Spread Your Wings: Men in Blue, Book 4 (14 page)

“But was it good?” Tyler asked, seriously. “Because you have chemistry. I can see it. The rest can be fixed. If you want it bad enough.”

“Fuck. Yes.” She winced more from the admission than Lacey’s light needlework.

“Jambi, why does it sound like you’re not happy? We’ve all been rooting for you three to get together.” Lacey hugged her gently, offering what comfort she could as she clipped the thread and moved on to bandaging the wound. Next she attended to the myriad scrapes dotting Jambrea’s front. “I’m not sure why this took so long, honestly.”

“Because they’re dumbasses.” Jambrea didn’t hold back.

“Gotta point there.” Razor nodded as he came in and stood near his fiancée and their unborn baby. “And they’re probably about two seconds behind me. JRad and the rest of the gang too.”

“Perfect.” Jambrea wished she could close her eyes and drift off. Even if the ruckus hadn’t been enough to keep her conscious, the tenderness setting in would have. Plus, she really wanted to hear about who they thought had done this.

None of their group would be secure until they figured that out.

“I can’t believe they waited forever to act on the sparks between you all. Why waste time? All of us know you only get so much before it’s too late.” Izzy might have been the littlest, but she was tenacious. They’d all done a lot of living in the past year or two.

“Hell, I didn’t even know it was them. Your sister blindfolded me. It could have been any two guys fucking me for all I knew or cared.” She tried to blow off the impact of their union, but inside something shattered, cutting her to pieces.

“The hell it could’ve.” Matt didn’t usually get riled like that. Thunderclouds brewed in his gaze. As soon as he noticed that Lacey had fixed her up pretty good, he continued, “I admit we should have done things differently. But blindfolded or not, some part of you knew it was us. Didn’t you?”

She didn’t answer right away.

“Don’t lie, wild thing.” Clint stood shoulder to shoulder with his partner, making it difficult for Lucas, Ellie, Ben and Ryan to fill up the last of the free space in the room.

“Jesus. Could this be any more mortifying?” She would have buried her face in the pillows, but Izzy, Lacey and Lily had her surrounded in an infinite group hug. “Does everyone need the details on my pathetic sex life?”

“No.” JRad saved her. He put one hand on his wife’s shoulder though he didn’t take his stare from Jambrea. “We need to know anything that will help us figure out who shot at you and why, though. Can you think of anyone who would be pissed that you’d go to the club?”

Jambrea shook her head. “No one in my life would give a shit. Other than Parker, I only have you guys.”

More heat flooded her cheeks.

“Same for a bunch of us.” Lily patted her shin. “It’s the family you choose that counts. But you’re right, none of us mind if you want to flash your freaky side. Indulging at the club is your business.”

“Speaking of…” Matt took his shirt off this time. With both him and Clint naked from the waist up, Jambrea felt her pulse spike. Not helping.

Especially because his cover up attempt—as he clearly intended to drape the material over her—only highlighted the marks they’d left on her and revealed her handiwork. They all got a good look at the scratches she inflicted.

Razor whistled. “Nice job. I think I see why they’re calling you wild thing.”

“It’s because of her tattoo, asshole.” Matt whapped the youngest of their cop brothers upside the head with the lightweight cotton before stalking closer to her and holding it out. He helped her thread first her head then her good arm and finally the bad one through the holes. She swam in the damn thing, but it was better than flashing them all any longer than she had to.

“Sure, sure.” Razor winked at her.

“Knock it off.” Clint growled at the kid. “Why don’t you take a nap, Jambrea? I’ll stay if you’ll let me, but I get it if you’d rather one of the girls keep you company instead. We need to compile the list of people we’ve pissed off and then, when you’ve rested, we’ll go get your things. You’re staying with us until this is resolved.”

“Do you think just because you both fucked me, you get to boss me around?” Jambrea propped her hands on her hips despite the sting in her muscles.

“Holy shit. It’s a trap. Don’t say yes.” Razor took a whap from Lucas’s cane for that one though Ellie giggled a little in the corner. The light titter was enough to make it worth it. Jambrea hadn’t heard her that relaxed since the Men in Blue had rescued her from Morselli.

“You’d rather stay alone in your apartment when there are crazy people on the loose?” Matt crossed his arms. Nothing could get past that broad expanse of chest. The one she’d lounged on so recently.
Shit
.
 

Psychos taking pot shots or certain death by sexual frustration.

She couldn’t say which would lead to a more hideous demise.

“I think it might be best to lock the three of you alone somewhere until you sort all this out anyway.” Mason looked to Tyler and then to Lacey. “I can’t say we were much better than you guys, but hell, don’t throw away years. We could have had so much more, if only I would have admitted…”

“Your dad made sure you couldn’t.” Tyler hugged his partner. Tears sheened Lacey’s eyes. “No sense in second guessing. We’re all who we are now because of what happened. No one will ever break us apart.”

Jambrea wished she could say the same. She peeked up at Matt then Clint to find them both staring at her. Clint rubbed his fingers over her skipping pulse, conveniently across her matching
no regrets
mantra. Damn them.

“Fine. But I’m not going anywhere without Parker. He’ll be hungry.” She wouldn’t budge on that point. “Give me a little while and then I’ll go with you. We’ll pick up my things and his travel bowl.”

“You’re worried about the stupid fish again, seriously?” Matt let his head bang on the wall beside him. “Someone tried to kill you tonight. Came too fucking close. Going to your apartment is crazy. Can’t we send one of the guys over instead?”

“He’s not
just
a goldfish. And he’s not dumb.” Jambrea knew it was ridiculous, but she crossed her arms, gasping as her wound scraped against the dressing Lacey had fashioned.

“You’ve got to learn to take what you can get, boys.” Lily patted Clint’s tight ass. “There is such a thing as compromise. If you’re each stuck in your corners, demanding all or nothing, you’ll only ever have three discreet points. Come together, just a bit, and you can draw a triangle, where you each get what you need.”

No one bothered to argue with the relationship expert.

Besides, fighting took too much energy.

“I could use a nap too.” Izzy volunteered. “Why don’t you all go brainstorm and come get us when you’re ready to head over to Jambi’s place? The rest of our guys can watch your back while you collect your stuff.”

“Sure,” was all she could manage before her lids grew heavy and she snuggled into the fluffy covers.

“If you need anything, we’ll be right downstairs.” Matt leaned over and kissed her forehead. He whispered in her ear, “I’m so fucking glad you’re okay. We’ll fix the rest. I promise. I won’t disappoint any of us again.”

“Whatever he said.” Clint approached her, then brushed his lips against her knuckles. “Me too. Because I like it when you smile like that. I missed it. I thought what we did tonight would make you happy. I’m sorry we screwed that up too.”

She might have responded if he hadn’t pressed his fingertips against her mouth, then retreated slowly. “We’ve got your back. Never doubt that.”

Chapter Seven

The soft orange glow of dawn limned the horizon. Birds sang in harmonic chirps as if everything in the world were as perfect as a new day in the suburbs. Jambrea hadn’t meant to sleep all night, but the painkillers Lacey had administered worked their magic. Next thing she knew, she’d staggered down the stairs of Lacey’s pretty house to find the guys still going strong on fact-finding in the living room while their women supported them—cooking breakfast, taking notes or keeping them company as they dozed nearby.

Matt had paced the hardwood floor, his shoulders tense as he tipped his head side to side until his neck cracked. The moment Clint spotted her, he’d raced to her and wrapped her in a hug. Brain fuzzy, she hadn’t fought him. And soon after, her friends had fed her, helped her shower and dress, then prepared to send the three of them off.

She figured it was for the best, to keep everyone else isolated from their trouble. It didn’t seem like any major ah-ha moments had cropped up during the darkest hours of the night. Putting some distance between the three of them and the rest of the Men in Blue would be wise for the whole group.

So here they stood, in the driveway of Lacey, Mason and Tyler’s home, hugging out their farewells.

“If things get too intense, you can always come stay with Jeremy and me.” Lily put her arms tentatively around Jambrea. Her friend swallowed hard. “If you’re still comfortable at our place…”

Jambrea didn’t hesitate in squeezing back. Her reputation as cool-headed and forgiving had been rightfully earned. It was hard to stay angry when she knew the other woman had acted with positive intent. “It’s all good, Lily. We’re okay.”

“Thank you. I’m not used to having a best friend, you know. I promise I’ll get better at it.” The tiny lady with huge personality smiled and snuggled into the crook between her husband’s chest and his arm, which curled protectively around her shoulder, in a rare display of vulnerability.

That Lily could allow glimpses like that to her new family awed Jambrea. It wasn’t so long ago that the tough-as-nails Mistress had shocked everyone in the hospital Jambrea worked at when she recounted years of abuse at the hands of her father without so much as a crack in her façade. Hell, she’d planted herself deep undercover and worked tirelessly to free sex-slaves without her enemies ever catching on. That poker face didn’t exist around their group of allies anymore. Hopefully it never would again.

So much had changed so quickly. Once Lily and Jeremy had found each other, allowing their love to blossom, a million other possibilities opened up. They were strong for each other, both of them growing into something new together.

She glanced between Matt and Clint, who kept an awkward distance between them, not quite meeting the other’s gaze, never mind hers. Was there any hope things could be different someday?

“Time to move. No one should be out in the open longer than necessary.” Mason ushered the rest of the Men in Blue onto his porch and through the front door even as Clint boosted Jambrea into the cab of Matt’s truck. Medication kept her zen enough that blinking her eyes open was a struggle. As the informal head of their group, Mason sent them off as he hovered over the threshold. “We’ll keep mining the databanks.”

“I can check with military info bases too.” Lucas spoke from halfway up the stairs, slower than the rest in retreating, seeing as he refused all help. Jambrea worried that his limp seemed more pronounced than when she’d observed him struggling through the wedding. She’d have to follow up with his doctors on her next shift. “I still have contacts that will help in a bind. Plenty of favors to call in. You never know if these dirtbags are local or federal criminals. Hell, international, even. They could trip flags in any number of systems.”

“JRad is usually pretty good at poking around across the board.” Clint shrugged as he levered himself in gracefully beside her then continued their discussion through the open window. “But we won’t turn down any help at this point. We really have nothing. There weren’t any particular standouts on the list. Not that it couldn’t be someone from the Sex Offender ring who’s bitter about being locked up and working from the inside. I just…I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right. Why Jambi? Or us? To get back at JRad, it seems like they’d target Lily or vice versa.”

“And no one could mistake me for her.” Jambrea snorted. Size-wise, she easily counted for three of the petite Mistress.

“No, you’re much more beautiful,” Matt murmured from beside her. “Feminine. Soft. Wild.”

Before she could tell him to knock it off with the false compliments—since they wouldn’t save him from her wrath at being lied to and fucked, once she got around to unleashing it—Mason thumped on the front door with his fist.

“It doesn’t make sense to me either.” He waved them off. “Go. Get her essentials. Quickly. Then move out. Maybe you should try bunking in a hotel instead of one of your places. Let’s keep communication minimal and untraceable so they don’t figure out where you’re stationed. You know how to reach us if you need backup, but I think it might be better to lay low than to attract attention at this point. If we spread out, we’ll have a better idea of who they’re after. Check in three times a day from someone else’s phone or a public computer away from your headquarters. The Chief gave us as long as it takes…”

“Got it.” Matt nodded his agreement with the plan. It seemed overly cautious to Jambrea, but this was their wheelhouse. The Men in Blue were damn fine at it too. And if it seemed like Mason was hinting at something more, well, she couldn’t deal with that right now.

“I’m trusting my gut on this one. I’ll ride behind you. Recon the parking lot of her place while you’re inside.” Lucas reversed his trajectory and hobbled to his car without complaint, though his leg had to hurt a million times more than what amounted to a fancy scratch on her arm. She wasn’t the only one who noticed.