Brothers in Blue: Matt
Brothers in Blue, book 3
Jeanne St. James
Contents
Disclaimer
About Brothers in Blue: Matt
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
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Copyright © 2017 by Jeanne St. James
All rights reserved.
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Editor: Krieger Editing
Cover Art: K Creative Designs/Cover Crush Designs
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Warning: This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.
DISCLAIMER: Please do not try any new sexual practice (BDSM or otherwise) without the guidance of an experienced practitioner. The author will not be responsible for any loss, harm, injury or death resulting from use of the information contained in this book.
A BIG thank you to my beta readers:
Rita Cerdeira, Lesley Clark, and Ferris Baehr
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Dedication:
I dedicated the first book of the Brothers in Blue series to my own personal man in uniform, and once again, I do the same with this last book. I’m proud of what a successful career you’ve had and cannot wait to retire with you. Thank you for being so encouraging.
Author’s Note:
With this book, the last Bryson brother’s story has been told and I’m sad to say goodbye to the Bryson family. I spun stories about a family I would have loved to been a part of and I will miss them dearly. I fell in love with each Bryson brother: Max, Marc, and Matt, as well as their parents, Ron and Mary Ann.
Just a note: Teddy will get his own short story, because, after all, he deserves a “Happily Ever After” too.
Meet the men of Manning Grove, three small-town cops and brothers, who meet the women who will change the rest of their lives. This is Matt’s story…
As a former Marine, Matt Bryson has dealt with PTSD ever since coming home from the Middle East. He finds himself fortunate to be able to return to his job as a cop at the local police department with his brothers Max and Marc.
Dr. Carly Stephens works hard as an obstetrician at the local hospital, struggling to pay off her medical school loans, financially support her elderly parents, and save money to adopt a baby. Unable to have children, she still longs for one of her very own.
Instantly attracted to the Dictator Doctor, Matt finds Carly easily brings him to his knees both emotionally and physically. What starts out only as a convenient sexual relationship turns into a whole lot more when dealing with their pasts and their future. Especially since Matt doesn’t ever want children.
Matt and Carly find themselves on a passionate and emotional journey that can either bring them together or rip them apart.
Chapter 1
That son-of-a-bitch! This is all his fault!”
As the gurney slammed through the emergency room doors, Officer Matt Bryson glanced down at the pissed off woman laid out flat on the wheeled stretcher. He walked double-time alongside, trying to keep up. If he didn’t, he feared he’d be dragged down the hallway against his will like a bobber bouncing behind a trolling boat.
She squeezed his hand even harder. Matt’s fingers had already lost their feeling and the tips now turned purple.
“What’s wrong with him? Why would he do this to me?”
If he thought she couldn’t possibly tighten her grip on his abused hand any more, he was dead wrong.
“Fuck. That hurts!” she screamed.
Matt didn’t dare tell his sister-in-law how much his hand hurt too. He guaranteed his pain didn’t compare to what she was going through. And he also wanted to keep his manhood.
“Matt, you have to arrest him for doing this to me!”
She must be in a true delirious state if she thought that would ever happen. As if he’d arrest his own brother who was also the chief of police. And his boss. Yeah, right.
Amanda’s face contorted again as they wheeled her down the hall, bypassing the ER check-in. He had already called ahead and, as a law enforcement official, no one blinked an eye on him skipping that step.
“Amanda, it’s already done and you now have to deal with it.”
“Noooo. No, I don’t!” Her hysterical voice pierced his ears, as well as the hospital worker’s, who winced as he pushed the gurney.
You’d think the guy would be used to unreasonable pregnant women.
Amanda put a hand to her face and groaned. “He will never touch me again!”
Matt doubted that. But he kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t stupid.
When they reached the elevators, the guy in the green medical scrubs pushed the up button. Matt silently begged the elevator to hurry.
“If he does this to me again… If he even touches me again, I will kill him!”
The hospital employee turned ashen and eyed the Glock holstered on Matt’s duty belt with unmistakable concern. Matt frowned and turned his hip away from the crazy woman on the bed. Just in case.
“Where is he? I’ll just kill him now! Oooow!”
The ding of the elevator made Matt glance toward the ceiling and mouth a silent “thank you.” On the way up to the third floor, he reminded her, “I think this is also partly your fault, you know.”
With beaded sweat dotting Amanda’s forehead, she shot him a glare.
“Well, it is.” The huge belly that looked like Mt. Everest was obvious proof. “Do I have to explain the bird and the bees? I’m pretty sure you knew what you were getting into when you slept with your husband.”
Amanda’s growl morphed into a howl of pain as another contraction hit her.
The elevator stopped and the doors swooshed open onto the maternity floor.
“Okay, we’re here. Max should be showing up any minute now,” he consoled her, trying to pull his hand away. He wasn’t successful. Somewhere along the way, she had turned into Superwoman.
Amanda flushed face suddenly paled. “You won't leave me, will you?”
Yes. Matt sighed. Fuck.
No. He couldn’t desert her. Even though he really didn’t want any part of the birth of his nephew. Or niece. Did they even find out the sex yet? He hadn’t asked and really didn’t care.
“Where’s Max?” she wailed loudly.
Matt wished he knew. If Amanda didn’t kill her husband, he would. Pigs would fly before he’d step in to help her with the birth. He had his limits.
He’d go back to the sandbox first.
“All right, we need to go,” the nurse, or whatever he was, said.
“No! You need to come with me, Matt.”
Oh shit no.
“I can’t do this alone!”
Matt glanced down at Amanda’s practically purple face and scowled. He couldn’t even begin to explain to this woman why-in-the-hell he refused to go in there. First of all, he didn’t want to see his sister-in-law in that position. Nor did he want to see that area stretched to the impossible.
The image in his head made him shudder. He didn’t even know if he’d want to watch the birth of his own kid. Though that would never happen since he wasn’t having kids. Ever.
Plus, he’d seen enough blood and gross shit in his extended stint in the Marines. And he knew what happened in childbirth. He witnessed it while in the Middle East and not by choice.
No thanks.
A frazzled Max rushed down the hall with his shirt buttoned crookedly and his belt clearly missing some of the loops. But, damn it, the man had arrived.
And for that Matt sighed in relief.
“I’m here! I’m here!”
“About time,” Matt told him, dryly.
“I had to change out of uniform,” he answered before glancing down at his wife. He did a double take. “Holy shit. Are you okay?”
“Fuck no, you rat bastard!” she snarled, finally releasing Matt’s hand. “I feel like I’m about to be split open and my cooch will never be the same again. I just want to let you know that. This will ruin my tight—”
Max quickly slapped a hand over his wife’s mouth and gave a look of apology to the hospital staff within ear distance. Matt stepped back out of reach, rubbing the circulation back into his fingers.
He considered his brother extremely brave to put his hand anywhere near her mouth. At this point Amanda may bite off a digit.
Max cheeks appeared red. Surprised, Matt didn’t think anything could make his brother blush.
He turned away to hide his snicker. Most of the people who knew Amanda weren’t surprised at anything that came out of her mouth. It should be nothing new to her husband.
His brother was on his own now. He could deal with his wife, who appeared as pissed off as a cornered porcupine.
A tall blonde rushed up, wearing a long white lab coat. Most likely a doctor. “Why is she still out here? Get her in the delivery room STAT before we have a new Bryson baby in the hallway,” she commanded, the staff snapping to attention like she was a Master Sergeant.
Matt backed up a step, cocking an eyebrow at her I’m-in-charge stance.
Shit.
The woman was all legs and attitude.
“Well?” she asked without patience. Then, following a flurry of activity, the hallway became empty and quiet.
Matt blew out a breath and leaned against the nearest wall. He had a fucking hard-on.
Just like that.
Fuck.
He pushed himself off of the wall and straightened, yanking his duty belt up over his hips as the rest of the family rushed down the hall like a herd of buffalo.
“Are we too late?” his mother asked, excitement in her eyes.
There should be. She had harassed her three sons for years about getting hitched as well as bugged them for grandchildren. Now, she was finally getting one.
Well, as long as Amanda cooperated. Because if anyone could call off a pregnancy at nine months and counting, it would be her. Matt shook his head and laughed to himself. The woman sure was obstinate, and Max had his hands full with her. Though, he suspected his brother loved every minute of it. Self-masochist bastard.
Matt’s father, Ron, stepped up next to him and whacked him on the back. “Good job for getting her here on time, son.”
Matt nodded at his father, but answered his mother. “No, Ma. You’re not too late. How can you be too late for a birth anyway? Once the kid is born, you’re stuck with it forever. That’s how it works, remember?”
“Yeah, Ma, you’re stuck with Matt forever,” his brother Marc said. “Like it or not.”
Mary Ann Bryson frowned at her middle son. “I’m not stuck with any of you. I brought you into this world and I can take you back out.”
Her husband laughed. “That’s right, honey, you tell them.”
“Damn, Ma, that’s a bit harsh,” Marc said, frowning.
“Where’s Leah?” Matt asked his brother.
“Sleeping. She has to work daylight shift tomorrow with you.”
Matt nodded. His future sister-in-law, the newest member of the force, proved herself a good cop and could back him up anytime. In fact, he wouldn’t have minded her being by his side in combat. She was tough and she sure kept Marc in line.
His middle brother was a lucky man. Unlike Max, who was probably getting his ass ripped up one side and down the other right now.
Fuck that.
“Well, now that most of the Bryson army is here, I’m going back on patrol.” He stepped over to the nearest elevator and pushed the down button.
“Don’t you want to see your niece after she’s born?” his mother asked.
“Nope.”
And with that, the elevator doors swooshed open and he jetted.
Chapter 2
Manning Grove six from dispatch.”
Matt cursed. He sat in his favorite hiding spot, trying to “rest” his eyes after a quick shift turnaround this morning. After working the three to eleven shift last night, he had to double-back to the seven to three shift this morning, which made him twice as tired and cranky. So, no one better fuck with him today. At least not with the dark mood surrounding him.
He’d hardly slept, especially with the shitload of pictures being texted to him throughout the night. Like he wanted to see photos of his new niece Hannah. Or Max’s smiling, exhausted face. Or Amanda’s pissed-off-like-a-hellcat expression.
He yanked the mic off its holder. “Manning Grove six, go ahead.”
“Manning Grove six, one vehicle crash. Car versus deer. County Line Road. One occupant, no injuries. Reportable. Rollback en route.”
Matt sighed. Whoever hit that deer must have hit hard if the car was no longer drivable and they were sending a tow truck. The driver was lucky if he or she didn’t need an ambulance. Unfortunately, deer crashes were too common in this area. The risk came with living out in the boonies. “Manning Grove six, I copy. Mark me en route.”
So much for his power nap.
He started the cruiser and stomped on the gas, the tires kicking dirt and stones behind it.
It only took him two minutes to get to the scene, especially since he was used to driving back roads at a breakneck speed. A small, white SUV sat crooked in the middle of the road, the front end crumpled and steam coming from under the hood.
A woman, holding her head, perched on the back bumper. No injuries, my ass.
He parked the car behind her and turned off his red and blue overhead LEDs, only leaving the yellow warning lights flashing. There wasn’t much traffic along this road. Car-wise, anyway. Deer traffic was another story.
Matt kicked the cruiser’s door open and climbed out, assessing the scene. “You injured?” he asked the driver as he approached.
When she looked up, her loose, long blonde hair parted to reveal her face.
Oh shit.
Amanda’s baby doctor. The dictator.
He hadn’t recognized her at first. Last night her hair had been no-nonsense, pulled up in a tight knot at the top of her head. And she hadn’t been wearing glasses.
Her eyes widened behind the bright turquoise frames, making him very aware of her green eyes. Unfortunately, those amazing eyes appeared shadowed in darkness. She looked exhausted.
He gently moved her hand away from her head. A bump protruded from her forehead, but he sa
w no blood. “Are you dizzy?”
“No.” She shook her head, then groaned at the motion.
She no longer wore her long, white doctor’s coat, nor generic green scrubs. Her mile-long legs were encased in some black, stretchy, tight pants. Yoga pants, maybe. And they were tucked into knee-high, black leather-looking boots. She had a loose white button-up shirt on, covering her hips and hiding her curves.
What a shame.
She narrowed her eyes, studying him. “Aren’t you Hannah’s uncle?”
“Hannah?”
“Max and Amanda’s baby. You know, the reason you brought her into the hospital last night.”
“Well, if you know that, then you know I am.”
Her lips flattened into a slash.
“Do you need medical attention?” he asked.
“I’m a doctor.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “No shit. I realized that fact last night when you were wearing your white coat and bossing people around.”
She tilted her head to look at him and then winced. “I wasn’t bossing people around.”
His cock had thought otherwise. “The hell you weren’t. So, do you need an ambulance?”
“No.”
“You sure? You stare at lady parts all day. Do you know what the symptoms of a concussion are?”
She abruptly pushed herself to her feet. The woman had to be five-foot-eight. At least. “Lady parts?” She frowned at him. “Yes, I know what the symptoms of a concussion are. I’m fine.”
Matt blew out a loud breath. “Look, I’m here to help you. But you’re the doc. So you’d know better than me, right?” He shrugged as if he didn’t care.
Because when it came down to it, he didn’t. If she wanted to be stubborn, that fell on her. Not him.
Her eyebrows shot to her hairline and her mouth gaped open. She shut it quickly and frowned. “What’s your problem?”
Brothers in Blue: Matt Page 1
