by Becca Van
Jenna gasped and then covered her mouth. She must have worked out what she was seeing. “Is that…Was Joan killed…Money…That fucking bitch.” The pain in Jenna’s voice when straight to Dach’s heart.
Des squeezed Jenna’s shoulder when she turned into Dallas and started crying again. He stepped back and as he walked toward the door, pulled his mobile phone from his belt. Dallas stood up with Jenna in his arms and carried her from the room. Dach sat down and started copying files and once he had saved it, decided the best thing to do would be to email it to the Passion police station. Obviously Joan’s boss Mica Paton had seen Joan gathering evidence and had tried to get it back. If she knew that Jenna had the USB, then her life could be in danger. He wouldn’t be able to relax until that bitch was behind bars. Mica had killed once already for greed and he knew she wouldn’t hesitate to do so again.
Des came back into the office. “Noah, Zach, and Tom are on their way over to collect the evidence. Noah asked that you email him a copy of the files, too.”
“Already have,” Dach said.
“Good. Shit, we have to protect her.”
“We will. It’s not Mica I’m worried about. I think she’ll be in prison before too long.”
“That’s good,” Des frowned and then the penny dropped. “Fuck, she had a man with her.”
Dach nodded and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t think Jenna knew who he was but we’ll have to ask.”
“Damn, this could get complicated. Unless that bitch sings like a canary, that bastard is going to come for our woman.”
“He could run?” Dach posed that more a question than a statement.
“Yeah, that could happen, but if you were a greedy arsehole and your plans were being thwarted by someone, would you let them go scot free?” Des asked.
“You and I would never do anything this woman and bastard have.”
“I know, but you have to put yourself in their shoes. Think like a criminal, Dach.”
“Fuck. He’s going to come after her.”
“Yes.”
Dallas and Jenna entered the kitchen just then and Dach saw her blanch but she walked over to him and hugged him. Dach breathed in her light floral scent and hugged her tight.
“Are you okay, baby?”
“Yeah,” Jenna sighed.
“Are you sore?”
Jenna buried her face in his chest and shook her head and then changed it to a slight nod. Dach pulled back slightly and gently gripped her upper arms. “Look at me, Jenna.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “I’m okay.”
Dach gave her a skeptical look.
“I promise I’m fine.”
“I’m so sorr…”
“Don’t, Dach. You have nothing to be sorry for. I wanted everything you gave me. I begged you to make love with me. You have nothing to feel guilty about.” She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “Who is going to come after me?”
Des walked up behind her and pressed his front to her back. Jenna hummed and sighed as if she was content. “I like being between you. I like having you all touch me and cuddle me. It makes me feel special.”
Dach leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “You are special, baby. Don’t ever think otherwise.”
Jenna nodded, stepped sideways out their embrace, and turned to face him and both his brothers. “Who do you think is going to come for me?”
“Honey, we don’t want you to worry. We’ll protect you,” Dallas reached out and took her hand.
“I appreciate that and am glad that I’ll have you three to keep me safe, but you can’t be with me twenty-four-seven. I need to know who I’ll be up against so I can be vigilant.”
“There was a man with Mica Paton at your house the day of Joan’s wake. We think he’s involved in this, too,” Des said. He moved next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders when she covered her mouth with her hand.
Dach took the two steps, which brought him within touching distance, and grasped her free hand in his. “Do you know who he was, baby.”
Jenna shook her head and Dach cursed under his breath when he saw the fear in her eyes. When the doorbell rang, she squealed and then practically climbed up Des’s body. His brother placed his hands on her arse and hugged her tight. Jenna wrapped her arms around Des’s neck and her legs around his waist.
Dallas moved in behind her and whispered in her ear. Dach didn’t have to hear what his brother was saying to know that whatever he said reassured Jenna. She relaxed her hold around Des’s neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
Dach went to let the police in.
Chapter Eleven
Dallas lifted her from Des’s arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Jenna didn’t want to get down from Dallas. She felt safe and secure wrapped in his or his brothers’ arms. She was almost afraid about the way she wanted to be close to the King brothers all the time. The thought of going back to her own lonely home caused pain to stab into her chest. She’d only been in their home without her brother for a few days and the more time she spent with them, the more she felt for them. Jenna then knew that she was falling in love with them. Even though they had made her feel special and cherished, she had no idea what they felt for her, not really.
Dallas walked over to a chair at the table, pushed the seat back, and sat down with her on his lap. His hands gripped her waist and he turned her around until she was sitting with both of her legs dangling over his and her side was resting against his chest. His show of strength was impressive and made her pussy clench with desire and cream coat her lips. If it hadn’t been for Noah, Zach, and Tom Beech walking in the door, she might just have reached up and brought Dallas’s head down to hers so she could kiss him.
The three police officers greeted her and then took a seat at the table. Dach rushed from the room and was back a few moments later. He handed over a sheaf of papers and Joan’s USB stick.
Dach, Des, and Dallas explained what they’d found and pointed out the two different spreadsheets, showing the legitimate one and then the doctored one. Noah got up from his chair and pulled his mobile phone from the clip on his belt. He dialed and then he spoke quietly. Jenna couldn’t hear what he was saying because Tom, Zach, and her men were still talking amongst themselves.
Jenna just hoped that the policemen would be able to find the man in cahoots with Mica Paton and then put them both in jail for a long time. She suspected that the guy Mica was working with had sabotaged Joan’s brakes, which made them both murderers.
Noah came back to sit at the table after finishing his call. “How are you doing, Jenna?”
“Okay.”
“We’ll get these people, honey. I promise.”
Jenna nodded and swallowed around the lump in her throat. “I contacted the sergeant at the Castlemaine police. He’s sending someone to go and arrest Mica. Hopefully we’ll be able to get more information out of her and arrest her accomplice. The sergeant was also going to track down the owner of the store and let her know what was going on. Apparently the owner has been unable to work because of an illness in the family. Mica’s been running the store by herself for a couple of years.”
“Oh, that’s horrible. How can she take advantage of someone like that?” Jenna asked.
“Some people have no morals or conscience, Jenna. Money seems to rule some people,” Zach said gently.
“Can you give us a description of the man working with Mica?” Tom asked.
Dach went on to describe the man much better than Jenna would have been able to and each feature he listed brought the man’s face into a clear picture in her mind. Then all of a sudden it was like she was standing in the living room looking at him and Mica from across the room. She could see a small dark mark on his neck and when she focused on it, she could make out the tattoo of a snake.
“He has a tattoo.”
Noah sat up straighter in his chair. “Where?”
“On the right side of his neck just below
his ear. It’s not very big but its tail is coiled around with the end sticking up in the air, sort of like what a rattlesnake would do before it was about to strike. And its head is also standing up with the tongue sticking out.”
“Good girl, Jenna. I had forgotten about seeing that, but now that you’ve mentioned it, I can see it very clearly in my mind.” Dach reached across the table and squeezed her hand.
For some reason she felt inordinately pleased by that action and couldn’t help smiling at him.
“Would you recognize this guy in a lineup or from a mug shot?” Tom asked.
“Yes,” Jenna answered at the same time Des, Dach and Dallas did.
“Good, I’ll set up an appointment for you all to come to the station on Monday.” Noah rose to his feet.
“I have to work all day Monday,” Jenna said.
“Okay. Does five thirty suit you or do you need more time?” Noah asked.
“Five forty-five would be better. Even though I officially finish at five thirty there is always paperwork to be done and I need time to drive down to the station.”
“Five forty-five it is. I’ll order some pizza or takeout from the diner. Hopefully it won’t take hours going through the books, but I’m not going to hold my breath.” Zach gave her a gentle smile and then the three men headed out with Des following them.
Jenna’s stomach growled loudly and Dach smiled at her. “I think it’s time we cooked some stir-fry. Our little woman is hungry.”
Dallas kissed her temple and then stood up and placed her back in the seat. When Jenna went to get up to help them, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Stay put, honey. We’ve got dinner. Would you like a glass of wine?”
“Actually I could really go for a beer.” Dallas looked surprised for a minute but that surprise changed into a smile. “A girl after my own heart.”
Des came back into the room and snagged four bottles of beer before Dallas could and she figured he must have heard her asking for the beverage. He even popped the top before handing it to her.
After dinner, the men wouldn’t let her help them clean up and she felt a bit guilty for sitting on her arse while they did all the work. Something must have shown in her eyes because Dach was about to reach for one of the dishes on the table but changed direction and cupped her face in his hands. “Thank you for wanting to help us, baby, but we want you to rest. Those dark smudges beneath your eyes are only just diminishing and until they have totally gone, you won’t be doing anything but sitting back and relaxing.”
“Okay.” Jenna sighed then looked at each of the men. “Thank you for dinner. It was really nice.”
“You’re welcome, baby.” Dach leaned down and placed a light kiss on her lips.
When the kitchen was clean and the dishwasher was on, Des helped her to her feet and led her into the living room. He settled her on the sofa in the middle and then he and Dallas sat on either side of her. Dallas sat down on the floor right in front of her but instead of leaning back on her legs, he gripped her calves and then placed her limbs over his shoulders and then rested back against the sofa. That action only endeared him to her more. He was making sure he wasn’t hurting her with his weight. She shifted around a bit until she was comfortable and then Dallas and Des moved in until their sides were plastered against her.
Jenna loved how tactile they all were and wondered if they even knew what they were doing but when she looked up at Des and he winked at her she figured they did. She was going to miss them so much when she went back home. Just the thought of not being with them caused a big hole to form in her chest and pain to pierce her heart. She watched all of them surreptitiously from beneath her lowered lashes as they watched the big flat screen TV and felt all the blood drain from her face.
Oh. My. God. Jenna. You stupid, stupid, girl. You’ve gone and done something really injudicious and fallen in love with all three of them.
She must have done something to draw their attention because all of a sudden all three of them were looking at her. Dach rubbed a hand up her shin, drawing her gaze. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“Um, n–nothing. It’s just been a long day, you know. I think everything is catching up with me.” Jenna removed her legs from over Dach’s shoulders, being careful not to knock him in the head, and then brought them down to one side of him. She braced her hand on Des’s thigh and pushed to her feet. “I’m going to get an early night.” Jenna spun around and hurried down the hall. When she was in her bedroom with the door securely closed behind her, she slid down to the floor, brought her knees up to her body, and wrapped her arms around her legs.
“God, Joan, what the hell am I going to do now?”
* * * *
“Do you believe any of that?” Des asked.
“The tired part, yes, but she was making excuses.” Dach sighed.
“I have no idea what she was thinking about, but she went as pale as a ghost. Whatever it was can’t be good. She looked so damn scared.” Dallas frowned.
“She was also surprised. It was like she had an epiphany and wasn’t sure what to make of it.” Des ran his hand over his short, cropped hair.
“Do you think we should go talk to her?” Dallas asked.
“No.” Dach got up off the floor and sat on the sofa between his brothers. “We give her time for her body to heal and wait. Hopefully she’ll come to us and talk to us if she has a problem.”
“Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” Des said. “That woman is so used to dealing with everything alone and it’s going to take her a while to be comfortable leaning on us.”
“She is comfortable with us, though.” Dach smiled. “The more time she spends with us, the more she’s leaning. I can’t wait until we have her total trust. I want her in our beds and lives permanently.”
“Shit, we all do, Dach.” Des rose to his feet and glanced toward the hall. The last thing he wanted to do was go to his own empty bedroom and lonely bed. He wanted to be able to cuddle up in that huge bed in the master suite with Jenna, but he was going to have to bide his time just like his brothers and pray like hell that when Jenna healed and they made love to her again, they would be able to engage her heart. “I have never been gladder for the vacation time we have. If we hadn’t finished up the training, we wouldn’t be able to stay with her and keep her safe, and as far as I am concerned, that is not an option.”
“We’ll take it in turns going to work with her. Of course we all know she is going to baulk at having us dogging her steps every minute of every day.” Dach stood up and clicked the remote to turn the TV off.
Dallas pushed up to his feet, too. “That’s just too damn bad. There is no way in hell we are leaving her alone until that bitch and her accomplice are behind bars.”
Just as Dallas finished speaking, the house phone rang. Des hurried into the kitchen to answer it. He didn’t want the noise disturbing Jenna if she was asleep.
“Noah…Good…Did she talk?” Des sighed and glanced toward Dach and Dallas. “No, I didn’t really expect her to either. Did you tell her she could get a lesser sentence if she cooperated? Shit! Yeah, okay. Thanks for letting us know, bye.”
“What?” Dach asked.
“Mica Paton has been arrested but she’s not talking. The sergeant in Casltemaine even tried to make a deal with her but it didn’t work. She’s staying tight lipped about everything,” Des explained.
“We’ll just have to hope that we see the fucker in a mug book,” Dallas said. “But until this bastard is taken down, we don’t let Jenna out of our sight.”
“Agreed,” Des and Dach replied. Des headed to his bedroom, aware of his brothers following him down the hall. After one last glance at the closed door of the master suite, he entered his room and prepared for bed. He knew it would be a while before he could sleep. His mind was racing and he couldn’t help but feel like something bad was going to happen. Hopefully he and his brothers could keep Jenna safe but he had learned to trust his gut instincts. They had saved him and his bro
thers, as well as their men’s lives more than once. He just hoped the knot of dread in the pit of his stomach was wrong.
* * * *
Jenna stood in the middle of the kitchen glaring at Dach, Dallas, and Des. They had all just finished breakfast and she had expected them all to head to the army base, but Dallas had just finished explaining to her that they were on vacation time now that they had finished training the last group of SAS soldiers. But what really got her hackles standing on end was being told that one of them was going to be coming to work with her each day.
“What the hell do you mean you’re coming to work with me? I can’t have you disrupting my day or invading my patients’ privacy.” Jenna scowled at them and crossed her arms beneath her breasts.
Dallas took a couple of steps until he was in touching distance. Jenna barely held in a gasp of need when her nipples pebbled and her pussy clenched, dripping cream onto her clean, fresh panties. His implacable stare and the heat in his eyes was turning her on big time. He reached up and took her chin between his thumb and index finger. “You can argue all you want, honey, but this in non-negotiable. There is an arsehole out there hell bent on revenge because you have thwarted his plans, and if you think we are going to let him get to you without our protection…well you can think again.”
“I can’t…”
Dach skirted around her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her tight against his front. She’d have to have been dead not to notice the hard ridge poking into her back and hoped like hell none of them noticed that her breathing was escalating with her heartbeat. She uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on his sinewy forearms. God, she loved the warmth and strength she could feel under her fingertips and hands. It was really hard to concentrate on the subject at hand with them so close to her, let alone touching her.
Des moved in close to her side and stroked a finger down her arm. Her breath hitched in her throat and when she looked at Dallas and Des and saw the hunger in their eyes. It seemed she wasn’t very good at hiding her feelings after all. She tilted her head and met Dach’s gaze and only barely held in the whimper forming in her throat when she saw the fire in his eyes, too.