J Saint - Collateral Damage

"Maybe." Lauren prayed she'd be able to buy more time. It was a six hour drive to Memphis. "But maybe it's here by the fountain out back. We can look there first. He might have more clues to where the money is there."

"Smart." Conrad leered at her. "But I'm not stupid enough to take you out back to see." He grabbed her and clamped handcuffs on her right wrist before she could jerk away. Then he snatched her up from her desk chair and dragged her over to the bed, clearly planning to cuff her to it.

She pulled against him, the metal cuffs cutting into her right wrist. "But you might need my help."

He held up the remote. "Go boom," he said then grabbed the front of her bra and yanked down hard. Her breasts popped free and a knife of dread sliced her to the bone as Conrad reached for a breast with the remote in his hand. His clammy fingers touched her and she shivered with revulsion.

"You like that don't you," he said.

She arched her back as she clutched the letter opener with her left hand. Jabbing upward, she knocked the remote out of his hand and impaled his wrist with the letter opener. Blood spurted as if she hit a vein.

"You and your brats will die, bitch," Conrad released his hold on her right wrist and yelled, diving for the remote that had landed on the bed.

"NO!" she screamed, clawing after him. God. Fate. Couldn't do this. Why hadn't the remote landed on the floor or under the bed, somewhere hard to reach?

He stretched out his long arm and jabbed for the button. With so much wresting, she didn't know if he'd hit it or not. Her heart stopped when he looked at her and smiled. But then he frowned when nothing happened and her heart thundered with hope.

He stretched for the button again.

"Hey, Gardner."

Lauren whipped around at the sound of Jack's deadly voice. Gardner reared up.

"Good-bye." Jack planted two bullets in the middle of Conrad's forehead as the bastard dove for the remote again.

"Matt! Mitch!" Lauren ran forward.

Jack caught her around the waist and pulled her into the hallway where she could see that the boys' beds were empty. "Are at your neighbor's house, safe and the dogs are with them, lightly drugged but okay. Police and bomb squad are on the way and so is a vet. The bomb is in the fountain."

"Thank God. Oh, thank God. How did you know?"

"Long story." He nodded to a computer lying at the top of the stairs. "His car was on the street with that computer showing live feed of your bedroom. I heard it all. Carrying the bomb to the fountain was a piece of cake compared to hearing him threaten you." He shuddered as he pulled her into his arms. "We have to stop meeting like this. My heart can't take it." He buried his face against her neck.

"There is only one way to fix it," she said, her heart racing again with fear, fear that he wouldn't feel the same way she did. But life was too short and she was going to lay it all on the line. He either wanted her or he didn't. She leaned back to look him in the eye.

"How's that?" He quirked a deadly brow.

Handcuff dangling, she placed her palm over his heart and searched his eyes. "To never part."

"Sounds perfect." He didn't blink, he didn't hesitate; he just gave her a wide sexy smile.

She wasn't done yet. He had to know that she took him for what he was, the whole package. "There's something you need to know, DT. I'm very glad you're an ace at headshots."

"Me too," he said, looking her in the eye and breathing a sigh of relief. "Dear God. Me too, Lauren."

"Teach me to shoot like that? I'm never going to be caught vulnerable again."

Jack laughed. "You? Vulnerable?" He shook his head. "You do damn good, but yeah. I'll teach you everything I know inside and outside of the bedroom and the battlefield."

"That sounds like it will take a long time."

"Plan on it."

"I am."

"There's five million buried by the fountain." Lauren sank against him and he kissed her gently as if she were a breakable china doll.

"I've got all I want right here."

"Me too. I know a few charities that could use it."

"And I know a man who can make that happen without the government getting their Jockey's in a wad.

"Good."

He touched the cuffs and gave her a wicked smile. "Care to take me prisoner?"

She latched her arms around his neck, using the cuffs to make him captive. "Only if you kiss me like there is no tomorrow."

He did, but tomorrow still came.

0630 August 30th

"It's tomorrow!" Matt yelled. Lauren cracked an eye open.

"It's tomorrow! Mitch yelled. Lauren groaned and shut her eye.

"It's tomorrow." Jack slid a cup of steamy coffee beneath her nose. "And guess what that means?"

Lauren squinted at Jack. He appeared as if he'd already shaved and dressed. They were back at the Inn with adjoining rooms.

"The beach. The beach. The beach. The beach!" The boys jumped up and down on the other bed.

Lauren bit her tongue and let them have a minute of forbidden fun. They'd been through so much.

"The beach." Jack agreed with the boys. Then he bent down and whispered in her ear. "And I get to kiss you like there is no tomorrow all over again, but this time I'm going to kiss you all over."

Lauren squirmed under the blankets already feeling him everywhere.

Damn, Jack thought as he stood and walked across the room to alleviate the painful tightness in his jeans. Having little ones around was going to keep him on the painful edge of hungry all the time and he couldn't wait. Bring it on, he thought. There were times when delayed gratification gave tremendous rewards and Lauren was the best prize of all. He smiled at the boys' enthusiasm.

They reminded him of Livy this morning. He'd called her and arranged for her to meet them at the beach for the Labor Day weekend. Now all he had to do was email Bear Grylls and see if he could drop in before his next assignment. The survivalist was stateside, slotted to do a Man Versus Wild special in the swamp. The man was insane to take on gator-infested waters.

In one way or another Jack realized that everyone experienced collateral damage from the fallout of life. What determined the result was all in how a person viewed themselves and conquered the obstacles. He hadn't done a very good job of it before Lauren. That had changed and was going to keep changing. Yeah, he was shorter of breath. Yeah, he was one day closer to death. But life was full. Life was good. And that was all that mattered.