by Vonnie Davis
He ran one hand through her hair as if he couldn’t bear to stop touching her and depressed a button on whatever he spoke into. “Have a situation. Bastard put a weight-controlled button under her pillow. As soon as she lifts her head, a buzzer will go off to alert them.”
“Copy. In ten seconds, move her and get the hell out.” Was that Noah’s commanding voice? “Synchronize now. Point. Zero.”
Quinn depressed the Indiglo light on his watch, counting under his breath.
A blast shook the building, followed by three more. Plaster shifted down from the ceiling like baby powder. Good God, what kind of pistols are they shooting?
In one smooth movement, Quinn lifted her from the bed, slung her over his shoulder and carried her to the window. She peered around his body to see how far up they were. Thank goodness they were only one floor off the ground. If they fell, they’d only suffer a broken leg, or something. She raised her head to look around. Milt jumped from the back of a dark van and scurried for his Cutlass. Quinn wrapped his hands around a rope and slid down, using his boots as anchors on the section of the rope below them.
Once they hit the ground and were on the run, he pressed his mouthpiece again. “Clear of the building and hauling ass for the Cutlass.”
In a matter of seconds, the whole side of the building blew out, bricks flew everywhere. Dust and debris floated through the air like falling leaves. Wait, these guys had more firepower than little old pistols.
“Give me the total collateral damage.” Noah’s voice sounded again. Was he in charge?
“Two, sir. Our main objective and his brother, or so he claimed. Two wounded and in a world of hurt.” Wolf laughed, of all things. “One might have to sit down to piss from now on, thanks to Ryder and the other smart-ass is going to need a knee replacement.”
Out of the smoke of building destruction and fire, three soot-covered, smiling warriors approached, dragging two men.
“Put me down. I want Wolf.” Quinn set Cassie on the ground and she took off running. Wolf dropped his hold on the hurt fellow and opened both arms for her to leap into. “Baby girl,” the big tough guy choked out.
“Thank you for saving me. I’ve got the best oldest brother in the whole wide world.” Her tears started again.
He swung her back and forth in a grasp so tight she could barely breathe. “Damn straight.”
She hugged and thanked Ryder and Barclay. Then her gaze swept to the two men on the ground, bleeding and crying. “You!” She pointed to the one holding his knee. “You put your hand under my nightgown and remarked about my bald hootchie.” She kicked him twice in the stomach. Took a step away before deciding that wasn’t enough. She marched back, grabbed him by the hair and punched him in the eye. “No one has the right to touch me there.”
Obviously sensing trouble, Quinn jogged over and placed the barrel of his rifle to the man’s temple. “Trouble, angel?”
“His…his name’s Kyle and he touched me someplace private and…and then…he called me a cunt.”
“Oh, he’s gonna have to die. No one calls my baby sister a cunt,” sneered Wolf.
“We’ve been authorized to use any force necessary. Do what you think is right.” Noah’s footfalls sounded closer. Several of the streetlights were out; this area was really downtrodden. Through the haze, his shape finally took form as he approached from across the potholed street, his rifle slung over his shoulder.
Ryder stepped on Kyle’s wounded knee and he cried out in pain. “A man who would treat a lady like that would probably rape her and not give it a second thought.”
“He threatened to. He and Chris were going to set up a camera and tape them doing things to me.” Now that the danger was over, she started to tremble. Her teeth chattered. The violation of having her genitals touched by a strange man would replay through her mind for a long time. Quinn enveloped her in his arms and kissed her face several times before turning her over to her brother.
“Wolf, you want to take her to the van so Jace can treat her for shock? Tell Jace I put some of her favorite chocolate bars in his first aid kit. I want to talk to this asshole for a minute.”
Quinn pivoted toward the brother Chris called Kyle. ”You touched my woman? You dirty, filthy bastard touched my woman?” By this time, Noah had joined them.
Cassie grabbed Quinn’s arm. “Don’t you dare do anything you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”
His expression, when he turned it on her, was feral. “Don’t you get it? You are my life. And I’ll hurt any bastard who tries to take you from me.”
Wolf scooped her up, cradling her in his arms, and ran for the van.
“What will Quinn do to that man? I won’t have him going to jail for murder. I have a wedding gown on layaway.”
“And a veil.” Wolf winked. “Let’s not forget the veil edged in alternating rows of seed pearls and Austrian crystals.”
“You’ve been listening.”
He opened the back door and handed her in to Jace. “It’s not like I’ve had any choice in the matter. Keep her in here. Quinn has a man he needs to teach some manners to.” Jace wrapped a blanket around her and hugged her close. “Quinn told me to tell you he put chocolate bars in your kit for Cassie. The way she’s shaking, she could probably use some sugar.”
****
“What do you think?” Quinn poked Kyle’s neck with the barrel of his rifle. “We’ve got authorization to kill him.” The bastard had touched his angel and scared her.
Ryder slipped a long knife out of his cargo pants and sliced the zipper out of Kyle’s jeans. “I say we cut his pecker off so he can’t ever hurt another woman like he planned to do to our baby doll.”
Not a bad effing idea in Quinn’s opinion.
“Good idea.” Noah leaned on his rifle. “For the charges he’s got against him, he’ll be in jail the rest of his life. His cell husband won’t care if he’s got a pecker or not. All he’ll be worried about is his ass.”
By this time, Kyle was a blithering crying fool. “I didn’t mean nothin’ by what I said to her.”
Quinn knelt next to him and grabbed him by the shirt. “Did you or did you not call my future wife a cunt?”
The stupid fool had the nerve to laugh. “Hell, what’s wrong with that?”
Noah pulled a quarter from his pocket. “Heads, he dies. Tails, his pecker goes.”
****
By the time Noah called the pickup number on the card included in his government manila envelope, Wolf, Jace, Cassie and Quinn were in the Cutlass with Milt. Ryder, Barclay and Noah would take the van back to the fire station.
First stop for the family in the Cutlass would be the emergency room to have Cassie’s blood checked for traces of whatever drugs she’d been injected with and to apply clean bandages to her cutting wounds. While she was being examined, Milt and Jace would go to her apartment and pack her several changes of clean clothes and her toiletries. Because once Quinn got her home to his place, he wasn’t planning on letting her out of his sight until he began to calm down, which he feared might be in twenty-two or twenty-three years. He held her on his lap as close as a person could be embraced and still breathe. He’d almost lost her. The most important person in his life and he’d almost lost her to crazy Chris.
Cassie ran her hand over his hair. “You can loosen your hold. I won’t disappear.”
“Don’t talk to me. I’m so damn mad and so grateful at once; I know I won’t make a bit of sense. I want to kiss you all over and paddle your ass at the same time.” He buried his face in her neck. “I have never loved anyone the way I love you. I’ve never needed anyone the way I need you.”
She held him to her for a few moments, stroking his head and shoulders, no doubt trying to ease some of his tension. “What did you do to Kyle?” She cupped his face in her hands and peered into his eyes. “I want the truth. What did you do to him?”
“One of us fixed him so he can never harm another woman. He’s alive. He’s just not the man he on
ce was. Anything beyond that is a government secret. Besides, you’re the one who gave him a black eye.”
His angel leaned in and placed her lips to his ears. “He touched me where only you’re allowed to touch me. And he called me a dirty name. I can’t wait to take a long, hot bath to wash away his touch.”
“Whatever you want, baby. There’s just one thing. My parents flew down tonight and they want to meet you.”
“After all I’ve been through these last twenty-four hours, now I’m going to have to meet your mother and Buck?” She held out her bandaged arms as if to signal her embarrassment. “I didn’t think you and your dad spoke.”
“I was so scared when I found out you were in danger, I called the only person who I knew could help—and he did. Somehow, thanks to all that’s happened today, dad and I have reached a tentative truce. Believe me, no one’s more surprised than I am.” Quinn slipped the cell from his pocket and dialed his mother.
“Son? Son, do you have her? Is she safe? Are you okay?”
“Yes, we’re both fine, but exhausted. We’re taking Cassie to the hospital for lab work and a thorough physical. Where are you now?”
“The plane just landed and we’re on our way to the car rental place.”
“How long will you and dad be here? We don’t know how extensive Cassie’s examination will be at the hospital. We’ll likely be too tired for conversation tonight. Could we meet for breakfast in the morning?”
“Why, yes of course.” There was a note of disappointment in her voice. It had been over three years since they’d seen each other. “That might be best. We’re rather tired ourselves from hurrying to meet the flight. Where shall we meet?”
“How about Sandy Seashells at eight? She makes the best eggs Benedict, and I know how you like those.” He gave her the address and she wrote it down.
“But you’re both all right?”
“We’ll know for sure after the blood work. They gave her some injections and we have no clue what they were.”
“Oh dear. What terrible, terrible men.”
“Is Dad nearby. May I speak to him please?”
Her voice warmed. “Yes, he’s right here.”
“Son?”
“I can’t thank you enough. The equipment and the support was all top-notch. Without your help, I wouldn’t have her.”
“Well…” He coughed and cleared his throat. “Did I understand your mother’s end of the conversation correctly? We’re waiting until tomorrow morning to meet?”
“Yes, we don’t know how many hours we’ll be at the hospital having her checked out.”
“I ah…” he laughed or wheezed again. “I understand she gave one of the men a black eye for calling her an obscene name.”
Damn, how does he find this stuff out so fast? “Yes, sir, she did. The girl’s got a mean right hook. She’s a cross between a kitten and a tiger.”
Cassie straightened on his lap. “Hand me the phone.” She made a beckoning motion with her fingers. “I mean it, hand me the phone.” He gave her the cell. “Mr. Gallagher? My name is Cassie Wolford and I want to thank you for all the help you provided in my being rescued. They were nasty men with mouths as foul as the sewer. Not that I’m averse to cussing someone out, you understand, I just think you ought to know them first, and, sir, I didn’t know those ass-wipes.”
His father’s laughter boomed over the phone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Jace, does Wendy Anne know about all this excitement? You know how she worries. Did you call her?” The whole family tended to overprotect Jace’s wife. She was entering her sixth month of pregnancy, after losing their first child.
Jace seemed lost in his own world, staring out the side window of the car. “No, she has no clue. She thinks I’m at work. But then we didn’t tell her about the text either.”
“What text?”
“What text? Oh, the one Quinn got the other day from that guy, threatening to kill you if Quinn went back to work in DC. You know, that’s one thing I still can’t figure out. What difference would it have made to Chris if our man went back into government work? Chris was doing his own mercenary thing. Right? I can’t get it all to settle right in my head. Something’s off.”
“When did you get the text?” She tried making eye contact with Quinn, but he stared at his thumb, rubbing gentle circles over her knuckles.
“Maybe the dude was afraid of being discovered and arrested. He probably knew Quinn would keep digging through files until he figured out who wiped out his team.” Wolf emptied the bottle of water he drank. “Man, I’ll be glad to get a shower later. Once we know Cassie’s all right, I’m going home to Becca to snuggle in for the night.”
She slid off Quinn’s lap to sit between him and Jace. “When did you get the text?”
Quinn rubbed his forehead and tensed. “The day you unloaded my U-Haul in one of your hissy fits.”
“So, the first time we made love, you knew my life was in danger and you never thought to mention it?”
“Whoa!” Wolf held up both hands. “TMI in this car right now. I do not want to know my baby sister is having sex.”
“Butt out, Wolf.” She shifted in the seat to stare at Quinn. “You sent me off afterward as if I was nothing more to you than a one-night stand, knowing some wacko out there had me in his sights?”
He exhaled a shaky breath. “I didn’t want you to be scared.”
“So, when did you tell Wolf and Jace?” And not me.
“Last night, after we made up in the hospital.”
“After you told Dr. Paxwell how much you respected me and my intelligence and my strength.” The joy slowly seeped from her body like air from an inflated balloon. “Did you tell my sisters?”
“No, we were still arguing that out.” Wolf glanced over his shoulder at her. “Jace wanted to, so they could keep a closer eye on things, but I was afraid you’d find out. Quinn wanted them to know, too, but I felt you were under enough stress, having started with the cutting again.”
“Maybe, had I known, I’d have paid more attention to my instincts about the nurse Chris was imitating. I got this really bad sense about him. He didn’t act like a real nurse. Nor did it seem kosher that he gave me a shot in the neck. Maybe, had I known, I could have protected myself. Wait. That policeman in the hallway. He was for me, wasn’t he?”
Quinn clamped his broad hand over her thigh. “Calm down, angel. We were only doing what we felt was in your best interests.”
“So I was in enough danger to have a policeman stand guard over me, but I wasn’t important enough to tell?”
“Being in the hospital the way you were, what could you have done? That guy who followed you on the Kawasaki the other day?” Milt glanced in the rearview mirror when he stopped for a red light. “That was Chris. You were in more danger than you can imagine, sugarplum, and these guys were just trying to protect you the best way they knew how.”
“How old am I going to have to be? Thirty? Forty? Fifty? How old before you all deem me strong enough to take care of myself?” She was tired and sore and in need of a bath. Yes, she was being cranky but, dammit to hell, she’d had a long, hellacious day. Her nerves were shot.
Quinn snatched his hand from her leg and glared at her. “Maybe when you start behaving in a more consistent manner, then we’ll know how to treat you. One day, you’re the sweetest person on this earth. The next, you’re ready to fight whoever gets in your way. On another, you’re on the phone to one of your big brothers because your car’s not running the way it should or you can’t get the stove to work right. Then, when things get really tough, you resort to the teenage behavior of cutting. So which Cassie are we dealing with here, because I’m damned tired and I’d like to know.”
Quinn tapped Milt’s shoulder. “Pull over up here. I’ll call for a taxi. I’ve had enough of Cassie’s tirades. I need to be alone for a while.”
“You’re an asshole for talking to me like that.”
He smiled in
an almost cold-hearted way. “Hell, I’ve always been an asshole. You just now figuring that out?”
Milt eased the Cutlass to a stop, and Quinn waited for him to get out to open the door from the outside. “Have you given any thought to the fact that all of us put our lives on the line for you tonight? We risked everything for you and you want to throw a teenage bitch fit because you were left out of the loop.
Well, try thinking what the last forty-eight hours have been like for your brothers and for me. You know, trying to carve out a spot in your life is damn hard for any man when your big brothers are always going to come first.”
He leaned toward her until they were nearly nose to nose. “And a woman’s pussy is called a cunt. Grow the fuck up and learn to say it.” The door opened and Quinn jumped out. He strolled across the street with his hands jammed in his jeans pockets. His head down and shoulders slumped, he walked out of her life, but most definitely not out of her heart.
Milt settled himself behind the steering wheel and started the car’s motor again. “He’s coming down from that flashback he had. My brother sometimes acted the same way.”
Wolf’s phone rang and he answered. “Okay. Will do.”
“Was that Quinn?” Jace turned from the window.
“Yeah, he wants to know how she is once the physical is over.”
“Like he cares.” She folded her arms and shifted in her seat. The things he said to her were so not true.
“What Quinn said held a lot of truth. You keep bragging how you’re twenty-one, yet you still expect baby sister rights.” Jace glanced at her, his eyes narrowed in an expression almost accusing her of something. “Wendy Anne said nearly the same thing to me once. That she felt at the bottom of my female priority list. I almost lost her to you sisters soon after we married. Not that she doesn’t love you all. She does. Sometimes, she just feels lost in the crowd. We’re a close-knit family. Not everyone can handle the strong bond we share.”