Hot Colorado Nights

by Paige Yancey

  “I didn’t see that in any of my scenarios,” Taz said into the radio.

  “They’re firing on us,” Bear said. “Shoot to injure. Kill, only if you have to, to stop that SUV.”

  Derek dropped to a kneeling position, raised his rifle to his shoulder and called out. “Give me suppressive fire, Bear.”

  “You got it.” Bear, Taz and Kujo unloaded their clips on the SUV.

  Derek slid out from the corner of the building. Kneeling on one knee, he aimed at the legs of the men hiding behind the doors of the SUV and fired. He hit a shin on his first shot. He shifted and hit the leg of another man with the second bullet. Then he ducked back behind the corner.

  The three Brotherhood Protectors stopped firing.

  Bear dared to peek. “Two down, but that SUV is still headed our direction.”

  “Cover me,” Derek said.

  Once again, the three men fired on the SUV.

  Derek aimed for the driver through the glass of the windshield and fired.

  The SUV swerved to the right, exposing two of the gunmen.

  “I’ve got them,” Derek said and fired twice. One bullet hit a shoulder of a man holding a submachine gun. The other hit the hand of a man wielding a handgun.

  “Incoming!” Bear yelled.

  A cylindrical object hit the pavement in front of them and rolled toward the edge of the building.

  Derek threw himself backward, landing on top of Maddie, covering her body with his as an explosion rocked the earth and spewed chucks of brick and dust over them.

  His ears ringing, Derek pushed to his hands and knees. “Are you okay?”

  Maddie answered, “I’m okay. But don’t let them get away with that.” Her voiced sounded muffled, as if she were speaking through a pillow.

  “I’m on it.” He wheeled around, his rifle in hand and edged around the corner. He aimed and hit a man holding another grenade.

  The man fell in place, the grenade dropping down beside him and the other guy who’d been firing an automatic weapon at the team.

  Derek moved back behind the wall and covered his ears.

  The grenade exploded.

  When Derek looked, again. Two more men were down, and the driver of the SUV slumped, dragging the steering wheel to the side. The SUV suddenly sped up, aiming straight for the corner of the warehouse behind which the Derek and Hank’s team had taken cover.

  “Move, move, move!” Derek called out. He grabbed Maddie’s hand and ran toward the back of the building. He hadn’t taken ten steps when the SUV crashed into the side of the building.

  Sirens wailed in the night, moving closer.

  “Thank God. The cavalry has arrived,” Maddie said.

  “We’re not out of the woods yet. They could have more thugs in the back of that van,” Bear said. “Kujo and I will circle around the back of the building with Six and come up on their tails. Derek and Taz, can you hold this corner?”

  “We’ve got it,” Derek said. “Go.”

  Bear, Kujo and Six ran around the back of the building.

  “Ladies,” Derek barked. “Get down in the shadows.”

  The women who’d been through so much, dropped down in the darkest corner of the alley, eyes wide but voices silent.

  Derek noted Maddie didn’t hunker low with the others. “You too, Maddie.”

  “Do you have another weapon?” she asked. “I can help.”

  He pulled a pistol from the holster beneath his jacket and handed it to her. “Just don’t hit me.” With a grin, he turned his rifle toward the crashed SUV and eased along the wall of the warehouse to the corner.

  By the time he reached the edge of the structure, police cars raced toward them from both directions, lights flashing. “Thank you, Jonesy,” Derek muttered.

  The bad guys’ van spun and headed down an alley, away from the warehouse district.

  A police car followed.

  Bear, Kujo and Six emerged from the other end of the building.

  More police cars arrived. Several uniforms jumped out of their vehicles and aimed their weapons at Bear and Kujo.

  Six growled.

  Kujo spoke a sharp command for the dog to stay.

  Six sat beside Kujo and continued to growl.

  “Lewis? You alive?” The sound of Jonesy’s voice cut through the wail of the sirens.

  Without moving out into the open, Derek called out. “You’re not rid of me yet.”

  “Status?”

  Lewis stepped away from the corner of the building, dropped his rifle to the ground and held up his hands. With a nod toward the Brotherhood Protectors he said, “Bear, Kujo and the dog are with me. They're some of the good guys. We have a few injured persons who might have access to their weapons. I suggest you disarm them before you stroll into the middle of this mess.”

  Several SWAT team members hurried forward and took the weapons from the injured.

  “Good, job, Lewis.” Jonesy shook Derek’s hand. “LT’s doing his best covering your ass, but you’ll have to answer questions later.”

  Derek wrapped his arm around Maddie. “It’s a risk I was willing to take.”

  The women were loaded into the ambulances and taken to a nearby hospital to be treated and to have rape assessments performed. Maddie had gone with the women to stay with Janie to make sure that she didn’t have any issues resulting from her head injury.

  Derek would rather have gone with Maddie, but he had to stay at the scene and answer questions. Once the Brotherhood Protectors gave their statements, they were cleared to leave.

  “Anytime you need us, just give us a call.” Bear shook Derek’s hand. “If you ever need a job, you’d be a good fit for the Brotherhood Protectors.”

  “Would love to have you on the team,” Taz said.

  “Six likes you.” Kujo said. “So, you’re good with me.”

  Derek grinned. “Hank already tried to recruit me, but I have ties here.” Namely his son.

  “I’m sure Hank left the offer open,” Bear said. “Good working with you.”

  The men clasped arms with Derek, and then left to return to Montana.

  Derek was happy where he was. He had a son he loved, that he was still getting to know, a caregiver who was practically family, and the possibility of more with Maddie.

  Once the scene had been processed, Jonesy dropped Derek at the hotel where he’d left his vehicle. He promised to meet Jonesy and the LT at the hospital. The sooner he got there, the sooner he’d see the woman he loved.

  As he climbed out of Jonesy’s car, he turned to his friend. “Thanks for having my back.”

  “You know I’m there for you,” Jonesy said. “Now that we’ve captured some of the people involved in human trafficking, we might have a shot at recovering some of the women sold.”

  Derek’s fists tightened. “I certainly hope so.” Maddie and her sister had almost suffered the same fate. He hated to think what they could have gone through. “I’ll see you and the LT at the hospital.”

  Ready to see Maddie again, Derek broke a couple speed limits getting to the hospital.

  When he walked through the glass doors of the ER, he flashed his credentials at the receptionist. “Where’s Janie Finley?”

  The receptionist gave him the room number and let him enter the examination area.

  He found Maddie standing beside her sister Janie’s bed, talking with Jonesy and Lieutenant Slaughter.

  “I overheard the men in that warehouse talk about the mayor and moving their operation to a new location,” Maddie said. “Somehow, the mayor is involved in the human trafficking.”

  The LT frowned. “Are you sure that’s what you heard?”

  She nodded, her jaw tightening. “Positive. They didn’t know I was there. I heard it clearly. They mentioned the mayor.”

  Derek entered the room. “No wonder they had us stand down.”

  The lieutenant shook his head. “It’s going to be sticky. Unless one of the men we arrested talks, it’ll be your word a
gainst the mayor’s.” His eyes narrowed. “At least we know which direction to look.” He looked each person in the eyes, one by one. “This information stays in this room, until we get more evidence.” His gaze stopped on Derek. “I expect you back in the office on Monday.” He jerked his head toward the door. “Let’s go, Jones.”

  After the lieutenant and Jonesy left the hospital room, Derek smiled at Maddie. “Hey,” he said.

  A smile spread across her face.

  Derek held open his arms, and Maddie ran into them.

  He moved his hands up and down her to make sure there was no injury to her person.

  Maddie gasped for breath and chuckled. “Derek, I am fine.”

  His breath came out in a sigh. “You’re amazing.”

  She turned in his arms to face her sister and smiled.

  Janie grinned back. “Good to see you, Derek. Thanks for saving us.”

  He snorted. “I didn’t. Maddie saved you and the others.”

  Janie shook her head. “I heard that if you and a bunch of former military guys hadn’t shown up, we wouldn’t have made it out alive.”

  Derek took Maddie’s hand and asked Janie, “Mind if I steal Maddie for a minute?”

  “Please. She’s like a mother hen.” Janie winked.

  Derek ushered Maddie into the hallway, backed her against a wall and kissed her.

  Maddie’s hands wove into the hair at the nape of his neck, and she pressed her body into his.

  When they came up for air, Maddie gazed up into Derek’s eyes, her brow furrowing. “What was it you needed to tell me earlier?”

  “You need to be with your sister, and I have to go for now. But I’ll come by your house later to check on you two,” said Derek in a husky voice. “We can talk then.”

  Maddie turned to kiss Derek’s cheek. “Until later.” She winked up at him.

  After almost losing Maddie, Derek didn’t like leaving her. But he had to check on his son—the topic of the conversation he had to have with Maddie later.

  Chapter 10

  After a barrage of tests, the ER doctor cleared Janie to go home. One of the patrolmen drove the girls back to the jeep Maddie had driven to the warehouse. The patrol unit followed them to their house to make sure they made it back alright.

  Maddie wondered if Derek had requested the police escort.

  As they walked up the steps to the house, Maddie smiled. “So, Janie, are you glad to be back home?”

  Janie looked so pale and little, even though she was taller than Maddie. “I will be glad to get back to normal. Feels like a lifetime has passed since I was taken,” she said quietly.

  “We’ll get everything settled and as back to normal as we can, but first, I think you need to go to bed.”

  Janie nodded her head slowly in agreement.

  As soon as they walked through the door, LouLou came bounding around the corner and straight into Janie’s arms. The large dog stood on her hind legs and licked Janie’s face in welcome.

  Janie staggered backward, laughing. “Best greeting a girl could get.” With a little bounce in her step she walked to the kitchen table and sat down at the table. As quickly as her little burst of energy seemed to come, it drained from her body, and she slumped in the chair.

  Though her sister wasn’t quite herself she was home, making Maddie feel whole again.

  Just then, Maddie’s phone rang. She checked the caller ID and saw it was a blocked number. She hoped it was her father.

  “Hello,” said Maddie.

  “Maddie, are you girls okay?” Her father’s voice came through the line, loud and clear.

  Janie looked up from the table, her eyes widening. “Is that Dad?”

  “Oh, hey, Dad. Yeah, we are now. I tried to call you the other day but couldn’t get through,” Maddie said with gruffness in her voice and a little hitch at the end.

  “Sorry, Maddie. We had some unrest here in Turkey and trouble with the phones and access to internet for the past 24 hours. Talk to me.”

  Maddie looked over to Janie again. They nodded to each other at the same time.

  “We had a situation here, but we took care of it, and everything is fine now,” Maddie said.

  “Maddie?” Suddenly the tone in her Dad’s voice changed, and she knew she’d been caught in a lie. “I know what’s been happening. I got a call from the Lieutenant Slaughter at the police station, as well as from Hank Patterson. I keep tabs on you girls, even when I’m so far away.”

  She laughed at this. “I figured you did, but it’s hard to know for sure when we can’t get hold of you.”

  His voice boomed through the line, “Well, you girls are in luck. I’m coming home in a month, so be prepared.” He chuckled.

  Maddie remembered all the times growing up when Dad was on a vacation or break. He didn’t know how to stop working and always had some activity planned that he wanted to get done. This trip would be the same.

  The doorbell rang.

  “Dad, I better go. Here, talk to Janie.” She handed the phone to her sister.

  As she left the room she could still hear her dad’s booming voice and Janie’s quieter one responding.

  Maddie pressed her eye to the peephole in the door, and her pulse quickened.

  “Maddie, open up,” Derek said.

  Maddie flung open the door.

  Derek swooped her into his arms and planted a kiss on her lips.

  She melted against him, her arms encircling the back of his neck. Maddie opened her mouth to his kiss and met his tongue with her own.

  When they finally broke away, she grabbed his hand. “Come on, let’s go to my room.” Maddie dragged Derek to her room as if they were two teenagers hiding from their parents. She stopped in the hallway and pointed Derek toward her room. Over her shoulder, she hollered to Janie, “Are you okay if I go to bed?”

  Janie yelled back, “Yeah I’ll be fine. I wanted to talk to Dad a little longer.”

  “Okay, Janie. I’m glad you’re back and safe. Love you,” Maddie said, not so loudly this time. Then she sprinted to her room.

  As she crossed the threshold, Derek grabbed her up in his arms again.

  When Maddie tried to say something, Derek covered her lips with one of his fingers, “Maddie, I love you, and I want to make a go of this.”

  “Oh, I do, too. I mean, I love you and want to see where this relationship goes,” Maddie said with a sigh.

  Derek kissed her again, his soft lips moving down the side of her face to the top of her shirt. He suddenly stopped and glanced into her eyes. “Maddie, I wanted to tell you before, but so much has happened in a short time… There’s one thing you need to know, before we go much further,” Derek said all at once. He stepped away from her for a moment, and his broad shoulders squared.

  The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, and Maddie could see the sparse hairs across his broad chest. Her heart beat faster. She wanted to touch him, but she held back. Whatever he had to say was important to him.

  He met her gaze, unflinchingly. “I have a son.”

  Maddie blinked, her heart racing. “You have a son?”

  He nodded.

  Maddie loved kids and didn’t seem to understand what the problem was. Unless… “You’re not married, are you?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I’ve never been married. After we broke up, I went to college and met a girl. We got engaged, but then she left me. I thought that was the end of it, until a couple years ago, she told me we had a son. His mother was dying of cancer. That’s why I left the military. I had to take care of them. She died, and I’ve been raising Jacob ever since.”

  “Okay.” Maddie took a deep breath and let it out before saying, “When do I get to meet him?”

  He smiled. “Soon.” Derek moved toward her like a cat stocking it’s pray. “But first…” He caught her in his arms and backed her up until she felt the mattress against her thighs.

  “Yeah. First things first.” And she loosened the rest of the b
uttons on his shirt and tugged it free of his jeans.

  Soon, clothes were flying, and their bodies came together at last.

  Derek kissed a path from her mouth down the side of her neck to one of her taut nipples. He sucked it into his mouth and pulled hard.

  Maddie dug her heels into the mattress and arched her back, tingling spreading from her core to the tips of her fingers.

  Once he had suckled both breasts, he moved back to her neck and kissed her up to her mouth.

  When he latched onto her lips, Maddie sighed.

  The tip of his cock pressed against her entrance, and he stopped.

  “What?” she said, eager to consummate their relationship.

  “Protection.” He bent over the side of the bed, grabbed his pants and rescued his wallet from the back pocket. “There better be one…” he muttered.

  Maddie chuckled.

  He held one up, triumphantly.

  Snagging the packet from him, Maddie tore it open and rolled it down his swollen shaft. Then she grabbed his hips and guided him into her. Their tongues danced together while he moved in and out of her.

  In one move, Maddie rolled them over, so that she was on top and Derek was on the bottom. Maddie wiggled until her core was poised just over him and let her wet entrance seep over his hood. He then lurched, and his cock was inside of her again.

  Maddie’s mouth formed an O as she moaned and rocked up and down on him. When she felt she couldn’t move anymore, Derek pushed her off his body, rolled off the bed, then pulled her to the edge. He bent her over the bed and spread her legs. His cock probed until he felt her warm wet entrance, and then slammed into her body.

  A scream rose up Maddie’s throat, and she buried her face into the mattress. She quivered from the explosion erupting inside her body.

  Derek moved in and out of her a couple more times, and then buried himself in her, his cock throbbing with his release. When his body relaxed, he scooted her deeper onto the mattress, and then lay down beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

  Maddie spoke first. “I could stay like this forever in your arms.”

  Derek smoothed her hair out of her face and said, “We can stay like this for ever, but I’m sure there are things we both need to do.”