by Laura Kaye
A woman with short strawberry-blond hair wearing a pretty teal wrap dress approached their group. Diana made quick introductions, then took them to a sitting room where Becca could show off the gowns she tried on. “Do you have a date in mind?” Diana asked.
“I do, and it’s really short notice. August eighth,” Becca said, not missing the woman’s gaze flicker down to her belly and back. Becca almost laughed. “We fell in love with a venue that had a last-minute cancellation, so we went for it.”
“Well, we can make this work, Becca. We’ve got quite a few gowns available in our annual sample sale, so let’s see if we can’t find something you love. This way, please.” She led them into a long rectangular room filled with racks of gowns. “Do you have any preferences for color, silhouette, length?”
“I want to wear a gown that you couldn’t wear any other time,” Becca said. “Something romantic and full. Maybe sleeveless. And I think I prefer white to ivory.”
“Let’s start with ball gowns and A-lines, then,” Diana said, already pulling a few things off the racks. “Ladies, feel free to pull anything fun that you see.”
Becca searched through the gowns, pulling a couple of things that caught her eye. Before long, she was in the dressing room neck deep in satin and lace and tulle. Too much tulle in the case of the first dress, which she obligingly showed to her friends even though she knew it wasn’t the one. “What do you think?” she asked as she spun on the dais in front of them.
Kat made a face. “I think it’s too young for you.”
Sara nodded. “Too froufrou.”
Becca laughed. “I agree.” She tried on another, this one in a mermaid cut that wasn’t at all her style. “Who picked this one?” she asked, laughing.
“What? I thought it was cool,” Sara’s younger sister, Jenna, said. They both had matching red hair.
“Sadly, I don’t have the hips to pull this off. Or the boobs. Or whatever else you need to make this work.” Becca rolled her eyes as the women nodded and laughed. The third one was closer—a sleeveless ball-gown style with lots of lace and beading. “This is gorgeous,” Becca said. “But it’s so heavy I don’t know how I’d dance in it.”
“I don’t know, Becca,” Emilie said, tucking her brown hair behind her ears. “That one might be worth suffering for.”
It took five more dresses before Becca fell in love. The white ball gown had a sleeveless sweetheart neckline and gorgeous beading at the waist, while the skirt fell in soft layers of satin, full but not poofy. It was two sizes too big and was missing a few buttons down the back, but Diana assured her it could be taken in and repaired in plenty of time. Staring in the mirror, Becca suddenly felt overwhelmed.
Kat was the first one to notice. She crossed from the sofa to stand beside Becca. “You okay?”
Afraid that trying to speak might hasten the threatening tears, Becca just nodded.
“This is the one, isn’t it?” Kat met Becca’s gaze in the mirror. Despite her petite stature, Kat looked so much like her brothers, with her chocolate brown hair and green eyes—and even a few shared facial expressions—that Becca immediately felt at ease. And she realized there was something she needed to ask Katherine.
“Yeah,” Becca managed. “I don’t need to look anymore.” She turned to face Kat. “Will you be my maid of honor?” They might not have known each other very long, but in the few months since they’d met, they’d bonded hard and fast, not only over their love for the Rixey men but also because of the way Kat had taken care of Becca during the team’s investigation.
Kat’s eyes went wide. “You want me?”
“We’re going to be sisters, right? I absolutely want you. If you’ll do it,” Becca said.
Kat hugged her. “I’d love to stand up for you and Nick. I’m so happy for both of you.”
“Okay, now. Don’t make me cry. I’m having a hard enough time with that as it is,” Becca said. Everyone laughed. Becca gave herself one last look in the mirror. “Yeah, this is the one.” She turned to see the back of it, all clean, soft lines of satin. On her shoulder, the healing tattoo peeked out through her hair. The design was as beautiful as the words were appropriate, so she had no qualms about the ink showing. She was proud of the gift Nick had given her.
“Well, then,” Diana said. “Let’s get the tailor to take a look at you, and then we’ll get the ladies started on bridesmaid dresses. Any idea what color you’d like?”
“Yes,” Becca said. “Kat, can you grab the picture from my purse?” Kat handed Diana the picture of the bridesmaids’ bouquets Becca had chosen. “I figured it might be hard to get one bridesmaid dress that works for everyone in the short time we have,” Becca continued. “So as long as the gown is a shade of purple that matches these flowers, I don’t care what style or length it is. Whatever you guys like.”
Diana studied the picture, which showed a bouquet with mauve roses, purple hydrangeas, dark purple irises, berry-colored orchids, burgundy dahlias, and light purple mini carnations. “Oh, yes, we can make this work. I’ll grab the tailor for you and show the girls where to look.”
In the time it took for Becca to get fitted, everyone found things to try on. And it didn’t take long until all four friends decided on dresses that suited their taste and matched Becca’s color scheme. Kat chose a sleek, sleeveless dark-purple gown that looked gorgeous with her long brown hair. Emilie picked a mauve V-neck gown with a satin belt at the waist. Sara chose a satin berry-colored sheath with cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, while Jenna went with a flirty lavender gown with a drop waist and a fuller skirt that accentuated her curves beautifully.
“You all look stunning,” Becca said when they stood before her. “The guys aren’t going to know what to do with themselves.”
“Shane’s never seen me in a dress like this before,” Sara said, staring at herself in the mirror. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever owned a dress like this before.”
Jenna grasped her sister’s hand. Despite being the youngest of the five of them, the Dean sisters had been through hell the past few years, especially Sara, who’d borne the burden of repaying her criminal father’s debts after he’d died, sometimes in ways too horrible to imagine. “Well, it won’t be the last one,” Jenna said, smiling. “But, yeah, it’s gonna be fun seeing their reactions.”
“I think we’re all pretty guaranteed to get laid at Becca’s wedding,” Kat said with a mischievous grin.
They all burst into laughter. “When do you not get laid, Kat?” Emilie asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Aw, don’t even talk to me, Miss Garza, because you and Marz are loud as hell. Not that I mind, because, dude, does he have a mouth on him,” Kat said with a big grin.
“Oh, my God,” Sara said, her cheeks turning bright pink but her smile saying she was enjoying the teasing.
“He really does.” Grinning, Emilie shrugged. “The hazards of sharing an unfinished apartment. Can’t be helped.” Kat and Beckett had been staying in the room Nick and Jeremy reserved for her in their apartment until one particularly loud session of lovemaking had apparently caught Jer’s ear. His teasing had been relentless. Finally, Kat and Beckett relocated to an empty room upstairs. As much as they all enjoyed each other’s company, everyone was going to be thrilled when the new building was done, that was for sure.
Becca could only laugh as the good-natured ribbing went on. “Well, I know I’m getting laid. The rest of you are on your own.” By the time they’d all been fitted and had paid for their gowns, Becca was pretty sure they were on the verge of getting thrown out of the store.
They spilled out onto the street, laughing and hungry for lunch. Becca fell behind while she fished for her cell phone in her purse and paused to shoot off a quick text to Nick.
All done dress shopping! I’m gonna knock your socks off! ;)
Nick responded immediately. Sunshine, you already do.
Grinning, she glanced down the block—and nearly gasped out loud. Tyrell Woodson stood
at the corner, glaring at her.
“Hey, Becca, come on,” Kat called. Becca blinked and the man was gone. Vanished. A figment of her imagination. Not that her body seemed to know the difference. Heart racing, she caught up with the group as they made their way to an Italian place they’d agreed on earlier. “You okay?” Kat asked.
“Yeah. Great.” Her voice sounded flat to her own ears. She glanced back over her shoulder. Woodson wasn’t there. Of course. She let out a long breath. She’d gotten through the whole workweek without another incident like the one she’d had with Ben at the end of her first shift back. Clearly, her subconscious wasn’t done worrying about Woodson, though, however unnecessary—and unfounded—that worrying was.
Why was she freaking out about what’d happened to her now? For months, she’d been fine, just an occasional nightmare of being grabbed, being dragged away, being lost and never found. Then again, for most of that time she’d been shut up at Hard Ink with Nick.
They arrived at the restaurant, and Kat paused before she followed the others inside. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked. “Because you know my brother will kill me if anything happens to you on my watch.” Kat arched an eyebrow. Though Becca knew she was joking, there’d been a time not too long before when Kat had in fact been Becca’s bodyguard, during a meeting with the man who’d turned out to be responsible for the death of Becca’s dad. Nick had gotten angry at both of them when they’d had to deviate from the original plan to get Becca home safely.
“You just survived heart surgery, Kat,” Becca said. Kat had gotten shot at the same funeral where Jeremy had been hurt. Watching Nick deal with both of his siblings fighting for their lives was one of the hardest things Becca had ever done. But they’d both pulled through. And now they all deserved a celebration. “Nick is so grateful you’re okay that I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to get away with absolutely anything for the rest of your life,” Becca said with a smile. “And I’m fine, I promise.”
“Good,” Kat said, giving her a last look. “Then let’s eat, because I’m starving.”
CHAPTER 6
It happened again the next week. More than once. Most recently, it occurred on her way back to the hospital after grabbing something for lunch. Becca saw Woodson lurking in a doorway farther down the street, but when she looked again, no one was there.
That night, as she and Nick lay in bed, Becca gave voice to the question whose answer she thought might best give her some peace of mind. “Do you know what happened to Tyrell Woodson after you interrogated him?”
Nick shifted to look at her, concern filling his pale green eyes. “Why?”
“I just wondered,” she said, feeling a little bad for not sharing what she’d been experiencing. She didn’t want to worry him, though, especially when they had so much going on—the construction, setting up his and the team’s new business, her work at the ER, planning the wedding. During their off hours this week, they’d managed to send out invitations, find an officiant, hire a DJ, and apply for their marriage license. Luckily, all the guys already had their dress blues from when the Army had held a memorial service for the fallen members of their A-team a few weeks before.
Eyes narrowed, Nick studied her. “You know we sent the harbor police out to that island where we dropped him, but he was gone when they got there. So once Detective Vance joined our investigation, I had him search for Woodson. Just to be on the safe side.”
Gone? Becca pushed up onto an elbow. Vance’s inquiry was news to her. “So what did he find?”
Nick tucked her hair behind her ear. “Woodson’s not in custody anywhere, but he’s not here. Vance tracked him to South Carolina using credit card transactions. Apparently he has family down there. Looks like he left town right after everything went down. Marz took that video of him spilling all kinds of secrets. No doubt he wanted to get clear of the city in case we turned it over to Church like we threatened.”
Relief flooded through Becca so fast that she sagged back down to her pillow. He wasn’t in Baltimore. Hell, he wasn’t in Maryland. So it really was her imagination at work. “Oh. That’s good.”
Leaning over her, Nick cupped Becca’s face in his hand. “Shit, Becca. I’m sorry. Have you been worrying about this? I should’ve said something, but—”
“No, not worried, exactly. I guess I just needed to know. For closure.” And it was true. Maybe she could stop seeing ghosts around every corner now.
Nick nodded. “Why don’t I have Vance run another trace on him? Make sure he’s still out of the picture? I can’t imagine why he’d come back with how volatile Baltimore’s gang scene is right now. Since the Church Gang imploded, Louis Jackson told us that the word on the street for former Churchmen is leave or die. It’s been open season on them as other gangs fight to consolidate power and take over the heroin trade.”
Becca nodded, Nick’s words strengthening the bulwarks against her fear. “Yeah, that makes sense. But have Vance run the check. It can’t hurt, right?”
“Absolutely. You know I’d do anything to keep you safe, Becca.” He nailed her with a stare full of such fierce love that it stole her breath.
“Of course. And so would I,” she said.
It only took the weekend before Vance had news. He called Monday night after Becca’s shift while everyone was hanging out watching movies in Nick and Jeremy’s living room.
“Vance,” Nick said as he answered his cell and got up from the couch. “How are you?”
“Want me to pause it?” Jeremy asked, sitting in the corner of the other couch next to Charlie, Eileen attempting to fit her growing body on his lap.
Nick waved him off and headed back down the hall toward his office. Becca followed. “And what did you find?” Nick asked as he settled into the chair at his desk. As Becca looked at him sitting there, memories came rushing back. One of her first nights here. Giving Nick a massage after his back had been hurt when he and Beckett had gotten into a fistfight. How he’d kissed her. “Well, that’s good news then.”
The words pulled Becca from her thought. Good news had to mean Woodson was still far away, right?
“Okay, sounds like a plan. Thanks, man,” Nick said.
“What did he say?” she asked when Nick hung up.
He tossed his cell to the desk and reached out for her, pulling her down to straddle his lap. “As recently as last Wednesday, Woodson got a speeding ticket in South Carolina. Vance is still working on recent credit card transactions. But that’s pretty good evidence that he’s stayed put.” Nick stroked his fingers through Becca’s hair. “Vance is going to put out a be-on-the-lookout for Woodson’s car with local PD, on the off chance he returns to the area.”
Becca nodded. “That all sounds good. Thank you for having him do that.”
“A little extra peace of mind never hurts,” he said. Hand slipping behind her neck, he gently pulled her down until their lips met. The kiss was slow and soft and exploring, full of the heat that always flared quickly to life between them. “You’re gonna be my wife in less than two weeks,” he whispered around the edge of the kiss.
The words made her smile. “I am.” The kiss deepened. “Yours to do with whatever you want.”
Nick’s gaze flashed hot. “My thoughts exactly.” He urged her to stand up, then he crossed to the door and closed it. When he turned to her, the expression on his face was predatory, so damn sexy she was immediately wet with anticipation. Without a word, he stood in front of her, unbuttoned and pushed down her jeans and panties, and sank to his knees in front of her. “Right now what I want is for you to come all over my tongue.”
Becca clutched onto the desk behind her as Nick planted his mouth between her legs, his tongue immediately plunging into her folds and finding her clit. Together they worked her jeans the rest of the way off, then Nick pushed her stance wider and settled his big body in tight between her legs.
He was relentless, his fingers holding her open, his tongue alternating between lapping at her and har
d, fast flicks, his mouth sucking.
“Oh, God, Nick,” she rasped, her hand falling on his hair and clutching at it. He growled against her, not letting up for a second, and she thrust her hips forward, yearning and seeking and craving even more. She tugged his hair, pulling him in tighter, unable to restrain herself from demanding what she needed.
And it seemed to drive Nick harder, because he worked a thick finger inside her slickness and sucked her in a fast rhythm that had her panting and thrusting and straining. The orgasm hit her like a shock wave, not there one moment and then throwing her head over heels the next. She got light-headed and her knees went soft, forcing her to sag back against the desk.
“Holy shit,” she rasped.
Nick eased his hand free of her and looked up, his gaze so full of smug satisfaction that it made her shake her head as she smiled. And then, eyes on hers, he sucked the wetness off his finger and licked his lips. “You taste fucking delicious, Sunshine.”
Becca’s heart did a little flip as she offered him a hand and he rose. “You know,” she said, “if I hadn’t already agreed to marry you, I would say yes just based on how good you are at that.”
Nick threw his head back and laughed, the kind of free, joyful laughter she’d only heard from him a handful of times. His smile was freaking gorgeous, his dimple a mile deep, and his face so ruggedly beautiful that it made her whole chest ache with how much she loved him. “Good to know,” he managed.
Grinning, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Seriously. A man who can make the best Sloppy Joes on earth, helps total strangers, sings bad eighties anthems, loves his family fiercely, can kill in fifty-two ways if he has to, is smoking hot, and eats pussy like he’s starved for it is a keeper.” She tried to keep a straight face, but laughter was already bubbling up inside her.