Hero Undercover: 25 Breathtaking Bad Boys

by Annabel Joseph

  “Sounds like a plan. You take point, I’ve got your back,” Jeff said.

  From their perch on the nearby dock, they ran as silently as possible, staying in the shadows. There were three men with Trick. Two were dragging him, and there was one who would put a bullet in Trick’s brain. Nick signaled to Jeff as they headed down the dock using everything they could find for cover. Patrick was on his knees with his back to them. When the shooter lifted his gun, Nick aimed and fired. The shooter fell over dead, hitting the dock before he could even scream. Then Nick sighted one of the other guards, careful not to hit Trick, and fired. Jeff took out the other guard with ease. Nick raced to the edge of the dock as Patrick struggled to his feet. His face was bloody and bruised, but he would live.

  “We don’t have much time. They have Sherry. And I don’t know how many more,” Patrick said.

  “Thanks, Nick, for saving my life,” Nick imitated Trick’s voice.

  “You know I owe you, but Sherry comes first in this equation. But I’m sure as shit glad I’m not shark bait. I need firepower.”

  “We came packing, and the night’s not over yet,” Jeff grumbled.

  “What’s the scoop on the inside?” Nick asked, keeping his rage in check. There would be a reckoning once this was done.

  “I spotted ten guards before they caught me. These were three of the ten. And then the mastermind. White suit, looks like he could play the next Godfather. I counted twenty cages. I don’t know if they are all occupied or not,” Patrick told him.

  “Let’s go. We take them out one at a time, but arrest the ringleader. This case is bigger than just him and we need to know his contacts,” Nick said, and the three of them set off down the dock back toward the warehouse. As they ran, Nick did something he hadn’t done in a long time. He prayed. Not for himself, but for his precious, the woman he’d fallen in love with.

  Sherry was beside herself. Tears streamed down her face and she knew she couldn’t stop them if she tried. She’d finally found a Dom she loved—two Doms, in fact—and Patrick loved her back. She believed Nick did, too. And now one of them was going to die, and her death would likely follow. If not by the men who’d captured her, by her own hand. She wasn’t going to be sold and bartered, have her freedom stripped from her.

  Poor Nick, she knew he had to feel betrayed over the way they had left. The fact that both she and Patrick would never make it back meant that he would blame himself. She knew it would leave a scar that would never fully heal.

  She rested her head against her arms, her sobs shuttering in and out of her lungs. She didn’t want to face what was coming. Didn’t want to know when her end was upon her. She had known this mission was a risk but she’d believed they would win the day. Silly and stupid of her—a bit naïve, she supposed. Only in the movies and on television did the good guys win. In real life, evil won. There were men and women who just wanted to watch the world burn.

  At the squeaking sound of her cage door swinging open, she cringed against the corner. It was the man in white. He viciously gripped her arm and yanked her forward out of the cage. His fingers dug brutally into her arm.

  “Walk or I will kill you, understood?” he said, gripping her arm. He shoved his gun painfully into her back and she winced. She almost wanted him to shoot her. It would be fast and easy, and the nightmare would be over.

  It was then that she noticed some of the guards lying face down in pools of their own blood. What was going on?

  “Let her go,” Patrick ordered as he stepped from the shadows.

  Joy burst in a cacophony in her chest. He was alive.

  “I think not. You can have the rest. They are all trash compared to this prize and she will be coming with me.”

  “Like hell,” a deep male voice said from behind her.

  One minute the man in white was standing, the next, he was lying on the ground beside her.

  “Bind his hands. Director Cruz will want to talk to him.”

  Sherry turned toward the voice.

  “You okay, precious?” Nick’s deep voice asked, his eyes scanning her body, stopping at her injuries.

  “Nick, oh my god, Nick!” she cried but he backed away from her, taking two steps back just as Patrick reached her. She wept happy tears as Patrick pulled her into his arms.

  “Patrick,” she said, her tears falling unheeded.

  “You all right, love?” Patrick asked, running his hands over her, checking for any injuries.

  “Now that I know you’re safe, I am,” she said, and turned into his open arms. She burrowed into him, not ashamed as she continued to weep.

  Nick was on his phone, giving an update to the director. The sound of helicopters and sirens filled the night. It almost made her laugh. The cavalry had arrived. And Nick was more distant than he had ever been.

  The warehouse filled with agents. The other occupants in the cages were released and taken into medical custody. They wanted to take Sherry too but she refused.

  “You should go with them,” Patrick said. “Just to be on the safe side.”

  She shrugged. “Other than some cuts and bruises, I’m fine. Starving. I could use a bacon cheeseburger and load of fries, but other than that, I’m good. Maybe a bottle of wine, too.”

  “I’ll see what I can do about that. They can check you here and bandage anything up. Please let them?” Patrick asked.

  She grudgingly did as he requested. The man had saved her life twice now. The least she could do was let the medical units give her a once over and a clean bill of health to soothe him. The nurse checked her over, bandaging her contusions and scrapes, but as she had surmised, she was fine. Unlike some of the other women, who were emaciated, had broken bones, and worse. Sherry’s heart hurt for them. Their journey toward having a normal life again wouldn’t happen overnight. Some of them might never fully recover.

  When the nurse had finished with her exam, Sherry found a spot to wait as Nick and Patrick did their jobs, coordinating the rest of the team as they catalogued and gathered evidence. Who knew what else they were doing, she wasn’t law enforcement and could only glean what she knew from books and shows. After a little while, Jeff, aka ‘the bulldog’ as the sub pool called him, came and sat with her a bit, bringing her a bottle of water.

  “You did good in there. Most of the women I know wouldn’t be holding up this well. You might have a knack for police work. If you have any interest, I have some buddies in the Miami Police Department and could pull some strings to get you into training in the academy,” Jeff said.

  “Thanks, Sir, I’ll think it about.” Warmth enveloped Sherry’s chest. She had done well. It made her feel good to know she had been useful and helped Nick and Patrick crack such an important case. It was only hours but it felt like days before Nick and Patrick emerged from the melee.

  She stood as they neared, wobbling on her feet.

  “Let’s get you home, hmm, what do you say?” Patrick slid his arm around her waist and they followed Nick to their boat. Below decks, Patrick stripped her out of her dirty garments and wrapped her up in a blanket. He put her on the couch and rifled around in a drawer.

  “Here, this will have to do until I can get you that bacon cheeseburger.” He handed her a protein bar and bottle of water. She took it gratefully, barely tasting it anyway, she was so famished. By the time they were getting underway, her eyelids were drooping.

  “Sleep, love,” Patrick said.

  And she did as he asked.

  Chapter 12

  Sherry woke to a hand on her shoulder and started awake only to find herself staring into Jared’s eyes.

  “Sir? What’s going on? Why are you here?” She glanced around and sighed internally. She was in Nick and Patrick’s bedroom and villa. Where they were presently, she wasn’t certain. She didn’t remember coming back to the island. In fact, she couldn’t remember a blessed thing after boarding their boat. Which meant that Patrick had likely drugged her. Bless him. Although they were going to have a conversation
about his use of sedatives.

  “I just came to check on you, make sure you were no worse for wear,” Jared murmured, concern scrunching his brow.

  “A few bruises and scrapes, nothing life threatening.”

  “I’m glad. And I wanted to apologize. If I had realized that I was literally putting your life at stake, lass, I never would have handed down that sentence.”

  His unexpected apology healed a part of her heart that she hadn’t even realized needed it. Like there had been a puzzle piece out of whack inside her that had finally slid home. She said, truthfully, “I’m glad you did. I’d been a brat to you and everyone on the island for months. And I needed it to jar myself out of my own pity party. I don’t blame you. In fact, thank you, it was what I needed, Sir.”

  Jared cocked his head, looking as dashing as ever in his gray slacks and blue dress shirt. “And so it was. Be happy, lass. And let me know if you need anything.”

  Patrick cleared his throat in the doorway.

  Jared smiled a bit, and said, “And that’s my cue to leave you but you’re in good hands, I see.”

  Her nose twitched at the most delicious aroma. “Thank you, Sir, I think so.”

  As Jared headed out the bedroom door, she asked Patrick, “Is that what I think I smell?” She nodded toward the tray in Patrick’s hands as he ambled toward her.

  “Yep,” he said, setting it over her lap on the bed. “A bacon cheeseburger and fries and a bottle of root beer. No wine. You might still have some of the sedative in your system and I’d rather not mix them.”

  He even propped the tray up with legs that came down on either side of her so she didn’t have to balance it. She dove in, hungrier than she believed she had ever been.

  Then she glanced up as she swallowed. “Sorry, Sir, I should have waited for your permission. I’m just so hungry.”

  “I think today of all days, you get a pass. How are you feeling?”

  She tested her limbs. “Other than some tenderness and sore muscles, I’m okay.”

  “Good. Why don’t you eat up, take a bath, then meet Nick and me in the living room when you’re ready.”

  Something in his voice unsettled her and her bite of french fry turned to sawdust in her mouth. Sherry did as he asked, pasting a smile on her face and pretending she was fine when in reality, she was anything but.

  “Well, when you’re ready,” Patrick said, standing up, maintaining a distance between them. As he backed out of the room, she wondered why he was pulling away from her after everything they had been through.

  She did as they asked. She scarfed down the burger and then took longer in the shower, doing an extra pass to make sure all the dirt and grime from that hellish warehouse was gone. She noted the colorful menagerie of bruises on her legs and arms. The gashes on her shoulder with the stitches was healing rather nicely, considering everything. Maybe in another day or so she could ask Patrick to remove them.

  Sherry took extra care with her dress, wanting to look good for her Doms. And they were hers, there wasn’t any doubt that she belonged to them, with them. She chose a simple, brightly colored maxi dress that fell to mid-calf. The bust cupped her breasts and allowed her to go without a bra. And because she had plans to be out of this dress in record time, she went commando. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Simple, easy for them to tug on and grab.

  Leaving her feet bare, she trod into the living room. Patrick was sitting on a chair next to the sofa where Nick reclined. Wanting to prove to each of them that she could submit fully, she knelt between them and bowed her head.

  “Sirs,” she murmured, keeping her eyes downcast.

  “Very pretty. I think our work with you has paid off. Any Dom would be lucky to have you,” Patrick murmured quietly with pride in his voice—along with a hint of regret.

  Her heart thumped madly in her chest. “Thank you, Sir.”

  “That’s what we wanted to discuss with you. We already got the okay from Jared. You’re free, you have completed your punishment, and we couldn’t be prouder,” Nick said, his voice flat, without any emotion.

  Patrick said, “It means we release you, you’re free. Take a minute to gather your things and then one of us will take you back to your place.”

  It hurt, more than she wanted it to. It felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. She said, her voice a quivering whisper, “You’re dumping me, after everything?”

  “It’s safer for you all around. Jared agrees. We put your life at risk. Our lives aren’t safe or normal. It’s better this way,” Nick said, his face devoid of sentiment.

  “Better for whom, you? I thought we were past all of this.”

  Patrick answered her and said, “Our lives are just too dangerous. You deserve to be with a Dom who won’t put you at risk like I did. I’m so sorry about that, I never should have brought you along on a mission.”

  “I don’t care about that. I volunteered and I would do it again in a heartbeat. But the problem with what you are suggesting—that I should be with another Dom—I don’t love any other Dom. I want to be with you, Sirs. Please don’t leave me,” Sherry begged, trying to keep her heart from shattering into a million pieces.

  Nick said, “Sherry, our lives are too perilous. Seventy-two hours with us and we almost got you killed.”

  “You saved me. I went into this with my eyes wide open. Okay, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But you know what got me through it? Knowing that you two were out there, knowing you would come for me, and save me. And that short period of time when I thought Patrick was dead was the worst hour of my life. I love you, both of you, and I don’t want another Dom, dammit. I wish like hell that you two would stop trying to play god, like I don’t know what’s good for me. Don’t you get that you are what’s right for me? I get to choose who I want in my bed and who I don’t. And I want you, both of you.”

  “Precious,” Nick said, grimacing like he was in immense pain.

  Patrick said nothing, he just stared at her with enigmatic eyes.

  Sherry stood, deciding that if she was going to win the hand of poker on the table, she’d have to fight dirty. What was the saying, all’s fair in love and war? Well, she was about to launch her own assault.

  Before either man could protest, she shoved the straps off her shoulders and let the dress fall into a heap at her feet. Patrick got up first and yanked her into his arms. His lips crushed hers and she moaned into his mouth. He released her, his hands holding her face as his gaze bored holes into her soul.

  “Are you sure, love?” Patrick asked.

  “With all my heart.” Sherry had never been so certain of anything in her life.

  “Then I’m not letting you go, ever. You belong to us. I can’t promise you a life of ease or free from danger, but I do know I will love you every day of our lives.”

  “As long as I’m with you, Sir, it doesn’t matter.” She looked at Nick, who was still sitting on the couch, his fingers digging in to the soft material.

  Going on instinct, she lowered Patrick’s hands. Keeping one of them gripped in hers, she went to Nick. She climbed onto his lap, straddled him, and put her free hand on his cheek. This way, they were all connected.

  Nick didn’t move, his body as tense and drawn as a bow string. She leaned forward and placed her lips over his mouth.

  He growled, a deep, guttural, tortured sound. He withdrew his face and said harshly, “Don’t. Don’t make this harder than it is, precious. Every minute you are with us, your life is at stake.”

  “Nick, I love you but you’re being stubborn and pigheaded. I could walk out onto a street in Nassau and get hit by a bus. I could enter a building that collapses seconds after I walk into it. Life isn’t certain. Every day we have is a gift. I want my life with you, both of you. Besides, Jeff thinks I’d be a great cop, so maybe field work with you two, with some training of course, might just be the thing.”

  “Like hell, I won’t fucking allow it,” Nick barked.

  �
��Well, you have to keep me with you if you’re going to follow through with a threat like that.”

  Nick looked chagrined for all of two seconds before his hands cupped her face. His eyes were naked with emotion. “Then that’s what I will have to do. To keep you from hurting yourself, and all. I do love you, precious. And now, I’m never letting you go.”

  Nick claimed her lips, slanting his mouth over hers. And then Patrick sat next to him, leaned over, and put his arms around both of them. He planted a kiss on her shoulder and said, “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I think my poor neglected cock could use some love.”

  Sherry chuckled against Nick’s lips and withdrew to shoot Patrick a sexy glance. “We can’t have that now, can we?”

  “Precisely.”

  “Mine isn’t too happy at the moment either, precious,” Nick said.

  She sighed. “If I must.”

  “Like it’s a tragedy for you.”

  “Oh no, not at all. I’m just wondering if you two can keep up with me—age and all tends to catch up with you,” Sherry teased. They were only around five years older than she.

  “We’re going to make you pay for that,” Nick warned.

  “God, I hope so, Sirs. As long as you love me, I’m yours to command.”

  “Then let’s take this party into the bedroom,” Patrick suggested.

  Nick had a contemplative look on his handsome face. “Actually, Trick, I think a trip to our dungeon is in order.”

  “Right you are. Let’s go,” Patrick murmured and stood.

  Nick held her as he rose, cradling her against his body, like he never wanted to let her go. Sherry wrapped her arms around his beefy shoulders and laid her head down as he carried her.

  Who would have thought that her biggest blunder would bring her more happiness and love than she had ever known? She had some ideas that might surprise her men. She did want them to train her and work with them, so that she could go anywhere in the world with them. But that was a conversation for another time. Today, she wanted to love and be loved by her undercover Doms.