by Susan Stoker
Gumby felt the second Sidney passed out in his arms. He was actually relieved. Her leg looked bad, but luckily the dog hadn’t been able to completely tear her apart. He quickly walked up to one of the ambulances and was grateful when the paramedics didn’t try to stop him as he simply carried Sidney inside, laying her down on the gurney there. He knelt down near her head and watched as the paramedics went to work on her.
Her eyes stayed closed, and Gumby was glad. Her leg had bled a lot, and once the paramedics cleaned some of the blood away, he knew she’d need quite a few stitches. But he was still relieved it hadn’t been worse.
About three minutes later, Ace stuck his head into the ambulance and gestured for Gumby to come out and talk to him. He didn’t want to leave Sidney, but Gumby knew his friend wouldn’t ask for privacy if it wasn’t important.
“Do not leave without me,” he growled at the paramedics. “I’ll be right back.”
“You’ve got about four minutes,” one of the men said as he worked to get an IV started in her arm.
“I’ll be back,” Gumby repeated, then eased out behind the men and jumped to the ground. The second he turned to Ace, the other man began speaking.
“Victor’s dead. Phantom’s punch likely ruptured some veins to his brain and led to internal bleeding.”
Gumby was glad the piece of shit was dead. He wished he’d suffered more, but at the moment could only be relieved Sidney wouldn’t have to ever come face-to-face with the man again. “Will Phantom be in trouble as a result?”
Ace shook his head. “He didn’t use the knife he obviously had on him, and Garnham saw the entire thing go down. Saw Victor point the gun at Rocco. He knows it was self-defense.”
Gumby nodded.
“The other main guy, Dallas, was caught as he ran out and was identified by several of the other men in attendance.”
“Any other dogs found?”
“None alive,” Ace told him.
“And the kids?”
Ace sighed. “Gang members and dog fighters in training. They weren’t traumatized by what happened here in the least. They were more concerned about getting rid of the drugs they were passing back and forth.”
“Fuck,” Gumby breathed.
“It’s a shame. I mean, I know raising kids isn’t a walk in the park, but how do they come back from something like this? They’re already desensitized from the suffering the dogs go through, and they were almost witness to a woman being torn apart right in front of their eyes. If they don’t care about that, I’m not sure there’s much hope that they’ll turn out to be productive members of society.”
Gumby agreed. But at the moment, he didn’t care about them either. All his focus was on Sidney.
“So this ring’s shut down? With Victor dead and Dallas in custody, that’s a good thing, right?”
Ace shrugged. “Yeah, but the detective is sure someone else will pick right up where they left off.”
“Fucking dogfights,” Gumby said.
“How’s Sidney?” Ace asked.
“It’s not too bad, but it’s not good either,” Gumby told his friend. “If she hadn’t managed to climb that fence, that dog would’ve torn her to pieces.”
“Shit…”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll go and grab you some clean clothes,” Ace said. “And I’ll make sure Hannah’s taken care of. You need anything else?”
Gumby breathed out a sigh of relief. Honestly, he hadn’t been thinking about anything but Sidney. He felt guilty for not sparing a thought for Hannah. “No, I’m good. There’s no rush, I can find a pair of scrubs at the hospital for the short term.”
“Fuck you,” Ace said. “As if we’re all gonna go home and take a nap when your woman is hurt.”
Gumby nodded. It was a good feeling to have friends. “I don’t know how long it’ll take to hear anything from a doctor,” he warned Ace.
“Doesn’t matter. We’ll be there.”
“Sir? We’re ready to go,” one of the paramedics said from inside the ambulance.
“Go,” Ace ordered. “We’ll catch up with you at the hospital.”
Gumby nodded and turned to climb back into the back of the ambulance. He took a seat this time next to Sidney’s head and did his best to keep his shit together. She had two IVs, one in each arm, and a C-collar had been put around her neck for precaution. Her bra was lying on the floor and a blanket had been wrapped around her torso. Her leg had been covered in gauze and she was hooked up to all sorts of beeping machines.
She was still unconscious, and Gumby was grateful yet again. He gently took hold of her hand, wincing at the bruises he could see on her fingers and palm.
Ignoring the man sitting next to him, he leaned over and put his lips near Sidney’s ear. “Hang on, Sid. I love you.”
At his words, her fingers tightened in his grasp for a moment before relaxing once more.
It was enough. She’d heard him, and Gumby knew she’d eventually be okay.
Chapter Nineteen
Sidney smiled at Decker. The last couple of weeks hadn’t been great, there was no doubt about it, but having Decker at her side had made every bandage change, every setback, easier to deal with.
And it hadn’t only been Decker. It had been all of his friends too. During her stay in the hospital, Ace had visited almost as much as Decker. Phantom, Bubba, Rex, and Rocco had also been in and out, entertaining her and keeping her spirits up.
She’d had to have over a hundred stitches in her leg to properly close the bite. Then it had gotten infected almost immediately, and the pain of the wound having to be cleaned regularly was extremely difficult to endure. What started as a short hospital stay had stretched into two weeks as doctors battled and watched the injection closely. Sidney knew she was lucky. Knew it could’ve been a lot worse, but it was hard to stay positive when she’d been in so much pain.
Nora had visited, and Sidney had never laughed so hard when her friend ended up going home with one of her nurses. Apparently they’d hit it off out in the hallway, and Nora had done what Nora did best…seduced him.
Faith had come by as well, telling her how sorry she was about everything that happened, but things were a little weird between them. Sidney felt horrible for her role in the whole mess, and because she’d ignored her friend’s warnings about getting too personally involved in rescuing the dogs.
There had also been visits from another SEAL team on the base, and their families. Caroline had started it by stopping by with her husband, Wolf, and every day after, she’d met another family on that team. Abe and Alabama, Cookie and Fiona, Mozart and Summer, Benny and Jessyka, Dude and Cheyenne. Even their commander and his wife, Julie, had stopped by.
It should’ve been awkward, but instead, it made her feel even more cared for.
But it was Caite who Sidney was most excited to see. She visited every other day or so, keeping her up-to-date on what was happening with Dallas and the other participants of the dogfights. Decker hadn’t wanted to talk about it much, feeling as if she was better off not knowing, so Sidney was grateful when Caite was willing to give her details.
Dallas was still in jail, but the cops hadn’t been able to make charges stick to most of the other men at the fight. There was no way to prove who the drugs belonged to that were found discarded on the floor of the warehouse. While Sidney had identified the men who’d pushed her into the ring, and who’d kidnapped her in the first place, the other men had been let go without charges.
Luckily, Phantom hadn’t been charged with the death of Victor, since Detective Garnham had vouched for the fact that he’d hit him in self-defense. Sidney barely remembered what had happened as she’d been too traumatized.
But the best part of the last couple weeks was Decker.
Twenty minutes earlier, he’d wheeled her out of the hospital after one last assessment of her stitches. She’d be back for more checkups, but she’d been officially discharged. Decker’s truck had been waiting at the entrance
to the hospital, and he’d gently picked her up and placed her in the passenger side. Now, they were almost to his beach house.
“You okay?” he asked, glancing over at her.
“Yeah.” And she was. Her leg still hurt but she was feeling better every day.
Sidney wanted to tell him something important, but hadn’t had a chance while she’d been recovering. Either someone was visiting or the time just wasn’t right. But the more she thought about it, the more she felt now was the right time and place. It wasn’t romantic, but not having his intense concentration on her while she spoke was a good thing.
“I need to tell you something,” Sidney said softly as Decker drove out of the hospital parking lot.
“Okay,” he said. “Can it wait until I get you home and comfortable?”
“No.” The word came out louder than she’d intended.
“All right. Shoot.”
This was harder than she’d imagined it would be. “When I was in that cage, waiting for whatever they had in store for me, I couldn’t think about anything other than how pissed you were going to be at me.”
“Sid, no, I—”
“Please, let me get through this,” Sidney begged.
Decker nodded.
“I know I screwed up. You begged me not to go there by myself, and I did it anyway. Of course, I didn’t know Victor was waiting for me, or that he’d baited me with those puppies, but still. As I was sitting in that crate, listening to them building the fighting ring, knowing there was a good chance I’d be raped or killed, I could only think about one thing I regretted most of all. Something I hadn’t told you.”
Decker reached over and grabbed hold of her hand, but didn’t speak, for which she was thankful.
“Then, when I needed you most, you were there. It was a miracle, and I still can’t believe how everything came together for you to find me so fast. I thought for sure there was no way it would happen.” She took a deep breath and got out the words she’d been thinking about for weeks. “I love you, Decker. I hadn’t planned on falling in love, but before I knew it, you’d become the most important thing in my life.”
He squeezed her hand, tightly.
“I’m sorry I went behind your back and checked out the puppies by myself. I’m sorry I almost got Caite dragged into that horrible shit as well. I wish I’d listened to you…and I was so wrong.”
Decker pulled the truck off to the side of the road into a big box store’s parking lot. There were people all around them, but somehow it still seemed as if they were the only two people on Earth.
He put the truck in park and turned in his seat. The console between them kept him from getting too close, but he leaned over and took her face in his hands. His gaze was intense, and Sidney was nervous about what he might say.
“I think I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you. And one of the things I love most is your loyalty and tenacity. I love how much you care about the animals and how you feel so deeply. I’m sorry you didn’t wait for me as well, but that doesn’t diminish my love or respect for you. I think you might benefit from talking to someone about what you went through as a child, and how it all manifested itself in the person you are today, but no matter what you choose, I’ll always be here for you.”
Sidney breathed a sigh of relief. And the thought of talking to a psychologist wasn’t something she was opposed to. Maybe talking to someone who didn’t know her personally would be easier.
Decker fumbled in his pocket for a moment before turning back to her.
In his hand was a princess-cut solitaire diamond ring.
Sidney gasped in shock.
“I love you, Sid. You’re more important to me than anything else in my life. I’d do anything to keep you safe. Give you anything your heart desires. Be by your side in whatever you want to do. Will you marry me? I know being the wife of a Navy SEAL isn’t the easiest job in the world, but I swear I’ll do whatever it takes to ease the burden. I’ll never cheat, and I’ll do whatever I can to make sure I come home to you after every mission. I can’t promise but—”
“Yes,” Sidney said breathlessly, interrupting him.
“Yes?”
“Yes!” she confirmed.
The smile that crossed Decker’s face was beautiful, and something Sidney knew she’d never forget. He took ahold of her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly, and she couldn’t believe how right it felt.
“Fuck, I love you,” Decker breathed before he kissed the ring, then took her face in his hands once again. He leaned forward and kissed her, a long, passionate kiss that took her breath away.
When he pulled back, they were both breathing hard. He’d kissed her many times since she’d been injured, but this one felt different. It was a promise. A beginning.
“I hadn’t planned on doing this here,” Decker mumbled as he adjusted his cock in his pants and settled back in his seat.
Sidney chuckled. She stared down at her ring. She couldn’t take her eyes off it. It was probably around a carat, and it seemed huge to her. It was perfect.
“I’m not going to want to wait that long to get married,” Decker told her as he drove out of the parking lot. “But my dad and stepmom are going to want to be there. As is my brother. I’m thinking maybe we can have a small ceremony on our beach with the team and my family and anyone you want to invite. Faith and Nora for sure. Maybe Jude?”
Sidney smiled. She hadn’t ever really thought about getting married. Certainly didn’t have an image in her head for what she wanted the actual ceremony to be like. But a beach wedding seemed perfect. “Maybe Wolf and his team can come too?”
Decker smiled as if she’d just made his day. “Anyone you want, sweetheart.”
“I don’t deserve you,” she told him.
“Wrong. We deserve each other,” he said with a smile.
Sidney grabbed hold of his hand and held on tightly the rest of the way home.
Gumby felt on top of the world. The last two weeks had been hard, but Commander North had been very understanding, and he’d given Gumby a lot of time off to be with Sidney while she was recuperating. He’d also made sure the team hadn’t been slated for any missions while she was still recovering. Gumby knew the reprieve would soon be over, now that Sidney was home, but he’d deal with having to leave her when the time came.
They hadn’t talked about her moving into the beach house with him, but since she’d agreed to marry him, it was a moot point anyway. They had plenty of time to figure out their living arrangements.
The guy who was going to take over the maintenance for Sidney at the trailer park had started sooner than everyone had planned, since Sidney had been in the hospital, and so far he seemed to be working out.
Gumby had gotten Max to finish remodeling the top floor of his beach house just as he and Sidney had discussed. He’d wanted the house to be completely done by the time Sidney got out of the hospital, so she’d be as comfortable as possible. The work required a full crew working night and day, but the master was just as she’d envisioned, including the bathroom, complete with a huge shower that would easily fit them both.
Max still wanted to hire Sidney, and had even brought over the paperwork for her to fill out while she was in the hospital. As soon as she was ready, she could start shadowing one of Max’s teams. She’d need to take it easy for a while, not climb any ladders or anything, but the doctor reassured them both she’d be fully cleared for work soon.
Gumby pulled his truck into the driveway and said, “Stay put until I come around.”
“I can walk, Decker,” she complained.
“Shuffle forward, yes. Walk? Not so much.”
“Whatever,” she muttered.
“Humor me,” Gumby pleaded.
After she nodded, he climbed out of the truck and went around to her side. He felt his heart grow in his chest at seeing the ring he’d picked out on her finger.
He lifted her in his arms bride style, and she wrapped her
arms around his neck. He shut the truck door with his hip and headed for his front porch. Once there, he eased her down and made sure she was steady on her feet before opening the door.
In the weeks that Sidney had been in the hospital, Hannah had healed almost miraculously. The wound on her back was light pink, and no longer painful to the touch. The pads of her feet had also healed enough that the vet said she was cleared to go out on the beach. She absolutely loved scampering in the surf, chasing waves, and running up and down the sand, barking joyously. She was a completely different dog from the battered and beaten, scared-to-death animal he’d taken in all those weeks ago.
Gumby couldn’t wait for Sidney to see how well Hannah was doing, and for Hannah to see one of her favorite humans again.
He unlocked the door and opened it for Sidney to precede him inside.
Hannah barked enthusiastically and danced in place in the foyer, turning in circles in her excitement.
Unfortunately, instead of Sidney being overjoyed to see the ecstatic pit bull, she was clearly scared. She backed against him then scooted around his body so he was between her and Hannah.
Gumby immediately turned and hauled Sidney against him. He felt her legs give out and he carefully lowered them both to the floor. She was in his lap, burying her face against his chest. He could feel her trembling, and was confused for a second as to what was happening.
When he finally clued in that it was Hannah who terrified her so badly, his heart broke for Sidney.
Confused as to why her humans weren’t greeting her, Hannah whimpered and lay down on her belly. She crawled toward them, pathetic sounds coming from her throat. She nudged Gumby’s elbow.
“Sid?” he asked quietly
“For a second, I…I was back there,” she whispered. “In the ring. I saw Hannah and thought she was going to bite me.”
“She won’t. She loves you.”
“But I saw her, and the only thing I could think about was how much it hurt when that dog had ahold of my leg.”