Gina's Private Police Force [Men of Montana 3] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (21 page)

Clearing her throat, she said, “He said his name was Tim.”

Gina’s gasp was so audible it seemed to echo in the room. Dark gray and deep hazel eyes bordering on green focused on the face of the woman they loved. Connor placed his other hand over hers that was still clutching his own. “Gina? Are you all right?”

Her voice had gotten small as did the appearance of her body in the bed. She seemed to shrink back from reality as she asked more for herself than of the three of them. “How? How could he have found me?”

The shock on her face frightened both men along with Patti, though all three decided not to push her. Patti knew from the scene before her that no one needed to know that Gina was awake. She would make sure the other nurses were informed she was still unconscious and that she herself was the only one attending her per the request of the sheriff.

“I’ll take care of this,” she said as she backed out, closing the door behind her. Walking to the room set aside for the doctors to use while they were on duty, she closed and locked the door behind her. Sitting at the desk, she picked up the phone and dialed a number with a shaky hand. Waiting for the connection, she used her free hand to smooth down her hair as if the person on the phone was going to see her through the connection. When the line connected, she smiled.

“Hello, Dr. Anderson?”

“Yes?” he responded on the other end.

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” she said. “This is Patti from the hospital. We have a dilemma with Gina.”

“Is she all right?” he asked, a bit of panic in his voice.

“Oh, yes,” she said quickly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make it seem like an emergency. A bit of a problem has arisen. A man has been calling about her. He wants to make sure she is all right. It did seem a bit odd since the only ones that know she is here are still here or, as for yourself, not going to say anything to anyone else.”

A sigh came through the phone. “What do you plan on doing then, Patti?”

Warmth flooded her whenever he said her name. Her eyes closed as she could picture his hands running across her flesh, his mouth following behind them. A chill ran up her spine before she shook off the image. “I would like to keep the fact that she is conscious a secret. I would like you to act as if she still hasn’t come around and so will I. I will work extra shifts saying that the sheriff requested that I be the only one taking care of her.”

“I like that idea,” Doc Anderson said. “Do you know any of the things that had happened around her in the past few months, Patti?”

A chuckle escaped her. “I’ve heard bits and pieces. I assume since you are asking me this, that they are all true?”

“And then some. This just seems like it’s going to be another round of dodging bullets and secrets.”

“I’m from the big city, Doctor. I can handle myself.”

Now it was Doc Anderson’s turn to laugh. “I’d like to see that.”

The smile on her face widened at his comment. She had heard the stories about his wife and her passing and how sad and closed off he had been. Perhaps now he was ready to move on.

Patti chuckled again before asking, “So we are in agreement then?”

“Yes, my dear. We are. I look forward to actually being a part of the secrets,” he said softly, a light lilt in his voice. “Was there anything else I could help you with, Patti?”

Keeping her voice light though she regretted having to break the contact with him. She said sadly, “No, Doctor. That’s it for now.”

“All right, then. I am going to go work in my woodshop for a while. If you need me, you know where to find me. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Doctor.”

“Goodnight, my dear.”

Replacing the receiver on the phone, she sat staring at it as if the connection would take her closer to the man she was beginning to have feelings for. She hoped perhaps one day she could become closer to him. Smiling, she finally rose from the chair and made her way out to the nurse’s station where she changed around the schedule to fit the upcoming days.

* * * *

“I don’t understand how he could have found me,” Gina whispered, still in disbelief. Looking through teary eyes between her two men as if something occurred to her, she asked, “Did one of you contact my parents?”

They both shook their heads negatively. The two were becoming good at reading each other’s thoughts, so Jared knew Connor hadn’t done it. “No. Neither one of us did. We didn’t have their information, and we wouldn’t think about going through your things to find it.”

Connor squeezed her hand. “You do know you can trust us?”

With a nod, she said, “I know. I do trust you, both of you. I just thought you might try to contact them since I was in the accident.”

“If we weren’t certain you’d be all right, we would have called them, but we knew you’d be fine,” Connor spoke quietly, remembering what Patti had said. He could feel the fear rolling off Gina in waves and knew they had to protect her, not just as her men, but as the law also.

Jared cleared his throat before raising her hand to his lips. Peppering kisses on the palm of her hand, he still held her gaze. Connor’s thumb grazed the back of her other hand. Both men knew they needed to find out what she had seen and what her nightmare was about but neither wanted to disrupt the moment.

They each glanced at each other and when they looked back up at Gina, her eyes were closed, though a tear escaped from each one. The moisture trickled down her cheeks, unnoticed by her as she had drifted back to sleep.

Each man gently wiped the tears from her cheeks before sitting back in their chairs, only a tiny bit more relaxed than before she had woken. They each held her hands still, though thoughts wove their way through their minds as they thought of ways to protect her and to find out who had wanted to hurt her.

* * * *

Both men’s phones vibrated at the same time. Groggily both tried to grab them before Gina woke, hitting buttons to stop the aggravating noise. Looking at the displays, they both looked up at each other before looking at their lovely woman. Looking peaceful in her slumber, her face and head told a different story. A story of cruelty to an innocent woman that left her with cuts and now more visible bruising upon pale skin and a large bandage to cover the wound on her forehead caused by the impact with the steering wheel.

Her left wrist was bandaged because as she hit the soft shoulder, she tried to control the truck, but as it slid off into the ditch, the steering wheel turned, catching her wrist within its spokes. Bruises scattered across every inch of visible skin and both men could only imagine what she looked like under the unflattering gown.

Standing and stretching out his arms above his head and then bending over to work the kinks out of his body, Jared replaced his phone in its case on his belt. Speaking lowly, he thrust his chin toward the door. “Why don’t you call into Trey to see what’s up. Since you are the sheriff, I mean.”

Nodding, Connor stood, bending and stretching also. “I’ll bring back something to eat and some coffee.”

“Great. We never ate last night,” Jared responded before heading into the bathroom.

Connor stood for a moment, looking down at Gina’s battered body. Thinking of how close they were to losing her twice within a two-day time span, he let the shiver run its course up his spine before moving to the door. Walking out into the early quiet of the hospital corridor, he made his way down to the small waiting area and plopped down into one of the chairs. Dialing his phone, he waited for the call to be picked up on the other end.

Trey answered. “Lake County Sheriff’s Department.”

“Trey, its Connor. You texted us both?”

“Yeah. I spoke with Wilson’s CO this morning. He is still in Texas and has been since the day before yesterday when he reported to the base. Lawrence and Lyndee are going to head out to his place this morning before coming into the office and check it out.”

“Great. Tell them to be extra careful going out there. There’s no telling what they are going to find,” Connor ordered.

As the important information was provided first, Trey changed the subject, his voice becoming a bit softer. “How’s Gina doing?”

A young nurse walked by the group of chairs as the question was asked, smiling at Connor as she did so. Connor watched her although didn’t respond to her intentional flirting. Letting out a deep sigh, he answered his deputy. “The same.”

The curiosity was clear in Trey’s voice. “Can’t talk openly?”

“That’s right. Tell them to be careful out there and then call me as soon as they find anything out,” Connor answered, still watching the nurse who was now standing nearby, straightening out the small pile of magazines. Either he was too suspicious or the blonde woman was too brazen.

Pressing the disconnect button on his phone, he clipped it back into the case on his belt and strode past the nurse to Gina’s room. Pushing the door open, he glanced back to find the nurse openly staring at him, a hungry grin on her face. Entering the room, his curiosity was now on high alert.

Returning to the chair he had recently vacated, he found Jared sitting back in his chair, watching him with his own curiosity. Glancing at the door, Connor sighed before turning his attention back to his partner and deputy.

“Did you forget something?” Jared asked, breaking into Connor’s thoughts.

“Not quite,” Connor practically whispered before clearing his throat. “There was a nurse that was too nosey for my tastes. Blonde, about five six. Can you go out and kinda scope it out to see if it’s just me, or if we may have a problem on our hands?”

Nodding, Jared stood and made his way to the door. Stepping out in the hallway, he removed his phone from his case and dialed in the code to retrieve his voicemail from his home. Since he hadn’t been there for a few days, he might as well. Listening, he let his gaze wander around the area. His eyes landed on the nurse Connor had been talking about since she was the only one there fitting the description.

Now sitting at the nurse’s station, she was entering data into a computer. Deep blue eyes under heavy mascara lifted and looked in his direction before returning to the duty before her.

Finishing his call, Jared wandered back to the room and entered. Shaking his head negatively, he returned to his chair. “No interest from her. Maybe she has the hots for you.”

Connor chuckled lightly before standing. Leaving the room again, he walked past the nurse’s station and found the blonde watching him walk by. Perhaps Jared was right. Continuing on, he walked to the elevator and disappeared behind the sliding doors when it called upon his floor.

* * * *

The reappearing sight of the ebony truck and the accident played in Gina’s subconscious. As it got closer, the face behind the wheel was blurred. Once the vehicle hit Connor’s truck, the scene within her mind’s eye vanished within a gray haze before the replication began. After the scene had repeated itself over and over again, she finally pulled herself out of the revelry.

After the last strike of the truck and the gray fog appeared, she reached out with her mind. Her blue eyes fluttered open looking out into a dim room. As her vision focused, the hospital equipment came into view to her relief.

The callused hand holding her right hand squeezed gently, sending warmth throughout her body, filling her with love. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she noticed the same warmth missing from her left hand. Moving her gaze, she found Jared looking at her, concern written all over his face. His eyes searched her face for a sign of distress.

“Whe…” Gina started, but found her throat dry. Clearing her throat and swallowing, she asked stronger though still with a scratchy voice, “Where’s Connor? Did he get tired of waiting?”

Jumping to his feet, Jared leaned over and brought his face closer to hers. “No, baby. He won’t tire of you.” Irritation entered his voice as he was getting tired of her distrust of them and their actions. “Neither one of us will ever tire of you. We want you so badly that when you got hurt, we both immediately came to your side. We both cried because we thought we were going to lose you. So, don’t ever doubt us again. If I have to, I will chain you to our bed for the rest of your life with only enough chain to let you get around the house to show you we don’t want you to leave us.”

At the words that he would chain her to the bed, her pussy became warm and wet. A thrill shot through her body at the thought of her tied down and both of her men having their way with her. Oh, little Virginia had fantasies as she grew up, but when Jared had said it, she was certain they would. There had been too many comments about spankings so she knew deep down inside they could probably make her fantasies come true.

“Gina?” Jared asked, concern lacing his voice as he had apparently asked several times before she was aware of it. “Sugar, are you all right?”

Cheeks rosy with embarrassment, she cast her delighted eyes down, trying not to let him see her true desire. When he repeated the question, Gina took in a deep breath trying to calm her racing heart and hoped he didn’t smell her arousal.

Then, the thought drilled itself into her psyche.
Be honest. Tell the truth. Don’t hide any of your feelings,
they had said.