Dancing with Deception (19 page)

With Tobi’s laser
session completed, she joined Gracie for a manicure. During an unusual lull in their conversation, they’d looked at one another in question when they heard a muffled cry from the next room followed by what sounded like someone falling into the wall separating them from the massage therapy room. Tobi called out to her friends in an attempt to make sure they were both okay. When they didn’t answer, she was out of the manicurist’s chair before the poor woman had even blinked. Rummaging to the bottom of her ginormous purse, Tobi pulled out the small semi-automatic pistol her mother-in-law had given her and flipped off the safety.

Tobi stepped into the hallway just in time to see a short, stout man with a swarthy complexion carrying Joelle toward the back door. She heard Gracie’s frantic voice behind her and knew her friend was already sounding the alarm. It was obvious Joelle had been drugged, her body was far too lax for sleep. Tobi had learned the hard way how completely limp limbs became when drugs were involved, and right now Joelle looked more like a rag doll than a woman sleeping in a man’s arms.

“Hey, ass wipe. Set her down gently and I won’t shoot you.” Okay, that might not have been the most polite approach, but she wasn’t feeling particularly charitable.

“Fuck off, cunt. You won’t shoot me—you probably can’t hit the broad side of a barn and you’d be afraid of hurting your friend.” There wasn’t another word in the English language Tobi hated more than the one he’d just used. She narrowed her eyes as she heard Gracie suck in a breath behind her.

“You want to rephrase that, you dickless piece of monkey shit?” She noticed the taller man in front of Mr. Soon-to-be-mortally-wounded hunched shoulders shaking and he wanted to shoot him for just for laughing at her. “I’m not fucking kidding. Put her down. I will take you out and even if I don’t you’ll never make it off the property with her.” Tobi had never been more grateful for all the damned security feeds in her whole life. And she knew what he didn’t…she was a damned good shot. She would definitely hit what she was aiming at. Even though she wanted to shoot the man in the back of the head, she remembered Kyle complaining to his mother about not leaving suspects alive so they could be questioned. Sighing to herself, she reluctantly lowered the barrel of her Sig to the man’s left knee.

They’d cleared the door so Tobi shouted hoping someone nearby would hear her. “Listen, this is your last warning. Set her down or I’m shooting, you ugly bastard. God damn it look what you’ve done. I’m cursing. I’m going to be in trouble and it’s all your fault. Fucking put her down.”

“Fuck off, bitch.”
Bitch? Oh you just had to add that nasty assed frosting to already calling me the c-word, didn’t you?
The sharp crack of her gun had sounded a fraction of a second before the man crumbled to the ground sending Joelle rolling across the soft grass. The first man turned to her with his gun raised, but he was too slow, and she shot the revolver out of his hand with a second shot into his shoulder…
just in case he decides to try again.

The second man dropped to the ground screaming, as the world around her erupted into chaos. Shouts to lay down her gun sounded to her right, but she simply jerked her weapon in that direction until she saw Kent running toward her with his own gun in hand. She turned away from him, stalking toward the men writhing on the ground, fully focused on Joelle when Kent’s arms came around her like bands of steel lifting her off her feet. Tobi had been so focused on getting to her new friend her mind didn’t register who’d actually picked her up. Fighting for all she was worth, she squirmed in his arms, but he simply tightened his hold. “Let me go. I have to check on her. I think they drugged her. God damn it let me go.”

“Stop.” The sharp crack of Kent’s voice sounded against her ear, and Tobi instinctively responded. Relaxing in his arms, she felt herself sag. “Good girl. Sweetness, you scared another fucking decade off my life.” He swept her up into his arms and turned to block her view of the screaming men she’d just shot. If their curses were to be believed, she’d probably need an exorcism or spirit cleanse or some other New Age treatment sometime soon.
I don’t know what they’re bitching about…it’s not like I killed them. Geez, I didn’t even shoot off any of the parts guys seem to think they can’t live without.
Tobi managed to suppress the shudder she felt trying to work its way to the surface as the reality of what she’d done started to sink in.

Kyle seemed to appear out of nowhere reminding Tobi her husbands’ skills as former Navy SEALs were never far below the surface. “Kitten, are you alright?” His fingers trailed down the side of her face with such care she couldn’t help pressing closer into his touch. “I swear I don’t know why we ever let you out of our sight.” Tobi heard the mix of emotions in his voice and was grateful when Kent released her into Kyle’s arms.

“I’m sorry I cursed. I was so scared he was going to take her.” She heard her voice crack under the strain. She was afraid she was losing the battle to keep herself together. For several seconds she tried to shut out everything around her, absorbing as much of their strength as she could before facing all the questions she knew were coming. The sound of approaching sirens brought her out of the peaceful shelter of their arms. “Is Regi okay? She was in the same room with Joelle.”

“Kirk and Brian have both checked on her. She seems to be coming around, but I’m worried about Joelle, she doesn’t seem to be regaining consciousness as quickly.” Tobi assumed they’d given Joelle a larger dose of whatever sedative they’d chosen, it would have been important to keep her as quiet as possible while they made their escape. She worried because most of those drugs were easily overdosed unless you really knew what you were doing. Kyle pushed the loose strands of her hair behind her ear and tilted her chin up so her eyes met his. “Kitten, in case I forget to tell you later when the shit hits the fan over this—I’m damned proud of you. And thank you for leaving them alive for us to interrogate, that’s going to go a long way to help wrap this up.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then turned her back into Kent’s waiting arms. “I’m going to go run interference with local law enforcement until our FBI contact arrives. The feds aren’t going to want these two falling under local jurisdiction.”

Tobi didn’t even pretend to understand, she just let Kent hold her knowing this situation was going to get a whole lot more complicated before it was all over. She was grateful their children were gone on vacation even though Kodi and Kameron hugs were pure healing magic. The next few hours were going to be challenging and right now she could use the distraction. Tobi knew she’d done the right thing, at the end of the day, she didn’t like hurting other people, and having to rehash every second of it wasn’t something she was looking forward to. She held on to Kent hoping he’d be able to infuse her with some of this strength as the sounds of sirens died suddenly replaced with slamming doors. A cavalry of outsiders was invading the grounds of the Prairie Winds Club and Tobi felt the adrenalin crash move over her like a tidal wave.

R
yan Morgan was
never more grateful for his friends and their connections than he’d been when they’d wheeled Joelle through the doors of the Lakeway Medical Center’s emergency services. It was more than a little obvious how well respected the West’s were when he was given access to information and services usually reserved for staff doctors or those with hospital privileges. Joelle missed the action since the asshole who’d been trying to kidnap her had pumped her full of some kind of sedative. Thank God he’d dropped her in the soft grass when Tobi blew his knee apart, the lush landscaping had prevented serious injury and she hadn’t suffered anything more than a few scrapes. The residual effect of the drug she’d been given faded quickly once they started flushing her system with fluids. And now? Now she was being uncooperative to the point he was a hot minute away from giving her the paddling of a lifetime right there in the exam room.

“I’m fine. I want to leave. I hate hospitals. Well, I hate them if I can’t leave. There isn’t any reason I can’t leave. You’re a doctor, you can take care of me back at the Prairie Winds or we could go on to your place in Houston. I just don’t see any reason for me to stay.” Oh yeah, he was going to have to gag her first,
then
paddle her ass. God in heaven, she was worse than many of the soldiers he’d treated in the field.

Brandt had been leaning against the wall behind her in a deceptively nonchalant pose, but he finally pushed away, stepping into her line of sight. “Minx, I’ve known my cousin my entire life and I can tell you he is a hair’s breath away from taking you in hand. Now, Dean and Dell West may be on the board of this place, and God knows they’d understand—but that doesn’t mean everybody here is going to be thrilled about you getting your ass paddled in one of the emergency services exam rooms. And even though you have got that punishment coming in spades, I don’t think these curtains are going to do much to cover up the sound of his palm warming up that beautiful, bare backside of yours.”

Ryan heard her soft gasp of surprise and wanted to grin when her face flushed a lovely shade of scarlet. “I am not any more difficult than he is being stubborn. What good is it to have a boyfriend who is a doctor if I can’t be released into his care?” The militant tilt to her chin was exactly the sort of gesture Doms associated with brats—
this needs to be nipped in the bud right now.

Brandt must have sensed his ire because he flashed a quick hand signal to wait before grasping her chin with firm fingers. “Tell us what the real reason is you want so desperately to leave here? And even though I know you are well aware of the rules in a D/s relationship, I’m going to remind you anyway—lying by omission is no different than any other. We won’t tolerate you lying to us or to yourself, so think carefully before you answer.”

They both watched as she waged some kind of internal debate, worrying her lower lip while she seemed to weigh her words. When she finally started to speak, Ryan saw her eyes fill with unshed tears. “When my mom was sick, Dad and I spent a lot of time at the hospital. I wasn’t old enough to fully understand how serious her condition was. But, I’ve never forgotten the haunted looks in the eyes of the patients or the fact she didn’t come home. I can visit friends who are ill, but being a patient terrifies me.” By the time she’d finished speaking, tears were racing down both of her cheeks and Ryan worried this was going to be the straw that broke her. The last thing he’d wanted to do was send her headfirst into an unpleasant memory.
Fuck me.

Moving closer, Ryan took her hand in his hoping the physical connection would calm the trembling he’d seen in her hands. “Baby, why didn’t you tell me this in the beginning? You could have saved us both a lot of aggravation. I understand why you want to leave, but we’re still waiting for lab results for you and Regi. Until those come back, it would be irresponsible of me to ask them to discharge you.” He hated seeing the disappointment in her eyes and hoped his alternative would help. “What I can do is give them both Brandt’s and my cell phone contact information, then we’ll take a walk around the facility so you won’t feel so trapped. Tobi told me there is a lovely outdoor area between the buildings, let’s get some fresh air.”

The E.R. staff was more than happy to have their waiting room cleared out. By the time everyone waiting for Regi and Joelle gathered in the outdoor garden, there were over twenty people milling about the open area. Ryan was leaning against a rock wall lost in thought when Tobi West stepped up beside him. “Ryan, I have an idea.”

Kyle stepped beside his petite wife and the look of horror on his face made Ryan smile. Kent and Kyle West’s cool-under-pressure leadership style had become almost legendary among SEALs, so seeing Kyle blanch at his wife’s comment made Ryan wonder how outlandish her idea could be.

Tobi’s quick glance up at her husband had her rolling her eyes in a move Ryan was certain got her into trouble more often than not. As the owners of one of the country’s most respected kink clubs, neither of them would be prone to ignoring gestures of blatant disrespect—particularly from their wife. “I know that look, Ryan. I’m not disrespecting Kyle, but we aren’t in a scene or at the club, so he is
just my husband
right now. And besides…this really is a good idea. Dang it, I don’t appreciate him going all pasty white every time I have an idea…it’s just plain insulting.”

Turning back to Ryan, she smiled. “Joelle looks like she could use a distraction and since her press conference is in two days, let’s have her practice here. She’ll get a chance to think about how she wants to answer the questions we all know she’s going to face, and everyone here already knows what’s coming anyway.” Ryan was speechless for several seconds as his mind scrambled to find a reason to reject the suggestion, but it was a great idea for several reasons.

Kyle leaned down and kissed his wife soundly. “You are brilliant, kitten. It’s a splendid idea, I’ll get started rounding everyone up while Ry talks to Joelle.” Turning to Ryan, he added, “If we’re lucky someone will video this with their phone and post it. If it goes viral fast enough, she’ll be much safer from those wanting to suppress her discovery.”

Ryan chuckled. “Of course, every media outlet in the world will be knocking on her door—which translates to
your
door.”

“You should probably add patients and their families from…well, from everywhere to the list of people who’ll be clamoring for her here. But at least, no one will be trying to kidnap her and steal the information. Honestly, I really think she’ll be able to relax once she turns it over to other researchers who will use it help people. She doesn’t seem like the type to want the attention unless it’s a means to an end.” He hoped like hell Tobi was right because he and Brandt were already consulting with contractors and suppliers hoping to surprise her with a state of the art research lab in Pine Creek. Hell, if he and Brandt had their way they’d marry her today, but neither of them wanted to face their mothers if they eloped.