by Avery Gale
“Oh, I guess, I’d better. It might be the nanny, she might actually need me for something.” Pulling her phone from her purse, Layla watched as Kat’s eyes widened and then filled with tears. “It was just a message. No worries.”
When Kat started to move out of the bench seat, Layla stayed her by placing her hand on her arm. “Kat, hold up a minute. Would you be willing to help Tori and I plan my wedding and commitment ceremony? Since you have experience with these things I could really use your input.”
Katarina looked up at her and for the first time in weeks Layla saw some spark in her eyes. “Oh, yes, I’d love to help.” She smiled and leaned forward before she spoke again and Layla knew she was struggling to maintain control. “Thank you. I really need some direction right now. I’ve been kind of reeling for a while, you know? And if I say anything to my men, it will turn into some horrible upheaval and I don’t want that.” Then turning to Tori she added, “Remember right after the babies came home? I mentioned being ‘blue’ and they called psychiatrists all over the country. Honestly, I thought I would die of embarrassment.”
Tori smiled and then giggled. “I do remember. But you, my sweet friend, have forgotten something really important about our conversation that night.” When Kat looked at her in confusion, Tori nudged her, “I told you to call me if you needed me…and you haven’t done that, have you? Now, I fully expect that our sweet Sheriff has alerted your men and probably mine and Layla’s as well, so we’ll be stormed at any moment. But you have to promise to not keep this from Alex and Zach and further, you must call one of us when things start to swamp you, do you hear me, sweet sister?”
Layla watched as huge tears raced down Kat’s cheeks and Tori pulled her into a tight hug. Suddenly feeling like she was a part of a family for the first time in years, Layla felt her own tears start to fall. Looking up she saw the front door of the diner slam open and men storming into the small eatery. Cash was the first through the door, but he was followed by Trace, Alex, and Zach. Collin and Clay stormed through the door less than a minute later.
She couldn’t help it…something about the whole scene was so ridiculous it just struck her as funny and the hysterical giggles she tried to hold in check bubbled to the surface. Seems they were contagious as well, because Tori and Kat looked around and then looked at her as if she’d completely lost her mind a split second before they joined her.
Chapter 23
Nick Lang sat in the back booth in the small diner and watched in amazement as his niece and her sexy friends chatted and then were stormed by men. Deciding this small town housed more than its share of perverts he wasn’t surprised they’d lured Layla in. Christ, she was even more beautiful than she’d been as a teenager and he would have sworn to you that wasn’t possible. Since he’d been coming in and out of this small town he’d been doing some research and noted that not only was Collin Red Cloud a permanent fixture on the Forbes list, the Lamonts were loaded as well.
Every time he was in this small town he had the feeling he was being watched and that unnerved him. It was time to step up his plan, if he was going to earn the respect of his family he needed to get this wrapped up quickly. Things were coming together in Houston and he needed to get back there. Besides it was fucking cold in Colorado and he’d gotten tired of that shit in a big hurry. Taking a sip of his coffee he cursed his glued-on moustache. Christ, being forced to wear the damned thing was an insult.
Looking over as the men escorted the women out of the little cafe he vowed to step it up. He was tired of waiting for an opportunity to present itself—he was obviously going to have to create an opportunity. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t done that plenty of times before. Leaving more than enough money on the table, he slipped out the back entrance and made his way down the block to his car, just as he had every other time he’d eaten there. No sense in following that group out the front, it was time to get his gear and visit Climax’s only motel.
* * * *
Dylan Marshall was getting mighty tired of watching Nick Lang watch Layla. Muttering under his breath he wished the man would just make a move already. The way it was, he couldn’t arrest the man for being in the same place she was, and if he picked him up solely on the threats he’d made via voice mail, the asshole would be back on the street within an hour and then be heads-up and much more difficult to watch.
He’d been in the diner to keep an eye on the man when the women had converged. Ordinarily he’d have let them talk, figuring Tori and Layla would help Katarina with the postpartum depression he knew her men were monitoring carefully, but with Nick Lang in the room, it was just too dangerous to ignore. He’d made calls as soon as he’d cleared the door and then made his way to his observation point near where Lang had parked, just in case he decided to take Layla with him. Mitch had been tracking the man electronically and knew he’d been cyber-stalking not only Collin Red Cloud’s financials, but the Lamonts’ as well, and as far as Dylan was concerned that could only mean one thing—the man was intending to make ransom demands before he evened the score with his niece. Not in my town, you won’t. And not with my friends, ever.
After working for the Drug Enforcement Agency for years, Dylan decided to retire when his cover was so badly blown he would have been confined to a desk job forever. Luckily his dad was ready to retire as the sheriff in his hometown so it had been an easy transition. And when his sweet Mia had reentered his life, he’d felt like everything was back on track. But it seemed the small town had become one hell of a magnet for trouble recently, and he was getting mighty fed-up being on the reactive rather than proactive side of things. Mia had been teasing him lately that his trigger finger was getting itchy and they needed to visit the range so he could channel some of that energy and perhaps she was right. Personally he’d rather just practice on the prick sauntering toward his car a half block down the street.
Something was different about the man today, though. Dylan had noticed a shift in his energy when he’d seen him sitting in the back of the diner. It was as if he’d grown tired of waiting. The hair on the back of Dylan’s neck stood up when he saw the man glance around before popping the back-end of the SUV that Dylan knew was a rental. Grabbing the binoculars he kept nearby, he focused on the interior of the vehicle and saw a roll of duct tape and a coil of rope. Oh yeah, the man was definitely ready for action. Grabbing his phone he called Mitch and asked him to relay the info to everybody via secure texts. He didn’t want it going out over his radio because it was likely a man like Nick Lang would be using a scanner.
Pulling out a few seconds after Lang, he followed at a respectable distance since he could track the man via the small handheld GPS he’d been given after Jamie had tagged him a few weeks ago. When the man parked close to a small group of trees about a quarter mile from the motel, Dylan called Mitch with the update. And even though he knew all three Red Clouds were unhappy with the plan, this was the only thing anyone had been able to come up with to resolve this problem.
Watching as Cash pulled in front of the small motel and skirted the truck to open the door for Layla, he chuckled to himself knowing exactly what was inside that sweater and tucked in those knee-high leather boots. No doubt the woman was armed to the teeth. He snapped a picture with his dash-cam and e-mailed it to Mia. Within seconds he got a reply that said, “Yes, indeed, my she’s rockin’ those boots, she’s got three weapons on her, I helped the guys gussy her up. LOL Give me ten and I’ll fix ’em up good.” God, he loved that woman more than life itself. And their baby Nathanial was the light of his life as well. He knew she’d helped get Layla prepped and he was grateful for her years of experience with DEA and her willingness to pinch-hit when necessary.
He quickly texted her with a sultry promise for later that night and then returned his gaze to the couple engaged in a nearly obscene lip lock on the motel steps. Get a room, you two. Damn, Cash, you know you have an audience. Better think how difficult it’s going to be for your friends and brothers to run to her
aid with hard-ons, buddy. Tapping his ear bud he relayed his concerns to Cash and chuckled when he saw his friend’s lips twitch as he tried not to grin.
* * * *
Layla was totally jazzed. Mia had helped Cash strap a tiny microphone under her sweater. There was another in her earring and a camera in her funky necklace. She had a gun tucked in the back of her pants, another in the kick-ass leather boot Ilaina had loaned her and a sheathed knife tucked down in her cast she was getting rid of tomorrow. Oh yes, indeed, she was feeling like one of those warrior women she saw on television. She’d told them she needed a tiara and a sword but they’d thought she was kidding. As if.
After she surfaced from Cash’s blistering kiss out in front of the motel she made her way through the lobby and into to the break room behind her office. They had cautioned her to do exactly what she did every other day, because any break in routine would likely send her uncle scampering for the hills again. And damn it, this time she intended to put an end to this nonsense once and for all. The last thing Cash had said to her before he’d backed away from her was, “You put him away once, love, and we’ll do it again. But—don’t hesitate to shoot his ass.” She had snickered because it was exactly what Mia had suggested…well, she’d actually suggested shooting in the same general location, just in the front. You had to love former agents and their take-no-prisoners-way of seeing the world. Maybe I missed my calling?
Just as she stepped out into her office she saw her uncle sitting in front of her desk. It wasn’t difficult to feign surprise even when she had been expecting him. His years in prison hadn’t been good to him. He wasn’t the same hunk that women had flocked to when he was a younger man. The added weight and pale skin made him look much older than she knew he was.
“Well, well, look what we have here. A hot little cunt who has scored herself a rich boyfriend—or three. Jesus, Layla, your mama surely raised you better than that. Oh yeah, I forgot, after you sold my ass out, she kicked you to the curb, didn’t she?” God, even his voice was more abrasive than she remembered. And his laugh actually sent icy shivers up her spine.
“What do you want, Nick?” She wasn’t going to give him the respect she knew he’d expect by using the title of uncle. As far as she was concerned, she was an orphan the day her mom threw her and her clothes out all over their front yard.
“You and I are gonna take a little ride. I have a car parked close by and we’ll just walk there nice and slow.” When she saw that he had a small pistol pointed at her chest she froze. “Once we get to the cabin I’ve rented we’ll make a couple of phone calls and see just exactly how anxious your fuck-buddies and pervert bosses are to get you back. Hell, if they make it worth my time I might actually make this easier on you.”
“Why would I go anywhere with you? We both know you’ll kill me if I do, it won’t matter how much they pay you.” She knew she had to get more information from him, so far he’d been too cautious with his words and Tori had coached her on getting him to be as specific as possible. Personally she thought Mia’s advice had still been the best. Knowing everyone was watching and listening helped boost her confidence. She gave him a look that she hoped conveyed her utter disdain for him. “You really think you can force me to go with you? The years haven’t been good to you, and quite frankly, I think I can take your ass.” Oh boy, she could almost hear her men and the ShadowDance team growling. Sure she knew she was poking the bear, but she also knew her uncle better than any of them did. He was going to have to be pushed to give her the information she wanted, he was typically pretty damned calm and collected, and he was nobody’s fool either.
He tilted his head and looked at her while seeming to take in the fact that she wasn’t the same teen he’d frightened that last day in court. “You know, I could have made you into something. You always were the smartest of the lot in our family. God knows you’re a lot smarter than your idiot mother. But where you got that fucking streak of justice, I’ll never figure out. It’s almost a shame I have to make an example of you.”
“What the hell are you talking about? I thought you were going to try to ransom me for money? And I think you are grossly overestimating my value around here. Hell, the Lamonts can hire another motel manager before they have their dessert tonight. And the Red Cloud brothers like me enough, but I’m not the only woman around you know. Surely you don’t envision getting millions for me, unrealistic—flattering, but unrealistic.” And there it was, boys and girls…that tell-tale tic that means I’ve pushed him right over the line.
“Maybe you aren’t as smart as I thought, let’s go. I’m tired of waiting. I’ve been waiting for this for years. I’m going to make you understand the importance of family loyalty and then watch your eyes spark with realization after I slit your pretty little neck. I love watching that moment when your victim knows they’re going to die.” The minute he grabbed her arm and jerked her toward the door she saw her chance. She pretended to trip over the walking cast she didn’t even really need anymore and fell to her hands and knees. Pulling the pistol from her boot she didn’t hesitate. He’d already told her he was going to kill her and she knew he’d kill anyone who came through the door to help her.
She slid the small weapon into the splint she was wearing on her wrist while she struggled to get upright. When he jerked her upright she pulled the trigger. It felt like she’d suddenly been caught in a time warp as everything seemed to take place in slow motion. She watched as the front of his shirt blossomed red and his eyes went wide. It was almost as if she’d been moved out of her own body and was watching the scene from afar. She heard herself say, “You’re wrong you know. Watching that moment of realization when someone knows they are going to die by my hand is not satisfying at all. It’s just sad, because all you had to do was leave me alone.” She heard his gun hit the floor at the same time his knees folded and her small office flooded with people.
She’d known they were close, but seeing them was all it took for her to deflate. Cash wrapped her in his arms and Dylan took her weapon. Cash had her scooped up and was making his way out to the lobby in the time it took her to blink. “I’m so proud of you, love. I’m want to beat your ass for pushing him, but damn I’m proud of you.”
Chapter 24
It had taken every ounce of self-control Cash had possessed to let Layla finish what she had started with her uncle. He might not have made it if Mia hadn’t grabbed him by the arm and said, “Let her do it, she’s ready and she deserves this. He took so much from her, don’t you take this.” He’d known instantly that she was right, but that hadn’t helped as much as it should have. He’d driven over to Red Clouds Dancing and parked and as soon as he’d been told Nick had gone in the back of the motel, he’d made his way over to where Mia had been watching with a rifle poised on the back door.
He knew that Ethan Jantz was in position watching the front and Jamie Creed had Lang’s vehicle covered and Cash had shaken his head at the fire power that was awaiting the man if he stepped outside with Layla. Ethan and Jamie had been legendary as SEAL snipers, the shots they’d made would be talked about for years to come. Unfortunately most of them were so highly classified few people would ever get to hear those stories.
Mitch and Colt were manning all the communication from the Crow’s Nest at The Club and every single member of the team had heard firsthand how brave his woman had been. He knew both Collin and Clay were helping the local deputies keep traffic from the area and a couple of Dylan’s deputies had been waiting outside the small cabin they’d found out Nick had rented on the off chance the man eluded everyone else. They had this plan set for weeks and for once everything had gone like clockwork.
Remarkably as the EMS crew wheeled the man out, he actually opened his eyes and looked straight at Layla. It had been haunting and Cash had no doubt he’d just seen another glimpse of Satan. During all his time in the military, he’d only seen that look a few times. Most of the time he dealt with soldiers like himself that merely believed in th
eir cause and were doing what they had to do. But on a few occasions, he’d seen just how real evil could be and it had always sent a chill through him.
Cuddling Layla close he wasn’t that surprised that she wasn’t talking. He and Zach had talked to Bree in advance and had decided they would avoid giving her a sedative unless it was absolutely necessary because they didn’t want to expose the baby to the drugs. When he and his brothers had mentioned it to her, she had assured them that she would be fine and that protecting the baby was more important than making her more comfortable. He’d asked his brothers to make sure their parents were here tomorrow night for the surprise they had planned for Layla. This party had been in the works for weeks and he wasn’t about to cancel it now that they had even more to celebrate. Their parents were already at the house visiting with Lainy and he was sure they’d already been updated on how things had gone.
Smiling to himself, he could well imagine the welcome Layla was going to get when she got home. Not only did she single-handedly take down the bad guy today—a fact his dads would appreciate for sure—but she was also carrying their first grandchild. Hell, they already liked her so she’d probably be handed the “Keys to the Kingdom” today. Looking at the sweet woman sitting so docile in his lap he stroked his fingers down her face and turned her so that he could look directly into her eyes. “As soon as you give a quick report to Dylan, I’ll take you home, love.”
Her beautiful eyes filled with tears that she tried to blink back. “Can I go to your house instead? I mean, if it’s okay. I’m not…well, I don’t want to be alone just yet.”
