Strike (Tortured Heroes Book 4)

by Jayne Blue

  “Can I hug you?”

  Ben’s dazzling smile melted me and hollowed me out. “I’ll take it. Just don’t squeeze too hard.”

  I settled my head against his chest, careful not to push too hard. His strong, steady heartbeat warmed my soul. Finally, when I was certain he was real, that this was real, I sat up and kissed him.

  “I love you.”

  I reared back. I’d said the words but heard them come out of Ben’s mouth. We’d said it together.

  “I love you.” We said it again together. A giggle bubbled up from deep inside of me. Ben tried to laugh too, but it came out as a strangled hiss as his battered shoulders shook.

  “Oh God. I’m sorry. Don’t.”

  Ben reached up and cupped my face with his strong hands. “Don’t ever be sorry. Thank God I got to you in time.”

  Warmth flooded through me as I stared into the face of the man I loved. He had gotten to me in time, in more ways than I could count.

  “You have to stop doing this, Ben,” I said. “I have to stop chasing after you down hospital corridors. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.”

  Ben’s sheepish grin infuriated me and delighted me all at once. “Well, I can’t say I don’t like the attention, baby. But I gotta be honest with you. I’m getting pretty sick of this place too. I got a plan on how to avoid it. But we can talk about that another time. Right now, I’d just like you to scooch a little closer to me, lay your head on this pillow, and let me hold you. You think you’re up for that?”

  “Are you sure it won’t bother your back?”

  “Not if you don’t thrash in your sleep. Do you?”

  Smiling, I leaned forward and kissed him. “If I do you can just shove me off the bed.”

  “Come here.”

  I did. I lay my head in the hollow beneath his shoulder and listened to his heartbeat as he drifted off to sleep.

  We stayed like that for almost an hour. Ben’s pain meds made him sleep heavily while I waited in the silence. The hospital sounds soothed me as nurses checked blood pressure cuffs and monitors beeped from patients close by. There was sickness here, but there was life and hope too. I drew strength from it even as dread filled my soul. Officer Tim promised to come find me when there was more news to tell.

  An hour later, he came. Ben lay sound asleep. He didn’t move as I gingerly lifted his arm from around my shoulder and smoothed my hands over my flannel pants. I was still wearing nothing more than a tank top and pajama pants. A nurse had given me a scrub top and a pair of hospital issue slippers. One of the female officers had been sent to my house to get me a change of clothes but she hadn’t come back yet.

  Tim didn’t say a word. He just motioned for me and I followed him down that black-and-white tiled hallway again. We went to another room, where another green curtain separated two points of my life. On this side was the unknown; the other could be a bottomless pit of grief.

  Another nurse stepped out from behind the curtain. She was older, with tight gray curls and deep lines creasing her round face. She gave me a polite smile then pulled the curtain back. My heart dropped to the floor at what I saw. My father was hooked up to what seemed like a thousand machines. But he opened his eyes and when he saw me, his face broke into a wide grin and he gave me a thumbs up, trailing half a dozen wires off his arm.

  “Hey, honey. Sorry I can’t get up. They’ve got me a little tied up right now.”

  I looked at the nurse, then to my father, then the nurse again. “The doctor will be down to talk to you in a few minutes. His vitals were pretty lousy when he came in, but your dad’s made of steel, I think. Anyone ever tell you that?”

  “All the time,” I answered. My superman and my man of steel.

  “He’s got a long road ahead, but don’t you worry, honey,” the nurse said. “I’d put some money on the fact that man’s going to be dancing the cha cha at your wedding someday. What do you think about that?”

  Smiling, I looked at my father. “I think that’s something I’d like to see.”

  Epilogue

  Ben

  One year later …

  “Will you quit messin’ with that!” Janet slapped my hand back. I couldn’t help it. The tie itched like hell and I felt like I was going to choke to death. She reached up and adjusted it again.

  I looked to Joey for help. He just stood in the corner looking equally miserable. When his hand went up to loosen his own tie, Janet shot him a look that made him drop it.

  “Time to go!” Michael stuck his head through the door. My heart fluttered. Janet’s eyes misted as she looked up at me and dusted the non-existent lint off my lapels for the hundredth time. She wore a big, fat gardenia on the front of her blue dress. She was allergic to the things but insisted she have it because she said it was the prettiest and my mother’s favorite flower.

  She threw her head back and let out a great sneeze that doubled her over. “You’re out of your mind, Janet,” I said.

  “It’ll be over in an hour. I can live with it for an hour.”

  “You’re forgetting, we have pictures after that. That was your idea.”

  Her terrified look made me laugh. For my trouble, I got another swat in the arm from her. Then she hurried through the door where Michael stood. He came all the way in and held out his hand to shake mine.

  “Looking good, baby brother. Never thought I’d see the day. You ready for this?”

  “I thought I’d be nervous. I’m not.”

  Michael smiled. “Well then, let’s hurry before Charlotte comes to her senses.”

  I slugged Michael back. Joey followed behind. We took our places in front of the altar. Joey stood at my shoulder, Patrick next to him, then Michael. I had three best men that day. I could never pick just one. Ian came out of the sacristy. His wide smile made Janet start crying again from over in the front row.

  Ian broke with tradition and came to hug me. “I’m so proud of you, Benny. I feel Mom today. She’s looking down on you and smiling.”

  My throat felt thick with emotion as I smiled back at my brother. He was right though, just as he always was. She was here. A tear started to form at the corner of my eye until Janet let out another great, honking sneeze. Then the organ struck a majestic chord.

  I stood with the brothers of my blood that day. But the rest of my brothers were there with me too. A sea of blue dress uniforms stood at attention at the back of the church waiting to salute as the organ music swelled.

  Then Charlotte was there. I suppose all grooms say their bride is the most beautiful. That day, Charlotte really was. My breath left me as I saw her on her father’s arm. He wore his own crisp dress blues with the gold bands that designated him as our Chief of Police. It had been a rocky first year and he’d spent the first four months of his tenure recovering from his second heart attack. Charlotte told me he had the heart of a lion and she was right. Because Frank Marek was back. I smiled as Deputy Chief Tim Bates saluted him as he walked his daughter down the aisle.

  Chief Marek brought Charlotte to me. Her blue eyes misted with tears as she came to me. Her white silk dress had tiny shamrocks embroidered into the lace. They’d come from my mother’s wedding veil.

  When they reached the end of the aisle, Chief Marek lifted Charlotte’s delicate veil and kissed his daughter on the cheek. He turned toward me and raised his hand. I gave him a crisp salute. Then he shook my hand like he’d done that day six months ago when I’d asked for her hand.

  “Take care of her, Lieutenant Marek,” he said. “Take care of her … son.”

  “With my life, sir. You have my word.”

  Janet sobbed then gave a strangled sneeze.

  I took Charlotte’s hand and she beamed up at me, her eyes shining with love. She looked to her right and blew a kiss over her shoulder to her mother and Randy sitting in the front row. Chief Marek took his place beside them. I saw a twinge of sadness cross his face as he looked at his ex-wife. But when he looked back up at Charlotte, his love for her sh
one through.

  I kissed her then. She stirred my body and soul. A quick slap on my shoulder drew me away. “I’ll tell ya when we get to that part,” Ian said. The crowd in the pews laughed.

  I took Charlotte’s hand and we said our vows in front of my brothers in blood and my brothers in blue. Then I kissed my bride and we walked beneath the police honor guard and into the sunlight.

  Later, when the parties were over, we’d cut our cake, and I had her all to myself, I pulled my bride close and kissed her neck.

  “You sure you’re ready for this?” I asked. “I’ve been told being a cop’s wife is no piece of cake.”

  “Mmm, now you tell me,” she sighed.

  I worked the line of tiny buttons down her back. She shed her silk like a second skin and turned toward me. God, she was beautiful. She wore a lace bra and revealed her secret. Except for her white fishnet thigh highs, my bride had nothing else on underneath.

  “Charlotte Killian, you married me like that in a Catholic Church?”

  I sat on the bed in our hotel suite. Tomorrow, we’d fly to Costa Rica and paradise. My cock grew stiff as she came to me and straddled me, rooting me deep. She was warm, and wet, and all for me.

  “Mmm,” she groaned. “Haven’t you heard panty lines are a venial sin? Plus, I’ve got an in with the priest.”

  “Praise the Lord,” I said, then thrust into her deep.

  Later, I held her against my chest and kissed her. My wife. My bride. I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of saying it and I told her so.

  “You sure about this?” I asked, teasing. “It’s probably not too late to back out. Marry a banker. Or a toll booth operator.”

  Charlotte flipped over so she straddled me again. “Shut up and kiss me, Lieutenant Killian. My mother was right about one thing but so wrong about something else.”

  “What’s that, baby?”

  Charlotte’s smile melted me. I didn’t understand her joke, but a few seconds later when she slid off me and trailed kisses all the way down, I forgot to ask her what she meant.

  “Lois Lane,” she’d said. “She was the luckiest girl in the world.”

  A Note from Jayne Blue

  Thank you so much for reading Ben and Charlotte’s story. The Killian and Marek families just gripped my heart and wouldn’t let go. I’ve been so fortunate to have had a number of law enforcement families generously share their real stories with me and the struggles they face each and every day. I just hope I’ve been able to do them even just the smallest level of justice in my fictional world. They are among my favorite people in the world and their sacrifices touch me deeply.

  I’ve got so many more stories to tell! Up next is F.B.I. Agent Kyle Duvall’s story. Here’s a little sneak peek of Ripper, the next installment in the Tortured Heroes Series

  Agent Kyle Duvall was deep undercover.

  He did bad things for good reasons. He became the muscle for an evil group of outlaws and showed them he was just as ruthless. Duvall tapped into the darkest recess of his mind to survive but now his cover is blown and he’s assigned a new mission. Agent Kyle Duvall is back to the real world but his soul may be too far gone to save.

  Gorgeous, ambitious, and head strong, Sam Bosque isn’t anyone’s damsel in distress. She’s career minded and not going to fall into any man’s arms. Sam ignores the things moving in the shadows. She brushes off the sounds in the hall when she works late, alone. She knows nothing about the string of women who are missing. She’s too busy to be skittish.

  Until blood, danger, and death become impossible to ignore. The FBI insists Sam needs protection. The mace in her purse won’t cut it anymore.

  Her protection is a man whose demons are raging and real, Special Agent Kyle Duvall. The mission now is Sam. Her life force sparks hope in this hard-bitten agent. Her vibrant energy could pull him from the brink. Their fierce attraction becomes his salvation.

  Someone else see Sam too. He sees her as prey.

  Ripper – A Tortured Heroes Novel

  by Jayne Blue

  Click here to find out more!

  Be among the first to get notice, cover reveals, exclusive excerpts and links on the release of other Jayne Blue titles by signing up for my Jayne Blue’s Newsletter. You’ll get a FREE EBOOK as a welcome gift just for signing. Your email will never be shared and you may unsubscribe anytime you’d like.

  If you enjoyed this book please consider leaving a review. Reviews help authors like me stay visible and help bring others to my work. Thank you so much.

  Want to be Facebook Friends? Visit me I’m on it all the time.

  Goodreads is my book talk hangout.

  And Twitter is where I’m just kind of random. Hit me up. I love to connect and am pretty much a social media addict.

  Thank you so much for reading and connecting with me.

  Love you,

  Jayne Blue

  Books by Jayne Blue

  Tortured Heroes (Men in Uniform - Romantic Suspense Series)

  Vice

  Heat

  Marked

  Strike

  Ripper

  Edge

  Great Wolves M.C. (Biker Romance Series)

  Dex

  Sly

  Colt

  Kellan

  Sawyer

  Brax

  Stone

  Ryder

  Nash

  Torrid Trilogy (featuring Jack Manning from “Owned by the Playboy”)

  Book One

  Book Two

  Book Three

  The Owned Series

  Owned by the Playboy

  Owned by the Candidate

  Owned by the Spy

  Owned by the Prince

  Owned by the G-Man

  The Complete Series

  Uncaged Series (MMA Fighter Romance)

  Hold Series (MMA Fighter Romance)