In the Line of Fire [Love on the Rocks 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “Motherfucker. It’s infected. Why the hell didn’t Corporal get you stitches?”

  “What do you need?” Drover asked.

  “The larger bag,” Grady said.

  Grady looked up into her eyes.

  “This is not good. Do you realize how sick you could have gotten? If there is dirt in here or exposure, then the infection could continue down your leg, through your blood steam. Jesus.” He shook his head and gripped her calf a little tighter as if really angry.

  She grabbed onto his hand. “You’re hurting me.” His eyes went from narrow to wide and he slowly released her calf as Drover returned with a large bag.

  “Where’s the other injury?” Drover asked.

  She pulled her lip between her teeth. “It’s not as bad. It will be fine.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” Grady reprimanded.

  She tried lifting her shirt to show him, but she had to use her stomach muscles to remain upright.

  “Lean back and relax,” Drover ordered and she leaned back and slowly lifted her sweater and tank top.

  “Motherfucker. Did you get an x-ray on these ribs?” Drover asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Why the fuck not? With this bruising and swelling, they may be broken,” Drover reprimanded.

  “There wasn’t time,” she told them and Grady and Drover looked at one another and then back at her.

  “We need to get her comfortable. She needs this cut on her knee cleaned out thoroughly and then stitched.”

  “Stitches? I can’t go to a hospital. I can’t let them find me.” She pulled herself up and cringed, grabbing her side. She pushed their hands away and went to slide down to the floor when Grady grabbed her by her hips.

  “You’ll make matters worse. We’re not going to bring you to a hospital. I’m doing the stitches.”

  “What?” she asked as he held onto her hips.

  “I’m well trained. Have done a lot of stitches over the years in the service, and even after. If the patient isn’t resisting and fighting me, I can even make sure there’s no lasting, obvious scar.”

  She covered her face with her hands. “Oh, God, I wish I could talk to Corporal.” She uncovered her face and then looked at both men, surprised by the expressions of anger.

  “Well, you can’t. He placed you in our hands. You’re our responsibility and you need to trust us,” Grady stated firmly.

  “I have no choice but to trust you two for medical assistance, but nothing more. How do you want to do this?” she asked, putting on her courageous face but feeling anything but courageous around these two men.

  “Let’s cover the table with towels. I’ll grab my supplies and the things I need. Drover, grab a pillow for her head and a bottle of vodka,” Grady stated.

  “Vodka?” she asked, eyes squinted.

  “So my hands don’t shake,” he said to her.

  “What?”

  He winked and held her expression, but spoke right to her. “Forget the vodka, Drover.” She couldn’t believe Grady had made a joke like that. He was serious, hard, and pissed off at her. He placed one hand on her other thigh and on her shoulder.

  Holding her gaze, he spoke softly.

  “I want you to lay back and relax. Trust me to do this right and help you heal.” He stroked her hair and she stared at his gorgeous dark eyes. Holy shit, he was gorgeous and lethal at the same time.

  “What choice do I have? I just want the pain to go away.” So I won’t be dependent on anyone and especially not with this attraction I feel to both men. Jesus.

  “Okay, I’m not going to lie. It will hurt. I have some numbing agent and something I can give you to make you fall asleep if you want,” Grady asked her.

  She shook her head. The last thing she needed was to not be fully awake with these men around.

  “Do the numbing agent. I’ll be fine,” she said. Ten minutes later she was gritting her teeth and Grady hadn’t even removed all the dirt and crap from her cut.

  * * * *

  Damon Cole could hear the woman’s moans from outside the front door. He stood there listening to his brothers talking to her and offering something to put her out but she refused. He had watched her a couple of times when she walked outside of her cabin and sat on the porch. He saw she kept a light on at night when he walked through the woods unable to sleep but keeping watch over her.

  He slowly pushed the door open and walked inside as Grady made the first stitch. Son of a bitch, she was beautiful. Her long blonde hair cascaded over the table and towels. Drover was holding her hand and she was gripping it while trying to catch her breath. Grady had a hand on her knee and was stitching a nasty-looking cut. When she locked gazes with Damon, her eyes widened and then she clenched them closed and tried breathing through the pain.

  “You’re doing good, sweetie. Just a few more stitches and then I’ll knot it and make sure it’s good and sealed,” Grady told her.

  Her eyes popped open. Her blouse was pulled slightly from her chest and he could see her abundant breasts and a lace bra. He moved around the table.

  “What happened,” he barked, noting the deep, angry sound of his voice and how she looked scared of him.

  “Her cut was infected and the ice maker at her cabin isn’t working, so she hasn’t been caring for her injuries like she told us she was.” Drover moved closer to the table. She gazed over his body. It did something to him. Something stirred inside of him.

  “Will she be okay?” he asked and looked at the damage to her small knee. His brother Grady was good at this. Had sewn up men who had their insides hanging out of them. He was certain she would be just fine. He hadn’t expected her to be so pretty, or feminine looking. How the hell did she save Corporal’s life? She was a tiny thing.

  “If she listens to my instructions and lets me check on her injuries on a regular basis, she should heal quickly,” Grady said and then made the knot.

  “Injuries? There’s more?” Damon asked and looked along her body. Drover raised her shirt slightly and Damon saw the damage.

  “Broken?”

  “Could be. Since we can’t x-ray them, we’re going to assume they are. I have to run upstairs and look for the bandage supplies and wrap them. I’ll need help,” Grady said and then patted Berlin’s thigh.

  “All done with this part. You did great. Rest a few minutes while I grab what I need for your ribs,” Grady said to her.

  “Thanks,” she whispered, but then looked at Damon. He stared at her. She wasn’t what he expected, and he hoped she wasn’t going to be a pain in the ass. He wondered if Corporal and she were intimate. He couldn’t help but to think maybe they were. That thought brought on feelings of anger, jealousy, and a bit of envy.

  Their cousin had moved on with his life, leaving them behind, refusing to heal over Mel together. He turned away. He hadn’t thought of Mel in a while. She cheated on them, lied to them, and was not the woman they thought she was. Women couldn’t be trusted, and that went for Berlin as well.

  * * * *

  Berlin was shocked by the looks and personality of Damon. The man was the size of a house. All muscles, tattoos, beard, shoulder-length hair, and a badass expression. His dark brown eyes bore into hers and, holy shit, her pussy clenched. She had a serious freaking problem.

  She moved her leg and it ached from the stitches.

  “Hey, you’ll need to rest a little before going back to the cabin,” Drover said to her.

  “What? How long?”

  “As long as we say,” Damon threw in.

  She gave him a dirty look over her shoulder.

  “Yeah, well, when I’m ready I’ll go. In fact, I think my ribs are just fine.” She sat up and moved to slid off the table despite the pain in her knee and her ribs. She gasped as Drover grabbed her.

  “Are you out of your mind? You just got the damn stitches and you’ll tear them open. What the hell, Berlin?” he scolded and she felt like an idiot. She was fighting this attraction she felt for
these men, and fighting her need to depend on anyone. The sooner she was healed the better.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Grady said as he returned with a few rolls of ace bandages.

  “Lift up your shirt or take it off,” Grady ordered.

  Her heart beat faster.

  “I’m not taking off my shirt,” she said and then reached for the hem of her shirt and raised it to her breasts, keeping them covered.

  Grady stood in front of her with one hand on his hip and the other on the island by her hip. She felt the heat of his skin and was intimidated by his size and the sizes of his brothers.

  “The bruising goes up to the lower strap of your bra. It needs to be wrapped fully.”

  “To her back, too,” Drover mumbled.

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. He leaned against the other counter with his arms crossed and his eyes staring at her body. Why she wanted to look beautiful, sexy, and even attractive to them, she didn’t know. As quickly as the thought hit, her mind she suppressed it.

  Grady leaned closer. She feared he might kiss her and then wondered what it would be like. Jesus, a damn mess. She had feelings for Corporal. Corporal sent her here to be protected by his cousins, not just friends, but family. When she felt his palm against her skin and he turned her slightly, she gasped from the sensation. “How did this happen?” She sealed her lips and stared forward.

  When he caressed along her skin, she was shocked at how incredible it felt. Grady’s hands were huge but gentle. He just stitched up her knee like a pro.

  “Are you a real doctor?” she asked.

  “Sort of,” he said and stroked her skin. He stared at her.

  “Sort of? What does that mean? Either you are or you aren’t,” she snapped at him.

  “My military credentials are extensive. I can’t exactly open up my own practice, yet I can do a lot of general surgeries, work in an ER, let’s say, or in combat as a medic.”

  “So you were in the service like Corporal?” she asked and he just stared at her. She stared right back at him.

  “Yes. We’re all really close, or at least were until about five years ago.”

  “You had a falling out?” she asked, worried.

  “Not a falling out. Corporal needed to move on and put some things behind him. We stayed here, where we feel we belong,” Grady told her.

  “What do you do out here?” she asked.

  “What happened to you and Corporal in New York?” Damon asked, now right behind her. She tightened up and then looked down at her hands.

  “Are you going to do the bandages?”

  “Raise the top higher,” Grady ordered. Now Drover stood next to Grady and just stared at her.

  “We’re not the enemy. Corporal trusted us enough to send you here for us to protect you. The least you can do is explain how bad it is. We’re concerned for our cousin, too,” Drover told her.

  “I can understand that, but you need to understand where my state of mind is right now. I personally don’t know the three of you. I don’t know how loyal you are to Corporal or how that effects how loyal you’ll be to me. I’m tired and I’m scared, and right now I’m not willing to share what happened. Perhaps Corporal will contact you soon and I won’t be a burden to your private life here in the woods.”

  He moved his hand and she felt the loss of his touch. Taking in the sight of his arms, his hands, and how large of a man he was made her feel feminine and like he could take care of her. A woman would know she was being hugged and protected in his arms. Hell, in his brothers’ arms, too.

  “We’ll give you some time to get to know us and respect this need of yours to not explain what happened. Corporal knows that we’re here for him and that if he needs more help, we’ll come running.” She swallowed hard at Grady’s words.

  She prayed that he wasn’t lying. Because of the betrayal from Vail, she feared letting down her guard to help people. So, declining to say anymore, she just nodded her head.

  “Drover, hold her shirt up. Damon, let’s wrap up as high as we can.” Drover leaned closer and held her shirt up. She kept a hand pressed over the front, ensuring it didn’t get pushed too high. He stared at her and gave her a wink as he looked over her lips and her face as if memorizing it. Grady opened the first roll of ace bandage. He looked at her and then at Damon over her shoulder.

  Fingers stroked her back so softy she thought she imagined it. Then Damon and Grady were working together to wrap her ribs. She clenched her teeth and hissed.

  “How long does it take for broken or bruised ribs to heal?” she asked.

  “Weeks,” Drover told her.

  “How about showering?”

  “Take this off, and then when you’re done showering we can re-wrap it,” Grady told her. When she thought about that she was aroused, and she quickly realized that she needed to keep her distance.

  “That won’t be necessary. So, I just keep going around like you’re doing now?” she asked, looking down and watching them wrap her ribs.

  “We’ll help you.”

  “I don’t need—”

  “We’ll help you and that’s it,” Grady barked and she closed her mouth and stared straight ahead. When Drover touched her chin and titled it up to lock gazes with his, she knew she showed all her emotions in her eyes.

  “Learn to trust us, and we’ll get through this together.”

  Chapter Five

  Corporal stared at a picture he had of Berlin. It brought on emotions he had been trying to hide for months. A need, a desire so deep he fought tooth and nail not to act on it. He was twelve years older than her. So was his cousin Drover. He closed his eyes and exhaled. What the fuck was he thinking sending her there? Did he make a mistake? Was he hoping that his cousins would find her just as special? Were they over Mel, or was she still causing a gap between his cousins and their ability to move on and maybe open their hearts?

  He ran his fingers through his brown hair and exhaled. He sent her there because he knew his cousins were capable men. Soldiers, warriors of good that could handle anything. Including a bunch of psycho, criminal killers. Was it fair to have pushed her onto them? Was he just trying to keep a connection, a hold on her for himself? He wanted her. Jesus Christ, did he want Berlin with all his heart. That was why he kept her close. Was it also why hadn’t he thought ahead about the dangers, or seen Vaile as a liar and a street rat? No. He forced himself to focus on seeing Berlin, talking with her, stealing a caress, a smile, some laughter. He had been a selfish fucking bastard and she’d nearly been raped and killed.

  He clenched his teeth, feeling like his blood was boiling in his veins. Mozely, Yanni, Banks, and Dominic Forte were going to jail, or they were going to die. There were no other options. They took away Kane. Killed him leaving his new, pregnant wife alone, scared, and destroyed. He had to bring her justice. Bring Berlin justice.

  He sat forward in the seat. His shoulder still ached, but nothing compared to the ache in his heart, the emptiness in his gut knowing that Berlin was in danger because of him and she wasn’t right here where he could protect her and hold her and tell her exactly how he really felt. He swallowed hard. Would his cousins, and the bond he shared with them, make them realize he sent her there for more than just protection, and for them to maybe feel what he felt? Or were they too far gone? Too unwilling to open their hearts, to see her qualities, her smile, her compassion, and care? He almost felt like a devil after an angel. Like a man who was too tainted, too seasoned, too experienced, and too selfish to truly grab the attention, heart, and love of such a special young woman like Berlin.

  He felt the emotion. Hell, tears filled his eyes. Holy fucking shit. I’m in love with her and she could die. He had to explain everything to his cousins but they needed time to get to know her and hopefully feel exactly what he felt. Making her their woman, sharing her, loving her, being one family once again would be his focus. Once Forte and his crew were either behind bars or dead, he would leave New York, transfer back to t
he state police in North Carolina, and make his relationship with his cousins and Berlin priority.

  His cell phone rang. Seeing it was Scuba, he picked it up as he stood, walked over to the table, and continued to pack up his bag, guns, and ammo.

  “Hello?”

  “They know where you are. Cherokee must have given away secret hideouts in the area. I’m on my way but I won’t get there in time. There’s only one agent downstairs and he isn’t responding,” Scuba told him.

  Corporal clenched his teeth. “Do you know who they sent?” he asked and pulled out his gun, clicked off the safety, and prepared to defend his life.

  “Curran and three others.”

  Corporal smirked and immediately was in military mode.

  “I’ll handle it.” He ended the call, put the phone on the table, and then walked over and turned off the one light in the kitchen. There was only one way in here. “Come and get me, motherfuckers.”

  * * * *

  Berlin screamed out in her sleep, sat up, and then gasped as she fell back down because of the pain in her ribs. She covered her side and took unsteady breaths.

  She had a terrible nightmare and feared that something had happened to Corporal. She saw him. Heard him holler in pain as he was shot multiple times. Feeling the wetness against her cheeks, she used her forearm to wipe the tears away.

  She pressed the back of her head into the pillow and turned to the left. Five a.m. It was dark outside. She could tell by the small space under the shades that were drawn down last night. She couldn’t go back to sleep.

  Berlin took her time getting up. The bandaged ribs felt worse and she blamed it on the way Grady wrapped them last night after she’d showered and changed. He was insistent on wrapping them for her, and even now she thought about how his hands felt on her body. The way he towered over her and how protected she felt. A moment of weakness had her inhaling his cologne and tilting her ass back against him as he wrapped her ribs. She had felt his hands freeze, as if he’d noticed her move, caught her desire to feel him close. He then gently pushed the hair off her shoulder and whispered against her neck asking if she was okay before wrapping her ribs—too tightly, she thought. And she’d sensed his body’s desire.