Landing the Big Ones [Hedon Falls] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Michelle Graham

  Liam tackled Jenna and knocked her down. When they fell, the gun flew out of her hand and it slid across the floor. Liam saw James jump out from behind the counter and pick it up, turning it on Jenna. Liam crawled over to where Lance lay, his blood now staining the water that surrounded him.

  “Lance!” Liam cried. He knelt next to his brother, ignoring the water soaking into his jeans and the shards of glass digging into his legs. He stared down at Lance and felt completely helpless. He didn’t know what to do. Should he move him? Or lift his shirt and try to see where the blood was coming from?

  “Lance, I don’t know what to do!” he cried.

  “Liam,” Lance whispered, and then coughed.

  “Don’t talk,” Liam said. “Just keep still.”

  “Love you,” Lance whispered, more quietly this time.

  Liam’s hand shook uncontrollably as his panic mounted. He felt as though he was on the verge of hysterics. “Don’t!” he shouted. “It’s going to be okay. Everything will be fine!”

  “Tell…Serena,” Lance gasped. “Tell her…I…love…” His eyes fluttered closed.

  “Lance!” Liam howled. “Lance! Wake up! Don’t leave me! Lance!” He reached down and shook his brother’s shoulders. “Wake up, dammit! You need to wake up!”

  He felt hands on his arms, pulling him away. “No!” he yelled. “Let me stay!” He watched two men in uniforms kneel beside Lance and begin examining him. But before he could see anything more, the hands moved him away and pulled him into the office behind the counter. He was shaking badly now, beside himself with worry. “Let me go back!” he cried. “I need to be with him!”

  “We’ll take you to the hospital in a minute,” said a police officer in front of him. “We just need to ask you a few questions before we go.”

  “Okay,” Liam replied. “But please hurry. My brother—”

  He couldn’t continue.

  * * * *

  Serena jumped when her phone rang. She had been concentrating on writing the copy for the Daltons’ print ads. She glanced at the display. It was Liam. She debated answering or letting it go through to her voicemail. She wasn’t sure where they stood right now, but she decided that she was being a coward and picked up the phone.

  “Serena!” Liam’s voice was harsh and loud. He continued speaking but his words were unintelligible.

  “Liam, slow down,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

  “Lance,” Liam choked out. “Jenna…she came to the store with a gun…Lance tried to stop her.”

  Serena gasped, shock gripping her like a tight band around her chest. “What? What happened?”

  “She shot him,” Liam sobbed.

  No! Serena thought as pain sliced through her. “Is he…”

  “We’re on the way to the hospital,” Liam said. “Serena, please. You have to come. I need you! I can’t…”

  “Okay, Liam,” she said softly, the tears beginning to flow now. The raw anguish in his voice made her heart ache. “I’ll meet you there.”

  “I love you,” he said. “Lance does, too.”

  The call disconnected, and Serena burst into long, loud sobs. This couldn’t really be happening!

  Chapter 14

  Serena needed to get to the hospital but didn’t trust herself to drive. Her fingers were shaking as she dialled Lisa’s number.

  “Lisa,” Serena began, but couldn’t continue.

  “Oh my God, Serena! What’s wrong?”

  “It’s…it’s…” She gasped. “Oh, God!”

  “Serena, honey,” Lisa said. “Can you text me instead?”

  “Okay,” Serena whispered and hung up. She took out her cell phone and managed to get a brief message sent, despite the trembling in her hands. A second later, her phone beeped with a text from Lisa.

  On my way.

  Serena grabbed her purse and went to the front door of the building. She paced back and forth as she waited, unable to keep still. Lance had been shot. It was unreal. And Jenna did it? Serena was confused and upset. If she had still had doubts about her feelings, they were erased now. All she could think about was that Lance could die and she had never told him she loved him.

  Lisa pulled up in front of the building and Serena ran out to hop in the passenger seat. Lisa leaned over and gave her a tight hug as Serena sobbed against her shoulder.

  “Lisa, I love him. I know I do. What if I don’t get to tell him?”

  “I’ll get you there,” Lisa said. “It’ll be okay.”

  They parted and Lisa began driving toward the hospital as quickly as she could. “What happened?” she asked.

  “I don’t know really,” Serena said. “Liam said his wife came in with a gun and shot Lance.”

  “The fucking bitch!” Lisa exclaimed.

  “Yeah,” Serena said. “Listen, Sam will be home soon—”

  “Don’t worry,” Lisa reassured her. “I’ll go back for him. You just worry about Lance. I’ll come get you whenever you need me to.”

  “Thank you, Lisa. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  They pulled up at the hospital. An ambulance was parked in front of the emergency doors, its lights still flashing and a police car parked behind it. Serena thanked Lisa again and ran to the entrance. She looked around as she passed through the sliding doors.

  “Serena!”

  She looked up and saw Liam hurrying toward her. His jeans were soaked from the knee down and had blood stains in them. His hair was dishevelled and his eyes were wide and panicky. “Liam!”

  He threw his arms around her and hoisted her off the floor, crushing her to him. He buried his face in her hair, and his body shook with silent sobs. She put her arms around him, and they held each other for a few minutes.

  “Where is he?” Serena finally whispered.

  “The doctors have him back there.” Liam gestured toward the doors that led deeper into the ward. “We only got here ten minutes ago. They’ll come out and tell me when…when they have news.”

  “Let’s sit down,” Serena said. They found chairs side by side in the corner of the waiting room. Liam put his arm around her shoulders and she cuddled into him. They said nothing.

  Another ten minutes passed before a doctor came through the doors and over to where they sat.

  “Mr. Dalton?”

  Liam and Serena jumped to their feet. “What’s going on?” Liam demanded. “How is he?”

  “He’s stable for now, but he needs surgery right away,” the doctor said. “They’re taking him up now. There’s a waiting room up there if you prefer.”

  “How long will the surgery take?” Liam asked.

  “Probably a couple of hours, though that will depend on what they find when they get him in there.”

  “Will he be okay?” Liam’s voice was barely a whisper.

  “Paramedics were on scene right away and he got here quickly. I can’t make promises, but I think he’s got a decent chance.”

  Liam shook the doctor’s hand and then led Serena to the elevators. They rode to the fourth-floor surgical ward. When they got off, they went to the nurses’ station.

  “My brother is in surgery,” Liam said. “The emergency doctor said we could wait here.”

  The ward clerk directed them to a large room where a half-dozen other people sat waiting. They selected seats in the corner again, as far from anyone else as they could get. Liam pulled Serena in against him. She slid her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. He nuzzled her hair and she closed her eyes to enjoy the feel of him. She had missed him so much.

  “What happened, Liam?” she asked quietly.

  He took a shuddering breath. “I was in the back,” he said. “I heard shouting and then a shot. She hit the moray tank and the glass shattered. When I heard that, I ran out and saw her.” He stopped and took another deep breath. “She was saying something about you.”

  “Me?” Serena said. “But I’ve never met her.”

  “She found out about us.
She said—”

  “What?”

  “She said that she wouldn’t let you have me,” he finished softly. “She started turning toward me, and Lance—” He choked off again. A few more deep breaths and he was ready to continue. “He grabbed her arm and they struggled and…”

  Serena closed her eyes as the tears began again. She squeezed Liam tightly and he squeezed back.

  “Before he passed out, he told me to tell you that he loves you,” Liam whispered.

  Serena’s sobs grew louder and shook her whole body. Liam held her tightly, murmuring in her ear and stroking her hair. When she had settled down a bit he said, “I love you, too.”

  She looked up at him, his brown eyes now looking tired and bloodshot. “I love you,” she said. “I love you both.”

  He lowered his mouth to hers, and their kiss was soft, sweet, and tender. They sat holding each other for a very long time, the waiting agonising. Serena kept thinking about it all. Lance was shot. Jenna had the gun. She meant to kill Liam. Serena didn’t know what she’d do if she lost one of them. It had been an exercise in futility to try to keep away from them. But it was because of her that Lance was nearly killed and Liam was a target.

  “Liam, how did she find out about me?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. The police took her, and she’s going to be locked up for a long time.”

  “But what if she gets out on bail in the meantime?” Serena whispered, and Liam tensed. He pulled out his phone and dialled a number.

  “Mark, it’s Liam,” he said and paused. “Not good actually…Jenna went nuts and came into the store with a gun…I should’ve figured you would already know about it…We’re waiting to find out…I’m just worried about what happens if she’s released on bail…Yeah…no…That sounds good…Okay, keep me posted.”

  “What was that about?” Serena asked.

  “One of my buddies from high school runs a security company,” Liam explained. “They do alarms and surveillance but also personal guarding.”

  “He’s a bodyguard?”

  “Sort of. We know that Jenna is the threat, so he’s going to watch her instead. It makes more sense.”

  “Okay,” Serena said. She leaned against him again, and they waited quietly. Finally, a doctor approached them.

  “Mr. Dalton?”

  Déjà vu, thought Serena as they stood up to hear the news.

  “Your brother is in recovery,” the doctor said. “He’s stable, but he has a lot of internal damage, including a perforated lung. He’s not out of the woods, and complete recovery will take time.”

  “When can we see him?” asked Liam.

  “They’ll take him to intensive care shortly,” said the doctor. “There’s a small waiting room there, and they’ll let you know when you can see him.”

  Liam shook the doctor’s hand and thanked him. Serena followed him back to the elevator. The ride to the ICU was short, and when they got there, another clerk directed them to the small waiting room. It had only a few chairs and was deserted. Serena sat and watched Liam pacing. It was making her more nervous than she had been. Finally, unable to stand it anymore, she stood and grabbed his arms. She forced him to look at her.

  “Liam!” she said. “Stand still! You’re making me dizzy.”

  “I can’t help it,” he said. “I just need to see him and make sure he’s okay.”

  Serena reached up and stroked his cheek. “I know.”

  He looked into her eyes, and she saw a barely contained panic in them. “I can’t lose him,” he whispered. “Not after Mom and Dad. I don’t know what I’d do if he…” His voice choked up again, and tears began to leak from the corners of his eyes. Serena gently wiped them away and held him.

  Suddenly, he grabbed her face between his hands and his mouth came down hard against hers, their lips crushed together. Surprised at first, Serena was soon responding, her tongue thrusting against his. Heat licked through her, the need for him violently reawakening. He nipped at her ears and neck as his hands kneaded her breasts. She moaned softly at the intense sensations.

  “God, Serena,” he groaned, pressing his erection against her. “I need you. I need you so much!”

  His hands pulled at her shirt and she at his, hands searching for bare skin. She ran her hands up his back, gripping his muscled shoulders. He slipped a hand under the waistband of her pants to squeeze her ass. She cried out when his other hand brushed her nipples.

  “Liam!” she gasped. “Oh my God, Liam!” Her hands felt his belt buckle and quickly undid his pants, reached in and stroked his cock.

  “Fuck,” he growled against her ear. “I love you. I need you so bad, Serena. Please, don’t ever leave me.”

  “No, Liam,” she whispered. “I won’t.”

  He kissed her again and pushed her up against the closed door, his mouth leaving a trail of fire on her neck and collar bone. He pushed her pants down and stroked her pussy insistently, his fingers rapidly thrusting in and out of her. She gasped, grinding down against his hand. She wanted him so badly. Her head was spinning in a haze of lust. She moaned a protest when he withdrew his fingers, but he grabbed her ass with both hands and lifted her up, burying himself inside her. She cried out as he kept still for a moment, a shudder running through his body. Their lips met again, and he was moving, pounding into her, his relentless rhythm leaving her gasping for breath. It didn’t take long before she felt the orgasm taking hold. She buried her face against his neck and screamed against him as she came, her pussy clenching around his cock. He shuddered again and she felt his hot cum spurting into her.

  “I love you,” he said and kissed her again. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too,” she whispered.

  He carefully withdrew and let her down. She scooped up her pants and hastily pulled them back on while Liam rearranged his own clothes. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap, holding her close. Barely a minute later, the door opened.

  “Mr. Dalton, you can follow me,” said the nurse.

  “That was close,” Serena whispered as they stood. She wondered if they would’ve heard the sound of Liam pounding her against the door and blushed when she realized they probably had. It suddenly occurred to her that the waiting room may have a security camera and she glanced up at the ceiling. She looked all around and didn’t see anything. Relief that there was no video of their tryst flooded through her.

  They followed the nurse to a room. Inside, Lance lay on the bed, surrounded by machines. One tube ran into his nose and another into his arm. He was extremely pale and seemed much smaller. Liam and Serena moved up to stand beside him. Seeing him like that was too much for Serena, and she burst into tears. She turned and leaned against Liam, sobbing uncontrollably against his chest.

  “I’m sorry!” she wailed. “I’m so sorry! This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been with you!”

  “Don’t be stupid, Serena,” Liam said as he stroked her hair. “It’s not your fault she’s unbalanced. It’s not your fault she chose to act out this way. She’s sick. If it hadn’t been this, there would’ve been something else to set her off eventually. Please don’t blame yourself.”

  They stood there like that, Liam stroking her hair and back while her sobs slowly calmed to the occasional sniffle. A nurse came in with an extra chair, and they both sat down, holding hands and waiting.

  Serena had no idea how much time had passed before they heard a soft moan and rustling from the bed. They jumped up and looked. Lance was moving his head. His eyes opened a crack, and he blinked. He looked up at them, and a wan smile came to his lips.

  “Hi,” he said hoarsely.

  Serena burst into tears again. She took Lance’s hand and kissed his fingers. “I love you,” she sobbed.

  His smile broadened. “Too bad—” He coughed and then tried again. “Too bad I had to get shot before you said it.”

  Serena wailed harder. “I’m sorry!”

  “Thanks, Lance,” Liam
said as he hugged Serena. “She feels bad enough as it is.”

  Serena felt Lance’s fingers tighten on hers, and she looked back down.

  “Just teasing,” he said softly. “I love you, too.”

  She leaned down and kissed him softly. “I’m sorry for not realizing how much I needed to be with you. I was an idiot.”

  “Don’t say that,” he said. “It’s okay.”

  Another nurse came in then and approached the bed. “Glad to see you awake, Mr. Dalton,” she said. She checked the machines and examined Lance’s eyes for a moment. “I’m Anna and I’ll be your nurse until this evening.”

  “Hi, Anna,” Lance whispered.

  She smiled at him. “I’m going to send your brother and his girlfriend home now,” she said, holding up a hand when Liam opened his mouth to protest. “Lance needs rest, and it’s hard on you two to be sitting here, listening to the machines beeping. We have your contact info, so we can call if there’s any change. You can come back tomorrow morning.”

  Liam tried to insist, but the nurse shooed him out. They said good-bye to Lance and left. They walked in silence out to the big, black SUV. Before they got in, Liam pulled Serena into his arms. He kissed her softly, and she snuggled against him, loving the feel of his arms around her.

  “Can I stay with you tonight?” he asked. “I can’t bear the thought of going back to my house with Lance not there.”

  “You can stay.”

  He kissed her again. “Thank you.”

  Chapter 15

  When they arrived at Serena’s apartment, they found a note from Lisa saying she had taken Sam to her place and that he could stay with her for a few days. Serena called her with an update and spoke to Sam.

  “Mom, is Lance going to die?” he asked, his voice trembling.

  Serena had to fight not to cry again. “Probably not,” she told him. “But we don’t know for sure, so we have to keep hoping and praying for him.”