“Time to take out the trash.”
With those ominous words the man left, and Logan very quickly dismissed him from his mind. His attention was taken up with Lindsey, and fighting hospital policy to be allowed to stay with her. In the end, money talked, like it always did. His little bird was moved into a private room, which meant he was allowed to stay with her as day turned into night, then morning, and with it another scan.
Logan could have wept for joy when her consultant announced that the bleeding seemed to have stopped, and the swelling had reduced considerably.
“We can start weaning her off her sedation slowly and see how she does. All being well in another twenty-four hours, she’ll be well enough to do without it completely.”
Logan kept up his bedside vigil, snatching patches of sleep only in the chair next to her bed, and if it hadn’t been for Laura sending in Rissa and Peyton with meals for him to eat, he might well have starved. Having to leave her on her own to go the bathroom was bad enough as far as he was concerned, even though a police guard had been posted at the entrance to her room.
Montgomery was at large, and considered armed and dangerous, and Mike had introduced Logan to one of his superiors. Chief Superintendent Rose Malone was a stunningly beautiful blonde in her early thirties, and Logan had been greatly reassured by her tough-as-nails, no-nonsense attitude.
While sympathetic to his obvious distress, she hadn’t shied away from asking him some very difficult questions, and thus was by now fully versed in everything he knew about Montgomery.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Dr. Festher. I’m assuming you will be happy to come to the station and make a full, documented statement once your fiancée is better, of course.” She’d smiled at his nod. “Very well. I promise you, we will get Montgomery. I’ve been on his case for a long time now, and his time is up.”
No one could have foreseen how very much his time had been up, because the next morning brought the news of Montgomery’s death. Not that Logan was aware of this until he got a phone call from Jonas, his attention having been taken up by Lindsey’s seeming refusal to wake up. Weaned of the sedation now, she remained unconscious, which concerned her neurologist.
“Keep talking to her, Mr. Festher. Give her a reason to come back.”
* * * *
Lindsey drifted in and out of consciousness, aware, yet not, of her surroundings. Familiar voices came and went, interspersed with an annoying beep. She tried to block it out, but that beep grew louder and ever more insistent in her mind, blocking out the god-awful headache she had, until she had to open her eyes. A hospital room came into focus, illuminated by the flickering lights of the TV mounted high in the corner and in her direct line of sight.
Her eyes widened at the images playing out on the screen. The sound was muted but the headline made her heart rate increase.
Prominent American Businessman Kevin Montgomery found assassinated.
That beeping sound increased dramatically and Lindsey tried to bring a hand up to move the oxygen mask off her face. The unseen pressure on her fingers increased, and from somewhere far away, she heard Sir’s voice.
“Oh thank, fuck, you’re awake. Nurse! Nurse!” Lindsey winced as Logan’s shout reverberated around her brain, and she waved her other hand in a feeble attempt to get him to stop being so damn loud.
“Sorry, baby. I’m here, what do you need?” Logan’s beloved face appeared in her vision, blocking out the images on the telly, and Lindsey gasped at the state of him. At least three day’s growth of beard graced his jaw. His hair was as disheveled as his clothes, which appeared rumpled beyond repair, and huge purple shadows under his red-rimmed eyes spoke of how little sleep he must have had.
Lindsey tried to talk, but nothing but a croak came out, and in the next instant cool hands felt her neck.
“Ah, excellent news, you’re awake. Give her some space now.” Logan’s face disappeared to be replaced by that of a kindly smiling nurse. Seeing Lindsey struggle, she took off her oxygen mask and held up a glass with a straw.
“Here, small sips now, that’s it, and then we’ll sit you up a bit.”
The cool water slid down Lindsey’s dry throat, and the nurse smiled when she managed to croak her thanks.
“You’re welcome, deary. Gave us all rather a fright, especially your fiancé here. Poor man hasn’t left your side since you were brought in, and you know, he really needs to. Between you and me, he’s starting to smell a bit ripe.”
Lindsey tried to laugh at that mental image, but only another croak came out, and Logan swore. She turned her head in his direction. After several attempts to hold her hand out to him, during which her nurse raised the end of the bed, which helped elevate Lindsey into a more upright position, she finally managed it. A tear slid down her face when he grasped her hand and, lifting it up to his lips, kissed it. His blue eyes blazed with unshed tears and so much raw emotion, she couldn’t have looked away if she’d wanted to.
“There, I’ll give you two a minute before I let Mr. Johansen know you’re awake.”
Lindsey didn’t take too much notice of the woman’s departure, too caught up in the intensity of Logan’s gaze as he sat down on the bed next to her.
“Hi.” She grimaced at the hoarse quality of her voice and Logan’s tense features relaxed.
“Hey, there, sweetheart.”
With what sounded suspiciously like a sob, Logan pulled her into a careful embrace, and closing her eyes, Lindsey simply soaked in the feel of being in the arms of the man she loved.
“I thought, I’d lost you, baby. God, don’t do that to me. I—”
Logan pulled back just enough to study her, and she offered him a wobbly smile. It hurt to do so. In truth, everything seemed to hurt, but any discomfort faded into insignificance at his next words.
“To think I could have lost you without ever telling you how much I love you.” He smiled grimly at her gasp, and brushed his lips over hers in the merest hint of a kiss. It was enough to confirm that she wasn’t having some hospital-drug-induced fantasy. She tried to say it back, but Logan put his finger over her mouth and shook his head.
“No, sweetheart, save your voice. I can tell you’re still sore. We’ll talk properly when you’re feeling stronger.”
Leaning in he kissed her again, butterfly kisses across her face, which made her feel cherished, and close to tears again. When he pulled her back into a hug, Lindsey shut her eyes and allowed herself to drift back off into sleep, safe in the knowledge that her Sir loved her.
When she next woke up, bright sunlight streamed into the room, and a grey-haired doctor was standing at the foot of her bed.
“Ah, hello again. How are you feeling now, Lindsey? You don’t mind if I call you that, do you?”
Lindsey shook her head and he smiled.
“Good. My name is Levi Johansen, and I’m your consultant here at the Royal Free. I must say you had us all worried a great deal.”
“I’m sorry?” Lindsey whispered the words, looking around the room for Logan, and her heart sank when she couldn’t see him.
“Your friends have finally convinced him to go home and shower, if you’re looking for your fiancé. Knowing him, he’ll be back in record time. Now, I need to perform some tests with your cooperation.” When she nodded, he took her through a series of neurological tests that made her head spin, not least because he got her out of bed.
Feeling as weak as a newborn kitten, Lindsey held onto the helping nurse’s arm with a death grip, but she did eventually manage to stand.
“Excellent, keep up the good work and we’ll be able to discharge you in a couple of days.”
Lindsey’s heart leaped for joy at the news, but right now she had other concerns.
“Do you think I could use the bathroom and freshen up?” she asked and the doctor laughed.
“I can’t see why not. Nurse Vera here will keep an eye on you.”
“Oh, thank god for that.”
Half an hour
later and feeling much more human in herself, Lindsey had just got settled back in her bed when a knock on the door announced Mike.
The burly cop smiled at her, and Lindsey’s pleasant surprise at seeing him turned into concern when he introduced his superior Chief Superintendent Rose Malone.
“Very pleased to see you’re recovering well, Lady Callan-Brennan,” she said.
“Lindsey, please.”
“As you wish, but this isn’t a social call, I’m afraid.”
“Then perhaps you should leave.” Logan’s deep voice held the clipped censure which told of his annoyance as he entered the room, stepped up to Lindsey’s bed and kissed her. Gently, at first, clearly still mindful of her injuries, and when Lindsey swung her arms round his neck and kissed him back, he deepened the kiss with a groan.
Repeated throat clearing made him finally pull away, but not before he whispered for her ears only, “I love you, little bird.”
“I love you, Sir.”
Logan’s eyes lit up at her answer, and Lindsey knew she was wearing the goofiest smile ever when she turned her attention back to the room. Mike hid his grin behind a cough and the Superintendent pursed her lips.
“This is all very touching, but as your case has now turned into a murder enquiry, I really need you to answer my questions.”
“Murder?” Lindsey echoed that one word and dread crawled up her spine, threatening to put a dampener on her newfound happiness.
Logan put his arm around her and addressed the other woman before she could say any more.
“Montgomery had it coming, and I fail to see what my fiancée could possibly have to add to your investigation. You’ve got my statement and as she’s been lying on a hospital bed for the last four days since that fucker attacked her. What do you expect her to say?”
Rose Malone looked uncomfortable at Sir’s words, but she continued regardless.
“I’m well aware of that, and it’s for that reason that I’m here. It is rather a coincidence, don’t you think, that your fiancée gets attacked and the very next day her attacker is being assassinated by The Shadow, nothing but a killer for hire?”
Logan’s muscles tensed next to hers, and when Lindsey glanced at him, he had a carefully neutral expression that made that tingle of dread turned into an avalanche of foreboding as the silent images she’d observed on the TV came back to her.
“Nonetheless, it is a coincidence. I’m not a violent man, Superintendent, but I’m not going to pretend to be sorry at his loss. The man was a scumbag who had it coming to him.”
Rose Malone blinked, and in the next instant Alexej strolled into the room. If that were possible, Logan tensed even more and Mike, too, looked uncomfortable. Before Lindsey’s befuddled brain could grasp any possible reason for the Russian Dom to be in her hospital room, he smiled at her.
“One could say trash needs taking out. Clearly, you police”—he gave the Superintendent’s body a long, slow appraisal that made the woman’s breathing speed up, before he winked at Mike—“needed help. Seems to me that this Shadow does a good job.”
“That man is a hired killer, that’s all. There is no ulterior motive here, but simple greed, and who the hell are you?” Superintendent Malone asked.
Getting right into the woman’s personal space, Alexej pinned her in place with a stern glance that made Lindsey a little afraid. Whether for the police woman or the Russian, she couldn’t be sure. Logan pulled her closer into his frame, and nuzzled into her neck.
“Breathe, little bird. It’ll be okay.”
Lindsey pulled a shuddering breath into her lungs.
“Alexej Vasilyev, kroshka. If you were mine, you’d be over my knee already for talking to me like that.”
Lindsey couldn’t see the other woman’s face as the Russian murmured those words, but her whole body tensed before she took a step back.
“You try that, mister, and I’ll arrest you for hindering a police officer in her line of duty.” Far from being deterred, Alexej simply smiled, crossed his arms over his chest, and studied her.
“Ah, but you wouldn’t, because the only thing you’d be doing is screaming for more.”
“I, that is…
Logan’s shoulders shook in silent amusement, and in truth, Lindsey had a hard time keeping a straight face herself, as the other woman seemed lost for words.
“Forgive Mr. Vasilyev, ma’am. It seems you can take the Dom out of the club, but you can’t take said Dom anywhere.” When his superior spun around to look at him, a slight blush spread over Mike’s cheek bones.
“You know this man?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am. He is a respected Master at Club Spectrum, the—”
“Yes, spare me, I’ve heard of it.” Rose gave Mike an assessing look, and her gaze rested on the thin silver chain he wore around his neck a fraction too long. “Do you vouch for this man?”
Mike cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable again.
“Like I said, he’s—”
“I most certainly can vouch for Alexej,” Logan said, interrupting Mike. “As will Slade Douglas, Scarlett Simpson, Pedro Hernandez, and Jonas Sorenson. I know you’ve already got their statements, so I really must insist that you leave my fiancée to rest.”
Alexej smiled and gave a mock bow when the woman looked defeated.
“Good luck catching The Shadow,” he said. “I’m told he’s rather good at what he does.”
Mike cleared his throat rather noisily, and an indecipherable look passed between him and the Russian.
Superintendent Malone ignored that comment.
“Very well. I must insist that Lady Callan-Brennan comes to the station for her official statement when she is released from hospital care. Good day to you all.”
She left, her heels clicking rapidly on the hard floor, and Mike turned to them all.
“Sorry about that. She is very…dedicated to her job.”
Lindsey’s head was starting to hurt again, and looking from Alexej to Logan she had to ask.
“Do I want to know what you two are not telling me about this?”
Alexej laughed, and Logan shook his head.
“No, you don’t, sweetheart. You really don’t.”
“Let’s just say it was my pleasure, girl.” Alexej smiled and left the room.
Lindsey would have voiced her opinion about that statement had Sir not decided to kiss her senseless, and by the time he eventually allowed her back up for air, none of that seemed to matter anymore.
“It’s just you and me, baby, forever.”
Lindsey sighed and closed her eyes. It seemed dreams did come true.
Epilogue
Club Spectrum Auction, three months later
It seemed like ages ago that Lindsey had stood in the glare of the stage lights, determined to go out with a bang, as it were. As she sat curled around Sir’s legs, seeing one slave after the other being auctioned off today, those events seemed like they’d happened to another person, and in a way, they had.
The Lindsey who’d stood on that stage had been desperately unhappy, whereas this Lindsey seemed to float on a cloud of happiness ever since she’d been discharged from the hospital. Even the cloud of Montgomery’s assassination and the subsequent police enquiry—which had Rose Malone not only look into Lindsey’s and Logan’s private affairs, but had also resulted in her questioning club members—hadn’t managed to dampen her spirits. The investigation was left open, and the huge file the Met Police and Interpol seemed to have on The Shadow had gained another entry.
Lord knew who the mysterious assassin really was. If Sir knew, he wasn’t saying, and Lindsey had long since decided that she didn’t care. While the wedding makeup artist had done an excellent job of covering over the leftover bruises from Montgomery’s attack on her, the various aches and pains she’d been left with on her wedding day had only reiterated to her that the world was a better place without the likes of Montgomery.
After all, that slime-bag had been directl
y responsible for her father’s rapid decline into drugs, gambling, and drink. Against all the odds Papa had remained sober since coming out of rehab a month after her wedding to Logan. They had a long way to go to rebuild any sort of relationship, but at least Papa seemed determined to get his racing business back off the ground via legal means this time.
Thoughts of her wedding made Lindsey smile and snuggle in closer into Sir’s leg. His hand fisted in her hair and, tugging gently, he lifted her face up until their eyes met.
“Everything all right, little bird?”
Lindsey smiled up at him.
“Yes, Sir. I was just remembering the last time we were here.”
Logan’s eyes softened and the busy auction setting receded into the background as he, too, seemed to remember that day.
Pulling her up slightly, he bent down to kiss her. Lindsey sighed into the possessive gesture as his free hand slid to her collar. Dark gold to match her wedding and engagement ring, the delicate lock with which it fastened held another dark sapphire. Lindsey would never forget the moment the registrar had hesitated after they’d both said their I dos. While Lindsey had been expecting the man, who happened to be one of the club’s male submissives, to announce them to be husband and wife, he’d looked toward Sir.
“Little bird, you’ve made me a very happy man, but you would make me an even happier Master if you accept my collar.”
With a grin threatening to break his face in half, Master Jonas had stepped forward and handed Sir an oblong box.
With tears clouding her vision, Lindsey had slid to her knees while Sir had fastened the delicate collar around her neck.
“With this collar, I pledge you not only my love, but my protection, guidance, and devotion as your Master. I shall never take your gift of submission for granted. You humble me with your presence in my life, and I shall do my utmost to be the husband and Master you need and deserve, my brave, beautiful little bird.”
When he’d pulled her back to her feet, the registrar had gleefully announced them to be husband and wife, Master and sub, and the whole room had erupted into thunderous applause. Even Mama had had tears in her eyes when she’d hugged her.
Auctioned to the Gentle Dom [The Spectrum Auctions 5] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 23