by Leah Brooke
She’d be mortified if she got lost and the men had to come find her.
“The price goes up ten percent next time. It’s getting too dangerous to keep meeting out here. Since you can’t keep people out of here, we’re going to have to find another spot.”
Stunned, Bailey stood perfectly still, straining her eyes to see the man who’d just spoken, listening intently as another voice came from just off to her right, not more than twenty feet in front of her.
“It’s not my fault! What the fuck do you expect me to do? I thought spreading rumors about panther sightings would keep people the hell out of here. Your guys have been the ones causing all the fucking trouble. Why the hell do they give a shit about that bar anyway? Now I’ve got Brown up my ass trying to figure out what the hell’s going on.”
Bailey blinked as she recognized the voice.
Officer Cannon.
She heard the rustle of something before the other man, now much closer, cursed.
“You really are stupid, aren’t you? The Captain’s Den backs up to the woods and Duke’s doesn’t. We tried to get Billy Davis to sell to us, and then part of these woods would be ours. We could fence it in and there wouldn’t be any fucking trespassers trying to mess in our business!”
“That Knox woman is becoming a pain in the ass, but it was your guy who chased her into the woods in the first place. Why the hell didn’t he just leave her alone? Or, better yet, help her fix her tire and let her be on her way?”
“He knew who she was. Since you were kind enough to get us her license plate number and we knew where she was coming from, he thought it was a lucky break when he saw her. If he’d managed to kill her before she came to town, Duke could have taken over the bar himself and nobody would have been the wiser.”
“Guess your man fucked up.”
“Yeah, well, I guess those rumors you started about panthers weren’t rumors after all. Now you’ve got Brown all worked up.”
“He thinks Brand is doing something suspicious out here, but he can’t figure out what. He doesn’t believe the rumors of panther sightings, and figures Brand denies seeing them because he’s the one who made them up to keep people out of here, but doesn’t want to cast suspicion on himself.”
“Good. Let him keep looking at Brand. We need to get him, his friend, and that pain in the ass woman of theirs out of the way. Did you hear something?”
Bailey held her breath as both flashlights came on, the twin beams of light arcing in her direction.
“Who’s out there?”
The voice of the other man sounded very much like the man who’d had the gun that night behind her bar. Afraid that he had one now, Bailey ducked behind the nearest tree, biting back a curse when she tripped over one of the large roots and fell, landing hard on her hip.
“Did you hear that? Someone’s out there.”
The panic in Cannon’s voice had Bailey scrambling to hide, once again reliving the night the other man had attacked her. Glancing toward the house where warm light shone from the windows, she wondered if the men would hear her if she screamed.
Even if they heard her, would they get to her in time?
She couldn’t take a chance, not with Cannon and the other man getting closer by the second.
She looked around for a place to hide, but knew that as soon as she came out from behind the tree, she’d be caught in their flashlight beams.
She wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Wishing for her bat, she looked around and found the next best thing.
Bending low, she reached out and curled her fingers around the dead branch lying at her feet.
About four feet long and two inches in diameter, the hard piece of wood felt good in her hand.
More confident now, she slowly rose to her feet, bracing herself against the back of the tree. Thankful for the thick jacket that kept the rough bark from rubbing against her injured shoulder, she plastered herself against the side of the tree, trying to make herself as small as possible.
Her eyes kept going to the house, searching for any kind of movement, but seeing none.
She wished she’d never left the damned deck.
Alarmed that she could no longer see the flashlight beams, it alarmed her even more when she realized she could no longer hear either man approach.
Even though her pulse raced, she tried to control her breathing, concentrating on any sound that would tell her the men’s location.
Holding the stick in both hands, she planted her feet, her breathing becoming ragged as her nerves stretched to the breaking point.
Suddenly, she realized that her senses had grown sharper.
She would swear she could feel the night—the air, the scents, even the presence of the men who steadily closed in on her.
The snap of a twig..
A crunch of leaves.
The brush of clothing.
The sounds came from one side and then the other, each one making her jump.
The man on her right, the man who’d shot James, was closer.
He would reach her first.
One thing that she didn’t sense at all disturbed her the most.
Marc and James.
The last time, she’d known they were there. This time she didn’t feel them, and it scared her to death.
She had to be realistic. Chances were she wouldn’t get out of this alive. She knew that Cannon, at least, carried a gun, and her experience with the other man told her that he did, too.
She wouldn’t go out without a fight, though.
Feeling the other man’s presence only a few feet away, she went on the attack. Spinning from behind the tree, she swung the stick for all she was worth, at the same time letting out a bloodcurdling scream.
She’d managed to surprise him, hitting him hard against his arm.
“Bitch!” He grabbed her, spinning her and yanking her back against him with a strength that surprised her.
Scared out of her wits, she screamed again as she fought him, hoping the others would hear her. She kicked and tried to pull his arm away from her throat, terrified of being strangled.
Something hard pushed into her temple.
Cannon pointed his flashlight in her eyes, blinding her.
Gasping for air against the hold that threatened to break her ribs, she stilled, not giving the man holding her an excuse to fire the gun he had pointed at her head.
They’d never get to her in time!
Cannon started cursing as the other man pulled her deeper and deeper into the woods.
“Son of a bitch. She must have heard us. We’ve got no choice but to get rid of her. Bring her this way.”
“Shut up. I don’t take orders from you. Feisty little thing, isn’t she? Feisty enough to handle having two men in her bed. I might just have to have a piece of that ass before I kill her. I’m sure she’ll be real lively now that she knows she’s dead afterward.”
Bailey shivered in revulsion when he bent close to whisper in her ear.
“Maybe I’ll keep her for a little while. Having her might keep Brand from interfering where he isn’t wanted.”
“Don’t forget about the other one. Neither one of them looks like men you’d want to mess around with. There’s something about them that—”
“Don’t tell me you’re scared of a sculptor! Maybe that’s why our little troublemaker here has to have two men. Neither one of them can handle her on their own. I’m going to show her what a real man is like, and then I’m going to kill her for her fucking nosiness.”
Her heart pounded furiously as he pulled her deeper into the woods. She hadn’t been able to escape one man when he’d decided to attack her. She knew her chances of escaping two would be even worse.
“Let go of me. I didn’t see anything. I didn’t hear anything.”
“Liar. If you didn’t hear or see anything, why did you come out here?” He paused, laughing when Bailey almost tripped over something.
Cannon shone his light on the
object on the ground in front of Bailey’s feet, a large tote bag that lay open just enough for her to see stacks of money inside.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here. I don’t like the feel of this place.”
Bailey closed her eyes against the harsh glare of the flashlight, her body slumping in relief at the warm feeling surrounding her.
Marc and James had come for her!
The man holding her had to take the gun away from her face in order to grab the bag. He’d only taken two steps before Marc appeared out of nowhere to stand in front of her.
“Get your hands off of her.”
They were the same words he’d spoken to his friend earlier, but the deadly intent in them now made her realize just how much he’d held back before.
Before the other man could react, James ripped her from his arms and pushed her behind a nearby tree, placing his body between hers and his.
Pulling away from the tree, Bailey reached for James, having to raise her voice to be heard over the deadly growls.
“He’s got a gun.”
She didn’t even get the words out before the man who’d been holding her swung the gun around and Marc grabbed it from him and stuck it in the waistband of his jeans.
“Not anymore.”
“Shit!”
Bailey jolted as Cannon started shooting at the panthers surrounding him. Scared to death that one of them would be shot, she started toward them, but found herself knocked off her feet when James tackled her to the ground.
The growling got louder as the panthers attacked, the terrified screams from Cannon echoing through the woods. The shooting stopped, but the growling didn’t.
Pressed into the dank ground, Bailey held on to James, burying her face in his neck. Looking over his shoulder, she saw a flash of movement and then the unmistakable sound of Marc’s fist connecting, a groan, and a body hitting the ground.
Cannon, though, didn’t seem to be faring as well. He sounded desperate now, and scared for his life. She couldn’t help remembering how it felt to be in that position, and although he’d been ready to kill her, she knew watching him be torn apart by panthers would give her nightmares for years to come.
“Oh, God. They’re killing him. James, they’re killing him.”
“It would serve him right after what they did to you, but no, honey. They’re not killing him.”
As Marc crouched beside her, shining the flashlight over her, James rolled off of her.
“Are you hurt?”
Sitting up, Bailey brushed aside their hands as they searched for injuries and stretched to look over toward the direction Cannon’s screams and the growling came from, straining her eyes to see into the darkness.
“No. Please. Don’t let them kill him.”
Snatching the flashlight from Marc, she struggled to get to her feet, only to find her legs shook so badly that they wouldn’t support her. She shook everywhere, her heart beating frantically as she struggled for air as though she’d been choked.
Raising a hand to her throat, she fought off memories of the first time she’d been attacked, memories that had come back with a vengeance.
With a curse, Marc lifted her high into his arms and strode in the direction of the others.
Terrified of what she would find, Bailey turned the flashlight on Cannon, who stood perfectly still, his hands in the air, not taking his eyes from the five large panthers surrounding him.
With their teeth bared and growling in their throats, the sleek black panthers made a terrifying sight, one that she knew she wouldn’t soon forget.
“What the hell were you doing out here, Bailey? Damn it! You could have been killed! If we hadn’t heard your scream—what the hell are you smiling at?”
Snuggling against Marc, Bailey lifted her face to his.
“I love you. Both of you. So much. I knew when you got here. I felt you.”
The growling all around her stopped.
James chuckled from behind her, bending to brush her hair with his lips.
“You sure as hell picked a great time to tell us that. You wanna tell us what the hell’s going on?”
With Bailey in his arms, Marc strode toward Cannon.
“Cannon? I would have bet money on Brown. What the fuck have you been doing in my woods?”
Bailey pushed against him so he would put her down, but Marc held firm. “There’s a bag over there full of money. They said something about doing something here that they didn’t want anybody to know about. They want the woods. Duke’s in on it. They’re not trying to run me out of my bar for the business. They want the woods behind the bar. They don’t want anyone seeing what they’re doing.”
James walked around as she spoke, stilling and looking in the same direction as the five panthers.
“Well, Brown, it’s about time you showed up.”
Picking up the other bag from the ground several feet away from Cannon, James opened it and whistled softly.
“Well, what do we have here?” Pulling out a bag, he held it up to the light for Brown to see.
Cannon came to his feet, looking around frantically. “Brown! Arrest these men. They attacked me.” He pointed toward the unconscious man. “I followed that man into the woods. He looked suspicious. These two men jumped me.”
With his hand on his gun, Brown came into the light, his eyes widening when he saw the bag of white powder. He eyed both Cannon and the unconscious man before glancing around.
“Yeah, right. I heard more than enough to believe otherwise.”
His brows went up to see Bailey in Marc’s arms. “I thought I heard growls.”
Marc stared down at Bailey, the love and concern in his eyes visible even in the low light of Brown’s flashlight sweeping the area.
“Must have been us. Went a little crazy when they grabbed our woman.”
Brown handcuffed Cannon, who didn’t put up much of a struggle, before handcuffing the still unconscious man.
“That must’ve been it.” Gesturing toward the bag of drugs and the one filled with money, Brown sighed. “This explains a lot. Sorry I doubted you.”
Marc nodded once, never taking his eyes from her.
“As long as I don’t have to hear any of those panther stories anymore.”
Bailey cuddled into Marc, raising a shaking hand to cup his jaw. “Cannon said he made those stories up to keep people out of the woods.”
James lifted his head, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
“So that’s how they got started.”
Brown said something into a walkie-talkie before eyeing the ground, which bore tracks and signs of a struggle. Looking up at all three of them skeptically, he scratched his head. “Uh-huh. I sure as hell can’t prove otherwise. I am going to have some questions later, though.”
Marc turned his back and headed back toward the house.
“Make it tomorrow. We’re going back to the house to see to our woman.”
James started to follow and paused, turning back.
“Brown, I think it might be a good idea to let everyone who believes in these panthers to know that they’re very protective of Bailey.”
Brown grinned, nodding once. “I have no idea what the hell’s going on, but I don’t doubt it for a minute.”
Bailey waited until James caught up with them, trying once more to wiggle out of Marc’s arms.
Marc tightened his hold, patting her bottom threateningly.
“You’re fine right where you are. You couldn’t even stand up a few minutes ago.”
Secretly pleased, Bailey sighed in resignation before grinning up at him.
“Thanks for rescuing me again. I was afraid you wouldn’t hear me.”
Marc paused and handed her over to a waiting James.
“We’ll always be there for you, Bailey. Besides, the way you scream, I’m surprised half the town didn’t show up.”
James cuddled her close.
“Once we make sure you’re okay, we’ll do our best to make you scr
eam again.”
* * * *
Standing at the living room window, Bailey smiled at the laughter that reached her as she watched Marc and James saying good-bye to the others.
She could still feel the warmth on her forehead where they’d each kissed her good-bye, welcoming her to their family.
Even now, they turned before driving away, waving to her as they pulled away.
Returning their waves, she grinned, still finding it hard to believe that Marc and James’s friends had accepted her. She understood their concern for their friends and had to admit it had been quite a shock.
They weren’t worried that she would stay. Their concern came from the fact that she could leave and break their friends’ hearts.
For the first time in her life, someone needed her and wanted her around.
Still smiling, she turned to watch Marc and James make their way back into the house, their eyes going to hers as soon as they came inside.
She wore nothing beneath the plush robe she’d slipped on after taking her shower, and her nipples pebbled, poking against the soft material as James strode toward her while Marc dealt with locking up.
As his smooth strides brought him closer, his eyes raked over her, the concern and lust in them sending a surge of love for him through her and making her heart beat faster.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Reaching for him came easier now, and she ran her hands up his chest to play with his collar as he moved in, wrapping his arms around her. The feel of his body against hers, always so exciting, felt more familiar now, and she rubbed up against him in an automatic gesture she’d just recently developed. Looking up at him through her lashes, she smiled.
“You and Marc both checked me out, but now that everyone’s gone, I think it would be a good idea if we checked each other out a little more thoroughly.”
She didn’t have much experience when it came to flirting and figured she’d said something wrong when, instead of laughing and making some sort of a dirty comeback, he threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her even closer.
“God. I’m never sleeping again. The thought of those men having you and what they planned to do with you is going to give me nightmares for a long time to come. I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”