by Em Petrova
She gazed up at him, shock stealing over her mind like a white fog. “You’re bleeding.”
He cupped her face and slammed his mouth over hers. Tingles of electricity shot from his mouth to her nipples and straight to her pussy. She gasped, and he thrust his tongue into her mouth. She was vaguely aware of a male chuckle coming from one of his brothers as she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.
The kiss was full of apology and sweetness and the promise of what Dylan could do to her in the hot, sticky Louisiana night to come.
“Dude, you’d better break it off.” The order cut through the sexual haze they shared, and Dylan released her.
He stepped back, gaze burning into her.
“Yeah.” His voice was gritty. “That’s how it’s gonna be as soon as we’re alone. Now come with me.”
He took her by the arm and strode quickly through the showroom into the office. He whipped open the closet.
“What? I’m supposed to lure the Landrenaus—”
He gave a shake of his head. “You’re going to stay safe.”
“I can do this, Dylan,” she began.
He firmed his jaw. “I can’t have you out in the open when shit goes down. Now get in the closet and I’ll come get you when it’s done.” He gave her a nudge toward the opening. At the office door, he turned. “And don’t worry about anybody getting in here. They’ll have to go through me.”
Shaky again from Dylan’s kisses and the fear of what was about to happen, she ducked into the closet, sank to a crouch and closed the door. What a turn of events, with her back where she’d started again. Now she was so much smarter about what went on in the world, and while the universe didn’t have the same rainbow-colored filter it once had in her eyes, she held hope.
Hope for a future with Dylan.
* * * * *
“Get behind that counter, Elise, and don’t move unless I tell you to.” Sean’s order had all of the Knight Ops team looking at him.
“She’s pregnant,” Sean announced. “I won’t have her in jeopardy.”
“Holy hell. Congrats, guys. We didn’t know,” Ben said.
Sean flashed a brief smile. “We haven’t told Maman or Pére yet, so don’t say anything.”
Chaz had his sights trained on the front door of the boutique. “I’m a little busy right now. They’re coming.”
Heart thundering, Dylan waited. When the door opened, the back door burst open at the same time.
Dylan didn’t have any choice—he had to fight with his team. Athena would be safe long enough for him to kick some ass and get back to her.
“Roades, Rocko!” he shouted, weapon trained on the opening as he ran for the back room. His team flanked him. Thugs flooded the space.
“You’re outnumbered,” Dylan called out. “Surrender and nobody gets hurt!”
Of course there was that one stupid fucker with no common sense. He squeezed off a shot, and Dylan took him down with a bullet to the knee. His leg collapsed as his bone and joint shattered, and he screamed.
From the front of the building, another shot exploded, and Dylan’s heart seized up.
He’d walked away from the door of the office. Somebody could be finding Athena’s hiding spot right now.
“You got this?” he shouted to Roades.
Roades threw him a grin and whipped out some zip-ties. “Get on your knees, hands behind your backs, boys.”
Dylan ran out and into the thick of a shootout. Ben and Sean had taken cover behind counters, and one glass case was completely shattered, glass glittering like diamonds on the floor.
He ran to the office and peeked in. Relief hit as he realized nobody had breached this spot yet. If someone had, he’d kick himself for this error for the rest of his life.
And he’d spend the entirety making it up to Athena too. First, with a ring and then the most beautiful, safest home he could provide. With three—no four—German Shepherds.
After that, they’d get busy on those babies. His Maman would be happy to hear that the family tree was branching out.
He focused on Landrenau. The man was decked out in a fine suit he’d probably dropped a grand on at least right here in this shop. On the surface, he looked like a man with swagger, but his eyes burned with hate as he wielded an automatic weapon.
“Get us the necklace and that tie pin and nobody gets killed.”
They still thought the tie pin was a real item they needed.
Chaz zipped across the room, as silent and stealthy as a panther stalking prey. The Landrenaus and the three men with them didn’t even notice him. If Dylan hadn’t been looking, he wouldn’t have noticed either.
He slashed a look toward where Chaz had disappeared. Knight Ops had been pinned down in much worse situations, but he still couldn’t risk a single bullet piercing their hides, and therefore he had to wrap up this threat.
He stepped forward and lowered his weapon. “We’ll give you the necklace and pin.”
Ben looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.
Ignoring him, Dylan said, “We know these items are worth way more money than they look. There was a microchip embedded in one of the jewels of the necklace as well as the shoes.”
The banker’s face drained of color. “Where are they?”
“They’re being analyzed.” Dylan casually walked to the front counter where Athena had been standing when he arrived and he assumed the items were.
“So even if I give you these,” he held up the two sparkling accessories, “we will find you. And hunt you down. And you will spend the rest of your lives in prison, where you won’t have the expensive things you’re used to. But if you choose to back down now and come with us, there’s a plea bargain in your futures.”
Husband and wife exchanged looks.
“Make your call,” Dylan demanded.
Seconds ticked by.
So they were tougher than he’d guessed.
He placed the jewels away, back in their velvet wrappings, and turned to face the couple head-on. “It’s obvious you’re laundering these jewels through Athena’s Creations and the jewels are changing hands even after you procure them.”
Mrs. Landrenau darted a look around as if seeing things Dylan didn’t, which was quite possible. Who knew how many items had come through Athena’s boutique before OFFSUS was brought on site.
“You’re giving these items to somebody to sell, and I don’t think it’s to fund a second honeymoon to Europe. But you can’t embezzle from the bank anymore—oh yes, did you think we didn’t know about that?” He watched the banker’s face grow purple. “So you had to turn to this. What exactly are you funding?”
“Give us those jewels now!” The man motioned to one of his bodyguards, who raised his weapon and trained it on Ben.
Dylan acted, lunging forward and clipping the guard in the back of the thigh with his knife. The guy went down on one side, jamming the knife even farther home. It dug into the muscle, throbbing with his heart as it embedded deep in the femoral artery.
Mrs. Landrenau screamed, and her husband knocked her to the floor as he squeezed off a shot. In a blink, Chaz reared up and got him around the neck. The shot went wild, ricocheting off a steel post and striking glass.
Dylan swore he heard a cry from the office, from the closet. And fury hit. He stomped on the banker’s arm, forcing him to drop the weapon as he broke several fingers and probably his wrist too.
“Don’t kill him yet, Chaz. Remember what we say.” Dylan looked into his brother’s furious eyes.
“Let them die slowly,” Chaz drawled.
Dylan might have laughed if the situation wasn’t the furthest thing from funny ever. All their lives were on the line and the woman he loved was hiding in the closet in the other room.
Ben got one of the bodyguards on the floor and zip-tied his hands and feet together before he could probably even think of his own first name. Sean rushed the other, wrestling for the weapon aimed at his midsection.
Elise p
opped up from behind the counter, took aim and shot. The man dropped and didn’t move again.
“Thanks, cher. But when we get home, I’m laying you across my knee and spanking your ass for not heeding my warning to stay behind the counter.” Sean rolled to his feet and dumped the clip from the thug’s weapon.
Dylan stared down the Landrenaus. “One of your men is dead—or more, judging by the silence in the back room.”
The banker’s eyes slid to the other side of the showroom where his people should be entering now if Dylan wasn’t right.
“The only thing that’s going to save your lives now is to work with us. Or do you think the people you’re funding will be happy to hear you failed?”
Mrs. Landrenau held up both hands in surrender, several rings glinting on her fingers.
Dylan whipped out his own zip-ties. “The Knight Ops thank you for your cooperation. Captain Ben Knight will be your tour guide. Enjoy your time with the US government interrogators.”
Chapter Nine
The closet door opened, but it wasn’t Dylan standing there looking down at her.
“Elise.” Her name came out shaky on Athena’s lips as her newfound friend reached into the closet for Athena’s hand.
Elise gripped it and hauled her to her feet. Shaky and swaying, Athena put a hand to her forehead, holding tears at bay. “Where is he? Where’s Dylan?”
Her voice held a frantic edge, and she couldn’t even touch on the thought that he’d been the recipient of one of those bullets she’d heard zinging around her boutique.
“He had some business to tend to. You can come out now. It’s all clear.” Elise walked to the door and led the way.
When she stepped out into her showroom and saw even more destruction than the Knight Ops team had wreaked the first time, she stumbled to a halt. Looking around at shattered glass and bullet holes in the side of a counter and a wall by the front door.
And blood.
No bodies littered the floor, but she could see the clear outline of where one had been.
She slapped a hand over her mouth, bile rushing up her throat. “Where is he?” she repeated.
“He’s all right.” Elise touched her shoulder. “I promise he’s all right. He had to debrief—they all did—but they’ll be back soon.”
“Oh my God. It was really the Landrenaus the whole time?”
“Looks that way. C’mon, sit down. Let me start a pot of coffee.”
She took the stool behind the counter and while Elise went off to brew much-needed coffee, Athena looked down to see the velvet open on the surface. The jewels were gone.
Of course, they were evidence. This whole boutique was evidence. How could she ever look at it the same way again? Would she be able to move on with her world and happily dress customers for a living? Her mind was too shocked to think straight about the future of her shop.
Then there was Dylan.
A minute later, Elise returned with a foam cup of steaming coffee. She placed it in Athena’s hands and watched as she sipped it.
“Well, the cat’s out of the bag now. Or the baby is.” She rubbed her belly.
Athena blinked away some of the cobwebs clouding her mind. “What?”
“Sean spilled the news to the guys that I’m expecting. I give it an hour before it reaches Ellietta and Chip.”
“Who?” She wrapped her cold fingers around the cup, but it was no substitute for Dylan’s warmth.
“Mr. and Mrs. Knight. You’ll be meeting them soon, I’m sure. Along with the twins. They’re wild, both of them, and did you know Chaz has been dating an old high school crush?”
She shook her head, half aware that Elise was talking nonsense, everyday things with her just to keep her mind off the wreck that was the rest of her life.
“And Roades hasn’t exactly settled down yet but give him time. He’s such a sweetheart—probably more romantic than any of the others. Whoever finally gets Tyler to settle down has his work cut out for him, but Lexi will be fine. She’s savvy and knows what she wants. That’s half the battle, right?”
Elise dipped her head to look into Athena’s eyes. “You okay, hon?”
She nodded.
“You know what you want, don’t you?”
She dropped her gaze to the coffee. The warm brown depths wafted with the nutty tones she loved every morning. But even more than her first coffee of the day, she loved waking next to Dylan.
She wanted that for the rest of her life.
She nodded. “I do know. I want Dylan. I’m in love with him.”
Elise’s gaze slipped over Athena’s shoulder and she smiled. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
Athena gasped, jumping off the stool and spilling her coffee in the process. But what did a puddle of coffee matter when her floor was covered in glass and blood?
Dylan rounded the counter and took her by the hands. He led her to the front door and kept walking right through it, without locking it, without looking back.
“But…what about my shop?”
“We’ve got people in there. Next time you see it, it will be back to normal. Right now I need you.”
His words slicked through her insides like warm honey, and she focused on the heat of his callused fingers wrapped around hers. To her surprise, he put her in the car and drove her the few blocks to her apartment.
“Why are we here? Is it safe?”
“Anybody associated with this act has been placed under arrest and you’re as safe as you were before we barged into your boutique.” He opened the apartment door and swept his gaze around, though. She had a feeling he’d do that anyplace she entered, including the bathroom.
He drew her into her own space, and the familiar smells of home brought tears to her eyes. He closed the door and bolted it. Then he took her by the hand.
“Cher, what I want from you right now is too much for you to process. So I have to leave.”
She shook her head, curls cascading over her shoulders. “What?”
“We were thrown together into this mess, and I can’t let you make decisions about your feelings for me until you’ve had time to process. Distance, space.”
He was leaving her?
“No…”
“Fuck, I don’t want that either but it’s best. Believe me, we both need it.” He swallowed hard as if the words were rocks in his throat.
“Dylan, what are you saying?”
He grabbed her by the shoulders and crushed her to him. But only briefly. Too quickly, he stepped back. Eyes burning, he continued to move away from her, leaving her standing alone in the middle of her beloved apartment that didn’t seem so fantastic now without him.
She took a step, and he threw up a hand to stay her. She stopped in her tracks.
“You’ll be okay, Athena. Elise will check in with you. And… we’ll be watching.”
Chapter Ten
Athena walked back into her boutique and saw everything put to rights—glass cleaned up, blood vanished and even every single camera hole patched.
She turned in a circle. “My God.” How had they done this in a day’s time?
They’re the freakin’ government, that’s how. They have every string to pull at their fingertips.
Looking toward her office, her heart gave a heavy thump. For days Dylan had been found sitting there, monitoring her universe. When she walked through the door, she braced herself for what she’d see but it still struck like a blow.
She gripped the doorframe and stared at the neat, cleared desk. Not a technical device in sight.
Oh God. Tears bit at the backs of her eyes but she pushed them down, unwilling to cry. She’d done enough of that the previous night after Dylan had walked out of her life. After the first hour of shock, she’d felt more alone than she ever had in her life. And for a woman without family or many friends, that was a huge deal.
Then her emotions had slowly shifted to anger, and she didn’t even have the man nearby to let him have it. Unfortunately, her final drop o
n this roller coaster was sadness, which was obviously still controlling her.
She turned from the office and walked back out into the showroom. Going through the motions of opening the shop took no brainpower at least. As Mardi Gras week began to close, she would be less busy and hopefully by the end of the day, go home to that soaker tub.
But that brought visions of Dylan at her apartment and his comments about how beautiful her bathroom was. The man’s intelligence and knowledge of the world rocked her in a way she’d never known before, and that had nothing to do with the fear and adrenaline of the past week.
She understood his reason for giving her space, but dammit, what if she didn’t want it?
The first customer took all the energy Athena had to give, and each one after sapped a bit more life from her. By lunchtime, she felt like a wilted flower. So when Elise breezed in looking elegant and glowing, Athena hurriedly grabbed a set of chignon sticks and wound her hair into a twist on the back of her head.
Elise gave her a small smile, looking too closely at her face and probably making out the hollows under her eyes or the redness from lack of sleep and crying.
“You okay, hon? What am I saying? I can see you aren’t.”
Athena bit her lower lip. “I’m not quite myself yet.”
She nodded. “Understandable. Things like this would shake you up.”
“I don’t know how you and the Knight Ops live it daily.”
She flashed a white smile. “I don’t know how you work with these customers all day! That one blonde who wanted you to custom embroider a parade float on her pants in one day?” Elise raised her brows and opened her eyes wide.
Athena laughed, and it felt good but not exactly real either. “It happens. Given another few days, I could have done the job.”
“See? That’s amazing to me.”
They stared at each other. Athena’s eyes flooded with tears again. Hopeless, stupid tears. One dribbled down her cheek, and she gave a big sniff. “I don’t even know why I’m crying.”
“Don’t you?” Elise placed a hand on hers.
“It can’t be because of Dylan. I hardly know him. He was just… just…” Everything.