Security Risk

by MEGAN MATTHEWS

  My life flashes before my eyes, the sorrow over small insignificant memories confusing. I expect sadness. Regret over never getting married or having children, but the images that play behind my closed eyes include missing Anessa’s bakery opening, family dinners with Ridge, and never waking up next to him again. There won’t be another opportunity to bury my head in his pillow or wake up lying on his chest. I’ve watched my last backward sunset, drank my last cup of coffee from one of his mugs, and I’ll never get the raspberry ice cream cone from Two Scoops Creamery. Pelican Bay held so much potential, but Benny’s going to snuff it out and he won’t even blink.

  “The fucking fridge.” Mario laughs, the sound scary. “The fridge, Benny.” He playfully slaps Benny on the arm with the back of his hand. His frightening laughter cuts off abruptly as his eyes narrow, his lips in a straight line cutting across his face. “Let her go.”

  The pressure on my neck releases as Benny steps away. Mario wastes no time his fist connecting with the side of my face in one punishing movement. My head flies to the left, knocking against the wall for a third time and I fall to the floor, breathing harshly through the pain and unable to keep myself standing. He kicks, his foot hitting me in the stomach and I roll into a ball hoping to stop any serious damage.

  “Watch her in case she gets anymore stupid ideas.” Mario points to Benny who smiles, happy with his job assignment. “Remind me to leave a note for her new boyfriend on the body before we leave. A thank you for when he visited me at home. I’m glad I had the chance to return the favor.”

  The refrigerator door opens and when it closes again, Mario’s holding the large blue and white coffee can. He flicks open the black plastic lid and grins at the contents.

  “Are they all there, boss?” Benny asks.

  Mario scoffs in annoyance. “I don’t know, dumbass. I need to figure out how to separate the coffee.” He searches through a few more cabinets, the banging of each door reverberating in my head like a drum line.

  “Perfect.” Mario closes another door and throws a small berry strainer in the sink. Black coffee grinds fall from the can as he shakes it over the strainer. One of the grinds shimmers in the sunlight, but falls before I get to see if it’s a diamond or not. When the strainer is full Mario shakes it back and forth, the loose grinds raining down in the sink base.

  “There’s my babies,” he speaks to the strainer while lightly shaking it. He dumps the rest of the can in the strainer and continues his shaking pattern. “Finish her off and then get me a bag to put these in.” Mario never once looks up from his precious gems while giving the order to kill me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Benny, however, can’t turn away. His dark eyes burn as he stalks me from above, a gun pointed in my direction. “How do we want to do this, Tabitha?” he asks, his grin one of nightmares.

  The gun clicks.

  I’m out of plans. Let’s be honest. I only had one plan, and it failed miserably. My indecision and regret fill the quiet room and I give up with a final gasp for air.

  The back door flies off its hinges and slams against the wall causing me to jump and recoil away in my tight ball. A loud crash and splintering of wood rings in my ears. There’s a pop and I freeze waiting for the pain of Benny’s bullet.

  It never comes.

  Benny’s smile falls, he takes a step back and then crumbles to the floor. A stream of red liquid from the side of his body pools in the cracks of the tile grout moving away from his body.

  “What the fuck?” Mario screams turning to me, the strainer full of diamonds held out in front of him.

  A thick black boot I’ve watched Ridge lace up every morning steps into the kitchen and surveys the surrounding mayhem. I sweep my eyes up his body, the dark jeans and shirt the same outfit he left in a few hours ago. Ridge’s head lowers, a frown marring his beautiful face, before he turns to face Mario. Ridge stands in front of me, a black gun held out the red laser sight pointed in the center of Mario’s chest.

  “Drop it,” Ridge says reaching out with his left hand to hit the blue button I’d failed to reach earlier.

  My ribs ache with my deep breath, the first real one since Mario stormed through my front door and I lean my back against the wall. The minutes tick away. Ridge doesn’t move, the gun still aimed at Mario’s chest as Mario screams out obscenities.

  Mario paces the small area in my kitchen, the strainer full of diamonds resting on the island. His eyes bounce between the strainer and the back door.

  “Try it, asshole. I want nothing more than probable cause to shoot you too,” Ridge grinds out.

  The pacing stops when Mario grabs on to the edge of the counter and leans forward, but he never takes a step closer.

  Sirens blare in the distance and my tears begin. This is over. It’s finally over. A swarm of men dressed in khaki colored uniforms stream in the house from the front door. They bark orders into the room. Ridge lowers his gun and sticks his hands in the air as a uniformed officer handcuffs him. A second one runs to Mario, slamming him against the refrigerator. I try to stand, to tell the police not to cuff Ridge, he saved me, but my cries are lost in the scratchiness of my bruised throat.

  “It’s okay, babe, procedure.” Ridge squats down next to me, a sweet smile on his face in the midst of the chaos. With his hands cuffed behind him, he’s unable to reach for me, but I grab his arm and squeeze. Proof he’s real.

  “Can we get a medic in here?” he shouts into the living room where a group of officers is gathered staring at the bleeding body on the kitchen floor.

  “Ambulance is on the way,” Law says, stepping into the kitchen. His dark colored suit is out of place against the uniformed men. He bends down and places two fingers against Benny’s throat. “Alive. Barely, but alive.”

  “Promise me you’ll watch her.” Ridge stands facing off against Law.

  “I’ve got her.” Law pats Ridge on the shoulder. “Nice shot, man. Good to see you haven’t lost your touch.”

  “Bennett?” I ask no one in particular.

  Law frowns and takes a step closer. “They found him outside by his truck. Nonresponsive, but breathing.”

  I choke back a cry, my hand massaging my throat.

  “Bennett’s a strong guy. He’ll be okay,” Ridge promises me. Law grabs him by the arm and jerks him toward the living room. Ridge steps over Benny’s body, but stops before crossing the threshold. “I’ll be right back, okay? Let the EMT check you over, but then we’re going home together.”

  I nod, too choked up to respond verbally. The room shakes. I hold a hand out in front of me and notice the tremors are coming from me.

  A tall guy with blond hair wearing a blue uniform sprints into the room. He stops next to Benny’s body doing the same finger test Law performed. “Get me another stretcher!” he yells into the living room. There’s a clatter of metal and then the police step to the side making room for them to wheel the white bed into the house. They drop the legs and two new EMTs work on Benny.

  “Get out of the way, Anderson.” The original EMT pushes Law away and crouches down beside me, his knees resting on the floor. “I’m Thatcher. You’re gonna be okay.” He shines a light from a small flashlight in both my eyes and presses his hands to my jaw causing me to flinch. “Where did you get hit?”

  “Everywhere,” I scratch out through my scratchy throat and point to my head unable to speak more words.

  “Go easy on her, Thatch. She’s with Ridge.” Law leans over Thatcher’s shoulder watching him examine me.

  “Let’s get her out of the room. She shouldn’t see any of this.” Thatcher reaches for my hand, but I can’t make my arms work. “Do you think you can stand?”

  With his and Law’s help I stand and we slowly make our way to the living room. Benny’s body is laid out on the floor as two EMTs work on his chest, the pool of red spreading further through my kitchen.

  “Don’t look,” Law says leading me to a spot on the couch next to Ridge.

  An
officer stands asking Ridge questions, but he’s no longer cuffed. My butt settles on the sofa where earlier Benny tried to suffocate me. Ridge leans over, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me to his chest.

  “Hey, easy with her. I haven’t finished my exam.” Thatcher’s hands roam around my scalp and I wince when he hits certain spots. “She needs a hospital.”

  “Why?” Ridge asks, his voice deep and serious as he stares down Thatcher.

  He looks to me first and then answers. “Possible concussion. Internal bleeding. She was tossed around a few times, Ridge.”

  Ridge immediately lets me go, his eyes trained to my body. “Are you hurt?”

  A shake of my head answers him and I lean back against his chest, wanting the comfort. My tears soak through his shirt.

  “She’s still going to the hospital.”

  **

  Thatcher won and the day’s events earned me a private ride in the second ambulance. The first transported Bennett and Benny to the hospital since they were both in worse shape than me. The doctors at the Pelican Bay hospital put me through six hours of tests, but I passed and Ridge kept his promise, taking me home with him.

  Forget the crap I said earlier about being a big girl. I’m never going back into my house ever again.

  “Do you want more water?” Katy asks as she fluffs the pillow behind me. Ridge moved me and most of my clothes into his room. The first two days he stayed home with me, playing nurse. Well… an annoying overprotective nurse. He agreed to go back to work this morning, but scheduled a steady stream of friends and his relatives to stop in and check on me.

  “No thanks.” My throat still hurts, but the bruises in the shape of Benny’s fingers have subsided on the skin around my neck. After the pain pills Katy gave me kicks in, it won’t matter anyway. It’s good stuff. When you get taken to the hospital in an ambulance and police use words like gun fight, the doctors do not mess around.

  Katy takes a seat in the chair for my frequent visitors. Ridge brought it up from the living room and I can’t wait till the steady stream wears down and he can take it back where it belongs. “I can’t believe you had a guy die in your house,” she says wrapping up my feelings on why I never want to visit my kitchen again.

  “Katy,” Anessa warns her from the other side of the bed. “He didn’t die in her house.”

  She’s in more pink today, her hair up in a tight ponytail. Anessa’s right. He didn’t die in the house. He died three hours later at the hospital from injuries he sustained in the house. Complications during surgery they called it. I’m sure lying on my kitchen floor bleeding out didn’t help him. Ridge promised the kitchen is clean, and the door fixed, but I lack any desire to see for myself. At least not yet.

  “Well, promise me you’ll be at the bakery opening.” Anessa leans forward repositioning the blankets wrapped around me.

  I wish everyone would stop fiddling with my bedding. My pillows are fine. My blankets are fine. Aunt Mary couldn’t stop touching everything earlier this afternoon. I’m sure it’s a sign of concern, but one of these times I’m going to scream. Or not since it would mess up my throat.

  “Of course I’ll be there. I shouldn’t be in bed now.” I’m bored. There aren’t any injuries to my legs to stop me from getting up and walking around except the big dude I’m dating. He’s decided the almost concussion must be treated with lots of bed rest. I’m giving him another twenty-four hours and then I refuse to be lying down if the sun is out.

  Anessa and Katy chat about the bakery opening as I work to keep the conversation together in my head. The pain pills kick in fast and everything else slows down around me.

  “Ladies.” Ridge saunters in the bedroom door stopping at the end of the bed to hit me with one of his megawatt smiles. Against my many attempts I haven’t figured out what he’s so smiley about every day when he comes home and sees me chillin’ in his bed. At least I brushed my hair this morning. “How did it go today?”

  “Good.” Both Anessa and Katy basically fall over themselves to stand and move toward the door.

  “See you tomorrow, Tabs,” Katy says, waving as she walks out behind Anessa.

  “I’ll be up and walking around,” I mumble, the words tasting like cotton.

  “No she won’t,” Ridge yells. He jumps on the empty side of the bed, kicking off his boots creating two thuds when they hit the ground. “Don’t temp me to tie you to the bed. I will.”

  I scowl at him, but I can’t feel the left side of my face so I’m not sure how terrifying I look.

  “Good news back on Bennett.” Ridge leans over and fluffs my pillow before propping his own to lean against the headboard. “He’s healing, all signs of the concussion have passed, no brain swelling and he’s making jokes with the staff. They’ll release him tomorrow.”

  “Good. Let’s send Anessa and Katy over there to take care of him.”

  Ridge laughs. “Unlike you, he’d enjoy the attention. A little too much.” My hands rest on top of the blankets and Ridge grabs on, locking our fingers together as he searches the night stand for the television remote. “In other news. Mario has confessed. He’s looking for a plea deal, but it will be a few more days until they reach an agreement. The FBI has questioned him on his business back home. Looks like you didn’t need the USB. They were waiting for the right time to drop in and grab him.”

  Hmm. Why couldn’t the right time have been a few hours before he broke into my house and almost killed me? My eyes droop. It will only be a few more minutes before Ridge turns on the television and I fall into a healthy sleep from the pain meds. It’s become our nightly routine.

  He fiddles with the covers somehow getting his massive body under them without moving me. I snuggle into his chest once he stops moving. “I love you.”

  Ridge tenses and puts down the remote. “You sure you want to say those words now?”

  “Yes.” No time like the present, right?

  “Did the girls give you your pills?”

  I nod my head a little too enthusiastically as the items in the room move with it.

  “Are you going to remember any of this tomorrow?”

  “Of course. Why?” Like I could ever forget telling Ridge I love him. I understand the significance, drugged or not.

  “Because I want to make sure you remember the first time I tell you I love you.”

  “No, Ridge. I told you I loved you.” I laugh at his silliness.

  “No, babe.” He caresses the side of my face turning it to his and meeting my eyes. “I love you.”

  The grin on my face grows into a smile. “Oh.” Ridge Jefferson loves me. That’s nice.

  EPILOGUE

  * Ridge *

  I stop in front of Anessa’s propped open bakery door, my head shaking. Does no one around here think of any future risks? Tabitha left early this morning and has been here helping Anessa with opening day prep. I don’t like it. The doctors told her to rest for two weeks and it’s been thirteen days. The woman doesn’t listen to anyone.

  “Anyone here?” I yell into the open bakery walking a few steps in.

  Holy shit. The place is covered in pink. It’s like a girly paradise. The walls are bright pink with other girly colored chairs and even a couch. With throw pillows. No self-respecting man would hang out here. I shouldn’t be seen in here. The shit I do for Tabitha. This is worse than chasing after her ex-boyfriend.

  “I’ll be right there,” Tabitha’s voice comes from the back kitchen.

  I throw my thin coat over the back of an ungodly teal colored chair and lean against the front counter trying to steal a glimpse into the back. The large open room is sweltering the further in you get, which explains the open door. But it still isn’t smart if they don’t have someone out here.

  Even though Tabitha is safe, it’s hard to let her out of my sight these last few days. The FBI is breaking up Mario’s drug gang in Oklahoma. The money is still hidden around her house, but the diamonds were put into evidence. The million dollars i
n ice supposed payment for a drug shipment to a Colombian drug lord. Mario will actually be safer locked up in a Maine prison when he’s unable to make his payment to the cartel.

  Tabitha is safe and sound, but I still want to spend all my free time with her. To make sure. She lasted three days holed up in my bed before she ventured out. I’ve needed to get sneakier — friends stopping in, romantic nights out. I’ve used everything in my arsenal of guy tricks. If she wants to work at the bakery, I’ll make sure my team stops in a few times a day.

  And drives by.

  Maybe Anessa would consider a camera.

  “Hey.” The love of my life walks out from the back and hustles over to plant a kiss on my lips, but she backs away before I steal another. My eyes circle over her body checking for any new bruises. She looks the same, the bruises around her neck faded from her body even if they’re burned in my memory forever.

  “No bouncing. Remember the doctor’s orders.”

  She groans, but not in the good way, like when I have her in my bed. “I’m fine. Now where’s Bennett? You said he’d be here.”

  “I think my girl should give her man a proper greeting before asking about his best friend.”

  She leans in for another kiss, but this time I wrap an arm around her crushing her to my chest. I’ve been in life or death situations multiple times while a SEAL, but I’ve never felt real fear until the afternoon I couldn’t find Tabitha. When she and Bennett didn’t show up to the Bakery’s during the festival, I knew something was wrong. Seeing her crumpled up on her kitchen floor the EMT yelling for another stretcher I thought I might lose her.

  “He’s right behind me. Calm down.” I haven’t taken Bennett off desk work yet. He has another week of rest per his doctor and if I can’t make Tabitha listen, I can at least force Bennett. Plus, the ladies in town have babied him. Stopping by with food every night, even Margo Mitchel cleaned his place last week. Sure the guy took a gun to the head and suffered a concussion, but we both saw worse in the service. He’s milking this.