The Bold and the Dominant

  Liam’s head snapped up. Hammer let out an ugly curse.

  The anchor cut scene to a reporter, who stood just outside the ER door, posed in front of the camera, vomiting out the sketchy details of Raine’s ordeal.

  “I’m going to kill them all.” Hammer charged at the door, ready to shove the mic up the young dude’s ass and make sure it reached the station manager, too.

  Liam leapt to his feet and grabbed Macen’s arm. “And I’d like to help you. But we can’t go charging out there now. We have to wait for news about Raine. What if she needs us? Besides, your attorney is with her so her rights are protected when the police question her. You can’t get yourself arrested just now.”

  Hammer still struggled to breathe without thinking of murder, but Liam’s logic finally penetrated. “She’s not a fucking sex worker.”

  “I know.” Liam tugged on his arm and shoved him into a chair. “But you’ve got to calm down. The important thing is that she’s alive and—”

  “Yes, but what the fuck else do we know?” He made a mental note to call the TV station and ream them out as soon as he’d seen Raine and assured himself she was well.

  Liam sighed tiredly. “Too little, I grant you. But since I was just here last night with Kyle and cunt-face, I can tell you that nothing happens quickly. Beck is back there with our girl, expediting what he can and watching over her. When there’s news, you know he’ll tell us.”

  Vaguely, Hammer realized that, somewhere in the midst of all the shit they’d endured, Liam had learned to trust Beck. They hadn’t exactly been buddies since meeting just over a month ago, but Liam finally had decided not to hate the guy anymore. A small but welcome victory.

  Right now, Hammer would chuck it all just to see Raine.

  He stood again, feeling ready to crawl out of his skin. “I can’t stand this.”

  “Do you think I can?” Liam asked. “I’m every bit as worried as you, Macen. But you darting back and forth, wearing a path into the carpet, won’t make anything happen faster.”

  God, he needed Liam’s voice of reason…but sometimes he really despised it. At least he had his best friend at his side. That kept him from tearing up the place. Now if he could just crush the TV and kill the reporter…

  “I feel like shit,” he admitted.

  “You look like shit,” Liam returned with a little grin. “But I don’t suppose I look any better.”

  Wearing yesterday’s clothes and all covered in blood, no. Hammer glanced down at himself, then over at Liam. “Not so much.”

  His friend sank into the chair beside him. “I can hardly breathe, mate. While she was missing, I just kept asking myself how I was going to survive without her.” Liam stared down at his hands, wincing at the remnants of blood in his cuticles, under his nails, despite the twenty times he’d washed them. “She’s my life now. It was bad enough when I’d convinced myself she didn’t love me. But a world without her at all is one I don’t want to live in.”

  “Yeah. If we’d lost Raine…” He swallowed a lump in his throat. “I couldn’t go through that shit again. It would be a billion times worse than what I went through with Juliet.”

  “I finally understand how you must have felt when she died. I can’t change the past, and I’m more sorry than I can say that I wasn’t there for you. But I’m here now.”

  He exhaled a rough breath. “That means more than you know.”

  The glass double doors whooshed open. Seth came striding in, plastic bag in hand, beside Dean Gorman.

  “What’s the news about Raine?” Seth asked.

  Hammer shook his head. “Nothing. We don’t have a fucking clue.”

  “I can give you some news on the investigation,” Dean offered, sweeping a coat from his broad shoulders. “Gwyneth has been arrested for conspiracy to commit a kidnapping, as well as aiding and abetting. The fact that she left the assailant a voice mail with a time stamp prior to Raine’s actual abduction and recanted the scheme might persuade the judge to give a little leniency, but…” Dean rubbed at his neck. “Her sparkling personality will undo all that. I see the judge slapping her with contempt of court in the first five minutes. She had the nerve to complain about the smell in the squad car and insisted we find an air freshener.”

  Liam groaned. “That sounds about right. What’s likely to happen to her?”

  “She’s already lawyered up, and she’ll probably work out some deal. But with the voice mails on your phone, Liam, and the one she left on Bill Kendall’s, I’d say she’s going down for a long time.”

  “There is a God,” Seth muttered.

  “And He’s smiling down on us for a change.” Hammer clapped Liam on the back.

  “As long as I don’t have to look at the bitch’s face again, I don’t care,” Liam said.

  “On the flip side, the crime scene at the warehouse is being processed. I need pictures of your clothing.” Dean held up a camera and snapped a few shots.

  “Hell, you can have them,” Liam swore. “I won’t ever wear them again.”

  Hammer looked down at his own stained, grimy garments. “Me, either.”

  “I figured you’d want clean clothes.” Seth handed them the bag in his hand. “There’s a set for each of you.”

  Macen peeked inside, thrilled to find a complete change, down to the shoes. “Thanks, man. This will feel a whole lot better.”

  Liam nodded. “I’m grateful we won’t be seeing Raine while still covered in blood. Thank you, Seth.”

  A sight like that would set her back, no doubt. Hammer grimaced.

  “That’s what I thought.” Seth sent them a faint smile as his phone dinged. He pulled it from his pocket and scanned the screen. “Vivian just texted. She got off the phone with Gwyneth’s sister a few minutes ago. Kitty and her husband are boarding a flight to L.A. as we speak. They’ll be picking up Kyle as soon as they hit town this afternoon. Naturally, they’re frantic. And shocked.”

  More remnants of Typhoon Gwyneth. Hammer couldn’t be more thrilled that selfish, psycho hag was out of their lives forever.

  “At least the boy will be back with his parents soon,” Liam murmured.

  Seth pocketed his phone. “And until then, Vivian is having a ball.”

  Dean cleared his throat. “I hope you guys have a damn good explanation for why you reached the warehouse before the police.”

  “I’ll tell you what I told the other detective: Talk to my lawyer.”

  Gorman sighed, clearly realizing he’d hit a brick wall. “Fine. Then I need to prepare you for a few other things before you’re called back to see Raine.”

  A terrible thought occurred to Hammer. “Does the DA want to charge her for Bill’s murder? She acted purely in self-defense. Any fucking idiot—”

  “Can see that? Yes,” Dean cut in, his voice soothing and low, and Hammer realized he’d been shouting.

  “Sorry.”

  Gorman just shook his head. “No apology necessary. It’s been a terrible fucking morning for you guys. But you’re right. I doubt the DA will file charges against Raine. It’s obvious she did what she had to in order to fight for her life. Rest easy on that.”

  Hammer let out the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Beside him, Liam did the same.

  “Thank God our lass will be coming home,” he murmured.

  Yes. But would she be the same lass who’d left their arms mere hours ago?

  Hammer shoved the thought away. They had to get through today before they could worry about tomorrow.

  “I need to fill you in on what will happen next,” Dean went on, then dragged in a breath. “In cases like this, the victim will always be interviewed by a female detective. Seth provided me copies of the pictures you took of Raine after her father’s beating, just before she first came to live with you. So Detective Bates, who will be questioning her, has already seen the images and knows the history.”

  That was a relief, but how had Seth known?

  “I told him where to fi
nd the pictures, mate,” Liam muttered. “After the police read Gwyneth her rights and cuffed her, I called Seth to update him and told him to find the pictures.”

  Again, Hammer felt blessed to have his best friend at his side. “Smart thinking. Hopefully, it will make her interrogation a bit smoother.”

  Dean hesitated. “I wish that were true. You need to be ready for the fact that, as a woman living and working in what some people see as a pornographic or abusive environment, Raine will be grilled.” When Macen would have objected, Gorman cut in. “It’s an uneducated perspective, and Bates is a bit of a hard ass. She’ll want to be one hundred percent sure Raine isn’t afraid of or being abused by anyone at home. Independent of the criminal investigation, which won’t be easy, Bates will ask tough questions. They might rattle Raine.”

  Hammer gritted his teeth. Goddamn it, it was his job to protect her, and he felt so fucking helpless. Liam had to be fighting the same struggle. “Why the hell can’t they wait until she’s calmer?”

  Dean shook his head. “As a Dom, I totally understand why you’d want that and why it’s chafing you not to be there, holding her hand. As a cop, they need her unfiltered story as soon as possible, before the details go cold.”

  “We don’t like it,” Liam said, looking grim and exhausted. “But we understand.”

  “Mr. Hammerman? Mr. O’Neill?” a soft, female voice called from an open door that led to the depths of the ER.

  Hammer turned to a painfully young blonde with her flaxen curls tucked into some wispy, complicated cross between a braid and a bun. When he and Liam both charged at her and pinned her with their attention, she bowed her head, her cheeks flushing.

  “Yes,” Macen barked when they stopped in front of her.

  “Do you have news?” Liam asked.

  She raised big blue eyes to them, full of gentle intelligence. “Dr. Beckman sent me to tell you that Ms. Kendall doesn’t have any major injuries. She’s alert and talking. He’s been with her since she arrived. He’s personally ensuring she’s comfortable.”

  Liam let out a huge sigh of relief. “Our girl is okay?”

  The nurse nodded. “She’ll be fine.”

  “When can we see her?” Hammer demanded.

  “Neither of you are family?” the little blonde asked.

  “Technically, no but…” He gritted his teeth and looked at Liam. “Why hasn’t one of us married her yet? That would have solved this.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Liam nodded as if testing the idea and liking it. Then he slanted Macen a wry stare. “We should do that. Are we going to arm wrestle for it?”

  “Maybe you should flip a coin.” Seth horned in beside him, staring at the little nurse like a starving man at a buffet. He stuck his hand out to her. “I’m Seth Cooper.”

  She sent him a confused frown as she placed her fingers in his palm. “I’m Heavenly.”

  Yes, you are. Hammer read Seth’s unspoken reply all over his face.

  “Are you the patient’s family?” she asked.

  “Just a friend,” Seth assured.

  “She has no one else. We’re like her family,” Hammer insisted.

  “But you’re not actually related or married?” she double-checked.

  “One of us will marry her in the next ten minutes if we’ll be allowed to see her. Hell, we both would if it was legal,” Liam groused, sounding exasperated.

  The innocent little submissive in uniform bit her lip, looking as if she’d never heard of, much less considered, a ménage.

  Heavenly shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t make the rules.”

  Hammer elbowed Seth. “What else can you tell us about Raine’s condition?”

  “I’m just a nursing student. I’ve only been in to give her water and blankets.”

  “Do you know how much longer before we’ll be able to see her?” Liam asked.

  Heavenly shook her head regretfully. “The police haven’t even finished with her, so I suspect it will be a while. In the meantime, Dr. Beckman asked me to escort you to a nearby lounge. You’ll be able to shower there. Just let me know when you’re ready.”

  After exchanging a glance with Liam, Hammer knew they were on the same page. “Let’s do it now, just in case we’re able to see her sooner, rather than later.”

  “Follow me.” She let the ER door close behind her and led them to another closed door, accessible only with her electronic ID badge.

  “Thank you, Heavenly,” Seth called to her.

  She turned to him with a shy smile, not quite meeting his gaze. “You’re welcome.”

  In fifteen minutes, he and Liam had both showered and changed clothes. The hot spray had done a world of good in reviving him. Liam looked a bit more alive, too.

  When they emerged, Heavenly stood there with two hot plates of food. “Seth found you some breakfast at the cafeteria. There’s a little break room around the corner with coffee.”

  Heavenly pointed to her left. They smiled, thanked her, grabbed hot cups, then returned to the waiting room to juggle their plates in their laps, shove down food, and wait for news about Raine.

  By then, Seth was speaking to various members of the club who’d stopped by, updating them on what little they knew of Raine’s status. Hammer was grateful for their caring. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, finished the last swig of his coffee, and greeted the members, thanking them. Liam joined him.

  In the corner, they spotted a young man behind a magazine with wide shoulders, big hands, and piercing eyes. He didn’t look familiar, but as far as Hammer knew, the ER wasn’t clogged up with other cases at the moment.

  He frowned. If the asshole was a reporter looking for a scoop…

  Another Dom approached him before he could finish that thought and accost the stranger. Hammer and Liam talked to that club member and the others, managing to pass the next twenty minutes in only mild agony. The waiting still rubbed him raw, but being surrounded by concerned friends was definitely a balm. Raine would be touched by the number of people who had come to express their support.

  Finally, the door to the back of the ER snapped open, and Beck walked toward them.

  Hammer and Liam both cut their conversations short and rushed over.

  “What can you tell us?” Liam insisted, as if he couldn’t say the words fast enough.

  “Anything?” Hammer added.

  “Calm down. She’s shaken. Tearful. Afraid. But mostly fine. We cleaned her up, stitched her lip, and checked out the rest of her trauma.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Hammer barked.

  Beck held up a hand. “Kendall punched her in the eye. We’ve managed to reduce the swelling. The eye socket wasn’t broken, thankfully. But she’s bruised. There will be more contusions around her neck where he tried to strangle her.”

  Hammer’s blood iced over. A chill settled into his bones as he buried his face in his hands. Why the fuck hadn’t he been able to protect her? Yes, he knew the news was mostly good. He could be standing in the emergency room again hearing the speech about how they’d tried but there had been nothing the doctors could do to save her… He refused to fall down that mental black hole now.

  “Strangle her?” Liam breathed the words in shock. “Oh, Raine must have been terrified.”

  “But she’s a survivor.” Macen kept reminding himself of that over and over. If he didn’t, he’d go fucking insane.

  “We didn’t do a rape exam. Raine swears Bill didn’t penetrate her. Apparently, he couldn’t get it up.”

  Besides finding Raine alive, that was some of the best news he’d had all day.

  “What a relief,” Liam said, again mirroring his thoughts.

  “She’s talking to a female detective now. As soon as the woman is done, you can see Raine. But you should know, the police treated Raine’s body like a crime scene because it is. It’s…