In the background, I can hear Samantha’s muffled cries as she tries to reason with her giant of a kidnapper. The engine for the cleaning rig putters in the background, and I can hear the ropes creak as it lowers. It has to go slowly in this wind. “Copper, I’m warning you. I’ll put a bullet in you to get her back.”
“What, me? Fuck, Denny, I thought you were some fancy, life-saving doctor now.” But his mockery comes out in a weak tone.
“I am. Which should tell you how much she means to me. Don’t fucking think I’d feel good about it, but you’re not giving me a choice.” I test my lines and the harness fastenings and make sure to strap in my pistol securely.
I hook one leg over the railing. “Copper, this isn’t like you. You’ve never dragged innocent people in like this, and don’t tell me you’ve changed that much. So what the fuck is going on? Final chance.”
He takes a deep breath and lets it out at once. “Dad sent us round to chase up a rumor that you’d been seen in Chicago. It’s me and Ben. When he found out you’re alive, Dad lost his shit. He’s got my family, Denny. Either I pull that two million out of your hide or he’ll kill his own granddaughter. She’s fucking two, Denny!”
“Fuck.” Suddenly everything in my world makes sense again. “It’s just you and Ben?” Ben may have to die. Otherwise, he’ll be sticking around making a nuisance of himself, reporting back to Copper’s dad if anything happens.
I can’t believe that everything shifted so fast on me. I should have seen the signs. That man on the rooftop almost two weeks ago—Copper, with a pair of fucking binoculars, looking in on me. Making sure it was me.
“Yeah. But if you fuck this up—” the pressure in his voice speaks volumes.
I scoff. “I could pull two million out of my fucking vault right now. Your dad’s an idiot. You could have gotten four million out of me with a polite phone call. I know I caused trouble running off. I just had to get out of the fucking life.”
I look down the shaft of the stairwell. “Don’t hang up.” I stuff the phone in the zipper pocket on the front of my jacket, grab the line, and step out into space. Rappelling in dress shoes is a bit of a trick, but I didn’t have time to grab my climbing shoes.
I make a fast descent, bounding from railing to railing while the line pays out, pausing to retrieve and re-clip it twice. In under a minute, I’m on the ground floor. I run out, leaving the harness behind and pulling out my phone.
“You there?” I growl as I race out through the lobby and around toward the side of the building that he’s descending. “Where the fuck is Ben?”
“White van—” is all I hear before I see the slightly battered van that had attacked us on the highway go roaring past down the side alley. I run after it, pulling my pistol.
“If you let him hurt her, I’ll fucking shoot you both,” I snap and hang up. Negotiations are over. Now I have to make sure crazy, trigger-happy Ben doesn’t decide to put a bullet in my girl before Copper and I can get him under control.
I see them up ahead—the van is parked under the window-washing rig, which is slowly descending. Praying that I’ll make it in time, I run toward them faster than I ever have in my life.
Chapter 12
Samantha
I’m screaming and fighting with all my strength when the enormous man on the descending scaffold suddenly grumbles something about how I’ll freeze to death out here. Before I know what’s happening, he’s wrapping me in his coat, shocking me into stillness. It’s then that I get my first look at him.
“Copper? Are you Damon’s cousin, Copper?” My head spins. Damon talked about this man being torn between his father’s crime legacy and their own desire for something better. But I never expected to be face to face with him.
“That’s me,” the giant grumbles. “Sorry about that. If it’s any comfort, this isn’t anything personal at all.”
“You just yanked me out of a penthouse window and are kidnapping me by transporting me down the side of a high-rise. How am I not supposed to take it personally?” I look around, terrified to be trapped on this windy, fragile thing.
He snorts and holds me by the scruff, the heavy coat trapping me as much as warming me. I see him put a cellphone to his ear. “Yeah. I’ve got her. I’ll send the ultimatum once I’m far enough down the building that he can’t shoot me.”
He listens and his face twists into a scowl. “Yeah, well, you tell my father that if he lays a finger on either of them, I’ll kill him myself. Hate this whole fucking business.”
Some more listening, and then he hangs up the phone and calls Damon. I try to call out to my lover, but immediately get a huge hand clapped over my mouth again.
But listening to the conversation relaxes me slightly. Damon seems to be getting through to this guy—who isn’t even acting of his own will. When he hangs up, he removes the hand from my mouth, but looks at me forbiddingly. “No more screaming. Fucking Ben has a hair-trigger.”
“Look,” I say hastily. “I get that you’re being pushed into this, but you should really rethink your approach. Damon owns this fucking building. If you want two million, he could probably just put it together for you.”
“Yeah, and were it up to me I’d say yes in a trice. But my dad wants Denny to suffer. Now, if you’re careful and do as I say, it shouldn’t be a problem.” He looks down and scowls as a van roars around the corner and drives up to stop underneath us. “There he is now.”
“I see him.” My heart sinks. The last thing I need is to be stuffed in a van and driven away before Damon can even get down ...stairs ....?
The first thing that pops into my head when Damon races around the corner with his cellphone in one hand and his gun in the other is how the hell did he get down faster than we did?
A man opens the van’s sunroof. He’s redheaded, stocky, and scarred across his cheeks, and has a pistol in his hand as well. “Hurry up you fucking tit. We have to get out of here before someone notices us!”
Then he sees where Copper and I are looking as we descend, and he curses in such a thick Irish accent I can’t catch what he’s saying. And then, in a moment I’ll never forget for the rest of my life—however long that may be—he turns and fires on Damon. With reflexes faster than I’ve ever seen, Damon ducks behind a dumpster and shoots back. The man grabs his arm, gasping ...but just switches his gun to the other hand.
“You fucking called him and warned him, you bastard!” the redhead yells up at us—and then he’s pointing that huge pistol up at the two of us. “I’ll kill you and the girl both!”
“Don’t do it, Ben!” Copper booms and shoves me behind him. I stare at his back ...and down at Damon. In that moment, I truly understand how he and Damon could have been raised as brothers.
Three guns go off as one, and the giant in front of me grunts in pain and doubles over. I grab him and haul him back with all my strength before he can fall off the scaffold. Once I have him safe and am putting pressure on his chest wound, I look down and see that, though Copper missed, Damon’s bullet found its mark. I glance at the red-haired corpse and then go back to tending to my reluctant kidnapper.
“Copper!” Damon yells, having seen the big man take the bullet for me while he killed the shooter. “You still with us?”
“Fuck,” Copper gasped. “Yeah, but don’t know how long I’m for it. Think the fucker hit me in the heart.”
“You couldn’t talk if he’d hit you in the heart.” Damon climbs up to us. “I’ve called for an ambulance. Let me do the talking once they get here.”
“Well, it fucking hurts like it.” The big man’s scared. Can’t blame him—I was on brink too, recently. Even though he dragged me out of a window in the middle of the night, I grab his hand so he’ll have someone’s to hold.
“Well, you’re in luck, because I happen to specialize in fixing hearts.” Damon takes off his jacket so we can wrap Copper in his own coat. We hear the wail of the ambulance siren—Damon’s credentials get fast results.
“Yeah, he’s not kidding. He just fixed mine a few weeks ago.” I smile down at the bruiser, whose eyes twinkle weakly.
“Really? Well ...that’s really something ....” he mumbles. As he starts passing out, he says to Damon, “Denny ...if I don’t make it ...fucking call your mother. It’s Christmas.”
“I will,” Damon promises, slipping an arm around me as we wait for the ambulance crew.
Epilogue
Damon
I did one better, once my emergency microsurgery fixed the tear in Copper’s aorta. I brought everyone over for the holidays. Copper couldn’t be moved for at least another month, and he was missing Molly—whom he’d married once she’d gotten over me—and their little daughter.
His father managed to get himself arrested for drunk driving on his way back to where he was keeping Copper’s family hostage. Back he went to jail, and this time, when his lawyer heard what he had done, he refused to help him get free again.
I have a few bruises from where Copper gave me a decent smack for a wounded man, and then my mother, and then Molly, all for making them cry over my empty grave. I’ve promised to make it up to them and make sure none of them wants for anything enough to ever turn to crime again. And, then, I made sure to introduce Samantha properly to all of them.
And so now my mother, Copper, Molly, and tiny Maeve are gathered round a hastily-purchased Christmas tree, stockings hung with presents on my mantel. It took a small fortune to get them all here and arrange everything, but I think it’s worth every penny. Samantha sits beside me, holding my hand, and she smiles shyly as she talks with the others.
It may cause some scandal in the medical community when I marry her. But I’ve gone and done something stupid, exchanging the nice locket I got her for credit toward an engagement ring. It’s moving fast, and I don’t mind if she makes me dangle on a long engagement, but I’ve never been so sure of anything, especially now that I’ve got my family back.
And so as I hold hands with her, the last gift of the evening sits in a velvet box in my back pocket. A rose-gold ring with a heart-shaped pink diamond. I’m hoping that she likes it and the whole idea.
I guess we’ll see. For this time, my life—or at least my happiness—is in her hands. I trust she’ll take good care of it.
The End
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“Whips and Chains”
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As a teenager, growing up dirt dirt-poor, beautiful, brainy Tracie Rutherford knew education was her ticket out of this Skunk’s Hollow cycle of poverty. Consequently, she developed a reputation as an ‘“ice maiden’..” But her hard work paid off in the shape of a full scholarship to the University of Georgia. Meeting handsome, charismatic billionaire, Jamie Spelling, seemed like a dream come true. Still a virgin, Tracie’s first sexual experienced with her seasoned lover was mind-blowing. Jamie’s mother’s disapproval of this “trollop” who had forced her way into their family was palpable. She was simply “not their kind.”. But Tracie’s honest, eager attitude won the hearts of Jamie’s grandmother, Audra Spelling, and her companion, bold, brassy, billionaire rancher, Lottie Chambers. When Jamie’s sexual fantasies and his demands made Tracie realize she was merely a commodity to please her husband’s rich clients, she sought the help of these two women who helped her realize her potential.
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The Billionaire Bad Boy Club
By Michelle Love
Nicholai Grimm is the 28-year-old billionaire CEO of Grimm Defense & Technology.
Natasha Greenwell is the 23-year-old college student majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
One fateful night out with her roommate to a supposed fundraiser has Natasha in Nicholai’s sights.
Nicholai isn’t a man who takes no for an answer but that’s a word Natasha uses often.
In the dark world of BDSM, Nicholai tries to steer the beautiful woman into an agreement with him.
Natasha is anything but controllable. Her father, an FBI agent, taught her how to handle herself from a young age. And it is her father who has his sights on Nicholai. His plan is to uncover the shady weapons dealings he believes the company is making.
Sparks fly when both of their fathers intervene in their personal affairs. Can the couple overcome such huge adversity? Or will Nicholai’s ways be more than Natasha can handle, ending them for good? Perhaps Christmas will have a miracle in store for them…
The Brand: Part One
NATASHA
The curtain blew into the room through the screenless, third-floor window. The cool night breeze filled our little dorm suite with sweet fresh air on that Friday night. I sat on her bed, keeping my roommate, Dani, company as she curled her hair at her extravagant makeup table.
Daniella Day was a tall girl with long, dark hair and eyes. A real exotic beauty with slender curves that made men weak at the knees and do things they wouldn’t normally do. That evening she was babbling on and on about a party while I was studying for my midterms. With a major in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Publications, I didn’t have one easy class. I really needed to get some studying accomplished.
I was trying to tune her out, as she’d insisted on having someone around her while she got ready, in order to give her any constructive criticism necessary for her to get as close to perfect as possible, but she wasn’t taking the hint. She’d been droning on and on about the rich men who’d be at the party she was going to. Her scene was not mine, even though we were pretty good friends.
“Tasha, it’s a fundraiser for God’s sake! And I promised I’d bring another girl this time. I know this isn’t your kind of thing. But you know you need money and you’ll make money doing this. The other girl I had lined up forgot to let me in on some pertinent information about herself that excluded her from going. But I know you have everything up to date and you take care of yourself in the birth control department. Since I took you with me to our last clinic visit, I know you’re STD free so you’re a natural for this.” She plopped down on her bed, wearing a thin, pink, silk robe. I had no idea what type of skimpy get up it was covering but I knew it’d be more than a little risqué. When she donned the little robe, it meant she was headed to an exclusive place, a members’ only type of club. I’d never been to one of those places with her, despite invitations to join her almost every time she went to one of the functions. And the fact you needed to be on birth control and STD free was a definite red flag for me.
“Listen, Dani, I told you I have a paper to do. I swear I would consider it if I didn’t have midterms,” I said, looking over my reading glasses at her pouting face.
“Please, Tasha! I swear I’ll do anything to repay you for this favor.” She gave me a sly grin.
I had nothing I needed her to do for me. But I did need money. My parents had strict rules about taking care of one’s self. I was a bit short that month. The bills were coming due and I was on the verge of begging my mother for the extra money I’d need to make ends meet. That would cost me plenty. A lecture from her, then my father and I’d have to be their slave, essentially, for at least two weekends. But still, the party wasn’t gelling with me. “I don’t care, Dani.”
Thinking she was done, I returned my focus back to my laptop. Then I felt a ton of weight on me as Dani had jumped on top of me, knocking me to the side of the tiny twin bed. “I promise you’ll only be there for an hour, two at the most!” The onslaught of tickle torture began, making me giggle even though I did not find it funny in the least.
When her assault ended, I gave her a look as she had her arms wrapped around me and her leg over mine. After being pestered and wanting her to shut up, as well as needing money, I gave into her and decided to go with her to the party. There was a tiny part of me that
wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I knew it had to be on the darker side of life. I had no idea how dark it was, though. I had no idea the depth of darkness it would bring out in me either.
She said it would only be two hours at the most, which would give me time to do more studying. I didn’t know what type of fundraiser it was but she gave me a red silk corset with lace inlays and a masquerade mask covered in black velvet. Tossing a pair of fishnet pantyhose and some black high heels on the bed, she meant for me to get dressed for the evening, igniting my curiosity and a spark of danger inside of me.
Instead of asking questions I’d get answers to that I’m sure would’ve made me change my mind, I just went along with it, for her, and the money, of course. Plus, my damn curiosity!
“Okay, so there are some rules,” she said as she tied up the corset in the back of the sexy, yet slutty outfit she’d made me wear.
“Rules, for what?” I asked with confusion. I wasn’t a freak by any means. The get up was one thing, I was prepared to be the men’s eye candy but nothing more than that! What else could there be?
The Surgeon’s Secrets: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance Page 6
