Shelby's Saviors [Slick Rock 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (13 page)

“I’ll be fine by myself,” she said. “You don’t need to hover. I have crutches here if I need to anything.”

“No fucking way, Shelby. We aren’t leaving you alone. You haven’t learned how to use those things properly yet. You could fall and hurt yourself more.” Cord leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I love you, baby. I need to know you’re being looked after.”

Shelby closed her eyes and savored his touch. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, and Brandt, too. But she wasn’t sure how they were going to react once she told them they were going to be fathers, and that uncertainty made her hold back the words.

“Get some rest, Shelby. I’ll get takeout on the way home.” Cord brushed a finger down her cheek and left.

“Do you want to watch a movie, darlin’?” Brandt asked as he turned on the entertainment system.

“Sure.”

Brandt put a movie on and then sat beside her on the sofa. He moved into the corner so she wouldn’t disturb her leg and pulled her body in close to his. Her back was now resting against his chest and side, with her leg stretched out along the couch, propped up on the cushion. She settled deeper into his embrace, his arm wrapped beneath her breasts, and turned to watch the action on the screen.

* * * *

Brandt watched Shelby’s struggle to keep her eyes open. The movie had just started, and he knew she wouldn’t be able to stay awake to see much of it. As her eyelids slid closed, he turned the sound down low and gently shifted her head into a more comfortable position against his chest. When her breathing deepened and evened out, he knew she had finally fallen asleep.

He had been so scared when Luke’s call had come in and told him Shelby had had an accident. His heart had nearly burst out of his chest as it raced with fear. Even now that he had her safe in his arms, he wanted to hunt down the stupid dumbass who had caused her to get hurt.

Brandt didn’t care what was on the television screen. He was content watching Shelby as she slept in his arms. Holding her reassured him that she was alive and well. He felt sorry for Cord. His brother was a control freak, and if he had his way, Shelby would now be tied to their bed for the entire duration she was injured.

The thought of Shelby going toe-to-toe with Cord and himself turned him on. And after she had finally let go with them this morning, letting them have it with both barrels, he couldn’t wait for her to lose her temper again. It seemed that once Shelby let loose, she let loose in a big way.

Their little woman had looked so wild. Her cheeks had flushed a pretty pink, fire had blazed from her eyes, and her hair had swung around her head as she gesticulated wildly with her hands and arms. God, she was magnificent. As he had watched her, his dick had engorged so fast, it was a wonder he hadn’t passed out from lack of blood to the head.

She had finally let her true, passionate nature out, and as far as he was concerned she wasn’t going to go back into hiding. Occasionally, he and Cord would like to dabble in a little play before they made love to her.

There was no way they would do that now. Not with her injured. He looked down at her sleeping face and stroked her hair back from her forehead, filled with the desire to protect her. As far as he was concerned, there would be no lovemaking until she was fully healed.

His cell phone vibrated. Carefully extracting it from the clip on his belt, he looked at the text from Luke.

The car which nearly hit Shelby was found abandoned outside of town. It was reported stolen two days ago. Will dust for prints but don’t hold out much hope of finding any leads.

“Shit,” Brandt muttered and sent a reply.
I don’t like this. Did you tell Cord?

Yeah.

Keep us informed.

Brandt had a bad feeling in his gut and didn’t like it one little bit. He was worried that Perez or one of his goonies had found where Shelby was.

Chapter Twelve

“It was Perez,” Shelby gasped and struggled to her feet. She was carefully working her way toward the kitchen, where Brandt was making coffee, on her crutches.

“Did you say something, darlin’?”

“Yes.” She leaned against the doorjamb as he turned toward her.

“The man in the car was Perez. He’s changed the color of his hair and has shaved off his beard and mustache. That’s why I didn’t recognize him straight away.”

Brandt moved toward her and removed the crutches from her hands, but he kept his hand at her elbow to keep her steady. After leaning them against the wall, he picked her up and carried her back to the living room and sat down with her on his lap.

“We’ll keep you safe, darlin’,” Brandt said as he hugged her tight. “He’ll have to get through us to get to you.”

That’s what I’m worried about most. God, how do I keep them and our baby safe?
If she had the means and wasn’t injured, she would have packed up and left right away. Even though she knew she would hurt them, it was better than them being injured or, even worse, dead.

* * * *

Shelby spent the next three days recuperating. Her ankle felt better each day, and she was now able to put weight on it while still using the crutches. Brandt and Cord took turns staying home with her, and even though she appreciated it, she felt the need to get out into the fresh air. Cord was currently in the kitchen making a pot of coffee. Retrieving her crutches, she carefully made her way to the back door, intending to sit out on the porch.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Cord asked from behind her.

Shelby shrieked and wobbled from her startle. “Don’t do that. You scared the shit out of me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. I thought you heard me.”

“Now, how would I do that? You and Brandt don’t make any noise when you walk. Can you open the door? I need some fresh air.”

“Okay, but you have to sit with your foot propped up.” Cord moved around her and held the door open. Shelby cautiously moved toward the chairs. When she was seated, he pulled another chair closer and lifted her foot up to rest on it.

“Thanks.”

“No problem, baby. Do you want a cup of tea?”

“Yes, please.”

Cord went back inside to make her tea. He had just placed the drinks on the table beside her when she caught movement in her peripheral vision. Looking up across the yard, she froze in horror for one moment and then screamed Cord’s name.

The noise she made wasn’t enough to drown out the explosion, and she screamed again when Cord staggered back a couple of feet and landed on the deck. With tears streaming down her face, her heart nearly thumping out of her chest, she slid to the floor and crawled over to Cord.

His face was so pale and his eyes were closed. She took hold of his shoulder and shook him hard, calling out to him. Blood was seeping out of the wound near his shoulder and soaking his white shirt.

Shelby screamed again as rough hands grabbed the back of her shirt and hauled her to her feet. She tried to cling to Cord, but she was pulled away. She was shaking so much she could barely stand, and she shook even harder when the barrel of a gun was placed at her temple.

“Move, bitch,” a voice spat near her ear. The rough hands began pulling her away. Shelby didn’t dare turn her head, but the man moved alongside her and she saw his face in profile. It was the same face that she saw in her nightmares.

Shelby stumbled when her ankle nearly gave way, but Perez held her up by her shirt. She was sobbing uncontrollably, scared that Cord was dead. Perez didn’t let up, just kept dragging her toward the front of the house, down the driveway, and out onto the street.

She looked around frantically, hoping to see someone she could call to for help, but there was no one. Cord and Brandt’s property was on the outskirts of town on a huge tract of land, and the nearest neighbor was a mile away.

She cried out with pain when her foot landed on a rock and wrenched her already-injured ankle. She couldn’t stop herself from falling to her knees. Ramone Perez pushed the barrel of his gun harder into her temple and bent closer toward her.

“Nothing you do is going to stop me. So get up or I’ll shoot you now.”

Shelby pushed to her feet and winced when pain shot through her ankle but clenched her teeth and began to limp toward the truck Perez guided her to. He shoved her into the passenger seat and wound his way around to the driver’s side of the car. She cringed against the door when Perez got in and started the car. She prayed to God to save Cord.

* * * *

Cord moaned in pain and frowned when he couldn’t work out what the persistent buzzing noise was. He couldn’t remember where he was or why his shoulder was on fire. “Shelby!” he roared as memory slammed into him. Groaning with pain, he sat up and looked about as he reached for his cell phone. Ignoring the incoming text, he hit the speed dial for his brother.

“Brandt, I think Perez has Shelby. He snuck up on me and shot me. Call everyone in,” he barked into the phone. “I have to get to the doctor’s so he can patch me up.”

“How bad are you hurt?” Brandt asked with concern.

“Shoulder wound. I think it’s just a graze, but I hit my fucking head on the deck. Must have knocked me out for a bit. I’ll meet you all at the doc’s.”

“I’ll get Damon and his brothers to begin searching for Shelby. See you there. Hurry.”

Cord raced to his truck and spun the wheels in the gravel when he planted his foot. Five minutes later he was inside the doctor’s office, tucking his gun into the waistband of his jeans after Brandt handed it over. Luke and Sam rushed through the door as the doctor began inspecting his wound. Britt, Daniel, and the others who had promised to help keep their woman safe were on their phones via conference call, as they were still in transit. He flinched when the doctor disinfected the groove across his shoulder but listened as Luke spoke.

“We got a print off that stolen car. It was definitely Ramone Perez. I have an APB out on him, but we don’t know what he’s driving now. I was surprised he actually did his own dirty work instead of making one of his goons do it. That means he’s desperate, and desperate men are dangerous. I’m hoping we get to him first, but our first and only priority is getting Shelby away from him safe and sound, so if any of you find her and can get her out safe, do it.”

“Um, there is something I think you need to know,” the doctor interrupted. “If you gentlemen would leave for a moment, I need to speak to my patient privately.”

Everyone cleared the room, but the doctor detained Brandt before he could leave.

“I don’t like to break patient confidentiality. In fact, I am totally against it, but I think under the circumstances you should know.”

“What?” Cord barked impatiently. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, the woman you love is in danger,” the doctor conceded. “Shelby is pregnant.”

Cord drew in a gasp of air and closed his eyes. When he opened them he pinned the doctor with his gaze.

“Are you sure? When did you do a test?”

“When she needed an X-ray, I had to ask if there was a possibility she could have conceived. I needed to take the necessary precautions to protect the fetus. She asked for a pregnancy test that same day.”

“Fuck. We have to get her back, Cord. I love her so damn much.”

“Thanks, Doc. Let’s go.”

Cord exited the room with Brandt at his heels. They entered the waiting room just as Luke finished a call on his cell.

“Okay, thanks. Keep me posted.”

“Any news?” asked Cord.

“No. No one has spotted a man and woman traveling together in a vehicle, at least not the ones we’re looking for.”

“Have you got all the roads covered? Shit, they could be long gone. I have no idea how long I was out,” Cord snapped with frustration.

“I have most of the roads in and out of Slick Rock covered, but there are only so many people I can call on.”

Cord’s cell phone vibrated. He looked at the screen, surprised to see Quin’s number displayed.

“Yeah.”

“Cord, I just saw Shelby pass by the garage in a car with a strange man. She looked scared. He was heading on the back road toward County Road Q1. Pierson is following but keeping out of sight. What’s going on?”

Cord quickly explained and then cursed when he realized he should have brought the Badons in from the first. He trusted them, but they were so new to town that he wasn’t accustomed to accounting for them in his plans.

“We’ll come to your shop. Let us know if Pierson contacts you.”

Within minutes, everyone had gathered at Badon Mechanics. Damon Osborne, Slick Rock’s other sheriff, brought a large map of the area, which they spread out in the back office.

“Here’s County Road Q1. It’s my guess that Perez is aiming for the small ravines and canyons surrounding this area.” Daman pointed on the map. “What sort of vehicle was he driving?”

“A four-by-four.”

“Fuck. That means he could go anywhere off road. There are a lot of caves in this area. If it was me and I was planning to take someone out, I would do it here.” Damon pointed again to a spot on the map slightly southeast of where they were.