by Reina Torres
He knew exactly where that sound came from. “It’s Boudreau!” Owen heard his father’s shout, but there’s wasn’t time to wait for Leon to reach the truck. Pulling himself back in the cab, Owen jerked the stick into drive and slammed his foot on the gas.
The shock of hitting the water were the best and worst things that had happened to Blyss in a long time. Lance came down on top of her and let go of her throat, but his weight pushed her down into the water. If she hadn’t thought to take in a deep breath of air as they were falling, she would be in big trouble. As it was, she held her breath as gently as she could.
Lance was floundering above her. She couldn’t see exactly what he was doing, but she could feel his frantic movements like ripples in a pond or, as her oxygen poor brain reminded her, the sonic waves from the old Aquaman cartoons when he was blond and goofy.
And then it wasn’t just Lance’s movements she could feel, but the heavy pulse of a larger body moving through the water. Boudreau.
All she could do was pray.
Before he reached the enclosure, he could already hear screams. It just wasn’t Blyss.
The thin, reedy tones of panic were male and as he shined his Maglite across the surface of the water, he saw Lance Soffer struggling to stay above the surface of the water. Panicked, the man was going to drown himself or draw entirely too much attention to himself.
“Where’s Blyss?”
Lance swung his head around and Owen could see him half in and half out of the water. The shock on his face was only eclipsed by his guilt. Back-peddling in the water, his arms flailed and the movement stirred up more than the water.
Two pinpoints of light emerged from the shadows and Owen saw the shadows part as Boudreau swam into sight.
The front of his snout only came into view when his mouth opened.
“Move!”
Lance heard him. He saw the man jump at the sound of his voice, but he froze instead, holding out his hands in front of his body. If he thought to ward off the alligator, he was wrong, so wrong.
Boo snapped his jaws shut and the side of his gaping mouth latched onto Lance’s forearm.
The howl from Lance’s mouth was of abject fear, warbling with pain. He used his other hand to shove at the gator’s snout, struggling. As he did that, Owen swung over the fencing and dropped down into the water with a splash.
Boudreau didn’t acknowledge the movement or sound. He was fixed on his prey, and thrashing backward in the water, and pulling Lance with him and off to whatever underwater flat he’d found.
“Blyss! Damn it, Blyss!! Where are you?”
His heart clenched in his chest. Was he really too late? Had he lost everything in a single night?
Stepping further into the water, feeling it soak through his clothes all the way up to his thighs, he moved further into the enclosure trying to make sure his voice was heard over Lance’s screams.
Bending over, the surges of water splashed up against Owen’s chest, hitting his chin, but he reached around underwater looking for Blyss. He hoped to God that she was hiding and not drowned.
“Blyss!” He felt like he’d screamed her name a dozen times and felt like his lungs were on fire and burning his throat. “Blyss! Can you hear me?”
He touched something with his left hand, something smooth and slightly warm, and the contact made it flinch away from his hand.
Owen chased it with his hand and the next time he made contact he felt it surge against him. The water under his feet shifted to the side and came back, buffeting against his legs.
When the surface of the water beside him broke and Blyss’ face rose out of the darkness, his eyes filled with tears. “Baby.” He grabbed her up and pulled her tight against him. “Damn it, Blyss. I thought-”
“It’s you!” She started to wrap her arms around him but stopped when they heard a stuttering scream from the center of the enclosure. “We’ve got to save him.”
The look in her eyes was filled with panic, but Owen could see the clarity in them as well.
“I’ve got to get you out of here first,” he turned toward the fence and moved her back a step, before she pushed at his chest, putting a little space between them.
“I need to get him out.”
“Leave him!”
Sirens reached their ears. Too far away to be of any help, but on their way. They would have help soon, but Blyss wasn’t going to wait, he knew better than that.
“He was trying to kill you! That’s why you’re in here, right?”
A flicker of pain passed through her eyes, but he also saw her determination. “And he needs to answer for that and many other crimes. He’ll be a witness against the people who started all of this, Owen. He’ll help people whether he wants to or not, but he has to live first.” She pushed past him and slogged through the water, moving deeper and toward the intermittent screams of the man who’d just tried to kill her.
“Stubborn woman.”
She turned for a split second and smiled at him. “You love it.”
He shook his head. “You know what I’d love more? For you to turn the truck around so the headlights are in here.” With that, he dove into the water ahead of her and heard her scrambling through the water behind him.
Later, she’d kick his ass, but when it came to Boo, they were old friends and if someone had a hope of freeing the asshole to stand trial, it was Owen.
Maybe there was something wrong with him that he would have been perfectly fine with letting Boudreau tear Lance limb from limb. After all, it was what Lance had intended to do to Blyss.
The only reason why he was doing this was for her, and what it meant for her to get Lance to testify.
He loved that stubborn woman.
As soon as she moved the truck, most of the enclosure was awash in light. It wasn’t a complete success, since the thick wood that shored up the fence cut wide swathes through the beams.
She moved around the enclosure to get closer to the deep end where all of noise was coming from. Climbing up on the railing, she eased herself over, using her arms and her abs. It also pulled on the muscles in her back, but she grit her teeth through the pain. She wanted to be close enough to do… something. It was one thing when she was going to dive back in to save Lance, but she should have known that Owen would do it instead.
Loving a man that stubborn was always a strain, but knowing that he was willing to do this for her made her love him even more.
And want to throttle him for putting himself in danger.
She knew the moment Owen surfaced before she even saw him. Boudreau swung his massive head around toward the fence and she heard a sickening sound reach her ears. It was like a pop and a wet tear at the same time. Lance’s body flopped back into the water.
Boo tossed his head back, opening his huge jaws with a shake. That’s when she saw something fall into his gullet and realized that they were fingers. Bile rose in her throat as she lowered herself down into the water.
Owen shouted at Boo to get his attention and drew the alligator away.
Blyss knew she had precious little time. With the adrenaline in the alligator’s system, there really was no way to know what would happen now that he’d turned his attention toward Owen.
Slogging through the water she reached Lance’s side. She hooked her hands under his arms and pulled. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
His head flopped back and he became dead weight, pulling out of her hands. “You bitch!”
“Nice. Just nice.”
As exhausted as she was, she leaned over and hooked his arms again, pulling him, even prone as he was, didn’t hurt all that much. It was probably a rush of adrenaline, but she was determined to get him out so Owen could as well. That’s what she needed. Who she needed.
Owen.
When she got to the fence, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Owen dove under Boudreau. Holding in an anguished scream, she pulled Lance up and onto his feet.
“My a
rm,” he let loose a long stream of curses. “It took my arm.”
She didn’t want to look at the torn ruin of his arm. The last thing she wanted to do was throw up on him. She had to get him out of the enclosure and then take care of Owen.
“Can you climb over on your own?”
“I’m going to kill that gator and-”
“Can you,” she ground out her words as she started to push him toward the fence, “get over on your own?”
“Have you seen my arm?”
She heard the anger and the pain. She just didn’t care. Bending down she wrapped her arms around his legs just under his knees and just as Lance started to make the same demand again, she stood and managed to push him up and over the railing. He landed on the ground with a thud and a howl.
Blyss turned around and scanned the water.
Boo was swimming through the water, his powerful tail whipping back and forth, but she couldn’t see Owen. There were plants in the water, grasses, and rocks on the sides, but even with the powerful headlights of his truck, she couldn’t see Owen anywhere.
All that was left was to hope that he’d gone under and kept out of reach of Boo’s powerful jaws.
“Come on… come on…”
The sirens had reached the property and another set of headlights swept down the access lane behind Owen’s truck. The instant a car door opened she heard Conor’s voice. “Blyss! Oh, thank goodness! Where’s-”
A rush of water turned heads toward the enclosure and as Blyss picked along the edge of the fence line she saw Boudreau dip his head underwater.
All she could do was beg and plead in her head. Please, oh please, oh please, oh-
And that’s when she saw him.
Boudreau’s head rose above the surface of the water and around the edges of his huge jaws were Owen’s hands.
As her knees weakened and her heart started beating again, Owen leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the alligator’s snout. When he was done, he looked over at the fence line and saw her. “Hey, baby. Look at our good boy.”
She started to cry. Her eyes welled up with tears. Still, she managed to smile and laugh at the same time. “Get out of that water you stubborn idiot!”
He looked at Boo and gave the alligator a wink. “She called me an idiot, boy. If she’s not careful, I’m gonna kiss her without washing my face.”
“Oh no you don’t.”
“Owen?”
Her ridiculously handsome man turned to look at their friend. “Hey, Conor. Way to be late to the party!”
The Game Warden laughed out loud. “I was going to offer you some help…”
Owen laughed. “Some tape might be good. And a pair of handcuffs for your man over there.”
Blyss turned around and saw Lance sitting on the walkway, his injured arm tucked tightly against his body.
“On second thought,” Owen remarked, chuckling. “You might only need a cuff and some EMTs.”
When Conor reached into the front seat of Owen’s truck, he pulled out a roll of tape.
“Here!” Blyss held out her hand. “I’ll take it to him, I’m already drenched.”
She didn’t give Owen a chance to argue because she wasn’t going to listen to him, anyway. Snatching the role of tape from the air, she jumped back into the water and made her way across to Owen.
She found the end of the roll and stuck it down on Boo’s snout. While Owen held his jaws shut, she taped it closed.
“You know,” she growled at Owen, “I can’t believe you did that.”
“Did what?” He laughed. “Distract our big boy while you saved that asshole who tried to kill you?”
“No.” Her throat started to close up and she swallowed hard even as she continued to tape. “Came back in the nick of time to save me.”
He released some of the pressure he was exerting on the alligator’s jaws and Boo remained still in the water. Taking the roll of tape from her hands he tore the end before giving it back to her. Blyss slipped it over her hand to her wrist like a bracelet and waited as Owen spoke to Boo. “Look, boy. She thinks I’m a hero.”
Blyss leaned closer to Boo and saw his eyes turn to her, shining in the headlights of Owen’s vehicle. “Your papa is silly, Boo. I’ve always thought he was a hero, but now he’s even better.”
Owen wrapped an arm around her and started to move both of them to the edge of the enclosure with Boo following them at a leisurely distance. “Oh yeah?”
She nodded and helped them both get the ground under their feet near the railing.
“How am I better now?”
“It’s that ego talking,” she laughed and let him lift her up so she could get over the railing easier, “but I’ll tell you when you’re over on this side of the railing.”
Maybe it was the shadows from the headlights, but it looked like Owen launched himself over the fence like a superhero.
When he was beside her, he wrapped his arms around her. “Okay, here I am.”
“Yes, you are.” Blyss wrapped her arms around him too, and looked up into his gorgeous face. “You’re better, because… you’re mine.”
His smile twisted up at one corner. “I love you, Blyss.”
“I love you right back.”
Chapter 14
When Owen brought Trace back home at the end of Miranda’s Baby Shower, Trace gave him a big slap on the back and wished him well. Owen didn’t know what to make of the strange comment.
“What’s that about?”
Trace stopped just short of the steps to the house and shrugged. “People keep telling me that they’re getting baby fever. With Miranda and Blyss so close to each other, I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t start thinking about having a few herself.”
Owen raised a brow at the comment. “Do you think I might be involved in that process? She’s in love with me.”
Trace just shrugged. “Just trying to warn you.”
“I don’t need a warning.” Owen looked at the other man. “Did you?”
Shaking his head, Trace laughed in earnest. “Not a one.”
“Are you looking forward to late night feedings? Diaper stuff?”
Trace shook his head. “I’ll get used to it. I’m just glad that by the time she’s due we should be done with all of the investigation paperwork and it’ll be up to the prosecutor’s office from there.”
Owen nodded. “It’s been a pain for Blyss. Since she’s going to be a witness, she can’t continue on with the investigation.”
“Then again, she did bust a couple of road hunters.”
With a broad grin, Owen folded his arms over his chest. “All in a day’s work for my favorite Game Warden.”
Trace chuckled. “I could turn you in. Currying favor within the department. Are you thinking you’ll get more calls now?”
The two men laughed out loud.
“Not that many calls anyway and you folks up here in San Antonio like to make me jump in the water, so I’m not worried.”
Trace shrugged. “I still can’t believe you two managed to pull Lance’s ass out of that fire. That monster you have in the enclosure could have easily taken all three of you down.”
“First of all, fire isn’t what I deal with.”
Trace lifted his hands in surrender.
“Second, that wasn’t me. That was Blyss. She was going to save him no matter what. I just helped.”
Nodding, Trace sighed. “When your woman wants something.”
Owen rolled his eyes. “I’m just glad that even after the deal the prosecutor gave him he’s still going to have a good chunk of time in jail. What he did, the way he took money for turning a blind eye, almost took Blyss away from me. She might forgive him, but don’t ask me to shed a tear for him.”
The door opened and Blyss stepped out with Miranda holding onto her arm. “I told her that you two were back.” Blyss gestured to the footed onesie clothespinned to the front of Miranda’s dress almost to her neck. “How do you like the latest style in mat
ernity wear?”
Owen could see that Trace was just as confused as he was. “It’s ah…” he looked at Trace to finish up. It was after all, his woman wearing it.
Trace jogged up the steps and took his wife gently into his arms and kissed her cheek. “You look radiant.”
“And you,” she giggled as she held her… whatever it was… on her head, “are one smart man.”
“I married you, babe.”
“And knocked me up.”
Blyss rolled her eyes and gave Miranda a goodbye kiss. “Call me later!”
Owen held out his arms and earned himself a big grin when she reached the ground. The kiss she gave him made his skin tingle. “Well, hello to you too.”
Blyss tilted her head toward his truck. “Let’s go home.”
He wasn’t going to argue with that. “Whatever you want.”
Owen helped her up into the truck, taking a good look at the way her dress looked as it shifted against her ass. Yeah, he was hard before he got into the truck.
They spent most of the drive laughing over the games at the party, with Owen swearing he’d never look at another chocolate bar again without thinking of diapers. “I’m guessing the game isn’t promoted by candy companies.”
Blyss shuddered beside him. “I doubt it, but seriously. I’m not a competitive person in games much, but I think I caught some of everyone else’s excitement.” She was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. “I did win second place on the game where we had to diaper stuffed animals blindfolded.”
He laughed at the idea of the game. “No babies were harmed in the game?”
She shook her head. “No, but Viviana was the one who won first place even though the last time she diapered a baby was when her daughter was one and Aylin’s in college now. That’s some serious muscle memory.”
Muscle memory. His dick had some of that.
“What else did you play?”
She frowned a little and his own brow furrowed in concern.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know if you remember how much I liked to watch Hell’s Kitchen.”
