Shelby's Saviors [Slick Rock 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (8 page)

Warm, muscular arms wrapped around her waist, and a nose nuzzled against her neck. “Hi, darlin’, how did you sleep?” Brandt asked from behind her.

“Good. I can’t remember the last time I slept so soundly.” She snuggled back down, wiggling her ass into his crotch, and snickered when his hard cock nudged between her ass cheeks.

“Here you go, baby.” Cord handed over her cell. The phone stopped ringing in the same moment that she wrapped her hand around it. She looked at the LCD display screen and surged up in the bed. The number was from her hometown of Bloomington.

“Shelby, what’s wrong?” Brandt asked.

Just as she opened her mouth to reply, her cell began to ring again. Shelby scrambled over Cord and off the bed, stumbling as her legs threatened to give out. She made it to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her before she answered.

“Hello,” she whispered.

“Ms. Richmond? Is that you?”

“Yes.”

“It’s Sheriff Percy Conan here, Shelby. I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

“What?” was all Shelby could manage to get out as a lump of dread formed in her stomach.

“The authorities were transporting Ramone Perez to the maximum-security prison in Springfield. They wanted to make sure he couldn’t escape the lower-security facility. His goons had been visiting too often, and the prison guards were worried he was planning an escape. It seems that Perez and his friends on the outside had indeed planned an escape. As of late yesterday afternoon, Ramone Perez is at large.”

Shelby’s knees buckled, and she slid to the floor next to the bathtub, only vaguely aware of the sheriff’s voice droning on.
Oh God.
She was in deep shit. Ramone Perez had sighted her as he shot her brother, Ian. Shelby had wondered for months why he didn’t just kill her, too.

The sheriff had suggested that Perez thought she was no threat. She was just one woman, after all, cowering behind the sofa. Hurrying to leave the crime scene, Perez had jumped back in his car with his cronies and driven off.

Except he had been caught. Later that night, he and the others were picked up by Bloomington PD in connection with an assault. Shelby learned, to her horror, that Perez had loaned money to Ian, money that Ian had lost gambling. When Ian couldn’t pay, Perez had come for him and taken Shelby’s parents, too.

The crime lab matched the bullet casings at the house with those in Perez’s gun, but the key piece of the prosecution’s case was Shelby’s eyewitness testimony. Everyone connected to the case had praised her for helping to put a dangerous criminal behind bars for life. Shelby hadn’t been too comforted by that. No one could bring back her family.

Once she’d done her part, she left town, running from her memories. Now Perez had escaped, and she had something real to run from.

“Shelby? Ms. Richmond, are you there?”

“Yes.”

“Perez is seeking revenge. He talked about it to other inmates. It’s possible that his man on the outside has been keeping track of you, too. Wherever you are, I think it would be best if you come back home, where we can protect you.”

Shelby looked up when she heard a soft click as the lock to the bathroom door disengaged and then the doorknob turned. Cord entered the bathroom, took one look at her face, and reached for the phone.

“Who is this?” he asked and paused to listen. “Sheriff Conan, my name is Cord Alcott. I am an ex-cop and am part owner of a security company with my brother, Brandt, and cousins, Giles, Remy, and Brandon Alcott. We live in the small town of Slick Rock, Colorado, and as far as Shelby’s safety and protection is concerned, I think she would be safer here with us. This town is a close-knit community with retired marines, cops, and special-force operatives as well as hard ranchers and local law enforcement.

“Can you fax or e-mail me everything you’ve got on this bastard?” Cord paused again. “Okay, thank you, Sheriff. Keep me updated, and I’ll do the same.”

Cord snapped the phone closed and squatted down next to her. Shelby was looking at him, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying. Her ears were ringing, and she felt light-headed. Scenes from that horrible night flashed through her mind, and nothing seemed to make sense. Movement near the door drew her attention, and the buzzing in her ears intensified. Brandt was frowning at her and his mouth was moving, but she just shook her head. The light began to recede from her eyes, and she welcomed the darkness.

* * * *

“Shelby, what’s wrong, darlin’?” Brandt asked when her saw her white, pinched face. He grew more concerned as he moved toward her. She was looking at him with a blank expression, and her pupils were pinpoints.

“Shit.” Cord caught Shelby and pulled her against him before she slid sideways and her head hit the floor.

“What the fuck’s going on?” Brandt yelled.

“We need to get her in bed, quick. She’s in shock,” Cord stated as he lifted her up into his arms.

“Fuck, she’s so pale, Cord. I need her in my arms. I can’t stand it when she’s hurting so bad.” Brandt pulled the covers back and got into bed.

Cord placed Shelby on the bed next to him, and he moved her onto her side and wrapped his body around hers. Her skin was cold and clammy, and Brandt didn’t like it. He hated seeing her ill and scared.

Cord climbed in on the other side of Shelby, moving up close so that she was sandwiched between them, sharing their body heat.

“Tell me,” Brandt demanded. He listened as Cord repeated everything he’d learned from the call from Sheriff Conan. Instantly, Brandt shifted into police mode. He filed information away, began making connections, tried to see the case as Sheriff Conan saw it. At the same time, fierce determination filled him. He looked at Shelby’s pale face and resolved that nothing was going to happen to their woman.

“Okay, we can deal with this. There is no way in hell she’s leaving our sight. We’ll get Giles, Remy, and Brandon in to help protect her as well as Sheriffs Luke Sun-Walker and Damon Osborne. And if that’s not enough, we’ll commandeer Damon’s brothers Sam and Tyson, too.”

“Don’t forget about Britt and Daniel Delaney. They are two spooky dudes, but they’re on our side. And I know Clay and Johnny Morten could take down a perp with a rifle without blinking an eye.”

“I’ll set up a meeting on Monday morning. We can distribute copies of Sheriff Conan’s files.” He looked back to Shelby’s face, relieved that color was returning to her skin. “Right now we need to concentrate on Shelby.”

“She’s been through hell already, Brandt. We have to make sure she’s seen the last of hell on earth.”

Just then Shelby moaned and stirred. Brandt rubbed a hand up and down her arm, hoping his presence and touch were enough to keep her calm. He looked over at Cord and saw his brother brushing the hair back from her face and whispering in her ear. Even though he couldn’t hear what his sibling was saying to Shelby, Brandt knew that he was reassuring her so she wouldn’t wake up scared.

It seemed to work, because when she opened her eyes, the glazed, panicked look was gone and her body didn’t tense.

“Are you okay, darlin’?”

Shelby turned her head to look at him, smiled, and gave a slight nod. Her eyes showed her unease, though. Brandt thought how strange it was that they knew all about the incident with Perez, first from overhearing Shelby tell Kayli and now from Sheriff Conan, but Shelby herself hadn’t told them. He wished that she would. Not only would it be a token of her trust, but he thought that some of the anguish in her eyes would be released if she could just talk about it with them.

Now wasn’t the time, though. No matter how long it took her to tell them, he and Cord would wait.

“We’ll take care of you, baby. We won’t let that bastard near you. I spoke with the sheriff from Bloomington, and he agreed that the safest place for you to be was right here with us. He is going to keep us in the loop, and he’s put out an APB on Perez. That bulletin has been sent nationwide, so if Ramone pops up on the radar anywhere, he’ll be back behind bars before he can blink.”

“Thank you, Cord, Brandt. But the last thing I want is for you to be in the line of fire,” Shelby stated emotionlessly. “I think it would be best if I went back home.”

“Why?” Cord snapped.

Shelby disentangled herself from him and Cord then crawled off the bed. She pulled a robe on and then turned to look at them.

“Why do you think?” she asked without inflection and walked out.

Cord rose to his feet and jerked his jeans on. Brandt sighed and followed suit. It looked like their plans for the morning were flying out the window, but he didn’t really care about that. What he did care about, or should he say
who
he cared about, was Shelby. And it seemed she was going to do her damndest to keep him and his brother out of the line of fire. God, she was amazing. Except there was no way in hell he was letting her leave and put herself in danger. The best way to keep her alive and safe was with him and Cord.

They found her standing motionless in the kitchen, looking out the window. “Shelby, be reasonable. You can’t go back home. You don’t know if Perez has friends watching your apartment and your parents’ house. They could even be watching the sheriff’s office, just waiting to follow you. Perez is after you. He’s made that clear.”

“You don’t understand.” She spun around to face him and leaned against the kitchen counter.

“Yes, we do, darlin’,” Brandt said as he walked toward her. “What you don’t understand is that we are trained to protect people and take down the perps. Have you forgotten what we did before the security company?”

“No. And I know you think you can keep me safe. But what if you can’t? What if he comes after you to get to me?” she said with a hitch in her breathing. “I can’t and won’t live with that. Too many people have already died. Please, you have to let me go.”

Brandt reached out and pulled Shelby into his arms as she broke down. For all that she was trying to keep her emotions at bay, their little woman cared about what happened to him and his brother. He looked over as Cord came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. His face held just as much anguish as he imagined his did.

“Baby, you’ve got to stop worrying about everyone else except you,” Cord said as he held her close. “You’re the one in danger, Shelby. This town is full of very skilled law enforcement officers as well as retired marines and operatives. Please just calm down and listen to what we have to say. Then if you decide you want to go back to Bloomington, you can, but we will be coming with you.”

“Come on and sit down, darlin’,” Brandt said and guided her to the table. Once they were seated with fresh mugs of coffee, he and Cord began to explain that they were going to call on all the men living in Slick Rock. Then he told her about their intention of setting up a meeting first thing tomorrow morning. When they were done, they sat back and watched her as she processed the new information.

“It sounds like this place will have more than enough trained men to help out, but I don’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me.”

“Baby, you aren’t the person causing trouble. You’re not the one that went on a killing rampage. You have to get that sort of thinking out of your head right now. If you don’t, you’re going to make yourself ill. It’s. Not. Your. Fault.”

“Cord’s right, Shelby. None of this is your burden,” Brandt reiterated. “If you want to blame someone, then place the blame at the feet of Ramone Perez.”

Shelby sighed and clutched the mug between her hands. Brandt didn’t know if it was for warmth or to stop the trembling, but she clung to that mug like a lifeline. Finally she lifted her head and looked to Cord and then to him.

“Can I attend the meeting?”

“Are you going to stay?” Cord queried.

“Yes. You’re right. I think my options will be better if I stay here.” She took a deep breath. “But you better be prepared, because I have a feeling it won’t be long before he finds me.”

“Is that the only reason you’re staying, darlin’?” Brandt asked, already knowing what the answer was. When Shelby lowered her eyes and shook her head, he felt the knot in his chest fade and his heart fill up with hope. He didn’t push her to elaborate. Brandt didn’t want her to feel pressured, but he knew then, in that moment, that Shelby was definitely the woman he and Cord had been waiting for.

Glancing up at his brother, he saw hope and love blazing out of his eyes before he concealed his expression. Brandt gave him a quick grin and then closed down his emotions when Shelby looked up at them. They had only just gotten her to agree to stay with them where they could protect her. Admitting their feelings too quickly would only send her running.

But that wasn’t going to happen. Brandt was going to make sure she would never have to run from anyone ever again.

Chapter Eight

Shelby waited nervously for the men Cord and Brandt had told her were about to arrive. She’d outfitted the boardroom of the Slick Rock Security offices with a big urn full of coffee on a side table, along with cream, sugar, and some cakes and pastries she had bought from the diner. Glancing at her watch again, she noted that no more than a minute had passed since the last time she had looked.