Elite Dragoons 1: New Recruits (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  “Shit, she may not even be in the area any longer,” Hay speculated.

  “Wait.” Whit held up his hand to stop his brother from talking. “Are you telling me that Prudence was kidnapped in broad daylight?”

  “That would be my guess,” the sheriff answered.

  “These assholes are getting game,” Dalton said. “Has there been an influx of Asians of Japanese descent in your town of late, Sheriff?”

  “Not that I’m aware of,” the sheriff answered. “Let me go and ask my deputies.”

  The sheriff rose from his chair and hurried away. Whit could see the intelligence in the sheriff’s eyes and knew if something was going down he would probably be aware of it, but it seemed the members of the Japanese underworld had been keeping a low profile in this town and had taken great care not to stand out. If that was the case then their job just got a lot harder.

  “Gentlemen, these are my deputies, Joe and Gary,” the sheriff introduced. “Joe, why don’t you tell these men what you know?”

  “I saw four Asian men hanging around the Alliance Hotel last weekend when I was out on patrol. I’m sorry I didn’t think anything of it because they went into the hotel when they saw me, so I figured they were just going in for a meal and a drink.”

  Whit gave Joe a nod then turned back to the sheriff. “Where did Prudence and her friend have lunch?”

  The sheriff sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “In a little café on Main Street. It just happens to be situated right across from the hotel.”

  Dalton shifted in his seat. “Are there any alleys, lanes, and such near this café and the hotel?”

  The sheriff frowned as he thought over the question. The frown deepened when he nodded. “There is a lane between the café and real estate office which leads to a parking lot behind Main Street. We don’t have a very large town and we don’t allow cars to park in the main street.”

  “Do you have a map?” Hay rose to his feet as the sheriff did.

  The sheriff opened a filing cabinet, and then he placed a map on his desk and began to point out where the café and hotel where. The alley was the optimum place for an abduction to occur and definitely fit the MO of the previous kidnappings. Whit’s gut clenched and he knew without a doubt they were on the right track.

  Whit thanked the sheriff and his deputies and headed out. The rest of the team were already walking the town and the outskirts of Alliance with their shields down hoping to pick up on some sort of emotion or see some clue to the missing woman, but since they hadn’t tried to contact him, Dalton, or Hay, they obviously hadn’t found anything as yet.

  Whit decided since he and his brothers had been able to connect with Sara when Hay had found her earring in the alley in Chadron, that they would search the area first. If they found something belonging to the missing woman then he would have the rest of the team try to connect with Prudence.

  It didn’t take long for them to walk the couple of blocks to the Tasty Café. Whit had lowered his mental shield as soon as he had left the sheriff’s office but hadn’t picked up on any unusual emotions. He and his brothers entered the lane between the café and real estate office and searched thoroughly. They walked the length of the narrow street three times but didn’t find anything.

  Hay stopped midway in the alley and lifted the lid on the Dumpster and then slammed it shut. Next he was lying on his belly and peering beneath the large bin. He reached in under the Dumpster and pulled out a woman’s sandal. Whit watched as his brother closed his eyes and a frown formed between his eyebrows.

  “Anything?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Here, let me try.” Dalton took the shoe into his hand but kept his eyes open. “Nothing.”

  Whit wrapped his hand around the shoe and sighed with frustration. He wasn’t getting anything either, but then none of them knew if the sandal was Prudence’s. Whit shoved the shoe into his pocket and the three of them walked from one end of town and back. Not once did he feel he even touched the emotions of anyone nefarious or of a criminal intent. By the time they headed back to the motel he was hungry and drained from having his shields lowered for so long. All he wanted to do was eat, talk to Sara on the phone, and crawl into bed, but the first thing he had to do was meet and get a report from the rest of their team.

  Everyone crowded into their room, and Whit listened as each of them reported they hadn’t found anything. Not one damn fucking thing. Then he remembered the sandal in his pocket and withdrew it.

  “Hay found this in the side street where we suspect Prudence Peters was set upon by her abductors. We’ve each touched it but weren’t able to get anything off of it. It may be that because we felt a pull toward Sara and were attracted to her physically that we were able to connect with her on a deeper level when we touched her strand of hair, even though we’d only seen a photo of her and never met her in person. We don’t even know if this shoe belonged to Prudence but I want each of you to touch it and see if you can feel anything or connect to her in any way. You’ve all seen the photo of Prudence, and even though I know it’s a personal thing to admit, I would like you to speak up if you are attracted to this woman from just seeing her picture.”

  Thorpe didn’t say anything, but he reached out and took the shoe from Whit’s hand. His face paled and his eyes glazed over as if he were in a trance.

  “Everyone, lower your mental walls,” Whit said quietly so he wouldn’t disturb whatever Thorpe was seeing. He watched Thorpe’s brothers intently as Adam and Huntley lowered their shields. Hunt gasped, and he, too, reached out to touch the sandal, as did Adam.

  Thorpe made a growly noise and removed his hand from the sandal. “They’re in Chadron. We have to leave now.”

  Whit didn’t question his comrades. He trusted them with his life, just as they trusted him. He reached for his large duffel bag and removed his automatic rifle, checked the clip, and made sure the safety was on. His pistol was already tucked under his arm in his shoulder holster and he had another round of bullets clipped to his belt. His knife was in a sheath strapped to his calf and he was already hooked up with receiver and mic. “Lock ’em and load, boys. We’ll talk on the way.”

  Once everyone was suited up with bulletproof vests and weapons they got into their trucks and headed north toward Chadron. “Tell us what you saw,” Whit commanded as he drove.

  Thorpe’s voice came over the com unit loud and clear, and Whit knew that all the members of the Elite Dragoons could hear him.

  “She was abducted in broad daylight. The men were Asian and my guess would be Japanese. Two men subdued her. One held her from behind while the other one placed his hand over her mouth and nose until she passed out from lack of air.”

  Thorpe spoke in almost a monotone, but he knew his friend was anything but calm. The only time Thorpe spoke without any inflection was when he was highly agitated.

  “She was in the back of a van when she woke up. She planned to escape but they had her trussed up like a turkey at Thanksgiving. Her hands were tied behind her back and her feet were tied up with duct tape.”

  Whit wanted to ask how Thorpe knew to head for Chadron when Prudence had been in the back of a van. There was no way she could have seen any signs if she was lying down, but he waited for his friend to continue.

  “They stopped on the side of the road for a couple of minutes.” Adam took up where Thorpe had left off. “Probably so one of them could take a leak. One of the assholes opened the back door to the van to check on Prue and she saw a sign no more than ten yards away indicating that Chadron was twenty miles ahead.”

  “She counted in her head,” Hunt said. “Counting to sixty over and over, the way you would if you were counting the distance between a lightning strike and thunderclap. Each time she reached a minute she lifted a finger and when she had ten fingers up she started counting all over again. She lifted each finger twice before the van slowed and pulled into a driveway.”

  “Do you think they would have taken her
back to the house Sara and Nicole escaped from?” Hay asked incredulously.

  “Why not?” Thorpe answered. “The sheriff of Chadron said they searched that house but found nothing and he left it the way he found it. If word got out about these assholes’ cohorts being caught in a fight with the law on the outskirts of town then they would probably assume that their house was safe to use again.”

  “Okay,” Whit said, “let’s assume that’s where they have taken Prudence. What else did you see, Thorpe?”

  “The assholes have her tied up and only release her to use the bathroom and to eat. She’s been stripped naked and she’s tied to a bed. She’s tired, cold, and scared shitless. One of the men has touched her inappropriately and she doesn’t think he’s going to hold out much longer.”

  “Fuck,” Whit said. “Okay let’s put the pedal to the metal so we can save your woman.”

  Chapter Nine

  Sara was having trouble sleeping because she was worried about her men. Although she had only spent three nights with them sleeping beside her she had gotten used to them being there and missed them so much. She and Nicole had spent one day helping May cook up several meals and desserts which had then been cooled and placed into containers to be frozen, but there was only so much food they could cook in advance.

  May had produced a deck of cards, and they had played poker, bridge, and hearts, but Sara often found her concentration waning. May was currently in the kitchen making some sweet tea. Nicole had produced the game of Scrabble, which they were currently playing, but Sara wasn’t seeing the letters in front of her. She was worried about her men and prayed that they would return to her safe and sound. When she looked at Nicole, she could see that her friend’s mind wasn’t on the game either.

  “So how was the kiss Ty gave you?”

  “Oh God,” Nicole whispered, and Sara watched as her friend’s face turned red.

  “That good, huh?”

  Words seemed to be beyond Nicole because she nodded instead of answering verbally.

  “Have Ty, Rand, and Bromley asked you any unusual questions or told you anything about themselves?”

  “Do you mean about wanting to share me?” Nicole asked, and Sara held in a laugh when Nicole’s face turned an even deeper red.

  “Yes, that’s one discussion I’ve had with my men.”

  Nicole’s eyes snapped up to meet hers again. “Your men? Do you mean to tell me you’ve had sex with three men?”

  Sara nodded and felt her face heat this time.

  “Oh. My. God. You go, girl. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Nicole, we’ve hardly spent any time alone in the last three and a half weeks. When was I going to be able to talk to you without anyone else hearing? God, what would May say if she knew I’d had sex with three men at the same time?”

  Sara jerked when May entered the room with a smile on her face. “I would say as long as love is involved then there’s no problem. And since I’ve seen how much you love those men and how much they love you then it’s no one’s business how you live your lives.”

  “Shit.” Sara covered her face with her hands.

  May laughed and patted her on the shoulder. “You’ve already met Nyssa and her three husbands Codi, Linton, and Bryden. What you may not realize is that Coulter and his brothers are also in a ménage relationship with their wife Brooke. In fact all the men of the Elite Dragons share a wife.”

  “I love Whit, Hay, and Dalton very much,” Sara said. “But I don’t see how three men can be married to the same woman. It’s just not legal.”

  “You’re right,” May concurred as she sat on the sofa. “The woman marries the oldest brother on paper but that doesn’t mean she loves his brothers any less. What matters is that you are committed to your men fully in here.” May placed a hand over her heart. “Life is too short to worry about what others think. If you love someone or several someones then grab hold and don’t let go. I was married to a wonderful man for over twenty years and even though his death caused me a lot of pain and grief I wouldn’t have missed one minute of my time with him.

  “So”—May looked at Nicole speculatively—“now that you know about your men’s abilities are you going to let them into your bed?”

  Nicole had just taken a sip of her water, and she sprayed it everywhere at May’s question. Sara giggled and wiped her dripping face and then burst out laughing at the incredulous look on her friend’s face. Nicole chuckled and then laughed outright and May joined in, and Sara was glad that she had two women to keep her company while her men were on missions, saving the lives of other innocent people. Although she missed them desperately and worried about their safety when they were gone, she knew they were filling a deep-seated need within themselves by serving their country and trying to keep their citizens safe.

  Nicole went out to the kitchen for a cloth to wipe up the water she had sprayed everywhere. Sara was just about to remove the letters from the board when she felt a searing pain in her shoulder. She gasped and then cried out in pain and clutched at her shoulder. When she lifted her hand she expected to see blood, but her hand came away clean. She pushed up from her chair and staggered toward the kitchen counter where she had plugged her cell phone in to charge.

  “Sara, what’s wrong?” Nicole followed her

  “Are you in pain, dear?” May asked as she entered the kitchen.

  “Not me,” Sara panted as her vision narrowed, blackness stealing around the edges of her eyes and then covering her sight until she saw nothing at all. “Hay,” she whispered before she fainted.

  * * * *

  Hay climbed out of the truck and made sure his cell phone was on silent. He watched as his brothers and teammates did the same. They were a mile from the house Sara and Nicole had been held captive in and were about to go the rest of the way on foot.

  “Okay.” Whit drew everyone’s attention. “Ty, you and your brothers cover the back. Cal, Fletcher, and Law, cover the sides. We don’t want anyone escaping through any windows. Thorpe, Adam, and Hunt, you can follow us in the front. Are there any questions?”

  “No” was the resounding response.

  “Lower your shields and let’s head in.”

  Hay led the way with Whit and Dalton at his side. He pushed everything from his mind and concentrated on their mission. He could feel excitement and desire mixed in with fear and pain. He picked up the pace until they were jogging toward the house. Lights blazed from nearly every window, and he wondered how many people were inside. He tried to pick out and filter the emotions coming to him loud and clear, but it was too much to decipher. Pain slammed into his cheek, and he almost staggered but was able to keep to his feet by taking another couple of steps.

  Thorpe let out a low growl, but he quickly cut it off. The Elite Dragoons took up their positions and let him and his brothers know they were ready by sending them pictures in their minds. Hay gave Whit a nod, and then he tested the handle to the front door. The idiots had left it open. He turned the knob and pushed the door in. Hay took in the room and motioned his brothers and his teammates in behind him when he saw it was empty.

  He was in the middle of the living room when one of the assailants entered the room through another door, and he was thankful for his faster-than-average reflexes when he saw the bastard raising his arm. A glint of light caught on the metal barrel of the pistol as he lifted it, but Hay was much faster. He squeezed the trigger on his automatic rifle and shot the bastard, stopping him cold. He watched dispassionately as he fell to the floor, his eyes wide open but not seeing anything.

  Movement from the other side of the room caught his attention, and even though he spun to meet his foe, he wasn’t fast enough. Pain shot through his shoulder, causing him to grunt, and he stumbled slightly but he didn’t go down. Rapid gunfire echoed through the room as he pointed and fired. Another fucker went down. His brothers had also fired when the second fucker entered the room, and now he lay dead on the floor with numerous gunshot wounds seeping ou
t blood.

  He headed toward the far door to see if anyone else was hiding out, but the kitchen was empty. When he turned to scout the rest of the house, his head spun and he swayed on his feet. His shoulder was hurting like a bitch and he was losing blood fast. His sleeve and arm was covered in red. Hay hooked the strap on his rifle over his good shoulder and then used his free hand to apply pressure to the wound. His brothers had already cuffed one asshole, and Thorpe and his brothers had gone to find Prudence. Another gunshot sounded and then there was only silence.

  Hay staggered back to the living room and lowered himself to the sofa.

  “Here let me take a look.” Dalton knelt down in front of him and ripped his T-shirt.

  “Are they all secure?” he asked and wondered why his voice sounded so far away.

  “Yeah.” Dalton removed his Kevlar vest and tugged his T-shirt over his head. He ripped it into shreds, folded up a piece of cotton into a thick pad, and then applied it to his wound. Hay hissed out a breath as pain shot down his arm and up his neck into his head. “Sorry, but I need to stop the bleeding.”

  “’S no problem,” Hay slurred.

  The sheriff and his deputies arrived, and he tried to focus on them instead of the pain in his shoulder. The sheriff and Ty exchanged words as they passed each other, and then Ty was standing beside Dalton.

  “I brought your truck up close to the house.”

  “Thanks,” Dalton replied.

  Hay tried to remember what he was going to ask Dalton and was surprised when one word came out of his mouth. “Prudence?”

  “Safe and sound,” Thorpe answered as he entered the room.

  Hay looked up to see a petite blonde woman in Thorpe’s arms. From what he could see at least one side of her face was battered and bruised. Her ankles had red marks around them from where she had no doubt been tied up and she was wearing Thorpe’s T-shirt.