Sidney’s Triple Shot [Apache Crossing] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (37 page)

“We saw the pictures, Dawson. He’s a psycho. Now, what are we going to do about it?” Derek Novak asked as he stood next to his brother Paxton. The two were born and raised in Apache Crossing and rumor was that they were in love with the same woman. Unfortunately for them, she left town while they were still in high school for bigger and better things and never looked back. They probably understood better than any other man here the helplessness that the three Dawson brothers felt right now.

“What if we have a distraction?” Gage suggested. “We can stage a fire in the motel so they have to evacuate.”

“He’ll see right through it. I know it seems like he is a moron, but this man isn’t stupid. He knows we’re looking for her, and he also knows that if we find them, he’s a dead man,” Tyce said coldly. Xavier respected the anger in Tyce’s eyes. It was the hardest thing he had ever done to just sit here patiently working out a plan of action instead of running into battle half-cocked with blazing guns.

“Tyce is right, but we do need to figure out a way to make sure she’s not already dead or incapacitated,” Nathan Blake said. Xavier flinched at the suggestion that Sidney could be dead already, but he nodded his agreement to Nathan.

“I can call out the National Guard!” Melanie Scott said as she paced near the front door next to her wife, Darcy. “I’m the mayor. Surely I have that authority, right?”

“I think that’s the governor, boo, but it’s a good suggestion.” Darcy patted Melanie’s arm as she paused on her next turn.

“We most definitely do not need the National Guard for this. You have a handful of Marines, ma’am. That’s better than a whole contingent of guardsmen.” Kace Mulvane spoke up from his seat on the edge of the sheriff’s desk, and the rest of the Marine Corps buddies shouted a “hoorah” in agreement. Everyone was silent for a moment as they tried to come up with a solution to their situation.

“I’ll go. I’ve been busy running horses back and forth to shows for the last few weeks, so I haven’t even been able to introduce myself properly to Sidney, much less run into this guy here in town. I’m the least likely to be recognized from Apache Crossing,” Jaxon Blake answered, and after a few more moments of discussion it was agreed. Jaxon Blake, Nathan’s little brother, was the best candidate to make the first contact with Robert Wicks. If all went well, they would confirm that Sidney was okay and scare Wicks out of his hidey-hole so that they could take him out like the scared fox that he was.

As they all got ready to leave for Coleman, Sheriff Lumpy held up his hand to get their attention. “Listen, folks. I know we’re all worried about Sidney, but we can’t start World War III over her either. Everyone has permission to be armed, but
do not
draw your weapon without my signal or in self-defense. Clear?” Once everyone had nodded their begrudging agreement, he continued, “Tyce, you’re the best shot we got around here, so I’m relying on you to take him out once she is clear.”

Tyce’s face lit up like the sun after a rain shower, and he let out a whoop. “Damn straight. I want to repay the bastard for this pretty little plug in my shoulder.”

A round of laughter went through the group, and everyone headed out the door, ready to rumble.

* * * *

“Wake up, you lazy whore.”

Icy cold water splashed over Sidney’s aching face, and she gasped as her one good eye shot open. Robert stood over her where she lay on the bed, holding a plastic cup in his hand. His smile bordered on psychotic, and his normally neatly groomed brown hair was ruffled, as though he had been running his fingers through it restlessly. His clothing was rumpled, which was very unlike Robert, and combined with the madness in his eyes, he looked terrifying.

“It’s about time you woke up. You’ve been out for hours. We need to get moving before those boy toys of yours show up to do something stupid,” he snarled at her.

She moaned as she sat up. “Robert, I’m hurt. I need a minute.”

“Oh! You think I should give you anything? After this stunt? Have you lost your fucking mind, woman? You just ran me across the fucking country, chasing after your fat ass, and now I’m supposed to go easy on you?” His laughter reverberated through her stomach, and she struggled to keep from gagging.

“I said I would go with you, but why would you want me to?” she asked, rubbing at her temple.

“Because you’re mine. I don’t give up what’s mine until I’m damn good and ready. Now, move your ass, and help me pack.”

A light rap on the front door had her heart jumping in her throat, and Robert jumping in general. “Who the fuck is that?”

He peeked out the front window and groaned before opening the door a crack to see who was there. Sidney caught a quick glimpse of a familiar face but couldn’t remember the man’s name. She could hear him asking Robert if everything with the room was satisfactory and if they needed more towels. Biting her lip to keep from giggling out loud, she felt relief wash over her. The man was from Apache Crossing and had been in the bar with Lane and Gage once or twice. She knew that if he was here it was because her men had found her.

“Towels? No, we don’t need towels! We’ll be leaving shortly. We have a long drive ahead of us, and my wife isn’t feeling well,” Robert answered, attempting to shut the door.

“Sir, if you would like, I can call in our town doctor. He’s only a few minutes away, and I’m sure he would be happy to check your wife over.” The man caught Sidney’s eye, and she saw his brow pucker in a frown at her swollen face. He managed a quick wink in her direction, and she gave a slight nod of understanding. Her men were out there ready to rescue her. Her heart soared with the knowledge.

“She’ll be fine. It’s just a little dehydration is all.”

With a loud crack, Robert slammed the door, grumbling under his breath about ignorant backwoods farmhands. He began darting around the room, collecting his things.

“Robert, why can’t you just let me go?” she asked softly, trying not to agitate him further.

He spun around and glared at her. “I don’t just give up my property, Sidney. You’re mine, even if you’re nearly unrecognizable now that you’ve shorn your hair and worn their stench.”

“You don’t love me, Robert—” His hand reached out and grabbed her by the chin cruelly, and she cried out.

“Listen here, bitch. You don’t tell me what I feel, just like you don’t tell me what you feel. You just do as I say so that we can get back to Greenville without incident.”

Deciding that the best plan of action was to just keep her mouth shut, Sidney nodded her agreement, and he reluctantly released her chin. He turned back to the windows and peeked outside again. Something out there upset him, judging by his colorful curse, and Sidney could feel her stomach tightening into a ball. She prayed that it was the Dawson brothers, because she knew that the likelihood of her surviving a trip back to Greenville with Robert was slim. Her wrist ached with a pain that was indescribable, and her face felt like it was ten times its normal size.

Robert was busy shoving his stuff into a dark-green duffel bag as she sat silently on the bed watching him. When he had collected all of his stuff, he pulled the gun from his pocket and waved it at her.

“Come on. Get your fat ass up, and get out to the car. There are several more cars out there that weren’t there before, and I think I smell a trap. Don’t make any sudden moves, or I’ll shoot you and leave you where you fall,” he said, and she shivered at the evil in his voice. How had she ever found this man attractive in any way?

The bright afternoon sunlight burned her eyes as they exited the motel room. Robert held the gun against the small of her back and had the duffel bag thrown over his shoulder. She moved slowly because of her injuries, limping on her foot, and he grew impatient.

“Move faster, damn it,” he snapped and shoved her with the gun. She stumbled slightly, and he had to grab at her broken wrist to catch her. His other hand waved wildly with the gun in it as he tried to jerk her back to an upright position using her incapacitated arm. Trying hard not to scream out loud, she bit her own lip until she could taste blood and see stars.

* * * *

“Let her go, Wicks.” The voice came from their left, but it wasn’t one of her men. She couldn’t see past the gray sheen of pain in her eyes, so she didn’t know who spoke.

“You aren’t going to get out of the parking lot with her, so you may as well let her go.” A new voice spoke, this time from their right. Robert’s body was tense as he pulled her against him, body-armor style. She blinked until her eyes cleared and the roaring in her eyes quieted.

“Put the gun down, Robert.”

“Just do yourself a favor and let her go. Step away from her.”

“You’re making the biggest mistake of your life, douche bag.”

The voices came from every direction now, and Sidney held herself completely immobile, afraid that in Robert’s current agitated state he would pull the trigger by accident. Suddenly in front of her, she saw a glorious sight. Xavier stepped into view, followed by Noah and finally Tyce. Each brother was pointing a gun in their direction, but specifically not aiming at her. Her heart began to thud violently, and her palms grew sweaty. This was the moment of truth.

“So you didn’t die, huh, cowboy? Too bad,” Robert said, letting the gun drop slightly from her rib cage. Just enough for her to draw in a quick breath, accept Tyce’s nod, and drop to the ground in a limp heap.

Her ears caught the crack of the gun as it fired, followed by a quiet whizzing noise, just as Robert jerked to a stop. She twisted her head to the side to look at him, only to see a shocked expression on his face and a small, black bullet hole in his forehead. She watched as the life flickered in his eyes, and suddenly they went glassy. His body tipped, and she jumped to her feet, moving out of the way just as he fell forward. Standing in the middle of the parking lot in shock, she just stared down at his body, unable to process what had just happened.

A second later, familiar arms were wrapping around her, and she was looking up into Xavier’s face. “Sidney, baby? Hang on. We’re going to get you some help. Where all are you hurt?”

She couldn’t speak, and no tears even fell from her eyes. She just mutely stared up at her future husband in awe. He found me, she thought to herself, and then she turned to see Tyce and Noah both at her side, running their hands over her body as they checked for injuries.
They
found me, and they saved me, she thought, and she gave a mental sigh of relief.

“Love, I’m sorry we didn’t get to you sooner. We had to wait for him to come out of the room into the open before we could move in,” Tyce said, looking like waiting was the worst thing he had ever lived through.

“It’s a good thing you’re marrying one of the best marksmen to ever wear the Marine Corps uniform, honey,” Noah said as he pressed a kiss to the unswollen side of her head. “One shot, and Tyce grounded him.”

Sidney’s eyes flew back to Tyce’s, and she tried to smile, but her swollen cheek didn’t allow much movement. Other voices began to intrude on her foggy thoughts, and she looked around them as Xavier held her in his arms.

Nathan Blake and the man who had inquired about the towels were standing to one side talking with Deputy Ruiz. Zane and Ridge Anderson were helping Sheriff Lumpy collect evidence. Another dozen townspeople stood around her, Lane, Gage, Colton, Austin, Kara, Derek, even Melanie, the town mayor…There were more people than she could count, and they were all helping to clean up or watching her curiously.

Finally finding her voice box, she asked, “Are all of them here to find me?”

“Hell yeah, we weren’t about to let someone steal the Dawson boys’ woman,” Lane said loudly, and everyone chuckled. “Not to mention, we weren’t willing to give up one of the best bartenders in the world. Next time though, Dawson, could you let us have a little fun, too. That whole one-bullet-and-it’s-all-over thing was kind of a bummer.”

The towel guy stepped over and smiled down at her. “Hi there, sweetness, I’m Jaxon Blake. I had to get him to answer the door so that we could make sure you weren’t tied up inside. We might have had to go all Rambo on his ass and kick the door in…Damn, that would have been fun.” His regretful tone and Lane’s nod of agreement started her giggling, which made them both smile as Jaxon reached out to shake her uninjured hand. “I wish I had gotten introduced before you got that purple shiner, but you’re still pretty as a picture.”

Sidney managed to say a quick thank-you before Xavier carried her over to an ambulance that was pulling into the parking lot. “Come on, baby. We’re taking you in to the hospital in Austin to get looked at,” he said as he helped settle her onto the gurney.

“Thank you,” she whispered as her three men gathered around her.

“You don’t ever have to thank us for protecting you, baby. That’s our job. I just wish we could have protected you well enough to keep you from all of this,” Xavier said.

“I love you,” she responded as tears finally began to slip down her cheeks.

“We know that, love, and if this didn’t prove to you exactly how much we love you, then I don’t know what will,” Tyce said with a wink.

“I’m riding with her to the hospital. You two follow in the truck,” Noah said, surprising them all.

Even more surprising were the nods of agreement from Tyce and Xavier. A couple minutes later she was strapped into the back of the ambulance with Noah next to her head and a paramedic taking her blood pressure. Staring up into his face with her one good eye, she couldn’t think of anything more beautiful than the love in his eyes.