by Avery Flynn
Taz shoved the other man's unconscious body off his. Pain ricocheted through him as he stood up, but not enough to block out the sounds of Amelia and Bianca fighting.
They were across the room, going toe-to-toe. Bianca was good, but the other woman had a longer arm span and no doubt years of hard-scrabble fighting on her side. She slammed her hard elbow against Bianca's cheekbone, sending her tumbling back and away from the gun that lay on the floor between them. Nothing stood between Amelia and the gun.
He didn't have time to think—not that he needed to. As soon as she secured the gun, Bianca was dead. There had been only one choice.
He dove toward Bianca, putting his body between her and Amelia.
A shot.
Fire burrowed through his shoulder, a white-hot lightning flash of pain that turned the world dark. But he wouldn't let it. He crashed to the floor, blood running down his arm.
Bianca scrambled to her feet and leapfrogged over him, smashing into Amelia and taking her to the ground. She pried the gun from the other woman's hands and trained it on Amelia, her arms steady and her aim sure. In her head-to-toe black, her lip bleeding and more than a few bruises already starting to form, she didn't just look like Ft. Worth's avenging angel—she was that and so much more.
He might not be able to handle it if anything ever happened to her, but he loved her too much to stand in her way. This was the life she'd chosen, the one she was determined to make happen. Looking at her right then, he knew in his bones that he would do whatever it took to help her accomplish her dreams. The city needed her just as much as he did.
"On your knees," Bianca said. "Hands behind your head, fingers laced."
Her shoulders slumped in defeat, Amelia complied.
"Are you okay?" Bianca asked, keeping her gaze trained on the other woman.
He twisted and glanced down at his shoulder. It hurt like a son of a bitch, but the hole torn into the back of his shirt showed the bullet had exited. "I'll live."
She pivoted her stance so she could easily fire off a shot toward Amelia, on her knees, or Oliver, still unconscious across the room. "That's more than can be said for these two."
Amelia jerked her head up, her eyes wide with fear. "Don't shoot."
"Give me one good reason," Bianca said.
Taz curled into a sitting position, his broken nose and bleeding shoulder protesting every millimeter of movement, so he could watch the women. Bianca wasn't about to go assassin on him, even if he wouldn't blame her if she did. It wasn't in her make up, but Amelia didn't know that.
"Your friend." The words rushed out. "I don't know where she is, but I do know some things that may help you find her. They postponed delivery of Genie's Wish, but the testing sessions are still going on. They took her last night, during the party. That's why we had to leave you."
It could be the truth. It could be bullshit to placate the woman holding a gun on her. Still, even if only ten percent was the truth, it was more than they had before, and judging by what she'd said once Oliver showed up with his nine millimeter, she had information to share.
"You said they were targeting Bianca and the women she went to school with. Why?" he asked, ignoring the pain making his body throb with every inhaled breath.
The distinctive blare of law enforcement sirens sounded outside. Vivi promised ten minutes if things went wrong and she hadn't been lying. They'd be here any second.
"I don't know," Amelia cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Get the girls from St. Bernadette's is all he said."
"Who's he?" Bianca asked.
A gunshot boomed in the tiny room.
Amelia went down, a small hole right between her eyes.
Bianca whipped around, her aim true.
"Get down!" Ignoring his own injuries, Taz jumped up, more than ready to take another bullet for Bianca if that's what needed to be done.
Oliver struggled to sit up as blood rushed from the gash slicing his temple. One leg of his pants was pulled up, revealing an ankle holster. He held a small two-shot pistol against his own head.
"We'd die no matter what. At least this way, it'll be fast." He pulled the trigger.
Another loud bang and he crumpled to the floor.
The door flew open. A group of men and one very short woman rushed into the room. Someone yelled, "Federal agents."
Keeping her movements deliberate, Bianca held up her free hand as she squatted down and laid the gun she'd gotten from Amelia on the floor, then stood up again. Standing beside her, Taz lifted his right hand since his left arm was too busy bleeding to cooperate.
"They're friendlies." Vivi kicked the gun away from what was left of Oliver, then gave them both an assessing look before guiding them through the throng of agents out into the hall. "Are you okay? You look like shit."
As if the words were a reminder to his body, the pain crashed into him. He tightened his grip on Bianca's hand but kept his face neutral. After the number of years he'd spent in the ring, he'd learned to deal with pain and get past it. "It was a through and through. I'm fine."
"You sit." Vivi pointed to the nearby bench and clicked on the mic hooked to her Kevlar vest, walking across to stand in the doorway to the room where the agents where taping off the crime scene. "We need a paramedic in here. Gunshot wound to the shoulder, moderate bleeding. Patient alert and a confirmed pain in the ass."
"Yeah, but you're my pain in the ass." Bianca sat down next to him on his uninjured side, her presence doing almost as much as a shot of painkillers to make his world better.
"You know I meant what I said on the stairs outside." Ignoring the hot jolt of pain searing his shoulder, he picked up her hand and kissed the love line dancing across her palm. "I took a bullet for you, Kitten. You better believe I love you."
She sat back. Tears made her eyes glisten but there wasn't an ounce of sadness in them. "And I'd take one for you."
He grinned. He couldn't help himself. Falling in love with Bianca really was the best win he'd ever have. "I'm going to translate that to mean you love me too."
She rolled her eyes. "You're so bossy."
He dipped his head for a kiss. "Just the way you like me."
"No." She met him halfway and brushed her lips across his, a hint of things to come and a promise for the future. "Just the way I love you."
CHAPTER TEN
Bianca almost caught a flash of something through the open spaces between her fingers before Taz put his own hand over hers, effectively creating a human blindfold. After two weeks of watching contractors tromp up to the Devil's Dip Gym's second floor to transform a small corner of the expansive space into her office, she was more than ready for the big—even if it was technically little—reveal.
"I said no peeking," he said, as he pulled her snug against him so her ass was pressed against his rock hard thighs.
The contact sent her body spiraling down familiar territory. Hard nipples? Check. Weak knees? Check. An overwhelming urge to climb him like a jungle gym and ride him until they were both hot, sweaty, and satisfied? Oh, hell yes. In the past three months they'd been insatiable and it hadn't made a damn bit of difference. Every time he walked into the room, her heart went into overdrive. And the rest of her? Well, it went soft, wet, and needy.
"Are you ready?"
In more ways than one. "Yes."
Taz took his hand away from her eyes. She dropped her own and then she lost her ability to be a smartass. The formerly empty entire second floor of the Devil's Dip Gym had been transformed. The vast open space filled with cobwebs, random boxes, and dust was gone, replaced with five large glass-walled offices and a central lobby area. A large window behind a receptionist's desk looked out onto the gym below. A single framed piece of paper was on the wall to her right—her brand-spanking new State of Texas private investigation and security contractor license that she'd gotten the same day she'd gotten her business phone number and set up the company website.
"All of this is mine?" She couldn't keep the excited
catch out of her voice.
"Yep." Taz wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed the top of her head. "The entire second floor is yours. The only thing above you is our place."
"Our place?" Sure, she spent six nights out of seven there and had her own key, but it wasn't like she had officially moved in.
His laugh rumbled in his chest. "You did take over three-fourths of the closet."
"It's a small closet." Walking out of his hold, she did a quick spin to take in her new space.
"It's a walk-in the size of Rhode Island," he teased.
Sending him a flirty look, she sat down on the edge of the receptionist's desk, making sure that when she crossed her legs her skirt hem crept dangerously high on her upper thigh. "Isn't that just like a man to exaggerate the size of something?"
Something dark and possessive glimmered in his eyes as he stalked over to her, every inch of him predatory, hot and too wild to ever be tamed—which was good because she had no intention of trying. He was a fighter, her fighter, and together they'd always fight for each other. By the time he'd stopped in front of her, the rest of the world had ceased spinning because the only thing that mattered was the man in front of her. The one she loved and who loved her back.
"Kitten..." His gaze fell to her parted lips as he uncrossed her legs, stepped between them and dipped his head so his lips practically touched hers. "You know I don't exaggerate when it comes to size."
Then his mouth was on hers and his hands were on her hips, pulling her to him so she could feel for herself just how he didn't embellish the size of some things—not even a single solitary inch in length or diameter. More than ready to christen the office of her yet-unnamed company, she squeezed her hands between their bodies and went straight for his zipper. She had it halfway down before he broke the kiss and stepped back, leaving her gasping for breath and hungry for more of him.
No doubt knowing exactly what kind of damage he'd just done to her panties, Taz grinned and pulled a small stack of small, rectangular cards from his pocket. "Now are you ready for the surprise?"
"This isn't it?" she asked, trying to process the jarring change from hot, take-me-on-the-desk-now making out to what sure looked like business cards in his hand.
"Nope." He handed her the cards. "This is."
BIANCA SUTHERLAND, FOUNDER AND CEO, B-SQUAD SECURITY AND INVESTIGATIONS.
Underneath were business cards for Vivi, Lexie, and Elisa—a former DEA agent, a computer expert, and a thief. She'd gotten the band from St. B's back together—except for Gidget, whose disappearance haunted Bianca. They'd find her. They'd spent the last three months looking and she wasn't about to give up on Gidget or figuring out who was behind Genie's Wish and why they were focused on the girls from St. B's.
She clamped her jaw tight to try to stop the tremble of her chin that always preceded tears. But, unlike when she'd been eleven years old and on that flight to St. Bernadette's, these weren't tears because she was scared about what was coming next. It was because she couldn't wait for what was next—with the business, with her friends, and with Taz. The Sutherland family she'd been born into wouldn't understand, but the one she'd created always would.
Sucking in a deep, calming breath, she read the card again. "The B-Squad?"
Taz brushed a thumb across her check, wiping away the tear she hadn't been able to stop. "You all survived St. B's and you were in the B squad dorms together. I figured it fit."
"Everyone will think it's for the Bitch Squad, which still totally works." Laughter bubbled up inside her, spilling out. It was a little sad, a little happy, and a lot oh-my-God-this-is-awesomely-nuts excited. "We're really going to do this."
"What do you mean going to? You're already working your first case. You'll find her. I know you will." He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers.
No doubt, he'd meant to be reassuring, but it still left her half-stupid with lust. "Damn, I love the way you kiss."
Another soft, too-brief kiss. "And I love you, Kitten."
Her heart hiccuped. "Love you too."
The phone on the receptionist's desk rang, the foreign sound echoing in the carnivorous space.
"You gonna answer it?" Taz asked. "There are underdogs out there who need you."
Her hand hovered over the phone and she hesitated, nerves keeping a solid two inches between her palm and the receiver. This was it. She'd walked into the Devil's Dip Gym almost a year ago determined to change her life and make a difference in the world. Now she really was, and best of all, she was doing it with Taz and her created family by her side. It didn't get any better than this.
Grinning, Bianca hit the speakerphone button. "B-Squad Security and Investigations. We're here to help."
"B? It's Gidget." Her panic came through loud and clear even over the snap, crackle, and pop of the shitty phone connection. "I got out, but they're close. Please, you've got—"
The line went dead.
For half a second all Bianca could do was stare at the now silent phone. Then her fingers sped across the number pad.
Lexie picked up on the first ring. "What's up, B?"
"Can you track down the phone that just called this number?" Her voice shook with excitement as she looked up at Taz and saw the same hell-yeah look that had to be plastered across her face.
"Do really hot shoes make your feet hurt like hell?" Lexie deadpanned.
"It's Gidget." It was the break they'd been waiting for. Finally. "She made contact but the phone cut out."
"I'm on it." Lexie hung up without a good-bye.
Bianca didn't care about polite sign-offs. What mattered was finding Gidget.
Taz's arms were around her before she'd finished processing what had just happened. "Don't worry, you'll find her."
"Yes." Bianca firmed her shoulders as she faced the man she loved, the one who would always be at her side. For all the I'm-only-in-it-for-myself image he'd projected, she knew better now. He was in it with her. "We will."
"So what am I, B-Squad adjacent?" he asked as he tucked an errant wave behind her ear, adding a dash of desire to the adrenaline pumping through her system.
"Pretty much," she said with as much sass as she could when he looked at her that way. "So what do you say? Are you in?"
"Kitten..." His eyes darkened as he dipped his head and kissed her. It wasn't soft. It wasn't sweet. It was exactly what she needed. He was exactly what she needed. "I always say yes to you."
* * * *
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