Bound For You: Men in Blue, Book 6 (16 page)

“Whoa.” He dropped the towel, steadying her before swinging her into his arms once more.

“Sorry.” She struggled to keep her eyes open without much success.

“Go ahead. Sleep.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll tuck you in.”

“You’re not going to leave me by myself, right?” she asked without caring that the question made her sound clingy and sort of desperate. He wanted her to need him. She did. So much.

“Hell, no,” he swore. “I’m going to give you to Ben while I clean up and then I’ll join the two of you. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but hey, I’m always up for a snugglefest. Tomorrow, while Ben’s at work and Julie’s at school, maybe you and I can go bed shopping for something that the three of us will fit more comfortably in.”

She smiled, her eyes already drifting shut as he carried her into his room.

They were still open enough to spot Ben there, waiting for them, exactly as he’d promised. He’d changed the sheets and borrowed some pillows from another room, probably his own, which meant they’d smell extraordinary. Pajamas he hadn’t bothered with. Naked, he looked like a sultan lounging in his harem—exotic, compelling, and in command.

He held his arms up and Ryan settled her into them. Curling into his side, she absorbed his heat and the security of his biceps, which immediately coiled around her. Ryan drew the covers over them before giving her a chaste kiss.

Then he did the same to Ben.

Shari sighed, nodding off.

The last thing she heard was Ben murmuring, “You’re good for him, Shari. I always knew you would be.”

“
We’re
good for him.”

“I’m starting to believe you might be right.” He hugged her, though not so tight that she couldn’t feel the tremble in his hands or hear the racing of his heart.

Sometime in the middle of the night, one of her lovers resettled himself and she roused. Not enough for full consciousness to take hold, but enough that she detected Ryan’s presence behind her, spooning her. He wrapped around her body, his arm reaching over her to rest across Ben’s abdomen.

From where her cheek was pillowed on Ben’s lightly furred chest, she glimpsed a piece of his smile in the starlight, which beamed through the window. Contentment. It was a look she’d never seen him wear before. Hopefully he would more often from then on.

With that memory permanently etched into her heart, she sank back into a deep and dreamless slumber.

S
hari felt downright lazy
, still lounging around early the next afternoon. Ben had left for work long before she’d gotten up to pee then stumbled back to bed, crashing for another few glorious hours of rest. Did that mean she’d slept twelve hours straight? Or nine hours followed by a three-hour nap? Either way, it had been glorious.

Then Ryan had made and served her brunch in bed. Stuffed with the fluffiest omelet she’d ever had along with a healthy serving of cinnamon crepes and fresh fruit, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to move even after he’d cleared away the tray. Now she read a book while watching him work out in the guys’ home gym across the hall. “I can see why you used to spy on Ben while he was lifting weights.”

“I know, right?” Ryan flexed, letting her admire the results of his hard work.

She’d made a half-assed comment about joining him, planning to use the treadmill. With very little effort, he’d convinced her that she shouldn’t feel peer pressured.

Sold.

Tomorrow she’d be less of a slug, she promised herself.

If she was being honest, she was kind of sore and feeling raw emotionally from their interlude. Not to mention so damn sated, she wasn’t sure she’d ever find a shred of motivation again. Except maybe for buying that bed Ryan had mentioned last night. Sleeping with both him and Ben had been one of the best experiences of her life, but probably they could use a few more inches of mattress for her men to spread out on.

She liked the way that sounded in her mind.

“What are you smiling about over there?” Ryan asked.

“Mind if I pick out a bed online and have it delivered? I think I can manage that, at least.”

“Great idea. Go for it. Make sure it’s huge, okay?” He grinned now, too. “We need lots of room for all the positions I want to try.”

“Check. I’ll also find one that has a canopy or maybe ironwork. Something we can tie you to well enough that you can thrash all you want without ever getting away from Ben and me as we take turns devouring you.” She winked at him.

“Shar…” he growled, then dropped his weights, making a deafening clatter. “Do you know how uncomfortable it is to work out with a boner? Besides, I promised Ben I’d let you recover today. Don’t make me a liar.”

“Who, me?” She smiled. “Besides, you don’t have time for a quickie if you plan on taking a shower before we need to leave for Julie’s bus stop. You said two-thirty, right?”

“Yeah.” He wandered to her then knelt in front of the bed so that he could take her lips in a seductive kiss. “Damn, that’s good. Mmm. I’ll never get tired of tasting you.”

Shari took another sample. He was pretty damn delicious himself.

With a sigh, he rolled to his feet then headed for the shower. From the hall, he called, “Hey, would you mind picking up Julie from the bus stop by yourself? I’m thinking about braising some short ribs for dinner. They’re Ben’s favorite. Figures, they take fucking forever to cook. If I wait until after she’s out of school, there won’t be enough time for them to get nice and tender.”

“I’ll do anything for your meat,” she joked, just so she could hear his rich laughter some more.

In reality, she couldn’t wait to see the girl again. Hopefully Julie hadn’t minded staying with her honorary aunt and uncle after her birthday party.

As far as Shari was concerned, more time spent with her was a huge benefit to a relationship with her uncles.

***

S
hari leaned
against a tall oak tree and pretended to scroll through her social media profile so she didn’t look as out of place as she felt. A few parents milled about, though no one spoke to her. Hadn’t since she explained who she was there for and watched the raised brows and sly looks the rest of the group exchanged. She wondered if they ostracized the guys, too. Either because they were two unrelated dudes living together while raising a little girl, or because they’d heard rumors of the Sex Offender trials.

Well, fuck that. She was willing to admit she might be defensive, overprotective even. But heaven help them if they so much as turned their noses up at Julie. Those cows, even the dad cows, didn’t know what awesome people they were missing out on having as part of their lives.

Shari definitely did.

Not a moment too soon, the yellow bus waddled around the corner and stopped with a hiss. Kids with backpacks half the size of their entire body, cartoon lunchboxes, and colorful layers of clothing bounced down the bus stairs one by one. They skipped or ran ahead of their various parents as they headed for home and the freedom of afterschool playtime.

Soon, Shari was the final person waiting.

The bus driver peered down at her from her ugly green plastic throne. “Who’re you supposed to get?”

“Julie Weber.”

“She didn’t get on the bus today, ma’am. Let me radio the school and see what’s going on.”

Shari bit her lip as she strained to catch the bus driver’s conversation over the scratchy radio. Her gaze flew down the row of windows as if Julie might have simply forgotten this was her stop.

“Okay, thanks, I’ll let her know,” the bus driver said as she hung up the mouthpiece.

“Is she still there?”

“Nope.”

Blackness encroached on Shari’s field of view. Stars flickered on the very edges.

“Calm down, honey.” The bus driver smiled when Shari felt like doing anything but that. “They said one of her uncles—a Brian, maybe—picked her up.”

“He did
what
?” Shari felt her panic drain, replaced by relief. Then confusion. Then fury.

To be sure there hadn’t been some mix up, she whipped her phone from her pocket and checked her messages for a change of plans.

None.

How could Ryan do that to her?

“Thanks,” she said curtly with a halfhearted wave to the bus driver before beginning her march to their apartment. As soon as she hugged the shit out of Julie, she was going to talk to Ryan. Or at least she’d try. Yelling at him might be more like it. Sure, they were just getting started, but he couldn’t change his mind like that and not inform her. Jesus.

Her hands shook, making the breeze chill her skin, which was covered with an icy terror sweat.

Screw marching. Shari began to jog.

She took the stairs two at a time, bursting through the cracked-open door. Ryan had barely stepped into the kitchen, his arms piled with grocery bags. He spun around and gaped, as if she looked half as bonkers as she felt right then.

“Shar? What’s up?”

“Where is she?” Shari shoved past him, needing to set her eyes on Julie to finally silence the alarm bells ringing in her brain.

“Who?” he asked.

“Julie!”

“What? I thought you were going to get her from the bus stop?” He dropped his load on the counter, without seeming to give a single fuck that they’d spilled all over.

“I did! I mean, I went to the bus stop.” The sickness spread through her gut now. “She didn’t get off the bus. They said one of her uncles had picked her up at school. Brian, they told me. I just assumed…”

“It wasn’t me.” He rushed to her, grabbing her shoulders. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She nodded furiously as her throat began closing off. “They said Brian. I thought they must have misspoke.”

“What the fuck?” He was already snagging his phone to verify with the school.

Shari didn’t waste any time either. She dialed Lucas.

While Ryan roared in the background, ripping the administrators for allowing Julie to leave the premises with someone other than an actual approved family member, Shari plugged the ear not pressed to her own phone.

“Hey, Shari,” Lucas answered.

“Oh my God.” She could hardly force words out of her chest, which seemed to get tighter by the second.

“What’s up?” He may have sounded calm, but she knew him well enough to know he’d flipped into soldier mode. Instinctively.

So she didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Did you pick Julie up from school?”

“No. We dropped her off this morning. Walked her to her classroom, then came home.”

“Shit!”

“Calm down.” He tried to coach her. “Tell me what’s happening. Facts only. Quick.”

“She didn’t get off the bus. The school says one of her uncles picked her up. It’s not Ryan, he’s here. Ben’s at work. I have a horrible feeling.” She tried not to burst into tears. Double when she glanced up and saw Ryan smack his palm against the refrigerator.

“Has anyone checked with Ben, in case he got off early?” Lucas asked, making her feel stupid.

“Ben?” Ryan took deep breaths. The deceptive calm of his voice was at complete odds with his tortured expression and his posture now that he folded in half, propping one hand on his knee. “Hey, checking to see what time you’re going to be home. Want dinner to be ready when you get here.”

A pause.

“Not until six? No, that’s fine. I’ll let you get back to work since it’s a busy day. See you then.” He hung up before he could drop any hints. The last thing they needed was to stomp on every one of Ben’s triggers after they’d convinced him to be more vulnerable.

“Shari?” Lucas called, a little louder this time.

“No. He doesn’t have her. Ryan checked.”

“Oh, fuck. Okay. One of you stay put in case she wanders home. The other can drive around and look for her. I hear your panic. Take deeper breaths. Hold one in. You can’t hyperventilate now or you’ll only slow us down, having to take care of you.”

She didn’t bother to respond before doing as he instructed.

“Now let it out slow.”

Shari obeyed.

“Keep doing that.”

When the world stopped tilting, he continued, “Okay, here’s the plan. I’m going to call Mason and we’ll put the Men in Blue on it. You hang tight. Want Ellie to call you and stay on the line while we’re waiting for next steps?”

“No. I’ll be okay. Do your thing. Fast.”

“Will do. Later.” He disconnected without wasting a single second more.

“Shari, where is she?” Ryan had never looked so pale.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry. The first time I’m responsible for her and look what happens.”

“Not your fault. I have to go look for her.” He jogged into the kitchen and snatched his keys from where he’d dropped them on the counter. “This can’t be happening.”

“I’ll stay here. Lucas is calling Mason. Every cop in the city will be searching for her within five minutes.” She rushed to Ryan and flung her arms around his waist. “Be careful, please. Drive safe. I know you’re upset…”

“I won’t do anything crazy. Promise.” He kissed her forehead then bolted from the apartment, leaving her reeling in the quiet.

Absolutely alone.

Just like every other time in her life, she was left behind to wait and see how things turned out while other people, men she loved, did the grunt work.

Never again, she decided right then and there. Next time she would be on the front lines while someone else held down the fort and chewed their nails to the quick.

It didn’t take long for her phone to start lighting up like one of those Christmas light displays timed to rock music. Lacey, Lily, Jambrea, Izzy, and Ellie called nearly simultaneously.

Bad news traveled fast in their circle.

Izzy, who lived closest, also texted.
I’m on my way over.

Thank God. Shari grabbed a tissue.

By the time she answered the phone and patched everyone into a group conversation, she had officially started bawling. “Where can she be?”

Their chorus of “we’ll find her”, “don’t worry”, and “things like this happen all the time” were drowned out by another thought.

“How will I tell Ben that she’s gone? He sent her away because of me. This never would have happened if it had been a normal day. The school probably got confused because she has so many uncles and they’d met another new one this morning.” Now she sobbed.

“You are not responsible for this, Shari.” Lily used her most intimidating Mistress tone to try to hammer that fact into her brain.

It only sort of worked.

The next two hours passed in a blur of commotion, officers calling in reports, and their ladies filling the apartment with support as they came over one by one. Finally, Ryan dragged himself through door, utterly dejected.

“I can’t find her anywhere.” He crossed to her and held her so tight she could hardly breathe. “I checked her friends’ houses, the skating rink, every park and playground we’ve ever taken her to around here, the candy store, the pet shop... She’s not there. We have to call Ben. We have to tell him.”

“Tell me what?” The man himself asked from the doorway. His rapidly darkening gaze hopped from person to person in the room. “Is someone going to fill me in on what the fuck is happening? There are enough cop cars outside to thwart a bank robbery. Is someone hurt? Worse? I was afraid something happened to one of you. Julie?”

The dread in his expression socked Shari straight in the heart.

Shari ran to him then. She leapt from a few feet away, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his hips as he caught her with a single huge hand, which spanned her ass. “I’m so sorry, Ben. We didn’t want to worry you in case it was a simple misunderstanding.”

She couldn’t see him, but she felt Ryan at her back. He said the words she couldn’t. “Julie’s missing. Someone we can’t identify picked her up from school today and we haven’t been able to find her
yet
.”

Ben stumbled backward as if he’d been shot point blank.

Ryan shouted and reached for him, keeping him—and Shari too—from crashing to the floor. She unwound herself from him, then helped Ryan as they supported him, leading him to the couch. He sank onto the cushions as if his skeleton had turned to jelly.

His slack features, devoid of any emotion, terrified her more than if he’d smashed furniture or wailed in anguish or…anything else, really.

“The Men in Blue are on the case, Ben,” Lacey informed him when neither Shari nor Ryan could drum up the right words.

“We’re going to get her back,” Mason promised as he came inside.

“Keep faith in that,” Ryan instructed. “Remember the stuff we talked about last night. It’s just like that. She’s fine. She’s out there. And we’re going to bring her home soon. Really soon.”