by Lexi Blake
At least he hoped it would be the sheriff.
Fuck, he was on his own. Bo had taken a gun. Maybe Trev was panicking for no good reason. Maybe Bo had realized something was wrong and gotten Beth and Shelley away. Bo might have started talking to his brother and put off bringing Beth out to her place. They could be perfectly safe.
In the distance, he saw Aidan’s truck. Bo had borrowed it because they’d all come in one truck, a happy family off for a Sunday afternoon.
They were here.
Trev moved off the road and into the woods that separated the Bellows home from the Gates house. Clarissa’s house was a mile down the road, too far away to hope for help.
He ran through the woods, deeply grateful that he’d kept to a fitness regime that rivaled any pro athlete’s. He didn’t even break a sweat as he sprinted, his body moving with the grace of long training. He avoided the trees and stones, leapt over the small creek. He was barely breathing hard as the Bellows House came into sight from behind a swath of trees. He slowed, forcing himself to stop. He wanted to run into the house. He wanted to scream and fight, but panicking wouldn’t help them.
The barn came into view. The big structure was solid but in deep need of paint and refurbishment. Odd. The doors were open. He was absolutely sure they had been closed when they had left earlier in the day.
He stared across the expanse. The barn was on the other side of the yard, in the back of the house.
And then he saw Bo. There was no mistaking the sandy-blond hair or the broad set of his shoulders. Bo’s hands were caught behind his back. He was on his knees. A man loomed above him.
“You will bring it to me.” The man’s voice carried across the yard.
A gun. It glinted in the late-afternoon light. It was pressed to Bo’s head.
Trev closed his eyes. He had no doubt who the man in the suit was talking to. Beth or Shelley. Hopefully both.
Beth walked out, a package in her hand. Wrapped in plastic, he knew exactly what it was. Cocaine. A lot of it. So much it would cost both she and Bo their lives if he didn’t find a way out.
“You will put it in Mr. O’Malley’s truck and get the rest for me. If you move in any way other than the one I’ve directed, I will kill him.”
Play it safe. Play it safe, darlin’. How many trips would she have to make? How much time did he have?
A million scenarios ran through his brain. He could cause chaos by running at the man with the gun. It would give Beth a chance to flee. It more than likely signed both his and Bo’s death warrants, but it gave Beth a shot.
She wouldn’t take it. She would try to save them.
He could try to make his way around the house and sneak up on the other side. He could quietly make his way up behind the man and take him down. If he made even the slightest mistake, they were all dead.
Every way he went the odds were hell.
He was stuck watching without even a gun. He looked around. What was he going to do? Take the asshole down with a stick?
A large rock sat at his feet. It was jagged, with edges that could cut through skin.
He felt utterly impotent. A scream lodged in his throat as Beth walked back across the yard. Was he going to stand here and watch them die?
What the fuck was he going to do? Throw a rock at the asshole’s car?
Trev stopped, so much of his life falling into place.
For years he’d cursed the talent that had led him to the football field. It had seemed a useless thing that had only led down a path to ruin. Now it might be the only thing that saved him.
Trev McNamara had been praised for having the strongest arm in his class, the most accurate arm in a decade. He could throw a football through a ring at forty yards, never once touching the target. He’d been forced to hold back, or his receivers complained that he threw too hard.
His arm had caused him nothing but heartache.
And every second of that heartache had led him here, to this place where he had only one way to save his love, his friend, and his sister. Every moment of his life, each lesson he’d learned, had brought him here. In a single second, the ache he felt morphed into something different. Strength. He had survived. He had fought.
And he would win.
Trev McNamara picked up the rock. It filled his palm, the weight reassuring. It would do the job. Fifty yards. It was only fifty yards. He’d thrown for far longer than that and with far less on the line.
He took a deep breath, the air filling his lungs. He dropped back as though coming out of the pocket. It was a habit from years of playing. His vision focused, the world narrowing to a pinpoint—an inch of skin right in front of the man’s ear. His target.
He brought his arm back and let the rock fly.
One last Hail Mary.
And Trev took off. If he failed, he would go down with them. His eye tracked the rock as it flew through the air, and his heart soared. He knew his aim was true. His throw had been quick, accurate, and deadly.
The man with the gun didn’t stand a chance. There was a sickening thud that split the air, the sound of rock hitting soft, vulnerable flesh.
He saw the rock connect, nearly burying itself in the man’s head before bouncing back and falling to the ground.
“Trev!” He heard Beth’s scream as she dropped the package she carried. Her eyes were wide with horror.
The gun at Bo’s head hit the ground a single second before his captor. The man in the suit fell to the grass, his body crumpling at an odd angle. Beth kicked the gun away. Her arms went around Bo, checking him for injuries. She kissed Bo and then got back up.
Beth ran for him and launched herself into his arms. He caught her, happy to hold her, to know that she was alive.
“Trev. I thought we were going to die. Oh, god, I thought I wouldn’t see you again. And Bo. He was going to kill Bo. Shelley is okay. She’s inside the house. He knocked her out. Oh, it was horrible.” She sobbed against his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her. She’d been stoic before, but now her softness broke through. His brave Beth. How had anyone ever called her a mouse? It seemed to him that Beth had held it together in the face of terrible danger. She’d managed to stay calm and keep Bo and Shelley alive. He would never be able to pay her back for that. But he would try. Damn, but he would cherish her every day.
“I love you.” He couldn’t hold it back. The words flowed freely now. They were nothing but the truth. “I love you so much, Beth.”
He was going to marry her. The present wasn’t enough. He wanted a future with her and Bo.
“I love you, too.”
Bo’s voice broke through the emotion. “Uh, I would love everyone if one of you would mind getting me out of this zip tie and away from the dead dude. He’s not breathing. You were like David and Goliath.”
No. He hadn’t needed a sling. Just fifteen years of training.
He helped his partner up. He stared at Bo. He needed to make a few things clear. “Don’t get used to this place. I know it’s your home, but I have to leave in a year’s time. I’m buying into a cattle ranch. Our ranch. We’re moving. You and me and Beth.”
Bo’s face flushed. He nodded, too choked up for words.
Beth wrapped an arm around them both, her soft body a conduit for them.
Trev completed the circle, wrapping his arms around them, hugging them tightly.
In the distance, he heard the sirens, but they no longer mattered. He was safe.
Chapter Twenty
One year later
“Well, you wanted it to be a family home again.” Trev smiled down at Beth, who was looking up at her handiwork one last time.
The old Bellows place shone in the early-morning light. It was a jewel of a house. Every room had been lovingly refurbished into a place any family would be proud of.
But it wasn’t his home.
Lexi O’Malley stepped out of the truck and reached behind the seat to lift her infant son from his car seat. She held the tiny boy
in her arms, Lucas and Aidan at her side as they stared at the house they would raise their family in.
“Beth, it’s so beautiful. I can’t tell you how much I love it.” Lexi cooed down at her boy. “This is your home, Jack. You’re going to love it here. And your aunt and uncle will be here this weekend, though they’re really more like cousins.”
Bo stepped out of the house, the last box in his hand. “I thought we’d carry the coffeemaker with us. Those hotel room coffeemakers can’t keep up with Mr. Caffeine.”
Beth’s arm snaked around his waist. “He loves his coffee.”
Not as much as he loved her. And Bo. Damn, but he loved his friend. Weeks and months of working beside him had solidified their partnership. He couldn’t imagine his life without either of them now.
And they were following him to Colorado.
Aidan held out a hand as Lucas led Lexi up the steps. “Thank you. For everything.”
Aidan’s genuine admiration had done wonders for his ego. “Anytime, brother.”
“I hear your sister is on her way to The Club.”
Trev had to smile. His sister had spent the last year recovering from her injury, her marriage, from life itself. She’d closed up her business, shocked at how many clients her husband had managed to blackmail. She had an old ally looking into it for her. Liam O’Donnell was trying to untangle the web Bryce had woven so Shelley could feel safe again. The Irishman was a completely different human being after he’d come back from the English assignment. He hadn’t come alone. He’d come with a wife and had promptly begun meddling. He’d help Shelley deal with FBI agents and DEA agents. After she’d dealt with the fallout of Bryce’s death, she’d gone into her shell, but it seemed to Trev that she was starting to come out of it. After spending a weekend with Avery O’Donnell, she’d announced that she needed a fresh start, and she wanted to explore D/s. Trev had called Julian, and Julian had offered to take her in and find a Dom to train her.
But she hadn’t gone to Sanctum. No, Shelley was going to The Club, and Leo Meyer was in for a surprise.
He had the O’Donnells to thank for that, too.
“She’ll probably cause a ruckus.” It was one of the things she was awfully good at. He was going to miss his sister, but he knew she would be in good hands.
Aidan grinned. “I might have to go and see that. Y’all call us from the road. Let us know you’re okay. I need to get in there or Lexi will have moved all the furniture herself.”
Beth stood by the truck, her hair shining in the light, a soft, confident smile on her face. And a ring on her finger. Two in fact. Bethany Hobbes was now Bethany McNamara-O’Malley.
“Are you ready?” Bo wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her. “I bet you’ll have a whole new house to work on.”
Her eyes gleamed at the thought. “I hope this James Glen doesn’t mind a little home improvement. I’m looking forward to it. And seeing Colorado. It seems like a big adventure.”
Suddenly every damn day seemed like an adventure. They got in the truck, and Trev turned the engine on. He pulled up the drive, the road ahead of him. His heart nearly skipped a beat. He’d never imagined that he would make this trip with people he loved.
“I don’t know about that town,” Bo said, bringing him back to reality. “Who names a town Bliss?”
“I think we’ll fit in,” he replied with confidence. And if they didn’t, they would be okay. They were a world in and of themselves, an island of peace he’d found. He didn’t need Bliss. He’d already found it.
He turned the truck west, toward Bliss and their future.
* * * *
Leo, Shelley, and a surprise visitor from Colorado will return in Siren in Bloom. Click here for more information.
Author’s Note
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Siren in Bloom
By Lexi Blake writing as Sophie Oak
Texas Sirens, Book 6
Coming November 6, 2018
Click here for more information.
For Leo Meyer, being the Dom in residence at The Club has been a perfect life. But when the only woman he ever loved walks back into his life, his world is turned upside down.
Wolf Meyer has been restless since an injury ended his career with the Navy SEALs. Hoping to reconnect with his brother, Wolf accepts a job with Julian Lodge. His first assignment is to train Shelley McNamara, a gorgeous sub with a troubled past.
Shelley came to The Club to heal her wounded heart. She never dreamed that exploring her dark fantasies with her new Master would leave her caught between two brothers.
Lost in Bliss
Nights in Bliss, Colorado Book 4
By Lexi Blake writing as Sophie Oak
Coming September 25, 2018
Click here to pre-order.
Laura Niles fled Washington, DC, with her career in ruins and her love life decimated. In her desperate flight, she found a home in Bliss, Colorado.
For years, Rafe Kincaid and Cameron Briggs have searched for the only woman they’ve ever loved. The FBI agents couldn’t share her before and it tore them apart. Now they have tracked her down and they want answers.
When her former loves bring the full force of the FBI with them, Laura knows Bliss is in for a rough ride, because a killer has been watching and waiting for a second chance.
About Lexi Blake
Lexi Blake is the author of contemporary and urban fantasy romance. She started publishing in 2011 and has gone on to sell over two million copies of her books. Her books have appeared twenty-six times on the USA Today, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. She lives in North Texas with her husband, kids, and two rescue dogs.
Connect with Lexi online:
Facebook: Lexi Blake
Twitter: authorlexiblake
Website: www.LexiBlake.net
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Other Books By Lexi Blake
Click to purchase
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Masters and Mercenaries
The Dom Who Loved Me
The Men With The Golden Cuffs
A Dom is Forever
On Her Master’s Secret Service
Sanctum: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Love and Let Die
Unconditional: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Dungeon Royale
Dungeon Games: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
A View to a Thrill
Cherished: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
You Only Love Twice
Luscious: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped
Adored: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Master No
Just One Taste: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped 2
From Sanctum with Love
Devoted: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Dominance Never Dies
Submission is Not Enough
Master Bits and Mercenary Bites~The Secret Recipes of Topped
Perfectly Paired: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped 3
For His Eyes Only
Arranged: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
Love Another Day
At Your Service: Masters and Mercenaries~Topped 4
Master Bits and Mercenary Bites~Girls Night
Nobody Does It Better
Close Cover
Protected
Masters and Mercenaries: The Forgotten
Memento Mori
Lawless
Ruthless
Satisfaction
Revenge
Courting Justice
Order of Protection
Evidence of Desire, Coming January 8, 2019
Masters Of Ménage (by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake)
Their Virgin Captive
Their Virgin’s Secret
Their Virgin Concubine
Their Virgin Princess
Their Virgin Hostage
Their Virgin Secretary
Their Virgin Mistress
The Perfect Gentlemen (by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake)
Scandal Never Sleeps
Seduction in Session
Big Easy Temptation
Smoke and Sin
At the Pleasure of the President, Coming Fall 2018
URBAN FANTASY
Thieves
Steal the Light
Steal the Day
Steal the Moon
Steal the Sun
Steal the Night
Ripper
Addict
Sleeper
Outcast, Coming 2018
LEXI BLAKE WRITING AS SOPHIE OAK
Small Town Siren
Siren in the City
Away From Me
Three to Ride
Siren Enslaved
Two to Love
Siren Beloved
One to Keep
Siren in Waiting
Lost in Bliss, Coming September 25, 2018
Found in Bliss, Coming October 9, 2018