Red Clouds Dancing [The ShadowDance Club 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Avery Gale

  By the time she realized how close she was to the curve and stomped down on her well-worn brakes, her smooth tires were useless. She didn’t even think her tiny car had slowed down before she heard the haunting sound of metal grinding against metal. Just as she felt her car pushing its way through the railing she felt herself jerked by her shoulder belt, but not before her forehead hit the steering wheel with enough force to make her see stars. That’s what I get for buying a car too old to have properly functioning airbags. She felt her car listing precariously over the edge and prayed it would stay balanced. She waited for the driver that had blinded her to approach her vehicle, but the large truck just paused for a few seconds and then took off down the mountain. No! Don’t leave me like this!

  She tried to search for her phone, but every small movement made her car teeter on the edge and sent her into a panic. Vowing that she needed to stay conscious she tried reciting every single thing she’d ever been forced to memorize but her head hurt so badly she finally rationalized that it would be alright to close her eyes just for a few seconds and she let the darkness pull her under.

  * * * *

  Cash couldn’t remember the last time he’d been as pissed off as he’d been when he returned home and discovered Layla had driven her own car up to her meeting with the Lamonts. And that had been two damned hours ago. Where the fuck is she? He’d called her phone dozens of times without getting an answer and he’d only gotten angrier. Collin walked into the room and looked around. “Where’s Layla?” Cash had just been explaining the situation when Clay walked in.

  “What did Layla drive today? Nothing seems to have been moved. I left her keys for everything in the garage downstairs because I didn’t want her slipping on the stone walkway down to the shed.” Clay’s puzzled look told him that his youngest brother had given her a choice and it seemed that’s where the problem had started.

  By the time he’d updated Clay they were all three seething. Cash was just pulling on his jacket when his phone rang and the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. A feeling of cold terror raced up his spine and it took every ounce of courage he had to answer his phone to what he feared was going to be a life-altering conversation. Seeing Dylan Marshall’s name on the caller I.D. screen sent Cash’s heart to the bottom of his stomach. “Cash Red Cloud” was all he managed to get out.

  “Cash, Dylan. Layla’s been in an accident. We’re just loading her up and the EMS will be heading in to the hospital with her in five. She’s got a bad bump on her head and she’s floating in and out, but she is asking for you and your brothers. Drive safe, I don’t want to work another accident tonight, got it?” Dylan was a good friend and Cash appreciated his no-nonsense manner and his concern. They’d all grown up together and Dylan wouldn’t have any trouble remembering all the crazy-assed driving they’d all done as teens.

  “On our way, thanks for taking care of her.” Cash pocketed his phone and shouted to his brothers that he’d update them on the way. Swinging by to grab Ilaina on their way to the garage the three men told their sister what little they knew. Fifteen minutes later they walked through the doors of the emergency room of Climax’s small hospital. It wasn’t a large facility, but the equipment was state of the art thanks to hefty donations and backing from the Lamonts. Cash made a quick mental note to talk to Collin about adding the rural health care facility to the list of things supported by the charitable foundation he knew his brother had founded a couple of years earlier.

  Before he made his way to the desk he was met by a young woman who introduced herself as Dr. Bree Creed-Jantz. He remembered that Jamie and Ethan had missed the Grand Opening because they had only returned that afternoon from their honeymoon. He hadn’t met their wife yet but he had heard about her from Alex and Zach. Reaching out to shake the hand she offered he noticed that she didn’t hesitate to include his brothers in their conversation so she had obviously already been told they’d be arriving. Cash knew he spoke for all of them when he said, “It’s nice to meet you, we’ve heard a lot about you from the Lamonts. Congratulations by the way. Now, how’s our girl?”

  Bree smiled at them before speaking, “Aha another Dom…” and then glancing at his brothers she added, “Or three…well, as it happens I know just how to communicate with you.” And then turning she started down a short hall. “Follow me, I’ll update you on the way. Layla has a serious concussion, but right now the only thing on her mind is the three of you. We haven’t really been able to get her to work with us so we can adequately assess her condition because all she can focus on is finding one of you.”

  The pretty young doctor stopped in front of a closed door and turned to face them. “I want you to be prepared because I don’t want you to upset her any more than she is already. She has a horrible bruise on her forehead, that I’m sure is going to result in two shiners before all is said and done. We’ve cast her right wrist because the X-ray shows a small fracture and she is still not settled enough that I felt comfortable with a simple splint. And at this point I’d say her memory is maxing at about 3 minutes, and while that is up from the thirty seconds reported by the first man on the scene, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a long way from where we want it.”

  “Can you tell me who the first man on the scene was? I’d like to speak with him personally, because we owe him a huge debt.” Cash was curious who had found Layla and he really did intend to thank the man personally.

  Bree flipped open a small spiral notebook and then looked shyly up at Collin. “Sorry, I’ve heard you are a computer guy so I’m sure I seem pretty backwards to you.” She laughed and added, “I grew up in very remote locations and well, old habits die hard and it seems hand-held technology is not in our budget this year.” Cash had to smile because suddenly the knowledgeable professional façade had been replaced by that of a beautiful young woman—all with the simple shoulder shrug.

  Collin stepped up and took her hand in his. “How about we strike a bargain, you take care of our sweet girl and I’ll see what I can do about helping you out with your tech-challenges, deal?” She smiled and nodded.

  “Let’s see, I talked to him earlier. Oh yes, here it is,” she said flipping through the small pages of her notebook. “A local named, Noah Drummond. From what I heard if he hadn’t quickly secured her vehicle it would have gone off the ledge and dropped over a hundred feet. Thank God he had his rope climbing equipment with him. You’ll have to ask Dylan, but it’s my understanding that he called someone at The Club via a radio because he’d lost his cell trying to tie on to her car. And he managed to keep her calm until help arrived.”

  By the time the doctor had stopped speaking there were more questions than answers floating through Cash’s mind. But one of the most significant was why would a photographer have a radio that was capable of patching him through to someone at The Club? He also wondered how he was going to explain to his sister that they all now owed a huge debt of gratitude to the one man who sent her reeling at the mere mention of his name. Oblivious to his inner struggle, Bree had opened the door to Layla’s room and Cash had been stunned at the sight before him.

  Layla was looking at a male nurse with mutiny in her eyes. “I’m telling you, my boyfriends are gonna be pissed if you don’t stop that.”

  “Miss, please…I’m only trying to help you change into something that isn’t all muddy. It’s not personal, I promise you.” Cash actually felt sorry for the young man who was obviously being steamrolled by his battered patient.

  “Did I tell you that I have boyfriends? They are going to be mad at you…if I can remember to tell them…what’s your name again?” If he hadn’t been so damned worried about her it might have been funny, but as it was he was fighting back an emotional wave he feared was going to swamp him at any moment. Oh yeah, you’re a big bad SEAL and you’re fixin’ to cry like a fucking baby the first time your woman gets hurt.

  Finally getting himself together, he stepped in to the room. “Love, you’ve taken another decade
or two off our lives.” When she looked up and saw the three of them it was as if someone had deflated her. Then she seemed to finally let go and started crying. He could see she had stayed strong until she didn’t have to any longer. His heart swelled with love because in her heart, she’d known they’d take care of her. There was no better feeling for a Dom than to know his sub trusted him that completely. He and Collin made their way to her bedside and Clay took the shirt from the nurse, assuring him that they would get her changed into the clean shirt right away.

  “Come on, baby, let us change you out of that wet shirt.” Clay approached her before the door was even closed behind the nurse.

  “Okay, I’m cold. Did you bring that with you? That was sweet of you.” Cash looked up at Bree who shrugged as if that simply confirmed what she’d told them earlier.

  “No, love, that nice nurse that just left brought it in for you. Come on now, off with that wet shirt.” Cash knew there was no reason to scold her about driving her car while she was in this condition, upsetting her further would be counterproductive and she’d never remember it anyway. When he glanced up at Collin, Cash was shocked to see his brother was white as a sheet. Sometimes Cash forgot that both he and Clay were accustomed to seeing injuries, but Collin’s line of work offered him little exposure to the world outside of his own creation.

  Dr. Bree had followed his line of sight and she didn’t miss a beat. Linking her arm through Collin’s she asked, “Could I trouble you to come down the hall with me for a few minutes and help me with a bit of the paper work for Layla? I’d also love to give you my contact information for when you’re ready for that technology chat.” Cash had to give the woman credit—she did indeed know exactly how to handle a Dom.

  Chapter 16

  Ilaina found herself herded into a waiting room that was rapidly filling with people, some she recognized, but many of the faces were completely unfamiliar. Suddenly realizing just how long she’d been gone from her hometown, she made her way over to a corner and tried to just stay out of the way and disappear. After learning the hard way how badly being open and friendly in public could turn out, she’d quickly avoided any public exposure that wasn’t tightly controlled by her agency. If her brothers ever got wind of what the past year had been like there would be no living with any of them. As if she’d thought trouble into existence, she raised her eyes and locked gazes with none other than Noah Drummond.

  For just a second her knees threatened to fold, but she stiffened her spine and quickly looked away. Hopefully he’d take a hint and leave. She doubted she’d be that lucky but a girl could always hope, right? She hadn’t even realized she’d just been staring at the floor until a pair of scuffed, but very expensive loafers came into her view. “Ilaina, it’s good to see you. I wish it was under better circumstances.” She knew she must have looked surprised when she jerked her gaze up to his. She was surprised he knew about Layla’s accident already. Wow, the grapevine is obviously on fire tonight.

  “How…um, how did you know?” She cursed herself for the vibrato in her voice. It always happened when she was extremely nervous, and with her luck, it would be something he would remember.

  “I was the first person on the scene, cara. I was on my way up to see the Lamonts when I came upon her car. She is very lucky, she nearly went off the ledge and it’s at least a hundred feet straight down.” He’d reached up and stroked his fingers down the side of her face in a move that was so comforting, yet so overly familiar it startled her. When her brain finally caught up with her heart, she quickly moved away from his touch. He’d called her by the nickname he’d given her so many years ago. Noah had been the only one who had called her anything but Lainy. One night as they’d watched the fireflies dancing in the trees in her backyard he’d told her why he’d called her by the sweet name since they’d been little more than junior high school students. He’d explained that he’d chosen the name after he’d learned it meant “face” in Spanish and since it sounded so pretty, it had reminded him of her pretty face.

  “Why were you in town? I mean, how long? Well, shit. I should just say thank you and let it go, so…thank you. I assume you are the one who called the authorities so our family appreciates your help.”

  She hadn’t noticed Cash standing alongside her until he spoke. “He did a lot more than call the authorities, Lainy. He secured her car and kept Layla calm until she could be removed from the vehicle. His quick actions likely saved our woman’s life and my brothers and I are deeply indebted to you, Noah. Thank you just doesn’t seem like enough…” Cash’s words trailed off and Ilaina could see how close to the edge her brother was.

  Looking back at Noah she noted that he wasn’t looking at Cash, he was looking at her. And it felt as if someone else was speaking but it was her voice. “Is this true?”

  “Yes. Cara, I’d like to speak with you before you leave, but first I need to have a word with your brother.” Noah nodded his head to the side and she watched as Cash followed him just a few steps away.

  Watching as they spoke quietly she saw Cash’s body stiffen and she stepped forward and placed her hand against his muscular back. “Are you okay?” She and Cash had always been close. He’d been her knight in shining armor her entire life. Her parents had laughed and said they could have turned her over to her seven-year-old brother when they’d brought her home from the hospital and he’d have happily raised her all by himself.

  Cash nodded and then turned to Noah. “Please make sure you give that information to Dylan. I’m not sure what it means, but my gut tells me it’s important.”

  Noah nodded, then said, “I agree and it’s never a good idea to ignore a gut feeling. I’m sure those have saved your life as often as they’ve saved mine.” For just a second Ilaina was as puzzled by the remark as Cash appeared to be, but then they were interrupted by a nurse calling Cash back to Layla’s room, so she didn’t get a chance to ask.

  “Thanks again for all you did for Layla, and please leave your cell number with Lainy so we call you if we have any more questions about your conversation with her.” And with those words he rushed off down the hall.

  When she looked at Noah in question, he just shrugged and said, “I’d be happy to talk to you about it but I see Dylan is here and I want to catch him before he gets swamped. Can I see your phone please?” When she numbly handed it over, he quickly dialed a number and she heard the phone in his pocket beep. “Now you have my number, cara. Please share it with your brothers and please feel free to use it any time you would like to talk.” He seemed to study her for a few seconds before continuing, “I have some things I need to explain to you, but I know this is not the time. Please go and check on your sweet friend and be there for your brothers—I’m sure they have missed you even more than I have.” She hadn’t even realized that he’d held her wrist in his grip after he’d handed her phone back. He’d been drawing soothing circles over her pulse-point with his thumb and when he released her to move toward Sheriff Marshall, she felt as if the warmth in the room had been suddenly sucked away. Oh, Ilaina, you are so screwed.

  * * * *

  When Cash had been called back to Layla’s room he’d been terrified she’d taken a turn for the worse. He’d seen a lot of soldiers with concussions and knew the injuries were notorious for being unpredictable and even deadly on occasion. He’d hated leaving Lainy with Noah, but it couldn’t be helped. Hopefully Drummond would be busy making his report to Dylan Marshall and Lainy would find her way to Layla’s room.

  Rounding the corner into her room, Cash noticed Collin standing at the side of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest looking like he’d swallowed a lemon and Clay sitting on the other side trying to calm the distraught woman battling to get out of the bed.

  “But I have to find Cash, he is probably looking for me and I don’t want him to worry. I heard there was a bad wreck and I don’t want him to think it was me. Please, I promise I’ll just be gone a minute.” Cash could only imagine how hard sh
e’d be to round up if she ever made it out of their sight. Collin looked up at him and shook his head and Cash had to fight the urge to laugh. Clearly the strictest Dom of them was struggling to stand by and not just order Layla to cooperate. No doubt Dr. Bree had explained how ineffective that tactic would be. And judging by the look on Collin’s face, the news hadn’t set well.

  Just then Layla looked up and saw him and squealed so loud Cash was sure there would be a stampede in the door and he’d been right. She immediately started clamoring to get out of the bed so he stepped up and sat down alongside her and pulled her onto his lap. His heart melted when she immediately settled down and snuggled against him. “Oh I’m so glad you finally got here. I’ve been so worried about you. Did you know there was a bad wreck up on the mountain? I was worried it was you. Why were you up wandering around? You should be lying down taking it easy. Did you get run off the road by that big truck?”

  She was asking questions and changing things around at such an alarming rate, Cash was having trouble keeping up. He heard Collin explaining to Bree that she’d gone from fearing Cash would think the wreck was her to thinking it had been him in consecutive sentences. But this mention of a truck was the first she’d mentioned that part of the story since she’d told Noah Drummond about being forced off the road by the blinding lights of a large truck.