No Refunds No Exchanges: A Hudson Family Series- Book 4- Matt and Ali

by Chontelle Brison

  Sighing, I took a deep breath. If I was going out, I was going out fighting. Shoot, I had just nailed a guy between the eyes with a knife, you would think disarming one asshole with a gun would be a walk in the park.

  “Drop it asshole or I will fuck up that face of yours!” Ordered a familiar voice. I turned and stared in shock as Matt came out of nowhere wearing battle pants, black shirt and holding a gun in a grip that looked like he’d done it before.

  Richard swung the gun toward Matt, and I reacted without thinking. I grabbed for the weapon but Richard was faster, and before I knew it, I had become every damsel in distress cliché ever made. A mad man, with the love of my life only ten feet away, was holding me at gunpoint. Seriously, women all over the world were groaning in frustration as my actions set women back about a hundred years!

  With one hand arm around my throat, I felt my windpipe being crushed. I struggled against Richard’s grip, but it only made him tighten his arm, lessening my air.

  I saw Matt’s eyes flicker with some emotion and then it was gone. He gave Richard a hard stare, and I tried to mouth to him that I loved him, and I was sorry, but I was getting dizzy from lack of air.

  “Drop it, Taggart, in about two minutes this place will be crawling with cops. Everyone knows what you did, don’t make it worse.” Matt told him in a hard voice. I had never seen Matt more lethal or colder. His tone had no feeling to it, and I was sure his stare alone had bad guys running from him during his SEAL days.

  “Not happening Hudson. You think you get to stroll in here after all of this and get to live a happily ever after with my girl! I loved her before you even knew she existed!” Richard shouted as I struggled against the blackness on the edge of my vision.

  Matt took another step closer, and I felt my feet drag through the dirt as Richard backed up, matching every step Matt took with one in reverse.

  “You didn’t deserve her then, and you don’t deserve her now, asshole. Alison is coming home with me where she belongs and so are Baloo and any other animals she wants to bring with her. I love that woman dickhead, and I will tear you apart if you don’t drop your weapon and let her go!” Matt shouted back. Tears leaked down my face when I heard his voice crack slightly. Richard had probably missed it, but I hadn’t.

  I felt Richard kiss the back of my head and then felt the barrel of the gun at my temple. I forced my eyes open and stood stock still as I tried to convey with my eyes to Matthew how much I loved him and how sorry I was.

  Matt’s eyes narrowed as he ordered Richard to drop his gun, but Richard only laughed.

  “She’s mine Hudson, she will always be mine, even in death.” He yelled in a manic voice.

  I closed my eyes against the anguish on Matt’s face. Then several things happened at once. A loud explosion happened at the end of the drive, a helicopter of some sort flew overhead, I heard Matt shouting as his footsteps came closer and then I heard Pepper. Just as I felt myself slipping away, Pepper’s voice came through loud and clear.

  “Baloo! Kick his ass!”

  My eyes flew open, and I saw Matt come to a sliding stop about five feet away. A feral roar that shook the ground boomed from behind me, and I felt Richard tense. As soon as his grip loosened, I elbowed his ribs and launched myself at Matt. He caught me, and we fell to the ground with me on his lap. I looked up just in time to see Baloo running at top speed straight at Richard. Matt picked me up off the ground and half dragged, half carried me toward the porch. Richard turned and aimed his gun at the angry, nine hundred plus pound grizzly that was coming straight for him.

  Still gulping in mouthfuls of air, I panicked when Richard took aim at Baloo. I went to step forward, but my legs gave out, and Matt wrapped his strong arms around me and trapped me against his chest. I was screaming at Matt, I was screaming at Baloo, but neither one listened. Richard got off one wild shot as Baloo pounced on him, burying Richard beneath his enormous body. Pepper came running to the edge of the drive, promptly turned, and threw up as Baloo reared back and used his massive paw to smack the gun out of Richard’s hand. Richard’s hand lay dangling from his wrist, almost entirely severed.

  About that time, something that looked a lot like a tank came barreling up the drive, stopping just a few feet from Baloo. I watched in astonishment as Matt’s brothers climbed out of the vehicle, each one was dressed like Matt, and they all had guns at the ready.

  The helicopter buzzed overhead and sirens blared from the far end of the driveway. A sedan pulled up, and an older man with a gun holster and a badge on his hip got out followed by a younger version of the man. The younger man with sandy blonde hair was also sporting a gun and a badge, and I cringed. I knew what it looked like out here, and I knew it was even worse inside. One dead, high ranking police officer that was filled with bullet wounds lying on my floor, and if Nathan Philips was crooked, how many more were also?

  In almost a surreal state I followed everyone’s stares to Baloo. Richard was on the ground with his mangled hand and a large scratch across his abdomen. Baloo was going off instinct. This man had tormented and tortured him, he had caused Baloo multiple trauma and Baloo was going to kill him.

  As much as I wanted to give that to Baloo because Richard Taggart deserved to die, I couldn’t. No court would let Baloo lived if he killed a man, even an asshole. I squirmed for Matt to put me down. Instead, he gripped tighter.

  “Matt please, if he kills Richard, they’ll shoot him!” I pleaded through a raspy voice.

  “He’s not in his right mind, Alison. I know you love Baloo, but he’ll hurt you,” Matt whispered back, and the sound of his voice made me feel warm all over.

  I shook my head. “He won’t Matt, he just saved me.” I pleaded again. Dalton walked up and stood next to Matthew.

  “I’ll keep a gun pointed at him,” Dalton began and then when I went to protest, he added. “Through the window of the house, where he can’t see me. If he even looks like you’re his next meal, I take him out, Alison.” Dalton informed me with a grim smile. I could see he meant it, and Matt reluctantly loosened his grip.

  “In position,” Dalton shouted from inside the house. “These blood stains are not coming up Alison, just saying!” He added with a chuckle.

  Rolling my eyes, I turned and brushed my lips against Matt’s. I could tell he still wasn’t on board with this, but I loved him for trusting me.

  I turned back to Baloo and ran forward as he pulled back his paw in what would be a fatal swipe. Richard was unconscious, Lucas was carrying Pepper back toward the massive vehicle, and Reece was watching with fascination.

  “Baloo No!” I shouted with all the voice I could muster past my bruised throat.

  Baloo looked at me, his eyes were wide and dilated. The feral gleam in those brown eyes scared me to my core. Forcing myself to remember that Baloo would never hurt me but recognizing that he was caught up in the frenzy of battle, I tried again.

  “Baloo, please. Please, he can’t hurt you anymore. I know he’s caused you pain, if you kill him they’ll take you away from me,” I cried out to him. I didn’t care if they all thought I was crazy and judging by the two cops standing by the sedan, that was exactly what they all thought.

  Falling down to all fours, Baloo huffed and moved a small distance away from Richard, clearly still torn by his need to finish his kill. Putting myself between Richard’s unconscious body and Baloo’s agitated one, I took a deep breath.

  “Pushing it Alison,” Matt warned, the fear in his voice unmistakable.

  Still agitated, Baloo paced away about five feet and then turned. He let off an ear-shattering roar and came charging back, straight at me. I heard Matt curse, and I held my hand up, hoping to ward off Dalton.

  “I trust you Baloo, I trust you!” I whispered as Baloo came to a screeching halt at my feet. He tucked his head so his large muzzle was inches from my face. He huffed another angry breath and nuzzled his face into my belly.

  Feeling relief so great that I almost fainted, my leg gave out
, and I would have crumpled to the ground or at the very least on top of Richard, but it didn’t happen.

  I heard Matt shout at Dalton to not shoot, and I smiled as Baloo nuzzled his big head under my right elbow, helping me to stand and remaining under my right arm for me to lean on. My Baloo was back, and I let the tears flow as threw my arms around his massive neck. I turned and beamed at Matthew who looked like he was torn between relief and pissed off.

  Shit, I wasn’t out of the woods yet.

  Matt

  As I waited for Alison to return from putting Baloo back in his habitat, I collapsed on the steps. I wasn’t sure what terrified me the most, watching Taggart choking her with a gun to her head or the brave way she faced off with a ten foot, pissed off grizzly bear. I was glad that Dalton was the one in a sniper position. To be honest, I would have taken the shot when the bear started charging Alison. However, Dalton has great instincts, and I’m sure he could have head shot Baloo if things went bad.

  “You okay?” Dalton asked taking a seat next to me.

  “No, I don’t think I am. I’ve been in SEALS ops that scared me less than what I saw today,” I told him as I tried to control the trembling in my hands.

  Dalton chuckled and clapped me on the shoulder as he stood, “She’s an amazing woman Matt, she told the detectives that she was the one that put a knife between Ollie Pearce’s eyes when he tried to attack her,” Dalton smiled even bigger when I raised my head up in shock.

  Alison had skills that I wasn’t even aware of, and I was looking forward to discovering all of them.

  I watched as Lucas tended to Pepper and watched two ambulances arrive. One had come for Trevor who had a pretty bad head wound, and the other was for Taggart. I smiled when the older detective sent a uniformed cop with Taggart to place him under police custody at the hospital.

  “Well, in all my years as a vet, I never thought I’d see the day where a grizzly bear walked away from its prey,” Reece chuckled as he handed me a bottle of water.

  The detective approached the porch, and I stood up. Alison had given them the recorder out of her pocket before she took Baloo back and I was anxious to hear the verdict.

  “Good to meet you, Matt, I’m Detective Donny Wilkes, and this is my son, Detective Josh Wilkes,” The older detective said warmly as I shook first his hand then his son’s.

  “Reece Hudson, how is my little Synclair?” The Detective asked, and Dalton and I exchanged confused looks. It was the younger detective that sorted us out.

  “My dad has known Synclair since she was a kid. She kind of became that sister, I didn’t know I had and who wanted nothing to do with us,” The detective smiled. “When I became a cop, we kind of looked out for each other. She pointed out all the women I shouldn’t date, and I kept an eye on her when she was volunteering at the shelter.”

  I had to smile. It didn’t surprise me to find out that Synclair had carved out special places in people’s hearts. The woman was as soft-hearted as she was gorgeous. Well, once you got past the baseball bats and crotch shots anyway.

  “I knew when I met you that day on Tamrus Street when Syn had taken on that drugged out wife beater, that you’d be the one to stick,” Donny told a sheepish looking Reece.

  “Well, I fumbled the ball for a bit, but I’ve got it all sorted now. I’m sorry you missed the wedding.” Reece told the older man. I smiled at my brother’s quick re-direction of the conversation.

  Officer Wilkes smiled and shook his head. “I got the pictures she sent,”

  “And the whiskey, that was some fine Irish whiskey,” The younger Wilkes added with a laugh.

  “I know I’m not one for flying, but as soon she’s able, I expect a visit with that fine young boy you have there. Pictures are great, but I need the real thing. The kid is like my honorary grandbaby since this one here refuses to give me any,” Officer Wilkes grumped as he pointed to his slightly embarrassed son.

  “Jesus Pop, I haven’t met the right woman yet.” Josh Wilkes replied rubbing his neck roughly with his hand.

  “I don’t suppose you just happened to get a call to come out to Mt. Charleston?” I asked suddenly. The pieces were falling into place, but I wanted to make sure I was putting the puzzle together correctly.

  “I’d imagine you boys had barely let Synclair know that you had hit Vegas city limits before she was blowing up my phone. Besides, I’ve been after the department to investigate Nathan Philips for years. Couldn’t stand the asshole, just couldn’t prove it. With this very clear recording that Ms. Collins provided us, Richard Taggart will go down, and Nathan Philips and Ollie Pearce will be exposed for their parts in all this.” Office Wilkes said with a determined nod of his head.

  “Ms. Collins doesn’t plan to stay here tonight does, she? I mean, I realize her animals need to be tended but her house is a crime scene, and it could be hours before the coroner removes the bodies.” Josh Wilkes asked searching the faces around him for any idea of an answer.

  Clearing my throat brought everyone’s attention to me. “Nope, Ms. Collins won’t be spending one more night here. In fact, I intend to change her name to Hudson just as soon as legally possible. In the meantime, Dalton has secured transport for all of her animals to their new habitats in Carson City and movers will be here next week to get all of Alison and Trevor’s personal belongings,” I informed the group. My brothers smiled, and Josh ducked his head, while Donny Wilkes just outright laughed.

  “What’s so funny? Aunt Ali was almost killed, and Baloo ripped Richard Taggart’s hand off.” Pepper replied with an irritated look on her face.

  “How exactly did Baloo get out of his habitat anyways?” Lucas asked coming to stand behind Pepper.

  Pepper’s young face lit up with pride. “Baloo hates guns. The only thing he hates more than guns is Richard Taggart. As soon as Aunt Ali cut the power to the security system, it disabled all the cameras. That way she could slip onto the property un-noticed. At the same time it made all the electronic gates go to manual, so if you unlocked the bar and slid open the gate, bam!” she clapped her hands together loudly. “Instant animal escape.”

  “How did you get him to come to where Richard had Alison?” I asked glancing past Pepper to check the path for any signs of Alison.

  “I didn’t,” she shrugged. When we all stopped and stared at her, she added, “Baloo knew that Aunt Ali was in trouble, he took off so fast that I couldn’t even catch up. I had no doubt he was running to save her, no less than she’d do for him or anybody she loved,” she answered looking right at me.

  As Alison’s slow, moving body came into view, all eyes suddenly focused on me.

  “Reece, did you get what I asked for?” I asked as my gaze zeroed in Alison.

  I heard Reece laugh, “Yeah, it’s in your car, which is now parked behind the Humvee. I called Dev, and he said everything is set and to call him tomorrow. I grabbed your extra key set like you asked, and it’s on the driver’s seat. I’m going to drive your rental car to the airport then fly home to my wife and son” Reece told me with a smile.

  Alison made her way onto the driveway and stopped. She looked exhausted and so very nervous.

  “Officer Wilkes, If I promise to bring Alison to the station tomorrow to give an official statement, is she free to go?” I asked without even turning my head.

  “Yeah, your fine Matt, go on,” Josh chuckled.

  “The animals?” I asked to no one in particular. My brothers were great in a pinch, and they were incredibly detailed, so I had no doubt of the answer.

  “John’s guy will be here in about twenty minutes, and he’s worked with Trevor before when he visited John. Trevor is giving Camille a list of supplies, food and everything that needs to be in place before the animals are transported to the new Sanctuary and she’s coordinating with Amber to make sure it all goes smoothly. Trevor should be released in the morning, and he’s insisting on being here to get the animals loaded, and he’s going to travel with them to Carson City. And on another
note, when Alison’s ready, John would like to make her an offer if she wants to sell her property. No mining, he just intends to build a training camp and second base for his company.” I smiled and felt a warm rush of love and pride for my family. Every one of these men and women had come together to help Alison when she needed it most. Even Dev had been there for me despite the fact that I no longer worked for Archangels Escort agency.

  “Hey, what am I missing here? What happens to me?” Pepper grumbled as she kicked her dirty tennis shoes against the dirt.

  Dalton smiled, “You little miss badass, get to ride home in the Humvee!”

  Pepper gasped, and her deep blue eyes suddenly filled with tears. All of us looked at one another, we had no clue what do with teenage waterworks.

  “Pepper, you do want to come home right?” Reece asked in a soft voice.

  Pepper sucked in her bottom lip and then blew out a dramatic breath. “I just haven’t had anywhere I considered home before. Aunt Ali has always been home to me,” she whispered as her bottom lip began to quiver.

  Reece pulled the shaking teen into a warm hug and kissed the top of her head. “Well, Aunt Ali is going to Carson City, so Carson City is home and now you have a bunch of new older brothers and some crazy sisters, a slobbering dog and a new nephew that likes to drool on everything,” Reece told her as she hugged him.

  She pulled out of the hug and looked around, and I could see she was processing the fact that she now had four older brothers. Suddenly, her face grimaced.

  “What? What’s wrong Pepper?” Lucas asked with genuine concern.

  “Ugh, I’m never going to date again am I?” she grumbled as the rest of broke out in laughter. “Shotgun!” she screamed taking off in the direction of the Humvee.

  Two seconds had passed before Dalton spoke, “Shit! There are shotguns in the Humvee!” With a round of curses, my brothers took off after the happy teenager.