Gina's Private Police Force [Men of Montana 3] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (20 page)

Fighting against them, she couldn’t keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks even though the pounding in her head was so bad. Concern covered both men’s faces as they could see the pain etched on her face.

“Honey, don’t cry. I’m not upset, really. I’m just glad you are not as injured as I thought you were,” Connor said quietly.

“It’s not that,” she heard herself say, still sobbing. “I’m just so happy that you aren’t upset with me.”

“Then you need to stop crying and let us and the staff here take care of you, darlin’,” he said, nuzzling his face against her neck. “I know you are in pain.”

“Yes,” she whispered as she nodded. “I wouldn’t let them give me anything until I had spoken to you two. Even Doc Anderson told them to hold off.”

Jared kissed her finger tips one more time before leaving the room quickly. Returning within moments, he was soon followed by a nurse. He returned to her side while the nurse went over to the side where Connor now stood.

Gina and her two lovers watched as the nurse held up a syringe, flicked it twice with her fingertip, and then inserted the needle into a port in the IV line that ran into the back of her hand. As she slowly pushed the plunger on the syringe, she glanced over at both men and smiled.

Bursting out laughing, Gina pulled her hands up from the men’s as she tried to hold her head due to the pain the laughing caused. The scowl on the nurse’s face was even more comical but Gina was happy that the woman was no longer beaming at her men.

After pulling the needle from the port, the nurse stepped back slightly. “I’ve given you Demerol. It’s going to make you very drowsy. If you stand it’ll make you dizzy, so you need to stay in bed.”

Walking away, the brunette nurse stopped and turned around. Raising an eyebrow, she smiled. “Both of them?”

Gina grinned and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Both of them. All mine.”

“You are one lucky lady,” the nurse said as she turned and walked out.

Once they were alone, Connor and Jared stood next to the bed, staring down adoringly into her eyes. “She’s wrong you know?” Jared asked.

Gina had quieted down, the medicine already affecting her. “What do you mean,” she slurred.

Smiling, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “We are the lucky ones. We are lucky to have you in our lives.”

Connor followed suit but had to be gentler with his kiss since he was on the side where her injury was. “Yes,” he said quietly as his eyes shuttered closed. “We are the lucky ones.”

The darkness overtook her senses, though the last thing she had heard was Connor’s voice confirming them as the lucky ones. Inwardly she smiled although sleep had consumed her.

* * * *

Jared could tell Connor was more upset about the situation than he was saying. It concerned him, so once Gina had fallen into a deep sleep, he headed out the door and waited for Connor to follow him. Heading down to the waiting room at the end of the hall, he sat in one of the chairs, releasing out a cleansing breath. Connor sat across from him.

“Thank God she’s going to be all right,” Connor said, exhaustion lacing his voice.

“Yes,” Jared agreed. Crossing one ankle over his other knee, he looked at his boss. “You want to tell me all of it right now?”

The look on Connor’s face was priceless. “What do you mean?”

“You’re hiding something.”

“I’m not hiding it. I just need to gather some more facts that I am pretty sure now are related to the accident,” Connor said quietly, looking around to make sure no one heard him.

“It must be pretty bad.”

Nodding, he said, “One of us is going to need to be by Gina’s side at all times. She is not to be left alone for any reason except at the house, but that is as long as one of us is in or around the house near her.”

Frustration was building in Jared and he felt as if Connor didn’t tell him what was going on he was going to punch him.

Connor relaxed back in his chair, stretching his long legs out in front of him. Removing his hat, he laid it on the chair next to him. The look he gave Jared made the man think Connor knew he was frustrated with him.

“Last night while I had dinner with Ang at the diner, there was something odd about the man at the table next to us. He kept his hoodie on the whole time he was there, the hood itself covering most of his face. When Tanya gave him his bill she got a glimpse of his face and she said it was badly scarred,” Connor explained. He held his hand up before Jared could speak.

“I know what you are thinking. Why be suspicious?” A snort emanated from Connor as he answered his own question. “Ever since Lyndee arrived, I guess I have become more of a people watcher. I analyze them a bit more in depth and when something feels off, like it did last night, then I will investigate. After he left, I asked Tanya if she had seen him before. She said no. I asked if he came back in if she would let me know.”

“Let me guess,” Jared said already knowing the answer. “He came back?”

Nodding, Connor smiled sardonically. “This morning. Tanya was able to retrieve the license plate from the car.”

Uncrossing his leg, Jared brought his leg down and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. A chill ran down his spine, fearing the inevitable. “What’d you find out when you ran the plates?”

Connor followed Jared’s actions, leaning forward. Keeping his voice low as to keep from being overheard, he said, “The car belonged to Gina and her husband.”

The chills running down his spine were replaced by a hard shiver. Jared ran his hand down his face, rubbing the scruff around his chin. How could that be?

As if he didn’t hear correctly, he had to ask, “What?”

“The car was registered to Francis and Virginia Picard of Fargo, North Dakota.”

Rubbing his hand up his face and then down again in disbelief, he said, “Could it be a coincidence that it previously belonged to them? His family probably sold it after he died and the new owner didn’t transfer it into his name.”

Shaking his head, Connor looked at him with a lost look on his face. “I don’t know, buddy. I don’t know. I do think it’s time we talk to the police in Fargo and find out what they know about his family. I don’t want a relative trying to take revenge on Gina if they blame her for the fire.”

The two men sat staring at each other for several minutes longer before Jared spoke up. “It’s late. Let’s get some shut-eye and in the morning contact the Chief of Police in Fargo. You gonna stay here with her or go home?”

Connor looked at Jared apprehensively. “You are not working tonight. I want us both to stay with her, but let’s go down and talk to the others. Let’s see if Angela and the boys will watch Nathan tonight. I’ll have Trey contact one of the other guys to cover your shift tonight. We’ll need to rearrange the work schedule for all of us also.”

Jared nodded as both men stood. After Connor grabbed his hat, they made their way to the elevator.

* * * *

Driving along the road, looking forward to meeting up with Connor, Gina looked in the rearview mirror to find a familiar face behind the wheel of the large lifted black truck that barreled down on her. As it struck the back of Connor’s truck, she could see the driver’s face.

It couldn’t have been. It wasn’t possible that he would know where she was. How could this be happening?

The truck struck again, this time driving Connor’s truck off the road, flipping many times, trapping Gina inside. Trying to move, she found her hands were trapped. Her heart pounded against her chest wall as if trying to escape her body. Sweat oozed from her pours as panic began to set in, for she was trapped and couldn’t get away. Opening her mouth, she screamed for Connor and Jared.

Two voices permeated her mind, softly calling to her, telling her to wake up. They were the voices of the men who loved her and told her they would protect her.

The voices got louder and sterner with each passing moment as the haze she was in began to dissipate. When Connor’s Dom voice came to her, she pulled herself from the rubble of her flashback.

The pounding in her head was still there and her body ached all over. She really was sweating but the reason her hands felt trapped was both men were holding a hand, one on each side of her. Jared had his free hand on her forehead, smoothing the hair back from her moist face while Connor’s free hand was caressing her cheek with the backside of it.

“Gina, love? Talk to us. Are you okay?” Connor’s voice was stern yet soft, laced with concern.

Focusing on Connor’s voice, her vision cleared and she could see the concern in his eyes. As he glanced over at Jared, she followed his gaze and saw the concerned mirrored in his eyes as well. Confusion reigned within her head as the pounding wouldn’t stop. “What happened?”

“You had a bad dream, sugar. Do you remember what happened?” Jared asked anxiously, hoping she didn’t have amnesia.

“Of course.” She snorted. “I was in an accident. I was just asking why you two looked so scared and concerned.”

Both men cocked an eyebrow at her sarcasm and she knew she was in trouble. Lowering her eyes, she looked down at each of the tan hands holding her pale ones. She wondered if her hands looked so pale, how bad did her face look?

As both men sat on the edges of her hospital bed, her heart rate, which had finally stopped racing, began to pick up speed again. The thought that they would discipline her as they had threatened to do several times before for her brattiness had her pussy leaking juice. The telltale blush crept up through her neck and face and she knew they would see it.

Saved by the nurse rushing in to the bedside where Connor sat, Gina glanced up at her. The woman nudged Connor off the bed and took the hand that he was holding. Placing her index and middle fingers on her pulse point, she stared at Gina, who instantly became nervous.

“Honey, I don’t know what you are doing in here, but your heart monitor is bouncing all over the place,” the woman said in her briny Bostonian accent. “Are these two men disturbing you?”

That prickled the men’s demeanor as they both became stiff in their posture. Connor stood inches away from the nurse and he looked at the woman in disbelief. Glancing over at Jared, still sitting on the bed holding her hand, he appeared in the same state. Gina couldn’t figure out if they were mad because the woman spoke about them the way she did or if they were concerned about her. Her silent question was answered when the nurse removed her fingers and turned to Connor.

“I know you want to be close to her, but you need to keep her calm.”

Connor smiled at the woman before him. She was about five six with raven black hair streaked liberally with white strands. It was pulled back in a high ponytail yet still reached down to her waist. The dark blue scrubs she wore on the bottom coordinated with a white top with blue rubber duckies littered about the background. She wasn’t intimidated by Connor for whatever reason and stood her ground with him.

Reaching out his right hand, he touched the woman’s elbow. “I’m sorry, nurse? We never got your name?”

“Patti,” she replied, smiling up at Gina’s man. “Patricia Wilson, but you can call me Patti.”

“Patti,” Connor said smiling down at her. “I’m Sheriff Connor Lawson. This is Jared Pierce, one of my deputies. I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to get Gina worked up. She was having a nightmare and that’s what spiked her heart rate. She was very shaken up, and still is. We’ll try to help keep her as calm as possible.”

Patti’s smile was bright as she looked from Connor then to Jared and back again. “I’m glad you are here for her. It always helps when patients have people to support them.” Then turning, she looked at Gina. “Don’t let these two get you too worked up. I don’t think the nurses would appreciate us kicking them out. It keeps them inspired to actually stay in their assigned areas instead of lollygagging around.”

Gina giggled. “I don’t know, Nurse Patti. If they are a distraction then I can give them up and you can send them home.”

Patti tried to hide her smile when both men literally growled at the recuperating woman but ended up smiling at Gina. “No. They can stay. They just need to behave themselves and help keep you calm. I don’t want to be the Scrooge of the female hospital staff.”

A chuckle came from both men as they settled down on both sides of their woman, gathering a hand to hold. Connor, while gazing upon Gina, spoke. “We’ll do everything we can to keep her calm.”

“All right then,” the older woman said softly. “You just need to keep her calm. If she needs to get up for anything, you need to make sure one of you is with her at all times. We don’t want her to become dizzy or risk falling.”

“Will do, Patti.” Jared smiled.

Patti walked toward the door and turned before exiting. “I almost forgot. What do you want me to tell the man who has been inquiring about you? He has been calling in every half hour to see how you are.”

With the knowledge that everyone they knew who mattered in this situation already knew Gina was going to be all right, Connor and Jared looked at each other before looking at Patti. Swallowing down the lump of panic that had formed in his throat, Connor asked as he turned to look at the nurse, “Did the man say who he was?”

Patti must have seen the fear in the men’s eyes as she moved her gaze between them and the woman lying in the bed with an IV running into her pale arm. Gina’s face was petrified in fear as her hands squeezed at the strong hands that held hers.