To Save Sir (Doms of Decadence Book 7)

by Laylah Roberts

  “I’m fine, just a few scratches. I need to check on Mrs. Childs though.”

  It worried her that she hadn’t seen the elderly woman move yet.

  Jake looked from Daisy to her with one eyebrow raised. “Try to tell Daisy that. Colin is on his way with a tranquilizer gun.”

  She winced at the idea of them shooting Daisy.

  “Let me have a go talking to her first. Daisy likes me.”

  “Daisy likes everyone,” Jake said dryly, “but she’s not letting anyone near.”

  “Just let me try. If she falls on Mrs. Childs once you tranquilize her, she could further injure her. I don’t like how still she is. She might need immediate medical attention.”

  “Which is why I’ve called for an ambulance. You need to be checked over too,” Jake told her firmly.

  “I’m fine,” she said impatiently, waving away his concerns. “Just let me try, Jake.”

  He sighed then nodded. “Don’t get too close, and if she snaps at you then your ass is out of here, got me?”

  “Fine. Fine.”

  “Max, help Duncan keep everyone back and quiet, will you? Got to get some more deputies,” he muttered. “With Blake and Tare out with that stomach bug, we’re understaffed.”

  “On it. You take care of Jenna.”

  Jake nodded, and she bit back the reply that she could take care of herself. She liked that they watched out for her, even if they could be a bit overbearing.

  She moved slowly forward then knelt beside Trace, trying to hide her wince as her whole body protested. Damn, she was going to feel that hard landing tonight.

  “You okay, honey?” Trace asked with concern.

  “I’m fine. Worried about Mrs. Childs.”

  Trace nodded, his gaze turning back to the elderly woman and Daisy. “I haven’t seen her move and Daisy has gone into protective mode, which is understandable but not helping at all. She’s not letting me close or reacting to my voice other than to growl at me.”

  “Odd, considering she’s the size of a small horse.”

  He gave her a small smile. His knowledge and skill with horses meant people brought their horses to him from all over the state.

  “Let’s see what happens. Daisy.” She moved forward a little, hesitating when Daisy turned and snarled, showing off those impressive canines.

  “What the fuck? Hey—”

  Funny, that sounded a bit like Curt. Jeez, was she now imagining his voice?

  “Stay back, sir,” Max stated. She pushed their voices to the background, focusing on Daisy.

  “Hey, Daisy, remember me?” She held out her hand and moved a few more inches forward.

  The dog let out a low woof, but she didn’t get the idea she was going to attack. But maybe she was just hopeful.

  “Damn it, Jenna. Get back here. Now.”

  Okay, that really did sound like Curt. She had to be completely losing it. He was back in Dallas, probably feeling relieved to not have to worry about her trying to jump him again.

  “Daisy, I just need to check Mrs. Childs. All right? I’m not going to hurt her.”

  Daisy growled when she got about a foot away. Jenna paused.

  “Easy, Jenna. Nice and slow.”

  She looked up to see Colin standing on the other side, holding a gun with a long thin barrel. She gulped.

  “Don’t shoot her.”

  “I won’t unless she makes a threatening move,” he promised. “I don’t want to do it any more than you do.”

  “Damn it, shoot the—”

  “Sir, no.”

  There was a scuffling noise behind her and Daisy looked over and snarled menacingly.

  “Stay back,” Jake said sharply. Daisy turned to him and growled.

  “Will all of you please be quiet,” she said in a calm, non-threatening voice. “The next person who upsets Daisy is getting a rectal exam during their next checkup. And I won’t be gentle.”

  “Vicious. That’s a side of you I haven’t seen before. I like it.” Colin winked at her, but his face remained serious, and his gaze returned quickly to Daisy.

  “Come on, Daisy girl. Your owner doesn’t look too well. I just want to check on her, okay?”

  She drew even closer, breathing a sigh of relief when Daisy didn’t snap. But she also didn’t move away from where she stood. Moving slowly, her hand shaking, Jenna reached out to check Mrs. Childs’s pulse.

  “Okay, her pulse is steady, but she seems to be unconscious. Let me see if there’s a head injury.” She moved around to Mrs. Childs’s head. She could feel Daisy’s hot breath but she didn’t dare look up. What did they say? You shouldn’t look an angry dog in the eyes? Or was that wolves? Damned if she could remember what to do. She just went with whatever felt right and hoped like hell Daisy didn’t bite her.

  “There’s a gash on the back of her head,” Jenna told everyone. “She’s been knocked unconscious, we need to get her to the hospital.”

  “Jenna, you okay?”

  Jenna heard Doctor Harper call out and she turned to look at him just as Daisy started barking. Her boss came to a stop, holding his hands up.

  “I think you better stay where you are,” she told him.

  “We need to get her to the hospital, though,” Doctor Harper said. “How are we going to do that if we can’t get to her?”

  Good question.

  Just then, a siren came blasting from up the street. The ambulance. Shit. Jenna forced herself to stay calm and not tense up as Daisy barked loudly.

  “Damn it,” Colin said over the noise. “I’m going to have to tranquilize her.”

  Jenna reached up and, moving on instinct, started patting Daisy. “It’s okay, Daisy girl. It’s just people here to help Mrs. Childs. You want to see her get better, right?”

  Amazingly, Daisy stopped barking. And then, miracle of miracle, she licked her. Right, on the face. Ick, doggy breath.

  She heard someone laugh but when she looked around with a scowl they all looked serious. Sort of.

  “Well, maybe not,” Colin said. “See if you can get a hold of her lead and pull her away.”

  Jenna nodded and she gave Daisy another scratch then grabbed her tether and stood slowly. She swayed slightly, and Daisy pushed against her, sending her crashing over. There was a yell from someone, but that noise was quickly stifled. As she lay there, Daisy gave her another lick.

  Jesus. Someone needs to give that dog a breath mint.

  “Jenna, you okay?” She looked over as Colin slowly approached. She sat up and hugged Daisy as she gave a rumbling warning. “I’m all right. Just getting a bit tired of being knocked over.”

  “Think it might be a good idea to get Daisy out of here. Hand me her lead, and I’ll take her to the vet clinic.”

  She passed the leash to Colin, and he pulled Daisy away. The dog turned and barked, straining to get back to her. Her distress increased as paramedics rushed towards Mrs. Childs. A hand reached out towards Jenna, and she took it without thinking. Then a furious face filled her vision, and shock engulfed her.

  “What the fuck did you think you were doing?” Curt demanded.

  Chapter Five

  Curt was beside himself with worry. He still couldn’t believe that everyone had just stood by and watched as Jenna approached a huge, snarling dog that had to damn near outweigh her. Even worse, when he’d tried to get to her, he’d been held back by a couple of idiot cowboys. He was still furious.

  He hoped like hell he had broken the big one’s nose.

  He pulled Jenna up, holding her steady while she swayed. First, he’d had to watch as she’d been shoved to the ground by that asshole who’d stolen the old lady’s handbag. Then, as Travis had raced off after the guy, he’d been left to park the truck and try to push through the crowd to get to her. By the time he’d reached her he’d been ready to kill someone and seeing her inch her way closer to that dog had sent his anger soaring.

  “Don’t you ever, ever approach an angry dog like that again, you got me?
” he half-roared as he clasped her shoulders, glaring into her shocked face.

  He knew he needed to rein in his anger. It had caught him by surprise, bursting through his control.

  “Get your hands off her,” someone ordered, and he suddenly found himself shoved back.

  He snarled as he turned and saw one of the cowboys who’d held him back earlier. The one whose nose he hadn’t punched. The other man gently pushed Jenna behind him, as though protecting her from Curt.

  “Back for more?” Curt snarled. “Do you want what your friend got?”

  “Just try it,” the cowboy snapped, moving towards him.

  Bring it on. Eagerness filled him. This was just what he needed to get rid of the worry and anger riding him.

  Jenna stepped between them. He moved instinctively, and grasping her around the waist, turned her so his back was to the cowboy. It opened him to attack, but at least Jenna was shielded by his body.

  All that mattered was protecting her. Everyone else was the enemy.

  “Curt! What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Don’t step between me and the enemy like that.” He knew his voice was too cold, too dark. The way her eyes widened as she took a step back told him he’d frightened her. Something he’d never wanted to do, but if it kept her safe . . .

  Then she shocked him by reaching up and cupping the side of his face. The warmth from her hand pushed away the deep chill engulfing him.

  “Curt, he’s not the enemy. That’s Max Ferguson. I know him.”

  “You know this guy, Jenna?”

  The cowboy, who surprisingly hadn’t taken a cheap shot at him, stepped around to Jenna’s side. He still frowned at Curt but his stance was less confrontational.

  “Yeah, uh, he’s an old family friend.”

  Old family friend? Really?

  Curt placed his arm around her shoulders and gave the cowboy a warning look. Mine.

  The cowboy raised his eyebrows. Good. He got the message. Then Jenna winced, and he turned to her, worried.

  “You’re injured.”

  At the same time he spoke, the other guy, Max, called out for a doctor, who turned from where he was helping the paramedics load the old lady into the back of one of the ambulances.

  “Doc, can you check Jenna out?” Max asked before Curt could demand he look at her. “She fell pretty hard when that little dick pushed into her.”

  “I’m fine,” she protested. “It’s just a few scratches. How is Mrs. Childs?”

  “You’re still getting looked at,” Curt said at the same time as Max said, “Jenna, let him check you over.”

  Who the hell was this guy and did he mean something to Jenna? She’d only been here a few short months, God damn it. How could she have gotten involved with another man already?

  Like owed you any sort of loyalty?

  Maybe not, but he still felt jealous as hell at the idea of this backward hick touching her.

  “Come over to the ambulance, Jenna. Let’s see how you’re doing. They’re going to want to examine you anyway. Then we can get an update on Mrs. Childs.”

  Jenna watched them both suspiciously as the other doctor gently took hold of her forearm and led her away. Curt started walking after her but he kept the cowboy in sight, watching for any sign of an ambush. Later, he’d blame the cowboy for his inattention. Someone grabbed his arm, taking him completely by surprise. Tense and on edge, he turned, his arm already swinging out. He winced as his fist made contact with the man’s nose with a crunch.

  Too late, he noticed he was dressed in a deputy’s uniform.

  Oh fuck.

  The guy who’d he’d punched earlier, looked on smugly as he was pushed to the ground, his arms pulled behind his back and cuffed.

  “That’s him, Duncan,” the big cowboy said cheerfully as he held a packet of frozen peas to his nose. “That’s the guy who punched me.”

  Chapter Six

  Curt paced the small cell. Back and forth. Back and forth. When the hell was someone coming to let him out of here? They couldn’t keep him here long. So, he’d punched a couple of guys, there’d been extenuating circumstances. Like his woman being in danger.

  Yeah, only no one knew she was his woman. Including Jenna. He ran his hand over his face. What was he thinking? She wasn’t his. She couldn’t be his.

  She was innocence and light. And he was . . . he was the guy who went around punching people—including a deputy sheriff.

  Fuck. Where the hell was Travis? He should be back by now and sorting this mess out. Curt needed to get out of here. He needed to check on Jenna. He could still hear her cry of alarm when he’d been arrested. He hadn’t liked how stiffly she’d been moving or the scrapes on her hands.

  He hoped she’d gone to the hospital and gotten checked out properly. If she hadn’t, when he got out of here . . . Fuck, I’ll be lucky if she still wants to talk to me. She was probably terrified after the manic way he’d acted. Getting angry at her for endangering herself one moment then punching a damn deputy sheriff the next.

  He was losing it. He knew it was bound to happen at some point. He’d honestly thought it would’ve happened earlier than this.

  He knew the sensible thing, the best thing, would be to go and leave her in Travis’s hands. But he couldn’t trust him with her. The man was known to have a different woman every weekend. And he was a Dom. A strict one. Something Jenna didn’t need at all.

  And if it wasn’t Travis hitting on her then what about all the overprotective cowboys in this town, who seemed overly fond of ménage relationships? He couldn’t believe it when Cady told him about this place. Was there something in the water? How could these guys want to share their woman with another man?

  If Jenna were his no other man would even be able to look at her without his permission, and . . . okay, even he could hear how creepy and stalkerish that sounded.

  The truth was, she wasn’t his. He didn’t deserve someone like her. His current predicament was a testament to that. She was injured and alone, and where was he? In jail because he hadn’t been able to control himself.

  But he should be with her. Taking care of her. Watching over her. Obviously, she needed it. He’d been in town only three minutes when he’d seen her knocked down by a thief, then nearly mauled by a dog before she’d pushed herself between two angry men. She was in definite need of a keeper.

  And you think you’re going to be that keeper? You, who let your fear morph into such anger you didn’t even stop to think, you just lashed out and hit a deputy sheriff.

  No, he definitely didn’t deserve her. That didn’t mean he didn’t want her. Desperately. These last few months he’d told himself he’d forgotten about the night she’d kissed him. What she’d told him.

  The only time I ever feel safe is with you, Curt.

  He’d told it had meant nothing. It was only because he’d rescued her. Hero worship.

  Yeah, he’d lied to himself over and over, even as he’d spiraled into a dark, empty space. Was it any wonder he was snapping? That he’d nearly reached the point of no return? The darkness in him had grown. Denying himself her love was his punishment for all the fuckups he’d made in his life. With his wife. His child.

  But he didn’t know if he could do it a second time. If he could push her away again.

  “Fuck.” He ran his hand over his face. “Fuck, she doesn’t need me in her life.”

  But he needed her. And maybe . . . maybe there was something he could do for her. He was tough, he was strong, and he could protect her. He could ensure shit like today never happened again because he’d watch over her. Yeah, he could do that.

  And what about his need to dominate his partner? There was no way he could even think about Jenna submitting to him. Not that the idea of it wasn’t hot as hell. And God only knew he’d thought about smacking her ass several times today. But that would be it.

  He didn’t need to tie her up, spank her, drive her to the edge again and again without letting her come. He
didn’t need any of that. Not if it meant he could have her. She meant everything, and he wouldn’t risk losing her.

  He turned as he heard footsteps, and the sheriff appeared on the other side of the bars.

  “About time,” he snapped. “What took you so long? Everything moves a bit slower in the country, is that it?”

  The sheriff’s eyes flared open and he crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, now, perhaps I should have taken my time. Seems like this wasn’t long enough to cool that temper.”

  Curt took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. “Sorry,” he forced himself to say. “I need to get out of here and check on Jenna. Do you know if she’s been admitted to the hospital?”

  “Not sure I should be telling you.”

  He ground his teeth together. “She’s a friend.”

  The sheriff looked him up and down then sneered slightly. “Yes. That’s what she said.”

  “You’ve spoken to her then? She’s all right?”

  “She is,” was all he said, and Curt knew he said that much reluctantly. Curt hadn’t won over any friends in the sheriff’s department, that was for sure.

  “Is she at the hospital? I need to speak to her.” He wanted to get to her before she heard about her father from someone else. According to Travis’s source, they’d arrested her father about an hour ago, and he’d gone quietly. Her mother, on the other hand, had thrown a fit worthy of a two-year-old. He hoped to speak to Jenna before her mother did so he could . . . what? Comfort her?

  What the hell did he know about comforting a woman? He’d never been able to comfort Amelia. And after a while he’d given up. It seemed like everything he said and did angered or upset her. He couldn’t win.

  He hoped like hell Jenna didn’t fall apart.

  “Around here, we don’t really take kindly to people hitting our deputy sheriffs. Or our citizens.”

  “Yeah, well, that upstanding citizen was holding me back from getting to Jenna.”

  “Because the last thing she needed was someone interfering. It was a delicate situation with Daisy and Mrs. Childs. Logan and Max were acting on my orders when they restrained you.”