by Anna Blakely
Shaking his head with a disgusted look, he said, “Fuckers got away.”
“Run!” Juliet screamed.
“What?”
“There’s a bomb in the bedroom! We have to hurry!”
Without missing a beat, Derek snagged her wrist and pulled her with him. They ran outside and down the porch steps, making it halfway across the lawn before the house exploded behind them.
Juliet felt herself being lifted off of her feet. The kennel being ripped from her hand.
A rush of heat engulfed her, her arms flailing about as she screamed and flew through the air with a cloud of dust and debris.
Landing face-first in the grass, the force knocked the air from her lungs. She gasped and coughed, doing her best to get much-needed oxygen into her system.
Something hard and hot hit the back of her shoulder just as she was trying to push herself to her knees. Ignoring the sharp, burning pain, she tried again.
“Juliet!” Derek yelled her name from somewhere behind her.
“H-here.” She groaned and coughed. “I’m over...here.”
He was by her side in seconds.
“Shit.” He grabbed the source of her pain—a chunk of burning wood—from her back and threw it to the side. “Are you okay?”
Juliet coughed again and winced. “I think so.” She hissed in a breath when she saw a large gash in his forehead and a scratch on his chin. “Are you?”
“Thanks to you.” Derek helped her to her feet.
“Lydia!” Her head moved on swivel as she searched for her beloved pet.
“There she is.” He motioned to her right.
Juliet spotted the plastic carrier lying on its side. Heart in her throat, she sprinted over to it. Relief flooded her system when she heard the sweet cat meow.
“Hey, baby.” She started to open the gate, but Derek covered her hand with his.
“I’d leave her in there. The last thing we need is for her to run off and have to chase her down.”
He was right. Lifting the carrier, Juliet looked through the tiny holes to assess Lydia as best she could. She was shaking and scared, but from what she could tell, the animal was okay.
With sirens blaring in the background, both she and Derek turned to assess the damage. The pain in her heart hurting worse than her shoulder when she saw Jay’s house. Or what was left of it.
“Oh, my god.”
Over half of the roof was gone, along with the front and right side of the structure. The entire thing was engulfed in flames.
“It’s me.” Derek spoke to someone on the phone. “I need you.”
In a daze, Juliet listened as he rattled off Jay’s address to whomever he was talking to. Thoughts of Jay and his destroyed home reminded her of her phone.
She immediately began scouring the grass around her. The phone had been in her hand when she’d been running to find Derek. She remembered having it just before the explosion.
There!
Two firetrucks and a car pulled up as Juliet ran to where the phone lay. She picked it up and immediately flipped it over to call, but her heart sank when she saw the busted screen.
“Hey, Derek? Can you call Jay and tell him—”
“Derek!” The man who’d been driving the car jumped out and jogged toward them. A woman with long, black hair much like her own exited the front passenger seat and followed in line.
“Damn, brother.” The guy started to reach for Derek’s wound. “You okay?”
Derek leaned back and pushed the man’s hand away. “I told you on the phone I was fine.”
“Thankfully, we were just leaving an unrelated scene two streets over when you called,” the woman commented. “That cut looks pretty nasty, D. You should let EMS take a look.”
Juliet agreed, but Derek shook his head in protest.
“It’s just a scratch, Riley.” He blew it off. “ I’m good.”
The other man looked around as if he were searching for something. “What about Mike? Where is he?”
Mike? That was the second time she’d heard that name tonight.
“You mean Jay?” Derek gave the other man a strange look. “This is his place now, Eric. Remember?”
The man named Eric frowned but then he nodded with a look of understanding. “Jay. Right. Sorry.”
“Who’s Mike?”
All three turned in her direction.
“Mike is, uh...he’s the guy who owned this place before Jay,” Derek explained. “And this is Eric, my twin.”
“Twin?” Juliet’s eyes widened with surprise. With the exception of the striking blue eyes, the two men looked vastly different.
Derek grinned. “It’s okay, you don’t have to say it. Everyone knows I’m better looking.”
“Just ignore him. Everyone else does.” Eric—who had short, dark hair and strong, handsome features—held out his hand. “Detective Eric West.”
Despite the situation, Juliet found herself smiling. “Juliet Farrow. I’m Jay’s...”
She wasn’t quite sure what she was. Girlfriend seemed strange, but then again, she did blurt out that she loved him.
Doesn’t count. You thought you were going to die.
Except it did count...because it was true.
“Jules is under Jay’s protection,” Derek finished for her. “He had a thing, so I’m keeping an eye on her until he gets back. Shit.” He pulled his phone from his pocket.
The detective shared a look with Derek before returning his gaze to hers. “Good to meet you, Juliet. This is Detective York, my partner.”
“Riley.” The woman shook Juliet’s hand. “You know, you look very familiar. Have we met before?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” But I bet you know my father.
Most members of law enforcement did.
“So what the hell happened?” Eric looked at his brother.
Juliet listened as Derek recounted the unbelievable events, including who they suspected was behind the attack. Eric and Riley both took notes, and when Derek was finished going through it all, Riley looked over at her with an assessing glance.
“That’s where I know you from.” The other woman smiled. “You’re Juliet Volkov. Alexandar Volkov’s daughter.”
The association with that name made her cringe. “I am.”
“And you think your father is the one who tried to kill you?”
Juliet stared back at Riley. “I know he is.”
With Derek’s help, they went through everything up to that point. Juliet added in how she and Jay first met when he was working with her father before his arrest and incarceration but made it clear Jay had nothing to do with the charges her father and Ivan had both faced.
“Jay’s a good guy,” she told them both. “He would never do anything like what my father did.”
“We know.” Derek quickly assured her.
Eric flipped his notebook closed and slid it into his back pocket. “All right. I’ll pass all that on with the fire department’s investigator. I’m sure his findings will corroborate your story, along with statements from any of Jay’s neighbors who were home at the time of the shooting.”
“Of course, they will.” Derek scowled. “You think I’d make this shit up?”
“That’s not what he said,” Riley jumped to Eric’s defense.
Derek started to argue his case further when his phone began to ring. Pulling it from his pocket, he cursed under his breath.
“It’s your boy.” He looked over at her. “He called when I was on the phone with Eric a few minutes ago. I sent him a text tellin’ him we were okay, but I just realized it never actually went through. Guy’s probably losin’ his shit.” Derek finally answered the phone. “Hello? Calm down, man. She’s fine. We’re both a little banged up, but we’re okay. Eric and Riley are here, now, and...sure. Hang on a sec.” He held out the phone for her. “He wants to talk to you.”
I want to talk to him, too.
“Jay? It’s me.”
“Jules? Oh, than
k fuck.” He sighed with relief. “Are you hurt? What the hell happened?”
I told you I loved you, and then your house blew up.
“We’re okay, but Jay...your house.” She took in the chaos surrounding them. “I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the house. It’s you I’m worried about.”
“I’m good. Really.”
“We’re landing in twenty. I want you and Derek to go straight to the hospital. I’ll meet you there.”
“Hospital? Jay, I don’t need a—”
“Baby, I’m holding on by a fucking thread, right now, so please just...do this for me.”
The pain and fear in his voice was so real she could practically feel it through the phone. “Okay. I’ll meet you there.”
He blew out another breath. “Thank you. I need to talk to D real quick.”
“He’s right here.” Juliet started to hand over the phone but stopped when she heard Jay say her name.
“Jules?”
She put the phone back to her ear. “Yeah?”
A slight pause and then she heard, “I love you, too.”
Chapter 11
I love you.
Mike couldn’t get those three words out of his head. Not that he wanted to. Ever since Juliet had said them, they were all he could think about. That and the fact that he’d damn near lost her.
Again.
Christ, he was getting sick of this shit. Sick of feeling as if he might lose the best thing that had ever happened to him.
And after his meeting with Volkov, he was no closer to figuring out who wanted her dead than he was before.
I love you.
Mike still couldn’t believe she’d said that. Couldn’t believe he’d told her he loved her, too. He did, of course. Had for what seemed like forever. But he’d had a plan. An order to how he wanted things to go...
Keep her safe.
Find and destroy the person or people trying to hurt her.
Tell her the truth and pray she’d understand.
Tell her he loved her and beg for her forgiveness.
Then some fucknut decided to go after his woman and his friend by turning his goddamn house into Swiss cheese, and then blowing it up...with them still in it.
She thought she was dying.
That was another thought he’d had rolling through his mind. Did she actually mean what she’d said, or did Juliet only utter those precious words in a moment of panic and fear?
Deep down, he knew the truth. She did love him, just as he loved her. And now that, that particular cat was out of the bag, there was no going back.
There was also no way in hell they were staying in Dallas. Or anywhere close to the vicinity.
“You good?”
He looked over at Jake who was walking as quickly as he was. “Someone turned my house into a pile of kindling and almost killed Jules and Derek. Fuck no, I’m not good.”
“I understand why you’re upset, but you talked to her, Mike. She’s fine.”
“No one who gets shot at and damn near blown to bits is fine ten minutes after the fact.”
“We are.” Jake’s mouth turned upward with a smartass smirk. “Like...all the fucking time.”
“She’s not us, Jake,” Mike bit back sharply. That comment was followed by a muttered, “She’s better than us.”
“The women who can put up with our asses usually are, brother.” Jake patted him on the back and smiled. “Speaking of which, there’s one, now.”
Up ahead, Olivia—Mike’s sister and Jake’s wife—had just come out of Homeland Security’s private medical center’s emergency room entrance and was walking toward them.
Before either man could ask, she put up a palm and said, “They’re both okay.”
“Hey, sweetheart.” Jake pulled his wife in for a hug and a quick kiss. “Missed you.”
“Missed you more.”
“Seriously?”
Olivia moved out of her husband’s arms and went to Mike. “Hey, Mikey.” She hugged him, too. “I’m so glad you’re both okay.”
“We weren’t the ones who got caught in the explosion.” Mike eased from his sister’s embrace. “Where is she? I need to see her.”
Wearing blue scrubs and a ponytail, Olivia slid Jake a sideways glance. Apparently, the two had been together long enough to read each other’s minds because, despite her having said nothing, Jake responded as if she had.
“Yeah. It’s like that.”
Apprehension filled Olivia’s hazel eyes when she looked back up at him. “She’s the daughter of a Russian mob boss, Mikey.”
“And?”
“And...are you sure you want to get mixed up with a girl like that?”
“Junebug, you know I love you”—Mike used his sister’s childhood nickname—“but you know nothing about Juliet or the kind of person she is.”
“You’re right. I don’t. But I do know I lost ten years with my brother, and the last part of that decade was because you were undercover while trying to take her father down. I also know the things he and her brother went to prison for.”
Shit. That part would strike a nerve with Olivia. It still burned his ass to know she’d damn near been sold into the sex trade by the fucker who’d abducted her a few years back.
“She’s not like them, Liv. Trust me.”
“I do trust you, Mikey. I’m not saying she isn’t nice, because she seems like a lovely woman. I just don’t know if—”
“Then trust me to make the right decision when it comes to my love life. Hell, if you don’t want to hear it from me, go ask D. He’s the one who found her for me.”
“He did?”
Mike nodded. “Ran her background, too. She’s as clean as they come, Sis. Doesn’t even use her dad’s last name because she can’t stand being linked to the son of a bitch.”
Jake gave Olivia a slight nod. The meaning of which she apparently understood.
“Okay, then.” She gave Mike a genuine smile. “Follow me. I’ll take you to her.”
Turning, Olivia’s chestnut ponytail swayed from side to side as she walked back toward the hospital entrance. Mike and Jake fell in line behind her, his nerves firing on all cylinders with the need to see Juliet with his own eyes. To know she really was okay.
As if reading his mind, too, Olivia gave them a rundown of Juliet’s and Derek’s conditions. Thanks to some paperwork the entire Alpha Team signed when they started with R.I.S.C., the general HIPAA rules didn’t apply when it came to them.
If something happened to one of them on the job, they all had the legal right to be told of their condition.
The hospital also had any clients being treated in the ER sign a waiver if they were able, since their physical and mental condition could affect how they proceeded with each particular case they were working.
While Juliet wasn’t a paying client, Jake had declared her protection detail and the investigation into who wanted her dead an official R.I.S.C. case. Therefore, Olivia was free and clear to discuss her treatment.
“Sophie...er, Dr. Greer...is in with Juliet, now, going over her scan results. Don’t worry”—Olivia spoke up before Mike could respond—“they all came back normal.”
“What about Derek?” Jake asked.
“I put seven stitches into his forehead and treated a scrape on his chin. Other than that, he’s good to go.”
“No concussion?”
“His exam came back negative, although he does need to take it easy for a stretch. I’m sure he’ll be sore and have one hell of a headache the next couple of days, but he’s good. Charlie’s with him.”
Jake scoffed. “You know she’ll keep him in check.”
Charlie, or Charlotte, was Derek’s wife. She was a super-sweet woman with a heart of gold. She was probably the only person other than Jake who could actually make the dumbass follow doctor’s orders.
Another thought hit. One that had Mike reaching for Olivia’s arm. “Wait.”
She turned
to face him. “What?”
“You didn’t...” His anxiety roared to life as his gaze bounced between his sister and Jake. “Shit, you didn’t tell her my real name, did you?”
“No. I saw Derek first, and he gave me a heads up.”
“So, she thinks your...” Mike let his voice trail off.
“Jake’s wife. Which, I am. But if that woman means to you what I think she does, you need to tell her before she finds out some other way.”
“I know. I plan to.”
“Michael James Bradshaw, I mean it.” The feisty woman put her hands on her hips. “In case you haven’t noticed, Juliet really cares about you. And you and I both know how fast a secret can destroy a relationship. Especially something like the one you’re keeping from her.”
“I said I know.” He scowled. “In case you haven’t noticed, Jules and I have been a tad bit busy since we reconnected.”
Jake coughed loudly, and his wife and Mike both rolled their eyes at the obviously inappropriate move.
“Seriously, dude?”
“What?” The man shrugged. “Just trying to lighten the mood, brother.”
Ignoring his immature friend, Mike turned back to Olivia. “Since when do you use middle names, anyway?”
“Why? Did that scare you?”
He gave her a hesitant nod. “Little bit, yeah.”
Smiling proudly, Olivia linked her arm with his and the three began walking again. “Good.”
“Explain something else to me, Sis. First you’re all ‘are you sure you want to be with a mob boss’s daughter’, and then you’re razzing me for being dishonest with her. What gives?”
“That was just a test.”
“A test?”
“To see if you felt the same way she did. I figured if you jumped to her defense, which you did, that meant you cared about her, too.”
“Motherhood isn’t just full of wonders.” Mike nudged his sister playfully. “It’s taught you to be downright ruthless.”
His comment made her smile even wider. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
After what felt like the longest walk in the history of the world, they finally reached the exam room where Juliet was being treated. The doctor was walking out just as they were about to enter.
“Oh!” The woman stopped just short of bumping into Olivia. “I was just coming to get you. The patient’s all set.”
