“Do you know him?” he asked again.
I again shook my head no.
I felt relieved, though; if this was how it was going to go, we would easily take twenty minutes, and the raid would be here by the time we got to the end of the line. One at a time, I just needed to deny each of them one at a time.
But I wasn’t that lucky. After about ten people, Rudy got frustrated and threw me onto the ground. He clearly wasn’t a man with patience.
“Just tell me which one of these guys you know,” Rudy yelled.
Marcus, and the other man working next to him, came and picked me up from the floor. I looked at them in desperation. I couldn’t take it any longer. I couldn’t draw this out until someone arrived to him, there was no way.
“I know her,” Zed stepped forward from the other end of the line and said.
His eyes were filled with sorrow, and I felt so bad for him. Zed was such a sweet man, and he literally stepped forward and was willing to get killed in order to save me. He didn’t care about the mission or anything else; he just wanted to make sure I wasn’t hurt.
I looked at him with urgency; I couldn’t understand why he had stepped forward. Why would he put himself at risk if he knew the raid was coming?
I broke free from Marcus and the other man holding me and tried to cause a commotion, but Rudy was there quickly and grabbed me by the hair and pulled me toward him. I fell to the ground, and he yanked me back up by my hair and stood me in front of him.
His face was only a few inches away from mine, and I could smell his breath. He was a disgusting man with horrible breath and poor hygiene. I just had to stall for a little bit. Anything to make the time pass so Marcus and Zed weren’t hurt and got this guy behind bars.
“You’ll be dead in a few minutes, sweetheart; no running away now.”
His eyes were cold and void of any emotion. I felt the fear as it took over my body, and I couldn’t move. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t stand the thought of him killing the guy that worked with Marcus. I closed my eyes and felt Marcus and the other man grab onto me again.
This was it; it was all going to be over in just a minute. Zed was going to get shot and then Rudy was going to turn the gun on me. I just knew it was going to end, and there was nothing left for me to do.
Rudy made his way toward Zed with his gun drawn; he passed in front of Marcus and I and then the other man who held onto me. I closed my eyes for a moment as I thought Rudy was going to shoot Zed, and I didn’t want to see it happen.
Then suddenly, the second man holding onto me let go and wrapped his arm around Rudy’s neck. Marcus grabbed the gun out of his hands, and Zed took the gun and held it toward the long line of people.
I could see the shock on everyone’s faces. Not only was their boss being held in a headlock, but the two men that were closest to him were the ones doing it. The two men that he had not expected at all were the ones who had turned against him.
Luckily, none of them had their weapons anymore; since Rudy had suspected them all of being possible moles, he must have had their weapons taken from them. A few of the people looked like they might try to rescue their leader Rudy from Marcus and the other man who held him, but there wasn’t enough time.
Within seconds, there was a swarm of swat team people that broke down the door and screamed as they entered the room. I stood still as the men forced their way into the crowd and moved right past me. Each man grabbed one or two people and pressed them to the floor as I heard them shout.
“Put your hands up,” they yelled. “Everyone on your knees with your hands in the air.”
I looked at Marcus and the other man that had been holding me. They had control over Rudy and were moving him to the ground. It all had happened so quickly. I just stood there and took a step back as I watched the whole scene unfold.
It was chaos as each person was held to the ground and searched for weapons. There was screaming and plenty of swearing as Rudy’s men put up a valiant fight against the police force that was arresting them.
I continued to move back farther and farther from the scene until I ran into the wall on the other side of the room. Then I slid down against the wall and started to shake as I realized the whole thing was finally over.
I pulled my knees up to my chest and covered my face as I was overcome with emotion by the whole situation.
Then suddenly I was swept up off the ground. I looked up and saw Marcus. He had me in his arms and walked with me out of the warehouse. I expected he would set me down in the parking lot outside, but instead, he just kept walking.
“Where are you taking me?” I laughed, and he continued to walk farther and farther away from the warehouse.
“Somewhere beautiful,” he said.
Marcus adjusted his grip and continued to carry me. It reminded me of the night we first made love and how he had carried me from the forest where I had been taking pictures all the way back to my house.
I let my head rest on his shoulder as the determination in his steps brought us farther and farther away from the horror of the warehouse. The sound of the police sirens began to get drowned out as we moved closer to the city and farther from the crime scene.
The sun was rising as Marcus finally sat me down on a bench overlooking the shipping yard. I could see the whole city of Chicago behind me and the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen right in front of me.
“I wish I had my camera,” I whispered as I looked out over the water.
Marcus leaned down and kissed me. The gentle loving kiss of a man who had finally finished the hardest job of his life.
“Some moments don’t need a camera to be remembered,” Marcus said. “Are you coming?” he yelled behind us.
I lifted my head to see Zed running up to us. It was over. The horror was over, and as Marcus set me down and the three of us watched the sunrise, all I could think about was how happy I was to have Zed and Marcus in my life and how I couldn’t wait to get home to Stanley and even Rob.
The love of these four men was certainly more than I had ever hoped for. I was excited to see what our future together would look like.
Epilogue
“I’m making pancakes,” I yelled up the stairs to get the guys to come and eat breakfast.
“I don’t know how they can sleep so late?” Zed laughed as he put some plates out.
“Well, I know why Marcus is sleeping late.” I giggled. “It’s my fault; I kept him up late last night.”
“Yeah, yeah, I don’t need to hear about it.”
“I’m sorry.” I grabbed Zed around the waist and playfully reached for his cock. “You know I’d really love to have you alone next time. No Marcus, none of the other guys. Just the two of us.”
“I think we could manage that.” Zed kissed me and then went back to setting the table.
Zed had exclusively been the second guy in the bedroom since we had returned home. He seemed to really like threesomes, and I was actually coming to enjoy them myself. But Zed was such a sweet man, and since he was living with me now, I wanted to get to know him on a more personal level. I wanted to see how he and I could get along when it was just the two of us.
“Come on, put a shirt on man,” Stanley exclaimed as he walked into the kitchen. “You and Marcus really need more clothing.”
“Jealous much?” Zed flexed his six pack abs a little to tease Stanley.
Although Stanley had a house in town, he was in the process of moving in with me. As much as he talked about wanting a wife and a family, we always found ourselves back together, and we just decided living together again felt right for the time being.
When he was ready to move on, I was going to be happy for him. If he never wanted to move on, I would be perfectly happy with that as well. Stanley was one of my best friends, and I loved him very much.
“When are you two leaving?” Rob asked as he joined the group of us in the dining room for breakfast.
“Tonight. So you two will have to take
care of our girl,” Marcus said as he appeared in the entryway to the room.
I loved how Marcus always referred to me as ‘our girl’ because that was how I felt. I wasn’t just Marcus’s girl, or Zed’s, or Stanley’s, or Rob’s. I was all of theirs, and that was exactly how I liked it. I had no plans to choose just one of them. In fact, I loved them all and loved the life we were making for ourselves.
“Marcus, I thought you were leaving tomorrow?” I asked.
“It got moved up,” Zed chimed in.
“Don’t worry, baby.” Marcus grabbed me and kissed me passionately. “We won’t be gone long, and it’s just a staff meeting and going over the notes from the last project.”
“No danger,” Zed added.
“I’m actually going to be out of town for work this week,” Rob said as he shoveled pancakes into his mouth. “So I guess Stanley is holding down the fort.”
“Uh oh,” Stanley said dramatically. “I’m responsible for Isabella, alone?”
He faked a look of terror, and the guys all laughed at him. It was a running joke among the guys that I was too much for just one of them to handle, and I should be left with two of them at any one time. I didn’t argue with that theory at all. I did like having at least two of the guys around.
“Oh, don’t worry guys. You remember that new guy that just opened up the coffee shop on main street,” I said playfully. “I could always agree to go on a date with him. You know … if I’m too much for you guys to handle?”
“No,” they all said in unison.
I busted out laughing at the idea. I certainly had a full love life with Marcus, Zed, Stanley, and Rob, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. There was no way I wanted to try and navigate adding another guy to the mix. Not because I didn’t believe there were great guys out there, but I really liked how well my men got along and how our little family interacted. If I added another man to the mix, the dynamics would surely change, and I wasn’t sure I could handle that.
“Don’t worry, I’m teasing. I love our life,” I said and got up and went around to give each of the guys a kiss on the cheek. “Now I’m going to take some photos. You two be safe,” I said to Marcus and Zed. “Rob, I hope your trip goes well. And Stanley, I can’t wait for you to get back from work tonight.”
I grabbed my camera and stood at the front entryway looking at all the guys as they started chatting among themselves and finishing their breakfasts. My life wasn’t traditional by any means, yet as I looked at the guys, I felt like they were my family. Everything about this life was more than I could have hoped for.
Even Willow and Marv had come around to accepting my relationships with the guys. Marv actually enjoyed having so many guys around to talk about sports and other stuff with, and Willow could see that I was really happy. I wasn’t faking it. I wasn’t just saying I was happy. There was a genuine happiness in everything I did nowadays.
“Bye, Isabella,” Marcus said and blew me a kiss. “I’ll keep Zed out of trouble, don’t worry.”
“See you tonight,” Stanley added.
“Don’t worry, we will be back in two days.” Zed laughed. “And I’ll keep Marcus out of trouble.”
It was our running joke now that Marcus and Zed always said they would be back in two days. Even though they were always gone for much longer.
“I’ll be back, Sunday,” Rob said. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay safe too.” He laughed.
“I love you guys,” I replied before heading out of the house and toward the woods to get some more pictures. I had a whole new photography show that I needed to get photos for. There was no time to waste.
THE END
Dear reader,
I really hope that you liked this book! If this is the case, I’d appreciate a short review on Amazon!
I’ve got a special surprise for you: You find my billionaire romance “Her Savior” on the next pages for your reading pleasure - enjoy! ;-)
Her Savior
A Billionaire Romance
Sarah J. Brooks
Chapter 1
Jenna
“Good morning Bruce,” I said as I walked through the front doors of the San Francisco Ballet rehearsal studio.
“Jenna, it’s six o’clock. You’re not supposed to be here this early.”
“Oh, cut me some slack. I’m trying to get this choreography done for the charity event. I promise not to cause any trouble.”
I stood at the front desk of our old five-story building near the edge of town. The ballet company had moved to this building a few years before, and we were in constant need of updating and repairing rooms throughout the building, but the lobby was fantastic. It had marble floors and a huge security desk that you had to pass to get into the building. We didn’t always have a security guard there, but in recent weeks, the construction crew had lots of theft, so they requested the desk be staffed twenty-four hours a day.
“Miss Cassandra will have my butt if she knows I let you in,” he said, looking around as if Cassandra was nearby and would hear him.
“I know, I promise I won’t tell her you let me in.” I continued walking through the main door and to the back practice room.
Bruce was my favorite security guard by far. He always let me come in and practice during off hours, even though Cassandra forbid any of us from being there when she wasn’t. He normally just worked during the overnight shift, but now was working all sorts of hours trying to make sure the desk was covered all the time. It was a ridiculous rule that dancers and staff weren’t supposed to be in the studio in the off hours and basically was due to Cassandra’s control issues. She loved telling the board of directors that she was the first one in and the last one out every day; even though it was hardly ever true. Most of the time, the dancers rehearsed after she left or met up in other locations to practice when they needed to.
I didn’t actually get to dance, though, and I didn’t attend the rehearsals that were off site. As the assistant choreographer, I didn’t get to do very much at all. Cassandra managed the ballet company and did all the choreographing of the numbers. But that was about to change. I’d worked on a perfect routine for the upcoming masquerade event, and I knew Cassandra was going to love it. Since this event wasn’t being held on a stage, I really hoped Cassandra was going to let me take the lead.
For nearly two hours, I ran through my choreography and prepared for when Cassandra arrived at 7:45 a.m. The event was going to be huge, and my idea was to split the dancers up a little and have them spread out through the crowd, instead of doing a dance that was just in front of everyone on the stage. After the main dance, each of the dancers could grab a donor from the crowd and spend some time with them either dancing or talking.
If big donors got a chance to interact with the dancers, I really thought they would be more likely to give more money. The excitement had me literally jumping up and down as I ran out the back door and waited for Cassandra to arrive.
With a quick run around to the side of the building, I saw my grumpy boss pull up and walk in the front door of the building. Her ridiculous rules were no match for me; I just pretended to follow them and showed up right as she walked through the main door. I hurried up behind her so I could get her undivided attention before all the other dancers arrived.
“Cassandra,” I yelled after her. “I’ve got some ideas for the choreography on the masquerade event.”
She rolled her eyes and didn’t stop and wait for me as she got into the elevator, and I barely caught the door as I slipped inside with her. Everything about Cassandra made me nervous. She had a constant scowl on her face, at least as long as I’d known her. I’d heard stories of what she was like before I started working there. Somewhere in the past, she was actually nice, but then she turned rotten, and that was the only side I’d ever seen.
“Why do you insist on ruining every morning for me?” she growled at me.
“Can I tell you about my idea for the event?” I asked, ignoring her question.
>
“I’m sure I can’t stop you.”
“Okay, so picture this,” I said as I started to get excited. “We have the dancers pair up and dance in small groups throughout the venue. Then, after the performance, they each grab a donor and spend some time with them. Maybe they can dance with them, or get a drink, or something else.”
“Okay,” she said as she looked at her phone.
“Yes? You like it? So do you want me to show you the routine I put together?” I asked as I literally couldn’t keep still.
“Sure, show me,” she said without looking up.
As the elevator opened, I started dancing and showing her some of the moves I had put together. I followed her down the hallway and to her office, although she barely looked up from her phone at all.
“Great. When the dancers get here, why don’t you teach them the choreography? Then I’ll come down later, and you can show me what you’ve put together? I’ll make necessary changes, and we will go from there. I really thought you would have already worked on a routine for the event, but I guess now is better than nothing.”
“Really? You’re going to let me take the lead?” I could hardly breathe I was so excited. I chose to ignore all the other comments she’d added in there. “Thank you so much. I will not let you down. I’m going to knock this out of the park. We are going to have a record-setting fundraiser.”
“Okay, now go away,” she said grumpily and shut her office door on me.
I ran past the elevators and to the stairs. This was what I’d been waiting for. This was exactly what I wanted so desperately for the last two years that I’d worked here. Dozens and dozens of ideas had been shot down over the years, but this one she liked. This idea was perfect and was my key to finally getting to choreograph something real.
I flung the door open on the main floor and ran to the practice room to wait for all the dancers to arrive. I could barely hold back my excitement when the crew started to load in. Most of the dancers hardly knew who I was, but Elaina and Stacy were my friends and came straight over to talk to me.
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