The Damaged Heroes Collection [Box Set #1: The Damaged Heroes Collection] (BookStrand Publishing Mainstream)

by James, Sandy

  Unfortunately, the vacation didn’t turn out to be much fun for either Laurie or Alex. He virtually ignored her as he prowled around the big ranch house as if he was one of King Arthur’s knights on a quest to find the Holy Grail. He was absolutely convinced a journal from the Prohibition era would turn up among the hundreds of books in the library. After days of searching, Alex had grown sullen and seemed less and less able to expend the mental energy required to shield his emotions from Laurie.

  On the last day of the trip, she clearly read frustration and more anger than she felt comfortable being around. When they returned to Chicago, Laurie had been trying to decide how to tactfully break up with him. But she didn’t need to. She figured he’d returned to Champaign because he never tried to contact her.

  Now, all of a sudden he’d reappeared and acted as if no time had passed. Laurie had been so busy trying to soothe Ross’s ruffled feathers, she hadn’t even tried to read Alex after her initial appraisal of his mood. Perhaps if she spent a few minutes with him, she might be able to find out why he’d jumped right back into her world. Then she would politely invite him to jump right back out.

  Picking up the phone, she called Connie’s extension. “Is he still there?”

  Connie obviously didn’t need to ask who Laurie meant. “Yeah. Want me to give him the bum’s rush?”

  “No, thanks. Is my twelve-thirty here yet?”

  “Not yet. What do you want me to do?”

  “Send Alex back. Please call me when my patient gets here.”

  A few moments later, Laurie opened her office door and Alex breezed in as if he belonged. “Brought you a turkey sandwich. Lettuce and mustard on white, right?”

  “Um…tomato and mayo on wheat, actually.” Laurie tried to read him, but he’d been able to successfully raise his firewall again. She’d just have to get at him the old-fashioned way. Suddenly feeling a need to put some barrier between them, she walked back to her desk and sat down in her chair. Looking up at him, she asked, “Alex, you want to tell me what in the hell you’re doing here?”

  “I brought you lunch.”

  “You know what I mean,” she said, not bothering to hide her annoyance. “People don’t just disappear and then pop back up six months later for no reason. It’s the journal, isn’t it? I told you—”

  “No, Laurie. It’s not the journal. I mean, yeah, I’d love to look at it, but you told me it didn’t have the diagrams or maps I needed. I came back because I wanted to see you.” Alex sounded sincere. “When I got your email, it broke my heart. I realized I’d made a mistake. I wanted to see you again.”

  She stared at him for a long moment, trying to read him before she realized she honestly didn’t care. Alex didn’t matter. Why waste her gift on him? “I really think it would be best if you left.”

  Alex put the sack of sandwiches and the cans of soda down on her desk and leaned against it. “I screwed up, okay? Can’t we just have lunch and talk? Let me explain.”

  “Explain what? We’re through. Besides, I have a boyfriend.” Just thinking about Ross was comforting. To call him her boyfriend felt wonderful.

  “The jock?” He gave a derisive laugh. “You’re a lot smarter than that. You need someone with a decent brain.”

  Laurie felt an overpowering need to defend Ross. “Not that I should be talking to you about this, but Ross is very smart.”

  “And obviously loaded. What was with the limo?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “I missed you, Laurie.”

  She shook her head. “You didn’t miss me until I found the journal. Goodbye, Alex. You can show yourself out.”

  “Ah, come on...”

  “I guess you can’t show yourself out.” Laurie stood up, walked to her office door, and opened it. “Goodbye, Alex.”

  He stomped out of her office and through the reception area before slamming the glass double doors open as he left.

  * * * *

  Sitting across the parking lot, Bruiser took a few more pictures and wondered how awful it would be to deal with temperamental people like that patient all day long. At least he’d finally found Dr. Laurence Miller. He picked up his cell phone and called Sheila. “Hi, Baby. Miss you too. Tell Ross I found his target. I’ll get the pictures to him after I get some of where she lives. Yeah, I’ll see you tonight. We can hunt her house together.”

  Chapter 12

  I warned T.J. that Ice was dangerous, but he wouldn’t listen. Why are men always so stubborn?

  T.J. told me Ice is skimming off of the protection money they collect for their bosses. T.J. says the bosses will kill them both if they ever find out. Ice takes the money and buys more stones. He told T.J. they’ll never know the difference, but T.J. isn’t that stupid. Ice is going to get them both killed.

  I didn’t tell T.J. that Ice has been making moves on me. If I did, it would just give T.J. more trouble. Ice waits until T.J. isn’t around and then he has his hands all over me. How I wish T.J. and I could leave this horrible city! I want to run back to Greenwood and hide! I want life to be boring again!

  Duchess... No! She’s not Duchess. She’s Ellie. Just like my T.J. is not Fortune. Ellie can’t seem to keep away from Ice. I just don’t understand. He isn’t faithful to her. I see him with other dancers all the time. When I try to talk to her, she tells me she doesn’t want to talk about it. Is she in love with him? If she isn’t, then what kind of hold does he have over her?

  Ruby never knew the shame

  that came with feeling all the blame.

  One loved the Fortune of a sister dear.

  Each day One had to live in fear

  that Ice would tell and tear apart

  the sisterly bonds felt in One’s heart.

  Ross sat on the front porch swing. He knew he was a bit early, but he’d hoped Laurie would have been home by now. How strange it felt to have another person ensnare his mind so completely. Laurie had been his main focus since that Montana blizzard. She was everywhere he looked, in each of his thoughts. Work was becoming Hell because it was time spent away from Laurie. He couldn’t remember a time where he’d actually watched a clock, waiting for a work day to end. Nor could he recall a time when the minutes seemed to move so damned slowly.

  Ross suddenly caught the sight of Laurie jogging up the hill leading to the old house. He smiled at the picture she presented. Clad in white running shorts and a pink sweatshirt, she waved in greeting. Ross jumped off the swing and waited for her to join him on the porch.

  Laurie yanked the ear buds off and tugged at the Velcro strap holding her iPod to her upper arm. “Sorry. Thought I’d be back before you got here.” She brushed a quick kiss on his lips and opened the door to go into the house. “Like I told you, the door’s usually open. Next time, just let yourself in.”

  “You shouldn’t leave your door unlocked. I can’t believe you’d be so...so...negligent,” Ross scolded as he followed her through the open door.

  “You sound like a friggin’ lawyer.” She laughed at her own joke. “I forget the key when I run. Do you know how many times I’ve locked myself out? And Deepika always loses hers.”

  He gawked at her extraordinarily long, entirely bare, and very red legs. “Aren’t you cold?”

  She shook her head as she pushed the door open. “Nah. My legs get too hot in sweats.”

  Ross looked around the house. It bore the same we’re-too-busy-to-pick-anything-up appearance it held the last time he’d visited. The place was so very different than the sterile condo he called home. Realizing he was comfortable here—amidst this disarray—took him by surprise.

  Laurie dropped her iPod on the big dining room table. So many things sat piled on it, there wasn’t a visible inch of wood. She kicked her Nikes onto the pile of discarded shoes by the kitchen door.

  “I need a shower. Want me to order dinner? I can have it delivered or you could run and pick it up while I’m getting decent again.” She grabbed the cordless phone and waited for hi
s answer.

  Ross didn’t really hear Laurie’s question as he stood and gaped at her.

  Nervously patting her sweat-dampened hair, she glanced down at her bare legs. “I must be a mess. I mean, I was running. Gives me an excuse to look like this.” She tucked several loose wisps of hair behind her ears. “It’s hard to be glamorous when you’re sweating.” She kept acting like she wanted him to say something, but he was having a hard time finding his voice. “Do I look that awful?”

  Those toned legs drove him straight to distraction. Long and lightly muscled, they seemed to go on forever. The anxious tone of her voice finally helped Ross locate his wits, and he shook his head to break the trance spun by her hypnotic body. “Awful? Awful? Where in the hell did you get that idea?”

  Laurie blushed. “You were staring.”

  “And what makes you think I’d stare if I didn’t like what I saw?”

  Her beautiful face flushed a deeper shade of red. “Sorry. Force of habit. Look, what about supper?”

  “I’ll go get it. Got a take-out menu?”

  Still a bit scatterbrained at Ross’s compliments, Laurie looked around the mess on her table before she spotted the Chinese take-out menu. When it dawned on her that her full name was clearly displayed on the psychology journals stacked there, she jerked her sweatshirt over her head and conveniently dropped it over them. Her stomach churned at the foolishness of having Ross so close when she hadn’t spilled her secret. She’d have to tell him soon before he stumbled across the information. It was nothing short of a miracle he hadn’t discovered her real name when he’d wandered so freely through her house after her car had been vandalized.

  Ross stared at her again, barely blinking, mouth agape. Laurie couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. “What?”

  “Nice outfit.”

  She glanced down and realized her breasts were covered by nothing but a white sports bra that had soaked through. It didn’t leave a whole lot to the imagination. “Shit.” She picked her sweatshirt back up and held it in front of her.

  Ross waited as she called in the order then went out the front door. After he left, Laurie made a quick sweep of the living room to make sure no tell-tale sign of her identity remained. Then she hurried through a shower, scolding herself the whole time that she needed to be honest with him, and she needed to do so soon. But could he forgive her deception?

  Ross walked back in the front door as she came down the stairs in faded jeans and a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Not the most attractive ensemble, but having worked way too much to find time to do the laundry, it was all she could find clean. She couldn’t even find a decent bra.

  Laurie gathered plates, silverware, and two cans of Diet Coke and followed Ross to the sofa. They spread the small white containers on the coffee table and filled their plates. She left her food resting on the table as she went to a bookshelf full of DVDs. “Comedy, right?” she asked over her shoulder.

  “Yeah.” He suddenly snapped his fingers. “Wait. How about comic book stuff? Have you got Spiderman?”

  She flipped through several plastic cases in the collection. “Spiderman, yes. But I like Batman better.”

  Ross shook his head. “Not unless it’s the Christian Bale version. Everything else is too campy. A real Batman doesn’t need nipples on his chest plate. X-Men?”

  “Oh, yeah. Hugh Jackman.” She grabbed the DVD, opened the case, and stuck the disk in the player. Picking the remote up off the coffee table, she plopped down on the sofa next to Ross.

  “And Halle Berry.” Ross gave an exaggerated growl that made Laurie laugh.

  After stuffing themselves with Moo Goo Gai Pan and Teriyaki beef, Laurie held up a fortune cookie for him. “Want to know your future?”

  “Hell, no. I hate those things.”

  “Why?”

  “They’re too...accurate,” Ross replied.

  Laurie broke one in half and retrieved the message. She laughed. “I sure hope they’re accurate.”

  His curiosity betrayed him. “What’s it say?”

  “‘Fortune will find you.’”

  “Fine, give me one,” Ross grumbled as he held out his palm. Laurie grabbed the other cookie and placed it on his hand. He cracked the shell open, read the words of wisdom, and snorted a laugh.

  “What? What’s your fortune?”

  “‘Sometimes you must lose a battle with pride to win the war of love.’ You know, I always get the worst damn fortune cookies.”

  Ross kicked off his shoes and settled back on the sofa. Stretching out his long legs, he patted the space between his thighs and gave Laurie a hopeful look. She grinned, sat down between his legs, and leaned her back against his chest. He immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

  No matter how many times she had contact with the man, each and every touch sent butterflies fluttering through her. She was almost sad to realize how much she had missed not being able to touch other people her whole life. God, how I love touching! Until Ross came into her world, Laurie hadn’t enjoyed the type comfort she found in his arms. She sighed in contentment as he rubbed his chin on her shoulder.

  Forget Hugh Jackman.

  Her sigh washed over Ross, and he smiled, knowing she felt the incredible attraction too. The movie held no interest with such a heavenly creature lying in his grasp. The second her back came in contact with him, his body responded. Being hard was a perpetual state whenever Laurie was around. His lips brushed her ear. The goose bumps instantly spread over her arms, telling him she enjoyed it. With a satisfied male chuckle, he traced a path around her ear with his tongue before nuzzling the delicate, silky place on her neck that made her purr. Laurie tilted her head and sighed again. Music to his ears.

  He started working her shirt up and let his hands brush Laurie’s bare stomach. Ross splayed his fingers across the warmth of her soft skin. Damn, everything about her excited him. Absolutely everything. The apple smell of her hair, the sweet sound of her voice, the way she always responded without reservation or guile whenever he touched her. She acted as if he was the only attractive man on the face of the planet. Her hands had dropped to his thighs, and he doubted she even knew she was rubbing them, kneading the muscle. For a moment, he imagined those hands on the part of him that pulsated for her, craved her. Looking over her shoulder he could see Laurie’s eyes were closed and her cheeks had flushed. He needed more of her.

  Working his hands slowly up her torso, Ross stopped abruptly when his thumbs brushed the underside of her breasts. She hadn’t bothered to put on a bra after her shower. He almost lost control right then and there.

  Holding her breath, Laurie waited for his touch. Please. The anticipation was both exciting and petrifying. Please, Ross, please. When his palms covered her breasts, the air rushed from her in a gasp. Turning her head, she reached one hand over her shoulder to pull Ross’s face closer to her own. She needed him to kiss her, needed it with hunger that she had no will or desire to deny.

  The instant his lips met hers, her sixth sense rocked her body. She trembled as the strongest premonition she’d ever experienced ran through her like an electric shock.

  Tell him! Tell him the truth now, before it’s too late! The voice reverberated in her head as a cold chill raced through her body.

  “Kitten, are you all right?” Ross asked as he dropped his hands back to her waist. He pulled her firmly against his chest, holding her like some frightened child. She shook as if she’d been dunked in ice water and had no ability to hide her reaction from him.

  Laurie put her hands to her temples and tried to drown out the sounds in her head. She still hadn’t figured out what her last premonition was about, and now she faced another. There had been warnings before, but no words had ever accompanied her intuition. The gentle nudges had suddenly become full-blown shouts. At least this one was specific.

  Tell him! Tell him now!

  Her mind mercifully quieted.

  “Laurie
?”

  “I’m...I’m fine. I think.” She pushed his arms away and sat up, rubbing her shaking fingers across her forehead.

  Ross pulled his legs back, swung them over the side of the couch, and sat next to her. She tried to stop her hands from trembling when he reached for them. “Was that your intuition? Like the restaurant and the limo?”

  All she could manage was a curt nod. There was no doubt what she needed to do, and if her intuition was accurate, she had very little time to do it. The lag time between Laurie’s perception of an event and the event itself never afforded her much of a cushion.

  Trying to get a rein on her tumbling mind, she drew a few deep breaths. The time had come to confess her identity, but she just couldn’t manage to make her mouth form the necessary words. If Ross knew who she really was, he would surely hate her. Both for the deception and for what he’d assume she represented—the spoiled rotten rich.

  Damn it all! I don’t even want the friggin’ money!

  Ross rubbed her hands. They had to feel like ice, but at least the trembling had eased. “Do you know what’s happening, what’s causing this?” he asked.

  “Ross, I need to...”

  Shit, Laurence! Quick dragging your feet and just tell him!

  The phone rang, startling her enough she jumped in response. Laurie reached for the handset still sitting on the coffee table. The caller ID showed Andrew’s cell phone. “Andrew? What’s—?”

  He didn’t even give her a chance to ask her question. “Laurie, you need to come to the clinic. Now. Some addict broke in and trashed the place.”

  “Our clinic? Are the police there yet?” She looked frantically at Ross. He shot back a look of concern, obviously wanting to know what had happened. She held her hand over the receiver. “Some addict robbed the clinic looking for drugs.” He nodded his understanding.