“Give me the gun,” Cody said. “I’m the man. I’m supposed to be protecting you.”
Sam rolled her eyes at Cody.
“Save me the sexiest, macho crap,” Sam told him. “We can discuss men versus women in a hostage situation after I save our asses.”
“I think it is funny that she thinks she is getting out if this alive,” said Viktor.
Sam was going to get them out of this alive. She had to. She just wasn’t sure she knew how. She had only planned as far ahead as getting the gun. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do now that she had it.
“Sam? Are you here?” Sarah’s voice rang down the hall from the back.
Shit, just what Sam didn’t need. Out of all the people to walk in at a time like this, it had to be Sarah. Blake and James, Sarah’s men, said that trouble followed Sarah around. Turned out that Sarah seemed to follow trouble.
“Don’t come in here, Sarah,” she called. “Get out now.”
“Sam?” Sarah called. “I decided I would get that pair of green pants. You not having sex in the shop are you?”
Sam groaned as Sarah walked around the corner and onto the shop floor. She pulled up short and looked around. Sam could see the moment Sarah realized what was going on. Her eyes flared, and she took a small step back.
“Don’t even think about it,” Mr. Pokrovsky told her. “Walk farther into the room, nice and slow.”
Sarah slowly did as she was told, moving closer to Sam and Cody.
“You are a little outnumbered, Sam,” she said. “Let’s even the odds.”
Please no, don’t do it, Sam thought. She did.
Sam watched in dismay as Sarah pulled her hand gun from her purse, raising it up and dropping the bag in one fluid movement. Sam reckoned she had been practicing that. It was a sweet move, and Sarah had been fast.
“I call him the brain scrambler,” Sarah told them happily. “Good name, isn’t it? Did you know, whoever you are, that I have killed two people and injured another? I’ve only lived her for just over two years.”
“I like her,” Boris said. “Can we keep her?”
“My boyfriend, the sheriff, might have a problem with that.”
“Sarah, please,” Sam said. “You aren’t helping.”
The only good thing to come from Sarah showing up was it meant that James and Blake wouldn’t be too far behind. They always liked to know where she was and kept a close eye on her. Especially since she had been taken hostage three times now. This would be her fourth.
Sarah seemed to have the worst luck. She’d come to town for witness protection after seeing her best friend murdered. The guy had followed her here, and she had shot him. Then his brother came after her and her sister, and she shot him too. It was by chance that she’d been with Holly when her ex-boyfriend had come to town looking for money that didn’t exist and taken all three women at gun point. She had shot his ass too but hadn’t killed him.
“We need to make this fast, boss,” Viktor said. “This one is trouble.”
“You are not telling me anything I do not already know,” Mr. Pokrovsky said. “Get me the thumb drive, Cody, and your woman can live.” He pointed to Sarah. “This one I will give to my man. He can make a pet from her.”
“How does no sound?” Sam asked.
Sam felt her body start to relax. She could see straight out the window from where she stood. The street was filling up and not only could she see the sheriff but the Carter brothers, as well as Wolf and Hawk. She would bet that the Walkers and the Jackson were somewhere too.
“Do you even know what he is talking about?” Sam asked Cody. “What thumb drive?”
“I found it in my jacket pocket the night we went to Stephie’s,” Cody answered. “I meant to ask you and Troy about it, but I forgot once we got back to your place. I don’t know what’s on it. Adam never said a thing.”
Sam wasn’t mad at Cody. Adam had been the one to put them in this position. Besides, if someone was going to threaten her man, then Merricks was the best place for it to happen. She couldn’t even bear to think about what would have happened if he’d been alone in Seattle.
“Well,” Sam said, “as much fun as this has been, I’m hungry, and I promised Cody lunch at the diner.”
“Oh,” Sarah said. “Yum. I might come along. That is if Blake lets me. He looks pretty pissed off. Wave, Mr. Pokrovsky. That big scary guy in the uniform is my man. One of them anyway.”
Sarah waved at Blake. The big sheriff looked more than pissed off. He looked spitting mad and ready to storm in here at any moment. Blake waved back, and Sam could see that Sarah had some serious punishment coming.
Sam could see worry etched on Mr. Pokrovsky face for the first time and wanted to smile. The town had really rallied for this one. She could see each and every one of them was armed to the teeth. The Russians didn’t stand a chance.
Now she just had to get Sarah and Cody out of here unscathed.
“You could try the back door,” she suggested. “You might make it.”
“Or I could start killing hostages,” Mr. Pokrovsky answered. “I might have to kill the crazy one after all.”
“I’m not crazy,” Sarah replied indignantly. Sam wasn’t so sure, but Sarah was her friend, so she would keep it to herself. “We could shoot a thug each, and then Mr. Pokrovsky is left without a gun.”
“I don’t think you are supposed to tell anyone your plan,” Cody added. “Now they know what’s coming.”
“How else was Sam supposed to know what to do?” Sarah asked.
This was getting ridiculous. Sam had to put a stop to it, but she didn’t know how.
“Don’t army guys use secret signals or something?” Cody asked.
Sam wanted to roll her eyes, but she didn’t want to take them off Viktor and Boris.
“We aren’t army guys,” Sarah replied. “We don’t know any signals.”
Sam saw movement in the ceiling and desperately tried to get her eyes to not look at the spot. Someone was in her air conditioning vent and was slowly pulling back the cover. She kept her eyes on Viktor and Boris and hoped her face remained blank. She inched closer to Cody and waited for the cavalry to save her.
“You need to make some up then,” Cody said. “The whole town could learn them, and then if this happens again, you won’t have to worry.”
“That is silly,” Sarah said. “But I like it.”
A long black muzzle from a gun peeked out through the vent, and Sam knew the time to act was now. She needed to create a distraction so whoever was in the ceiling could take out Viktor and Boris.
“Duck,” she yelled and threw her body at Cody.
She tackled him and fired the gun at the same time. They hit the floor with a thud, and all hell broke loss. Guns were firing, and glass exploded. Sam covered Cody’s body with her own until he rolled them and he was on top. The gun fell from her hand as Cody’s weight came down on her own.
It lasted only seconds, but it was intense, and then everything went quiet.
“Get off me,” Sam said and pushed at the weight holding her down. “It’s over.”
Cody moved off her, and Sam stood. The scene before her made her want to cry. Her shop was in pieces. The front windows had been blown out, and clothes were all over the floor. All three Russians lay dead on the floor, riddled with bullet holes, and blood was seeping out and into the carpet. She loved that carpet.
Sam looked at Sarah standing in the exact same spot as where she had left her. She had a smoking gun in her hand and not a scratch on her.
“When I yelled duck,” Sam told her, “you were supposed to jump behind the counter.”
“You could have given me some warning,” Sarah replied. “You just shouted and started shooting. So I joined in.”
Sam was surprised the woman hadn’t gotten shot. Sarah had impeccable luck for someone who had been held hostage as much as she had.
“Sarah,” James called as he and Troy ran into the room from the bac
k. “Are you all right, darlin’?”
“I’m fine, James, really,” she replied.
“I’m getting you a tracking device,” James told Sarah. “Are you trying to set a record for how many times a woman can be held at gunpoint?”
“I don’t think the last two times count,” Sarah replied. “I had a gun as well.”
“Blake is going to be pissed,” James said. “He thought you were at the house.”
“I was,” she replied. “And then I decided to do some shopping. I left a message on his cell.”
“I didn’t get any message, baby,” Blake said, walking in from the front. Broken glass crunched under his boots as he approached. “I was busy with a hostage situation. Imagine my surprise when I discover you at the center of it.”
Sam left them to argue and walked over to Troy. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his big chest. Cody walked up behind her, and she was in the middle of a man sandwich.
“I should have been here,” Troy said. “I should have protected you.”
“Nonsense,” Sam told him. “You would have just been in danger too.”
What would he have done? He was a mechanic with no military background, and they had guns. He shouldn’t beat himself up over it.
“You should have seen her,” Cody said. “Sam was something fierce. She wasn’t going down without a fight.
“I don’t think that is a good thing,” Troy replied. “They made me stay outside. All I wanted to do was rush in to get you, but they wouldn’t let me. Blake said he’d lock me up. I wanted to punch him and almost did until James said I could breach the back with him.”
“Who was in the ceiling?” Sam asked. She hadn’t seen see who it was. She’d just seen the gun.
“I don’t know his name,” Troy answered.
“It was Erik,” Blake said from behind them. “The deputy was the only one small enough to fit through.”
Sam pulled from her men’s arms and turned to face the sheriff. She had so many questions, from who shot who to how they’d even known something was wrong. She also wanted to know what was on that thumb drive that was so damned important.
Then she wanted to take her men upstairs and remind herself that they were all okay and in one piece. She wouldn’t come back down until tomorrow. She wouldn’t be able to face cleanup until then. She couldn’t start until the bodies were gone anyway.
* * * *
Cody was in shock. Everything had happened so fast. He’d been having a lovely day and then bam. Someone wanted him dead. Sam had pulled a gun, and then hell had rained down on them. He wasn’t really sure what had happened. Once Sam had yelled and then tackled him to the ground, the bullets had started flying and glass exploded.
All he knew was that he had to protect Sam. He had rolled them until he was on top and prayed he didn’t get shot. It was over as quickly as it had started, and his brain was still reeling.
He had numbly gone upstairs with Sam and Troy hot on his heels and retrieved his jacket from the laundry pile. Inside the pocket was the small thumb drive that had been at the heart of this whole mess. They went back down stairs and handed it to the sheriff.
He still had no idea what was on the thing and why it was so important that his friend had lost his life and they had almost lost theirs too. He would be happy just to never see the thing again. He wasn’t even sure he cared what was on it. It didn’t matter. It wouldn’t change anything. Adam was still dead.
Now he sat in Sam’s living room and had no idea what to do next. They were removing the bodies downstairs and taking evidence. Blake said he would be up later for statements, and then it would be over, barring the cleanup.
“I’ll go make him a cup of coffee,” Sam said to Troy. She walked from the room, leaving them alone.
“I’m okay,” he said. “I’m just, um…”
Cody felt tears fill his eyes. Troy pulled him into his arms, and Cody snuggled into his big embrace.
“Shh, babe,” Troy soothed. “It’s okay. You just let it all out.”
“He was my friend,” Cody sobbed. “We had been friends since school. He didn’t deserve to die like that.”
He would have been in pain and scared. No one deserved that. What had he been thinking? He should have gone straight to the police, and they could have protected him. Why would he risk his life like that?
“Here is his coffee,” Sam said. He opened his eyes and watched her place the mug on the coffee table. “Are you all right, sweetness?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “It hurts. He was a good guy.”
Sam sat on the couch on his other side and placed her hand on his back.
“Losing someone you love is never easy,” Sam said. “It will take time to heal. You cry if you need to. We aren’t going anywhere.”
“I was so scared,” he told them. “I thought we were all going to die and that I would never get to hold you both again.”
He really had been terrified. Sam and Sarah had played it so cool, and all Cody had wanted to do was curl in a ball. That or vomit.
“I was scared too,” she said. “I love you, Cody, and I was scared that they would hurt you and there was nothing I could do about it.”
“You didn’t act scared,” Cody replied. “You and Sarah were making jokes.”
“So were you, sweetness,” she told him. “You were calm and collected at the time.”
“You both should have been hiding under the counter from the moment they walked in,” Troy said. “I can’t bear to think of you in danger like that.”
“We didn’t know they were dangerous when they came in,” Sam replied. “I thought they were just customers.”
Sam did have a point, and Cody felt himself smile through the tears at the thought of Sam and Cody ducking behind the counter every time a customer entered the shop.
“What has you smiling?” Sam asked.
“Nothing,” he answered. He pulled from Troy’s arms and moved into Sam’s. Cody looked into her green eyes and let the love he felt for her wash over his body. “Don’t think I missed what you said before. I love you too, Sam. I can’t wait to start my life with you.”
Cody brushed his mouth over Sam’s and then deepened the kiss. Sam took control, grabbing his head in her hands, and tangled their tongues. She tasted sweet, and Cody’s cock filled with desire.
Cody pulled back from the kiss when he felt Troy’s hand rub along his back. It was a comforting gesture, but Cody didn’t want him left out. It was important for Troy to know he was loved too.
He turned back to his big Dom and flung himself back into his strong arms. He wasn’t gentle as he had been with Sam and mashed their mouths together. Troy groaned and thrust his tongue inside Cody’s mouth. Their cocks rubbed together as Cody lay along his big body.
Cody broke the kiss and looked at Troy. His brown eyes were filled with desire, and Cody wanted to rip off their clothes and try and forget the last two hours.
“I love you, Troy,” he said “I always have. I knew from the moment I met you that I wanted to spend my life with you.”
“I know I was an ass to you when we were back in Minneapolis,” Troy said. “But I was scared. I’m not anymore, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and Sam. I love you too, Cody.”
Cody moved back and planted his ass on the coffee table and waited. He looked at Sam and at Troy expectantly.
“Well,” he said, “are you two going to say anything to each other?”
“This isn’t something that can be forced, Cody,” Troy said before turning to Sam. “Come here, baby.”
Sam moved closer to Troy, and he pulled her into his arms. They stared into each other’s eyes, and Cody leaned forward in anticipation.
“I haven’t known you long, Sam,” Troy said. “But my heart knows what it knows. You have started to mean more to me than any other woman I have ever known. I have loved Cody for a long while but was too stubborn to admit it. You were an unexpected addition to my l
ife, but I can’t help but love you. I don’t want to help it. You are an amazing woman and a giving lover. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life making you and Cody happy.”
“I think Cody is going to self-combust,” Sam said, smiling. “Settle down and drink your coffee.”
“I can’t,” he said. “I’m too full with emotions.”
“I never thought that I would want to share my life with a man as dominant as you. I always thought that if I dated another Dom, we would be on equal footing. I didn’t know about the lifestyle until I came to Merricks and started hanging with the subs, but I knew right off that I wasn’t like them. I like to be in control in the bedroom, but I can bend, and with you, it feels right.”
“So..,” Cody said. He was desperate for her to tell Troy that she loved him. It was the last piece to the puzzle, and Cody knew that she did. She just needed to voice it.
“So,” she went on, “it’s not the relationship I always pictured, but it is the right one for me. I do love you, Troy, just as much as I love Cody, only differently. You and Cody came into my life and shook it up, and it felt right from the start. I want you to move to Merricks. We can get a house and start a family.”
Cody almost squealed in excitement. Tears flooded his eyes again, but they were tears of joy, not sorrow.
“Am I moving too fast?” Sam asked.
“Nope,” Troy told her. “I was already planning on moving to Merricks. You are both here, and I couldn’t think of anywhere I would rather be.”
Troy reached forward and cupped Sam’s checks. Placing his lips against Sam’s, Troy slowly made love to her with his mouth. It was hot to watch, and Cody felt himself getting harder and harder.
He would always have a gaping hole in his heart over the loss of Adam, but he knew, in time, it would get smaller at least. For now he had the future ahead of him, and it was going to be filled with love from his master and mistress.
* * * *
Troy deepened the kiss and sucked Sam’s bottom lip into his mouth. His cock was incredibly hard, and his heart was light. He had almost lost them today, and it was something that would keep him up at night for years to come.
Until Forever [Merricks, Montana 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 16