by Chloe Lang
“Nicky, you’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Being too hard on yourself.”
“Old habits die hard, Jaris.” She wanted to change the subject and refocus on the case. “Can you tell me about the missing persons report you gave me on Kathy White? Why did it have Sergei Mitrofanov’s name listed as her husband?”
“Nicky, what are you talking about?” Suddenly, Jaris stopped. He seemed puzzled. “That report came from Patti. She asked me to give it to you.”
Chapter Twenty
Right at the base of the Black Dragon, Nicole shook her head. “I can’t believe that, Jaris. Patti? Our friend Patti?” But in her heart, she knew it had to be true.
“I guess you are as dumb as you look, slut.” Patti came out from the other side of the statue but remained in the shadows a few feet from them. In her hand was a gun. She had a cigarette dangling from her mouth. “We’ve never been friends, but you’ve been too stupid to see that, haven’t you?”
She’s the insider. Patti’s face was bright red. She was sweating profusely. It looked as if she was running a high fever. A tank top revealed deep scratches on her shoulder. They appeared to be full of infection.
Connie had given her that wound. Oh my God! Patti was the shooter the other night. She’s the insider.
Nicole’s heart thudded in her chest like a sledgehammer. “Why are you here, Patti?”
“Shut the fuck up, bitch. I’m not talking to you. Only to him.” She pointed to Jaris, who was moving his hand slowly up to his gun, which the sheriff had returned to him.
“Don’t even think about it, lover. Keep your hands down.”
Jaris nodded. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret, Patti.”
“Too late for that, babe.” Patti glared at her. “I’ve been confined in another hellhole up the road from here. Clover, Colorado. Three days I’ve been sneaking in and out of this fucking place—undetected. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to do what I came here for. Patience finally paid off. Here the slut is, right in front of me.”
“You’re working with the Mitrofanovs,” Jaris stated flatly.
“Great detective work, Jaris. You learn that from the FBI?”
Nicole knew it was a risk to push Patti, but she must. “Did you have anything to do with Henry’s disappearance?”
“I won’t tell you again, slut. Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” Patti pointed the barrel of her gun right at Nicole.
“Then tell me, Patti,” Jaris said in gentle tone. “What happened to Henry? What’s going on with you? Talk to me. We’re partners.”
The hardness in Patti’s face softened. “Yes, I know what happened to Henry. Jaris, everything I did, I did for us. When this bitch vanished from the station without telling me where she was going, I knew I was in trouble. Fuck, if you hadn’t shown up two years ago, I wouldn’t have to be dealing with her today.”
“What about two years ago?” he asked quietly. Nicole’s and his training was kicking in. Negotiation protocols with an assailant were clear. Keep them talking.
“Might as well put all my cards on the table. I don’t have a chance of surviving more than a week with the Mitrofanov’s hit on me.” Patti snorted. “You know I hate coffee. Hate it with a passion. But I drank it so that I could get the slut to drop her guard. It worked. After she told me about her little slipup taking her granddad’s pain meds to sleep, I knew drugging her would be simple. A little in her coffee every day. My plan was to get her drug tested and off the force so that you and I could be partners, Jaris.”
Nicole had trusted her, had thought of Patti as a friend. Turned out she was a monster, a bat-shit-crazy, jealous bitch. She wanted to scream her rage but bit her tongue, knowing the lunatic could snap at any moment. One syllable from Nicole’s lips might end this standoff with horrible results.
“You got the drugs from your connection with the Mitrofanovs then?” he asked.
“Yes, I did. The pay is great as are the benefits. Much better than a Chicago patrolman’s,” Patti continued, the pride in her mania shinning through. “When she tossed her cookies on the commissioner, that was the best day of my life. I took the bag of dope with me to her apartment, ready to end the slut’s life. Then you walked in.”
“You said it was Nicole’s. You even helped me dry her out.”
Only Jaris had been my friend back then. Not Patti. Only him.
“I had to. I didn’t want to tip my hand. I knew drugging her again wasn’t an option anymore for me.” Patti’s wild eyes sent daggers her way. “I thought I would be satisfied with her being at a desk and me being your partner. I was, for a while. Then you went and signed up with the FBI. I had no clue until Sergei Mitrofanov told me. He was going to put a hit out on you, but I convinced him not to. I had to do a favor for him.”
“The missing persons report,” Nicole whispered.
“God, you’re the stupidest slut on the planet. Shut it. But yes, the missing persons report. I knew you wouldn’t question anything Jaris handed you and he trusted me. Just paperwork, which has never been something he took seriously. After Sergei got killed in this dump, I thought my worries were over. Jaris was safe. The report would be buried in the files. No one the wiser. Then your slut here decided to play detective with this small town’s sheriff.”
Even though Patti seemed to hang on Jaris’s every word, seeking his approval in some sick way, he wouldn’t be able to keep the madwoman talking forever, despite his best efforts. “So you went to Henry’s and found out where Nicole went to.”
Nicole prayed Reed and Sawyer would show up. They would come for her. Even though she’d been harsh, they’d made it clear they weren’t going to let her go. Please God, let that be true. She needed her cowboys right now.
Patti sent Jaris an evil wink. “No. I lured him to my place. I knew Henry would never betray sweet, little Nicole. A dose of Rohypnol in his drink did the trick. He still didn’t tell me but I found a text on his cell to Sheriff Wolfe. That was all I needed to put the dots together.”
“Where’s Henry now?” Jaris asked.
Please let him be alive.
“Still at my apartment. I gave him enough drugs to make sure he didn’t wake up. Ever.”
“You killed him?” Nicole’s head swam with fresh grief. “How could you do that to Henry?”
“Easy.” Patti lips twisted into a toothy, horrible smile.
“So you were coming here for the report, right?”
“The report and her. Yes.”
“What about the other Mitrofanov man who set the fire? Were you working with him, Patti?”
“You’ve got it all wrong, Jaris. I called my contact inside the organization. I told the guy about Nicole and what she’d taken to Destiny before I left Chicago. When I got here, I learned the Mitrofanovs had sent a cleanup man to mess with this slut’s car. One thing you know about me, Jaris, is I’m loyal. When I found out he’d been shot and was in the local clinic, I wanted to help him escape. Getting past deputy-do-right was easy. A borrowed nurse’s outfit and I was in the Mitrofanov’s room. When I told him who I was, I knew the truth. He’d been sent not just to get the report back and whatever other evidence Nicole had, he’d been sent to take me out, too.”
“You set the fire.”
“I did. Lost my favorite lighter, too, in the process.”
Patti had been the one to start the fire at the clinic, not the Russian. The man must’ve been trying to turn off the gas when Doc Ryder and Charlie showed up.
“Jaris, why did you come here for her?” Patti shook her head. “Wasn’t I enough for you, lover?”
Lover? “You were involved with her?” Nicole whispered.
“Only a one-night stand after too many drinks,” he said softly. “I didn’t have a clue she was this gone.”
“Speak up or I’ll put a bullet between the cunt’s eyes right here, right now.”
“That would be a mistake, Patti.” Jaris put his hands over his head. Nicole
did the same. Great police work. The gesture was less about giving in to their attacker and more about letting anyone who happened to look their direction understand what was going down. “The sheriff is in the building behind us. He will be coming out any moment. Do the smart thing and put down your gun.”
“Not before I kill this fucking bitch.”
This was it. Now or never.
Nicole reached for her gun, knowing she wouldn’t have time to get it before Patti pulled the trigger.
Jaris leapt in front of her.
The gun went off.
Nicole watched in horror as Jaris was hit in the head and fell to the ground. Her friend had saved her.
Nicole’s fingers touched the butt of her gun but more shots fired.
Patti’s lifeless body dropped.
“Chicago, are you all right?” Reed ran up behind her, his gun out.
Beside him was Sawyer, who held his smoking pistol in his hand.
Nicole knelt down over Jaris, feeling Reed’s arm around her shoulder. “We need to get the on-call doctor here. He’s been shot in the head, but he’s still breathing.”
She looked down at her true friend and then to Reed and Sawyer, the men who had hold of her heart. “Hurry. He saved my life. We’ve got to help him.”
Sawyer nodded and ran back to the courthouse where the temporary clinic had been set up.
Chapter Twenty-One
Nicole hated seeing Jaris in this condition. His head was wrapped in bandages. Only his nose and mouth could be seen. The doctor had just left after delivering the horrific news that his sight might never return. The Denver hospital was sending a helicopter to retrieve Jaris.
“Don’t listen to that man, Jaris. He’s not even the real doctor here in Destiny. He’s just a fill-in. When you get to Denver, you’re going to be seen by the best neurologists in this part of the country. They’re going to get you back to normal in no time.”
Jaris had saved her life, and though he’d not died from Patti’s bullet, the price had been high.
“Nicole, I’m glad you’re alive.”
“Thanks to you,” she squeezed his hand.
Jaris was tough. A man’s man. He had every right to feel sorry for himself, but he sure wasn’t showing it to her.
What kind of life could he have now? Without his eyes, he couldn’t be a cop.
“Promise me one thing.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. As much as she wanted to hide her sadness from him, she wished Jaris could see her tears right now. “Anything.”
He squeezed her hand back. “Don’t throw your life away on regrets. Go after your dreams, Nicky. You deserve happiness.”
“So do you.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Reed put his arms around Nicole as she walked out of the judge’s chambers, which were currently being used as Jaris Simmons’s hospital room. She leaned her head into his chest and sobbed. Sawyer stroked her hair from behind. He and Sawyer owed Simmons a great debt for saving her. He wasn’t sure how or when, but he would do his best to repay that debt if it took his entire life.
“He’s blind because of me,” she cried.
“No, Chicago. He’s blind because of Patti. You’re alive because Jaris is a hero.”
“I can’t stand this, guys. It’s so hard. He’s my friend. He’s stuck with me in some of the worst days of my life.” Nicole stared at him, her eyes red from crying. “I can’t live with this.”
“We’ll help you, baby,” Sawyer said.
“Trust me,” Reed kissed her forehead. “I won’t leave you to handle this alone, little one. I’m here for you. We both are.”
“Jaris just told me to go for my dreams and to stop living a life of regrets. I can’t do this if you won’t let me in to all of your life, Reed.”
“All of my life? You’re talking about BDSM, right? Me being a Dom? Your Dom?”
She nodded, chewing on her lower lip, looking so fragile, so feminine it made his heart pound hard in his chest.
“I love you, Nicole. I’ll always love you.”
“I love you, too, but if I can’t be what you need—”
“Let me finish. It’s me who was holding back, not you, baby. My brother and you saw it before I was willing to accept it. I was afraid. You’re the brave one here. You were ready to dive into my world without any hesitation even though you weren’t sure what that meant. Me, I knew, and I still held back. From you. The only person on this earth who can see through my BS, to my truth. The day we talked when Sawyer went to get Chinese food, I knew you were for me—for me and Sawyer. You cut through all my crap and I pulled back. I was ready to go vanilla and leave the life I’d known. I’d convinced myself that it was for you I was making that choice, but Sawyer made me see it wasn’t for you. It was for me. Selfish me. I’m sorry, Nicole.”
“I shouldn’t have pushed so hard, Reed.”
“Wrong.” He cupped her chin. “I fucked up, Chicago. I thought being a Dom was only about control. My control. The only way I knew how to be a Dom was to keep emotions out of the mix. With you, I knew I couldn’t do that. I was wrong to hold back. Sawyer already senses there’s a sub inside you, and we both know how in tune he can be.”
“That’s for sure,” she said, wiping her eyes.
“You know what I think you need, little one?”
“No. What?”
“A distraction.”
* * * *
Nicole walked into the same private room at Phase Four where she’d met Reed and Sawyer. How much had changed since her first day in Destiny?
As Sawyer closed the door and locked it, she felt her heart skip several beats. Reed wore his Dom leathers well. He looked off-the-charts sexy standing by the bench.
“So this is my first day of sub school?” she asked. “We’re really doing this?”
Reed smiled wickedly and nodded.
Sawyer came up behind her, also wearing leathers and also hot as hell. “Class is in session, baby. Strip.”
“What?”
Sawyer reached around her and pinched her nipples. The tiny sting warmed her insides.
“Starting off on a bad foot, sweetheart. You want to be the teachers’ pet, don’t you?”
On the way over here, they’d given her a few instructions about protocols. Safe words. How to address them. How they would address her. It all made sense to her in a purely cerebral way. Deeper down, in her core, it was wonderfully terrifying.
“Yes, Sir. I want to be your pet.” Did that just come out of my mouth? It had, and God it felt so true. She wanted to please them, to show them she could be the woman they needed in every way.
“Good.” Sawyer came around in front of her and lowered his mouth over hers. This was a hot kiss, a dominant kiss. Gone was the gentle cowboy he could be. Now, he was all Dom—powerful, demanding, and in charge. Her toes curled as a wave of tingles erupted up and down her body. She kissed him back hungrily, craving more.
“Get her ready, bro,” Reed said, his tone so deep and lusty it made her shiver. “I want to see my handprints in pink on that beautiful ass.”
Sawyer pulled his manly lips away. “Now don’t keep your Masters waiting. Take off your clothes.”
Masters? Were they really that to her? They were most definitely masters of her heart, and yes, even her pleasure. The word fit Reed and Sawyer perfectly.
“Yes, Sirs.”
“That’s a good little submissive.” Reed’s hungry smile filled her with pride.
Am I really a submissive? Deep down it felt wonderful to turn everything over to them. Every decision, every step, every moment was theirs to guide her through. Even though she was an officer of the law who carried a gun and caught bad guys, with Reed and Sawyer, her Doms, Nicole knew in her very DNA she was a sub.
“Are you going to make us wait?” Reed asked firmly.
She shook her head.
“Our pet is in her head a little too much, I believe.” Sawyer, as always, could see into her thoughts
with ease. “We’ll help you with that,” he said, brushing the hair out of her eyes. “I promise.”
A wave of dizziness spun in her head as she removed her clothes, leaving only her bra and panties. They’d already seen her naked. So why was she hesitating now? Because this was different. This was a deeper level of intimacy than before when they’d made love to her at the cabin. This was Reed’s truth he’d held back and now he was placing it in front of her for her to sample.
“All your clothes,” Reed commanded.
“Yes, Sir.” Removing her bra first, Nicole felt so small here in this room with them. They’d always seemed tall and powerful to her, but here they appeared to be giants. But they were her giants. They’d stolen her heart. Protectors. Lovers. Cowboys. They’re mine, and I’m theirs. Stepping out of her panties, she felt her heart racing in her chest. She was in the middle of a room at a sex club in a tiny town in Colorado with two hot cowboys—her hot cowboys. What a change her life had taken. She wouldn’t go back to the past for all the gold in Fort Knox.
“Time for lesson one, little one,” Reed said. Without warning, he and Sawyer lifted her up off the floor and onto the bench facedown. “Spanking 101.”
Nicole shivered as anxiety and desire battled within her. To be handled by them this way was something she both wanted and feared.
The first slap of Reed’s hand on her ass pulled a little gasp from her throat. More slaps rained down on her ass, some from Reed and some from Sawyer. This was another way they were claiming her. Every time a hand landed on her flesh, a single syllable fell from the lips of her Dom who had delivered the sting. “Mine.”
Slap. “Mine,” Reed announced boldly.
Slap. “Mine,” Sawyer added possessively.
Slap. “Mine.” Reed said again.
Slap. “Mine.” Sawyer followed.
Over and over. Back and forth.
The thudding was hypnotic to her, blended with their chant. I’m theirs. I’m theirs. The symphony of sound and burn took her to a state she’d never felt before. She’d never felt so light, so free. A kind of Nirvana.