"Please, baby." A tear slipped free, and Lori let her head fall to the floor. He’d always been her hero. He'd always been the strong one. But now, they were both helpless.
David groaned, and Lori's head snapped up. He shifted and cracked open on eye.
"Thank God. David can you hear me?"
"Lori?" He winced, as if the act of talking caused him pain.
"Yes baby, open your eyes. You’ve got to wake up now before they come back." She watched as he peeled open both his eyes and blinked as he slowly lifted his head. She knew the moment that his awareness kicked in and his gaze shot to hers.
"Did they hurt you?"
She shook her head frantically, tears running freely down her face. "No—not yet. But they’re coming back."
David tensed, straining his body upwards, "Shit, how did they make me? The case was almost closed.”
"It was Janice. She was in here. She’s working with someone named Santos.” Lori didn’t know who Santos was, but she knew he would hurt them if they didn’t escape.
“That bitch. I had a bad feeling about her. Been trying to get her relocated for months.”
“What are we going to do?”
David strained harder, his hips bowing as he pulled at his bonds. Veins bulged on his neck and his face turned red. “Shit. Lori, listen, I’m going to turn over. I want you to scoot backwards to me, and let me see if I can untie you.”
“Okay.” She flipped onto her side and scooted across the rough floor, ignoring the scrapes and scratches. David grabbed her hands, and she tried to hold still for him, but all she wanted to do was grab his hands and hold on. He tugged and pulled, and Lori felt the first glimmer of hope.
Nine
David felt the last of the rope give way, and Lori was free. He rolled to his side and watched through a fog of pain in his skull as she hastily yanked at the rope binding her feet.
“Hurry, untie my hands.” David still struggled with the fact that Agent Janice Walker had betrayed them. He’d ignored his instincts about her and allowed her to stay on the case. Stupid. Now he and Lori were in danger.
“I got it. Roll over.” Lori tossed the rope to the side, and David gave her his back. The rope bit into his wrists, but that small pain was nothing compared to what would happen if he didn’t get free before Santos came back.
“These are so tight.” Lori yanked hard, but he didn’t feel the knot loosen.
“Take a deep breath. Listen to my voice. We will be okay. Concentrate, and take your time.”
Lori sobbed. “I can’t make my hands stop shaking.”
“It’s okay. Take your time.” It was all his fault Lori was here. If he had only reported his mistrust to his boss about Agent Walker, instead he’d tried to have her relocated because she was the office slut. And all along she’d been the mole.
The door clicked open, and Lori cried out. David rolled to his back and terror like he’d never imagined washed over him. Santos held his wife in his beefy arms. “So, we me again, David.”
“Let her go, you bastard.” David struggled to his knees, fighting through a wave of dizziness.
“How sweet.” Agent Walker came from behind Santos, stopping to place a kiss on her lover’s face. “Can I play with him while you use her?”
“No.” Santos barked out and Janice flinched. “You belong to me.”
Janice sputtered, “But, you get to play, why can’t I?”
Santos wrapped one hand around Lori’s neck and pulled the other back, slapping Janice. The double-agent fell to her knees beside David on the floor, and he barely held himself back from spitting on her.
“Whore. If you want another man so bad, I’ll let my men have you when they are done with this one.” Santos roughly grabbed Lori’s breast and squeezed until she screamed.
“Let her go!” David launched from the floor, lowered his head and ran straight at Santos’ side. But with his hands bound he was helpless to protect himself.
Santos spun and slammed a fist into David’s jaw. A fresh wave of pain spiked through his skull, and he hit the floor, his ears ringing with Santos’s harsh laughter.
“You know what I do to traitors. Now you can watch what I do to your wife.”
David turned to see Santos rip Lori’s shirt from the neckline down, baring her to his touch. Bile rushed up, and he struggled to his feet, the world tilting under him. “Stop. Let go.”
Lori struggled in the Mexican’s grip, but he tightened his hold on her neck, strangling her.
Have to get to her. Have to save her. David felt the haze of unconsciousness tugging at him, but he fought through it. When Santos licked Lori’s ear, a red rage filtered over his vision, and he charged.
“David!”
Santos side-stepped and slammed his fist down on David’s back, sending him crashing to the floor. His head cracked the concrete, and he blacked, only to come to again. When he rolled over, Santos had shoved Lori against the wall.
“Puta, come here. I always wanted to see two white women together.”
Janice stumbled to them, and Santos ripped her around in front of him, pinning Lori to the wall with his hand still ringing her neck. “Undress her.”
David shook his head and tried to get to his knees again, only to fall. Fuck.
“Don’t touch me.” Lori struggled, but he had her pinned down. Janice reached for her shorts.
David grunted and surged to his feet, rage fueling him. Santos and Janice didn’t hear him. Their attention was locked on his wife.
David staggered forward. Gunfire erupted outside. Men shouted.
Santos jerked away and ran to the door and locked it.
Janice pulled his wife in front of her, producing a gun and holding it to her temple.
David lunged, but Santos got to him first, a steel fist slammed into his temple, and David went down hard.
His awareness flickered, his ears roared. Santos ran to the wall by the door, hiding as it slammed open and an armed man entered. David blinked the man into focus. Ranger James, an operator on Task Force Scorpion raised his gun and leveled it at Janice. “Agent Walker? What the fuck?”
Janice held Lori in front of her as a shield. “Back off before I blow her brains out.”
“Where is Santos?” Ranger said, not lowering his weapon.
“Right here.” Santos stepped from behind the door, his gun aimed at Ranger’s head.
Terror like he’d never known gripped David and pinned him to the floor. He could tolerate his own life in danger, but not Lori’s. Never hers.
“Drop the gun, amigo. You’re just in time for the party.” Santos pressed the gun into Ranger’s temple.
Ranger didn’t move. “Let the girl go.”
“Drop your gun or die.”
Ranger met David’s gaze, seeming to try and communicate silently with him. David sucked in breath, tensing, wanting to warn his wife.
Ranger’s grip loosened on his gun, and it clattered to the floor. A split-second later, he slammed a hand up, pushing Santo’s gun forward as he bent backwards. A loud gunshot exploded into the far wall and Ranger grabbed the barrel of Santo’s pistol, slammed his hand into is wrist, and yanked the gun from the Mexican’s grip.
Before David could blink, Ranger slammed the butt of the gun into Santo’s nose, and the drug lord fell to the ground, unconscious.
“Lori,” David managed to croak out.
Janice, eyes wide and face pale, backed away, still holding his wife in front of her.
Ranger advanced, weapon raised. “Let her go, Walker. It’s over.”
“Stop. Now,” Janice ordered.
Her hand shook and fear burned through David’s veins. “Janice, if you hurt my wife…”
“Shut up, David. You better tell him to move, or I’ll put a bullet in her head.” All traces of slut were gone, and in it’s place was wild animal, cornered.
Ranger advanced another step. Shit. If he yelled, he might distract the operator from his task. David pulled on every
single ounce of training he possessed and continued to talk to Janice, trying to distract her. “You sold out your team. You sold out your country. For what?”
Janice didn’t look at him when she answered. “Money. You think I was going to stick around in this crap-paying job forever? I deserve better.”
“We all get paid the same. You’re the only one who turned on your team.”
“And why shouldn’t I? You have your sweet little slut wife. I have noone.” Janice finally glanced in his direction, and David latched onto the opportunity for distraction.
He kept talking, fast, doing his best to keep her gaze on him. “You could have had any number of single guys, but you always went after the married ones. What, did you think they would leave their families for someone like you?” David gave a harsh laugh. “You were just the office whore. Look how often you threw yourself at me and Greer. We had a great time watching you try and fail.”
“You son of a bitch!” Janice whipped the pistol from Lori’s head and aimed at him.
A gunshot exploded. Janice dropped to the ground, her gun clattering beside her.
“David!” Lori dove for him, her ripped shirt flying open as she dropped to her knees. Her hands shook hard, but she held his face between her palms. “Are you okay?”
“Me?” Dark bruises already formed on his wife’s neck and chest where that bastard had held her. “I’m going to kill him.”
Ranger came over, knelt and pulled off his shirt, offering it to Lori. She took it and quickly covered herself as Ranger cut David’s hands and feet free. A second later, David had his wife in his arms, her soft body pressed into his.
“I’m afraid you can’t kill him, yet,” Ranger said. “We need to interrogate him, but I might can arrange for you to be there to help motivate him to answer our questions.” “Deal.”
“David, you’re still bleeding.” Lori leaned back and gently touched his head.
He winced, but didn’t let go of his wife. “I’m fine, just a little cut.” David crushed her to his chest again, needing to hold her tight and reassure himself she was really fine. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Ten
“This is some good catfish,” Raylan yelled over the music a week later. They’d finally gone out to The Wharf, a bar in Mercy, Mississippi owned by Lori’s cousin, Evie James.
Lori smiled and squeezed David’s hand. She sat in his lap with his arm wrapped around her waist. Greer and Raylan sat across the table from them. “The best,” she said, smiling.
Ever since that night last week, David hadn’t let her out of his sight. And Lori had loved every single second. Her mom had the kids for another week, leaving them seven more blissful days to recoup their marriage.
Of which she planned to spend ninety percent of it in bed. She wiggled on David’s lap and grinned when she felt him harden beneath her.
David yanked her back against his chest. “Be good or I’ll punish you later.”
“Promise?”
He growled in her ear.
Her nipples tightened in response.
“Get a room,” Raylan said and took a drink of beer.
“If this is all I’m going to see tonight, I’m leaving.” Greer elbowed his brother. The two so closely resembled each other they could have been twins.
Lori embraced the surge of happiness. She had her husband, her family, and the two men she considered brothers all safe. It couldn’t be better.
Well, except she wished she could find someone for Greer and Raylan. They’d been bachelors long enough. Lori quickly scanned the bar, but most of the women weren’t good enough for her family. Not that she had high standards.
“Lori,” Greer said, his voice rising in warning, “you’ve got that look in your eye again. I can mind my own date for the night.”
Her cheeks grew hot, but she smirked all the same. “Come on, what about Cheri? She’s single, and she’s really nice.”
Cheri had worked at The Wharf since it opened and was her cousin Evie’s best friend.
Greer snorted. “Nice? That girl could peel the flesh from a man with her bare hands.”
“Not true. She’s just very passionate about the people she cares about.”
“Sure,” Raylan said, one eyebrow arching.
As if to drive the point home, Cheri sauntered past, flicked her long red locks over her shoulder, and winked at Lori.
“How long do you plan on being a bachelor? Don’t you get lonely?” Lori wanted her family to have someone special, like she had David.
Raylan winked at her. “Cher, if I get lonely, I can get a date. No problem.” David nuzzled her neck. “Honey, leave them alone. They’re grown men. You should only worry about your husband.”
She shivered. The urge to straddle him right then and there was strong, but she ignored it for now. “But, David…”
Raylan interrupted before she could finish her sentence. “Damn.” His black gaze locked over Lori’s shoulder, and she whipped around to see what held his attention.
Amber Atkins pushed through a throng of people at the door, her mahogany hair hanging in loose waves around her bare shoulders, highlighting her pixie-like features.. A cute pale green dress hung to mid-thigh. Saline Latimer pushed in right behind her, dressed just a cute.
Lori’s gaze cut to her cousins to see them both staring at the pair.
Greer asked without glancing away, “Who’s the blonde?”
Lori barely held in her smirk. “Her name is Saline. She owns a local boutique.”
Raylan didn’t speak and didn’t take his eyes off Amber. The two had a past, however brief. Lori had thought they had something real, but her stupid cousin had pulled a stupid man move and ran off at the first sign of commitment. Apparently, the old feelings still existed, if his stare was any indication.
Amber walked further into the bar, about to turn toward the counter and froze, locking sights with Raylan. Lori could feel the icy blast of her stare even across the table.
Greer let out a low whistle. “Looks like she remembers you, bro.”
Lori bit her lip, praying Raylan would make a move. Go talk to Amber. Anything.
Raylan took a long gulp of his beer, slammed it down on the table, and stood. “I’ll be back…”
THE END
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–Lindsay Cross
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Raylan: Men of Mercy, Book 5
Raylan Wilde lived up to his last name. He spent his youth sowing his oats and living life for the moment. Then he met Amber and after one incredible night, Raylan was ready to give up his wild ways. But then a call from his ex turned his world upside down. Raylan sacrificed his tender new feelings and left town to raise a son he’d never even known existed.
All the while, dreams of a beautiful brown haired girl haunted his dreams.
Amber Atkins had given everything to Raylan. Her virginity and her soul. C
onvinced she could tame the notorious bad boy, she was devastated when he left without a word.
Now six years later, Raylan has returned to Mercy to convince Amber that they can’t live without each other. But can Amber find the strength to trust again?
As a stalker grows bolder, Amber’s life is in danger and she’s forced to turn to one man for help – Raylan Wilde. In order to survive, she must trust the man that nearly destroyed her with her body and soul.
To pre-order Raylan’s story, releasing November 2015, click here.
Ravaged River: Men of Mercy, Book 6
Special forces operative Hoyt Crowe wasn't just damaged… he was broken. After suffering brutal torture in captivity, his once lively spirit is shattered. Now his greatest adversary isn’t some unknown terrorist in a foreign country, it’s himself.
Hayden James watched Hoyt slide into a private purgatory of post-traumatic stress disorder, taking her heart with him. No longer warm and loving, he is cold. Hardened. A shell of his former self.
When an old enemy threatens Hayden’s life, Hoyt must find the strength to slay his inner demons or lose the woman he loves forever.
To pre-order Hoyt and Hayden’s story click here.
Also by Lindsay Cross
Raylan: Men of Mercy, Book 5 -Preorder now for November 2015
Ravaged River: Men of Mercy Book 6 -Pre-order now for Jan 2016
Redemption River: Men of Mercy Book 1
Resurrection River: Men of Mercy Book 2
Reckless River: Men of Mercy, Book 3
David Page 6