Part 26 (2/2)
Chloe's eyes had gone huge at the news. ”Grant and Andrew are on their way here?”
She guessed Mel was remembering that scene, too. ”Ah, and here come the lawn mowers now.”
Emily Anne watched as Chloe caught sight of her men-neither of whom looked happy at all. She caught the look of concern on Beck's face-Lucy's, too-and thought that was very sweet.
Grant and Andrew Jessop resembled two minor mountains but Emily Anne knew they were absolute teddy bears when it came to her friend.
Everyone else soon knew it, too, because Chloe ran toward them and leapt. Grant snagged her out of the air, enfolding her in his arms. Andrew moved so that he was pressed against her back and for a long moment, no one said anything as they simply held her.
”We love you Chloe-doe, never doubt that,” Andrew said.
”But you are definitely getting your a.s.s paddled when we get home for not obeying Adam.”
Emily Anne had gotten to her feet the moment Chloe had leapt. It didn't surprise her in the least that her men followed her over to greet the newcomers.
”Guess that means you don't want to know all of what went on in there,” Mel said.
Connor nodded. ”On the bright side, you'll be able to really commiserate with Adam and Jake. h.e.l.l, with Colt and Ryder, too, if the tales I've heard about a 'f.u.c.king shovel' are true.”
”The women of l.u.s.ty sure do know how to do things,” Mel said. ”Unfortunately for the men.”
Grant held Chloe out from him, her feet well off the ground, as he asked, ”What did you do, baby girl?”
Chloe proved that she knew her men pretty well. ”Don't fret. I love you.” She leaned in and kissed him, then turned toward Andrew and kissed him, too. ”Now come and meet Lucy, Beck, and Patrick.”
Emily Anne just stood where she was as Chloe led her men over to the red Escape. She turned to her own men. ”That was kind of mean.”
”A woman's men need to know when she does something that puts herself in harm's way,” Mel said.
”d.a.m.n straight,” Connor agreed. ”How else are the men to know when discipline might be required?”
Just then Hank Stinson approached them. He looked down at Emily Anne and gave her a smile. Then he looked at her men. ”Do you want the EMTs?” he asked.
”Yes, please. Her wrists are raw from the rope that b.a.s.t.a.r.d used on her, and if they aren't treated they could become infected.”
She opened her mouth to protest Connor's fussiness.
”I was more concerned about any other injuries? When that gun went off, I heard the distinct ping of a ricochet. Just took a look. That bullet must have missed you, Ms. Bancroft, by a hair's breadth.”
”I did think I felt something hot by my ear. I didn't mean for the gun to go off, Sheriff. I just meant to grab it before Baxter could, but the safety was off, and, well, with my hands tied, I fumbled it a little. But I got it before he did.”
”You certainly did that,” the sheriff said. He looked at each of her men in turn. ”We're going to conduct a full-scale search of the premises tomorrow morning. You want in on that?”
”Well, you did make me a deputy,” Connor said. Then his gaze landed on Emily Anne. He said, ”Tomorrow is perfect. That will give us time to see to our woman.”
”We still need to get Ms. Bancroft's statement.”
”You don't mind if we sit in on that, do you?” Mel asked. ”We'd really like to know what all happened in there.”
Both men were smiling at her, but Emily Anne wasn't fooled, not even for a moment. She thought of the items she'd bought at Discretion, earlier. She guessed that paddle was going to be getting a workout sooner, rather than later.
Somehow, she didn't think she would mind that one little bit.
Chapter 26.
”Just give me a minute, angel eyes.” Connor eased his woman into his arms, his movements measured and gentle. He needed to put away that part of him that had thrived in wartime, that part of him that had made him so good at black ops.
Emily Anne brought out his softer side, his n.o.bler side, and he needed to hold her, to breathe her in, to know that she was safe in his arms.
To know that she was safe, and sound, and his.
He'd died a thousand deaths as he'd sat quietly and listened to Emily Anne recount what had happened to her today, beginning with her stepping into Lucy Carter's spa and ending with Mel and the guys bursting into that house. Jesus, she could have died when that gun had gone off-when Baxter had already been subdued by Chloe and Lucy. f.u.c.k, Baxter could have shot her at any time. b.a.s.t.a.r.d certainly seemed crazy enough.
Connor looked up and met Mel's gaze. In his best friend's eyes he saw all the raging emotions he felt running rampant through himself. He recalled just a half hour before when Grant and Andrew Jessop had arrived and surrounded Chloe with their bodies and, he knew, their love.
That was the way it should be. That was the kind of family the Jessops had, the kind that he and Mel wanted to build with their woman.
”Get over here,” he said to Mel.
Mel nodded, and sighed, and wrapped his arms around Emily Anne from behind her, so that they had her between them. Whereas during other such hugs in the past, when Mel would have done his best not to touch him, this time Connor felt a masculine hand on his shoulder.
Connor returned the favor and knew there was nothing s.e.xual in their gestures to one another.
They were two men, united as one in loving and caring for their woman. They were brothers more surely than some he knew who'd been born that way.
”I was so f.u.c.king scared,” Connor said. He'd spent his career being a tough as nails, hard-a.s.s, bada.s.s, U.S. Army Ranger. He didn't let his emotions show on the battlefield. h.e.l.l, he didn't let himself even feel them, because they could have gotten him killed.
”When I found out that Baxter had you, honest to G.o.d, angel eyes, I was more frightened than I've ever been in my life. So you're going to have to deal with me hovering over you for a while.”
”That goes for me, too, precious. All the situations I've been involved in during my years on the force kept trying to crowd into my thoughts. I knew how this whole situation could go horribly wrong. I couldn't let those pictures into my head. I had to just focus on getting you out of that f.u.c.king house. So yeah, what he said about the hovering.”
”I can't think of anyplace I'd rather be than right where I am-in your arms. And I can't think of a better fate than to have the men I love hovering over me.”
Mel chuckled. ”You might change your mind when you discover that our hovering includes a spanking later tonight for trying to grab that gun while you were still tied up, hands and feet.”
”Hey, I didn't try to grab the gun, I grabbed the d.a.m.n thing.” Emily Anne eased back, and Connor let her have just enough maneuvering room so that she could look up at them.
He liked, very much, that Mel let her have the same few inches. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that the others were looking over at them, but no one seemed to think there was anything strange about the three of them standing together this way-not even the sheriff.
”And as far as that spanking is concerned...did I mention what I bought when I was out at Discretion this morning?”
Was it only this morning? Connor felt as if a greater period of time than just a few hours had pa.s.sed.
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