Slow Motion

by Evelyn Adams

  Stepping out from the shadow of the doorway he hit the man’s wrist, freeing Sophie. It was a calculation—free Sophie and deal with a wary assailant or attack the attacker and risk Sophie getting hurt. The man spun, sweeping out his leg and hitting the side of Emerson’s knee. It hurt like a bitch, but he didn’t go down. When he got through this he was going to thank Liam for the sixty-forty stance rule. If he’d had any more weight on his front leg he’d have gone down. The man reached into his waistband, but Emerson didn’t wait to see the gun. He lunged at the man, unable to focus on anything other than keeping Sophie safe. He’d sacrifice anything—willingly—to make sure she survived.

  They went down in a tangle of limbs, hitting the ground hard enough that he had to fight for breath. The other man was older, but he was strong, like someone used to working and fighting hard. Emerson reached for the guy’s gun hand, trying to pin him to the floor, but the man wouldn’t go down. His head crashed up and Emerson felt his nose break. Nothing could make him let go of the gun.

  Emerson swung his leg around, leveraging his weight to flip the guy onto his back. Using everything he had, he bashed the man’s head against the concrete until he felt his body go limp. Sending the gun skittering across the floor and out of reach, he searched the lobby for Sophie. Tears shown in her eyes, but she smiled as she met his gaze. Her expression shifted a split second later to shock.

  His focus kept him from seeing the blade before it was too late. The man tensed underneath him and he felt the cold slice of metal through flesh. Ignoring the sharp bite of pain, ignoring everything but keeping Sophie safe, he threw punch after punch until the man stopped moving. Emerson heard voices over the radio and voices behind him as his vision began to dim. Somewhere in the distance he heard Sophie calling his name. Hands lifted him off the guy and other hands put pressure on his side. His body felt like ice and his vision blurred but none of that mattered because she was safe. His Sophie was safe.

  SOPHIE WAITED BY the hospital bed, ignoring the effect the antiseptic smell had on her stomach. It didn’t matter how she felt about hospitals. Nothing about her past mattered. She couldn’t see anything beyond the man in the hospital bed and the future she hoped to have with him.

  There was no way she was leaving Emerson’s side until he could walk out of the hospital with her. She could still picture the pool of blood forming around him as he lay on the lobby floor. Her heart ached when she thought about how close she’d come to losing him. She let out a shaky breath and took his hand in hers to reassure herself that he was still there.

  Emerson’s men had been in and out of the hospital in rotating shifts, at least one of them at the door at all times. The police had taken her uncle into custody and with her kidnapping, the attempt on Emerson’s life, and the information Gabe gave them about the shell party connection, it was unlikely he’d ever see the outside of a jail cell again.

  That didn’t solve the problem of the cartel, but she and Gabe had come up with a solution they thought would work. It wasn’t perfect, but if it kept them all safe, it was a compromise she was willing to make.

  “Sophie.” Her name was barely more than a rasp on his lips, but it was the sweetest sound she’d ever heard.

  “Shh, I’m here.” She squeezed his hand tighter and moved so he could see her.

  “Got to tell you something.” He struggled as if he were trying to sit up, and she put her hand on his shoulder.

  “Stop it, before you hurt yourself. You just got out of surgery.” The hours waiting with his family for the doctor to tell them he’d be okay were the longest of her life.

  “I’m fine,” he said, hitting her with a smile that made her heart beat faster.

  She loved making him smile.

  “Just be still, please.” She could tell it was the please that got him, and she filed the information away to use later. When he was stronger.

  “Brat. Fine, you lean in then.”

  She leaned over, pressing her forehead to his. She felt him draw in a deep breath and the tightness in her chest relaxed. The blade just missed his lungs. The surgeon said it was a lucky thing, that a quarter inch could have made the distance between life and death.

  “God, you smell good. Like roses and my Sophie.”

  She bit her lip to hold back the tears. She wanted to be his. More than anything else, she wanted to love him and be loved by him.

  “The hospital bed has kind of a nice symmetry, don’t you think? It’s where we first met.”

  “I think we need a do-over. A story that doesn’t have so much violence in it.” She stroked a hand over his cheek, loving the rasp of stubble against her palm.

  “That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  She started to lean back but he stopped her.

  “Wait a minute. I know we said we weren’t going to do the relationship thing, but I’d like you to reconsider. Since you were barely more than a girl, you’ve been racing toward something better, and I’ve been stuck here moving in slow motion. Deliberate. Methodical. Alone. It’s like a suit that doesn’t fit me anymore. You fit me. We fit together. I love you, Sophie.”

  “Did you just call me a suit, Southerland?”

  His brow creased, and she reached out to smooth it with her thumb before brushing her lips over his.

  “I love you, too.”

  His hand went around the back of her neck, pulling her in for a kiss. She might have heard Gabe and his sisters cheering in the background, but it didn’t matter. Her focus narrowed on the man she loved and who loved her back, and how she could help him heal.

  So they could go home.

  FIGHTING TO KEEP THE GRIN off his face, Emerson stood at the bar and scanned private dining room full of friends and family gathered for the rehearsal dinner. He found himself smiling so much the past couple of months. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up as irritating as his younger brother. Not that he seemed able—or if he was being honest—inclined to help it. Sophie made him happy. Spending time with her made everything else he did seem worth it, as if there was a reason aside from obligation.

  They weren’t completely in the clear with the cartel in Australia. If he wasn’t with her himself, he still kept a man with her. Perez spent so much time at Connie’s store; he’d started talking about luster and carat weight the same way other guys talked about cars. But Emerson and Sophie stopped looking over their shoulders, and for the past couple of months their relationship had been reborn out of a desire to be together and not out of a need to keep Sophie safe.

  Movement at the door caught his eye and he gave up trying to hide the grin. Liam walked in with a gorgeous brunette on his arm. There was an ease to his friend that hadn’t been there six months earlier. He didn’t need to ask to know that farm life agreed with him.

  “Hey man, so glad you could make it.” He clapped his friend on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you again, Andy,” he said, offering her his hand.

  She looked as if she’d stepped out of a magazine, her dress, hair, makeup, everything was perfect, but he felt the callouses on her hand that betrayed how she spent her days. He couldn’t wait to introduce her to Sophie. He had a feeling the two of them would hit it off.

  “How’s the brother of the bride, holding up?” ask Liam.

  “I’m fine. Gabe’s fine, and Michael, the groom, knows how lucky he is to be marrying our sister, so he’s fine too.”

  Andy laughed, and Liam stepped closer, circling her with his arms. It was as if he was drawn to the woman’s warmth. Emerson knew exactly how he felt. And after all the things Liam had seen during his time in the service and after, it was good to see his friend find someone who made him smile.

  “Come on. Liam knows the family already, but let me introduce you to the others.” He offered Andy his arm, partly out of good manners and partly to yank Liam’s chain. If the throat clearing that sounded a little like a growl was any indication, the chain yanking worked. Liam had done something similar when Gabe and Berl
in first started out. A little payback was long overdue.

  Emerson introduced Andy to his sister Amanda and the other women clustered around her, including his Sophie. In moments, his sisters and the other women were chatting away. He was never going to stop being amazed at the way women did that—met each other one moment and moved toward intimacy the next without all the posturing guys did. He knew there were catty women. He’d just been lucky enough not to be related to any.

  “Hey, could I talk to you for a moment,” aske Liam, pulling him to the side.

  He had a feeling he knew what was coming. If he were a kinder man, he’d put the other guy out of his misery. As it was, he simply stood and waited.

  “I know I’m getting to the end of my vacation time,” the big man said, coming as close as Emerson had ever seen him to squirming.

  “We can work around it. What do you need?”

  “Well, that’s the thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Hola assholes, what did I miss?” Gabe said, coming to join them.

  “I think Liam is giving his notice,” said Emerson. “But you barged in here before he got a chance to say.”

  “You just lost Smithson. I don’t want to leave you hanging.”

  The loss of one of his men had been a hard thing for Emerson. Saying they all knew what they signed up for was a ridiculous sentiment when a man had died. He didn’t have a wife or kids but Emerson made sure the company took care of the funeral expenses and helped his parents. Again cold comfort, but there wasn’t anything else he could do.

  “The company will be fine. Playing farmer is good for you. It shows,” said Emerson.

  “I can help the soldiers. I know some of what they’re going through. If I can make it even a little bit easier for them, I want to do that.” Andy ran a farm for veterans recovering from their time in the service. It made sense that Liam would have found his place there—found his calling.

  “I’m happy for you, man. Really I am.”

  “Me too,” said Gabe. Gabe and Liam had been friends since high school. He knew more than most how much his friend suffered and what a chance like this would mean to him.

  “Thanks. I never saw this coming, but I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I think I could help you replace me if you’re looking for someone.”

  “I’m going to prove how much I care for you by not cracking jokes about replacing you,” said Gabe.

  “Nice,” said Liam. “You remember me talking about Jake? He was one of the noobs who served with me. He’s really starting to come into his own. He’s getting ready to move on, and I think he might be a good fit.”

  “When he’s ready, send him down and we’ll talk.” Anyone Liam thought would be a good fit probably would be. “Now as much fun as the two of you are, let’s go. It looks like my future brother-in-law’s got all the women to himself. Let’s convince him to share the wealth.”

  BECCA TOOK A sip of her scotch and soda and did a mental check of her to-do list for the morning. It wasn’t every day a woman’s sister got married and despite her abundance of friends, she’d never been a maid of honor before. She’d bought a planner she saw on the Knot, and she’d had her online calendar filled in with target dates since Amanda and Michael announced their engagement, but she was still worried something might slip through the cracks.

  Worried was the wrong word. Becca didn’t worry; she tackled things head on. She identified the variables and then she eliminated the little bastards so everything went smoothly. She wanted to make sure things were perfect for her sister’s wedding. Amanda deserved that. She deserved happily ever after. They all did.

  Even Emerson seemed to be leaning towards a forever kind of relationship. Becca never would have imagined he’d have ended up with a woman like Sophie, but seeing them together it made perfect sense. Her brother was happier than she’d ever seen him. Everyone around her was pairing up. Her cousins would be there in the morning with their kids and significant others. Her brothers were both in love and Amanda was making an honest man out of Michael, which meant Becca was the last woman standing with no prospects on the horizon.

  She had plenty of dates. She was attractive enough. She wasn’t vain—not more than most people, but she knew her appearance wasn’t the problem. She didn’t have any trouble catching a man’s interest, but try to hold onto if for more than a couple of weeks and she was lost. No really. She was lost. She had no idea what went wrong. She started each encounter with a crazy wide-eyed optimism only to crash and burn a couple of weeks later when the guy either got scared or she got bored.

  She was one bad date away from deciding to give up entirely and become everyone’s favorite spinster aunt. Lord knows with the rate her cousins were having babies, she could stay busy for years spoiling her first cousins once removed. By then she could either move onto the nieces and nephews she was sure to have or skip right ahead to collecting cats. It was a solid plan and if one more guy tried to mansplain her job because he had a friend who was a lawyer or spent dinner checking his phone, she was going full on crazy cat lady.

  Her phone buzzed and she dug it out of her clutch. There was only one call important enough to take during her sister’s rehearsal dinner. She thumbed open the text and smiled to herself and then she went to find Emerson and Sophie.

  Her brother orbited the woman he loved, almost always staying with in arm’s reach. It would have been kind of creepy clinging if it hadn’t been for how close they’d come to losing each other—first Sophie to her kidnapper and then Emerson to her abductor’s knife. That guy was in jail for the rest of his life and Becca’s news meant they could stop worrying about all the others.

  “It’s done,” she said, touching her brother’s arm to get his attention.

  “The sale?”

  “Yep, you no longer own real estate or anything else in Australia,” she said, meeting Sophie’s gaze. Selling the pearl farm to the bad guys hadn’t been a perfect solution but it did remove their interest in Sophie. Perfect solutions rarely existed and good didn’t always triumph over evil. At least in this case, her family would be safe. Sometimes that was the best you could do.

  “I don’t know how to thank you,” said Sophie, taking her hand in hers.

  “You already have. You make my brother happy.” And maybe someday they’d have kids and she could be their favorite aunt. It was good to have goals.

  THE END

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed Slow Motion: Book 4 in the Southerland Security Series. I’d love to hear from you at authorevelynadams@gmail.com and you can find me on Facebook.Sign up for juicy bits and find out about new releases at www.authorevelynadams.com If you have a moment please consider leaving a review. Honest reviews from readers help authors and make it easier for people to find books they will enjoy.

  As you’ve probably guessed, Book 5, Breathe Me In, is Becca’s story. She’s smart and a little snarky, and I’ve got the perfect guy for her. I’ve also finished a novella of Jude and Autumn’s wedding with a little surprise. It’s on sale for $.99 but I will be happy to send it to you for free if you sign up for my mailing list.

  I’d love to have you join my readers group Sweet Tea and Peonies. It’s a place to hang out and talk about books, mine and others, as well as indulge in my love of Fixer Upper and the Great British Baking Show. I do the occasional giveaway and post sale info too, so you don’t want to miss it. I hope to talk to you soon!

  Many Blessings!

  Evelyn

  SLOW MOTION

  A Contemporary Romance

  Book Four of the Southerland Security Series

  by

  Evelyn Adams

  ISBN: 9781944801137

  Digital Edition

  Copyright 2018 Evelyn Adams

  All rights reserved

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, n
ow known or hereinafter invented is forbidden without the written consent of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

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