by Jen Talty
“I sent you pictures. Do you need to see them again?” Sage asked.
“No.” Her mother held the gun in the air, pointing at Sage’s shoulder.
She shifted to the right.
And so did her mother.
Fuck.
“Where are you keeping the young prostitutes you kidnapped?” Sage pursed her lips and stared directly into her mother’s cold eyes.
Her mother stepped into Sage’s personal space and pressed the nozzle of the weapon against Sage’s temple.
“Lorna, what the hell are you doing?” Sage’s father asked.
“Tell me something, daughter dearest, do you think we’re that stupid?” her mother asked.
“No. I think you’re that crazy.” Sage did her best to remain calm. Growing up, she barely knew her mother, but she had it in her head that her mom was kind and loving, just busy, and into her career.
Ha.
Talk about delusional.
“The Feds are onto you, and unless you move the merchandise now, you’ll be arrested by the end of the day tomorrow.” In all her years, she’d never once spoken back to her parents, much less allowed her natural sarcasm to shine through.
Sage no longer cared about her parents or what they thought. “Are you housing the young men and women in the warehouse? Or somewhere else?”
“Why would we tell you that?” Her mother held her gaze, the gun still way too close for comfort.
“Lorna put the gun down. She’s on our side,” her father said.
“You’ve always had a soft spot for her, but I told you she would never have what it takes to be part of our organization, and I’ve waited too long for Maxwell to go down to screw it up now.” Her mother waved the handgun in the air. “Since the man we hired to kill you fucked up, I’m going to have to do what I should have done the day I found out I was pregnant with you.”
“Lorna,” her father said with a stiff upper lip. “Shut the fuck up, and let’s think this through.”
“I’m trying to help,” Sage said. Her confidence faltered. “Clayton checks in with his team every morning, first thing. When they don’t hear from him, they will come running. I can only assume that the Feds—”
“Don’t assume, child.” Her mother poked her in the chest with the gun.
The metal from the microphone dug into her skin. She winced.
“You little bitch.” Her mother rammed her hand between Sage’s breasts. “Who’s listening?”
“No. Tell me you aren’t wearing a wire.” Her father took her by the arms and shook her while her mother ripped open her shirt.
Her mother stripped the device from Sage’s body, tossing it to the ground and stomping on it.
Sage tried to heave in a deep breath but couldn’t fill her lungs. Her eyes stung as if her lids were sandpaper. Until this very moment, she had still held out hope that maybe, just maybe, her parents still had a grasp on their humanity.
Well, her mother was far from human.
“You stupid girl,” her father muttered, shoving her into the island.
Her back arched as she slammed into the hard surface. Her legs buckled, and she fell to her knees. A sharp pain vibrated her teeth.
“Where are they?” her mother said, standing over her, still waving the gun. “How far away?”
“I don’t know.” Sage found it difficult to take in a full breath. Spots filled her vision, and her stomach gurgled, threatening to empty its contents. She glanced up just as her mother swung her gun across the side of Sage’s face. Her body jerked forward, and she landed face-first on the floor. Her head cracked against the white tile.
Sage opened her mouth, but nothing came out. A mirage of colors swirled across her eyes right before it went completely dark.
And silent.
“You can’t just barge in there.”
Clayton clipped his weapon on his belt loop and glared at Boomer from inside a federal van parked five blocks from the Adams’ residence. “Like hell I can’t and don’t give me any shit about it because we both know if the woman you love were in there, you’d be knocking down the front door.”
“Exactly, that’s why we need to adjust the plan and move in with our heads on straight.”
“My head—and my heart—are exactly where they need to be. Now, I’m jumping that fence and walking through the front door.” Clayton held up his hand. He had no desire to listen to Boomer, or anyone else, give him all the reasons why what he was about to do was insane because he didn’t care. No way in hell could he sit back and wait. Not when Sage was in danger. “Now, step aside. I wouldn’t want to have to hurt you.”
Boomer moved to his right, holding his hands up. “I won’t try to stop you, but let me go with.”
“Yeah,” Swede piped in. “We don’t know if anyone else is in the house. Dustin is hanging out in a tree near the back. Frost has the far east corner of the property, and I’ll go cover the front.”
“I’ll call for reinforcements as well as hit up all the warehouses and buildings that we know are owned by any of Stanley’s companies,” Benny said. “We’ve got your back.”
“Thanks.” Clayton pulled open the van slider and stepped out into the dark. The cool desert air rolled across his skin like a mountain breeze hitting the valley as day turned into night.
He jogged down the street and was surprised to see the gate to the Adams’ estate wide open. Either they never shut it, or they were about to leave.
Or they were expecting him.
Keeping his back to the tree line, he drew his weapon and raced toward the open garage door. He slipped past his truck and then a Porsche. Holding his breath, he gripped the handle and turned slowly. As soon as the door cracked open, he could hear a female voice.
“This is all your fault,” a female voice said. “You’ve always had a soft spot for her and look where it got us.”
Clayton inched into the house. He pressed his back against the doorframe into the kitchen. He held his weapon ready as he peeked his head around the corner. His pulse exploded when his gaze landed on Sage, passed out on the tile floor.
“Look who decided to join us.” Lorna Adams stepped in front of him, holding her weapon toward Sage. “And you came alone?”
“My team doesn’t have the authority, and the Feds can’t do anything since they got nothing on the wire.”
“Nothing?” Stanley came into view holding a shotgun. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Well, nothing they could use since the wire isn’t legal, but I wasn’t about to leave Sage with the likes of you two.”
“She’s our daughter. She’ll come around to seeing things our way.”
“No, I won’t,” Sage moaned as she rolled to her side. “What are you doing here?” She blinked a few times.
“Saving your adorable ass.” He tried to keep his smile from lighting up his face, but it was impossible to stifle. “How are you feeling?”
“Like my mother just smacked me upside my head with a fucking gun, and that just pisses me off,” Sage said.
“I’ve had enough of this,” her mother jabbed her weapon into Clayton’s gut. “I pull the trigger, and your guts will be all over the place, and no one will be able to put you back together again.”
“You pull the trigger, and I pull mine,” Swede’s deep voice filled the room.
Clayton didn’t need to glance over his shoulder to know his buddy stood five paces to his right.
“And don’t get too cute because we’ve got the front covered as well,” Swede said.
“That’s right.” Boomer made himself visible across the kitchen. “And we’ve got another man perched in a tree across the street, so the second you try to make a run for it, we gun you down.”
Stanley reached down and grabbed Sage by the hair, yanking her to her feet, using her as a shield. A second later, Lorna stood behind both of them, pointing her gun directly at Sage.
Smart woman, because most men wouldn’t do anything reckless when their women were at stake.
Then again, Clayton wasn’t most men, and while he wanted Sage to be his woman, he’d have to save her first, and that meant taking more than a calculated risk.
“You’re going to let us go, or we put a bullet in her head,” Stanley said.
“Do it.” Sage’s eyes narrowed into tiny slits. She shifted her hand, showing a knife.
That’s my girl.
He blinked twice; hopefully, she understood that he was cool with what he hoped she was thinking and planning.
“He shoots us, and you die,” Lorna said.
“A small price to pay for justice,” Sage said softly.
“Agreed.” Clayton gave Sage a slight nod.
Quickly, she raised her hand and forcefully rammed the knife into her mother’s side.
Lorna groaned, dropping her weapon.
Bang!
A sharp pain tore through Clayton’s side. “Shit,” he moaned.
“You are so going to pay for that,” Sage said.
Clayton dropped to his knees, holding his side with one hand, his weapon with the other. He focused on Stanley, who held Sage tight to his body.
Boomer raced in and secured Lorna, but Stanley inched closer to the door.
“I’m going to shoot you,” Clayton said. “Even if I have to shoot through Sage to do it.”
“Right,” Stanley said.
“Just do it.” Sage nodded, then leaped toward the other side of the room.
Bang!
Stanley’s arms flapped like a bird as he stumbled backward.
Swede raced into the room.
Clayton collapsed to the floor. Everything around him blurred.
“Clayton,” Sage said, cradling his head in her lap. “Stay, still.”
“That hurt,” he said with a long moan. “But I’d do it again to feel your arms around me once more.”
“You’re crazy,” Sage said.
“I’m crazy in love.”
“Now, you’re just delusional.” She pressed her hand against his wound.
He groaned. “No. I love you, Sage. Tell me you feel the same way.”
Her lips brushed against his. “The ambulance is on the way.”
“Say it.” Fear gripped his vocal cords. His mind faded into a dark place, and he didn’t want to die without hearing her say what he knew she felt.
What he felt.
What he wanted and needed more than life itself.
“I need to know how you feel.” His breathing had become labored. He could hear his buddies in the background calling out orders. An EMT took over putting pressure on his wound.
Clayton blinked a few times, trying to focus on Sage, and Sage only. “Please, I’m begging.”
“You need to save your—”
“I know where this bullet hit. I know I’m mortally wounded. Whether I make it or not is immaterial. I love you, and I need to know if you feel the same way.”
She bent over and kissed his lips. “Yes. I love you. Now shut up and let these people do their jobs.”
Chapter 11
Three Weeks Later…
Sage parked Clayton’s pickup truck next to the trailer. She tossed the keys in her purse and dropped that to the ground. Quickly, she went about stacking wood in the firepit. She couldn’t bring herself to go in the trailer just yet. Sleeping there alone had proved to be complicated.
Once she got the fire going, she plopped down on one of the folding chairs. She wanted a glass of wine, but that would require her to go inside, and that wasn’t something she was ready to do.
For the last three weeks, needing to do something while Clayton recovered in Montana, she’d come to the Alley Home, as well as other shelters and educational centers in the Vegas area and cooked, cleaned, or whatever else was needed. She had wanted to go to Montana, but she had some loose ends she needed to deal with regarding her parents, and Clayton had said he needed to focus, and she’d be a distraction.
She glanced at her phone. Clayton called every evening at six.
It was six thirty.
She contemplated calling him, but she didn’t want to come off too needy. Besides, he seemed distant, like he was pulling away. During their last couple of conversations, there were too many long, awkward pauses.
He’d told her that he loved when he thought he’d been dying, and he hadn’t repeated those words since.
Because she was no longer lying to herself, she had to admit that hurt, but she shouldn’t be surprised. People said all sorts of strange things when they thought they were near their last breath. But it was the last question he asked her yesterday that made her heart heavy.
Have you taken a pregnancy test?
When she answered no, Clayton made her promise she’d take one today. Well, she didn’t need to take it because she’d gotten her period last night.
She wasn’t pregnant, and that would be all he needed to say goodbye to her once and for all.
It was for the best.
The sound of an engine approaching caught her attention. A four-door sedan rolled to a stop about twenty feet away. The rear passenger door opened, and she gasped.
“Clayton?” She stood, smoothing down the front of her jeans.
“In the flesh.” He moved slowly toward her. “Surprise,” he said with a smile.
Her heart lurched to her throat, and her pulse raced. “You should have told me. I would have come to get you.” She bit back a sob that bubbled in her gut. He’d lost a few pounds and walked with a slight limp, but otherwise, he looked like a little piece of heaven.
He held one hand out. “No, hug?”
She swallowed, closing the gap. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Not being able to hold you has been killing me,” he said softly, tugging her to his chest. His long fingers threaded through her hair. “God, I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” She rested her head on his shoulder, taking in a deep breath. “Thanks for letting me use your trailer. I’ve been looking for a place. I haven’t been able to find one I can afford yet, but I have a couple of places I can stay.”
He took her chin with his thumb and his forefinger. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know all of my folks’ assets were seized, and my foundation hasn’t been cleared yet, and that could take months—”
“Have you read your email today?”
She shook her head. “I volunteered two shifts at the Alley Home today.”
He smiled. “Everyone loves you there.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “But you really need to check your email more often. The Feds cleared you and your foundation. You can be up and running anytime you want.”
“I need to legally change the name, but I have no idea to what,” she mumbled, pushing from his all too familiar embrace.
“I’m sure a name will come to you.” He laced his fingers through hers and squeezed. “Did you take the test?” he asked with a hint of a smile.
“You have nothing to worry about. I’m not pregnant.” She did her best to keep the utter sadness she felt for something she had never hidden from the only man she’d ever be able to love. Her gaze dropped to her feet. “You are free to move about the country.”
“I’m disappointed about the baby too.” He cocked his head and ran his thumb over her cheek. “I don’t want to go anywhere without you.” His lips brushed against hers with a promise of something more. “I’ll move back to Vegas if that’s what you want, but there is a nice little ranch for sale in Montana right near my friend who works with injured vets. I swear, she’s the reason I got upright so fast, and I think what she does might be a good cause for your foundation.”
She opened and closed her mouth a half-dozen times. Her mind rolled his words around because no way could she have heard him correctly.
“You know, I don’t expect you to take my name, but now that I’m thinking about it, The Porter Foundation has a nice ring to it, if you want. Or maybe you could call Sage Charities. I like bo
th, but it’s up to you.”
“Take your name?” she whispered. “Disappointed I’m not pregnant? Buy a ranch?” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I think I need to sit down.” She sucked in a deep breath and fumbled her way back to the folding chair. The fire crackled, and the flames shot toward the sky. Her pulse raced so fast she couldn’t tell if the heat she felt on her skin was from the human-made fire.
Or the fire burning in her heart.
Clayton got down on one knee in front of her. “I love you, Sage. I thought you knew that.”
“I don’t know. You woke up a few days after surgery and were whisked away. Then you asked me to take care of your things and the last few times we talked, it was weird, and you seemed so worried that you could be a father—”
“Oh, babe, I wasn’t worried about that. If anything, I was worried you wouldn’t want to have a kid with me. But we can keep trying. I mean, most people don’t get knocked up first time out of the gate.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with Clayton?” She cupped his cheeks. “Are you serious?”
“I’m sorry if I neglected you these last two weeks. I just wanted to get healthy, so I could come back here and sweep you off your feet.”
She slapped his shoulders. “Next time, take me with you so I can be by your bedside. I don’t want to be swept away; I want to be part of something.”
“Part of a family?”
She nodded. “I want to get married and have kids. And I want that with you. I love you, Clayton.”
He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out a sparkling diamond ring. “Sage, I love you with all that I am, will you marry me?”
Covering her mouth, she held in the deep sob that smacked into her throat. “Never in a million years did I think I wanted a proposal, much less a ring.”
“Well, I never thought I wanted to buy a house, but you need to see this little ranch. The property isn’t that big, and the house needs a little work, but we can make it a home. A real home. One that we can have kids in and where you get to watch me grow old while I get to be in love with a younger woman forever.”
She took the ring and slid it on her finger. It fit perfectly. “What are we waiting for? Let’s hitch up the trailer and go home—to Montana.”