by Becca Van
Billy face paled and then he held his hand up palm out and backed away from him. “Sure. Sorry. I didn’t mean anything.”
Kai didn’t take his eyes off of Billy until he was back across the far side of the room with his colleague and he could see the other man whispering furiously to Billy. It looked like the arsehole was getting raked over the coals by his boss. He was glad he wasn’t the only who had noticed the fucker staring at his woman.
Just as Kai was about to close the office door, Kadan came striding toward him. His brother must have seen the frown on his face.
“What’s going on?” Kadan asked.
Kai told him and Kadan turned to scowl at Billy but the Chippy was hard at work and was no longer taking any notice of them.
“I thought you were needed at the club?” Kai asked.
“Yeah, I forgot my fucking electronic notepad.” Kadan shoved Kai aside and walked straight over to Sapphira, who was already curled up on the sofa since she’d finished her lunch.
“Hey, Sapph, why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I’ve only just sat down here, Kadan. Give me a little time to get settled will ya.” Sapphira scowled at him.
His brother reached out and gripped her chin. “You need to take care of yourself, baby. Now close your eyes and go to sleep.”
When Sapphira continued to frown at Kadan, he grinned at her, leaned forward, and planted a long passionate kiss on her lips.
Kai chuckled at her shell-shocked expression and then she met his gaze and poked her tongue out at him.
“Oh, sweetie, I wouldn’t be doing that if I were you.” Kai grinned.
“Why not?”
“Because I may just give you something to wrap your tongue around, baby.” Kadan placed a chaste kiss on her lips, rose to his feet, and headed toward the door. He paused in the doorway and turned to face her, but instead of undulating his eyebrows like Kai thought he would, his brother grabbed his crotch and laughed out loud before disappearing through the door.
The expression on Sapphira’s face was priceless and he couldn’t help laughing some more. Kai had never felt so free before, not even before he had been in the army. He was in love and had never been so happy. And it looked like his brothers were just as happy as he was.
* * * *
Sapphira felt revitalized after her nap and lunch and was eager to get back to work, but wasn’t sure if Kael and Kai would let her since her full hour break wasn’t over. She still had half an hour to go but didn’t want to sit around wasting time. There were a lot of e-mails to get through.
The phone on Kai’s desk rang and he answered it, but when he began to scowl she knew there was a problem. He hung up a moment later with a curse.
“What’s up?” Kael asked.
“There’s a problem with the police station’s computers. Noah wants us there ASAP to fix it.”
“Shit.” Kael pushed his fingers through his hair. “Won’t one of us there be enough?”
“They’re our clients, Kael, and cops. They need to have their system to do their job. With both of us working on it, it shouldn’t take us that long.”
“Yeah okay, it’s just…”
“Kael, I am quite capable of looking after myself. I have been for a long time.”
“I know that,” Kael snapped, “but I don’t like leaving you alone now that you’ve been diagnosed with narcolepsy.”
“I feel fine, Kael. I’ve just had a nap and some food.”
“Do you promise to stay in the office and take your breaks when you’re supposed to?”
“I promise. Go, I’ll be fine.” Sapphira made a shooing motion with her hands.
“All right, but if you start to feel tired I want you to come in here and rest of the sofa. Okay?”
“Better yet, if you begin to feel tired, call one of us on our mobile phones. Okay?” Kai demanded rather than asked.
“Promise.”
Kai stood up, bent over her, and kissed her on the mouth. “We’ll be back as soon as we can, sweetie.”
Kael stroked a finger down her face. “Make sure to rest.” He kissed her on the forehead and then they both headed out.
As much as she loved the way they took care of her, it was nice to have a little alone time. She had a lot of e-mails to get through and intended to have them finished by the end of the day.
Graham and Bill came back from lunch, but after giving them a perfunctory smile, she ignored them. One hour turned into two and there was still no sign of her men. The hammering was starting to give her a headache and she hoped the two construction workers finished putting the shelving up soon. The whole back wall was to be shelving space for pamphlets and product brochures, and even though it was a great idea to have information on hand, the noise was really starting to bother her. But what bothered her more was the way she caught Billy looking at her. Every time she lifted her head she saw him staring at her and she began to feel really uncomfortable. The only way she could think to deal with him was to totally ignore him, so that’s exactly what she did.
When Sapphira looked up again, she realized it was only five minutes until finishing time and she was getting tired again. She hadn’t taken her breaks like she promised she would and even though she wasn’t hungry, her stomach felt empty. If the men found out she hadn’t taken her allotted breaks, they were going to have a fit. Sapphira pushed her chair back and stood up. It was only then that she realized that Graham and Billy had finished the shelves and there was no sign of them. All their tools were gone and she figured they must have left already.
Sapphira hurried to the small kitchenette, grabbed her fruit tub and a bottle of water from the fridge and a fork from the drawer, and ate her salad while standing up. It was only a small snack but she was feeling much better already. After washing and drying her fork, she opened the bottle and started drinking it as she headed back to her desk.
She’d just sat down and saved her work when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She spun around in her chair and froze when she saw Billy standing behind her with a gun pointed at her. Sapphira gasped but then her muscles went lax and she was sliding to the floor.
“Get up,” Billy ordered, and pushed the barrel of the gun into her arm. She cried out as he bruised her skin and even though she tried to get her uncooperative muscles to work, they wouldn’t obey her.
“I know who you are, Megan. What the hell are you playing at?” Billy snarled.
Megan? I’m not Megan. What the hell…Oh no. He must think I’m that model, Megan Gale, the men said I looked like. But what the hell is he doing?
Billy shoved the gun harder into her arm and then he gripped her hair and tugged her head back. She couldn’t even resist him. She was so scared the cataplexy had kicked in and she had no control over her muscles.
“What the hell are you playing at? Get the fuck up. You and I are gonna have a little fun, Megan, and by the time I’ve finished with you, you won’t ever want to leave.”
Oh shit. Is he delusional? Maybe he’s a narcissist or a psychopath.
He tugged on her hair again and when she didn’t move, he frowned. Sapphira began hyperventilating when he moved the gun beneath her chin and pressed it into her skin with bruising force. Her muscles went rigid and her eyesight began to darken around the edges and then she slipped into sleep.
Chapter Eleven
Ryan glanced up at the clock and sighed with relief. His patient load had been light for once and he had just finished up with his last patient and it wasn’t even five o’clock yet. He took off his coat, hung it up on the hook, and then headed out to the reception area. Marie looked up and smiled.
“You should go while you can. There’s no need to hang around.”
“I was just thinking the same thing. Are you about finished? You deserve to leave early, too.”
Marie looked back at the computer, finished typing, saved the file, shut the computer down, and then switched the phone over. “Let’s go.”
Rya
n chuckled but quickly followed. After making sure the lights were off and the door locked, he got into his SUV and drove the couple of blocks to his brothers’ office. He’d missed Sapphira and worried about her all day, but he was glad that his brothers were there to look after her. After parking his car, he walked toward the office. He glanced in the window and nearly froze with fear. Ryan quickly ducked back out of sight and unclipped his mobile from his belt, all the while wondering where the hell his brothers were.
He pressed speed dial and cursed when Kael’s phone went straight to voice mail. He tried Kadan’s number but it, too, went to voice mail. Kai was next and thankfully he answered.
“Where the fuck are you?”
“With a client.”
“You need to get back to office now,” Ryan snapped. “Sapphira’s in trouble. Where are Kael and Kadan?”
“They were in the office when I left. What’s going on, Ryan? What’s wrong with Sapphira?”
“Some guy is in the office with a gun to her head.”
“What? Fuck! I’m on my way.” Kai disconnected the call.
Since Ryan couldn’t get hold of his brothers, he decided to call the police station. Tom Beech answered and after telling him what was happening and that his brothers were with him, Ryan decided he couldn’t wait another minute. He put his cell in his pocket and then entered the office.
The guy with the gun jumped as if he’d been startled but then he pointed the gun at Ryan. “Take it easy, mate, I’m unarmed.” Ryan moved closer.
“Stay right there.”
The guy was sweating and looked really nervous, which meant he could be very unpredictable. “What are you doing to Sapphira?”
“That is Megan Gale, not Sapphira. Who are you?”
“I’m Doctor Ryan Sinclair. My brothers own this place.”
The guy went back to tugging on Sapphira’s arm as if trying to get her to wake up. Ryan winced and hoped the bastard didn’t hurt his woman.
“She’s not going to wake up. She’s sick. Why don’t you just put the gun away and leave?”
“I don’t know who you guys think you’re trying to fool but this is definitely Megan Gale.”
“If you say so. What do you want with her?” Ryan took another step closer when he looked down at Sapphira.
“She’s mine. I’m in love with her. I’m going to take her home and she is going to be my woman.”
Oh fucking hell. He’s a crazy fan.
“What’s wrong with her? Why won’t she wake up?” The gun was pointed at him again. “You’re a doctor. Come and fix her.”
Ryan cursed under his breath when he realized that he’d left his medical bag in the SUV. If he’d brought it along with him, he may have been able to knock the crazy guy out with a sedative, but at least he was able to get near his woman and hopefully protect her. He moved slowly so as not to alarm the crazy man and then he knelt down next to Sapphira. He checked her pulse and sighed with relief that it was strong and steady. In a way, he was glad that she had passed out, because she couldn’t be scared if she was asleep. Ryan just hoped she didn’t wake up until the madman was gone.
“She won’t wake up until she’s ready. She has narcolepsy.”
“You’re just making that shit up.”
“No, actually I’m not.” Ryan glanced at the gun and wanted to reach out and take it from him but he wouldn’t be able to help Sapphira if she woke up and he got hurt. He was glad that this guy was smaller than Sapphira and hadn’t carted her away. If he had, then neither he nor his brothers would have known where to look for her. At least now he was by her side and he would give his life to protect her if he had to. Ryan had never seen this man before but maybe he was familiar to his brothers.
Speaking of his brothers…Ryan looked sideways toward the window, without moving his head, and nearly sighed with relief when he saw the three police officers and his brothers peeking in the window. Kael and Kadan ducked away and he knew they were probably going round to the back entrance.
Ryan had to keep him talking so he was distracted. Hopefully in doing so it would give the cops and his brothers a window of opportunity. “You’ve never heard of narcolepsy?”
“No, I don’t care what you say. I still think you’re full of shit.”
The gun moved away from Ryan and was once more pointed at Sapphira. Ryan’s heart was beating so fast and hard it was a wonder he couldn’t see it pounding out of his chest. He was scared for their woman, but he would take a bullet for her if he had to.
“Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder,” Ryan began, only to have the gun point back in his direction.
“Shut the fuck up,” the guy yelled and then the gun was being shoved into Sapphira’s stomach. “If you don’t wake her up right now I’ll put a bullet in her.”
Ryan didn’t want to wake her up only to have another cataplexy of narcoleptic episode but he’d do anything to keep her safe and if that meant waking her up only to have her pass out again, then so be it.
He caressed her face and arms, all the while keeping an eye on the gunman. “Sapphira, wake up, honey. Come on, open those pretty eyes for me.”
She sighed and then her eyes opened. Sapphira blinked a few times and then smiled at him. Just as she reached out to touch his face, her smile faltered and she looked down where the barrel of the gun was pressing against her stomach.
“Oh…” Her gaze seemed to follow the gun then traveled up the arseholes arm and then she looked at the guy holding the weapon. “Billy, what…”
“Don’t talk, Megan,” Billy snapped then gripped one of her wrists in what looked like a bruising grip.
Sapphira winced but didn’t make a sound.
“You and I are leaving now.” He pulled her to her feet. Ryan rose, too, but held his hands palm out when Billy yanked Sapphira into his slighter body with her back to his front and then the fucker gripped her throat with the gun pointed at him once more.
“What are you doing, Billy? What have I ever done to you?”
“Shut up, Megan.” Billy squeezed her throat tighter but kept the gun trained on him. Billy started hedging toward the hall that led to the back door and Ryan hoped like hell his brothers had had time to get around to the back. They would have had to run around the block to access the back parking lot. The only other way was through the shops and business and knowing his brothers, they wouldn’t have wanted to put anyone else in danger.
“My name is Sapphira. I don’t know any Megan.”
Ryan cursed under his breath when the fucker gripped her throat tighter and Sapphira reached up and tried to pry his hand away, but the whole time the prick kept the gun trained on him and kept backing toward the door. He saw blood well in the deep grooves Sapphira had made in his skin with her nails but it didn’t seem to faze the bastard or slow him down.
“You lie. You are Megan Gale and just don’t want to admit it. I always knew you were meant to be mine, Megan. Why do you keep denying it? We are going to be so good together. We’ll get married and even have babies.”
Ryan listened to the insane Billy, spouting and believing his own bullshit, and even though he kept his eye on the gun and Billy, he tried to convey what he wanted Sapphira to do with his eyes. She was shaking so much she could barely stand and there were tears in her eyes. How she managed to keep her cataplexy at bay, he couldn’t understand, but hopefully he would get the chance to ask her once she was safe again.
Ryan saw a crack of light appear as the back door was opened slightly and knew his brothers and the cops were about to make their move. He had to get Sapphira out of the line of fire. If Noah, Zach, or Tom opened fire at close range, then the bullet could go straight through Billy and hit Sapphira, and that he couldn’t live with. If she died, he would never be the same again. She was the love of his and, he suspected, his brothers’ lives.
All of a sudden Sapphira’s eyes widened as if she understood what he wanted her to do. He looked down at the floor for a fraction of a second and she blinked
at him, letting him know she did indeed understand what he wanted of her.
The look she gave him was so full of love his heart skipped a beat and she mouthed the words to him. “I love you. Tell the others I love them, too.” Sapphira closed her eyes for a second and then she looked at him one more time before she collapsed in Billy’s hold.
“What the fu…” Billy tried to hold her but she was such a tall woman and now that she’d let the cataplexy take over or she’d just willed her body to go all floppy, he couldn’t hold onto her and she fell to the floor.
Ryan saw the gun lift slightly and dove just as gunfire sounded. He felt a sting in his arm but ignored it. The back door burst open and three simultaneous shots rang out. Even though he could no longer hear anything, Ryan still had his sight. Billy fell to the floor, the gun he’d been holding dropped from his hand, and he stared sightlessly toward him from his position on his side. Ryan slid across to Sapphira and pulled her limp body into his arms and lap. He rocked her back and forth, not only to comfort her but to reassure himself that she was okay.
Kael, Kadan, and Kai stepped over Billy’s body and came down on their knees beside him. Luckily the ringing in his ears was starting to go and he could just make out what his brothers were saying.
“Are you all right, Ry?”
“Is Sapphira hurt?”
Ryan carefully lowered Sapphira to the carpeted floor and ran his hands all over her body. Just as he finished assuring himself and his brothers that their woman was safe and uninjured, her eyes popped open.
“God, baby, you had us so damn worried.” Kael pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight.
Ryan nearly burst out laughing when he heard her muffled voice. “I had you worried. Shit, none of this was my fault. It was your fucking Chippy that was the problem.”
Kael kissed the top of her head and then passed her over to Kadan. “Don’t you ever do anything like that again, legs! You took ten fucking years off of my life.”
