Road to Desire (21 page)

He lifted me and I whimpered at the pain. Then I passed out.

* * *

I woke to hushed voices and opened my eyes to find Austin’s head leaning on my arm, his hand holding mine.

“Dani?” my mother crooned and walked toward me.

Austin stood and leaned over my bed, a tentative smile on his face as he swept my hair from my forehead. “Hi, baby.”

“Hi,” I rasped and grimaced. My throat was burning. “Water.”

Austin nodded and grabbed me a cup and a straw, guiding it to my mouth. I drank deeply and then relaxed back onto the mattress.

My mother squeezed my hand and smiled. “You gave us a scare, baby girl.”

I nodded.

“I’m going to let the nurse know you’re awake.”

I nodded again and she left the room. I reached for Austin, who took my hand and pulled it to his lips. “Fuck me, baby. It took me two hours to get you out.”

“That’s all?” I asked.

He frowned. “That’s a fuckin’ long time when I’m scared outta my mind not knowin’ if you were okay.”

I smiled. “I knew you’d come.”

“We’re gettin’ married.”

“We are?”

He nodded. “Tomorrow.”

I giggled, ending on a whimper at the pain in my ribs.

“Sorry, baby. You’ve got a couple broken ribs.”

“I’m okay, honey.” I squeezed his hand. “A little beat up, but okay.”

I could see the sheen of tears in his eyes, but he turned his head and blinked them away.

My door opened and Macey Stone walked in, her light-blue scrubs crisp and clean. “I’d hoped our second get-together would have been dinner or something, but I guess, I’ll have to take a rain check.”

I smiled. “You’re on.”

“How’s your pain level? From one to ten?”

“About an eight.”

Macey nodded and checked the pain pump next to me. She pressed a button on the unit and then handed me a wire and smiled. “Press the red button when it wears off. It’ll let you dose yourself every four hours.”

“Thanks.”

The nurse took my pulse and notated a few things in my chart, before smiling and focusing on me again. “All told, Dani, you were really lucky. I’ll let the doc know you’re awake and he’ll be in shortly.”

“Thanks, Macey.”

“My pleasure, hon.”

She left the room and my entire family flooded inside, along with Kim. Austin stepped back and sat on the bench by the window as my niece and nephew hugged me gently, Amelia talking a hundred miles a minute, a clear indication she’d been concerned about me.

The doctor arrived and ordered everyone out.

“Can Austin stay?” I asked.

“Sure.”

My dad shared some secret badass man chin lift with Austin and then my family filed out of the room and Austin stood beside my bed again.

“I’m Dr. Stone,” the handsome doctor said.

“Related to Macey?”

“She married my brother.” Dr. Stone smiled. “Lucky bastard.”

I giggled.

“Let’s have a look at you.”

The doctor looked me over and decided that I could go home the next day. They’d keep me overnight for observation, but since my eye-socket was bruised, not broken as they initially had worried, and the ribs would heal on their own, there was no point in keeping me any longer.

He left and my family descended again, staying for close to an hour before Emily forced hers to leave and my mother convinced my dad and Elliot to go as well.

Kim leaned over the bed and kissed my cheek. “Love you, hon. Please no more kidnapping, okay? You totally freaked me out.”

I chuckled. “That’s a promise.”

She smiled, hugged Austin, and then headed out and Austin took his place beside the bed again.

Late that night, Austin and I were finally alone and I scooted over and patted the mattress. “I need you to sleep with me.”

He smiled as he climbed beside me. “This is probably against hospital policy.”

“Where’s my big badass motorcycle man? You telling me you’re afraid of hospital security?”

He chuckled and gently settled me on his chest. “I’m more afraid of Macey.”

“Ooh, I know, right? She’s kind of scary.”

“I love you, beautiful.”

“Mmm, I love you too.” I raised my chin for a gentle kiss and then snuggled close.

“Marrying you in a month, babe.”

“What?” I squeaked and looked up at him again.

Austin smiled. “I talked to your dad. It’s all set. We’re gettin’ married by the water in their yard. Small and intimate like.”

“Do I have any say in this?”

He shook his head. “You can pick your dress. Otherwise, Emily and Kim have the rest of it under control. They said they know what you want or something.”

I sighed. “Yeah, they know.”

“Good. It’s settled.”

“I don’t have a ring.”

“Got that planned, baby. When you’re feelin’ better, I’m gonna get romantic.”

I laughed. “Seriously?”

“Hell, yeah. Gonna blow your mind.”

I closed my eyes and kissed his chest. “Love you, baby.”

“Love you too, Dani.”

We stayed like this all night. I was restless with pain, but Austin kept track of the time and would dose me every four hours like clockwork, which meant I slept even if he didn’t. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to fall in love with the most amazing man on earth, especially after my track record.

I fell asleep knowing I was the luckiest woman alive.

* * *

Booker slid the covers up Dani’s body and kissed her temple. She was finally asleep, the pain meds and muscle relaxers coursing through her system making her more comfortable. He pulled the door partially closed and headed to his office, phone in hand.

“Hello?” Kim answered.

“Hey. You got time to come hang with Dani for a bit. I have shit to do.”

“Sure. I can be there in twenty minutes.”

“Thanks, Kim.”

He hung up and called Mack.

“Yo.”

“You got him?” Booker asked.

“Yeah, brother. He’s here,” Mack said. “Prez and Hawk are here too.”

“Why?”

“Make sure you don’t kill him.”

“Fuck.” He dragged his hands through his hair. “You got my back they get in the way?”

Mack chuckled. “When don’t I?”

“Thanks, brother.”

He hung up and slipped his phone in his pocket. He needed to ride today, so he grabbed his leathers from the closet.

Kim arrived a few minutes later.

“If she’s in pain, she can have painkillers in three hours…everything’s on the counter. I don’t know how long I’ll be, but if you run into any issues, text me.”

Kim nodded. “Got it. Do what you gotta do, I’ve got Dani.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, babe.”

Booker made it to the club in record time, his thoughts occupied with Dani and the bastard he was about to teach a lesson to. Maybe it was good that Crow and Hawk were there…Booker was pissed enough to kill him, and he’s pretty sure Dani’s cop family would back him up.

He walked through the common room, into the kitchen, and down the stairs to the cellar where Mack was waiting.

Booker closed the door at the bottom of the stairs and made his way to where Steven was zip-tied to a chair…exactly the way Dani had been in the warehouse.

“Remember me?” Booker said with a sneer.

Steven’s eyes grew wide with fear as he stared up at Booker.

“I found Dani’s money….I also found all of yours.” Booker rolled up his sleeves. “All of this information, including the money you stole are with the FBI. I took the liberty of retrieving Dani’s first, with interest from your own stash. Dani’s gonna have a perfect little house wherever the hell she wants because she can afford it now.”

Steven mumbled behind the duck tape.

“Sorry? Did you say something?” Booker asked, and slammed his fist into Steven’s face. “Oops, sorry. That was a slip…I actually meant to do this.” He slammed his fist into his stomach. Steven squealed on a grunt and then tried to draw air in through his nose. “One thing you’re gonna find out is what it’s like to live under the watchful eye of the NSA.”

Steven let out a muffled “Fuck you.”

Booker laughed. “Nah…that’s all you, bro. See, I kinda hacked into the homeland terrorist database and according to your record… did you know you now have a record?”

Steven grunted.

“Yeah, you have a record, and according to your record, you’ve been stockpiling money to fund a bombing…murder of the president…something like that. So, the government has seized all your assets and you are on the no-fly list, domestic terrorism list, along with several other interesting lists that I didn’t even know existed. Bottom line is you can’t really walk out your front door without someone knowin’ about it. Oh, and by the way… your house has been repo’d… good luck finding a shithole to put a sleeping bag in. You’re welcome for that. It’s the least I could do. I think it’s fitting that you get what you deserve.” Steven mumbled again, so Booker pulled off the tape. “What was that?”

“Why are you doing this? I would have given back the money.”

“My woman got taken, asshole. They beat her and threatened to kill her, and even if you weren’t directly responsible for that, I found the email from Bobby telling you about the policy and the suggestion to use it in an alternative to your plan. But that wasn’t good enough for you. You chose to use her physically and emotionally instead. Which means, you’re dealing with me now.”

“You won’t get away with this!”

“But it’s done,” Booker said matter-of-factly.

“Fuck you!” Steven spat.

Booker laughed and shoved the tape over his mouth again.

For the next hour, he took his time making Steven hurt. He delivered every injury Dani received and then some before releasing him in the middle of a park, naked and without ID.

Booker on the other hand, headed home, found his woman awake and laughing with her best friend, and he knew she was okay. She loved and was loved and that’s all that mattered.

Two years later…

I
STOOD AT
the bathroom counter staring down at the little blue stick I’d just peed on. Austin and I had been married for twenty-three months, six days, and nineteen hours, and I’d been feeling nauseous and tired for about a week.

I was alone in the Naito condo that we now shared as a married couple and expecting him home any minute. I was officially on dinner duty, but the smell of meat turned my stomach, so I was going to have to figure something else out.

As I waited for the results of my pregnancy test, I thought back to our blissful engagement, quick marriage, and perfect extended honeymoon. True to his word, he’d gotten romantic and proposed to me in the middle of Portland’s Saturday market with most of his club, all of my family, and Kim in attendance. He’d even got down on one knee and slipped the biggest frickin’ diamond I’d ever seen on my finger.

I stared at it now as I tapped my foot and checked the stick. Nothing.

My ring sparkled back at me, the six-carat diamond and matching diamond wedding band proof that I was married to the hottest guy on the planet.

We’d gotten married in my parents’ back yard, and Kim and Emily had outdone themselves. I’d chosen an off-white Vera Wang gown that hugged every curve perfectly and made me feel like a princess. Austin had worn an Armani tux that had literally been made for him, while Mack stood as his best man and Kim stood as my maid of honor.

My father walked me down the aisle, his eyes glistening with tears as he kissed me and told me how proud of me he was, and how happy he and Mom were of my choice. Austin had woven himself so well into my family it was like he’d been there forever.

Our wedding night at the Hotel Monaco in Portland was filled with love, sex, and an envelope holding the money Austin had recovered from my ex. Austin had put it into a secure account in my married name with alerts aplenty should anyone else try to access it but me. Then he’d whisked me off to Maine where we stayed at a tiny little remote cabin by the water and gorged ourselves on fresh crab and lobster. I don’t recall getting dressed most of the trip, declaring that naked lobsterfests needed to be a regular occurrence. He'd agreed and we'd spent another sexy week in Maine for our one-year-anniversary.

I was coming up on the end of another school year and trying to decide if I was going to continue teaching or do something else. If this test was positive, it would make my decision easier.

“Babe?” Austin called.

“Bedroom.”

I met him halfway, the pregnancy test behind my back, and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. “Hi.”

“Hi, baby. You okay?”

“Unbelievably okay.”

He chuckled. “Oh yeah?”

I pulled the stick from behind my back and held it up. “You’re gonna be a daddy.”

“What?” he whispered and took the test from me, staring down at it. “Fuck me.”

I giggled. “Yeah, that’s generally how it happens.”

“Baby!” He pulled me into his arms and kissed me, his hand going to my neck as he laughed against my lips. “Holy shit, I’m gonna be a dad.”

I grinned. “I know. It’s so awesome.”

He grinned. “I wondered why your tits were twice the size.”

“They are not.”

“You don’t think?”

I glanced down at my chest. “No.”

He dropped the stick and tugged off my T-shirt. “I think I need to investigate closer.”

“I haven’t figured out dinner,” I warned.

“I’m gonna eat you, baby, then we’ll sort something else out.”

I fell onto the bed as he ripped off his clothes and pulled me close. “I love you, baby.”

“Love you too, honey.”

My husband made love to me all night, our dinner of choice, pizza delivered within thirty minutes.

My world was complete and my life secure. Nothing could be better.