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

by James, Sandy

  “Look, I’m sorry,” she said. “I turned the alarm off when I was getting ready to check if my mail was here. I got interrupted by a phone call. It was only off for a minute, and I’d just unlocked the door.”

  He tried to mentally count to ten but only made it to five before he started lecturing her. “Why don’t you and Deepika just put out a big neon sign that says, ‘Come on, scumbags! Come and get us!’ You’d think getting shoved down the stairs would be enough to make you a little more careful.”

  Laurie threw the dishtowel over her shoulder in one quick snap, put her hands on her hips, and gave him the same type of scowl he liked to give her. The picture she presented wasn’t much of a reprimand when she looked so delectable, fading bruises and all. “I said I was sorry. Have you changed your mind about going? Because I don’t intend to get scolded all weekend.”

  Ross stopped frowning. “I just worry about you.” He kissed her injured forehead. “You look like you’re moving a lot better.”

  He was pleased when she smiled again. “You’re forgiven. And I’m fine. Good as new.” Her smile faded as her fingers gently brushed her bangs. “Well, except for my face looking like a patchwork quilt.”

  “Stop it, Laurie. You look fine.”

  She simply waved her hand in dismissal and muttered under her breath, “Sorry. Force of habit.”

  He frowned at her again before he suddenly had an idea. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers. After kissing her until she surrendered and sagged against him, Ross took his lips away and grinned down at her. “Sorry,” he said. “Force of habit.”

  Laurie giggled, plucked the towel from her shoulder, and walked back to the kitchen. He followed. After dropping the towel on the counter, she took a second to excavate two matching shoes from the incredible shoe pile that miraculously seemed to grow each time Ross saw it. After slipping them on, she walked to the staircase to grab her bag. Ross took it out of her hand. “This thing weighs a ton. What did you put in it?”

  “The kitchen sink,” she saucily replied. “You never told me where we’re heading, so I had to plan for all contingencies. Exactly where are we going?”

  “I’ll tell you soon.”

  “You’re not even telling me where you’re taking me?” Laurie sounded a bit concerned.

  “Nope. I told you, it’s a surprise.” He heard the slow crawl of the mail truck as it passed the end of the driveway. “Wait here for a second. I’ll throw your bag in the trunk and grab your mail.”

  Laurie hadn’t expected it, hadn’t known it would hit her so hard. The premonition shot roughly through her sore body, causing her to tremble and making her so dizzy that she groped for Ross’s arm.

  He dropped the bag, reached out, and placed his hands on her waist to hold her steady. “Kitten? You okay?”

  She nodded, but the movement caused her head to spin some more. Words started flying through her mind. Go outside with him. You must go outside with him. Then her mind fell mercifully silent.

  Laurie looked up at Ross as she tried to steady herself. “It’s okay. I’m... I’m fine now.” She wasn’t really fine because it was still horribly disorienting that words now accompanied her gift. She’d enjoyed a long talk about the changes with her mother, and Angelique told her the power only grew stronger with each passing year. And her mother told her to always listen to the voice.

  “Maybe it’s too soon to go away. You probably need to get some more rest,” Ross said, his voice full of disappointment.

  “No. I want to go. I’m fine now. Really.”

  Laurie smiled and realized she trusted him not only with her heart, but with her life. And if her intuition said she should follow him, there was no way in hell she would let him go outside alone. “Okay. I’m all yours. C’mon. I’ll go get the mail with you.” She took his hand.

  Ross’s Lexus sat parked in front of the house. Laurie walked out with him and waited on the sidewalk while he popped the trunk and threw her bag in next to his.

  When she moved toward the mailbox to check the mail, he waved her off and jogged across the street to grab the letters from the silver box. Probably to taunt her, he stood in front of the mailbox, shuffling through the letters and holding them up to the sunlight as if trying to read the contents.

  Laurie started to laugh until she saw the car and her blood turned to ice. The enormous old sedan came barreling down the street, aimed right at Ross. Her breath caught in her throat. Ross wasn’t moving out of the way. He obviously didn’t even see the black car because he was still standing there trying to tease her. In a panic, she finally found her voice. “Ross! Look out!”

  Ross hit the sidewalk rolling as the car careened past. He moved out of the danger zone only a split second before the sedan would have hit him. The envelopes that went flying in the air when he leapt began to rain down on him as he sat up.

  Trying to get an identification of the car, Laurie realized it had no license plate. The dark tinted windows kept her from seeing the driver. At the speed it moved, the sedan disappeared before she could find enough of her wits to even notice the model.

  Laurie’s heart pounded with such fierce intensity she wondered if it would simply explode. She sprinted toward Ross as fast as her sore body could manage. “Oh, my God. Are you all right?”

  Ross stood up and brushed himself off. “I’m fine. What an asshole. People in the suburbs have no idea how to drive.”

  She wasn’t in the mood for joking. Running her hands over his arms, her gaze traveled his body, looking for any sign of injury. She wondered if he could feel the tremors running through her.

  “I’m fine, Laurie. Really. I walk in downtown Chicago every day. Not like I haven’t almost been hit by a cab or a car before. That was probably just some old guy driving a Sherman tank too big for him to see over the steering wheel.”

  She thanked God for her premonition. If she hadn’t been there to alert Ross, the car would have surely hit him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, Laurie laid her head on his chest. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “You could have died,” she muttered as she rubbed her cheek against him. She was terrified to let him go.

  “You’re making too much out of it. I’m fine, Kitten. Really.”

  After a few moments, she pulled herself together. He turned her loose and stooped to retrieve her scattered mail. Laurie was too shaky to even try to bend over and help. With the stack of letters in one hand, Ross grasped her hand with the other and walked her back to the house.

  He dropped the mail on the dining room table. “You know, you’ll never see those letters again. They’ll sink into the stuff you’ve got piled up there, and just...poof...disappear.”

  “We can’t all be anal retentive.”

  * * * *

  Her reaction was all Ross had hoped for. Laurie gawked open-mouthed at the sleek white plane waiting patiently on the Midway Airport tarmac. The Cessna Citation Sovereign might be smaller than commercial airliners, but it made an impressive sight nonetheless. The sun gleamed off its polished exterior. She appeared a bit breathless that he’d arranged for them to have a private flight.

  “This is Seth Remington’s plane?” she asked.

  “Not his personal plane, but it belongs to Remington Computers. Seth called in a few favors for me. The Miller Foundation doesn’t have a private jet?”

  “Merde, no. Dad pinches every penny. He doesn’t even have an office or a secretary. If he has to travel, he flies cheap. The money goes to the causes, not to perks. This is wonderful.”

  Ross laughed as he enjoyed watching her stare wide-eyed at the jet. He’d tried to let go of his prejudice, and for her, he’d reached out to Seth so this would be a special weekend. Laurie’s happiness made the effort more than worthwhile.

  “You going to tell me where we’re going now?”

  “I can’t,” he cryptically replied.

  Laurie cocked her head as her brows came together. “Why not?”


  He enjoyed having her a little off balance for once. He’d felt dizzy since the moment he’d met her. “Because,” he replied with a huge grin.

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, well, that clears it up. Didn’t anyone ever tell you ‘because’ isn’t a real answer?”

  Ross just smiled and helped her up the stairs and into the airplane. Laurie gawked at the interior as he led her to two plush seats separated by a brightly polished wooden table. He pushed her to sit down. On the opposite side of the table, he unfolded an enormous map of the continental United States and set it out in front of her. “Close your eyes.”

  “Ross, that’s sweet. I can’t believe you remember so much about Montana.” Then she must have realized exactly what he had planned. “But I can’t... We can’t…”

  “Yes, we can. Close your eyes, Kitten.”

  “Really?” she asked, sounding a bit breathless.

  “Really.”

  A smile spread across her lips as she did as he commanded. “Now what?”

  Ross leaned over to pick up her right hand which he held above the map. “Pick a spot.” She started to open her eyes and he scolded, “No fair peeking. Keep them closed.”

  “Ross, seriously. We can’t...”

  “Sure we can. We’re going free falling, just like you talked about. Come on, Laurie. Let your fingers do the walking. Pick a spot.”

  She laughed, moved her hand in a big circle above the table, and then let it fall as her index finger selected a place on the map. Then she opened her eyes. “Where’s our personal plane heading?”

  Ross leaned over and looked at the map. “Death Valley? Figures.”

  Laurie laughed again. “No one ever said free falling would be easy, Sport.”

  “Okay, okay. We’ll work with what we’ve got.” He checked the map again to see what good destination was near where her hand rested. “Closest big city is Las Vegas. Will that suffice?”

  She nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, yeah. I’ve never been to Vegas.”

  “Vegas it is then. Good choice. Remington owes me a plane ride to Vegas anyway.” She gave him a quizzical look, so he decided to explain. “When he and Katie eloped to Vegas, I provided the transportation.” Ross flipped open his phone and dialed. “Sheila? She picked Las Vegas.”

  “Vegas, huh?” Sheila asked, her voice buzzing in his ear. “I’ll see what I can do. You sure didn’t give me much lead time. How long are you staying?”

  “Two nights. Get us something nice.”

  “I’m already messaging the concierge at the Bellagio. It’s nice to see you spend something from the piles of money you’ve got socked away. At least on something other than that spotless tomb of yours.”

  He didn’t want to growl at her, but the temptation was there. “She’s worth it.”

  Sheila chuckled. “Oh, boy. You’ve got it bad.” Ross could hear her fingers tapping at a keyboard. “Here we go... Confirmed with the Bellagio for a suite. You better win some big money, ’cause you sure as hell don’t pay me enough. I’m predicting a raise in my future. You two have a good time.”

  “Thanks, Sheila.” He snapped the phone shut.

  “You know, it’s not really spontaneous if your assistant makes reservations. You’re supposed to just wing it,” Laurie teased.

  “One step at a time, Love. One step at a time.”

  * * * *

  The trip to Las Vegas went by in a pleasant blur. Ross knew Laurie would always remember flying in over the Vegas strip. She stared out the window as wide-eyed as a child at her first circus.

  Even in the bright afternoon sun, Las Vegas looked like a carnival of light and color. Some of the taller buildings were illuminated in a kaleidoscope of reds and blues. Others were dotted by amber lights. Laurie pointed out the buildings, tapping her finger against the window. “Look. That’s Caesar’s Palace. And there’s the MGM Grand.” She was obviously enchanted by the city. “It’s so beautiful.”

  Ross thoroughly savored her reactions to all that she saw. Maybe this “winging it” stuff wasn’t so bad after all.

  A sleek black limousine waited for them when they exited the plane. Ross had expected Sheila to be her usual organized self, but it appeared she’d pulled out all the stops on this one. He would have just hailed a cab.

  Maybe he did owe her a raise.

  The car whisked them to the Bellagio. At the check-in counter, Ross took care of the arrangements while Laurie gathered an armload of tourist brochures. After he got the keycard to a Salone suite, Ross and Laurie were escorted to an elevator by a uniformed attendant who carried their bags. They all rose to the twenty-eighth floor.

  The suite was opulent. He didn’t let that bother him. Decorated in beige and mauve, the place seemed the epitome of elegance. Ross silently thanked his executive assistant. The woman worked miracles. He’d have Laurie pick out a nice gift to take back to Sheila.

  The bellhop put their bags down and walked to the window. “You’ve got a great view of the fountains from this suite,” he said as he pulled the cord to open the heavy drapes.

  Ross looked around their suite as Laurie twirled in a circle. Her reaction made him smile. Then he realized she always made him smile, something he’d seldom done before he met her. When he noticed the bed standing on a small dais, his heart skipped a quick beat.

  Patience. Rein it in, Ross.

  After Ross tipped the attendant, he closed the door. “So what do we do first?” It took every ounce of his self-control not to grab her, throw her on the bed, and strip her naked. Flashes of Laurie in a tub, at Montana and at his condo, burned into his brain. God, he was worse than a teenager whose parents had left him alone in the house for the weekend.

  Laurie hugged herself. “I just don’t know. Do you want to go play the slots? Maybe we could go to a show. We could walk along the Strip. I don’t know what I want to do first!”

  He grabbed the maps and brochures she’d gathered in the lobby and sat down on the sofa. Laurie plopped down next to him. Fanning the pamphlets out on the coffee table, they planned what they would see and do in their two days in Las Vegas.

  She opened the brochure for the Bellagio. “This place has friggin’ everything,” she said with a laugh. “Look at this. Seven restaurants. Seriously. Seven restaurants in one hotel. And that doesn’t even count the places to get snacks.”

  Her childlike reaction told him more about her personality than Laurie could possibly know. She might have been born with a silver spoon in her hand, but she hadn’t eaten with it. This experience excited her because she clearly wasn’t used to excess. Ross sat back and put his arm around her shoulder as he listened to her relate the litany of Bellagio amenities.

  “Oh, my God. Look at the pool. It’s just like old Rome.” She held up the pamphlet and pointed at the picture.

  He smiled at her enthusiasm as he let his fingers trace small circles on her shoulder. Wherever they went didn’t really matter because this was where they were coming back to. It was going to be a very special night if he had his way. He got hard just thinking about it.

  She kept reading from the thick brochure. “Look at the casino. It’s gorgeous. Good God, how many slot machines do you think they have here?”

  “Probably thousands. And this is only one of the hotels. Think about how many places there are to gamble around here. Plus there’s always poker, roulette, black jack. Any kind of game you want,” Ross added with a shrug. “It’s Las Vegas.”

  “Look,” she said as she pointed out another picture. “The hotel even has two wedding chapels. Is that all anybody does in Vegas? Gamble or get married?”

  Laurie waited for Ross to laugh, but he didn’t. When she glanced back at him, he appeared lost in thought. “Ross, you’ve got that brain in overdrive again. What’s up?”

  He stood up and started pacing. After his third lap around the suite, he suddenly stopped and whirled around to face her. One of his wicked smiles spread across his face. Ross was definitely up to something. “Laurie
, are you willing to put your money where your mouth is?”

  What a bizarre question. “Do you wanna play poker?”

  He shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. You always tell me I need to do something spontaneous. Something really out there, right?”

  Laurie had no idea what churned through that mind of his. “Well, yeah. But what does that have to do with me?”

  That sly smile was still plastered on his face. “I want to know. Are you willing to do something spontaneous?”

  Damn, it was frustrating not being able to read the guy. She just couldn’t get used to never knowing what went on inside his head, especially when that brain of his was continually working so damned hard. While the constant surprises were exciting, she felt like she was standing on quicksand.

  Then Laurie decided she loved quicksand.

  “Of course. Pick something. Anything,” she happily replied.

  “I mean it, Kitten. How’d you like to really free fall? Can you walk the tightrope without a net? Can you do something so far off the charts you’ll make everyone drop their jaws?”

  Laurie gaped at him for a second, and then she looked back at the brochure he stared at that was still turned to the two Bellagio wedding chapels. All of a sudden she understood. No. No way. He wouldn’t... “Ross, you’re not thinking about—?”

  He nodded vigorously, not even letting her finish the question. “Getting married? Hell, yeah, I am. We’re in Las Vegas. Like you said, people come here to get married and gamble. I say we do both. We’re going to get married tonight.”

  “You’ve lost your mind. We...we can’t get married. We’ve only known each other a month.” Laurie’s heart beat a cadence that left her breathless. She had as much adrenaline running through her system as a person who had jumped out of a plane and suddenly realized she wasn’t wearing a parachute. “We can’t.”

  He frowned at her as he knit his brow. Those brown eyes pierced holes through her. Oh yeah, she’d done it now. He was pissed. “More than a month, Laurie. Almost seven weeks. And what does that matter? Do you love me?” She gaped at him which must have succeeded in ticking him off a little more. His voice got louder. “Well, do you? Do you love me?”