“I understand. Another time we will, but I’m still walking you up.”

  She nodded, and then he got out of the truck and came around to her side. He lifted her up and off the seat, and she slid her body down his front, and he kissed her, placed his hand on her ass, and squeezed. She gripped his arms and then moaned into his mouth.

  When he released her lips, she exhaled. “This is going to be hard.”

  “What is?” he asked.

  “Not letting you come in.”

  He couldn’t help but to smile inside. So she was feeling as desperate as he felt.

  He closed the truck door and locked it and then held her by his side as they walked into the apartment building. They got upstairs to her door, and she got her keys out.

  “Not asking me in?” he asked, caressing her hair.

  She leaned back against her door, and holy shit did she look so sexy. Her blonde hair was pushed over her shoulders, her jaw tilted up, and her sexy eyes held his. She looked youthful, sensual, and he felt possessive. He licked his lip and then gripped her hip before he lowered down to kiss her. He held her with firm hands, his mind, his body aroused by her femininity, her softness and curves, and he wanted to be inside of her again. Then his thoughts about taking things slower, not rushing things, popped into his head. Her last relationship sounded terrible, and he worried about her state of mind when it came to trust. He and his brothers could feel her holding back, and he wanted to know how badly this guy had hurt her. He slowly released her lips, and they pressed their foreheads together.

  “Goddamn baby, I don’t want to leave you.”

  “I feel it, too, but Monday mornings are hard enough.”

  He stroked her cheek as he pulled back. “The voice of reason. You’re an angel.”

  “Good night, Fogerty.”

  “Night, beautiful.”

  He glanced over his shoulder as she unlocked the door then looked at him. She smiled, and he smiled, too, then headed out of the apartment building already thinking about when he could see her again and when they could make love.

  * * * *

  Amelia was smiling wide as she entered her apartment. It was dark, and she was going to head right to her bedroom when the light turned on.

  Cavanaugh was sitting on the couch, a gun pointed at her. She gasped, took a step back, and felt like her heart stopped a moment.

  “If he’d come in, he’d be a dead man right now.”

  Tears immediately rolled down her cheeks. “What are you doing here?”

  “Don’t say one fucking word to me, you whore. Where did you go with him? Who the fuck is he?” he demanded, and she thought about Fogerty. Hoped he was in his truck and driving away, safely away. She thought about Dell and Watson. It didn’t seem like Cavanaugh knew about them or where she’d been. He only thought she was with one man.

  “He’s a friend.”

  “You fucked him.”

  “No.”

  He stood up. “He nearly took you on the bed in here. You were going to fuck him here but instead left.”

  She shook her head.

  “Come here.”

  She shook her head.

  “I said to come here,” he demanded.

  “You don’t belong here. You’re not my boyfriend any—”

  He closed the space between them and struck her hard in the head. She covered her face and head and cowered by the wall.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I own you, bitch. You are mine, and you will obey me. That dick you fucked tonight is a dead man walking.” He pulled out his cell phone.

  She stared at him crying hard, wondering what he was up to.

  “Yeah, you got the dick in your sights?” he asked.

  “No, Cavanaugh. No please don’t hurt him,” she cried and stepped forward. He snarled at her. Cavanaugh was crazy. He had Fogerty followed. He was going to have someone hurt him or kill him. This was all her fault. She’d caused this. “Please Cavanaugh. Please don’t hurt him.”

  “Hurt him? I’m going to kill him for fucking you.”

  “No. Nothing happened. We went out for pizza.”

  He stared at her. “You were gone the whole weekend.”

  “I slept at Casey’s,” she said, shocking herself for thinking so quickly.

  “You have him in your sights? You can take the shot,” He said to the person on the phone. Then he smirked.

  “No, Cavanaugh, please, please don’t.” She stepped toward him, reached out, but didn’t dare touch him.

  “What’s it going to be, Amelia? Kill the fucking dick for fucking what’s mine, or you do as I say? Come when I say to come and do whatever I ask you to do?” he asked.

  Her heart ached, and she felt so sick, but she wouldn’t get Fogerty killed.

  “I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t kill him please.”

  He raised one of his eyebrows up at her, and she knew what he wanted. She slowly moved closer so she was right in front of him, got down on her knees, placed her hands on her lap, and lowered her head. The tears fell, and she sobbed uncontrollably, and he petted her hair as he spoke into the phone.

  “Don’t kill him, but send him a message.”

  Her eyes widened in shock. No, no, no, no, please don’t let anything happen to Fogerty. Oh God please. This is all my fault. Oh God.

  * * * *

  Fogerty was driving back to the house when he saw the bright headlights of a big SUV or truck behind him. He wondered what the hell the guy was doing and why he had his brights on when suddenly the back window shattered. He zigged and zagged, and then another shot hit his tire.

  “Gunshots? What the fuck?”

  He knew the person shot at him, but he was trying to maintain control of the truck when the tire gave and he crashed into the ditch on the side of the road. His head hit the steering wheel, stunning him, and the vehicle flew by him. It was a burgundy SUV. The truck started smoking, and he pulled out his cell phone.

  “Watson, someone just tried to fucking kill me.”

  “What?”

  “I got shot at.”

  “Are you okay? What about Amelia?”

  “She wasn’t with me. I dropped her off. Fuck, I hit my fucking head and crashed the truck.”

  “Could it be business related?” he asked.

  “If it was, I would be fucking dead right now. This was a warning.”

  “Should we call the police?”

  “Well, I think cars are stopping, so the decision is made.”

  “Where are you? We’re heading out now.”

  Fogerty gave his location and ended the call just as someone walked up to the side of the truck.

  “Are you okay? Was it the Burgundy SUV?” an older man asked him, looking concerned and holding a shotgun.

  “You saw it?” he asked the older man and the older woman beside him who had stopped to help.

  “We saw the flash of shots being fired,” the woman said, looking scared.

  “Were you able to get a license plate number?” he asked them as he undid his seatbelt.

  “You’re hurt, son. The paramedics should be here any second.”

  That was when he heard the sirens and knew the police were arriving. This was a mess, but who the fuck had just shot at him? If he’d been with Amelia, then she could have gotten killed. Now he was pissed off. Someone was going to go down for this as soon as he and his brothers figured out who was responsible.

  Chapter Six

  Caden Farmers, Chief of Police of Mercy arrived on scene. He had his officers get control of the situation and tape off the area for any nosey bystanders. When the call had come over the radio and he heard that Fogerty Young was involved, he’d gotten concerned. As a retired Navy SEAL, Caden knew a little bit about Fogerty and his brothers’ professional jobs. His first thought, since shots had been fired at Fogerty’s vehicle, was that this was business related.

  He was standing next to Fogerty as paramedics were bandaging up his forehead and telling him they believed he had a slight concussion and wanted to bring him to the hospital. He refused.

  “I’ll sign whatever I need to,” he said, with Dell and Watson standing by. All three men were fierce.

  Caden could tell that they were pissed off. “Watson, can I have a minute?” he asked him, and Watson nodded, squeezed his brother Fogerty’s shoulder, and walked away with Caden.

  Caden was just as tall and built as Watson. Even in his new profession of law enforcement, Caden kept up with his training, especially as his brothers were still active duty.

  “What do you want to tell me about this?” he asked.

  Watson exhaled. “To be fucking honest, I don’t know.”

  Caden squinted and looked around them and then back at Watson. “Business related?”

  “No,” Watson said, and Caden grew more concerned.

  “You telling me I got some nut job out there taking pot shots at people?” he asked.

  “No, Caden, I don’t know how to explain this. It makes no fucking sense.”

  “Well, let’s backtrack to where he was coming from. Did he have any confrontations with anyone?” Caden asked.

  “No. He dropped off Amelia Woods at her apartment on Willow Avenue.”

  Caden thought about that a moment. “Could this have something to do with her?” he asked.

  “Fuck,” Watson said and looked at Dell, who had now joined them, as had Fogerty. Fogerty looked like shit, like he was fighting pain from the concussion.

  Watson pulled out his cell phone and called her. He stared at his brothers, and Caden knew something was up.

  “Tell me what’s going on and what you need,” Caden said very seriously.

  “She has an ex-boyfriend. All we know is that he was abusive,” Dell told him.

  “Could this asshole be the one who took a shot at you?” Caden asked, and then one of his officers came over.

  “We got a make on that vehicle. Not from around here. Came out of Virginia,” the officer told him.

  “Got a name?” Caden asked.

  “Nothing that looks legit,” the officer said, and then they all noticed a black SUV come onto the scene. It immediately caught their attention. As two men dressed in dress shirts and dress pants got out, Caden knew they were investigators.

  “Shit, why do I get the feeling this is going to be a situation?” Caden said, and Watson, Dell, and Fogerty stared at the two men.

  “Chief Farmer?” the taller guy asked. He had dark hair and deep blue eyes.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m Agent Case with the State Police Task Force. This is Agent Harper, FBI.”

  “What can we do for you gentlemen?” Caden asked. Both men looked at Fogerty, Watson, and Dell.

  “We’d like to know what exactly took place here this evening,” Case said to him.

  “Why do you want to know?” Caden asked, ready to protect his friends and to ensure these men knew he wasn’t some backwoods idiot born yesterday.

  “We believe it may or may not have something to do with a case we’re investigating,” Harper told them and looked at Dell, Fogerty, and Watson.

  “What case would that be?” Fogerty snapped at him.

  “We aren’t at liberty to disclose that information,” Harper said.

  “Really? Someone took pot shots at my brother. He has a concussion, and he could have been killed. I think you can tell us what the fuck this is all about,” Watson said, raising his voice.

  Harper went to speak, but the guy Case put his hand up and stepped forward.

  “We aren’t at liberty to discuss who we are investigating, but we do believe this situation has something to do with it. How do the three of you know Miss Amelia Woods?” Case asked, and Caden looked at Watson, Dell, and Fogerty.

  “What does this have to do with Amelia?” Fogerty asked.

  “She’s under investigation, along with her ex-boyfriend, a very bad, very smart individual.”

  “Why would Amelia be under investigation? What did she do?” Dell asked, teeth clenched.

  “That’s not for you to know. However, it is important that the three of you stay clear of her while we begin to close in on this investigation and make arrests,” Harper said.

  “Stay clear of her? No, we aren’t fucking staying clear of her. We want answers. We want to know what the fuck is going on. Someone shot at me, and that means that Amelia is in danger,” Fogerty said.

  “You need to stay clear of her. You’ll destroy over a year’s worth of an undercover operation, never mind probably get killed. If they’d wanted you dead tonight you wouldn’t be here. That was a warning,” Case said to them, and then his cell phone rang. He looked at the phone and then squinted. “Excuse me a moment.” He walked away.

  “This is bullshit. We want to know more,” Dell said to Harper.

  “You can’t know more. Be happy she didn’t get you killed tonight.” Harper walked away, as well.

  “What the hell, Caden? We’re not going to sit here and let them tell us nothing except to stay clear of our woman,” Watson said to him.

  “I don’t get it, and I don’t trust it. Could she be involved in something criminal?” Caden asked them.

  “No,” Watson said.

  “We don’t know that. Think about it. We were with her this weekend. We don’t know her that well. She was a little distant, and she wouldn’t talk about her relationship with her ex,” Dell said.

  “He was abusive. We know that much. How can we find out his name?” Fogerty asked.

  “I think we need to do our own investigating,” Watson said.

  “I agree, but be careful. The feds and the state police? Sounds like maybe drugs, guns, something high-level for there to be feds and state police working together. Also maybe local, too, so you won’t want to throw up any red flags,” Caden said.

  “So you’ll assist?” Watson asked Caden.

  Caden looked at them. “You care about this woman? You think she’s not guilty?” he asked.

  “We care about her a lot. This whole fucking situation stinks, and to take shots at me to scare me was pretty fucking risky with all these witnesses driving around,” Fogerty said.

  “Amateur?” Caden asked.

  “Definitely not pro. Any of us could have taken a person out from a good distance. Yeah, it could have been a scare tactic, but we have a make of the vehicle, a license plate, and probably ownership. I say there’s definite cause to investigate,” Fogerty said.

  “My brothers Simon and Aqua are back from a mission. They could help, I’m sure,” Caden said.

  “We’ll call Mike and the others,” Dell said.

  “And Amelia? How do you want to handle this and the order to not see her?” Caden asked.

  “We contact her and see what response we get then take it from there. I’m not taking the word of those two guys as truth,” Watson said to Caden.

  “Okay, let’s do this, but again, under the radar. I have to be careful how much involvement I show, but I can definitely push the whole thing about not allowing shit like this to take place in my town.”

  “Okay, let’s keep in contact and see what we come up with,” Watson replied, and Caden nodded, wondering how bad things would get and whether or not his friends would find out their woman wasn’t who she said she was. Another reason why he and his brothers didn’t date or hook up with women. They lied, and they manipulated, a lesson learned by the three of them before.

  * * * *

  “Well, the shit hit the fan now,” Pierre told April.

  April gripped the cell phone and pulled her car along the side of the road.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “Someone took some shots at Fogerty. Case and Agent Harper are on the scene. They believe that Cavanaugh had something to do with it.”

  “Is Fogerty okay?”

  “Yes, a concussion and some cuts.”

  “Why the hell did Case and the federal agent go onto the scene?”

  “Why do you think they did, April?”

  April was silent as the information was sinking in.

  “They’re going to make an arrest soon, or they’re waiting on something specific.”

  “Exactly. You tell me what you want to do.”

  “What I want to do and what I should do are two different things. This is so bad. Cavanaugh has been talking to Herbano, and Herbano has associations with Wegman Vice. Cavanaugh could be expanding his little operation to overseas activities, illegal guns, and other things. The dumbass doesn’t realize who he is even negotiating with.”

  “Exactly, but we know, and you’ve been actively assisting with Agent Waters. Maybe you should talk to him about this situation?”

  “I may need him to assist me so I don’t expose my position. I don’t need a bunch of locals knowing my capabilities. Plus, Agent Waters and the team of military men are still trying to locate Rosen Armique. He’s a big-time arms dealer, a supplier to the terrorist we’ve been hunting down.”

  “Then Waters should be made aware of this, but what about Amelia? Why is she still involved with Cavanaugh?”

  “I’m not sure she’s involved with him willingly. I think he’s forcing her into doing these deliveries for him. He has a hold on her, and from what Case said and what pictures show, he’s been abusive and controlling. She’s scared of him despite now showing an interest in Watson, Dell, and Fogerty.”

  “If she knew what they were capable of, maybe she would let them help her.”

  “They’re mercenaries. They would handle this by killing Cavanaugh and anyone else who hurt Amelia. This is so bad. We need to keep them out of this.”

  Pierre chuckled. “You know these Special Forces guys like I do. They don’t back down from shit. Amelia was with them all weekend Case said.”

  “Shit, and tonight Cavanaugh takes shots at Fogerty.”

  “After he dropped her off at her apartment.”

  “Oh God, did Case have people watching her apartment? Could she be in danger right now?”

  “You can’t go there, April.”

  “I’m her friend. Just checking up on her to say hello.”

  “At eleven o’clock at night?”