HARDCORE: Storm MC(51)

I crouched in front of Zoe and gathered her up, torso in one arm, her knees under the other.



Zoe held my jacket over herself to shield her nakedness from me—not that I wanted to look; I did not. Poor thing probably had not been allowed to shield herself in any way, shape, or form since being taken, however many months ago that was. It was shocking that she was even allowing me to touch her, but she couldn’t have made it out of there on her own. So we both did what was necessary, and we did it with respect. At least, I hoped that was how she understood it. That’s what I was intending, anyway.



In quick time, I retraced my steps again and soon enough hit the elevator call button with two semi-comatose, traumatized angels at my feet.



I was almost overcome with emotion myself. I couldn’t believe my luck in finding both of them, alive, and in locking down Fielding well enough to get these women away from him and back to a safe zone. I knew they each had done some seriously heroic work as well, and I was proud to be there with them on that day. But more than anything else, I was just fucking grateful to have Sienna back, and to be able to return Zoe to her dad. I was just so fucking grateful.



We three rode the elevator back up to the first floor standing. I had one arm around each of their waists, and they leaned on me and did their best to support themselves on rubbery legs. And nobody said anything.



The doors soon slid open into the secret alcove behind the hydraulic bookcase, and I was looking down at the tops of their heads, in the middle of gently urging them forward baby step by baby step, when I heard an all-too-familiar nasal drawl. “Well, look at this. Not what I was expecting, but an interesting development, nevertheless. Hmm. What to do, what to do.”



My blood pumping again in almost immediate protective ferocity, I glared up at him under my brows, my head still tilted down to the ladies, and I might have growled.



Joey fucking Ronn had a gun trained on us and an evil smirk on his face. He was reclining in the armchair I had propped there to keep the damned bookcase open, and he looked like he’d been waiting there a while.



Fuck. My. Luck.





Chapter Fifteen



Sienna



My brain was barely functioning, until my body processed the new extreme tension radiating from Dom’s entire being. I looked up at his face, not even truly aware of anyone else in the room—not even aware of the room at all, in all honesty.



But his sudden shift from soft and sweet to hard wall of ferocity shocked me enough to shoot through my haze, and I finally clued in that there was another threat to be dealt with.



My eyes followed his line of sight and fell on Joey Ronn, with a gun, in the library. I might have guessed. It was like a nightmare version of Clue. I almost laughed, except that this was my real life, not some fiction.



“…miney moe, who will be the first to go?”



Dom was not playing the game. “Ronn. If you’re looking for Fielding, you’ll find him downstairs. I’d be happy to escort you there; just let me drop these ladies off here first. They’ve had a pretty rough day. Yeah?”



Dom’s voice sounded all soft and sweet, but I knew it was a ruse. He hated Joey Ronn even more than I did, if that was possible.



“Downstairs? This is fascinating. First this open bookcase, and this elevator, and now there’s a downstairs. You’ve managed to discover more in this house than I ever have, and I’ve known Fielding for several years. Should I be jealous? You two have a new bromance going on, Parker?”



“Ha. Right.” Dom’s voice tightened. “Listen, man, just move away from the entrance there so I can get these two settled on the couch, and then I’ll take you downstairs, show you around. It’s really amazing. Not to be missed. I’d be more than happy to lead you to your… what should we call him? Your business partner? Maybe you’d like him to show you around.”



“No.” Ronn’s voice turned curt. “I think not. I have no need to know what’s downstairs. And something tells me that Fielding is likely not in the best position to ‘show me around,’ as you put it. But you three… I think I shall have to shift my plan a bit to accommodate. Well, it’s actually convenient to find you here, all together. It’s my lucky day. Again, who wants to go first? Or shall I make the executive decision?”



“Why don’t we leave the ladies out of it, Ronn, and you and I can take this elsewhere.”



Dom started moving us forward, seeming to call Ronn’s bluff about his seriousness with the gun. But Ronn was not having it. I watched him train the gun on my head, and we all pulled up short. Ronn laughed.