. Powell.” I had always found that the people who acted like they had appointments were much more likely to be seen, or at least offered another time.

  Then everything was silent for so long that I was just about to tell Grace we should go.

  The door at the far end of the room buzzed and the voice from the ceiling said, “Come through, please.”

  I felt more nervous than I had for a long time. It was only a month since I was sure our attraction could grow into something more. I vowed to let Honor lead, at least for a while.

  Then there she was right in front of us.

  Grace ran and wrapped herself around Honor in a giant hug. I could faintly hear her say that she had missed Grace so much.

  Grace’s face popped up. “Then come to lunch with us. I have so much to tell you. But I am huuungry. So first, burgers.”

  I could read the hesitation in Honor. “Please join us. We never got to say goodbye, and I would like to thank you properly.” It wasn’t easy to see, but it looked like Honor may still have been favoring her injured arm.

  Honor insisted on driving herself the short distance to a quiet local burger joint with a 1950’s theme.

  As her eyes met mine over Grace’s head, I realized that I would desire this woman as long as I lived.

  Once we were seated in a corner booth with a huge basket of curly fries in front of us, Honor simply asked, “What are you two doing in Portland?”

  Grace stated excitedly, “We live here now! Dad sold the casino the day you got hurt, and so we’ve been looking for the perfect place. We bought a house, and I start school soon, but we are staying in Portland. I really want to show you my room. I think I want to paint it. But first, I need to choose the best color.”

  Honor looked at me. “Why Portland?”

  “I am not much for long-distance romance.” I shrugged. “I want to date you. See if what we have can grow.”

  Our burgers arrived and we both let Grace lead the conversation onto safer topics.

  After a relaxed lunch as we walked Honor back to her car, Grace saved me the pain of being rejected by asking her to come to our house for dinner. When she heard our address, she couldn’t stop laughing. “Well, I better get my visits in now, before I can’t get near your place at Christmas.”

  “That’s okay,” Grace said wisely. “We can come to you.”

  And just like that, the two people I wanted to be with more than anything, each took one of my hands in theirs and all was right in my world.

  The End.

  The story will continue late 2020.

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  Siren Security Series is coming soon!

  No Warning - Book 1

  Shots Fired - Book 2

  Lines Drawn – Book 3

  Strings Attached – Book 4

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  About the Author

  Sam St James is a kiwi who grew up and went to college in the Pacific Northwest.

  Reading has always been her sanctuary, often taking books everywhere and reading every chance she got.

  Sam St James started writing romance for her friends at school, turning her friends and their awkward crushes into saucy flirtations and swoon-worthy stories passed between classes.

  Career highlights so far are connecting with readers and receiving an award for writing ‘Devastatingly Sensual Sex Scenes.’

  When she is not writing she can often be found dancing in the kitchen. With her children.

  Altered Perception

  H.J. Marshall

  To the wild side of everyone. Embrace the adventure, it’s always worth it in the end.

  Synopsis

  Alex gained a reputation in Las Vegas as the illustrious Mistress Alexandria and had built Club Perception to be the most sought-after adult club in the city. Surrounded by affection, deep down, Alex is isolated and allows herself a moment to be carefree, hoping to push the loneliness away.

  Gideon ventured to Las Vegas, looking to make his mark on the city, and had quickly made a name for himself. Hiding his family connections, he focuses on opening the hottest new casino on the Strip. This should be his only motivation but one night with a mystery woman changed his entire world.

  When these two damaged people meet, sparks fly and passions rise, but both have secrets that Sin City refuses to let stay buried. When truths begin to unravel, can these two come out winners or will they roll snake eyes?

  Prologue

  Alexandria

  With each thrust of his hips, I felt another piece of my facade drop away, stripping me bare to my soul. He stared deeply into my eyes, his hand pressing against my throat as he worked his thick cock deeper and deeper into me.

  “Fuck your pussy feels amazing.” He purred, licking his thumb and bringing it down to my clit.

  My back bowed off the bed the moment he pressed against me, every nerve ending firing with electricity as I came harder than I ever had before. He smirked down at me and winked. On a normal day, I wouldn’t tolerate his cocky attitude, but tonight, his dominance was driving me insane with need.

  Withdrawing his thic
kness from my quivering pussy, he flipped my legs to one side and smacked my ass. “Get on all fours, baby. I want to see that ass shake while I’m riding you.”

  I closed my eyes briefly before connecting my gaze with his emerald green eyes. He licked his lips and I assumed the position in front of him. I felt him place a knee on the outside of each leg, pushing my knees together as he ran the thick head of his cock against my wet lips. Gripping one hand in my thick black hair, he yanked my head back just as he slipped his cock into me, both of us moaning a deep groan into the room.

  “Oh! Oh!” I chanted with each slap of his hips against my ass.

  His grip on my hair relaxed and I let my head fall to the bed as he powered faster into me. Strong hands held my hips as he grunted behind me, his thick cock splitting me open. My pussy began to flutter, and I reached my hand between my legs, rubbing my sensitive clit. Chills broke out across my sweaty skin when his hand joined mine, pressing against my clit as my walls squeezed him tighter and tighter.

  “Cum on my cock.” He ordered and I felt the dam explode deep inside of me.

  My vision grew hazy as my world splintered into a million pieces, scattering into the universe. I felt him grow thicker inside me as he pressed himself as deep as he could. Warmth filled the condom he was wearing and for a moment, I wished he was filling me with his cum. A flash of the last time that happened, and the consequences of that fateful decision, filled me with remorse before I shook off the heavy feelings.