Locke and Load

by Donna Michaels

  It had been so long, so damn long since he’d opened up like that to her, and dammit, she hadn’t been ready to give that up. Hadn’t been ready to open her eyes and break that magic.

  But they fluttered now, so she didn’t fight it. The sound of beeps and muffled voices filtered through her brain as her vision cleared and a myriad of wires and tubes met her gaze.

  And Cage.

  He was sitting in a chair pulled up against the bed she was on. Shoulders slumped, head down, resting on her hand that he held, he looked so dejected it broke her heart. She tried to lift her other hand to touch his hair, but pain shot through her chest and stole her breath. Her eyes fluttered closed and she rode out the wave of pain.

  The sound of the beeping changed, and she could feel him stiffen and squeeze her hand.

  “Nikki? Nikki? Open your eyes,” he ordered. “Come on, baby. Come back to me. You can do it.”

  Back to him? She’d never left him. Not really. She had always been his. And she tried to tell him, but there was something in her dry throat preventing it. And dammit, now she couldn’t reopen her eyes. She was so tired.

  “Nikki? I love you. Come on, baby.”

  Unable to get her eyes open again, she concentrated all her strength and managed to squeeze his hand to let him know she heard him. And loved him.

  Then fell back into that wonderful, warm dream.

  Sometime later, when she opened her eyes again, Cage was still there, holding her hand, kissing her knuckles.

  “It’s okay. I got you. You’re in the hospital. Rest up. Get strong. I’m not going anywhere.”

  This happened several times, at all hours of the day and night—at least she thought it did. It was tough equating what was a dream and what was real, but either way, Cage was always there.

  Except this time.

  She blinked her eyes, and the room came into focus. A different room. With less wires and beeps…and her throat was clear. Still dry, but no blockage.

  Had she been in this one the whole time? Was the other room and Cage just part of her dreams?

  Disappointment and pain mixed with the physical throbbing already in her chest.

  “Nikki? Hey, you.”

  She turned her head toward her friend’s voice and found the woman smiling a wavering smile.

  “Lisa?”

  “Yeah, TJ and I came as soon as we heard,” she replied, sitting in a chair by the hospital bed. Sam stood behind her, relief easing his tight mouth into a smile.

  Hospital?

  She blinked again. That’s right. She was in the hospital because…?

  Everything came flooding back.

  The warehouse. The shooting.

  “Cage?” She glanced around at the other faces moving closer to the bed.

  Knight, TJ, and Brooke.

  “He’s fine,” her friend reassured with a squeeze to her fingers, careful of the IV. “Poor guy has been here non-stop for three days.”

  She’d been out for three days?

  “Yeah, I thought he was going to take the nurse’s head off when she suggested he get his arms tended,” TJ said with a grin. “It took Sam and bossman, and his boss, to persuade him.”

  He was here. He hadn’t been a dream.

  Did this mean he’d changed his mind?

  He’d told her they were done. That he couldn’t look at her without feeling guilty.

  Hope sparked and tried to take root in her heart, but she blew out a breath and held it at bay. He probably wanted to make sure he didn’t need to add her death to his guilt.

  She knew he loved her. Of that, there was no doubt. Just not enough to outweigh his guilt.

  Brooke pushed from the wall she’d been leaning on and unfolded her arms. “Your man’s down the hall visiting a Detective Hutchins, along with his cute partner and that other detective.”

  Her man?

  Another bout of hope fluttered through Nikki’s heart. Brooke was a woman of few words, but when she spoke, each word held merit. Did her astute friend witness something while she’d been unconscious?

  “You gave us quite a scare,” her boss said, moving closer to the bed. “Might want to make sure you have your Kevlar on before taking a bullet next time.”

  She laughed, then winced as pain pulled at her chest. “Yes, sir.”

  Her voice sounded hoarse and scraggly.

  “Here, drink this. Someone get the nurse.” Lisa’s anxious frown deepened as she held a cup with a straw to Nikki’s mouth. “I think we were supposed to tell her when you woke up.”

  Before she could tell them to wait, a nurse walked in and went about checking and probing.

  “I’ll tell the doctor you’re fully awake.” The pretty woman nodded, then glanced at the others. “Don’t stay too long. You’ll tire her out. She needs her rest.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Knight said, receiving a brilliant smile from the nurse in return…along with a lingering glance before she left the room.

  She caught Lisa’s eye-roll and managed her own smile. Must be tough having a hot father. Women of all ages were always throwing themselves at Knight. One time, she and Brooke had counted seven advances in one day.

  He had to be causing a stir here.

  She glanced at Brooke who was back to leaning against the wall. “How many does that make?”

  “Five so far today, and two of them were male.”

  Knight shifted his feet. “Okay, you’ve had your fun. I’d like to clear the air and apologize to you, Nikki.”

  “For what?”

  “For letting you down. Not finding out about Rojas’ escape sooner. Then we had a difference of opinion with Homeland. Sam and I came to blows with them.”

  “He means we ignored orders and rushed the warehouse,” the former SEAL clarified.

  The fury she’d seen on her boss’s face before she’d passed out made sense. “Let me guess, they wanted you to wait until Pryor had the anthrax out of the building.”

  “Yes.”

  “I can’t really blame them, sir,” she said. “What exactly did happen to the anthrax? And how the hell did Rojas get his hands on Cage?”

  “The anthrax was in a silver case in the back room at the warehouse. It’s now secured,” he answered. “And Rojas found Cage through his partner’s phone.”

  Her chest squeezed. “Delaney was on his payroll?”

  “No.” Sam shook his head. “They got the location when Wilson contacted Delaney with a phone they were monitoring. They tricked the detective into thinking he’d gotten free, but it was a set-up.”

  She closed her eyes and blew out a breath. That meant both Wilson and Hutchins had been shot because of her.

  “They were shot by Prochaska’s men,” Knight said, as if reading her mind.

  “Yeah,” TJ stepped closer. “I have the footage. Rojas’ men showed up a minute later, wiped out the Czechs, called 911, left Hutchins there, and took Wilson.”

  She rubbed at the dull throb in her head, grateful her stomach no longer knotted, but her chest hurt like a bitch.

  “And that is enough shop talk for now,” Lisa said. “Sam, go get the nurse back in here.”

  “No. I’m good,” she insisted, afraid the woman would give her a shot or put something in the IV to make her sleep. She wanted to be awake in case Cage returned.

  Sam headed for the door anyway. “Sorry, Nikki, I’m more afraid of my wife than you.”

  “Wuss,” Brooke muttered.

  “Hey!” Her friend frowned.

  Nikki smiled, bouncing her gaze between the two women, lingering on the one standing. She lifted her chin. “It’s over, right?”

  “Yes.” Brooke’s dark gaze bored into Nikki’s. “Rojas is dead.”

  She closed her eyes and exhaled long and slow, welcoming the discomfort in her chest. It meant she was alive. But the man who shot her was dead. The man who’d made her life a living hell for years could no longer hurt her or threaten Cage.

  Cage was safe.

  Sa
fe…

  God, she could hardly believe it. Never thought she’d ever feel the relief removing the stiffness from her body she hadn’t realized was there. Rigidity had become part of the norm because she’d been living in fear for so long. But no more.

  Never again.

  She opened her eyes and smiled at Brooke. “Thank you.” She had more to say, but her damn throat heated and she had to clear it to continue. “I feel like I can finally breathe.”

  Brooke nodded. There was no need to elaborate or get into specifics. The understanding in the woman’s dark eyes, along with a slice of envy, proved she knew exactly what Nikki had meant.

  Lisa squeezed her hand and regained her attention. “You have another visitor,” she said, motioning toward the door with her head.

  Expecting to see a nurse, Nikki sucked in a breath at the sight of Cage filling the doorway. His right eye was nearly swollen shut, temple and both arms sported bandages, and a purple bruise covered his jaw and cheek.

  He’d never looked so damn good.

  “You came back.” She smiled, unable to hold it in.

  “I never left,” he said, advancing to the other side of her bed.

  That’s when she noticed another chair with a pillow, and a hospital bag with his bloody shirt peeking out.

  She blinked up at him. “It wasn’t a dream. You really were here.”

  He nodded, sinking into the chair, reaching for her hand to bring it to his lips. His gaze was fierce with affection. “I’m never leaving your side again, Nikki.”

  The hope she’d been holding back, keeping at bay, flooded her being, soaking her heart and soul until her face was wet from the overflow.

  “I’m not leaving yours either.” She squeezed his hand tight.

  “But I’ve got to go,” TJ said, holding up his phone. “Seems my sister has found trouble again.”

  Knight straightened with a nod. “Okay. I’ll head back with you…”

  “Is Tarah okay?” she asked, unhappy to find she wasn’t in a position to help.

  The computer whiz nodded as Sam reentered the room. “Yeah, for now. She didn’t say much, just that she needed me, bossman, Sam, and Lisa to meet her back at headquarters.”

  “Who? Tarah?” Sam asked.

  “Yeah.”

  The former SEAL glanced down at her. “The nurse will be in soon.”

  Shoot. “Okay.”

  “Take it easy. Call me,” Lisa said, kissing her cheek, then moving so Sam, Brooke, and TJ could do the same before Knight stepped close.

  “I expect you to take several weeks to recuperate.” He touched her arm and nodded. “KA could use a few good agents down this neck of the woods.” His gaze bounced to Cage then back. “Something we can discuss when you’re up to it.”

  Cage…a Knight?

  “Yes, sir.” She liked the idea of him working with her for the agency.

  Just then, Delaney sauntered into the room carrying a big teddy bear and a handful of birthday balloons. He stopped as the others advanced. “Where’s everyone going?”

  “Come on, Jersey boy, I’ll buy you a drink,” Brooke said.

  Delaney’s face light up like a boardwalk pier at night. “Hold that thought.” He rushed over to the bed. “Hey, Nikki. So great to see you awake. I got you something soft to cuddle with, ‘cause my partner has a hard head. And some balloons. They were all out of the get well ones.” He thrust them at Cage, then bent to kiss her cheek. “Good to see you. Wow, look at the time. I’ve got to go.”

  She watched, amused as he hurried to catch up to Brooke, setting his hand on the small of her friend’s back.

  “So, beautiful tiger, what kind of drink are we talking? Hot? Cold? I know a place that serves both.”

  “I was thinking of one in my hotel room.”

  Delaney stumbled. “Your hotel room’s good. And, uh, if this drink is going to be in anyway strenuous, then please be gentle with me. I recently used my ribs to stop a few fists and one large boot.”

  A devilish gleam entered her friend’s dark eyes. “If you’re good, maybe I’ll kiss it for you.”

  Jersey cocked his head as they neared the door. “And if I’m bad?”

  “Then I’ll kiss other things, too.”

  “I ever tell you my nickname? It’s Brian Bad Delaney.”

  Nikki was still smiling as their voices faded down the hall.

  “She’s going to eat him alive.” Cage chuckled as he set the bear and balloons on the chair.

  “I get the impression that’s what he wants.”

  “And what about you, Nikki? What do you want?” He returned to her side, staring down at her, brushing back the hair at her temple, that fierce affection still blazing in his eyes. “Name it.”

  “You, Cage. Just you.”

  “You have me, Nikki. You’ve always had me.” He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her soft and tender, lingering, seeming reluctant to break the connection. “I love you,” he said against her lips. “Never stopped.”

  “I love you, too. Never stopped.”

  “I don’t suppose I can ask you to try not to protect me anymore?”

  “You’re my world. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe. I’m just so…so…sorry I hurt you. So sorry I had to make you think…”

  “Shh…” He brushed his thumb over her lip. “I’m the one who’s sorry. Every time I look at you, I’m reminded of what you did to save me. To keep me safe. I’m reminded of how much I failed you.”

  She sucked in a breath. “You didn’t fail me.”

  “Yes, I didn’t save you. I didn’t rescue you. Or stop that bastard from putting his hands on you and hurting you. I’m so damn sorry for that, Nikki. So damn sorry. And I won’t lie, I will never forgive myself. Ever. But when I look at you, I’m also reminded of how I almost lost you, of how destroyed I felt when you nearly died in my arms. That was so much worse. So much worse…” His voice trailed off, hoarse and raw with emotions that shook his body.

  She squeezed his hand. “But I didn’t. I’m right here. I’m okay.”

  “I know, and I am grateful, and I get it. I get why you did what you did. Because you couldn’t bear to lose me that way either.”

  She hiccupped and nodded. “Yes.”

  He really did get it. He did understand, and that made all the difference in the world. They really were going to be all right. Their carefree, innocent days were long gone. Too much had happened for them to recapture those days. But what they shared now was so much stronger and deeper.

  “I love you, Nikki, and hope you’ll let me put this back on,” he said, pulling something from his pocket.

  “My ring.” Tears spilled down her face as she remembered the pure joy she’d felt the first time he’d slipped his grandmother’s engagement ring on her finger, and how tight her chest had squeezed the day she’d had to give it back. “You still have it? Your ex-wife didn’t keep it?”

  He shook his head. “I never gave her this ring. There’s only one finger it belongs on, and that’s yours.”

  “Please put it back on.” She smiled as he shoved the beautiful diamond and sapphire ring on her finger. “I don’t think I could bear it if you’re not real, and this is all an illusion from my pain meds.”

  “It’s real. Very real,” he assured, brushing a tear from her face with his thumb. “As soon as you’re released from here, I’m taking you home to my home…our home, that is, if you’d be happy there.”

  “I’m happy wherever you are, Cage.” She squeezed his hand, wishing she had the strength to do more. “And I love your place.”

  “Our place,” he corrected, happiness returning to light his eyes a breathtaking green she hadn’t seen since she’d walked out on him.

  “Our place,” she repeated. “I can’t wait for you to take me there…especially in the outside shower against the fence.”

  He set his forehead to hers and choked out a breath. “Damn, woman.”

  “What? It’s true.” She g
rinned. “You started something out there and left me hanging.” Her heart was as light as the gleam in his eyes. It felt so good to tease. It’d been so long.

  “I think maybe I was the one left hanging.”

  She chuckled as much as the pain in her chest would allow. “Big time. Very big time. As soon as we’re medically cleared, I’m going to need you to close that case, Detective Burnett. Think you can do that?”

  “Oh, you know I can, Agent Locke,” he said, against her lips. “I’m going to lock it down. Tight. Big time.”

  “Mmm…I like big time. Tell me more.”

  He drew back slightly and held her gaze. “As long as you promise to close your eyes and rest.”

  She wanted to remind him that she always rested afterwards because he stole the strength from her legs, but he bent to nuzzle her neck and began to tell her slow, and in great detail, exactly why she needed to regain her strength.

  Nikki immediately shut her eyes and ordered her tingling body to heal. Faster.

  If you enjoyed LOCKE and Load, please consider leaving a review.

  Look for Lisa’s story Knight’s SEAL. The danger continues with Tarah’s story, Cowboy LAWE, Sharon’s story Rescued HARTE, Brooke’s story Hungry for JUSTICE, and Kenzie’s story Forbidden KNIGHT all coming soon in the

  Dangerous Curves Series.

  Visit Donna Michaels’ website and sign up for her Newsletter.

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  ****

  Next in the Dangerous Curves Series

  Cowboy LAWE

  (Coming Spring 2016)

  Dangerous Curves Series

  Curves aren’t the only reason these women are dangerous

  Visit my Dangerous Curves Series Page at my website www.donnamichaelsauthor.com for release information and updates!

  Knight’s SEAL-KW (#1)

  LOCKE and Load (#2)