by Sophie Oak
Her stomach rolled. She seemed to be duct-taped to a chair. She tried to move her feet. At least she could kick if she had to. She glanced around the large room. She didn’t see anyone but Chase. They were in a huge, industrial-looking space. She tried to find the exits. There were several large windows overhead, but she couldn’t see a door.
“I don’t know if I could run. I feel terrible.”
“Probably ketamine,” Chase explained. He was taped down in a similar fashion. The big Dom looked worse for the wear. His left eye was swollen shut, and he had a fat lip. Silvery tape wrapped around his torso, holding him upright. “It’s a tranquilizer. Veterinary. Easier to get than the human stuff, but it works.”
“It made me sick.”
“Again, it is supposed to be used on horses. And I wouldn’t mind a little of it right about now. I think one of those fuckers didn’t expect much of a fight. Holder seemed pissed as shit that I was damaged goods.”
Her brain was still a foggy mess. She tried to clear it. Holder was the man who had helped her with the robber, and then he’d shown up at Leo’s office with the pictures of Ada. Shelley put two and two together and came up with the fact that Holder was an asshole. “He arranged for my laptop to be stolen. Jerk. What does he want?”
There was an echo of footsteps. Shelley forced her head to turn.
“I want a certain tape that your husband made.” Holder frowned down at her. Any vestige of charm was gone. Holder was dressed in black, the stark color a contrast to his silver-white hair. Icy-gray eyes pinned her. “You can tell me where that tape is and make it easy on yourself, or we can do this the hard way. I’m prepared for either.”
He flicked a hand and another man in black walked up, carrying a small metal tray.
“Is that what I think it is?” Chase asked.
“It’s sodium amytal.” He picked up the hypodermic needle.
“I don’t know anything,” she said. They could give her all the drugs in the world, and she wouldn’t be able to help them.
“God, Shelley, just tell them. The jig is up, sweetheart. Holder knows.” Chase’s voice was gravely. “Time isn’t on our side here, sweetheart.”
He emphasized the word “time.”
He wanted her to stall. God. She had to buy them some time. If Holder decided that she didn’t know anything, there would be zero reason to keep them alive.
“Tell me something, Holder,” Chase was saying. “Why did you kill Ada? Don’t pretend you didn’t. You wouldn’t have had those pictures if you didn’t. I assume you’re planning to pin this whole thing on me.”
A cold smile curved up Holder’s lips. “You’ve been out of the game too long, Ben. You should never have revealed that emotional shit to a roomful of people. I was worried about how I would handle getting rid of Miss McNamara here. I thought I might have to cover it all up, but this is so much easier.”
“You won’t be able to cover anything up,” Shelley said. “Leo and Wolf will look for me. They’ll find me.”
Her stomach rumbled again. The charm. By now, Kitten would have finished up her count and gone to find Leo and Wolf. They would turn on the GPS, and they would come for her.
Despite the fact that she was pissed at Wolf, she knew he would come in with guns blazing. She just needed to give him time.
Holder seemed willing to talk for a little while. “And now, thanks to Ben here, they can find a corpse because Ben has an axe to grind with your pervert boyfriend, Leo. Leo was fucking his girl. Leo was the one she wanted. It’s funny how plans come together, isn’t it? I tried to pin Ada’s murder on Leo. I even studied that damn Shibari crap so the bondage would look right. I’ve been very careful and though I didn’t pin it on Leo back then, I can sure as hell pin this on you now.” Holder got close to Ben.
“So I get pissed off after all these years and decide to take it out on Leo’s sub?” Chase asked. “Why now?”
Holder shrugged as if it didn’t really matter to him. “Maybe you just like brunettes. Maybe you waited until Meyer found one he really loved. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. After the cops hear about all the weird shit you guys pull on women, they won’t be so surprised you decided to rape this one and kill her and then yourself.”
Rape? She felt her strength return on a tidal wave of anger. “I’m not telling you anything. I hope that file gets out.”
She had no idea what file he was talking about, but she bet it was criminal and could cost whoever was on it some jail time.
Holder was perfectly calm as though the outcome had already been decided. “You will talk. You’ll talk, and then you’re going to make this all look good for the papers. Meyer will be caught in a shit storm after Ben here writes a long letter detailing how Meyer was involved in a drug-running deal that little Ada caught wind of. Ben will say he found out about how Meyer paid to have his little bondage girl killed.”
“An interesting story,” Chase said with a little uptick of his lips. “But I do see a few problems with it. First of all, how are you going to get me to do anything with only you and the Hulk there? It took four of your assholes to take me down the first time. And a Taser.”
Holder squeezed the syringe until a bit of the drug squirted out. “I don’t need all my men now that I have you two properly secured. Besides, I needed them back at that club. I got them in as body guards. I think Lodge might notice if the senator’s body guards disappeared.”
“I don’t think I’ll cooperate, Holder,” Chase said.
Holder laughed, the sound grating on Shelley’s nerves. “Your cooperation isn’t necessary. My teammate here will simply use your dead hand to fire a bullet from the gun that will take Miss McNamara’s life, and then you’ll be covered in gunpowder residue. Don’t worry too much about it, Ben. I’m very good at covering up my crimes. I don’t make mistakes.”
He pulled up the sleeve of Shelley’s T-shirt, the needle in his hand. Shelley shrank back as much as she could. She was terrified of that needle. She was still shaky from the last drug he’d pumped through her body. She wasn’t focused. How would she handle something else? Would her heart simply slow and stop? Would she die without ever seeing them again?
She wished she’d never walked off that stage. She should have stayed and fought it out with Wolf.
She braced herself for the strike, but Chase’s voice stopped Holder’s hand.
“You made a huge mistake, Holder. I’m not Ben.”
Holder’s eyes went wide, and he turned to the big guy standing next to him.
“Don’t look at me, boss, I wasn’t there.” The big guy got on his phone.
Holder took a step back. “You’re lying.”
Chase grinned. “Why don’t you pump me full of that shit, and we’ll see who’s lying? I’m Chase, not Ben, dumbass. I never met Ada. I wasn’t even in the same country as she was killing in. I was in Iraq. And I have zero reason to hate Leo Meyer. Good luck with that.”
Holder’s face got red, and Shelley worried that Chase had made a horrible mistake. And then Chase nodded, turning his chin up, and she saw him. A shadowy figure moved across the window. Chase started to shout at Holder, giving the man on the fire escape the ability to step up. He went to one knee, a rifle in his hand.
Leo or Wolf? It didn’t matter. They were here. They had come for her. She loved them so much. If they all survived, she wasn’t going to be apart from them again.
Holder sneered down at Chase, waving at him dismissively. “Joe, kill this asshole. If he isn’t Ben Dawson, then he’s useless to me. We’ll have to figure something out, but we can’t let him live.”
Joe pulled his handgun and, with a smile on his face, started toward Chase.
“No,” Shelley yelled, trying to move.
Holder turned back to Shelley. He pulled at her hair, jerking her head to one side. “You’re going to tell me what I want to know. I want those files or I swear to god whatever those perverts did to you will seem like heaven. You’ll beg me to let you die. D
o I make myself clear?”
She winced, her scalp stinging. She tried to pull away, but there was nowhere to go. She turned her eyes to Chase, who had tried so hard to keep them both alive. He’d bought them time. He couldn’t die now.
Joe held up his gun, but Chase merely smiled at the man.
There was a loud crack, the sound ringing through the air. The shot hadn’t come from the man on the outside, but from her left. Joe’s body jerked, and the gun fell from his hand, clattering to the floor. She heard Holder gasp behind her. Joe spun around, and before he could hit the floor, Shelley saw the neat hole in his forehead. His eyes were dead and glassy as he fell.
“Drop it, Holder. Move away from her.” Leo stalked into the room, his feet moving silently across the floor. Wolf was next to him. They moved in perfect time as though they had been partners all their lives.
They were the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.
Holder tightened his hands around her and quickly shoved the needle in her neck. Shelley screamed at the pain. She could feel the burn.
Holder stood behind her, only paying attention to the men walking toward him. He used her body as a shield. “One step closer and I pump this whole fucking syringe through her system. It’s too much. She won’t be able to handle it.”
“Yes, I can. I’ll be fine,” Shelley said. God, she didn’t want him to push that plunger down. She wasn’t sure what it would do, but she knew if Leo and Wolf dropped their guard that Holder could have a gun in his hand really fast.
“It’s a barbiturate. I already pumped her full of ketamine. Do you want to see how she’ll handle an overdose of this shit, too?” Holder asked.
“The cops are on their way,” Wolf said. His eyes found hers. “Baby, it’s going to be okay.”
“Don’t you drop those guns,” she replied. “I’ll be fine.”
“She won’t,” Holder said. “I already killed one of your bitches, Meyer. Do I need to kill another one?”
“Ben, that’s a confession. You’re good to go,” Leo said. Shelley noticed the small device in his ear. Ben was the man on the ledge. Ben was the sniper, and he had his command.
“What the?” It was all Holder got out before Shelley felt something whiz by her head and then Holder’s hands softened, and he fell behind her. The needle stuck in her neck, but Leo was at her side in a second, gently pulling it out and tossing it aside. She wanted to get her arms around him. She’d almost died. She’d almost lost everything.
There was another loud report, jarring Shelley.
“Hey, he was already dead, Wolf,” Leo said, his hand on her skin.
“He stuck a fucking needle in her neck. He can’t be dead enough for me.” Wolf paced the floor, but his eyes didn’t catch hers.
Tears streamed down Shelley’s face. Her neck hurt, but it didn’t matter.
Leo used a knife on the tape, and she was free in a moment. He pulled her into his arms. “Baby, baby, I was so scared.”
She wrapped her arms around him.
Ben ran in the warehouse as the sirens wailed.
“How the hell did you get here so fast?” Chase asked.
“Kitten made Shelley swallow her GPS,” Leo explained.
Chase smiled. “Kitten’s getting a reward spanking. Oh, yeah.”
Shelley held on to Leo like he was a lifeline, but her eyes trailed to Wolf. He glanced at her, but didn’t move to hold her.
“I’m going to wait for the cops.” Wolf nodded and walked out.
“Don’t worry, baby,” Leo said.
But she couldn’t help but worry. Half her heart had just walked out the door.
Chapter Twenty
Wolf stared at the elevator doors as they closed, surprised at just how nervous he was. He was bone tired, having slept next to nothing the night before. He’d managed a brief nap while waiting in the interrogation room of the downtown Dallas police station. It had been a long night filled with lots of questions. Julian and the legal brigade had shown up. Finn and Dane had rushed around, smoothing over the fact that he and Ben had killed two men.
“You okay, man?” Ben asked. He looked past tired, with dark circles under his eyes and a deep slump to his shoulders.
He felt for the box in his pocket. It was there. Julian had worked a bit of magic, getting someone to open the store so early in the morning. Wolf had explained what he wanted, and one of Julian’s employees had picked it up.
The right gift. He had it this time. Now he just had to hope that she would accept it.
“I’m fine. How’s Chase?”
“Already home. He’s tough. Don’t worry about him. I think he’s already going through those files trying to find the one Holder was after. He was also able to identify a couple of the men who took him. They got into The Club with a man named Mitchell Cross. He’s a US senator who was visiting tonight. He’s either connected to Holder or Holder used him to gain access. Chase is determined to find out.”
He turned to Ben, whose flat monotone let Wolf know that Ben still hadn’t really processed. “Man, are you okay? You killed the man who murdered your woman.”
A look of pain crossed his face. “She wasn’t mine. She was never mine, but I’m glad she has a little justice. Are you going after Shelley?”
Wolf nodded.
“Have you ever had a long-term ménage before?”
Wolf shook his head. “No. I’ve played around, but I’ve avoided it as a relationship. Where I come from, it’s a viable option, but I didn’t want a partner besides my brother.” He laughed a little. “There’s actually a woman I dated back in Bliss who I told flat out I didn’t do the ménage thing. Yeah, she’s going to have a laugh when I invite her to my wedding.”
It would happen. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“You move fast, man. I don’t think I’ll ever find the right woman,” Ben admitted. “I loved Ada, but there’s no way she could have handled Chase. The two women we’ve had longer-term relationships with weren’t really serious. Chase didn’t want to marry one, and the other laughed when we asked her. Be careful. Shelley seems like a sweetheart, but not a lot of women want a ménage on a permanent basis.”
The door dinged open, and Wolf looked at the long hallway that led to the condo. Ben stepped out.
“No way to know until you try, man,” Ben said. He gave Wolf a tired salute and walked to the condo he shared with his brother.
Wolf walked down the hall. He could still see the moment that asshole had stuck a needle into her neck. It was right there, floating in his brain like a nightmare he couldn’t shut off. He’d realized in that moment that she really could die, and his life would be over, too. He’d known he cared about her, but that one moment had proven how much she’d taken over his soul. When she’d wrapped her arms around Leo, he’d realized how brutally he’d fucked up.
And how much it would hurt if he couldn’t fix it.
Leo had been able to go to the hospital with her. Leo had been able to hold her and assure himself that she was fine. All Wolf had had for the long hours of the night were short text updates.
He stood outside the condo. Fuck. He didn’t even have a keycard yet. That was ironic. The love of his life was behind the door and he had to knock, had to beg to be let in. He had to hope they were even awake.
He took a deep breath and tapped on the door.
It opened almost immediately, his brother slamming it wide.
“Why the fuck didn’t you call me? Do you understand we’ve been waiting up all damn night? We didn’t know if you’d been tossed in jail or god knew what.” Leo barked at him, making Wolf feel like he was a teenager slinking in after a stolen night.
“I thought Finn would tell you what was happening.”
“I didn’t want to hear it from Finn. I wanted to hear it from you. We need to talk about this whole partnership thing. If this is your idea of communication, it sucks, brother.” Leo moved back from the door, revealing Shelley, who was lying on the couch, a bl
anket around her. Even from here he could see the bruise on her neck.
Wolf pushed past Leo and got to his knees in front of her. “You told me she was fine.”
Shelley’s eyes came open. “You’re home.”
He pushed her hair back, uncovering the vicious-looking bruise on her neck. Asshole. God, he wanted to get his hands around Holder’s neck. It was wrong he’d gone down so quickly. He should have suffered. “You should still be in the hospital.”
“She’s fine, Wolf,” Leo said, calming down. “Though she might not be for long if you keep manhandling her. Maybe now she’ll follow her Master’s orders and get into bed. She refused. She wanted to go to the police station.”
“I was anxious to tear off a piece of your hide, Wolf Meyer,” she said with a yawn. “Now, I think I’ll skip that part.” She sat up. “I don’t want you to leave me, Wolf. I should have just said that. I should have just been open. I love you. I don’t know what idiot idea you have in your head, but I love you, and I want a family with you and Leo.”
He felt his whole body sag in relief. “Baby, I’m so sorry.”
His brother made a gagging sound. “Here comes the groveling.”
“You stay out of it, Leo Meyer,” Shelley said, her hand coming up to smooth back Wolf’s hair. She pressed him to her breast. He snuggled in, the anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach dissolving.
“You little brat, I’m keeping track of every time you turn that bossy mouth on me. When you’re physically able, we’re going to have some punishment.” Leo frowned down at her.
Wolf could hear the smile in Shelley’s voice. She winked Leo’s way. “I’m sure you will, you sadistic bastard. But until then, I think I would prefer something more pleasurable. After all, I did almost die. Shouldn’t someone kiss me?”
Wolf pulled away and looked at her. “Just like that, baby?”
He wanted to believe her, but it seemed too easy.
She smiled that little enigmatic smile that made his heart race. “Would you rather fight for a long time? I’m spent, Wolf. I could yell and scream and act like the brat I am, but I would rather just say it. I love you.” Tears pricked at her eyes, pooling there. “This isn’t the first time I thought I would die. My husband put me in a horrible position, and Leo is under the mistaken impression that I handled it beautifully.”
