Lyndee's Saviors [Men of Montana] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (32 page)

“Feds?” Wolf asked, leaning against the doorframe.

“Nope,” Austin said, never looking away from the car as it stopped, but kept an eye on the kids as they took their ball and moved out of the way of the vehicle. “Got it?”

“Yup,” Wolf said, his hand on the other side of the wood.

Four doors opened simultaneously and the occupants stepped out, though shielded by the doors themselves. Austin whipped his gun out while Wolf moved nonchalantly away from the doorway, bringing up his own Sig, aiming it at the silver car. Sneers marked the four Russians’ faces, anxious for a fight while Austin and Wolf smiled back at them. Glancing over, Austin made sure the kids were now gone as if they knew of the impending danger, which he was thankful for.

“Bulletproof glass?” Wolf whispered.

“Wouldn’t doubt it.”

“Good. I want some revenge,” the injured man said.

A gun appeared above the driver’s side door a second before Wolf’s gun erupted. The Russian got off one lucky shot as Wolf got off four before anyone else got a shot. The two men from the front seat howled in pain as their legs went out from under them, one shot to each calf. Ducking into the car they tried to pull their legs in behind them. The two from the backseat let their guns ring, a shot barely missing Austin’s shoulder as he stepped behind the post that held up the balcony above them. Wolf stepped inside the doorway to avoid getting hit. He and Austin got off a couple more shots before the Russian’s continued shooting, but then more gunshots rang out and the two large blond Adonis dropped to the ground next to the car. The two in the front seat threw their weapons out, yelling in broken English, “Surrender! Surrender!”

Austin looked around the corner as Wolf came out the door to find Lyndee and John along with several other agents making their way toward the sedan, guns drawn. Lyndee sidled over to the passenger side of the car, leaning down and making sure the one man lying on the ground was dead or alive while John did the same to the other side of the car. Moving around to the front seat area, each one picked up the guns that the survivors had tossed. Austin and Wolf kept cover for them from the porch of the apartment while the other agents came around to handcuff the two men in the car and then try to stop their bleeding.

Holstering her Sig under her left arm, Lyndee made her way over to her men. “You better put those away. Neither one of you are licensed in the state of Colorado to carry a weapon.”

John walked up behind the petite blonde woman as people started to emerge from their domiciles, the children curious of Lyndee now along with her two men. Before, she was someone who left in the early afternoon and came home at all hours of the night. She was considered a loner as she never had very many visitors. Now, here she was a gun-toting agent with two gorgeous men as her bodyguards.

Sirens were approaching the scene as the other agents surrounded the silver sedan. Police arriving on the scene cordoned off the area with yellow crime scene tape as they began to talk with John, who easily slipped into SAC mode.

Austin gathered Lyndee into his arms, holding her close after a scare like this one. Even Wolf leaned in close and gave her a quick hug while Austin held her before an agent came over to the trio with notepad in hand. He was tall and lean, though muscular. A swimmer’s body. Light-brown hair streaked professionally with blond highlights topped his head while thick, dark lashes rimmed his nearly golden eyes. If he wasn’t wearing the dark-blue suit, Austin would have figured him for a surfer from California instead of an FBI agent.

Lyndee extracted herself from the embraces of the two men, though she kept her right arm around Austin’s back. Wolf went back to leaning on the doorframe, his face noticeably paler than usual, while a twinge of pain teased the side of his mouth. In the past few days, Lyndee had begun to read Wolf like he was one of her men since they resided in such close quarters.

The ambulance had arrived and while the paramedics dealt with the two wounded Russians, Lyndee introduced the men. “Lawrence Whitaker, this is Austin Lighthorse and his cousin Wolf. They are my friends from Montana.”

Lawrence reached out and shook both men’s hands in greeting. Austin was a bit taken aback that he didn’t remember seeing the agent at the party last night and wondered why if this case was such a priority that John and Lyndee had made it out to be. Wolf exchanged a glance at his friend over Lyndee’s head, and Austin knew he was thinking the same thing.

“Nice to meet you both,” Lawrence said, looking the men up and down. “We appreciate what you have done to help Lyndee out. We’re all going to miss her when she leaves.”

Clearing his throat, Austin spoke. “We would do anything to protect our little lady here,” he said, hugging her closer to him. “Sorry we didn’t see you last night at the party.”

Shrugging as if he wasn’t happy about the party, he said, “I don’t tend to socialize outside of the office.”

Rather cryptic, Austin thought.

“So,” Lawrence began, pen ready to write. “Can you tell me what happened here today?”

Austin described what events had taken place and Wolf filled in his part of the story. He noticed Lawrence look up at the latter when he had described shooting off the four shots that had hit each calf of the wounded men. Admiration was in his eyes as he took in the sling on the left arm, and Austin knew he was amazed that the Indian would be able to function properly himself. When Wolf was beginning to waver in place, he watched as Lawrence quickly moved to the man’s side and held him up. Austin immediately came to his friend’s side and he and Lawrence helped the man to the couch in the living room. Lyndee went to get a glass of water for Wolf as the men continued to talk.

Walking back into the room, she watched Lawrence’s demeanor with Wolf and had a fleeting thought before making her way to Austin’s side. Handing the water over to Wolf she noticed his hand shaking before he downed the contents and set the glass down on the glass coffee table. Lyndee knew Lawrence Whitaker’s secret and why he didn’t attend social gatherings that included his fellow employees. But she wasn’t sure what was going through his mind about Wolf. As far as she knew, Wolf wasn’t Lawrence’s type, but she could be wrong. Glancing at Austin she noticed him watching her. He shook his head slightly as if telling her not to say anything. Sitting on her man’s knee, she listened as the three men talked.

The ambulance’s siren shrieked its exodus out of the parking lot while people murmured and milled around out there. Several kids, about five and six years old stood at the doorway of Lyndee’s apartment, all trying to get a look at the two men with the guns. Giggles and whispers were heard from them as they watched intently the interrogation Lawrence conducted.

Guilt ate at Lyndee that she had lived here for five years and never once had spoken more than four or five words to a neighbor. She had seen the children playing in the parking lot and never talked to them. No wonder these kids were gawking at her and the men. They didn’t know their neighbor at all. She never gave them a chance.

John came to the door and slipped in past the kids, who were eyeing his holstered gun and badge. Pulling out the coffee table, he sat in front of the small group, resting his elbows on his knees, his hands hanging down. “Who shot the vics?”

Austin chuckled at the term since in all actuality he and Wolf were the victims here, though he answered, “Wolf did.”

Leaning forward, Wolf removed the gun from the back of his jeans and handed it to John. The lead investigator dropped the clip and removed a round for ballistics before replacing the clip and handing it back to the injured man.

“Pretty good shooting,” John said, smiling at the man.

“You have to be a good shot when hunting game. You usually only get one shot to take down an animal. I took two per animal today,” Wolf said proudly though wearily.

“They of course all worked for Markova. We were given notice today that Markova is demanding his right to a speedy trial so we are going to trial on Monday. I think if he thinks he can catch us off guard with the speediness of this, he can try to get at Lyndee. I’m glad you guys are here for her, but I would feel much better if the agency puts you up in a hotel.”

Lyndee and Austin glanced at each other as he took the opportunity to glide his hand up and down her back. “I would normally say that I could handle her safety, but after investigating the exterior of this place, there are too many variables for someone to get to her. We’ll take you up on your offer as long as Wolf and I still get to keep our weapons.”

John nodded as did Lawrence. The two men stood and John walked into the kitchen to make his call. Lawrence left the apartment and Lyndee looked at Wolf. “Thank you for doing what you did. You could have gotten hurt more because of me.”

Wolf leaned forward, a bit of anger glinted in his eyes. He covered one of her hands with his large one. “You need to stop thanking me for doing what any friend would do. I would gladly take another bullet for you or for any of my friends if it meant saving their lives. I know you are thankful and I know you are worried about me, just like I am thankful you are my friend and that you are alive and well. Do you understand?”

Looking into his rich chocolate-colored eyes she nodded slowly, fully understanding the true extent of friendship for the first time in her life. She had lived with her grandparents while a teenager so she never had friends, and since graduating the police academy she had been so intent on building her career that she never made time for friends. As with her relationship with the three guys being a new experience, she was finding that dealing with the new friends in her life was as much a new experience. Feeling ashamed for hurting his feelings, she lowered her eyes so he wouldn’t see the tears there.

Laying her head on Austin’s chest, she felt as if she was messing everything up with everyone. She was putting everyone she loved and cared about in danger, including John and the team. She didn’t know if she should continue to stay with Austin and Wolf or go into hiding in a safe house. At least if she were tucked away, she knew they would be safe.

“You’re doing an awful lot of thinking there, little one,” she heard Austin say quietly. When she opened her eyes she saw Wolf watching her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. Had Austin known also? Glancing up at him, the intense gaze he gave her, she knew that he did. Squirming on his lap, her nerves about to shatter, she tried to stand, but he moved his arms around her waist and held her still.

John came back into the room, replacing his phone into the hip holster he had for it. “We’ve got you set up at a hotel downtown. There will be an officer outside your door at all times. An officer will escort you wherever you need to go, and Wolf, that includes your appointments.”

The two men nodded in understanding while Lyndee was still trying to process her feelings. Both men sheltered her, moving in closer as they expected her to bolt, which wasn’t missed on John. Looking first at Austin and then to Wolf, he surmised what was taking place and asked, “Lyndee, can I talk to you in private for a moment?”

Knowing it would give her a moment to regain her composure, she nodded. “Sure.”

Austin and Wolf headed for the door and stepped outside. The kids followed them as if they had found new heroes. They chattered away with the men, tossing endless questions at them. John motioned for Lyndee to sit, which she did, nervous at what her supervisor would need to discuss with her at this particular moment. She had seen the glances between the three men and she knew that perhaps even John knew what she was feeling or thinking.

John returned to his place on the coffee table across from Lyndee. Drawing in a deep breath, he looked at her seriously. “Lyndee, you know how I feel about you. I took you under my wing when you came to the Bureau and have been there since. I know that being undercover can be frustrating on a family and I was thankful you didn’t have one while you were. I missed one important thing. Do you know what that was?”

Thinking it was a rhetorical question, she didn’t answer until she realized he wanted her input. Shaking her head negatively, she glanced down at her hands as if the answer was there. Noticing the ring, she knew the answer. Five years of her life had been put on hold. Her life was in constant danger. She had no friends. She couldn’t get close to anyone for she would either endanger them or she didn’t know who she could trust. Now, she felt she couldn’t trust the people she was supposed to and she still felt she was endangering them. She didn’t know how to cope with the enormity of the situation this danger had set her in.

Starting to stand, John pulled her back down, holding her hands in his. “Look at me,” he said gently.

“I’m not a rookie, John! I know what this is, but I don’t know what to do about it.” Tears began to fall and her body began to shake.

“I shouldn’t have let you stay under so long. I felt you were our best bet to get to Markova. I couldn’t figure out how every time we went in for a bust they knew about it. If I had known Philip was a cop, I would have pulled you out a long time ago,” John said, sympathy lacing his voice. “They love you. I saw that when I was there. Wolf was right about friendship and you’ve been so far under for so long, you don’t have any friends, do you?”

Shaking her head, she avoided looking at him. He had been her only friend but she hadn’t realized it until then. He was her boss, but he was a friend also. Moving over to the couch, he gathered her against him, holding her in a fatherly gesture, which made her cry more.