Protecting Dallas

by Krista Wolf

  “Dallas!”

  It was a hiss and a scream at the same time. A command delivered sternly while trying to be silent.

  “We can’t just—”

  “Can’t just what?” I screamed, whirling around. All three three of them jumped back a little, in surprise. It was oddly satisfying.

  “If this guy knows we’re onto him, things will be even more difficult,” pleaded Austin. “And if—”

  “She’s right.”

  Everyone turned to face Kane, including me.

  “Either this guy is dead,” said Kane, “or he’s not home. Either way, let’s go find something out.”

  “And what if he is home?” Austin demanded.

  Kane’s hands balled into two giant fists. “Even better.”

  My heart swelled with love. Real love. The love you feel when you’ve been around someone long enough to know you want to be around them a hell of a lot more.

  “Fine,” Maddox swore, scanning around. “Let’s get out of the fucking street at least.”

  They moved again, this time past me, this time with purpose. And now they were moving like soldiers, too. It reminded me of the way they crept up in the alley.

  Forgoing the front door, we made our way into the back yard. After examining every inch of a low window’s frame, Maddox took off his camo and began wrapping it around one hand.

  “No alarm,” he said, with obvious distaste. “Either this guy is stupid or overconfident.”

  “Or both,” Austin pointed out.

  A minute later we were inside, weapons out, treading carefully past all the broken glass. The house was clean and well-kept. There wasn’t a lot of furniture, or clutter, or really anything at all.

  “Counters are clean,” said Maddox, sweeping through the kitchen. “No mail. No anything.”

  Kane was already in the hallway, his pistol held high. We made our way down, past a bathroom, into a home office. The desk was clean — the drawers virtually empty. There wasn’t even a computer.

  “Someone’s already been here,” Austin said. He reached down and held up four or five wires. One of them was connected to a monitor, laying face-down on the floor. He tapped something else. A wireless modem.

  “Bedroom,” Maddox said, jerking his head.

  My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my neck. In a way it was thrilling, being here with them. Seeing them work. Watching their movements and hand signals, the way they entered each room by drawing down and checking the corners.

  They’re amazing.

  It was something I’d thought of numerous times over the last few weeks. And especially, over the past few days.

  They’re incredible men… just like Connor.

  Oddly enough, I’d never dated a military guy before. I’d been around several, thanks to Connor, but I guessed they just always saw me as off-limits.

  Still, these guys were different. They weren’t just suitors, they were protectors. They didn’t just like or admire me, they were devoted to me in ways that no other guy could ever be.

  For that reason alone, I was in awe of them.

  Yes… but do you love them?

  I lusted after them, that was for sure. Their hard, lean bodies, strutting half-naked through the halls of the house we shared. The way they kissed me. Touched me. The way they handled me in the bedroom, passing me back and forth between them…

  But what about love, Dallas?

  I did, of course. Love them, that is. I loved each of them in the way I loved my brother, but now there was something beyond that too. Something foreign and intangible, scratching at the back of my mind. Something that set off alarm bells and whistles of warning… but something that registered other, more exciting emotions too.

  “Closet’s clean,” Maddox said from his side of the bedroom.

  “Bath too,” Austin said, re-entering.

  Kane reached down with one big arm and lifted the mattress. It went up easily, and his instant grin made my heart soar.

  “Well I’ll be dipped in shit.”

  We all glanced down. Resting on the box-spring was a laptop computer, all sleek and dark.

  “Lazy motherfuckers,” grunted Kane, picking it up. He handed it to Austin, then put the bed back the way it was.

  Maddox shook his head. “I can’t believe they missed this.”

  “They?” I asked.

  “The other guys involved with Miller. Probably the same ones we chased in the alley.”

  Austin was already turning the computer over in his gloved hands. He opened and closed it, then nodded crisply.

  “We happy?” Kane asked.

  “Fucking ecstatic,” Austin grinned.

  Thirty-Three

  DALLAS

  It took Austin only an hour to break into the strange laptop. We spent another three looking over his shoulder, watching as he sifted through its contents, looking at files and photos and search history information.

  In the end, there was very little to tie Evan Miller to Connor. Much less the Navy at all.

  “It’s a relatively new machine unfortunately,” sighed Austin. “Couple months old.”

  “So… nothing?”

  “Not yet, anyway.” He rubbed at his temples. It was already past midnight. “Other than a few .gov logins, of which I’ll need to reverse-engineer his password. If I get into the base system with his credentials I can tell you a shit-ton of stuff about what this guy’s been doing. But as for the rest of what’s on here…”

  He clicked rapidly a few more times, then suddenly stopped. Austin’s whole expression changed. His eyes narrowed.

  “What is it?”

  “I…” He cleared his throat. “I thought I saw something, but no.” He went to close the laptop. “It’s nothin—”

  My hand shot out so fast he jumped in his chair. I grabbed the machine by one rounded edge. Stopped him from closing it.

  “Bullshit.”

  “No, really,” he fake yawned. “It’s just that—”

  I tried pushing the laptop back open. Austin’s other hand stopped me.

  “Let go.”

  “Dallas, listen. You need to know something—”

  I shifted my hand forward. The others were suddenly wide awake again.

  “I said LET IT THE FUCK GO.”

  Austin looked to Kane for help, then Maddox. Maddox looked confused.

  “What the hell is going on?”

  “There’s a… file on there,” Austin said uncomfortably.

  Maddox’s brows came together. “What sort of file? Is it something we could—” He sucked in a quick breath and stopped. Whatever it was, he suddenly understood. He tried shifting mid-sentence.

  “Oh yeah. O—Okay. Maybe it would be better if—”

  “Show her.”

  Kane’s voice was low and insistent. It left no room for argument.

  “Yeah?” asked Austin. “You really think that’s a good idea?”

  “She deserves to see,” Kane said with a shrug. Slowly, his brown eyes tracked over to me. “It’s going to be hard though,” he added. “Tough for you to get through.”

  A sinking feeling stole over my whole body. My stomach felt like I’d swallowed something sour.

  “W—What is it?”

  “It’s a copy of the last thing your brother sent us,” said Maddox gravely. “A message… from Connor.”

  I felt faint. Weak. Dizzy. The arm I was using to hold the laptop open was shaking.

  “Is… it bad?”

  “It’s not good,” Austin admitted.

  I let go of the computer and sank back in my chair. My skin was prickled with goosebumps. Every hair on my arms stood on end.

  A message. From Connor.

  I tried to breathe but I couldn’t. My chest felt like someone was sitting on it.

  The very last message…

  For a long time, no one spoke.

  “Listen,” said Kane, breaking the silence. “If you want, we can tell you what’s on it. Word for w
ord, we can tell you what gets said.”

  “Said?” My voice cracked.

  “Yes,” said Maddox. There was genuine compassion in his eyes. “It’s a video message. And it… well…” he swallowed dryly. “You’d just have to see.”

  The others were staring at me, as if trying to get me to understand. There weren’t exactly trying to talk me out of it anymore. More like… prepare me.

  Connor…

  I thought about my brother, brave and strong. My brother, who’d faced death over and over without blinking. Who’s delivered death himself, without hesitation, without compromise. Who’d even saved the lives of these very men who were now trying to protect me.

  My brother the warrior, who was afraid of nothing.

  “Alright,” I said, inhaling a long, shivering breath. With the backs of my hands, I wiped away any tears that threatened to gather at the corners of my eyes.

  “Show me.”

  Thirty-Four

  DALLAS

  I didn’t expect the video to begin in darkness, but it did. That part was jarring. I was expecting to see Connor, prepping myself mentally for the image of my brother’s face. The sound of his voice…

  Calm down, Dallas.

  I had to force myself to stop trembling. To keep my body from shivering all over.

  That’s not what Connor would’ve wanted.

  As the camera adjusted its light, I could make out a small, nondescript room. There were no details, no distinguishing markings. It could’ve been any room, anywhere. But from the others’ reactions, I knew differently.

  This was going to be the room.

  Holy shit.

  The room where my brother died.

  I felt a reassuring hand on my shoulder. Maddox’s fingers were warm, his grip firm. Austin sat to one side of me. Kane was pressed up against the other.

  Are you sure you want to do this?

  I shoved the thought away. Stared into the room, into the screen. Whoever had set up the camera must’ve done so from out of frame. I could hear noise now. The sound of doors, slamming.

  Voices.

  Gunshots.

  I gasped as Connor entered the room. He swept in from the side, moving with the swift urgency of being chased, or hunted, or in big, big trouble.

  He ran straight for the camera. Almost to the point where I expected him to grab it and shake it. Instead he stopped short, his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths. He looked winded. Covered in dirt, or grease, or something equally strange…

  Connor!

  The tears threatened to fall, but I choked them back. I concentrated on sitting upright, keeping my back straight, my legs together. Anything and everything but the emotions I was feeling right now.

  “Listen…”

  His head snapped up as he started talking, still gasping for breath. Suddenly he staring back at me with those big blue eyes.

  My eyes.

  “I don’t have much time,” Connor said. His voice was tight and hurried. “By the time you get this…” he swallowed hard, “I’ll already be gone. So don’t act stupid. Don’t think any of you can just rush out and sav—”

  BANG!

  Connor’s head whipped to the right. Somewhere off screen, I could hear the unmistakable sound of a door being pounded…

  Pounded by multiple people.

  “If you loved me at all,” Connor said quickly, “you’ll find and protect my sister.”

  He was covered in blood. I could see that now. It didn’t necessarily look like his blood, but it was blood just the same.

  “My sister has—”

  The voices were louder now. There was more banging, more shouting. Someone fired a pistol multiple times, making the rest of his sentence unintelligible.

  “Find and protect Dallas,” Connor was saying emphatically. “No matter what happens, you have to find her!” Now he did take the camera. He grabbed it and shook it.

  “Go to her and keep her safe…”

  BOOM!

  The door bursts open. A shower of dust and debris flew past my brother in the background. There were more shouts. More screams…

  I covered my face with my hands.

  “I—”

  At this point something broke into frame — a person maybe, or something more. It struck my brother hard enough to knock the camera — and him — straight to the floor.

  CONNOR!

  Everything spun dizzily as my brother disappeared from view. The noise stopped. The shouting stopped. The camera was face down, or powering down, or no longer working at all.

  Then everything went black.

  The ‘pause’ symbol appeared on-screen, signaling the end of the video. It was actually merciful. I was just seconds away from breaking out into tears.

  Austin reached out and closed the viewing window. He took the laptop back and swung it shut, and this time I didn’t stop him.

  “I’m so sorry, Dallas.”

  Maddox squeezed me gently. He lowered his face to plant a kiss on my cheek… just as I flung myself into the combined embrace of all three of them.

  Tears flowed now, and not just from me. I could see them streaking the face of Austin. Of Maddox. Even Kane’s eyes had gone glassy.

  It was unexpectedly comforting. Sharing my grief with the only other people on earth who could possibly relate to it.

  “We’re all sorry.”

  Thirty-Five

  KANE

  I was somewhere warm and wet, surrounded by heat and comfort. Floating. Spinning.

  Happy.

  There was no stress, no worry. These things were somehow foreign to me, although I knew I should feel them. Somehow they’d just dissolved away, in the wake of complacency and gratification. I was relaxed beyond all relaxation. Totally and utterly free.

  And that’s when I knew I was in a dream.

  I woke slowly, aware of movement. Aware of warmth, and contentment.

  Aware of the hot mouth, moving slowly up and down, between my legs…

  Oh… shit…

  I craned my neck to look down, and there she was. Dallas was blowing me, tip to base, her mouth wet and her lips tight and her pretty blonde hair, brushing against my stomach.

  Good morning to ME.

  For a while I just watched her, totally transfixed. Enjoying the warmth of her talented mouth. The feel of her hot tongue sliding against the underside of my fully-erect shaft.

  I shifted, and she glanced up at me. I saw her smile wickedly.

  Then she lowered her mouth and went back to the task at hand.

  Well this is a new one.

  I let my hands go to her head, my fingers sifting into her silky hair. I didn’t guide her at all, but rather followed her movements. Remained content to let her go at her own pace, slowly driving me crazy with every feverish push and pull.

  Damn. A guy could definitely get used to this.

  I could, of course. Only it wasn’t just me. It was all three of us, and just one of her. And yet…

  And yet you still love it. You’re still okay with it, aren’t you?

  In truth I was. And not only was I okay with it, but I would’ve been wholly disappointed if it somehow came to an end. If, for some reason, we’d all decided to stop doing what we were doing. Or if Dallas…

  If Dallas realized this wasn’t for her.

  I mean shit, right? It was crazy. Who actually does something like this? Three men falling for the same woman? Each of them willing to share her with the others, without feeling envy or jealousy or any of the other baser emotions that could rip such a delicate arrangement apart?

  But then there was this other part of me. The part telling me it wasn’t so crazy. That for us — Maddox, Austin and I — the rules were somehow different. That because of our training, our experiences, our long history of living and working and surviving together through some of the most hellacious shit imaginable, pulling off a relationship like this would actually be easy.

  “Mmmmmm…” Dallas moaned, her mouth
vibrating with me buried deep in her throat. I looked down at her again and she winked.

  God!

  Okay, maybe easy wasn’t the word. Plausible. That was better. Maybe even likely. Hell, we’d shared everything else. We’d even chosen to live together after our service, when we could’ve just as easily gone our separate ways. Only we were better as a unit. Better as a team. In the Navy, in the civilian world…

  And now, apparently, in a relationship too.

  Is that what this is? A relationship?

  Well it was certainly something. And I was willing to take it just as far as Dallas wanted to. Ultimately it would be up to her how long this went on, and when it ended. Or even if it ended at all.

  I felt a sharp spike of anticipation at the thought. Just as quickly I pushed it down. No. I wasn’t going to get my hopes up. Whatever happened, happened.

  My body tensed. My legs locked straight as my arousal reached its peak, the feel of her wonderful mouth bringing me over the edge…

  “UNGHHH!”

  The cry was wrenched from my body, somewhere deep near my core. Then I was coming… filling her mouth over and over with what sure felt like gallons of my hot, sticky seed.

  Jesus Christ!

  Dallas’s head stopped moving up near the tip, taking everything I gave her straight down her throat. She gripped me tightly as she swallowed once, then twice, and then finally a third time before lowering her lips back down again and cleaning the rest of me up.

  My orgasm was apocalyptic. The purity of the pleasure was staggering.

  Fuckkkkkk… I groaned inwardly, as she continued bobbing up and down on me. Dallas sucked me for another minute, as if too greedy to let go. When she finally did, I left her mouth with a satisfying ‘pop’.

  Our eyes met, through a tangle of disheveled blonde hair. Her lips were full and puffy now. They looked even more amazing than usual.

  “Good morning sweetie,” she smiled, pinning a lock back over one ear.

  “It sure fucking is,” I smirked back.

  “You were dreaming,” said Dallas. “At least, you were when I got here.”

  I nodded numbly. After the mind-erasing orgasm she’d just given me, fuck if I knew what any of my dreams were about.