Tangled Hearts (Passion in Paradise) (29 page)

“Damn it, woman,” Cal
growled, pressing the back of his body against hers and keeping her out of the
firing lane.  “Would you settle down before one of these crazy bitches decides
to pull the trigger!”

“Yes, Melody,” Missy
said bitchily, “Do settle down.  You’re causing SUCH a scene.  Everybody knows
the perfect Melody doesn’t so much as
flinch
in the face of drama.”

Melody’s head popped up
over Cal’s shoulder.  “A scene?  Are you nuts?  Your dress alone causes a
scene, Melissa!  Not to mention the fact that I know exactly how many times
you’ve had to have antibiotics for your STDs.  Have you told Brad that he might
need shots?”

“You witch!” Melissa
hissed.  “I only had the clap
once
!”

“This is better than my
afternoon shows,” Cal heard the elderly woman standing beside Faith McKinnon
cackle as she grabbed one of the gourmet candy bars that Melody had stocked by
the registers for those interested in a high calorie impulse purchase.  Tearing
the paper off, she took a big bite before Honor ripped the treat from her
hands.  “Hey!” the old lady complained.  “That one is mine, Honor!  If you want
one, I’ll be happy to steal a bar for you, too. ”

“Aunt Orla,” Honor
hissed, grabbing the old woman’s arm.  “Now is
not
the time for any of
your antics.  Those women have guns.”

“Yeah, I see ‘em, but
I’m old.  Nobody shoots the old lady unless they wanna take the express train
to Hell.  Besides, these gals need me,” the woman called Orla grumbled.  “Their
show had slowed down like we was approachin’ intermission, and I’m a mite
hungry.  Parched, too.”  Looking at the women holding them hostage, Orla tilted
her white head as she considered them with a discerning eye.  “Alright, you two
hoochie coochies, either serve an old lady some lemonade or tell us whatcha
y’all got cooked up for us in Act Two?”

Great, Cal thought,
exchanging an incredulous look with RJ before they both turned their attention back
to the situation.  The old woman was gonna get them all whacked by a pair of
homicidal whores. 

“Listen, you saggy bag
of bones,” Missy hissed, her maniacal eyes swinging toward the matriarch of the
McKinnon women.  “Why don’t you quit flapping your dentures and shut it?”

“I beg your pardon, but
these are my
own
chompers,” Orla decreed with imperious fearlessness. 
“Why don’t you come closer?  I’ll be happy to tear a hunk out your skinny rear
end and show you!”

“Auntie!” All four
McKinnon sisters squealed when the old woman would have stormed forward, each
one grabbing her and hauling her back to their group.

“Enough!” Melody
yelled, tugging Cal’s arm.  “Look, Missy, this is between you, me, Lyndsey and
Brad.  Stop threatening all these innocent people and let them go!  Then, you
two can punish me however you see fit.  Just stop swinging those guns around. 
You wanna shoot somebody; shoot me!”

“Babe, no,” Cal denied
when she tried to wiggle around him again.  “Stop drawing their fucking
attention, God dammit; these bitches are unstable.”

“It’s me they want,
Cal.  I’m putting all these nice people in danger,” she returned frantically,
shaking his arm.  “I can’t let anyone else get hurt because my two former
friends have obviously flipped the hell out and hold me responsible for some
perceived sin I’ve committed toward them.  You’ve got to move and let me talk
to them.”

“Like fuck I do,” Cal
growled, glaring back at her.  “Do we need to have the ‘You’re mine’ talk
again, Princess?” he asked, fighting the urge to save the crazy cunts the
trouble and strangle her himself.

“People are going to
get hurt, Cal,” Melody whispered back worriedly.  “I can’t be responsible for
that.”

“You’re not,” Cal
clipped.  “The she-demons will be.  And I refuse to allow you to be one of
their casualties.”

“Awwww, look at ‘em,
Lynds.  I actually think they love each other,” Missy spat with a scowl.  “Do
you think she loves him as much as we love Brad?”

“I dunno,” Lyndsey
replied conversationally.  “I bet if we shot him, we’d get a pretty good idea
of how she feels.”

The gun went off before
anyone realized the batshit-crazy bitch was serious. 

Melody’s raw scream of
terror as Cal’s blood spilled over the trembling hand she held pressed to his
arm echoed off the walls of the bookstore.  “What did you do?” she shrieked
shrilly at a markedly unconcerned Lyndsey.  God, if she ever got that gun away
from the horrible woman, she was going to shove it up her ass and pull the
trigger, she vowed to herself while she tried to staunch the flow of Cal’s
bright red blood.

“Babe, it’s a through
and through,” Cal assured her, his pained eyes going to where Dr. Daniels stood
blocking his own wife from any potential stray bullets.  “Doc, tell her that
it’ll be okay before she completely loses it,” he ordered, wrapping his free
arm around Melody and trying to drag her closer so that he could use his body
to protect her if the stupid cunts decided to start firing at them again.

Squinting as he tried
to see the wound for the blood running down his arm, the doctor asked, “I see
the point of entry.  Does it have an exit wound?”

“Melody, baby, look for
a hole in the back of my arm,” she heard Cal direct her gently as he tried to
raise his arm for her.

“There’s so much
blood,” Melody worried out loud, her fingers gingerly probing at his arm as she
looked for a place where the bullet might have exited.  God, she was no nurse,
and she absolutely abhorred the sight and smell of blood.  Even now, she could
feel her stomach rebelling at the visual his injury offered…and don’t even get
her started on the coppery stench. 

Knowing his baby
sister’s aversion to the gorier parts of life, RJ ignored the women holding the
guns and crossed the room back to his sister, moving her gently aside so that
he could get a look at his best friend’s arm.  “There’s an exit wound, man.”

“Just keep pressure on
it then,” Dr. Daniels ordered through barely moving lips as he glared at the
two hostage takers. 

“Why?” Melody asked on
a yell as the crowd shifted nervously around them.  Lifting her hands and
wiping at her tear streaked cheeks, she forced herself to take a deep breath. 
“Tell me what I did to either of you!  Tell me what
he
did to you,” she
demanded, nodding her head at Cal.

“For one thing, the
lovesick bastard just kept saving your miserable life,” Lyndsey retorted
bitterly.  Keeping her gun aimed at where Cal held Melody to his side, still
partially blocking her, the blonde haired woman just shook her head at them. 
“See, if you’d just have let nature take its natural course after I made my
special cookies for her, this would all be over.  She’d be over.  And Bradley,
over there,” she said, indicating where Brad sat, wide-eyed and shaking, “He’d
belong to me and Missy forever.”

“God!” Melody railed,
tipping her head back to yell at the ceiling.  “If you want the sorry bastard
so freaking badly, just take him with you and GO!  You don’t need anybody here
for that.  You certainly don’t need to hurt anybody.  Just gather your fucking
prize of a man and LEAVE, Lyndsey!  I don’t WANT him.  I left him, remember? 
You and Melissa have NO competition from me.  Don’t you understand that?  I do
not now nor will I ever want again a single, solitary thing to do with Bradley
Weller!!  He’s a fucking asshole and you three
deserve
each other. ”

“Well, aren’t you
sweet?” Melissa asked with an acidic laugh.  “But it’s just not that simple.” 
Turning to glare at her partner in crime, Missy sneered, “I told you that a hit
and run was too risky, Lynds.  You should have just let me invite her out for a
drink like I wanted.  One quick slide of a switchblade against her jugular and
our problem would be a dim memory.”  Shifting hateful eyes back on Melody, she
continued.  “But oh, no!  Miss Prissy, here, thought you deserved
better
. 
Because of Lyndsey’s aversion to a little mess, she insisted I do something
less violent.”

“Considering it was
me
that got hit by that car,” Melody’s assistant manager, Austin, interjected, “I
can assure you lovely lunatics that it was
plenty
violent,” he informed
them as he kept his back pressed against Sunshine’s chest, pushing her tiny
body into a corner between the bookshelves.

 “Melody, the bottom
line is that as long as you’re alive, Brad is never going to give up trying to
crawl his way back between your legs,” Lyndsey explained.  “Not because of his
unrequited love, though.  I don’t think Brad has the ability to feel much
beyond the pleasure of getting his dick wet.  No, the thing is, he doesn’t get
his parents money without you.”

“What?” Melody balked,
her eyes flashing to where Brad shook his head frantically at Lyndsey and
Melissa.

“Yeah,” Missy added. 
“His mommy and daddy love you that much.  No you, no inheritance.  When Brad’s
parents made that mandate, he dropped us like a bad habit.”

“Maybe because you
were
,
in fact,
bad habits,” Patience muttered under her breath, hissing in a
breath though her teeth when Faith pinched her arm viciously.

“This is about money? 
That’s why he kept making a nuisance of himself?” Melody growled, shooting Brad
a venomous look of contempt.  If it hadn’t been for Cal’s uninjured arm keeping
her anchored to him, she would have lunged toward him and scratched his
eyeballs out of his head. 

“Did you think it was
your winning personality and golden pussy?” Melissa cackled maniacally. 
“Bottom line is that the only way Brad’s parents will ever give up on the idea
of a reconciliation for you two is if one of you is dead.  And since I love
Brad’s money and happen to think his dick does a decent job of easing the ache
for me, I think that person should be you,” she declared conversationally,
aiming her gun toward Melody.

In those few seconds,
Melody recognized the woman’s intent and knew that she was about to die.

It sucked, too, since
she’d finally found a life with Cal that was worth living.  Surrounded by good
people in a town that had welcomed her back with open arms, she was going to
become a victim of two gold-digging tramps and their less than impressive sugar
daddy.

“I love you, Cal,” she
whispered as she lifted her chin defiantly, facing her killers bravely as twin
gunshots shattered the silence for the second time of the day.

A gentle rain
splattered against the windows lulling her body into a mellow, relaxed state. 
Amazing, considering how her morning had gone.  Feeling Cal’s large hand
stroking the curve of her back, Melody closed her eyes and relished the sound
of his heart still beating beneath where her ear rested on his broad chest.

They’d all gotten so
frickin’ lucky this morning.

All of them.

Thanks to Honor
McKinnon’s quick moving fingers and ability to remain cool under pressure,
she’d managed to get a call out to the Sheriff that morning despite the fact
that she’d had a crazy woman pointing a gun at her.  Somehow, she’d been able
to dial the number before dropping the phone to the floor.  Sheriff Zeke Monroe
had heard everything going on and was able to quickly marshal his forces
outside the store.  Couple that luck with the fact that the Zeke’s brother,
Ice, was a former Army Ranger Sniper and happened to be in the store with them
all, and they’d had the makings for a true miracle. 

Somehow, Ice Monroe had
known that Maggie Winstead had been carrying a concealed pistol in her
expensive leather purse and had managed to inconspicuously retrieve the weapon
while their two captors had been pointing their guns elsewhere.  Armed with a
pink pearl encrusted handgun, Ice had waited for his moment, and then he’d used
that gun with ruthless effectiveness.

That pivotal moment had
occurred at the exact same time that Melody had seen her life flash before her
eyes.  The firefight had only lasted a scant minute, but in those breathless
moments when Cal had rolled her underneath him and gunfire had erupted around
them, she’d decided that life was simply too short to waste.

When the smoke cleared,
both of her former friends had more than one hole marring their pretty flesh,
but none of those injuries had been life-threatening.  No, they’d both live
long lives behind bars far away from Melody or anyone she loved.  Once the two
she-demons had been loaded into ambulances, Melody hadn’t wasted any time in
throwing Brad out of her store and out of her life once and for all.  Both Cal
and RJ had assisted the sobbing bastard out the door and one of Zeke’s helpful
deputies had escorted Brad to the county line, offering the shaken man a stern
warning to stay out of the town of Paradise.

Her friends and
would-be customers had all been shaken, but resilient, and at the McKinnon
sisters’ insistence, the day had gone on as planned, party and all.  Melody,
however, had taken time to personally apologize to each person that had been
held in that tense stand-off with her, and the reactions of those folks had
been as wide and varied as their personalities.  Grand matriarch of the
McKinnon Family, Orla McKinnon, had proclaimed with dancing eyes that Melody’s
hostage standoff was more exciting than the drive-by shooting their café had
endured just a year ago.  Patience and Maggie had been disappointed that they
hadn’t gotten to aim a shot at their captors.  Faith McKinnon Turner simply
smiled serenely and continued to hug her husband, Cain, who had been waiting
outside the store behind the police barricade.  Jake and Harmony Stone had
smiled and hugged her, stating that they’d survived worse.  Dr. Daniels and his
wife, Millie, had been understanding, too, though Melody doubted that the good
doctor would allow his wife to come shopping without him in tow from now on. 
Then, despite Cal’s unhappy growls, she’d hugged Ice Monroe and thanked him for
saving their lives.

Finally, she’d spotted
Honor hovering near the door with Zeke Monroe standing in front of her,
obviously giving her hell for something.  She’d had to wait to speak to her
until the Sheriff had finished lecturing her for disobeying their captors’
direct order to not make the call.  Truthfully, it seemed Zeke Monroe was more
rattled than Honor by the events of the morning.

Of course, she kind of
understood the Sheriff’s reaction because while Melody had finally stopped
shaking within minutes of the end of the standoff, it was clear that it was
going to take Cal a hell of a lot longer to settle down.  Her man hadn’t been
still even after they’d hauled her would-be killers out of her business. 
Obviously, Zeke didn’t like Honor being in harm’s way any more than Cal enjoyed
it when Melody was threatened.

The only time her man
had allowed them to be separated since this morning had been when she’d
insisted he have the gunshot wound in his arm taken care of at the hospital. 
He’d reluctantly accompanied Faith’s husband, Dr. Cain Turner, to Paradise
General and had his arm patched up with a few stitches.  He’d only been gone an
hour, but Melody could admit that it felt like a lifetime, and that if it
hadn’t been her opening day, she’d have been right at his side.

Thankfully, however, it
seemed that the nightmare was finally ending.  All the bad guys…or gals, as the
case happened to be… were in custody.  Bradley finally understood that he had
NO shot with her.  Not now and not ever.

She was quite happily
attached to the big lug currently idly stroking her back and nuzzling her hair,
and she couldn’t be happier.  She’d found a man that had found a way to get her
beloved older brother home from a deployment just because he knew it would make
her happy.  He was a man who’d willingly used his own body as a human shield
for her protection and literally took a bullet so she wouldn’t be hurt.

Clearly, former First
Sergeant Callum Valentine was not a man to be trifled with.  He might not give
his affections freely, but when he did offer them, he did it fully. 

“Princess,” Cal
murmured against her temple as his arm slid over her waist until his hand
cupped one of her naked breasts.  “You’re too quiet.  You know how uneasy your
silences make me.  Makes me feel like I’m back in the dessert waiting for Al
Queda to make a move.  I don’t need those kind of flashbacks, babe.”

“Are you comparing me,
your loving woman, to a terrorist network?” Melody asked, shaking her head at
him. 

“Of course I am…you’re
both dangerous as all fuck when you’re under pressure.  And today, babe, the
pressure was on high,” Cal reminded her gently, brushing his thumb over her
nipple until it began to stiffen.

Melody shrugged.  What
could she say?  He was right.  She’d never been under that kind of pressure
until this morning.  It had been terrifying, but they’d survived.  All of them.

“It’s over now,” she
stated needlessly, dropping her head back to his chest.  She wasn’t telling him
anything he didn’t already know. 

Grunting as her
forehead connected with his sternum, Cal’s arms tightened around her.  “Yeah,
it’s over,” he agreed.  “But there are still some loose ends for us.”

Melody frowned.  “Like
what?” she moaned.  “Seriously, Cal, I just wanna put it behind us and get on
with our lives.  Crying about what happened now would be kind of
anticlimactic.”

“And we will.  Right
after you swear to me that you will never play fast and loose with your life
again,” Cal demanded, burying the fingers of one hand in her hair and tugging
it until she tilted her head back to see his eyes.  “You scared the fucking
shit out of me today with your heroics, babe.  I was shot.  I knew my reflexes
would be shit and I had to watch those bitches point their guns at you.  Do you
know what the fuck that did to me?” he whispered.

“Probably the same
thing it did to me to see a bullet that was meant to punish me tear through
your
flesh,” she retorted, swallowing hard as she felt a surge of anxiety begin
to climb up her throat as her eyes went to the stark white bandage circling his
muscled arm.  God, she’d thought he’d been a goner.  There’d been so much
blood.

Cal’s lips pressed
together, and Melody knew she’d made her point.

“Don’t do it again,
Melody.  Do not
ever
put your life on the line for me or anybody else. 
Your life is precious, woman.  You guard it like the gift it is.”

“Same goes for you,
Valentine!  You were the one tryin’ to be a hero this morning.  I just wanted
them to…”

“It’s my job to protect
you.  You do NOT put your life on the line for me or anybody else.  Jesus,
Princess, I love you more than my life. It’s my privilege and my honor to
protect
you. 
I’d give my life for yours in a heartbeat, and I’ll make
no apologies for it,” Cal proclaimed sharply, his jaw tight as he stared into
her eyes.  “For always and ever, babe.  That’s just the way it is.  It’s the
price you pay for tangling your heart with mine.  Now, say you get me,” he
ordered, his faded blue eyes holding hers.

“I get you, Callum, but
what you have to understand is that I love you, too, just as deeply and just as
fiercely as you love me.  If I see a way to keep you safe, I’m always going to
want to take it, too.  That’s what happens when you love somebody with your
whole heart.  You’re the one that taught me that.”

“Sure, it was
that
lesson
you choose to pay attention to learning,” Cal grumbled, dipping his head to
press a kiss against her damp lips.

“I’m as selective about
my lessons as I am about my men,” Melody shared with a playful smile as she
returned his kiss.  “So,” she murmured, lifting her arms to circle his neck,
“Are we done revisiting our awful morning?  I’d really rather move on to more….
enjoyable activities, Cal.”

“Not quite yet,” Cal
denied against her lips.  “There’s just one more thing,” he said, lifting his
head.  “I never got to finish with my surprises.  See, this morning you said
you’d gotten almost everything you ever wanted.”

“I remember,” Melody
smiled.  “You proved me wrong when you surprised me with RJ.”

“Well, I’ve got one
more surprise,” Cal said, reaching behind him.

Watching his movement,
Melody’s eyes widened as Cal’s hand reappeared between them holding a small
velvet black box.  “Cal,” she whispered as he cracked open the lid and withdrew
a flawless Princess cut diamond ring.

“See, I wanted to do
this earlier in front of our friends and family, but the twin terrors kind of
put a damper on my plan.  So, because I’m not exactly a patient man and I’m
sort of desperate to know the direction my future is gonna take, I decided
there’s no time like the present.  Melody Song Reardon, if I had made a list of
the qualities my perfect woman would have, I’d have been describing you.  I’ve
seen that you can be sassy as a hissing cat, sweet as spun sugar, and sexy as a
waking wet dream, and I’m still not sure which one I love the most.  I’d like
to spend the next fifty or so years figuring that out.  You got anything better
to do?”

Melody giggled through
her tears.  “That depends.  Will you promise to always buy my coffee and put
nasty baristas in their place if they’re mean to me?”

“Absolutely, baby.  For
as long as I live,” Cal promised softly as he slid the gold over her left ring
finger. 

Lacing their fingers
together, Melody beamed at the man she loved.  “Then I think the only thing
left to say is I do.”

Closing her eyes as his
body shifted over hers, Melody’s soul sang as their tangled hearts became one.

THE
END

Thanks
for reading Tangled Hearts!!

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