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“The warrant should be here in thirty minutes,” Reed insisted, he and Slade flanking Brett on the porch.
“Brett!”
Allie’s strident cry sealed his decision and drew a low curse from his brothers. “I’m not waiting.” He took his fist to the door again, sucking in a deep breath at the pain, trying desperately not to imagine Allie scared and hurt, maybe suffering at the hands of a ruthless stranger. Then Slade was smashing the front window with a crowbar from Brett’s truck, which seemed to be the final straw for Gina.
Opening the door, she stood back with a resigned look, her face pale, saying nothing as she pointed Brett toward the back den area. Despite the pocket knife Ricky Michaels held pressed against Allie’s neck and his tight hold around her waist, Brett breathed a sigh of relief seeing her unharmed, sparks of angry defiance shooting from her blue eyes.
“Come on, Michaels.” Brett held his hand out, striving for calm and reasonable. “You have to know it’s over. Give me the knife before you get in any deeper.”
Ricky shook his head, desperation darkening his eyes. “I need more time with her is all. She’ll see we’re meant to be together.”
“No, she won’t,” Allie insisted, struggling in his hold until the knife scratched her skin. “Ow!”
“Allie, stand still,” Brett ordered, clenching his hands when a thin red line ran down her neck, hoping this would be one of those rare times she did as instructed.
Ricky tightened his hold until Brett saw her wince, grateful when Reed gripped his arm to keep him back. It wouldn’t do for him to cave to the roiling rage heating his temper. The approach of wailing sirens and flashing lights signaled the arrival of law enforcement, and it was then he and Reed noticed Slade back outside, aiming Brett’s rifle through the smashed front window.
Ricky sent Brett a panicked glare and shuffled forward without releasing Allie. “Tell them to back off, all of them, and clear the driveway.”
“For God’s sake, Ricky,” Gina gasped from the stairs, now dressed in shorts and a sleeveless blouse. “Enough! Your idiocy has gotten us into enough trouble.”
“That’s the smartest thing to come out of your mouth in a year.” Brett held a hand palm out toward Slade then tried one more time to reason with Ricky. The younger man needed help, not a bullet, but, if he forced their hand, Brett wouldn’t regret that end if it kept Allie safe.
“You know that’s not going to happen. One last time. Let her go.”
Allie twisted to plead with him. “Ricky, please, if you care about me...”
“Care!” he screeched. “Fuck that. If I can’t have you, we’ll end this together.” He flung her away from him, keeping a tight grip on her arm while raising the knife with his other arm.
Brett rushed forward the same moment Slade shot, and Ricky dropped his arm with a pain-filled cry. Allie fell against Brett, her slim body shaking despite the brave front she had portrayed. Ignoring the ensuing chaos of police rushing inside, he lifted her and carried her out back, trusting his brothers to ensure they were given a few moments of privacy.
Allie’s feet had barely touched the deck when she gripped his upper arms, her face conveying fierce determination as she blurted, “I want more than a fun time, Brett. I didn’t, not when I first bothered you, but I do now. Not your money—I don’t give a fig about that, just you, and, well, your body, too, and sex, lots and lots of that, but even when we’re too old to get it on anymore, I’ll still want you, just –”
Brett stopped her rambling with two fingers against her trembling mouth, amused, relieved, and so fucking pleased, his chest went tight with the pressure. “I love you, too, little one, but can we table this discussion for later? Right now, I need you to tell me you’re okay.” Her eyes widened and pooled with tears, which drove him close to a full-fledged panic attack, the same as when he found her gone. Thankfully, she rallied quickly and answered him with an impish grin that eased the stress she’d just put him through.
“You mean other than pissed at how they duped us? You haven’t hesitated to stand between me and trouble since we met. Of course, I’m okay.” Allie patted his chest, the fear lurking in her blue eyes disappearing, along with the last of his anxiety.
Resisting the urge to crush his mouth over the tilt of those tempting lips, he reached into his back pocket to retrieve a handkerchief and pressed the cloth to her neck, stemming the blood droplets still oozing from the knife prick. “I could kick his ass for this alone.”
“He’s not worth the effort. I suppose this means I don’t get to attend the gathering tonight.”
Her comment and feigned sigh of dejection amused him. “Afraid so since Reed canceled it on our way here.” Funny how the one thing she’d come to him for over a month ago was about the only thing he hadn’t managed to work out for her. A sharp rap on the patio door drew his attention, and Reed jerked his head for them to return inside. “We’re needed to give statements then I’ll get us out of here.” Brett would ask if she was up to the task, but he doubted there was much that could keep his girl cowed for long.
“Then, let’s get it done. The sooner I see the last of those two, the better.”
Allie leaned against Brett as he steered her inside. “Amen to that.”
****
Two months later
Allie squirmed on thetruck seat, groaning from the arousing pulses tormenting her clit and nipples, debating between annoyance with Brett and begging him to pull over so she could jump his bones. The nipple huggers he had attached before they left the ranch were aptly named, the snug fit around the sensitive nubs tight enough to induce a dull throb, stopping short of a painful pinch. The tiny clit vibrator nestled against the tender bundle of tissues between her legs pulsated on low, the soft, steady beats creating a warm flush throughout her body.
“Sit still,” Brett instructed, reaching over to wrap his large hand around her clenched fists in her lap.
Turning from gazing out the window at the gray dusk of the day’s end cloaking the open rangeland, she narrowed her eyes at his smug profile. “How aboutyoutry to do that with these things on.”
He flicked her an amused look. “Behave, and I might let you apply toys to my anatomy sometime, but not tonight. Haven’t you ever experimented with toys before?”
