by Hazel Gower
She pulled her phone out and dialed triple 0. “Hello, what department do you want?”
“The police. There is a lot of blood in my house. I just walked in.” Sandy started into her lounge room and bit her tongue to stop her scream. Jake lay in a pool of his own blood. She rushed to him to see two bullet holes in his chest. She hiccupped, trying to hold her sobs in.
Sandy checked his pulse and let out a breath as she felt it. She picked the phone back up and whispered, scared now that someone might still be in the house, “My boyfriend is Officer Jake Bear and he’s been shot.” Sandy repeated her address and the woman told her stay where she was and on the line.
A loud smash startled her and she heard several shots. “Oh God, shooting.”
A growl was cut off somewhere farther in the house. She had to check on Zack. Slowly, she walked into her family room and found Zack in his bear form. His fur was matted with blood, and a pool of the sticky stuff surrounded his right shoulder. A gun lay on the floor next to him and bullet holes were everywhere. She gritted her teeth. How dare this person wreck her house and hurt her men?
Sandy searched her house and found the dickhead lighting her house on fire. Her temper was beyond control now. Not caring about any noise she made, she yanked the lamp out of the wall and grabbed the vase that sat beside it.
She rushed the dickhead. He turned and lunged for her with death in his eyes. Sandy smashed the lamp over his head, watching as it broke and shards fell around him. Then she smashed the glass vase over his head and grabbed the largest shard to defend herself.
“Bloody asshole. You come into my house and try to kill my men. Not on my watch, buddy.”
The guy looked dazedly up her as she kicked him again. “I have no idea why men always misjudge me. I may be little, but I’m lethal. Ask my brothers. They are firefighters, you fuckwit, and they live next door. They’ll have this fire out within minutes. I know my brother is home tonight, so I don’t expect too much damage. He should have this out soon. But you…”
He made a grab for her, but Sandy sliced at his wrist and stepped out of the way. “You idiot. You will not survive tonight. You have terrorized my family and put my baby at risk, so you will die.” Sandy knew she sounded insane. Maybe she’d finally cracked.
“I have to say, you’re the dumbest criminal I’ve ever heard of. Why the hell did you think you could kill me or my men? I was brought up in a three-male household, no mother, and to top that off, I have been fucking cursed again with two boyfriends. Mates. Whatever. I need some females big time, but no, I’m surround by men. You just fucked up my night. I had one of the best girls’ nights I’ve had in a while.”
He growled and lunged at her again. She slashed the insides of his thighs and anything she could reach. She grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back before dragging him to her front door, ranting the whole time.
“I find it odd with all the testosterone around me I’m the one saving their asses. I tell you, the baby better bloody be a girl.” Sandy looked down at the man who was bleeding everywhere. She groaned. “Stop bleeding. You’re ruining my floors.”
The guy gurgled, and she let him go. “Now I’m going to open this door, and if I find that you’ve moved, I will cut your family jewels.” He moaned, and she opened the door to see her father walking toward her. He rushed to her, and she saw her brothers fighting the blaze at the side of her house.
“Hey, Dad. I dragged the man who did this to the door, and I think it’s the shifter killer Jake’s been looking for. He promised not to move. He’s just at the door. I might have almost killed him, but he did try to kill my men and he put my baby in harm’s way.”
Her father’s eyes widened, and he walked to the door to make sure the man hadn’t moved.
Her dad grunted and hugged her tighter. “Oh, baby girl, he was an idiot for messing with you.”
She snuggled against her dad. “That’s what I told him. How long until the blaze is under control? Zack and Jake are in pretty bad shape too.”
Her dad looked around and muttered, “I’m always right. The house was a good buy near the hydrant. It should be out soon.” Sandy could hear sirens getting closer.
The adrenaline started to leave her, and she leaned on her dad. “Oh, that’s so good because I think I’ve finally gone insane.” Black filled her vision as her father’s arms tightened around her, and she let herself go.
****
Sandy awoke to the sound of beeping and yelling in the distance. She cracked an eye open to dimmed lights and a white ceiling and walls. Opening her other eye, she took a better look around. She was in a hospital bed. A drip was in her arm, and she had clips on her other hand monitoring her heart rate.
The room was empty. She wondered where Jake and Zack were, and if they weren’t here, where were her father and brothers? She searched for the Call button, pressed it, and waited. Seconds later a tall, pretty blonde walked in. As the door opened, the yelling got louder.
“You have quite the family, Mrs. Bear.”
Sandy sputtered. “I beg your pardon. Did you just call me Mrs. Bear?”
The nurse nodded. “Is that not your last name? The woman who came to check on you first told me you were married to her son.”
“And you believed her.”
“Should we not have? It was Adele Bear. She is on the committee at the hospital. I think she has a wing named after her.”
“You let her in here?”
The nurse stared down at her. “Yes, she seemed very concerned for you. Actually, she just came back now as I walked in.”
Crap. Taking a deep breath, Sandy tried to get off the bed. The nursed rushed over to stop her. “You can’t get out. You have a cuts and smoke inhalation, and we are trying to keep you from stress. You are very lucky woman. Your babies are all right.”
Sandy paused and closed her eyes, the shouting from outside the room disrupting her train of thought. Abruptly the commotion outside her room stopped and what the nurse had said clicked. The woman walked to the door but before she could leave, Sandy yelled, “Wait. What do you mean my babies are okay? Don’t you mean baby?”
The woman turned back to her and smiled. “No, you’re having twins.”
She took a deep breath and let it out before answering. “Are there two big men outside?”
The nurse nodded. “Oh, there’s a lot more than two.”
She groaned. “Send Jake in. He’s the one built like a bear with short dark brown hair and the brightest emerald green eyes you will ever see. And also send in Zack. He’s the tattooed one with shaggy jet black hair and sapphire blue eyes.”
The nursed stared at her for a moment before nodding and leaving.
Sandy rested one of her hands over her belly. “Please be girls. I think I will be committed if you’re boys.” She closed her eyes and repeated a prayer to herself.
When she snapped her eyes open, two very ragged-looking men stood on either side of her.
“You two are in so much trouble and when I get out of this friggin’ hospital bed, I might actually kill you both.”
Both men hung their heads and Jake muttered, “We’re so sorry. We should have saved you. We know we’re not worthy to be your mates.”
Sandy had no idea what they were talking about. “What the hell are you two going on about? I’m talking about killing you two because I’m pregnant with not one baby but two. Twins!”
She almost laughed as both of their heads shot up and huge grins spread over their faces like they’d just accomplished some big feat. One hand from each went to her stomach with the other going on either side of her face.
“This is totally not something to be proud off. I’m going to be bigger than a house. Look how huge you two are. You better pray every night these are girls.”
Sandy laughed as both her men paled, dropped their hands from her stomach like she had the plague, and shook their heads.
“Firebird, how can you wish that upon us?”
She
narrowed her eyes on Zack. “Oh, very easily.” Her head started to throb, and she knew she had to ask the question she didn’t want to ask. “Did I kill him?”
Jake was quick to answer her. “No, Little Red, you didn’t.”
“Is he still alive?”
Jake looked at Zack and they shrugged. “No, he’s dead.”
She nodded. “Who killed him?”
Zack muttered, “I did. I came to in time to see you collapsed in your father’s arms. I didn’t know if you were still alive. So I killed him.”
She turned frantically to Jake. “He won’t be in trouble, will he?”
Jake stroked her hair as he murmured, “No, the shifter community is bigger and more powerful than you could imagine, and the guy was the shifter killer I’ve been looking for. You saved us from a serial killer.”
She sighed in relief that Zack was going to be all right and that the killer was dead. “Where am I going to stay while my house gets fixed?”
Zack lifted her hand and kissed it, careful of the IV needle. “My flat is too small. So is Jake’s little house, so Susie has offered us her old place. It’s a little bigger than Jake’s and they haven’t got tenants yet. Sammy decided to stay with them at their new house. At first I thought the vineyard house, but it’s a good drive out of the way to our works. Your house already adds a good fifteen minutes to our morning drive. The other option was to buy a new house for us, but Jake and I know how much you love the one you have and wouldn’t want to move.”
Sandy smiled because they knew her so well. Taking a calming breath she closed her eyes. “Why weren’t you here when I woke? You said shifters heal quickly, and I wanted to know the two guys I love more than anything in this world were all right.”
They both let out loud sighs and Jake said, “Don’t worry. We’re here now and not going anywhere.” Jake kissed her cheek. “I love you, my Little Red. Thanks for saving me.”
She smiled as she felt a kiss on the other side of her cheek. “You really are my little Firebird. I love you so much. Thanks for saving our asses.”
She opened her eyes for moment to see they’d pulled chairs up. “Good, don’t leave me.” They nodded and she closed her eyes. “Guess what else I learned? Your mother, Zack, put my name down as Mrs. Bear. I think I’m growing on her. “
They both chuckled and Sandy let herself fall asleep happy. Her men were with her.
Epilogue
Sandy screamed again and snarled at Adele. “If that son of yours doesn’t get his arse in here now, you will be less one son tomorrow.”
She howled in pain and gripped Adele’s hand who winced and yelled, “Zack, get here now. Zack!”
Zack and Jake both hesitantly walked in. Sandy screamed again, and they ran to her side.
“Mrs. Bear, you’re doing real well. I can see the first baby’s red hair.”
Sandy gripped her men’s hands and yelled as she panted, “I hate you two. You both did this—”
“We have the head.”
Adele came back over as she panted. Then the nurse told her to give one big push. There was silence for a moment or two while she gripped her men’s hands, and then she heard a loud squeal.
“You have a beautiful baby girl.” The nurse pulled her gown down and placed the baby so she had skin to skin contact.
Her little girl stared up at her with Jake’s eyes and his nose. Sandy knew even without a test that she was Jake’s. She kissed her smooth forehead as another contraction started. A nurse took Jake’s little girl and she gritted out, “Jake, go with her.” He seemed torn, but she screamed and he nodded.
The contractions seemed more intense this time, and she was exhausted. The nurse finally said, “We have red hair.” Sandy panted and pushed until the baby was out. This baby cried straight away, and when they laid it on her chest, the nurse said, “Very clever, Sandy. Two beautiful, healthy girls.”
Sandy nodded and looked down into eyes that were a blue she’d seen many times before. This baby was a clone of Zack, just in female form.
She gave a strained smile to the nurse. “Test them both. I bet they don’t have the same father. This one here is Zack’s.”
Sandy closed her eyes as soon as Zack took their girl out of her arms.
The next time she awoke it was to two babies crying and daddies singing to them off key, trying to keep them quiet. She was the luckiest woman in the world. She winced as she sat up in her bed.
“Pass them to me. They’re hungry.”
Both men turned and had huge grins on their faces. Zack placed his baby on one side and Jake placed his on the other.
Jake kissed her. “You were right. Emily here is mine.” She raised her eyebrow at Jake.
Zack chuckled. “Yep, very rare they said, but Abby’s mine.”
“Oh, so I do all the work, and you two get to name them.”
They both shrugged, the Cheshire-cat grins never leaving their faces.
“You can name the next lot, we promise,” Jake said.
She kissed Emily’s head. “Your daddy is crazy if he thinks I’m having more of you.”
“Oh, you’ll forget the pain. All the women I’ve spoken to today have said you would.”
Sandy shot a glare at Zack and kissed Abby’s cheek. “Your daddy is loco if—”
She was interrupted by her brothers coming in arguing with Zack’s sister. “You say that now, but just give us a chance.”
“No, I’m through with humans…” Gwen trailed off as she looked at the two little bundles nursing in Sandy’s arms.
Sandy’s brothers both groaned, told her they’d come back after the babies finished, and went to wait outside.
“They’re perfect, Sandy.” Gwen touched their fingers.
Sandy smiled at Gwen. “Yes, they are. When are you going to give in to my brothers? They are your mates.”
Gwen glared at her then shook her head. “I’m engaged to be married, will be married in two months. I’m through with human men. Well, besides Matty.”
Sandy sighed. She’d had this conversation a thousand times before. “Gwen, you could be happy just like me, and I know you want this.”
Gwen looked down at her with an envious stare. “Yeah, I do, but what do I do about Mother?”
Sandy smiled as she watched her two men rub their hands together. “Oh, trust me, between us and Susie and her men, we all agreed to keep her busy. You have a month and a half we reckon before she’ll catch on with how busy we’re going to keep her, so go now.”
Sandy watched as Gwen kissed both Emily’s and Abby’s head and rushed out the door. Her men looked at her and Zack asked, “Are you sure your brothers are good with what we are and are happy to have one woman between them?”
Sandy smiled. “Are you two?”
They both nodded and Jake leaned down to whisper, “I love our family and wouldn’t change a thing.”
“We are the luckiest men on earth,” Zack added as he leaned down and kissed her cheek.
Sandy beamed up at both of her men. “I love our family too.”
The End
www.hazelgower.com
Other Books by Hazel Gower:
www.evernightpublishing.com/hazel-gower
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Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com