by Lori Leger
She stole a glance in his direction. “Where are we going?”
“Just south of I-10 toward the lake. I’ll direct you.”
Angelique nearly tripped over a packing box trying to get to her door to answer it. She muttered under her breath, but at least managed to keep from spilling her glass of wine. She pulled the door open to see Liam standing there, looking hot as ever, despite the fact that he’d been thrown from a horse two days ago. Under normal circumstances, she’d have slammed the door in his face. A long, luxurious bath, however, as well as a half bottle of wine had mellowed her enough to throw him a morsel of forgiveness.
“Hell-ooo …” she said, drawing out the word as she hung on the door handle. As expected, Liam’s apologies came pouring out like hot syrup over a fresh stack of pancakes.
“I’m so sorry, Angel. I swear I thought I’d been out for maybe a few minutes to an hour. You have to believe I’d never have done that had I known.” He sounded sincere, as well as extremely disappointed in his own self.
She took another sip of wine as she contemplated the man before her. Just looking at Liam made her juices flow. Had it really been over a year since she’d made love to this man? Sometimes it felt like yesterday. But sometimes. like right now—it seemed like she’d been without it far too long.
“I know that, but I stared at your deathly still body all night long, knowing how empty I’d feel if I never got to see that handsome smile again. If I had any damn sense, I’d stay angry.” She emptied her wine glass and pulled him in by the belt loop, kicking the door closed behind them. “Lucky for you, I’m feeling generous. Besides,” she said, sidling up to him. “I know exactly what you can do to make it up to me.”
Liam’s low groan let her know he was willing, but as she pushed him gently up against the wall, he grabbed her hands. In a second, she was the one pinned and he’d planted a kiss on her that made her melt from the inside out. He pulled back to take a breath, running the back of his hand softly down her face. “I know I don’t deserve it, but please forgive me.”
“Oh …” she said, in as seductive tone as she could muster…and she wasn’t mustering much. “All right.”
“Really?” He kissed her again, lightly this time. “You’re not going to drag me over broken glass or anything?”
She hiccupped once and giggled. “I don’t have any broken glass on hand, but if I find some,” she gave him a wink and placed her finger on his chin, “I’ll give you a call, how’s that?”
He nodded slowly, giving her that sexy smile of his.
“That’ll do. You’re-ah-sounding a little more relaxed than usual, Babe. What’s up with you today?” he whispered, his voice low, quietly seductive.
“Nothing’s up,” she said. “But something is down, like the half bottle of wine I drank since I opened it up an hour ago. Wine makes me loose, in more ways than one…lucky you,” she added, before giggling again.
“Uh huh, I remember. Harper’s not coming over here, is he?”
“Nooo, of course not,” she drawled. “Am I starting to schlur a little?” Liam’s deep laughter tickled her senses, stirring something deep within her. She thought of the many nights they’d spent making love, the way he looked with no shirt on…with no clothes on. She groaned low in her throat, wanting to see him like that again.
“Just a little slur, but not too bad,” he said. “God, I love you so much, Angel. I’m so grateful that you were with me in the hospital. The nurses told me you never left my side. I just wanted to thank you, babe.”
His words touched her and soon she was sniffing back tears. “I love you too, Liam. I really do. That’s why I’m having such a hard time knowing I’ll eventually have to choose between you and Mike. I love you both the same.” Soon she was blubbering into her shirt sleeve.
“Please don’t. You know it tears me up when you cry,” he said, sounding tortured.
“I can’t help it. I don’t want to hurt either of you,” she said, sobbing now.
“It’ll be fine, sweet girl. Mike and I are big boys. We can handle it, I promise. Now you go on to bed. You must be exhausted after everything I put you through plus trying to pack. I love you, Angel.”
She smiled crookedly up at him before starting up a fresh round of tears. “I do love you too, Liam…so…so very much. Are you coming in?”
“Unfortunately,” he said, giving her another soul melting kiss before backing away from her. “My police escort is outside waiting for me. We have to get back to Sarah and her girls at the LeBlanc’s place, remember? My physician seems to think I could use some assistance in doing my job for a day or two.” He stepped forward and placed his hands on either side of her face in a tender gesture. “Are we good, love?”
She nodded, and dropped her head against his chest as he pulled her close for a hug. “Yes, Liam. We’re good.” She lifted her gaze up to his with a smile. “Now go take care of Sarah and the twins.”
Melanie tapped the steering wheel in time to the song on the radio as Nash exited the house looking pretty full of himself. He got into the car and buckled his seatbelt, a huge grin plastered on his face.
“One more stop before we get to the ranch,” he said. “I want you to find a video rental place so I can rent Cuckoo’s Nest. You’ve got to see it.”
“Why don’t I just rent it online?”
“You can do that?”
She looked at him curiously. “Are you that old or have you lived under a rock for the last few years?”
“I’ll be forty-one on April first and I’ve been busy.”
“April Fool’s Day?” she snickered. “That explains a lot.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. When’s your birthday?”
“On May tenth I’ll be thirty,” she said.
“Hmph, I remember when I turned thirty.”
“Over a decade ago,” she snorted.
“Shut up, Finley.”
She smiled and turned up the volume to her favorite country station. “Oh, I love this guy. He’s going to be in Baton Rouge next month. The show’s already sold out, but I’ve been trying to win tickets on the radio.” She began humming to his snappy older tune about a guy telling a girl to hold on tight for an eight second ride.
“Do you sing?” he asked.
“I can carry a tune,” she returned. “You?”
“Some, but I play guitar better.”
“Hmmm. Did you bring it? I’d like to hear that.”
“It’s at the ranch,” he answered. “I’ll pick, if you sing.”
“Sure, why not,” she said, thinking this would definitely be an interesting three days.
Within minutes of arriving at the ranch, Mel had settled into her temporary home easily enough, thanks to the kindness and generosity of Daniel and Leah LeBlanc. Sarah’s twins, now seven months old, were crawling all over and getting into everything. Another hour had Mel seated on the floor playing with them.
“You’re good with kids,” Liam stated, after watching her with Sammi and Danni for several minutes.
“I babysat all through junior high and high school,” she explained. “I guess I still got it.” She picked up Sammi and kissed her belly, causing the child to erupt into an adorable giggle.
Liam laughed softly as he watched them together. Melanie Finley was an enigma, that’s for sure. Maybe it’s just that he was still reeling from the fact that she was a she. His gaze travelled across the room to where Sarah sat alone, looking significantly more withdrawn than she had in the past week or two. “Sarah, are you okay?”
She gave him a distracted nod. “I’m fine. I’m just glad you two are here.”
“Anything happen while I was gone?”
Sarah shook her head. “Nope—everything was fine.”
He studied her face. “Why don’t I believe you?”
“I don’t know, Nash. There’s nothing to tell,” she said, irritably, before leaving the room.
At the sound of her door closing, he met Leah’s gaze. “Talk t
o me.”
Leah sat next to him and spoke just loudly enough for both he and Mel to hear. “She had a nightmare but she won’t talk about it. She sat there in her bed, staring at her hands while this God awful, blood curdling scream came from her.” Leah’s eyes closed as she shivered. “I’ll never forget it as long as I live. It scared ten years off of me.”
Liam leaned forward “What’d she say when she woke up?”
“Only that she had to see the girls, to make sure Troy hadn’t hurt them.”
Melanie groaned as she pulled the twin she held closer, while Liam swore under his breath.
“If that son of a bitch is smart, his worthless ass won’t show up over here,” he muttered.
“He doesn’t seem like the smart type to me, Nash,” Mel replied. “We’ll have to stay sharp and keep our eyes open.”
Sarah lay face down on her bed, trying to block thoughts of that awful dream. She rolled over and pressed both palms to her burning eyes. The sudden vibration in her pocket made her jump and she pulled out the cell phone Liam had purchased for her. Her heart thundered in her chest as the word ‘Anonymous’ flashed across the screen. She’d emailed the number to her brother in the Marines last week, but she had no idea if he’d been in any position to retrieve it.
“Hello,” she spoke timidly, praying Troy hadn’t tracked her down, somehow.
Her brother’s deep bass was a joyous sound to her ears. “Sis, is that you?”
“Mitch! Oh God, it’s so good to hear your voice.” She struggled to get a handle on her emotions.
“Aw hell, what’s wrong, Sarah Beth? What did that dick-head brother in law of mine do now?”
“He…” she paused, not wanting to upset him when he couldn’t do a thing about it. “He tried to get at me, but I’m fine now,” she answered, shakily.
“Now? You’re fine now?” He swore loudly into the phone. “Talk to me, Sis!”
“Mitch,” she sobbed, suddenly too overcome with emotion to speak.
Within seconds Nash was knocking on her door, asking if she was okay.
“Sarah, is everything alright?” he said, cautiously stepping inside. He tensed immediately. “Who are you talking to?”
“What’s going on? Who is that?” Mitch demanded. “Is that Troy? If it is, put him on the phone. I want to talk to shit for brains.”
“No, Mitch, it’s not Troy. It’s-it’s Liam Nash, my bodyguard,” she sobbed. Her brother’s violent reaction had her pulling the phone away from her ear.
“Bodyguard! What the hell happened for you to need a bodyguard?”
Thankfully, Liam took control of the situation. He reached out for the phone. “Sarah, let me speak to your brother while you go calm down.”
Practically throwing the phone at him, she locked herself inside her bathroom to pull herself together.
On the way to his room, Nash introduced himself to Sarah’s brother.
“Is she alright? Are she and the twins safe?” Mitch asked.
“They’re fine, no thanks to your brother in law.”
“What did that son of a bitch do to them, Mr. Nash?”
“Just call me Nash.” Liam spent the next five minutes explaining things to Master Sergeant Mitchell Hebert of the United States Marine Corp. How they’d found his little sister and her twin girls, as well as their current living arrangements.
“Five days, beat up, and with no food,” Mitch hissed in a low voice. “When I get my hands on that little bastard he’ll wish he’d never been born.”
“That’s how everyone on this case feels, Master Sergeant.” He heard the man exhale slowly, as though to calm himself.
“Call me Mitch, please. I appreciate what you and everyone involved is doing to keep her safe. Whatever it’s costing you, I’ll reimburse every cent, I swear.”
“You don’t owe me a dime, Mitch. Believe me when I tell you this case has touched everyone’s hearts. The LeBlanc’s have practically adopted Sarah, and they treat the babies like their own grandchildren. She’s with good people who care about her; we all do.”
“Is she completely healed?” Mitch asked.
“She’s recuperated physically, but I can’t say she’s mentally healed. She’s had a pretty horrendous nightmare about Troy getting to the twins. I don’t think she’ll be able to relax until that S.O.B. is behind bars.”
“Or dead, and I’d be glad to do it.”
“I sure as hell didn’t hear that,” Nash said, whistling under his breath.
“Sorry about that, man.” Mitch released another long sigh. “This is my fault. I introduced her to that prick years ago.”
“What’d you do, set ‘em up?” Liam asked him.
“Hell no! He was just one of the punks I started hanging around with after my mom died. I gave him a bloody nose when he said my fourteen year old sister was hot. I told that bastard she was meant for someone a hell of a lot better than him.”
“Obviously, he didn’t listen.”
“He left town for a while, and when he got back they started dating. By the time I heard about it, they were married already. I know I wouldn’t have been able to stop them but if I hadn’t been hanging around trash like that in the first place, she’d have never even met him.”
“Then those adorable twins wouldn’t be born and that would be a real shame,” Liam replied.
“Are they all right, really, Nash? I’ve only seen pictures of them.”
“Aw man, you’re in for a real treat when you do. They’re some real beauties.”
“I can’t wait to see them. That’s why I called Sarah, to let her know I’ve got two weeks leave coming to me. Do you think she’s calmed down enough to talk to me now?” Mitch asked.
“Hang on and I’ll find out.” Nash walked over to Sarah’s room and knocked on the door. When she opened it, he smiled into her red-rimmed eyes. “Here, Sarah, someone wants to speak to you.” He handed her the phone and quietly pulled the door closed to give her some privacy.
He went back to his room to pace and wait it out. After another five minutes he opened his door to a soft tapping. Sarah told her brother goodbye before handing the phone over to him. He watched her disappear down the hall to meet the others in the living room. “Nash here.”
“You have something to write with?” Mitch asked.
Liam picked up a pen and pad from his nightstand. “Sure do; what do you have?”
“These are my contact numbers.” He rattled off three different numbers for Nash. “If anything—anything at all happens with that piece of shit, you call me, you hear? I have some retired Marine brothers who live in that area. They’ll help if I ask them to.”
Liam grunted. “I wondered about that—I know how it is.”
“Sounds like you’re military, too,” Mitch said. “What branch?”
“Navy.”
“Aw man, sorry to hear that. You got any specialized training that qualifies you to protect my little sister?”
“Does the fact that I was a SEAL for four years qualify?” Mitch’s low chuckle reverberated over the phone.
“It’ll have to do, I guess. We can’t all be jarheads.”
Liam laughed at the good natured teasing. “That’s right. Some of us are born with brains to go along with all that brawn.” He smiled at Mitchell’s burst of laughter as they ended the call.
CHAPTER 21
Angelique surveyed her new digs while sipping her coffee, satisfied with the results of two full days of unpacking.
“My stuff looks good in here, Sonny,” she commented. “I think we’ll get along just fine, if you’ll have me.” She started to say something else then closed her mouth and grinned at her uneasiness. “I guess this takes some getting used to, but I’m trying.”
A knock at her door forced her up from her comfortable position of aching feet propped up on the arm of her couch. She set her coffee cup down and groaned as she got up to see who it was.
Mike stood there, holding out a cut crystal vase of fresh
flowers in one hand. “Think of it as a house warming gift.”
“How beautiful! You’re too sweet.”
He pulled his other hand out from behind his back to reveal a basket holding two bottles of wine.
“Ooh, is that what I think it is?” Angelique cooed.
“Galvez by Feliciana Wineries. One white and one red.”
“Oh baby, you know what I like,” she said, taking the bouquet of flowers from him with one hand as she kissed him lightly on the mouth. “These are gorgeous. Thank you so much.”
He bowed elegantly at the waist. “You’re so welcome.”
She placed the vase on the center of her dining room table then turned to take the basket from him.
Mike turned in a slow circle. “This place looks fantastic.”
She nodded in satisfaction as her gaze followed his. “It’s a great old house, isn’t it?”
“Yep,” he said, fidgeting with his hat while looking down at his Tony Lama boots. “Y-You aren’t still mad at me, are you?” he said, sounding contrite. “I was being kind of a bully at the hospital.”
“You were only doing what my mom asked you to. She confessed to me yesterday when I called her. I’m sorry I lit into you like that.”
Mike placed his two massive hands around her waist and pulled her to him. “Nothing to be sorry for,” he said. “And yes, this is a wonderful place; so convenient and close.” He nuzzled her neck softly.
Angelique shivered. “Arret ca, Mike! You need to stop that.”
He grinned, but stepped away from her. “I don’t want to force you to call your shrink again.”
“Oh funny,” she said, leaning over to answer her ringing landline. “Hello.”
“Angelique dear, is that you?”
“Nan!” she said, meeting Mike’s amused gaze. “Yes, it is. How are you? Was your flight okay?”
“I’m fine, now, dear. But that night out in the Big Easy didn’t do much for my jet lag. Heed these words, honey. Never play quarters with middle aged drag queens. The more those bitches drink, the better their aim.”
“What, no strip club?” Angelique asked, winking at Mike.
