Then the door burst open, Osip and the other man barreling in with their guns trained on me.
I spun to face them, pointing my gun at the two of them.
Osip’s eyes shot down to his fallen partner and then to my tattered clothes. He spat out a word that I could only guess was some sort of curse. When he looked at me again, I saw something in his gaze somewhat akin to respect.
“He’s a big man,” he commented, his gun still trained on me.
“He was,” I stated simply.
He smiled then. “He was,” he agreed. “You are brave. I respect that. Boris was a stupid lug. He was under orders not to touch you. His death is of no… how do you say? No consequence to me.” He nodded, looking pleased that he’d remembered the term. “But Yury and I”—his head indicated the driver—“we will have to kill you if you don’t drop your weapon. I’m surprised that I don’t want to do that,” he mused.
I looked at them both warily, knowing I was outnumbered. I had a chance to kill one of them but not both, not before I was killed myself. After a moment more of hesitation, I lowered my hand and let the gun drop with a clatter to the ground.
Yury bent down to pick it up as I sat in resignation back on the couch.
“What do you want with me?” I demanded, the adrenaline coursing through my veins making me brave.
Osip sat on the folding chair across from me, inspecting his manicured nails for a moment. “I want my diamond. It’s that simple. My contact assures me that if I deliver you, I’ll get it.”
I wrinkled my brow in confusion—that made no sense.
“Who is your contact?” I pressed.
He smiled coldly. “That’s enough talking for now, girl. We wait.”
I curled up into the corner of the sofa, and despite my dire situation, I felt my eyelids grow heavy.
*****
I slept fitfully, drifting between dreams and reality.
I saw Sid’s handsome face, his gorgeous blue eyes warm on mine. I dreamed of him wrapping me up in his arms where I felt safest in the world. I saw glimpses of a future with him holding a dark-haired little boy with huge blue eyes who looked just like his father.
The dream morphed into Osip’s cruel face and his hands around my neck.
I woke with a start, scrambling to sit up. Osip and Yury stared at me curiously, still seated in the folding chairs as though nothing had changed.
How long had I been asleep? Minutes? Hours?
Time had all blended since this nightmare had started. I ran a shaking hand through my hair as my eyes shot to Boris, still crumbled in a pool of his own blood. My stomach lurched at the sight of him.
I reached a hand up, touching my swollen nose tenderly, knowing blood was still caked all over my face. Some of it was mine, most of it was Boris’s. I must have made for a frightful sight.
Yury rose and said something to Osip before he slipped out the front door.
He didn’t come back.
I saw the moment when Osip realized it. His eyes shot to the door and a look of anxiety flashed across his face before he masked it with cold realization.
He stood, looking as though he was going to come for me, just as three red dots appeared on his head and chest. He looked down and swore.
He was a marked man.
Sid.
I let out a shaky breath of relief. My man had come for me.
The door was kicked in with a violent crack as Sid and Theo entered the room armed with rifles pointed at Osip. Dressed in full combat gear, complete with bulletproof vests, goggles, and helmets, they were prepared for war.
“Drop your weapon. Now!” Sid barked.
A red dot remained on Osip and I realized one of the other guys must be outside keeping him in range.
Osip let out a growl of frustration but quickly complied and held his hands up.
Theo collected the gun before restraining Osip with methodic efficiency. Theo’s eyes shot to Boris’s body, a look of confusion on his face. “You shot your own guy?”
Osip let out a chuckle as Theo brought him roughly to his feet. “No. She did.” His chin pointed toward me as I sat surveying the scene in front of me with wide shocked eyes.
“Baby. Sam.” Sid’s voice was cautious as he approached me, as though I was a frightened animal. “It’s okay now. You’re safe.”
I looked up at him as Travis stepped into the room, dressed much like the other guys. “She all right?” he demanded.
“Baby.” Sid tried again, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Are you hurt?”
I swung my gaze over to him, locking in on his worried bright blue eyes.
“There’s a lot of blood.” Travis’s voice was worried.
“It’s Boris’s.” Osip snorted. “Stupid fuck.” He shook his head as Theo hauled him outside.
I kept my gaze on Sid, unable to look away from him. “Please. Get me out of here,” I choked out, my eyes filling with tears.
He lifted me up, wrapping me in his arms that, despite all his gear, still permeated warmth and strength.
“Transport,” he commanded, and I realized he was wearing an earpiece. Theo and Travis were shoving Osip and Yury, who I hadn’t been sure was alive, into a black Suburban.
After slamming the door shut, Travis stalked over to us. Sid still held me, his arms like soothing iron around me. “Sam—you okay?” Travis demanded, his brown eyes blazing.
I nodded woodenly, knowing my eyes were wide with fright.
He looked to Sid. “Take care of her.” The two men nodded, so much going unsaid in the tense gaze they shared.
Another black Suburban barreled up the drive and Declan got out, his typically friendly face severe. “She all right?” he demanded of Sid as he opened the back door for us.
Why did everyone keep talking about me like I wasn’t there? Then it dawned on me that I could barely speak. Now that I knew I was safe, it was as though any semblance of calm had abandoned me in favor of hysteria.
“Don’t know,” Sid growled, climbing into the backseat with me on his lap.
I shuddered in his arms as the two Suburbans tore away from the ramshackle place that would forever haunt my nightmares.
CHAPTER 16
Sid held me pressed to his body, removing his gloves so that his bare hand could stroke my hair.
“Does she need a hospital?” Declan asked over his shoulder as he navigated the huge SUV toward the freeway. “She’s covered in blood, man.”
I shook my head frantically. “N-no.” I rasped. “Most of it—it’s not mine.” I continued to shake my head.
“Christ,” Declan muttered.
I heard Sid unclip his helmet. He set it aside along with his goggles, and pulled me away from his chest gently. “Let me see those beautiful green eyes, baby,” he murmured, tilting my chin up to look at him.
His eyes tracked my face, zeroing in on my nose. “Fuck,” he clipped, his eyes heating with anger.
“It’s not broken,” I rasped, trying to assure him and knowing there wasn’t much that could calm the fury that burned just beneath the surface.
His eyes continued their perusal over the blood that splattered my face, neck, and clothes. When they caught on my torn blouse and the top button of my jeans, which was still torn open, I thought he’d lose it.
He looked up at me, his expression nearly feral. “You killed that motherfucker.”
It wasn’t a question.
I nodded, not quite able to believe it.
“Good.” His tone was resolute. He pressed me back gently into his chest. “Don’t need a hospital, Dec,” he concluded.
Declan merely nodded.
We drove in silence as I faded in and out of sleep. The rose-tinted sky told me it was approaching dawn as we barreled down the 5, headed for home. Sid’s embrace didn’t falter, not for a moment, as we made the journey. If anything, he held me closer with every mile.
I watched dispassionately as we headed up Laurel Canyon. I fervently wished for a home to ret
urn to, especially after what I’d been through. Brad’s place was beautiful, opulent even, but it wasn’t home.
“Trent’s back. He’s gonna post up out front tonight so we can get some shut-eye,” Declan told Sid.
Sid nodded at the mention of his teammate who’d been gone for the past several weeks, and stepped out of the car with me still nestled in his arms. He only set me down for the second it took to turn off the alarm, and then I was in his arms again.
“Trixie?” I thought to ask. Despite her tiny body, her presence was larger than life and immediately missed.
“Cade came and got her,” he told me as he strode toward our room. He didn’t pause until we hit the bathroom, where he set me gently on the sink so he could turn the water on.
I watched in fascination as he peeled off his gear piece by piece. When his bare chest was finally revealed, I lifted my hand to touch it reverently.
When he was gloriously naked, he stood me up and lifted my blouse up over my arms. My jeans soon followed as he slid them gently down my legs. I touched his shoulders as he leaned over me, needing to touch him more than I needed my next breath.
He guided me into the hot shower and I watched blood and dirt immediately darken the white tile. He tipped my head back, his fingers gliding through my hair.
As though in a distant dream, I felt him wash my hair. His gentle hands scrubbed my body clean. I reveled in his touch, his love like a balm to soothe my ravaged mind.
I knew he was every bit as overcome as I was, maybe more so.
When he was done washing me, he pulled me close, holding me as the warm spray attempted to wash away our nightmare. It wasn’t until the water began to run cool that we parted. He guided me out, gently drying my hair and skin before he quickly ran the towel over his own body.
He pulled the covers back, guiding me to lie down before he slid in beside me, immediately wrapping me up against his warm body. We’d spoken only a handful of words since he’d found me and yet I didn’t think we’d ever understood each other so well.
I pulled away slightly, seeking his mouth. He returned my kiss hesitantly at first, unsure of what I wanted. I snaked my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer, showing him what I needed.
His tongue caressed mine in a beautiful duel as he moved his body over mine. His lips found the shell of my ear, then my neck, his whiskers a delicious tickle as he moved lower toward my breasts.
I let out a low groan, opening my legs so that he could rest his body between my thighs. “Sid. Please.” My voice was full of throaty desperation as I pulled at his hair.
He lifted his head up, his gaze half-mast and full of love. “Baby.” His voice was a rasp, deeper than I’d ever heard, and I couldn’t be sure due to the dim light, but I could have sworn I saw tears in his eyes.
“Sid. I need you,” I murmured, my own voice tight with emotion as his lips moved back up my body, finding my mouth.
He slid through to the hilt with one beautiful thrust and stopped. He stared down at me, our gazes as locked as our bodies. I’d never felt so connected to him and part of me began to heal with the glory that was Sid.
He pulled back and slid home again as I relished the feel of his flesh against mine. We’d never gone without a condom, but no part of me regretted it now.
He groaned. The sound was a low rumble in his throat as he fought for control, his body taking mine as though he owned it—and he did.
When we came together in a rush, I let out a gasp, tears burning my eyes. He rolled to the side, still inside of me, and pulled me in to his body. We were connected in every way.
Then, only then, could I truly let go.
The first sob sounded like a ricochet throughout the quiet room. Then my entire body quaked with them as I let out the terror I’d felt that night.
He held me for a long time, his hand stroking my hair and down my back in a soothing caress that gradually calmed me.
Finally, I pulled away gently, feeling the loss of him as he slipped from my body. We lay side by side, our noses nearly touching as my sobs quieted into small gasps.
“I don’t do a good job of putting out what’s in my heart,” I murmured hoarsely.
“Sweetheart. You don’t have to....” He shook his head.
“No. I need to,” I pressed. “The thought that I could have died with you having any moment of doubt as to how I feel about you is the worst kind of hell I can imagine. Sid. I love you. The words aren’t even close to enough. You’re my heart. My insides. I think it all the time, more times a day than I could count. I hadn’t realized until our fight that I wasn’t saying it.”
His eyes glittered in the dim light as he stared into mine.
“There is nothing I want more than any kind of future I can have with you,” I told him passionately. “When I was stuck in that horrible house, I don’t know if it was a dream or if my brain just needed to escape for a few minutes, but all I saw was you.” A small smile crossed my lips as I remembered the image that had flashed behind my eyes. “I saw you and a little boy with big blue eyes.”
He looked surprised for a moment before a ghost of a smile touched his lips.
“We’ll have any kind of future you want, sweetheart,” he promised. “I can’t....” His speech halted as he fought to continue. “I’ll never get over the feeling of discovering you were gone. It felt like my legs were in quicksand when I ran to my truck. I couldn’t do anything fast enough. I caught your tail. It was a combination of luck and intel from Trav and the guys. I had to circle back with the team. It felt like it took forever for them to arrive but I knew if I went in unprepared, I’d just get us both killed.”
“You did the right thing,” I assured him.
“When we mobilized, you hadn’t been there more than an hour, but it felt like way too fucking long,” he continued, and I wasn’t even sure if he’d heard me, he was so intent on getting it out. “We couldn’t get a clear line of sight. Had to wait it out. I didn’t know how many were in there. Then that one fuck came outside, giving us the opportunity we needed. Finally.” He blew out a breath.
I nodded, knowing he needed to recount his tale and knowing at the same time I wasn’t ready to share mine.
“I knew you’d come,” I told him. “I never doubted it.”
He looked down at me, his expression unfathomable. “I will always come for you, Sam. Always.”
I offered a small smile. “I know, Sid. I know.”
“We didn’t use a condom,” he commented, seeming to assess my reaction carefully. “You know I’m clean, but you’re not on the pill.”
“No, I’m not,” I agreed calmly. When it seemed like he needed more from me, I continued, determined to display outwardly what lay inside. “If there’s anything I learned tonight, it’s that life is a gift. If we made a new one, it might be a little earlier than optimal, but it’d still be beautiful.” I looked up at him, feeling my heart swell.
“It’d be yours and mine,” I murmured.
“Yours and mine.” He grinned.
I nodded, shocked I was able to feel such pure joy so close to such raw terror.
“I love you, Sid.”
He pulled me back down into his arms. “I love you, too, Sam. Let’s get some rest. I feel like I could sleep for a fucking week.”
“Me too,” I agreed wholeheartedly. It was quiet for a few minutes and I thought he might be asleep already. “You get that I want to move in together, right?” I ventured in an anxious whisper.
He chuckled, the sound low and rich. “I got that, baby.”
“Good.” I sighed, relieved, and allowed myself to drift off into sleep, feeling safe cradled in my man’s arms.
CHAPTER 17
“No. I’m not putting her through that shit.” Sid’s agitated voice sounded from the kitchen when I woke up late the next day. “Well, they can go fuck themselves.” He swore.
I was curious who he was talking to as I wandered into the kitchen.
Sid was shirtl
ess, pacing the space with his phone to his ear. His gaze shot to me when I entered the room, growing momentarily soft before hardening again. “Sam’s up. I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up without another word, taking the two strides it took him to reach me and enveloping me in his arms.
“Who was that?” I asked as I stood with my face pressed to his bare chest.
“Travis.” His curt reply surprised me, and I pulled back to look up at him questioningly. He blew out a breath. “The feds want to talk to you.”
I swallowed and took a step back from him.
“See that, that look right there is why they can go fuck themselves.”
I wasn’t sure what expression it was he saw but I knew my belly was churning at the thought of having to relive my nightmare. I also knew deep down that I’d have to.
I stood up as tall as my petite frame would allow. “It’s okay, babe,” I replied, trying my damnedest to look brave. “It’ll suck, but maybe it’ll help them, someone, me, who knows?”
He studied me intently and I resisted the urge not to squirm under the scrutiny.
I sighed. “Sid, I know you can see right through me right now, but just pretend I look super brave, okay?” I pleaded gently. “We both know I’m going to have to do this. Short of you hiding me away in Mexico or something, I’ll have to give a recount of what happened. I’d rather not do it hiding away like a frightened animal.”
He pulled me back into the circle of his arms, looking down on me with such warmth I instantly melted. “I’m so fucking proud of you, sweetheart,” he murmured, surprising me with his line of thinking. I was worried he was thinking about exactly what type of frightened animal I reminded him of. “I’ve always been so fucking proud,” he reiterated firmly.
“Even when I ramble on and trip over my own two feet?” I asked with a shy smile.
“Especially then.” He winked before sighing in resignation. “I get what you’re saying. I’m even getting the sense you feel the need to do this. But Sam, if you don’t want to, I’ll find a way to shield you from it. You know that, right?”
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