by Dakota Dawn
It took four long-ass hours, but Lunn found out Devon and Lizzann were in a Washington jail and had been for the last few weeks. They were waiting trial for credit card fraud and stalking. The man they were busted stalking was the owner of a BDSM club and to add to the scary situation, he was supposed to look a lot like Lunn. He was glad they were behind bars, and hoped they stayed there forever.
Gaven found out Scott’s address, as well as Bill’s, and a business partner of Bill’s named Able Crow.
They all headed to Scott’s house first.
With anger pounding through his veins, he beat on the door. A minute later, Scott flung the door open. “What?” he snapped.
Snatching Scott up by the front of his shirt, Gaven held the card in front of Scott’s face.
“Do you recognize this note?” Gaven spit out.
“No. Get your hands off me. Who the hell are you?” Scott demanded.
Trent pulled his knife from its sheath. “You sure you didn’t write that note?”
“Yes. I’ve never seen it before.” Scott’s eyes darted between Gaven and the knife in Trent’s hand.
A very pregnant woman waddled up behind Scott.
Trent hid his knife behind his back.
“What’s going on, baby?” the woman asked.
Scott tensed. “Nothing. Go back to our room. I’ll fix the TV in a second. Have a beer waiting for me.” Scott didn’t relax until she had waddled off, grumbling about men.
Gaven released Scott when Lunn said, “I believe he’s telling the truth.”
“Who are you people?” Scott asked as he straightened his shirt.
“I’m the owner of Gaven’s Sports Pub. You threatened my manager a while back. Now she’s in trouble, and you are a suspect.”
A flush stole across Scott’s cheeks. “I paid her back a long time ago. I shouldn’t have and I’m sorry for it, but I’ve moved on.”
Gaven grabbed Scott’s shirt again. “What did you do?”
“I called the Health Department on your pub. I’m sorry. I was wrong to do that.” Scott’s eyes reflected true sorrow.
“I remember Katarina grumbling about the health inspector coming to the pub. You’re lucky I recalled that.” He released Scott and walked back to the truck.
Scott was definitely not the man they were looking for. He and Trent followed Gaven. They had one more stop to make, and he hoped it led them straight to her.
“Goddamn it. I was really wanting to find her here. Every minute that passes…” Gaven cleared his throat, but he couldn’t continue. They got in the truck and headed to their next and hopefully last destination, Bill’s home.
“It’s going to be fine. I can feel it.” Trent sounded confident, and that was just what they needed right now.
If they didn’t find her soon, he feared for his and Gaven’s sanity. They both loved her more than life itself.
Bill’s house was empty, as in cleaned out and never coming back.
“Son of a bitch! We have to find her. I can’t live without her.” Gaven’s pain shot through Lunn, and he was sure his own pain was adding to Gaven’s.
“We’re not done yet. We have one more lead left. Let’s go.” Lunn hoped Concetta would help them find Katarina. Right now they desperately needed the witch’s help.
The drive to Able Crow’s house was a silent one. They all leapt from the truck the second they arrived at the old mobile home. A dog whined and sped under the home. A large, tough looking woman smoking a pipe came out onto the freshly painted porch.
“What you want?” she asked in a suspicious tone.
“We’re looking for Able Crow,” Trent answered boldly, showing no fear.
“He ain’t here. What do you need from him?” She eyed them all just as boldly and fearlessly.
“Information about a man named Bill Petts,” he replied in a calm voice.
“Crazy Bill? The chopper pilot that flies them rich people around and fancies himself a vet?” she asked.
“Yes. Do you know where we can find him?” Lunn had only been told he was a pilot, but not who Bill worked for. If he was flying around rich clients, that would explain him leaving the house quickly after getting a call. He had to be their man.
She held up a finger to silence them and listened closely. With narrowed eyes, she grabbed a gun from the porch rocker and aimed into some four-foot-tall grass and fired.
“Ouch!”
“Dang, Mama. Why’d you have to tranq him? We was just getting good and heated up.” A young woman stepped out of the grass, straightening her dress.
“Don’t play dumb, girl. You know them pills don’t kick in for another week. Now get in the house.” The older woman waved toward the front door.
“What about Bubba?”
“He’ll wake up in a few hours and go home where he ought to be. That boy ain’t smart enough to have babies. Do you want a baby that can’t find its way out of the swamp?” When the girl shook her head, the gun toting woman said, “I didn’t think so. Now get. We’re talking.”
The older woman watched the younger one slink into the home and then she turned back to them. She smiled and patted the gun. “Tranq guns work great for keeping young ones from getting pregnant by the wrong boy. You keep that in mind now,” she said.
“We will, ma’am,” Gaven responded. “Back to Bill. Do you know where we can find him?”
“Over at the old club, Rico’s. That would be a good place to look. He bought it not long ago. Said he was going to bring his wife home, but he don’t have no wife that I know about.” She turned and put the gun back on the rocker then faced them again. “You be careful around Bill. He ain’t been right in the head for a while.”
“Thanks for the help, ma’am,” Lunn said over his shoulder as the hurried to his truck and got in. As they headed to Rico’s, silence heavily blanketed the truck.
Trent’s scream suddenly pierced their ears, and Gaven cursed when Trent jumped up into the front seat and fell into his lap.
“What the…” Gaven started saying.
“Well he’s easy enough to scare. I wonder if he pissed his pants?”
“Volker!” Gaven and Lunn growled at the same time.
“Get off me, Scooby Doo. It’s just Volker. He’s Concetta’s messenger cat,” Gaven said and then gave Trent a shove over the seat.
Trent pointed at Volker. “I know you. You’re the cat that helped me save Rain from that black mamba snake, aren’t you?”
“He’s a bright one,” Volker snipped.
“Why are you here? Did you come to help us get Katarina back?” Lunn asked.
“Yes. I’m in a hurry, so listen closely. Bill carries sedative shots in a pouch that hangs from his belt. Don’t let him knock you out, and you’ll be fine and so will Katarina.” With that said, Volker shimmered away.
“Shit! Did you see that? He was meowing up a storm, and then he just freaking disappeared into thin air.” Trent’s voice shook as he spoke.
“Yeah, I saw him,” Gaven stated calmly. “He wasn’t just meowing, he was warning us not to let Bill reach into the pouch that hangs from his belt. It holds sedative shots.”
“Crap.” Trent exclaimed then asked, “How could you two understand him?”
“Concetta made it possible.” There was no way he was going into details on how she’d made it happen.
“I’m glad she did. We need all the help we can get,” Trent said.
They all fell silent as they mentally prepared for the fight to come.
Lunn felt good about the battle now that he knew Concetta was on their side.
* * * *
Katarina woke to find herself straddling a chair with her hands tied to the tall back of it and her ankles tied to the legs of the chair. She struggled, but the ties were firmly secured.
“I see you’re awake, my sweet flower. It’s a shame you fell for the men protecting you. Though, it happens a lot.” Bill sighed disappointedly. “Now I’m forced to make sure you understand th
at your loyalty stays with me only. Forever.”
He grabbed a thin black belt off a nearby table and walked around in front of her. She made every effort not to flinch. Fear was causing her insides to churn. Where were her guys? Would they be able to find her?
Bill smacked the belt against his thigh. “Bad dogs get choke collars, bad birds get put in smaller cages, and bad cats get declawed.” He held up the belt and added, “Bad women get whipped. You must never look at other men. You belong solely to me.”
In a quick, angry move, Bill walked behind her, and within a second she felt the belt whip across her right shoulder. White heat flashed through her shoulder. She sucked in a harsh breath and wiggled her wrists, hoping she could get free, but the ties didn’t budge.
The belt struck her lower back, and she yelled, “Stop it, asshole. My guys are going to beat you when they get here.” She sure as hell hoped they showed up soon.
An even harder hit struck her right upper ass cheek, and she was blinded by pain for a second.
“Never curse your husband, and never ever call them your guys. I won’t tolerate that, ever. They were only watching over you. Nothing more,” he shouted rabidly.
Needing to escape her demented captor, she clearly said, “Powers that be, set me free.” Nothing happened. She pulled her wrists backward, and still the ties didn’t break.
Damn it!
“I’m the only power that can set you free, flower,” he rumbled as he swung the belt again and struck her left shoulder.
She took a shuddering breath and said in a clear tone, “Powers that be, release my wrists.” A tingle shot through her arms, and the ties on her wrists fell to the floor. She tried to jump up, but her ankles were still tied to the chair. Got damn it, she hadn’t said the spell right, and now she was only half way free.
Bill stormed up to her and yelled, “How did you do that?” Spit flung from his mouth as he continued. “No matter. I know how to stop your wicked magic.” He reached for the pouch that hung from his belt.
Glass shattered, and Gaven, Lunn, and Trent burst into the room.
Bill opened the pouch and reached in.
Trent cursed and threw the knife he had in his hand. It went through Bill’s hand, pinning the deranged man’s palm to his side. He screamed and ran for the side door. Gaven sprang into action and took Bill down. Trent ran over and helped Gaven tie up Bill.
Lunn rushed to her side and untied her ankles. He then inspected her back. “I know your back hurts, but the welts aren’t bleeding, so they should be healed in a day or two. Did he do anything else to you?”
“No, not that I know of, that is.” Her dazed mind was starting to clear. “You got here in time. I was worried you wouldn’t…” The lump in her throat grew too large for her to continue.
Lunn gently but securely hugged her. “It’s all right. We’re here, and we’ll always be here.”
Within minutes she heard sirens. The cops came in and hauled Bill away. She answered their questions as best she could and went to the hospital at Lunn and Gaven’s insistence.
Total peace didn’t come to her, though, until she was sandwiched between her guys in bed that night.
Power surged through Katarina as her love for her guys overflowed her heart. “Love that’s yearning to be seen, reveal to them your hearty glee!”
Her heart tingled, and she looked at Gaven then Lunn. They both rubbed their chests and then took hold of her hands. The feeling intensified, and to her surprise, a blue misty heart drifted up from Gaven’s chest. A bright white one rose from her, and a red heart floated up from Lunn’s chest. The three hearts circled in the air above them. She concentrated on them becoming one, and, to her delight, the three hearts pulled together and became one large violet heart.
“Oh my god. Babe, that’s beautiful.” Gaven’s voice was filled with awe.
Lunn tightened his grip on her hand. “That’s my kitten.” Pride flavored his words.
She lost her concentration for a moment, and the heart burst into tiny purple stars that rained down on them and disappeared when they landed on their bodies. Excitement rippled through her body. That was one spell she’d have to write down in her book. Each generation could use it, and modify it to show their love.
“I’m proud of you. You make my life worth living. I love you, kitten.” Lunn leaned in and lovingly brushed his lips across hers. “How are you feeling?”
“At peace now that I’m right where I belong. I love you both more than I can ever convey. I was so relieved when you found me. I never want to be parted from you two again.”
Gaven kissed the back of her neck. “I can’t stand the thought of being separated from you, either. I trust you with my heart. You chase away the ghosts that haunt me. You ground me like nothing in this world ever has. I love you, babe. Now and forever.”
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Reading romance has been a passion of mine for a long time. To me love comes in all shapes and sizes. I write stories that are erotic, fun, and purely fictitious.
I’m not known for being the sharpest tool in the shed. But if I can make a person laugh, cry, grumble, sigh, or fan themselves that means I’ve touched them. ~goal accomplished~
If you want to take a break from reality my stories could be just what you’re looking for.
The trip through fantasyland to happily-ever-after is always a fascinating ride. Thank goodness it’s a ride you can take over and over again!
You can contact me at: www.dakotadawn.org
For all titles by Dakota Dawn, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/dakota-dawn
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com