by Lexi Blake
“Does Shelley have the charm?”
“What’s the charm got to do with anything?” Wolf asked. “We’re wasting time.”
“Kitten made Shelley swallow the charm so the bad men wouldn’t know she had it.” Kitten smiled.
Leo turned to his brother. “The charm is a GPS tracker. We just have to put in the code and we’ll know where she is.”
Wolf’s jaw dropped. He pulled Kitten into a bear hug. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Kitten was blushing as he put her back on the floor. Her eyes slid away, and she sounded more stable than Leo had ever heard her. “I know the difference between BDSM and real pain, Master Leo. I’m not as crazy as I sound. She was willing to save me. I couldn’t do any less for her.”
“I am very certain Master Julian will have a very nice reward for you.”
“Kitten has been eyeing an overly large anal plug,” she said, following them as they strode out of the closet.
Leo got them to the elevator.
“We’ll find her,” he promised Wolf.
Wolf nodded. They would find her. And then they would never let her go.
* * * *
Shelley’s head was pounding as she came to consciousness. She tried to move her hands, to ease the ache in her temples, but her wrists held fast. She felt heavy and groggy. Had she overslept? What had happened? Where was Leo? Why wasn’t Wolf close to her? She was cold, and she shouldn’t be cold in between her men.
She forced her eyes to open. She wasn’t in bed. She could make out low florescent lights.
“Welcome to our nightmare, princess,” a deeply sarcastic voice said quietly.
Chase. She remembered. Chase had been taken with her. Where were they? Her eyes wouldn’t seem to focus.
“If you want to pretend to be out for longer, I think we can put off the moment when they decide to cut my balls off and stuff them down my throat.”
“Where are we?” Shelley asked, keeping her voice as quiet as possible. It still seemed like she was screaming.
“Hell,” Chase replied. “Either that or it’s a warehouse somewhere near downtown. That would be my guess. I would say we’re roughly three miles from The Club. I was a little out of it, but I think we went north and then west. If by some miracle you get a chance to run, run toward the freeway. Someone will see you. They can’t take you back if there are witnesses.”
Her stomach rolled. She seemed to be duct-taped to a chair. She tried to move her feet. At least she could kick if she had to. She glanced around the large room. She didn’t see anyone but Chase. They were in a huge, industrial-looking space. She tried to find the exits. There were several large windows overhead, but she couldn’t see a door.
“I don’t know if I could run. I feel terrible.”
“It’s from the drugs they used to knock you out. Probably ketamine,” Chase explained. He was taped down in a similar fashion. The big Dom looked worse for the wear. His left eye was swollen shut, and he had a fat lip. Silvery tape wrapped around his torso, holding him upright. “It’s a tranquilizer. Veterinary. Easier to get than the human stuff, but it works.”
“It made me sick.”
“Again, it is supposed to be used on horses. And I wouldn’t mind a dose of it right about now. I think one of those fuckers didn’t expect much of a fight. Holder seemed pissed as shit that I was damaged goods.”
Her brain was still a foggy mess. She tried to clear it. Holder was the man who had helped her with the robber, and then he’d shown up at Leo’s office with the pictures of Ada. Shelley put two and two together and came up with the fact that Holder was an asshole. “He arranged for my laptop to be stolen. Jerk. What does he want?”
There was an echo of footsteps. She forced her head to turn.
“I want a certain tape that your husband made.” Holder frowned down at her. Any vestige of charm was gone. Holder was dressed in black, the stark color a contrast to his silver-white hair. Icy-gray eyes pinned her. “You can tell me where that tape is and make it easy on yourself, or we can do this the hard way. I’m prepared for either.”
He flicked a hand and another man in black walked up, carrying a small metal tray.
“Is that what I think it is?” Chase asked.
“It’s sodium amytal.” He picked up the hypodermic needle.
“I don’t know anything.” They could give her all the drugs in the world, and she wouldn’t be able to help them.
“You should tell them. The jig is up, sweetheart. Holder knows.” Chase’s voice was gravely. “Time isn’t on our side here.”
He emphasized the word “time.”
He wanted her to stall. God. She had to buy them some time. If Holder decided that she didn’t know anything, there would be zero reason to keep them alive.
“Tell me something, Holder,” Chase was saying. “Why did you kill Ada? Don’t pretend you didn’t. You wouldn’t have had those pictures if you didn’t. I assume you’re planning to pin this whole thing on me.”
A cold smile curved up Holder’s lips. “You’ve been out of the game too long, Ben. You should never have revealed that emotional shit to a roomful of people. I was worried about how I would handle getting rid of Miss McNamara here. I thought I might have to cover it all up, but this is so much easier.”
“You won’t be able to cover anything up,” Shelley said. “Leo and Wolf will look for me. They’ll find me.”
Her stomach rumbled again. The charm. By now, Kitten would have finished up her count and gone to find Leo and Wolf. They would turn on the GPS, and they would come for her.
Despite the fact that she was pissed at Wolf, she knew he would come in with guns blazing. She needed to give him time.
Holder seemed willing to talk. “And now, thanks to Ben here, they can find a corpse because Ben has an axe to grind with your pervert boyfriend, Leo. Leo was fucking his girl. Leo was the one she wanted. It’s funny how plans come together, isn’t it? I tried to pin Ada’s murder on Leo. I even studied that damn Shibari crap so the bondage would look right. I’ve been careful, and though I didn’t manage to pin it on Leo back then, I can sure as hell pin this on you now.” Holder got close to Chase.
“So I get pissed off after all these years and decide to take it out on Leo’s sub?” Chase asked. “Why now?”
Holder shrugged as if it didn’t matter to him. “Maybe you like brunettes. Maybe you waited until Meyer found one he truly loved. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. After the cops hear about all the weird shit you guys pull on women, they won’t be surprised you decided to rape this one and kill her and then yourself.”
Rape? She felt her strength return on a tidal wave of anger. “I’m not telling you anything. I hope that file gets out.”
She had no idea what file he was talking about, but she bet it was criminal and could cost whoever was on it some jail time.
Holder was perfectly calm, as though the outcome had already been decided. “You will talk. You’ll talk, and then you’re going to make this all look good for the papers. Meyer will be caught in a shit storm after Ben here writes a long letter detailing how Meyer was involved in a drug-running deal that Ada caught wind of. Ben will say he found out about how Meyer paid to have his bondage girl killed.”
“An interesting story,” Chase said with an uptick of his lips. “But I do see a few problems with it. First of all, how are you going to get me to do anything with only you and the Hulk there? It took four of your assholes to take me down the first time. And a Taser.”
Holder squeezed the syringe until a bit of the drug squirted out. “I don’t need all my men now that I have you two properly secured. Besides, I needed them back at that club. I got them in as bodyguards. I think Lodge might notice if the senator’s bodyguards disappeared. They’re back with the senator now. I doubt anyone noticed them at all.”
“I don’t think I’ll cooperate, Holder,” Chase said.
Holder laughed, the sound grating on Shelley’s nerves. “Your coopera
tion isn’t necessary. My teammate here will simply use your dead hand to fire a bullet from the gun that will take Miss McNamara’s life, and then you’ll be covered in gunpowder residue. Don’t worry too much about it, Ben. I’m good at covering up my crimes. I don’t make mistakes.”
He pulled up the sleeve of her T-shirt, the needle in his hand. She shrank back as much as she could. That needle terrified her. She was still shaky from the last drug he’d pumped through her body. She wasn’t focused. How would she handle something else? Would her heart simply slow and stop? Would she die without ever seeing them again?
She wished she’d never walked off that stage. She should have stayed and fought it out with Wolf.
She braced herself for the strike, but Chase’s voice stopped Holder’s hand.
“You made a huge mistake, Holder. I’m not Ben.”
Holder’s eyes went wide, and he turned to the big guy standing next to him.
“Don’t look at me, boss. I wasn’t there.” The big guy got on his phone.
Holder took a step back. “You’re lying.”
Chase grinned. “Why don’t you pump me full of that shit and we’ll see who’s lying? I’m Chase, not Ben, dumbass. I never met Ada. I wasn’t even in the same country when she was killed. I was in Iraq. And I have zero reason to hate Leo Meyer. Good luck with that.”
Holder’s face got red, and she worried that Chase had made a horrible mistake. And then Chase nodded, turning his chin up, and she saw him. A shadowy figure moved across the window. Chase started to shout at Holder, giving the man on the fire escape the ability to step up. He went to one knee, a rifle in his hand.
Leo or Wolf? It didn’t matter. They were here. They had come for her. She loved them so much. If they all survived, she wasn’t going to be apart from them again.
Holder sneered down at Chase, waving at him dismissively. “Joe, kill this asshole. If he isn’t Ben Dawson, then he’s useless to me. We’ll have to figure something out, but we can’t let him live.”
Joe pulled his handgun and, with a smile on his face, started toward Chase.
“No,” she yelled, trying to move.
Holder turned back to her. He pulled at her hair, jerking her head to one side. “You’re going to tell me what I want to know. I want those files or I swear to god whatever those perverts did to you will seem like heaven. You’ll beg me to let you die. Do I make myself clear?”
She winced, her scalp stinging. She tried to pull away, but there was nowhere to go. She turned her eyes to Chase, who had tried so hard to keep them both alive. He’d bought them time. He couldn’t die now.
Joe held up his gun, but Chase merely smiled at the man.
There was a loud crack, the sound ringing through the air. The shot hadn’t come from the man on the outside, but from her left. Joe’s body jerked, and the gun fell from his hand, clattering to the floor. She heard Holder gasp behind her. Joe spun around, and before he could hit the floor, there was a neat hole in his forehead. His eyes were dead and glassy as he fell.
“Drop it, Holder. Move away from her.” Leo stalked into the room, his feet moving silently across the floor. Wolf was next to him. They moved in perfect time, as though they had been partners all their lives.
They were the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.
Holder tightened his hands around her and quickly shoved the needle in her neck. Shelley screamed at the pain. She could feel the burn.
Holder stood behind her, only paying attention to the men walking toward him. He used her body as a shield. “One step closer and I pump this whole fucking syringe through her system. It’s too much. She won’t be able to handle it.”
“Yes, I can. I’ll be fine.” She didn’t want him to push that plunger down. She wasn’t sure what it would do, but she knew if Leo and Wolf dropped their guard that Holder could have a gun in his hand really fast.
“It’s a barbiturate. I already pumped her full of ketamine. Do you want to see how she’ll handle an overdose of this shit, too?” Holder asked.
“The cops are on their way,” Wolf said. His eyes found hers. “Baby, it’s going to be okay.”
“Don’t you drop those guns,” she replied. “I’ll be fine.”
“She won’t,” Holder said. “I already killed one of your bitches, Meyer. Do I need to kill another one?”
“Ben, that’s a confession. You’re good to go,” Leo said.
Shelley noticed the small device in his ear. Ben was the man on the ledge. Ben was the sniper, and he had his command.
“What the…” It was all Holder got out before Shelley felt something whiz by her head and then Holder’s hands softened, and he fell behind her. The needle stuck in her neck, but Leo was at her side in a second, gently pulling it out and tossing it aside. She wanted to get her arms around him. She’d almost died. She’d almost lost everything.
There was another loud report, jarring Shelley.
“Hey, he was already dead, Wolf,” Leo said, his hand on her skin.
“He stuck a fucking needle in her neck. He can’t be dead enough for me.” Wolf paced the floor, but his eyes didn’t catch hers.
Tears streamed down Shelley’s face. Her neck hurt, but it didn’t matter.
Leo used a knife on the tape, and she was free in a moment. He pulled her into his arms. “Baby, baby, I was so scared.”
She wrapped her arms around him.
Ben ran in the warehouse as the sirens wailed.
“How the hell did you get here so fast?” Chase asked.
“Kitten made Shelley swallow her GPS,” Leo explained.
Chase smiled. “Kitten’s getting a reward spanking. Oh, yeah.”
Shelley held on to Leo like he was a lifeline, but her eyes trailed to Wolf. He glanced at her, but didn’t move to hold her.
“I’m going to wait for the cops.” Wolf nodded and walked out.
“Don’t worry, baby,” Leo said.
But she couldn’t help but worry. Half her heart had just walked out the door.
Chapter Twenty
Wolf stared at the elevator doors as they closed, surprised at how nervous he was. He was bone tired, having slept next to nothing the night before. He’d managed a brief nap while waiting in the interrogation room of the downtown Dallas police station. It had been a long night filled with lots of questions. Julian and the legal brigade had shown up. Taggart had been there, and he looked like he’d pulled some of that hair of his out over the course of the last few days. He’d sworn Julian was the worst and then spent hours standing beside the man. Finn and Lucas had rushed around, smoothing over the fact that he and Ben had killed two men.
“You okay, man?” Ben asked. He looked past tired, with dark circles under his eyes and a deep slump to his shoulders.
He felt for the box in his pocket. It was there. Julian had worked a bit of magic, getting someone to open the store so early in the morning. Wolf had explained what he wanted, and one of Julian’s employees had picked it up.
The right gift. He had it this time. Now he had to hope that she would accept it.
“I’m fine. How’s Chase?”
“Already home. He’s tough,” Ben said. “Don’t worry about him. I think he’s already going through those files trying to find the one Holder was after. He was also able to identify a couple of the men who took him. They got into The Club with a man named Mitchell Cross. He’s a US senator who was visiting tonight. He’s either connected to Holder or Holder used him to gain access. Chase is determined to find out.”
He turned to Ben, whose flat monotone let Wolf know that Ben still hadn’t really processed. “Man, are you okay? You killed the man who murdered your woman.”
A look of pain crossed his face. “She wasn’t mine. She was never mine, but I’m glad she has justice now. Are you going after Shelley?”
Wolf nodded.
“Have you ever had a long-term ménage before?”
Wolf shook his head. “No. I’ve played around, but I’ve avoid
ed it as a relationship. Where I come from, it’s a viable option, but I didn’t want a partner besides my brother.” He laughed a little. “My mother is going to be surprised when we tell her about our wedding.”
It would happen. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“You move fast, man. I don’t think I’ll ever find the right woman,” Ben admitted. “I loved Ada, but there’s no way she could have handled Chase. The two women we’ve had longer-term relationships with weren’t really serious. Chase didn’t want to marry one, and the other laughed when we asked her. Be careful. Shelley seems like a sweetheart, but not a lot of women want a ménage on a permanent basis.”
The door dinged open, and Wolf looked at the long hallway that led to the condo. Ben stepped out.
“No way to know until you try, man,” Ben said. He gave Wolf a tired salute and walked to the condo he shared with his brother.
Wolf walked down the hall. He could still see the moment that asshole had stuck a needle into her neck. It was right there, floating in his brain like a nightmare he couldn’t shut off. He’d realized that she really could die, and his life would be over, too. He’d known he cared about her, but that one second had proven how much she’d taken over his soul. When she’d wrapped her arms around Leo, he’d realized how brutally he’d fucked up.
And how much it would hurt if he couldn’t fix it.
Leo had been able to go to the hospital with her. Leo had been able to hold her and assure himself that she was fine. All Wolf had had for the long hours of the night were short text updates.
He stood outside the condo. Fuck. He didn’t even have a keycard yet. That was ironic. The love of his life was behind the door and he had to knock, had to beg to be let in. He had to hope they were even awake.
He took a deep breath and tapped on the door.
It opened almost immediately, his brother slamming it wide.
“Why the fuck didn’t you call me? Do you understand we’ve been waiting up all damn night? We didn’t know if you’d been tossed in jail or god knew what,” Leo barked at him, making Wolf feel like he was a teenager slinking in after a stolen night.