Siren in Bloom [Texas Sirens 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)

“Yes, dear, because no SEAL ever had to deal with guns.” Sarcasm dripped from Leo’s voice.

Wolf pulled at the side of his jacket, and sure enough, there was a gun in a shoulder holster. “Shelley, I have a permit to carry concealed. Julian made sure of it before he hired me. Besides being one of his resident Doms, I’m also considered a trained bodyguard. Finn has worked some controversial cases in the last few years and a rich man’s wife is always a target.”

She turned to Leo. She’d never imagined that he would be walking around Dallas with a gun. “And you?”

Leo stood, his legs apart in a stance she was sure had once terrorized new recruits. “I don’t carry in The Club, but when I escort Dani or Finn or even Julian himself somewhere, I carry. And, sweetheart, that day you dumped me, I had two SIG Sauers and a sniper rifle in my truck. I also do some training work with Dallas SWAT.”

Wolf turned to his brother. “Are you seriously telling me that you don’t have a weapon on you?”

“Well, I don’t have a gun on me right this second.”

“And if I checked your boot?”

“You might get your hand sliced up,” Leo admitted.

Shelley stared for a moment. The world seemed to have tilted slightly. “You have a knife?”

Leo tapped his boot against the floor. “More than one, if you have to know. And I had more than one on me the day you dumped my ass. It was only my remarkable patience that kept me from killing your asshole husband the night before in a bar fight. I thought you might have been angry.”

Had she made a terrible mistake? Was she making one by trying to protect Wolf?

“I’m going to make this easy on you, sweetheart,” Wolf said. He crossed his arms over his chest in a show of mulish stubbornness. “You don’t get a choice in this. I am going to take you home. I am going to stay on your couch. And I am going to bring you back here tomorrow. If you want to safe word me, go on. I won’t be your Dom anymore, but until I’m certain that you’re safe, you won’t be able to get rid of me unless you call the cops and have my ass hauled to jail.”

“I’m not calling the cops.” Tears blurred her vision. She’d given up so damn much, and now Leo was standing here telling her it had all been for nothing. If she’d gone with Leo that day, would things have turned out the same way? Or would Beth and Bo have been in an even worse position?

Misery washed over her. Regret.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Wolf said, his voice softening. He reached out for her, his big hands enveloping hers. “Shelley, this is what I want. This is who I am. I want to protect you. I want to be the big badass who stands in front of you. It’s all I’m fucking good at.”

“You’re going to have to work on his self-esteem, Shelley,” Leo said. “But he’s right, and if you try to get away from him, I’ll call your brother in. How do you think Trev will handle this? He’s trying to settle in and now Beth is having a baby. Do you really want him to have to leave his new ranch and his pregnant wife because you’re too stubborn to accept protection?”

“Damn it, Leo, stop being so hard on her,” Wolf complained, pulling her close. “She’s had a rough day. She’s not going to call the cops.”

But Leo’s words had formed a hard knot of guilt in her belly. Wolf hugged her, but she simply stood there in his arms. She’d been so happy when she’d heard Beth was pregnant, but there was a nasty kernel of envy in there, too. Trev had done everything wrong and still managed to build an amazing life for himself. She’d sacrificed everything for the people she loved and she was alone, and it seemed she always would be.

“I’d like to go home now.” The words came out in a flat monotone. “I think I just need some rest. Wolf can stay on my couch.”

“Shelley, baby, don’t be so glum,” Wolf cajoled. “I really can protect you.”

Leo took a step back. “And tomorrow we’ll all sit down and discuss it. It’s Saturday. We all have to have breakfast with the boss to discuss the weekend’s parties and scenes. We’ll discuss your situation. And we’ll put Ben and Chase on the case. It’s been forever since Chase got to hack something. He’ll be thrilled. It really will be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you. I didn’t before, and I won’t now.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” She looked up at Leo. “You haven’t talked to me for over a year.”

Leo frowned and looked like he wished he hadn’t said anything, but Wolf’s face lit up.

“Julian didn’t pay Finn, did he? You did. Finn was her lawyer.”

Shelley thought her heart might break. Leo had paid Finn? “I thought he was doing it pro bono. Trev told me he was.”

Leo wouldn’t quite look her in the eyes. “Finn would have done it, but I knew damn well that he wouldn’t be able to give it his full attention if he was still working on his other stuff. So I paid him to get you to the top of the list. Finn didn’t actually make the money. He used it to bring in the consultants we needed to hurry things along. Money is the only thing that talks, Shelley. If I hadn’t given Finn money to grease a few wheels, you would still be under a cloud of suspicion.”

“Why would you do that?” He’d acted like he couldn’t care less whether she lived or died. He’d utterly ignored her, refusing to take her calls and making up excuses to not see her.

“It doesn’t matter now. It didn’t matter then. But the point is this. I spent a lot of money making sure you were okay. I would prefer you didn’t blow it all by not allowing Wolf to protect you. And he can handle a few bullets. Half of him has been replaced by titanium rods and his skull is far too thick to ever let a bullet pass through it.” Leo turned and began to walk back into the locker room, retreating. “I’ll speak to you both in the morning.”

Wolf grinned down at her. “Wow, he is such a coward. He ran back to the men’s locker room because he doesn’t think you’ll walk in there with half the Doms in The Club down to their bare asses.”

“He’s right.” Her mind was reeling. What did any of it mean?

Wolf kissed the top of her head. “Well, it’s progress all the same. Now, let’s go get that drink. I could use a beer. There’s a store across the street. We’ll grab a six pack and head back to your place.”

She stared at him. It seemed to her it was time to start training her Dom.

He stopped, and she could see him thinking. “Or we could get a bottle of wine.”

He waited as if hoping against hope he’d penciled in the right answer.

“I would love a white, thank you.”

“And a six-pack of beer.” He was back to grinning as he led her down the hall.

Shelley looked back at the door Leo had disappeared behind. It seemed one of them was always closing the door on the other.

* * * *

Wolf took Shelley’s hand as he walked past the security guard.

“Mr. Meyer? Do you want me to bring your truck around?”

Wolf wasn’t sure why this guy needed to bring his truck around when he himself had two legs, but he figured it was a “Julian Lodge” thing and he should get used to it. The same young man had insisted on parking the truck when Wolf had driven in, so he guessed this was the new norm.

He was going to have to start watching Leo and taking his cues. He’d been either in the Navy or on a ranch most of his life. He sure as hell wasn’t used to wealth and people doing stuff for him, but it seemed to be the way The Club ran.

“Thanks, Nelson. We’re going to run to the store across the street. Just have it ready when we get back. Give us ten minutes or so.” It seemed silly to get into the truck, drive across the street, and then look for parking when they could just dash over there.

But maybe Shelley didn’t want to walk. God, he was so out of practice. He’d spent the last freaking year of his life trying to get back into the Navy, fighting his discharge. He’d forgotten how to treat a lady.

He’d high-fived her. He felt a little flush go through him. “I’m sorry about the high five. I was feeling pretty good. I’ll be more formal next time.”

“Don’t you dare.” She stepped out of the garage onto the sidewalk. The streets were quiet at this time of the night, but there were a couple of restaurants and a bar that still seemed to be hopping. She turned her face up to his, her skin like alabaster in the moonlight. “Wolf, I want you the way you are. I really do. I get that you were in the Navy for a long time, but the man I’ve been talking to through e-mail and on the phone is one of the nicest, most charming men I’ve ever met. I can handle the occasional high five. And you’re obviously very smart, so I wish you would stop talking about yourself like that.”

He growled, but it was definitely not at her. “I get this way around my brother. I’ve kind of been in his shadow for a long time. Our dad left when we were young, and he took care of me. He really became the man of the house. He went into the Navy because he didn’t have the money for college. When he got out he whizzed through his undergrad and straight through to his PhD. He’s the smartest guy I know.”

They walked down the street toward the corner. “Well, you’re no slouch.”

“I just read a lot.” He’d gotten ribbed for his reading tastes by his teammates. He’d read in his downtime. Pretty much anything his mom or brother would send him. Thrillers. Mysteries. History books. Books on psychology and sociology. But he didn’t have a formal education.

“You can learn a lot from books. College is nothing but having a guide to reading the right books.”

Her hand in his felt so damn right.

She took a long breath. “Mexican food smells good.”

Well, he could fix that. “Come on. I’ll get you some enchiladas. And a margarita. You’ll see. This whole thing is probably nothing, but it’s best to be safe.”

A little cloud passed over her face, but he could see plainly that she had accepted the inevitable. “I will feel safer if you sleep over. But maybe we can talk about the couch thing. It’s really small and probably uncomfortable.”

And the only way he didn’t end up burying himself in her before the end of the night. “I’ve slept in worse places.”

And then he felt it. It was a little thing, but he’d learned to trust it. A little prickle that ran up his spine as though his body could process his surroundings faster than his brain could, and it sent a warning. He stopped in the middle of the street.

The night was quiet, only the muted sound of mariachi music coming from the restaurant down the street. He looked up and down but there was no one out. Just him and Shelley.

But he knew they weren’t alone.

“Hey, did you change your mind? We could just get some wine and go back to my place.” Shelley looked up at him.

Wolf held a hand up, his fingers in a tight fist.

“You want to punch something?” Shelley asked, her mouth hanging open.

Of course. It was a habit. That fist would have told anyone in the military to go silent, but Shelley hadn’t served for years and obviously didn’t have the same instincts he had. “Hush, love. Stay still. If I tell you to run, you run.”

Up ahead there was a long line of bushes that garnished a small store. The store’s lights were out, but the streetlight glowed through the leaves. Except in one place. There was a man-size dark spot. Wolf looked down. Shoes.

Fuck
.

Adrenaline, his old friend, began to pump through his body. He loved the fight. God, he’d missed the fight. Even now his muscles were loosening and his mind sharpening as he got ready to fight for his life.

But he had Shelley.

Double fuck.

His need to kill would have to wait. He pulled his SIG and grabbed his cell, pressing a single button. “We’re heading back to the garage, love. You stay behind me.”

Those feet were starting to move.

“What’s up now?” Leo asked over the line.

“Trouble. Come now. I’m taking her to the garage.” He slid his cell back in his pocket, certain Leo was on his way.

The streetlight above the shrubs flickered, and Wolf could see that whoever had been waiting there was moving a bit faster now, hugging the brick of the wall. Wolf gave the guy thirty seconds before he hit the end of the shrubs and then he would be out in the open. There would be no more play. There would be a bullet.

It was the lightest of sounds that had Wolf turning, realizing that Shrub Guy wasn’t alone. Someone was coming up from behind him, and it sure as hell wasn’t his brother. Leo wouldn’t have made that little mistake. Leo wouldn’t have made a sound. The only way Wolf would have known Leo was there would have been when Leo wanted him to know. It would be the same with Ben and Chase, who had also put in their time with the Teams.

So it was an easy thing to turn and, in the blink of an eye, the scene played out in front of him. A single tango coming in at a run. He held a gun in his right hand. He wore all black, and he’d covered his face with a ski mask.

Yeah, Wolf knew how to handle that. He aimed and squeezed twice, moving his hand not more than an inch. The sound broke up the night. The minute he squeezed the trigger, he turned, absolutely certain the man wouldn’t get off a shot of his own. His aim would be true. There would be two holes, one in each lung. Wolf grabbed Shelley around the waist with one hand just as he heard Shrub Guy’s shot. Wolf dove, curving his body around hers and trying to take the brunt of the roll he had them in. He heard Shelley’s little gasp as they hit the street, but he had protected her head.