To Save Sir (Doms of Decadence Book 7)

by Laylah Roberts

  “Well maybe your orders were wrong.”

  “That so?” the sheriff drawled. “You know, I was going to play nice and let you out with a warning. Seeing as how our Jenna speaks so highly of you.”

  He didn’t miss the emphasis on “our Jenna.” She wasn’t their anything. She was Curt’s.

  “But now I see that maybe you need a bit more time to think over your actions.”

  He turned to walk away, and panic filled Curt. “Wait!”

  The sheriff stilled.

  “Jenna was putting herself at risk. I thought this town took care of its women.”

  “It does.” The sheriff turned back with a glare. “But she was being watched over. Colin was there to tranquilize Daisy if she went for Jenna. And Mrs. Childs desperately needed help. She’s one of our women as well.”

  He knew they’d be here all day and still not come to an agreement. Curt would never agree to Jenna putting herself in danger. Whatever the reason.

  “I have some urgent business with Jenna.”

  “Yeah?” the sheriff drawled. “You want to tell me what that is?”

  “It’s personal.”

  “Yeah, that’s what the Travis said.”

  “Travis? You’ve spoken to him?”

  “He made himself a citizen’s arrest. Not really something we encourage, but his tactics were effective. He got the purse snatcher. And he managed not to punch him in the nose. There’s a lot you can learn from him.”

  Curt knew that if he kept grinding his teeth together like this he was going to wear away all the enamel. Plus, he’d give himself one hell of a migraine.

  “Look, you can keep me in here overnight, but that’s just a waste of tax payers’ money and your time. We both know I’m not a threat to anyone.”

  “Well, now, maybe I’m keeping you in here for your own protection. Got a couple of pissed off men who wouldn’t mind a little chat with you.”

  Curt blew out a breath. “Let me talk to Jenna, and I’ll be out of this town by this evening.”

  “Yeah? You planning on dropping this information and leaving her, are you?”

  “Of course not. I’ll be taking her with me.”

  The sheriff raised his eyebrows, smirking slightly. “That so? Seems funny, considering the life Jenna has built here, a job, a house, and friends, that she’d just up and leave. With you.”

  Calm. Remain calm.

  “What I have to tell her concerns her parents. She needs to come back to Dallas with me.”

  The sheriff didn’t appear to move but he seemed more alert. “They okay?”

  “Not really. Now will you let me out?”

  “All right. On the understanding that if you create any more trouble in my town, I’m going to come down hard on you.”

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on. He nodded impatiently and waited for him to unlock the door.

  After they went through the paperwork, and he gathered up his stuff, including his weapon, which the sheriff felt the need to lecture him about once more, he walked out into the waiting area. Around him the noise quietened, and people stared. And through that silence came her laughter.

  He froze.

  When was the last time he’d heard her laugh?

  “Everything okay?” the sheriff asked, breaking his stillness.

  “Yeah, fine.” He walked around the corner, jealousy filling him. Who was causing her to laugh like that?

  “Remember, you promised no trouble,” the sheriff warned.

  He shot him a look and then turned, seeing her sitting next to Travis. He said something else, and she laughed again then winced, as though in pain.

  Curt stormed forward, worry filling him. “What are you doing here?”

  “Smooth, man,” Travis told him as Jenna looked up at him, her eyes filling with hurt. “Real smooth.”

  She slowly got to her feet, and it was obvious it took some effort. Her face was pale, her clothing rumpled and ripped from where she’d fallen. He couldn’t understand what she was doing here. If she’d been discharged from the hospital she should at least be home resting.

  “Don’t worry, I’m going home now.” That hurt look had turned into anger, her beautiful blue eyes sparkling as she gave him a withering look.

  “Wait, Jenna. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Then what did you mean? Obviously, you didn’t expect to see me, you didn’t want me to be here waiting for you, worrying that you were okay.”

  She’d worried about him? Why the hell would she worry about him when she was the one who was injured?

  He took too long answering as she started shuffling her way with slow steps towards the entrance.

  “Man, we need to work on your approach with the ladies, because that couldn’t have gone worse.”

  “Not unless she punched him in the nose,” the sheriff, who he’d forgotten was behind him, stated. “And then half the station would have cheered her on.”

  “Only half?” Travis asked.

  The sheriff shrugged. “All right, the whole station.”

  “She should be in the hospital, obviously she’s injured.” He glared at Travis who held his hands up.

  “Don’t look at me. I chased after that asshole who knocked her over, tackled him to the ground, and dragged him all the way here, only to be told you’d been arrested. By the time I spoke to Jake here, to plead your case, Jenna was sitting in the waiting room.”

  “Did she even go to the hospital to get checked out?” Curt asked.

  Travis shrugged. “She said she didn’t need to. Something about being a doctor and knowing the difference between being injured and just dinged up.”

  Dinged up? Dinged up?

  “That’s unacceptable. She should have gotten care.” Someone should have insisted she go to the hospital. What the hell were the men in this town thinking? Suddenly, he realized she’d already left. He strode after her, Travis matching his steps.

  “You should have picked her up, put her in your car, and driven her to the hospital yourself.”

  “She’s a client, not my sub,” Travis said mildly. “I can’t make her do something she doesn’t want to do. And neither can you.”

  Oh yeah? Just watch me.

  Arrogant asshole. Jerk. Bastard.

  Damned if she knew what she’d been doing there. As if she didn’t have better things to do with her time than sit there waiting for him to be released from jail. She still couldn’t believe he’d punched Logan and Duncan. And he’d been here for all of two seconds.

  She had about a million other things she could be doing, including going home, getting out of her torn clothes, and having a long soak. Now that was just what the doctor ordered.

  Nope, there was no reason for her to be waiting around on Curt Nolan to get out of jail.

  So why were you there?

  Because she’d been worried about him. Duncan had been furious after Curt punched him. The former linebacker was a big guy. She’d felt like she needed to vouch for him. After all, he didn’t normally go around punching people. He’d just been . . . what? Worried about her?

  A small tendril of warmth unfurled inside her. But then she squashed it, remembering how cold he’d just been. She sighed. This had been a hell of an afternoon. She just wanted to go home and forget all of it.

  Jenna shuffled her way down the pavement, muttering about rude, arrogant men. She wished like hell her car wasn’t parked back at the clinic. What had seemed like an enjoyable walk in the sunshine during her lunch hour was now an excruciatingly slow, painful shuffle.

  “Jenna? Are you all right?” She looked up as Joel Saxon approached. He ran his gaze over her, his eyes widening slightly. “Who did this to you?”

  “No one.”

  “No one? You did this to yourself?”

  “I mean, I don’t know who he was.”

  “Where is he?” His voice had taken on a cold, deadly tone, and a shiver ran down her spine. Probably just as well the purse snat
cher was safely ensconced in a cell. She would not like to get on the bad side of Saxon.

  “The sheriff has him locked up.”

  He looked over at the jail. “That so?”

  “You didn’t hear what happened?” she asked. Gossip tended to run rampant in most small towns, and Haven was no different. Maybe no one was game to share gossip with Saxon, although she’d be surprised if much of anything got by him.

  “I’ve been in Freestown, just got back. I was on my way to talk to Jake about something. What happened?”

  “Oh, this young kid snatched Mrs. Childs’s purse and knocked her down. Then he bumped into me. Daisy went all protective over Mrs. Childs, and we had to coax her away so the paramedics could get to her.”

  “We?”

  “There were lots of people around,” she said vaguely, trying to ignore the way his cold eyes narrowed in warning. Time to get out of here. “I won’t keep you. Have a nice day.”

  She started to shuffle off again, trying to move quicker than she had before.

  “Jenna,” he said in a low voice just as she heard Curt call out to her. She stiffened then winced again. Damn it, at this rate it was going to be midnight before she got to soak her aches away.

  Saxon looked over her shoulder. “Who’s that?”

  “That’s Curt.”

  One of Saxon’s perfectly formed eyebrows rose imperiously. He had the kind of looks that made you pause and take a breath. Arresting, almost majestic. Top that with a very forceful personality, and he was a man who was used to people hanging on his every word and obeying him without question.

  She was certain she’d never have the strength to go against him. Not that she ever intended to battle him.

  “A friend?”

  “Yeah, sort of. He was married to my cousin.”

  “Oh. It didn’t end well?”

  “She died. I don’t think he’s gotten over her.”

  He eyed her as Curt rushed over.

  “Sometimes we tend to see the past through rose-colored glasses. We remember all their good points and none of what was wrong. And because we’re focused on the past we don’t see what’s standing right in front of us.” He was looking straight at her as he said that.

  She blushed slightly. “There’s nothing between Curt and me.”

  “But you’d like there to be.”

  “I would like for this conversation to be over,” she said firmly as Curt reached them. She looked over and saw Travis walking at a more leisurely pace towards them. She hadn’t recognized him when he’d first approached her. He looked different without his camouflage gear and that fierce look on his face. Wearing jeans, a shirt, and a smile he’d almost looked approachable. When she’d realized who he was, she’d felt a little uncomfortable, knowing he’d seen her at her most vulnerable. But it hadn’t taken him long to have her laughing at one of his stories, which she was certain had been greatly stripped down so what had probably been a dangerous situation just sounded funny.

  “Sometimes we don’t get what we want.”

  Actually, she’d found that was pretty much always the case.

  “Hello, you must be Curt,” Saxon said calmly as Curt reached them. He held out his hand while Curt eyed him suspiciously.

  She shot Saxon a warning look.

  He smiled slightly.

  Oh crap.

  Saxon smiling was not a reassuring thing.

  “Hey,” Curt replied, shaking his hand.

  “Curt, this is Joel Saxon. He’s. . . um . . .”

  “The owner of Saxon’s,” Travis said as he drew close. “The local BDSM club.”

  “I prefer the best BDSM club in the state,” Saxon said smoothly. “Travis, how are you?”

  “You two know each other?” she asked with surprise.

  “I worked a case here in Haven a while back,” Travis said. “Met Saxon back then. Not sure I’d call Saxon’s the best, though.”

  Saxon narrowed his gaze. “That so?”

  “Maybe you two could go somewhere and work out your differences. I need to speak to Jenna.”

  Jenna sighed. “I don’t think there’s anything to say, Curt. It’s been a long day. I just want to go home, call the hospital to check on Mrs. Childs, and then soak in the tub and forget any of this happened.”

  “We need to talk,” he replied stubbornly.

  Was he completely without sympathy? He hadn’t been when he was younger, but she was starting to learn this Curt was far different from the boy, and even the man she’d known before Amelia’s death. Had losing his wife turned him into this hard, stubborn man before her?

  She guessed so.

  “Curt, I don’t know why you’re here, but surely whatever it is can wait until morning.”

  “Actually, honey, it can’t.”

  She looked over at Travis as he gave her a sympathetic look. “What Curt was trying to say is we know this has been a rough day and we wish we could just let you rest, but the reason we came here is important. We need to talk to you. Now.”

  She stared at Travis then Curt, who remained quiet, although his face looked pinched and displeased.

  “Wonderful. I guess my day is about to get worse, right?”

  Travis grimaced. “I’m afraid so.”

  Yippee.

  Chapter Seven

  “You want to tell me what the hell is wrong with you?”

  Curt looked down into Jenna’s furious face. Her fists were jammed on her hips, her foot tapping a furious beat against the floor.

  Damn, she was breathtaking.

  “Well?” she asked, sparks shooting out of her gorgeous blue eyes.

  “Nothing’s wrong with me.”

  How was he going to tell her what her father had been accused of? That he could have been the reason she was kidnapped? She’d always been close to her dad, and this was going to devastate her.

  “Nice place you have here,” Travis said easily as he sat on the sofa and looked up at them both. There was a hint of a smile on his face, as though he was enjoying himself.

  Bastard.

  “Thanks,” Jenna said distractedly. “I’m just renting it right now. The owner has gone into a retirement home. But her son said she might be willing to sell if I want to buy it.”

  “Buy it? You can’t move here permanently,” Curt protested. Why would she want to live in this nothing little town forever?

  Her gaze narrowed at him. “I can do whatever I like.”

  “You’re a city girl. You’ll get bored living here.”

  “I happen to like living here and I like these people. Although I have my doubts about how much longer I’ll be welcome here if you keep going around punching people!”

  Travis let out a chuckle. Curt turned to him. “Don’t you have something to do? Phone calls to make?”

  “Nope. I’m good.”

  Jenna looked over at Travis apologetically. “Sorry, I’m forgetting my manners. Can I get you anything?”

  “He’s fine,” Curt said impatiently, annoyed with the other man. “He’s not your guest.”

  Jenna frowned at him. “Will you stop acting like a fucking ass!”

  “Don’t swear.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Because I don’t like it.”

  She threw her arms up into the air then winced as the movement caused her pain.

  “And whatever Curt wants, Curt gets, is that it?”

  “No.” There was only one thing he truly wanted, and she was standing right in front of him. Having her so close to him, her face flushed, her eyes filled with fire, filled him with a desire he could barely contain. Combine that with his overwhelming need to protect her had his possessiveness raging out of control.

  She would be his. A calmness filled him at that thought.

  Nothing would touch her. Nothing or no one would take her from him. He’d do whatever it took to claim her and keep her, regardless of what he had to give up.

  “I’ll swear if I want to swear, Curt,” s
he said in a quiet voice. “I’m not that three-year-old kid anymore. And you’re not my big brother.”

  “Oh, darlin’ you can be damn sure I don’t see you as my sister.”

  A flash of hurt filled her eyes, and she looked away.

  Fuck. What had he said? He glanced over at Travis, who stared at Jenna with interest and concern.

  “Fuck off, Travis. I need to speak to Jenna alone.”

  She swung back around and winced. “Damn it, Curt. Stop being such a jerk! What is wrong with you today? First, you punch Logan—”

  “He deserved it,” Curt muttered.

  “Then Duncan, who is a deputy sheriff for goodness sake!”

  “That was an accident.”

  “And then you were rude to Saxon.”

  “I wasn’t rude to him.”

  “You told him to go away! He was just trying to be helpful by offering us a ride home.”

  “He was flirting with you. And he wasn’t offering all of us a ride, just you.”

  “He was looking out for me; it’s what the men around here do.”

  “Oh, that wasn’t him looking out for you. Do you know what sort of man he is?”

  She gave him a tired look. “I don’t know, Curt. The sort of man who offers a tired, injured woman a lift home? Wow, what a bastard. We should have him arrested.”

  Travis snorted.

  Curt closed his eyes and prayed for patience. He was going about this all wrong. When he opened his eyes again he saw Jenna rapidly blink back tears.

  God, she was right. He really was an asshole. She’d had a horrible day, and here he was, compounding it. And he hadn’t even gotten to the worst of it.

  “Can whatever the two of you are doing here wait until the morning? I need to take a bath.” She rubbed at her forehead. “I’m really sore and I want to soak. I should also call the hospital and check on Mrs. Childs.”

  Travis rose and placed his hand on the small of her back. Then he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. She kind of melted. Damn it, why can’t I get that reaction? All I seem to do is fire her up.

  Curt gave him a look, but the other man just grinned.

  “I think it’s best we tell you now, honey,” Travis told her gently. “Before someone calls you or you hear it on the news.”