When Dove Cries Read online

  “Lord, help us,” Draven muttered then gave a little chuckle as he walked over to her, bent and kissed her forehead. “I won’t start shit, but I do have to ask him something. I’ll be right back.”

  He spun and left the room, leaving Dove with a ball of anxiety resting in her belly.

  “He really doesn’t like this hospital.”

  “Not sure if I’m liking this hospital either,” Cade muttered.

  A couple of minutes stretched out, then Draven was back, smiling. His whole body had relaxed.

  “Dr. Blake is getting your discharge papers ready,” Draven went on. “There’s a woman at the clubhouse who’ll take care of you, nurse you back to health. Once you’re stronger, you’ll come live with me in my house. I’m going to take care of you. You’re with me now. Okay?”

  “Asshole,” Cade muttered to him. “Us. Okay? Get it through your thick skull.”

  Draven opened his mouth to say something back, but Dove didn’t want them to fight anymore. At least not right then.

  “How about a game or something?” Dove asked, hoping to distract them.

  Both men seemed to reluctantly back away from their animosity toward each other. Cade pulled a new deck of cards out of his pocket and showed them.

  “Wanna play poker?” he asked.

  “I don’t know how to play,” she said. “Will you teach me?”

  “Sure,” Draven said as he pulled up the C-arm table and scooted his chair closer. “I suppose strip poker is out of the question?”

  Cade glared at him and brought a box of toothpicks out of his other pocket. “We’ll use these for now.”

  “Ah, shucks.”

  * * * *

  Gunner knocked on Gray Dog’s door and waited until the old man bade him enter before opening the door. Dark shadows filled the room, and the place smelled like a dirty ashtray that even Gunner found offensive. Two of the club whores were playing with Gray Dog. One was grinding herself down on his dick, fucking like a mad fiend, while the other was kissing up and down his torso.

  “Can’t you see I’m a little busy for club business?” Gray Dog asked.

  “Merchandise is still being guarded by the two hounds.”

  “Is there going to be a time when the hounds are out and about?”

  “Only time is when the merchandise leaves the warehouse.”

  Gray Dog thought for a minute, and Gunner eyed the girl on the old man’s lap. Her makeup had run, giving her a raccoon look. Her lipstick had been smeared off, and some of it rested on her cheek. She looked like a clown, and he wondered how Gray Dog could keep it hard for someone who looked like she did.

  “Get a plan together on how to hit the merchandise,” Gray Dog finally said. “As soon as it’s in motion, I want it gone. Got it? Now get out of here. I’m about to come, and I don’t like men watching my come face.”

  Gunner didn’t waste another second retreating. He had no desire to see the old man’s come face either.

  Chapter Seven

  “Man, we’ve been hustled,” Cade grumbled as he threw down his cards. He eyed the stack of toothpicks in front of Dove.

  “Are you sure this deck isn’t marked?” Draven asked, inspecting a card’s back pattern carefully.

  Dove chuckled. She’d plotted well. Yesterday, they had spent the day explaining each variant game of poker, and today she’d executed her plans carefully, luring them in until she’d gotten almost every one of their toothpicks.

  She grabbed the cards out of Draven’s hand and decided to show off some of her skills. After shuffling them a few times, she cut the deck in half then pushed down in the center with her thumbs to create a bridge. The cards merged together beautifully. She did a couple of more little tricks, like twirling the cards around her fingers and fanning them out on the table to flip them over in a pretty spread, just to impress them.

  “Yep, we definitely got hustled,” Cade said as he sat back in his chair. “Why’d you make us tell you how to play yesterday? And who taught you so well?”

  “You two were so cute when you were explaining things to me, I simply didn’t have the heart,” she teased. She didn’t tell them that they hadn’t argued or glowered at each other once last night. “And I spent a lot of time in and out of hospitals when I was younger since it took a while for the doctor’s to diagnose me. How else do military men entertain little girls except with card tricks and board games?”

  “So you’re saying you can beat our asses in Monopoly as well?” Cade asked.

  “Damn skippy,” she said, smiling at him.

  A knocked sounded on the door, and a second later, Allis poked her head inside.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Of course!” Dove replied. She set the deck of cards down as Allis and Givon walked in.

  “Playing cards?”

  “She’s a shark,” Cade stated. “Draven and I are bleeding heavily, going down for the count.”

  Draven began to gather the toothpicks and put them back into their cardboard container. “We should take her to Vegas.”

  Allis held up the basket she was holding. “I brought you a gift basket. Full of all kinds of girly necessities.”

  She put the basket on the table in front of Dove. Curiously, Dove turned it around and saw face products, a razor, lathering soap, lip balm, panties and deodorant.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, overwhelmed. She blinked away sudden tears. “This is really nice of you.”

  Allis shrugged. “Been here, done that. When I got out of the hospital, I didn’t even have the basic stuff.”

  “Allis, you can sit here,” Draven said, standing and holding out the chair for her.

  “Thanks,” she said and sat.

  “Everything okay, Givon?” he asked the sheriff, who stood by the door. “Any updates?”

  “The chain on the door had Hiller’s fingerprints, but that was all we could recover,” Givon replied.

  “We figured that,” Cade said.

  Givon nodded. “I also received word this morning of two other disappearances. I had Detective Harmon from Durango monitor the broadband.”

  “Two more women?” Cade asked sharply. “Where?”

  “Two towns, Lander and Thermopolis. Both women were in and out of the system, recovering addicts. No one to miss them except some friends who reported they had vanished.”

  “Those towns are on either side of Riverton,” Draven muttered.

  “Yep. Not too far from Destiny.” Givon sighed. “I came by to get Dove’s statement and see if she remembers anything else that might help her case and these new missing women. Anyone who might have come in contact with Michael Hiller or anything she saw—”

  At that moment, the fire alarm rang throughout the hospital. Everything went dark as power was shut down and the emergency strobe light above the door began to blink.

  “What the hell?” Givon muttered. “Stay with Draven, Allis.”

  He left the room to go investigate. Cade went to follow but stayed by the door. Dove noticed he reached around to the back of his pants, under his vest, where she knew he carried his pistol. Fear gripped her. Allis grabbed her hand and held tightly, which helped ground her and drive the terror away. Her saviors would never allow her to be taken again.

  Cade cracked open the door, stumbling back when a nurse rushed into the room. His hand was still on the hilt of his gun.

  “There’s a fire in the hospital,” the nurse said quickly as she rushed to Dove’s IV. “I’m going to unhook you from your line. You’ll need to use the stairs, not the elevator.”

  “Doesn’t she need to stay on the fluids?” Draven asked.

  The nurse shook her head as she lowered the rail to the bed. “You need to get out of a burning building more than you need to be hooked up to an IV,” she said in a no-nonsense way.

  Even though the needle was still in her arm, the nurse capped it off and taped it to her skin before helping her out of the bed.

  “I’ve got her,” Draven to
ld the nurse. He shuffled her out of the way and scooped Dove up in his arms.

  “Great. I wish I had ten more of you.”

  “They’re probably on their way,” he told her. “As soon as they get here, I’ll put them to work. Allis, stay in front of me and behind Cade.”

  Cade opened the door and led them out of the room. Chaos ruled the hall as nurses scrambled to help the ambulatory patients toward the stairway. Dove wrapped her arms around Draven’s neck and clung tightly as she buried her face in his neck.

  “Do you see Givon?” Allis asked.

  “No,” Cade answered. “But stay behind me. My job is to make sure you and Dove are safe.”

  Luckily, Dove was only on the second floor. They shuffled into the flow of traffic on the stairs, and seconds later, they were outside. When Dove felt the sunshine on her skin, she lifted her head and looked around. Orderlies had assembled as many gurneys as possible and were helping the elderly onto them. Doctors and nurses rushed around to check on their patients. The sound of fire trucks drew steadily closer. People yelled.

  “Givon?” Allis shouted.

  “I don’t see him,” Cade reported.

  “I have to go find him!” Allis shouted, taking a step back toward the hospital entrance.

  “No, ma’am,” Cade said firmly, stepping in front of her to block her path. “I’m not risking the wrath of the sheriff or the president of the Red Wolves by letting you run around to get hurt. Besides, I think this was a diversionary tactic.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This doesn’t feel right,” Cade continued, looking around.

  Dove knew he wanted to bring out his gun for a precautionary measure but couldn’t with all these people around.

  “I know what you mean,” Draven muttered.

  The fire truck had arrived, and men jumped off it then scrambled around to pull out hoses and establish a perimeter. They made sure people were okay and talked with the administrative hospital staff. Two firemen in full suits and masks entered the hospital to assess the situation.

  Long minutes passed. The sound of motorcycles filled the air, and seconds later, North and about fifteen bikers arrived. Allis gave a cry and took off toward North, who unsnapped his helmet and hung it off a handlebar. He scooped Allis up in a tight hug, and she gestured toward the hospital. He held her hand tightly as he marched up to them.

  North Tabion was a tall man with a bandana tied around his head, a long-sleeved shirt under his leather cut and a chain holding his wallet in his back pocket. His black riding boots thudded on the ground as he walked. Allis, on the other hand, was petite and a good foot shorter than he was, but her dark coloring was a striking contrast to his blond good looks.

  “What the hell is going on?” he demanded from Draven as soon as he was near.

  “Fire alarm,” Draven answered. “Givon told us to watch Allis then he sprinted out of the door. We haven’t seen him since.”

  “What do you want us to do?” a Red Wolves member asked.

  North assessed the situation. “Spread out, ask the nurses where you can help.”

  The man nodded, turned, then directed the others. North kept his voice down as he looked around.

  “This seems too convenient,” he muttered. “All of us are out in the open.”

  “That’s just what we were thinking,” Cade replied.

  At that moment, the firemen came out and took off their face masks. Givon followed them. Allis cried out in relief and rushed toward him. He caught her in a hug and gave a nod of thanks to the firefighters.

  Givon walked over to them with Allis tucked firmly against his side. He was wet and smelled heavily of smoke. Dove looked over at North, expecting to see jealousy, but only relief shown on his face. Their dynamic fascinated Dove.

  “Man, what the fuck were you thinking?” North demanded. “Being sheriff is too pansy for you, so now you go put out fires?”

  Givon shook his head. “Paper fire was set in one of the rooms in the basement,” he said. “Right under a fire alarm so it set off the sprinkler system down there. It was out before I got there, but the smoke is thick.”

  “Sabotage,” Draven replied.

  “Technically, arson,” Givon said. “But there aren’t security cameras in the basement, so unless the person who set it is really stupid and blabs, it may be hard to find the culprit.”

  “Do you think it’s safe to go home?” Allis asked. “We just finished putting the last coat of paint on the wall.”

  “I think you’re safe,” Draven answered her. “I think this is about Dove.”

  “Me?” she whispered. “But why?”

  “You can identify people,” Cade replied.

  “This is the Allis situation all over again,” Draven said.

  “But Hiller is dead,” Allis pointed out.

  “Hiller wasn’t calling the shots,” Givon told her. “We’ve always suspected someone was directing him.”

  “When does she get discharged?” North asked, nodding to Dove.

  “Possibly tomorrow or the next day,” Draven answered.

  “Let us know,” North ordered. “We’ll give you guys an escort home, although you might want to consider moving into the club for a while. Better protection.”

  “I have to go home and change,” Givon told North. “I can take Allis with me.”

  “I want to stay,” Allis stated. “I’ll be careful.”

  “All right,” Givon said. He looked around. “I guess I don’t have to tell you to watch over Dove.”

  “You got that right,” Cade replied.

  “My deputies and I will be here most of the day, sorting through things,” he added. “Call me if you need me. Okay?”

  Everyone nodded. Givon kissed Allis, nodded to North then headed toward his truck.

  Dove’s nurse came up to them. “We should be able to move you back into your room shortly,” she said. “As soon as we get the okay from administration.”

  She offered an impersonal smile as she moved on to the next patient, saying the exact same thing. Even though the situation was tense, Dove couldn’t help feeling safe wrapped in Draven’s arms.

  Chapter Eight

  The morning was long and tedious. One of the Red Wolves, a man named Nimrod who had the word ‘prospect’ on his cut, had produced a chair for Dove to sit on. She was embarrassed that Draven had held her so long and had probably hurt his back. Not that he looked like he was hurting. The man had muscle upon muscle, so she figured he’d just gotten in some weightlifting for the day.

  “What’s it like being with two men?”

  Allis raised an eyebrow. “Are you asking me for sexual clarification, or are you curious how two men don’t get jealous?”

  Heat filled her cheeks.

  Allis didn’t look away, and neither did Dove.

  “Both, I suppose.”

  “We sleep in the same bed,” Allis replied, cocking her head as she stared at Dove. “I suppose it helps that Givon and North are best friends. It would be hard if they had tension between them, like Cade and Draven.”

  Dove’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t mean… That is…”

  Allis chuckled. “It’s okay,” she said. “It can be unnerving when two men are interested and you’re interested right back. You wonder how you can choose between them because each man gives you something that you want and need.”

  “No, I, ah… That’s wrong, isn’t it?” Dove asked softly, swallowing. She glanced at Cade and Draven, who stood shoulder to shoulder watching the fire department. “I like them both.”

  Allis patted her hand. “I understand. I really do.”

  Dove sighed. It felt good to talk to someone who understood, who got it.

  “But it’s not easy,” Allis continued. “There will be people who’ll whisper behind your back, and there’ll be people who’ll call you a slut. And you can’t marry both men, so you have to figure out if you’ll just live with them or if you’ll marry one publicly, which I can’t
do because to me, that’s picking one over the other. We’ve actually decided to get married on the reservation. Polygamy was practiced in Native American history.”

  Draven had peeked over at her, and Cade, who seemed to have sensed that Draven had turned, did the same thing. She stared at both men, and excitement shot through her whole body. Now that her body was healing, her emotions were waking up. Her heart fluttered suddenly with excitement, and a heaviness settled into her limbs that made her think of beds and silky sheets. Surprising, since she’d never had any fantasies of any man, and that included all the handsome, hunky men in her father’s unit. She’d been their little sister, and she’d taken care of them, or at least taken care of the house they’d lived in.

  Even though the nurse had said Dove would be going back to her room shortly, it was over two hours before the fire department and administration allowed people back into the hospital. Dove didn’t think Cade relaxed once. He stood guard over her like a Secret Service man protecting the president. It melted her heart.

  Now, as they settled back into her hospital room and her nurse reattached her fluids, she began looking at Cade and Draven in a whole different light. Draven had been her angel, and Cade had been her protector. In the five days they’d been plastered to her side, they’d begun to morph in her head. Now she saw how handsome they were, how each man held a unique appeal.

  John Draven was tall, muscular, with electric blue eyes and sandy blond hair. Cade was a little older, some gray peppering his dark hair. She loved the dimple in his left cheek that constantly appeared whenever he talked. And his dark eyes were full of warmth. But their physical attractiveness was only part of it. The other half was a fluttery sensation inside her, as if something exciting was just about to happen.

  Still, she couldn’t rule out that she was just attracted to them because they’d saved her. She didn’t know the technical name for it, but she was sure some shrink would love to dissect her every thought and all her emotions. She probably had daddy issues as well. After all, what other twenty-one-year-old woman would choose to live at home and take care of grown men instead of venturing forth into a life of her own? Yet it wasn’t as if her father had never given her options. He’d sent her off to college, but after two semesters, she’d known it wasn’t what she wanted. Academia just wasn’t her cup of tea. She had moved back home and picked up the slack of taking care of a household full of men, and she’d liked it. That was where she’d wanted to be. When they’d died, well, she’d lost everything, including a sense of purpose.