Unexpected Vows

by Paige, Victoria

  His gaze sought Kate and saw her laughing beside Josh and Millie. His hyper-vigilance eased and Colt filed this unusual reaction for later analysis. He had eyes on Kate and the twins and all was right in the world again.

  With Olivia still upside down under his arm, he walked up to Kate and kissed her square on the lips. The twins made gagging noises.

  He lifted his head and stared into gleaming blue eyes.

  “That was some hello,” she breathed.

  “I feel like a third wheel,” Millie piped in. “Let’s get out of the way before we get mowed down by the crowds.”

  Their group collectively moved to the side as Colt lowered Olivia. The little girl immediately tugged on his arm. “Come on. We’re hungry.”

  “Sure thing, sweet pea.” Olivia let go of his hand and caught up to her brother.

  Colt turned to Kate. “Can’t believe you guys got the jump on me.”

  “Why? Because you’re a SEAL?” she derided. “Millie and I have been trained since birth.”

  “Not true, but close,” the other woman corrected.

  “Josh and Livy have potential with their stealth skills.” Kate tipped her chin to the twins who were weaving through the festival goers in front of them.

  “You guys were tracking my phone, weren’t you?”

  “Why, Mr. Montgomery, are you accusing us of stalking?” She cocked her head and batted her lashes. He had an overwhelming desire to kiss her again, to be alone with her.

  Before he could answer, Millie raised her arm and pointed. “There’s Trent.”

  The sheriff was instructing one of his deputies by the concert pavilion entrance. Millie hastened her pace, inserting herself between the twins as she guided them to Cassie’s husband. Colt was amused that everyone thought he needed help winning Kate over; he thought he was doing a pretty damned fine job.

  “They’re not even trying to be subtle, are they?” Kate asked.

  “Nope.”

  “So, are they expecting us to find a quiet corner and make out?”

  Colt chuckled as he put an arm around her. “Probably.” It pleased him that she didn’t stiffen any more whenever he held her close to his side in public. Her method of resistance was humor, a tendency to make light of their emerging relationship, but he knew he was getting in there. Hell, he knew Kate wouldn’t even say no to sex now, not with the heated gazes they’d been exchanging over the children’s heads.

  Her arm came around him, her fingers feathering lightly over his abs, the action having a direct link to his groin.

  “What are you doing?” he leaned in and whispered.

  “You know. We should just do it.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Sex.” She stopped. Someone jostled her from behind.

  “Watch it, man!” Colt growled.

  The person flipped them off.

  “Easy, cowboy.” She put both her hands on his shoulders, turning him so they stood toe-to-toe. Two people oblivious to the world around them.

  “We’ve been eye-fucking each other for weeks. Maybe we should relieve the tension,” Kate suggested.

  “Good idea. But no.”

  “No?”

  “That’s a hell no,” he gritted through his teeth. “You’re not treating me like one of those men you use for sexual release whenever you feel like it.”

  “I’m not,” Kate retorted. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but are we not in a relationship?”

  “We are.”

  “So what’s the problem?” she asked. “You’re not holding out for marriage, are you?”

  “Doubt I can hold out that long, babe,” Colt muttered under his breath. A voice on a loudspeaker broke through the background and reminded him where they were. “But you need to stop seducing me ten feet away from the twins and in the middle of a festival.”

  “Or else?”

  Christ, this woman. He lowered his head, his voice low. “Your ass is going to be so red tonight and I’m going to fuck you so hard, you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”

  Her lips parted, eyes widening and he was pleased when a visible shiver went through her. “Damn,” she whispered. “I’m wet.”

  And if he didn’t control himself, he’d be as hard as a rock. Colt glanced at the kids and Millie who were still chatting with Trent and wished there was indeed a secluded place where he could pound Kate against a wall.

  Fuck, fuck …

  A visual of her.

  Skirt bunched up to her waist.

  Tights shredded with legs wrapped around him.

  His jeans and boxer briefs lowered just enough to allow his cock to thrust up inside her.

  “Have the twins eaten anything?” He cleared his throat. Time to change the subject because, unlike her, he had no way of hiding his arousal.

  “Candy and cookies,” Kate replied as they resumed walking toward the rest of their group.

  “We need to—” Colt stopped talking when the noise at the festival escalated and hearing each other became impossible without shouting. The bands were doing their sound check.

  “Join us for lunch?” he asked the sheriff when they reached them.

  Trent checked his watch. “Yeah, I could take a break.” He turned away to speak on his radio.

  Colt bent at his waist, hands on his thighs, and addressed the twins. “What do you guys feel like eating?”

  “Funnel cakes,” Josh said and grinned at Olivia who was nodding enthusiastically.

  “Not for lunch, kiddos,” Kate cut in then glared at Colt. “And don’t you dare say yes.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he chuckled, straightening and holding his hands up in surrender. “Don’t want mama bear all pissed at me.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Kate had an odd expression on her face. Not exactly pissed, but not exactly pleased either.

  “My friend has a food truck around here,” Millie offered. “Creole food, but I’m sure he has something the kids would eat.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Kate said.

  Colt simply nodded.

  * * *

  Kate

  After lunch of shrimp and grits, crawfish étouffée, and gumbo, the kids wanted to ride the bumper cars. Millie stayed to chat with the food truck owner. We made plans to catch up with Trent later to attend the Oktoberfest that was also a part of the festival. Then Trent returned to his sheriff’s duties. Cassie and Lucas were driving in to join us.

  I watched Olivia squeal with excitement as Josh maneuvered the car to avoid getting hit. Judging from the intent look on his face, Josh was taking his driving duties seriously. Still, it was nerve-wracking to see them on their first amusement ride.

  “They seem to be having fun,” Colt said, moving to my side and wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

  “They are,” I replied, flashing him a smile. I leaned in to him and hugged his torso. Depending on Colt for support was becoming second nature; I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. But at that moment, as we shared the experience of watching the children yell and laugh, get bumped, and having a great time, it was an amazing feeling.

  “Did Josh do okay?” Colt asked. The festival outing was supposed to be the ultimate test of his empathic abilities.

  “He’s handling it like a champ. He can switch it on and off which is what we wanted. The only time he had trouble was when there was a fight at the Wheel of Fortune line.”

  “How’d he react?”

  “First, we moved him some distance away until the wave of emotions wasn’t as strong. Then we gradually approached the stimulus. He may never totally block out negative heightened emotions, but he was able to put them into perspective.”

  “Desensitize?”

  “Yup. Of course we brought his headphones and music player as backup and last resort.”

  “Stop that, Liv!” Josh yelled, drawing our attention back to the arena. Olivia’s face had paled and she was trying to grab the steering wheel from her brother.

  �
��We need to get out!” she yelled back. “There’s a bad man!”

  “What the—” Colt started.

  Then we heard it.

  Several pops mixed with the festival noise.

  Screaming.

  Dread chilled my blood, as the familiar blasts from an AR-15 reached us.

  “Shut that off!” Colt yelled at the bumper car operator.

  The sounds of the festival slowly morphed into screams of horror and increased gunfire.

  People started running or finding cover.

  Colt leapt over the ride barrier and ran toward Josh and Olivia. Scooping them under each arm, he sprinted back and shoved Liv at me before dumping Josh on the other side of the fence and bolted over.

  “We need to go!” Millie shouted as she reached us.

  I gripped Olivia tight, but my eyes were focused on Josh’s expression—eyes wide, face red, he was panting heavily as if he couldn’t catch his breath.

  Headphones!

  Before I could lower Liv to the ground and help her brother, Colt pushed me and Josh in the direction away from the gunfire, away from him.

  “Where are you going?” Josh cried, falling to his knees and looking around him wildly.

  “Gotta help Trent,” Colt called out; his eyes flicked to mine, face torn. I was frightened for the children, but if there was one job he needed to do, it was this. Now more than ever, he needed my support.

  Right fucking now.

  “I got them. Go!” I handed Olivia to Millie and hauled Josh up.

  Colt hesitated for a beat, before he turned around and ran toward the fleeing horde of festival goers.

  “I can’t,” Josh cried as he became dead weight. I dropped to my knees with him.

  “Millie!” I reached out an arm when I saw she was closest to Josh’s backpack. She didn’t think twice, and grabbed the bag, falling to her knees beside us. I ripped the zipper open and pulled out the headphones.

  Josh was writhing.

  I’d never seen him cry, but his pain bled down his cheeks.

  My heart cracked wide open, my own eyes blurred as I put the headphones on him. I attached the music player and cranked up the volume.

  Long seconds passed before his eyes popped open. He looked beyond us, croaking a word.

  “What, Josh?”

  “Livy!” he said louder.

  “Your sister is …” I paused and panicked when I couldn’t see her. “Where’s Liv?”

  I sprang to my feet. “Where’s …”

  A little girl with ringlets of gold was running away from us.

  Toward the direction of the active shooter.

  16

  Colt

  Chaos. Utter chaos.

  Colt steadied his raging pulse and his tunnel vision receded. Training kicked in as he assessed the situation.

  Tents tipped over in the scramble of people fleeing. Officers in tan uniforms as well as blue, struggled to herd the panicked crowd away from danger. Festival goers were gunned down in front of him. One of them was a woman about to get trampled over by the masses. He hauled her behind a food truck where several people were hunkering down. They moved aside so he could lay her against the big tire of the truck. He got to his knees to see where she was shot.

  “Is she going to be okay?” a young voice asked from above him.

  Colt looked around. “You.” He pointed to a girl close by. “Give me your scarf.”

  He took the material and wrapped it around a bleeding leg.

  “Thank you,” the injured woman gasped through her pain.

  “Keep pressure on it.”

  She looked past his shoulder. “Toby …”

  He looked up to see a teenaged boy, face scrunched up in fear.

  “Your son?”

  “Yes.”

  Colt stood from his crouch and addressed the kid. “Your mom’s gonna be fine. We’ll get help to you as soon as it’s clear.” He looked at the sea of fearful eyes clinging to his like a lifeline. “The rest of you, if there’s a lull in the gunfire, run east.” He pointed at the direction where he came from. Ignoring a slew of other questions thrown his way, Colt slid around the front of the truck. No time to explain that the range of an automatic weapon was between five and six hundred meters and the best chance of survival was distance.

  He leaned ever so slightly to see what was going on.

  Bodies scattered among debris of plastic cups, paper plates, and abandoned shoes. Some moving, some motionless. Blood streaked and pooled on footpaths and was spattered on food truck walls and tents. Officers yelled at people to head east.

  Gunfire became sporadic, but no less deadly. A shot penetrated a tent flap and took out a man who’d ducked behind it.

  Son of a bitch! The shooter was picking people off.

  The festival had turned into a bloodbath.

  Amidst the horror, the fight for humanity was on. Family helping loved ones, strangers helping strangers and risking their own life.

  Evil will not win the day.

  He spotted Trent and another deputy taking cover behind a trailer about twenty-five yards out. The vehicle was parked behind the pavilion and was probably used to transport sound equipment.

  He made his way closer. Some of the officers recognized him and allowed him to pass. He and Trent locked eyes from across the street, and the sheriff nodded grimly in acknowledgment. Colt was probably the only person in close proximity to ground zero without a gun, but pistols were useless against an automatic weapon. They needed the S.W.A.T. team.

  Sirens blared in the distance.

  A hail of bullets sent law enforcement scrambling deeper into cover but it finally gave him a fix on the shooter. He was in the pavilion roof, shooting from the back rafters which gave him a clear view of a large swath of the festival grounds. In the lull, Colt scampered to Trent’s side.

  “What’ve we got?” he asked.

  “Lone gunman,” Trent said, handing him a gun and two magazines. “Harris County PD on point. They’re approaching the pavilion as we speak.”

  “That all you’ve got?” Colt looked at the sheriff’s service weapon.

  “Davis hauled ass to get our rifles from the trunk of my cruiser.”

  They exchanged frustrated looks but left the words unspoken. If Trent were in charge, he would have had the deputies patrolling already carrying those weapons. The festival organizers probably balked at the idea of having heavily armed security. These people needed to live in their altered reality of mass shootings.

  “The shooter’s got vantage point,” Colt said. “He’s going to pick them off before they even get a chance to see him.”

  A barrage of automatic fire cut off Trent’s reply.

  “Multiple officers down. I repeat. Multiple officers down!” their radios crackled.

  The exchange of rapid pops and blasts was relentless.

  “Fuck this,” Trent said. “We can’t wait for Davis.” He sprinted around the trailer and Colt and another deputy followed him. They crouch-walked to a concrete Jersey barrier that fenced off the concert area. The spark of the automatic weapon was coming from the left of the pavilion. The shooter most likely had a plank he was using to move from one corner to the other.

  They started firing at the shooter.

  “Get down!” Colt yelled as a flaming arc of bullets swept toward them.

  Concrete bits flew past their head. They were pinned down.

  “That’s a fucking machine gun!” the deputy with them shouted.

  “Modified AR-15 or an illegal fully automatic,” Trent grunted under his breath.

  “What the … get back!” the deputy screamed.

  Colt’s gaze followed the direction of the man’s sight and horror set in. Olivia appeared in front of the trailer. Jesus Christ! Where is Kate? Millie?

  An officer appeared behind Olivia and was about to grab her, but she was unbelievably nimble, seemingly anticipating his movements. She slipped past him and ran toward them. Colt pushed up from the barrier an
d ran toward the little girl. Trent and the deputy didn’t waste time providing cover fire.

  “Olivia!” Colt roared. “Get back!”

  She stopped, her gaze fixed on the pavilion. And just as Colt swept her up in his arms, the sound of the automatic weapon ceased. He carried Olivia past the trailer and then stopped short of the tent. The scene before him dropped his gut to his feet.

  Kate was unconscious on the ground with two officers crouched over her. Rage burned bright and hot through his veins, but before he could get to them, Olivia squirmed in his arms.

  “Livy, goddammit,” Colt growled. He had nearly dropped her.

  “Ms. Katie!” She rushed to her mother and knelt beside her.

  The deputies got up and he shoved one of them. “What did you guys do?”

  “Cool it, man, we did nothing,” the officer defended. “It took three of us to hold her back from going after her daughter. She just … collapsed.”

  “I did this.” Olivia looked up with tear-filled eyes.

  He dropped to the ground beside them. “What are you saying?”

  “I wanted to stop the bad man,” she continued sobbing. “But I hurt Mama, too! Mama.” She lowered her head on Kate’s chest. “I’m so sorry.”

  A chill shook Colt’s body. He touched Kate’s neck and searched for a pulse. It was strong. She’s alive.

  Someone crouched beside him. “Shooter’s dead. He fell from the rafters,” Trent told him. It took him a few seconds to understand the sheriff’s words while trying to wrap his mind around what Olivia told him.

  Did she stop the shooter?

  She lifted her gaze to him again, remorse reflected in her eyes.

  “Oh, Livy,” he whispered. “What did you do?”

  “What’s going on?” Trent asked quietly, splitting his intense stare between Olivia and him.

  “Later,” he said shortly. He glanced at the deputy hovering over them. “Did she hit her head?”

  “No,” the man replied. “She lost consciousness when we were holding her. We lowered her to the ground.”

  Certain it was safe to move Kate, he carefully lifted her in his arms. Trent cleared the display on one of the tables under the tent.