Mark: BWWM Romance (Members From Money Book 11)

by Katie Dowe

  "I'm fine." She pushed away Luke's hands as he reached out to inspect the damage. "It's just a flesh wound."

  "That's more than a flesh wound." Luke said. "You need to go to hospital now."

  "No, I can't." Carla stood, her legs still shaking. "They've got Jason."

  "And you're not going to do Jason any favors by bleeding to death while you find him."

  "Then bind my shoulder." And when Luke hesitated: "Do it!"

  Luke snapped into action and disappeared, reappearing a moment later with the first aid kit. Urging Carla to sit, he opened the kit and began to clean and bind her shoulder. He gave her a glare.

  "I know what you're thinking." He warned. "And the answer is no way."

  "You can't stop me from going after Stevens."

  "I'll arrest you if I have to."

  "No, you won't." Carla flinched but managed to stop herself from blacking out. She gritted her teeth. "Can you track Stevens' cell phone? Pinpoint his location."

  "Of course."

  "Then you'd better do it. At least we'll know where they are."

  "I plan to." Luke began to wrap the bandage tighter. "After I've made sure you can walk without falling over."

  Carla couldn't argue with that.

  Chapter 9

  Jason's head hurt. It really ached. He felt like someone had split it open. Rolling onto his side so the bright light wasn't right in his eyes, Jason opened his eyes. He was in a bedroom, a flashy room with a gold motif on everything, from the furniture to the bedspread.

  This wasn't Carla's bedroom. It wasn't his room, either. Where was he?

  "Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead."

  Jason's eyes settled on the man sitting in the gold-tinted chair against one wall. It took a moment for his vision to clear.

  "Rick?"

  "The very same." Richard indicated Jason. "Sorry we didn't dress you properly but we were in a hurry."

  Jason then realized that he was still in just his jeans. Rolling onto his front, he pressed his forehead against his fists to force back the headache that was threatening to make an appearance. He raised his head and looked around him. Then he realized where he was.

  "Your boat?"

  "The FBI is ransacking my house and my country place. They haven't got here yet." Richard smirked. "We won't be disturbed for now."

  Jason sat up slowly and looked across at his former friend. Richard lounged in his chair as if he owned the world. He looked different, yet it was the same man Jason had grown up with since high school. He had no idea where it had gone wrong.

  His best friend had tried to frame him for a federal crime and put him away. He had tried to kill Carla. And he was planning on killing Jason; Jason was under no illusions as to why he was there on Richard's boat.

  But he did need to know something.

  "You tried to ruin the company. Why?"

  Richard looked at him as if he had suddenly gone crazy.

  "Why? Because it wasn't mine." He snapped.

  "But we built it together." Jason protested. "How can you say it wasn't yours?"

  "You were the figurehead. When people hear the name they automatically think of you. I'm the one in the back crunching the numbers. I'm ignored while you lord it about with all the big names and the stars."

  "I never ignored you."

  Richard sat forward, his eyes glowing angrily.

  "I'm talking about the people that really matter in this city." He snarled. "The ones in elite society. The ones with all the money and everything at their fingertips. That's what I want, not a job dealing with figures."

  Jason stared at him in astonishment. He had had no idea that Richard was so unhappy. But he had also had no idea that Richard was greedy.

  "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked. "We were friends."

  "Because you wouldn't have understood." Richard sneered. "Sure, you worked hard for what you have but you wouldn't have understood what I really wanted. That's why I went to Jesse Taga." He chuckled at Jason's shocked expression. "That's right, Jason. He didn't come to me; I went to him. He gave me this perfect opportunity to take a cut of his enterprise. With the money he was making that was more than enough for me." He chuckled, a dreamy look coming over his face as he stared into space. "You couldn't begin to imagine how good it was to have those elitists looking at me for the first time thinking that I'm a god."

  Jason thought he was hallucinating. This couldn't be happening. But he knew it was. Carla was shot, bleeding to death back in her apartment, while he was here facing his former friend down and wondering when did the man snap.

  "Then why did you involve Carla?" His heart ached as he thought of the woman he loved. "Why get her to point the finger at me? Surely you would have known she was too smart to be manipulated like that."

  "I thought hiding behind your name would work and that I'd get away scot-free." Richard's expression darkened. "Getting her involved was a mistake. I was stupid there. Romaine didn't take the bait, not even when I tried to point her in the direction I wanted her to go. She's not a very good puppet."

  "Good for her." Jason murmured.

  Richard stood and stalked towards the bed. It was then that Jason saw the gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans.

  "Now the pair of you have blown this out of the water." Richard snarled. "I can't hide behind you anymore." He withdrew his gun and pointed it at Jason's face. "But I can get rid of you."

  Jason eyed the gun nervously. While he could take Richard on, he wasn't taking his chances with a gun in play.

  "With the FBI on your tail, don't you think that'll be suspicious?" He questioned.

  Richard shrugged.

  "Not really. I was going to kill you sooner or later. Now you're not going to jail, it's going to be sooner."

  Jason braced himself, forcing himself to look Richard in the eye. He wasn't going down like a coward.

  Suddenly there was a shout and then bursts of gunfire. Richard jerked away and swore loudly. Striding to the door, he flung it open to reveal the burly man dressed in black standing on the other side. He pointed at Jason.

  "Keep an eye on him."

  Then he ran out, leaving Jason with his new guard.

  *****

  Luke and Carla ducked behind a pile of crates. Carla's shoulder screamed at her but she wasn't about to tell Luke that. He was only letting her come along because she claimed to be fine. She wasn't going to be sent back to sit in the car.

  She was going to find Jason.

  Luke pointed between the crates at a magnificent yacht in the dock.

  "That's Stevens' boat." He swore and ducked down. "Damn, there are guards. And they're heavily armed."

  Carla glanced behind them, seeing the shadows moving. Luke had called for reinforcements on the way over to the docks, not willing to go in alone and have it out with Stevens. The fifteen-strong SWAT team was silent, waiting for the command to go.

  But they wouldn't be able to get past the guards without attracting attention. However...

  "Can you create a distraction?" She whispered.

  "Like hell with that." Luke growled. He took out his gun and checked the magazine. Both of them were wearing vests. "We're going in."

  "I know but if you can. They'll expect you lot but not me. I'll see if I can get on while you're keeping them busy."

  She could clearly see that Luke didn't like the plan. But her old friend knew her well; agreeing to let her help was easier than telling her to stay put and finding that she had gone to help anyway.

  "Okay. But be careful."

  Carla nodded and moved into the shadows as the SWAT team move into position. Luke spoke to the SWAT commander before he made the sign to get ready. A moment later the sign to move in had the team charging down the dock towards the boat, shouts of 'FBI' preceding them.

  As Carla had expected, the guards on the boat began to fire back, causing the SWAT team to duck behind cover and shoot back at periodic intervals. Everyone was focused on the gun fight and not on anyth
ing else.

  Carla slipped into the water, wincing as the cold seeped into her muscles, and swam silently around to Stevens' boat. She used the anchor to climb up, her feet slipping on the rusty rings. But she managed to climb on board and she slipped across the deck, ducking inside as soon as she found a door leading inside.

  She went through the state room and descended the stairs, looking for any sign that Jason was there. She heard a thump when she reached the bottom, followed by a scuffle. It was coming from the room right at the end.

  Retrieving her gun from her ankle strap, Carla approached slowly. She reached the door just as it opened sharply. Carla jumped back and raised the gun, only to realize that it was Jason staring back at her.

  "Carla."

  Carla lowered her gun and hugged him, burying her face in his chest as Jason's arms tightened around her.

  "I thought you were dead." Jason croaked, burying his face in her head.

  "I'm fine." Carla lied. She drew back and grinned. "It takes more than a bullet to kill me."

  "You're here alone?"

  "No, the feds are outside. There's a bit of a gunfight going on out there." Carla glanced towards the stairs. "We need to get out of here before they realize we've gone."

  "Then we'll go this way." Jason took her hand and led her down a corridor to the right. "It's a quicker route to the front. We can duck off the back and swim around."

  Carla didn't think she was up for anymore swimming. But they did need to get out of there. She would just have to grit her teeth and carry on.

  There was a loud bang behind her and something sharp hit her in the back. Carla was knocked off her feet, falling into Jason before she hit the floor.

  "Carla!"

  Carla tried to stay conscious but the blackness was pulling her in too fast. The last thing she heard before she passed out was Stevens' voice.

  "I don't think you're going anywhere, Jason."

  *****

  Jason was knocked to the ground when Carla fell into him. The bang had nearly deafened him and his ears were ringing. He scrambled to his knees and reached for Carla. She lay on her front, a spread red patch across her back.

  She wasn't moving.

  Richard stood at the end of the corridor, his gun pointed at Carla. He approached, his face contorted into a snarl as he glared at Carla.

  "Why can't she be a good girl and die?" He complained.

  Jason let out a furious cry and charged at Richard. He caught the other man around his waist and knocked him onto his back. He got a clout around the head from the gun but Jason was too angry to care. He knocked the gun away and began punching Richard. Richard tried to get him off, bucking and writhing to throw Jason against the wall, but Jason wasn't going anywhere.

  Then he grabbed Richard by the throat and began banging his head on the floor. Richard gurgled and tried to grab at Jason's head but Jason slapped his hands away, slamming his former friend's head even harder against the wood.

  He wanted the bastard to die. He had killed Carla and he would kill Jason if he got the upper hand.

  No way was he going to let Richard get the upper hand.

  "Jason!"

  The voice sounded a long way away. Jason barely heard it as he continued to hit Richard's head against wood. Then someone was lifting him off Richard, away from the bastard he wanted to kill. Jason struggled and tried to get back but the man holding him was too strong.

  "Jason, that's enough! He's unconscious."

  It was then that the red mist cleared and Jason realized that Richard wasn't moving. There was blood on the wooden floor behind Richard's head but the bastard was still breathing. Luke slowly let go of Jason and Jason sagged to the floor as his legs gave way. He laid a hand on Jason's shoulder.

  "You okay?"

  "No."

  "Well, if you want to be useful, go with Carla to the hospital. She's still breathing."

  Still breathing. That gave Jason some hope.

  He slumped against the wall and closed his eyes.

  *****

  "Carla?" The front door shut. "Carla, where are you?"

  Carla snapped out of her reverie, looking up from the stick she held in her hands. Her mind was going at a hundred miles an hour. She didn't know what was going on with her.

  How was Jason going to react when she told him? They hadn't discussed this yet; it was far too early in their relationship. How would he react to the news?

  "Carla?"

  "Just a minute!"

  Carla picked up the box, slotted the two sticks back inside, and hid it among her bath essentials on the bathroom window. Jason had moaned that her essentials were not exactly essentials but when Carla had pointed out every cream and lotion and what they did he had put his hands up and told her to keep them.

  It had been a month since that episode on the boat when Richard had shot Carla and then Jason had attacked Richard. Carla had spent two weeks in ICU before her doctor decided that she was able to look after herself at home. He had warned her that the bullet had missed anything vital by merely millimeters and that she should take it easy.

  Jason had taken that to heart. While Carla had been in the hospital he had moved all of her things into his apartment, only telling Carla about it afterwards. Carla had initially been mad with Jason making a decision without asking her but had given in, teasing that she did need someone to look after her.

  It had been two weeks since she had been discharged and started living with Jason. Carla realized that she had missed living with someone and found Jason a good roommate as well as partner. They hadn't had sex yet due to the doctor forbidding them until Carla's stitches came out but there was a lot of heavy petting and sexual contact. Carla couldn't wait until they could have sex properly.

  They had settled into a comfortable homely life. Jason would go off to work and Carla would stay at home finishing off her paperwork. She wasn't allowed back to work due to being on the doctor's note but she had been given a mountain of paperwork to complete, including her last case with Joanie Oldham as a client. Then Jason would come home in the evening and Carla would cook dinner before they curled up to watch a movie. Carla didn't get tired of it.

  Joanie and Richard had both been charged with money laundering and obstructing an investigation, Richard's charges included kidnapping and attempted murder. Luke had told Carla that Joanie was trying to plead to a lesser charge in exchange for giving them Richard but the prosecution had everything and Joanie's testimony would be redundant.

  Joanie had also asked for Jason to go and visit her so she could explain to him why she did what she did. But Jason refused to go. He had washed his hands of her, as he had with Richard. Carla knew that hurt him the most to lose his best friend and had to get him out of a dark mood.

  Maybe this news would cheer him up. Or not. Carla didn't know.

  She stepped into the hall as Jason exited the bedroom. He smiled and reached for her.

  "Hey, honey."

  Carla went gladly into his arms, hugging him tightly. Jason pressed a kiss to her head and drew back, frowning at her.

  "What's the matter? You look like you're about to faint."

  "I'm fine."

  "Are you sure? You're not coming down with something, are you? The doctors said you would have a weakened immune system for a while."

  "I promise you I'm fine." Carla managed a smile. "I'm pregnant."

  Jason stared. For a moment Carla thought he hadn't heard her.

  "You're pregnant?"

  "Yes." Carla bit her lip. This wasn't the reaction she had wanted. "I've been feeling queasy for about a week now. And I'm overdue to start my period. So I popped out to get a pregnancy test, just to rule it out." She swallowed. "I'm pregnant, Jason."

  Jason was still staring. Then a slow smile spread across his face.

  "I'm going to be a dad."

  Carla squealed as Jason suddenly picked her up and spun her around.

  "I'm going to be a dad!"

  "Steady!" Car
la clutched onto his shoulders. "You're making it worse."

  "Sorry." Jason stopped spinning and lowered her to the ground, giving her a kiss. "I just can't believe it."

  Carla laughed and looped her arms around his neck.

  "I take it you're happy."

  "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

  "Well, we haven't talked about having children. It's still really early. And we had unprotected sex." Carla sighed. "I forget about the consequences when I'm around you."

  "Same here. But I'm glad." Jason cupped the back of her head and kissed her again, this time more slowly. "Marry me, Carla."

  Carla blinked up at him. Did he just propose?

  "Are you proposing because I'm pregnant?" She demanded.

  "I'm proposing because I've wanted to ask you for the last two weeks but the right moment never seemed to arise." Jason smiled. "It seemed like the right time."

  Carla smiled back. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. Jason bent and swept Carla up into his arms. He grinned and nodded towards the bedroom.

  "Let's celebrate. I think the doctors can understand if your stitches get ripped this time."

  Carla couldn't help but laugh as Jason carried her across the threshold and laid her gently on the bed. Jason clicked on the light and crawled up onto the bed and laid beside her, running his hand up her side, brushing his thumb across her breast. Carla arched into his hand and lifted her head as Jason bent his head and kissed her.

  He was very gentle with her as his hands skimmed across her body, undressing her with such care, Carla began to get edgy. She was turned on to high heaven and needed him now but Jason refused to go any faster. He helped her off with her jeans and panties, groaning when his fingers brushed against her wet curls.

  But he didn't penetrate her with his fingers. Carla didn't know if it was her high hormones driving her but this was too slow for her. She needed hard and fast, to hell with her injuries. It still hurt but her body wanted sex and it wanted sex right that minute.

  She sat up, pushing Jason's hands away and gripping his shirt in her hands. With one hard tug, she tore the shirt apart, buttons flying everywhere. Then she rolled Jason onto his back and sat astride him, grinning at his stunned expression.

  "My turn, slowcoach."