by Becca Van
Just as Will disconnected the call Frank entered the office with three mugs of coffee.
“Where’s Sally?” Will asked.
“In the kitchen, baking apple pies,” Frank answered.
“What’s going on, Will? Who was on the phone?” Rick asked.
“That was Luke.”
Rick tensed when he saw how uptight Will was.
“Officer Brush has just informed Pierre St. John that his assistant, DA Jarvis Stevens, is the boss of Perez, the trafficking in New York, and the black market arms dealing.”
“Fuck!” Rick began to pace. “Do they have any proof? Can they arrest the bastard and put him behind bars?”
“No. St. John’s had his suspicions for a while and though he’s had cops watching the fucker, they haven’t found any proof,” Will explained. “There’s more.”
“What?” Frank snapped.
“Phillip Ramon was spotted in a neighboring town.”
“That’s not news, really,” Rick said. “We’ve all felt that we’re being watched.”
“Yeah, but Ramon is a mean fucker. He killed his own mother for money.”
“Shit!” Frank clenched his jaw. “We won’t let these assholes get Sally.”
“No, we won’t,” Will agreed. “Are the Atkins men out patrolling?”
“Yeah,” Frank answered.
“Good. My guts going haywire,” Will explained.
“So are mine.” Rick walked toward the door. He didn’t want to leave Sally alone any longer than necessary. He needed to have her in his sight at all times to know that she was safe.
“Don’t go anywhere without your gun,” Will ordered.
Rick paused at the door and wondered why his brother hadn’t noticed that he was already packing but guessed he was distracted, agitated by Luke’s call. He turned sideways so Will could see the gun at his hip and then hurried toward the kitchen. He wouldn’t be able to relax until he saw Sally.
* * * *
Although Sally was happy and in love, she could feel the tension building in the air with each day that passed. She was surprised that she wasn’t having trouble sleeping or that the nightmare was plaguing her, but her men made love to her every single night until she was satiated and exhausted. Plus, knowing that she was surrounded by three trained SEALs gave her a sense of security she’d never had before.
Sally put the apple pies into the oven and cleaned up the kitchen. Just as she turned back toward the sink she heard a loud bang. She screamed as the floor beneath her feet shook and she fell to the floor with a thud.
Pain pierced her skull as her head hit against the counter on her way down and though it was agony she didn’t have the breath to cry out again. She had no idea what had happened but she needed to get herself together so she could find Will, Frank, and Rick.
Once the pain in her head settled to a dull throb she got to her hands and knees and started crawling across the floor. When something warm and sticky dripped into her eye, making it sting, she paused to wipe her face and eye. She looked at her hand uncomprehendingly for a moment or two before realizing that her palm and fingers were covered in red. Blood. She was bleeding but she didn’t have time to stop and worry about where she was hurt. Sally needed to get to Will, Frank, and Rick.
Once more she began crawling and when she made it to the living room doorway, she stopped and drew in a horrified breath. The living room was a shambles. Furniture was strewn everywhere, no longer whole. Bits and pieces of debris covered the timber floor and the wall of the house was missing. Tears filled her eyes and agony pierced her heart. Will, Rick, and Frank had been in the office and from what she could see, that part of the house had been completely destroyed. A sob escaped her mouth and she had to inhale again so that she wouldn’t end up vomiting.
Sally wanted to get to her feet and run to where the office had been but she didn’t want to make herself an easy target, so once more she crawled over the floor, this time going faster than before, but she had to stop frequently to push obstacles out of her path or crawl right over the top of them.
“Oh God, please let them be all right.” Tears ran down her face to blend in with the blood weeping from the cut on her forehead but she didn’t stop to wipe it away. She needed to see her men.
Just as she got to the other side of the living room and the entrance to the hallway, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. When she heard what sounded like a crunch as someone stepped on glass, her first instinct was to turn around, but she forced herself to push her fear aside and think. It didn’t matter that she was shaking or so scared she felt as if she was about to lose control of her bladder, because she needed to keep a cool head.
Taking several deep breaths, she pushed her terror down and tried to think what her guys would do. Just thinking about them hurt or dead sent rage streaming through her body. The quaking of her frame grew but this time she embraced it. She was sick and tired of being afraid and it was time to take a stand.
* * * *
Frank cocked his head as he heard a noise that was all too familiar. He glanced at his brothers and noticed that they were listening as well. His heart lurched in his chest when he realized what the sound was.
He glanced toward the open French doors in the study, his body tensing when he saw the incoming missile from an RPG.
“Incoming!” Frank shouted as he and his brothers ran toward the open French doors. All three of them sprinted outside and launched themselves sideways out of firing range.
The explosion was so close he felt the heat from the impact and the noise had his ears ringing. Frank glanced over at Will and Rick. They were both covered in dust and detritus from the house just as he was, but as far as he could see they weren’t injured.
Frank gave his brothers the thumbs-up signal to let them know he wasn’t hurt. He drew in a relieved breath when they did the same. He pulled his automatic pistol from his hip holster, flicked the safety off, and scanned the area.
When he saw Bull, Rocky, and Ridge running all out toward them from amongst the trees, he again sighed in relief. He went to get to his feet and just as he raised his head he heard the crack of a high powered sniper rifle. Frank felt the breeze from the bullet as it whizzed past his head and quickly rolled over and over until he was behind a pile of bricks and out of sight.
He wanted to yell at his brothers to get undercover, too, but knew they wouldn’t be able to hear him yet. His hearing was shot and it would probably be an hour or more before the loud ringing stopped.
His searched for a way to move into the house without getting his head blown off. Getting to Sallyanne was paramount. He hoped and prayed that she was safe and unhurt, but he wouldn’t relax until he had her in his arms.
* * * *
Will was so fucking angry he was shaking, or maybe he was trembling was because he was worried about Sallyanne. He and his brothers were stuck until the Atkins men took out whoever the hell had just blown their house up. Frank had nearly died when some fucker had shot at his head but thankfully his brother moved fast.
His ears were ringing and he couldn’t hear worth a damn and while he wanted to shout to Sallyanne to make sure she was okay, he refrained. If she answered him and whoever was out there targeting them was looking for her, she’d give her position away.
Will already had his gun in hand with the safety off and prayed that the prick would show himself so he could shoot the bastard right between the eyes.
When he saw Rocky, Bull, and Ridge creeping up on the side of the house, he raised his finger, making a circle. The three Atkins men split up, moving along the house in different directions.
Rocky held up his index and middle fingers, letting Will know that there had to be at least two perpetrators. Will nodded and when he saw the sliding bedroom door was open, he pointed at it. Rocky gave a slight nod before belly crawling inside.
Will began to do the same and hoped that the sniper was on the move and wouldn’t see him, or wasn’t an expert ma
rksman and missed if he took a shot. He didn’t breathe easily until he was inside and his brothers were at his side.
Rocky was no longer in the bedroom and was no doubt picking his way through the house, looking for Sallyanne. The urge to dismiss all of his training and find Sally was hard to quell, but he pushed the yearning aside as well as all emotions. If he, his brothers, and the Atkins men were going to keep Sally safe, they needed to call on their training.
Will grabbed hold of Rick’s arm when his brother was about to step out of the bedroom into the hallway. He shook his head, holding his finger up, telling him to wait. Seconds passed, but it felt like minutes had gone by. He was glad he’d stopped Rick when Rocky ducked back into the room with his back to the wall.
He held up a finger to let him know that there was someone in the house. When he held up his finger on his other hand to tell him that Sallyanne was there as well, he had to bite his tongue so he wouldn’t bellow with fury and fear.
Sallyanne was in the clutches of the man they had vowed to protect her from.
* * * *
Sally saw the splintered wood that had once been the leg of the coffee table. It wasn’t very big but it looked sharp and she hoped it would do a lot of damage. She grabbed it, holding it tightly in her hand, not caring when she felt the sharp tip pierce her skin, as well as the small splinters as they slid under the flesh on her palm.
When a hand grabbed the hair at the back of her head and lifted her to her feet, she screamed. Her breathing sped up, her heart raced in her chest, and sweat broke out on her skin. Fear once more tried to take hold but she shoved it down ruthlessly.
She clawed at the hand in her hair but whoever held her didn’t let go. She was lifted from her feet, her body swung around, and she shook when she saw who had a hold of her. Her heart stopped beating and darkness invaded her sight as she stared into those cold, vicious brown eyes.
Memories of their last encounter replayed across her mind of him holding her down as he raped her, stabbed, and cut her. When her lungs began to burn, she gasped in a breath, and just as Angelo Perez lowered her feet to the floor, he raised his fist.
Sally didn’t even think. She just reacted. Her arm moved away from her body stretching out as far as she could for maximum power and just as his fist connected with her jaw she struck.
Pain burned into her skin and though she heard Perez scream it sounded as if it was coming from a long way off. Agony pierced her face and jaw and while she tried to blink the darkness away, it was a losing battle. Her knees buckled and her legs gave out as she fell to the floor as she passed out.
* * * *
As soon as Rocky gave the signal to move, Rick ran out of the room, down the hallway, jumping over bricks and drywall littering the floor. He made it to the living room in time to see Perez punch Sally in the side of the face. He roared with fury as he lifted his gun but as he took aim Sally collapsed and so did Perez.
He kept his gun trained on the fucker as he hurried to his woman’s side and smiled coldly when he saw that Perez had a gaping wound in the side of his neck and he was bleeding out fast. He glanced at Sally and checked her pulse, sighing in relief when he found it beating strongly. Just as he was about to roll her onto her side from her back, he caught movement from his periphery.
Rick didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger and watched with satisfaction as three more bullets entered Perez’s body. Rick had shot him right between the eyes. Will and Frank, who’d followed him out, had shot him in the heart, and Rocky, who’d somehow managed to get behind Perez, had shot him in the back.
Rick secured his weapon and then gently ran his hands over Sallyanne’s supine body.
“How is she?” Will yelled.
Rick was glad his brother had shouted his answer because he was only just able to hear him. “We need paramedics,” he shouted back.
Rocky gave him the thumbs-up signal and probably said the word, “Done,” but Rick didn’t hear him. He nodded at Rocky.
After making sure Sally had no broken bones, with his brother’s help they pushed the rubble on the floor aside and rolled her onto her side.
Rick met Frank’s gaze. “First aid kit.”
Frank nodded and hurried away and was back minutes later.
Will took the kit from Frank, opened it, and began to pull packets out. He opened some disinfectant wipes with his teeth and Rick did the same. They wiped away as much dirt as they could from her face and Rick cursed when he saw the cut above her eyebrow was nearly and inch long and it had tapered down to near her temple. The skin was swelling and bruised as well as split, and that had him worried. Head injuries could be deadly.
Ridge and Bull entered the house with a large Latino-looking man in handcuffs. Bull had an RPG missile launcher over his left shoulder and Ridge had a sniper rifle on his right.
Rick knew that Bull and Ridge would have made sure there were no other perps about and turned his gaze back to Sally.
The two sheriffs arrived just before the paramedics and while Rick knew that the men would need a statement, they needed to get Sallyanne to the hospital first. Luke tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention and one of the paramedics pointed to Sally and the portable stretcher. Rick gently lifted his woman into his arms and, after kissing her on her forehead, lowered her to the gurney. He clasped her small cold hand in his and nodded at the paramedics as they lifted the stretcher.
There was no way he was letting her out of his sight until they reached the hospital. After the paramedics loaded Sally into the back of the ambulance, Rick jumped in and took a seat off to the side.
The medic working on his woman set up an IV drip before checking her heartbeat, blood pressure, and pupil response.
Rick knew by the way the medic went back and forth with the penlight from eye to eye that Sallyanne wasn’t out of the woods yet.
He clenched his jaw and swallowed the roar of anger and pain that rose up in his chest.
Chapter Twenty
Sallyanne came awake with a terror-filled gasp and bolted upright. She groaned and reached for her head when it pounded something fierce.
“Sally! Thank you, God,” Rick said in a hoarse voice.
She lowered her hands from her head and blinked the haze from her eyes. A second later she was enveloped in a fierce hug. She wrapped her arms tight around Rick and sobbed with relief. She’d thought he’d died. When she became aware of two other hands stroking her arms, she cried even harder. All her men were alive.
“Shh, it’s okay, baby.” Will kissed her head. “You’re safe. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
Sally’s tears finally dried and after wiping her eyes with the back of her hand she lifted her gaze to stare at all of her men. She looked each and every one of them over from head to toe, relieved to see other than being covered in dirt and dust, they didn’t appear to be injured.
“What happened?” she asked and tried to clear her dry throat when it cracked.
Frank grabbed the jug of water from the table, filled a cup, added a straw, and then held it to her lips. She took a few sips before flopping onto the pillows at her back, groaning when her head protested the movement.
Will and Frank sat on the edge of the bed near her hips and Rick pulled a chair up close to her right side and clasped her hand.
“The asshole and his crony fired an RPG missile at our house.”
“Oh god.” Sally covered her mouth as she remembered the loud explosion before she fell to the floor. She touched her fingertips to where she’d felt her head connected with the granite counter only to encounter a bandage of some sort over her brow and temple.
“Are you in pain, sweetheart?” Frank asked.
“I have a bad headache and am a bit stiff and sore, but I’m okay.”
“I’ll get the doctor.” Frank was on his feet and out the door before she could stop him.
“Where’s Perez? Did you catch him?” Sally asked.
Will drew in a breath and then began to explain w
hat had happened.
Sally blinked rapidly as tears of relief flooded her eyes. “So it’s over?”
“Yes, love. It’s finished.” Rick squeezed her hand.
“Phillip Ramon is behind bars as is Perez’s boss,” Will explained.
“Who was that?” Sally asked.
“The assistant DA, Jarvis Stevens, was on the take and boss of Perez’s gang, the Red Blades,” Rick said.
“Will I have to testify?” Sally drew in a deep nervous breath.
Will nudged her hip and when she’d scooted over he got up on the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. “I don’t know, baby, but you don’t need to be scared. Frank, Rick, and I will be by your side the whole time.”
“Did I k–kill him?”
“No, love. Frank, Will, and Rocky did.”
Sally buried her face in Will’s neck when the tears started to flow again. She sobbed in his arms with relief and grief for her brother. She’d lost so much but she’d also found the loves of her life and she was going to hold onto them with both hands.
“Ah, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”
Sally wiped her face on Will’s dirty T-shirt and looked up to see the face of a kind elderly doctor looking at her with concern. Frank entered the room behind him.
“I’m okay. I’m alive.”
The doctor winked at her and bustled over to her side. It didn’t seem to bother him that Will continued to hold her. He checked her pulse, blood pressure, and pupils.
“You’ve a slight concussion so I’ll bet you have a hell of a headache and aren’t feeling the best. We’ve stitched up the gash on your head and you have a few nasty bruises but other than that you’re fine.”
“Thank you,” Sally said. “When can I go home? Oh. Your poor house.”
“Don’t worry about the house, sweetheart. We’re insured. A house can be replaced. You can’t be.”