Grabbing the glass of wine she’d been nursing for the past hour, Charlotte strode down the bar and took a seat on the stool next to Jenn Mullins as two of the other waitresses got up to go to the ladies’ room. The party Mike and the pub staff had thrown to celebrate her moving on to bigger and better things was winding down. They’d done it on a Monday night because it was the slowest day of the week and The Covenant was closed so some of the people who worked there, who Jenn had gotten to know through her surrogate uncles, could also attend. As far as Charlotte knew, the young woman had never been inside the club, at least while it was open. Her godfather, Ian, would probably have a heart attack if Jenn got interested in the lifestyle. While there was nothing wrong with it, in general, her uncles had been such a huge part of her life and there was no way they wanted to see her, or be seen by her, in the sex club.

It had been six days since the fire at Emma Donovan’s house. Things had been crazy since then. Two of Charlotte’s parolees had gotten arrested in separate incidents. Another had gone AWOL with a teenage girl two days ago. They were on a cross-state crime spree, robbing several stores and car-jacking at least three vehicles. So far, the victims had only reported a few minor injuries, but Charlotte and the cops chasing the modern-day Bonnie and Clyde knew they were escalating. When the law caught up with them, Charlotte had a strong feeling it was going to end badly.

Mike was also dealing with a lot lately. After the fire the other night at Emma’s, he’d spent the next few days handling all the details that went into getting the house restored and prepared to sell. He’d had meetings with the fire inspector, insurance adjuster, Parker and his architect, and the assisted living staff to plan for Emma’s move into the facility next Friday. Add in everything he had to do to run the pub, he’d hardly had any free time during the day. But each night, Charlotte had invited him into her bed where he’d stayed until sunrise. He’d needed her—even if it was simply to cuddle next to her while he slept—and she’d been more than willing to be there for him. However, when things calmed down again, she wasn’t sure she wanted to let him return to his condo to sleep at night. She was falling for him—and for the first time since she’d entered the lifestyle, she was nervous about being honest with a sub.

As Charlotte got comfortable on the seat next to Jenn, she glanced down to the other end of the bar where the younger, blonde woman’s gaze was focused on a handsome man who was chatting with Jake and Nick. Doug Henderson was an employee of Trident Security and ran their Personal Protective Division. When he’d worked for his former boss, Chase Dixon at Blackhawk Security, he’d been contracted not once, but twice to serve as Jenn’s bodyguard when things had gone to shit. Once was when a hitman had been hired to take out several former members of SEAL Team Four—unfortunately, Jenn’s mother and retired-SEAL father had been murdered before Ian, Devon, and the others had figured out what was going on. The second time had been when Ian’s then girlfriend, now wife, had become a target when her best friend had been hunted by dirty DEA agents.

“Does he know you’re interested in him?” Charlotte asked.

Jenn startled, ripping her gaze from the object of her obvious affection—obvious, at least, to another woman. The men in the room, including Henderson, were probably oblivious. “Huh? Wh0?”

“Don’t play dumb, Jenn. You’re far too smart for that.”

Sighing, Jenn slumped her shoulders. “No, he doesn’t. He treats me like a kid in high school. I’m twenty-two, almost done with college, and have dealt with more crap than most people will deal with in a lifetime. I’m old enough to date anyone I want.”

Charlotte smiled. “And Doug is, what, thirty?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t help that he works for Uncle Ian and Uncle Dev, either. They’d never let any of their employees date me—if any of them were even interested.” She snorted. “In fact, I’d be surprised it’s not in some employment contract they have to sign.”

Yeah, that was probably not too far from the truth. The Sexy Six-Pack—as Devon’s wife Kristen had dubbed him, Ian, Brody, Jake, Marco, and Boomer—tended to be very overprotective of their loved ones. Charlotte patted Jenn’s hand. “Don’t worry. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. For now, concentrate on finishing up your degree, getting through your internship, and just enjoying life. Someday down the road, one of two things will happen. One, Doug will get hit by cupid’s arrow and realize you’re no longer the teenager he’d first met a few years ago. Or, two, you’ll meet someone else and realize he’s your soulmate, not Doug.”

Jenn gave her a sideways glance before taking a sip of her Malibu Bay Breeze. “Do you really believe in soulmates?”

“Sure. Look at all your uncles. They’ve all met theirs—the one person they couldn’t imagine life without. The one person who they’d sacrifice everything for.”

The younger woman mulled that over for a moment before asking, “So, what about you, Charlotte? You and Mike seem to be seeing a lot of each other lately. Do you think he might be your soulmate?”

Was he? Charlotte had no idea. If they went their separate ways tomorrow, would she have a hole in her heart? Would she feel like the best thing that had and could ever happen to her was gone? Did she want to find out the hard way?

Standing, she smirked at the younger woman with a confidence she didn’t feel. “When I figure that out, you’ll be the third person to know.”

Jenn laughed as Charlotte walked away.

* * *

Just after 11:00 p.m., Mike waved goodbye to Ian, Devon, and their wives as they headed out the front door of the pub. Most of the party-goers had left, but there were still a few stragglers who showed no sign of wanting to leave. That was okay with him, though. Mike had needed a fun night to relax after the stressful week he’d had.

Still spread out along the bar were Jake, Nick, Jenn, Charlotte, Reggie Helm, a Dom at the club, his wife, Colleen, Trident Security’s office manager, Doug Henderson, and the new waitress, Daniella. The rest of the staff, Jenn’s extended family, a few friends, and a couple of regular customers had all started dwindling over the past hour. Monday nights tended to have a skeleton crew but a few of the employees who’d been off or worked during the day had also stopped in to say goodbye to Jenn.

About a half hour earlier, Mike had told the bartender to go home. She hadn’t been feeling well, and most of the cleanup had already been taken care of. She’d been grateful and thanked him profusely before heading out the back door of the pub. The staff parked their vehicles behind the building to leave the spaces out front for the customers.

Mike lowered the volume of the jukebox, which suddenly seemed loud with less people in the large room, then checked everyone’s drinks. Jenn and Daniella were sitting and chatting at the far end of the long, wooden bar, while the others were gathered toward the middle of it. He noticed Charlotte’s glass of tonic water and lime she’d switched over to was only a third full, so he picked up the glass and refilled it.

“Hey, Mike,” Nick said. “I know the oven and stuff are shut down, but what are the chances of getting some chips and salsa?”

Jake snorted and put his arm across his fiancé’s shoulders. “I honestly have no idea where he puts all the damn food he eats.”

Patting his rock-hard abs, Nick smirked. “I’m a bottomless pit and proud of it.”

“Yeah, tell me that again in about twenty years when your metabolism changes.”

Mike chuckled at the two of them as he strode to the kitchen, which had been left spotless by the staff, as usual. In the huge, commercial-sized refrigerator, he found the jar of home-made salsa the new sous chef had made the day before and set it on the counter. He was just about to retrieve a bag of tortilla chips from the pantry, when the back door to the alley swung open. Confusion quickly morphed into terror when four masked men rushed in, pointing black, ugly handguns at him. Oh shit!

Before Mike could sound the alarm to the others in the bar, the first guy through the door thrust a gun in his face. It might sound cliché, but Mike’s life passed before his eyes. And the best part of it had been after a beautiful Domme had set her sights on him.

“Don’t say a fucking word,” the masked man warned, his voice muffled by the mask. “And keep your hands where I can see them.” He pushed Mike toward the swinging door to the bar. “Move!”

As the four men followed him, Mike kept his empty hands at shoulder height and tried to figure out what the fuck was going on. He hated the feeling of helplessness that came over him as he walked through the door. Charlotte, Jake, and the others, had the same flash of confusion in their eyes before the weapons pointed in their direction registered in their brains. After that, it was a mix of reactions. Jenn and Daniella had looks of horror on their faces as they held onto each other. Reggie stepped in front of his gaping wife, the lawyer ready to slay dragons for her if he had to. Jake, Nick, Henderson, and Charlotte, however, had frozen—not in fear, but in a manner that told Mike each was assessing the situation and analyzing how to end it without no one but the bad guys bleeding or worse. Charlotte may not have had military training the three men standing next to her had had, but one wouldn’t know that by looking at her. Her eyes had that same “you’re fucking with the wrong people” glare in them. Mike knew she was carrying her weapon hidden on her body, so were Nick, Jake, and Henderson, but no one moved to draw them. They’d wait until they were certain they’d gained a tactical advantage instead of having a shootout with unarmed people in their midst.

A hand shoved Mike forward, and a growl came from one of the men behind him. “What the fuck? You said he’d be fucking alone or there’d only be a bartender this time of night.”

“That’s all there usually is!” a second man responded, the nervousness in his voice a huge contrast to the pissed-off tone of his buddy. It was also awfully familiar, despite the mask muffling it. Mike saw a flare of recognition in Charlotte’s eyes before it disappeared again. Damn it. His success in hiring an ex-con just dropped from batting .500 to .333—not bad for the Major Leagues, but it sucked at Donovan’s.

“Look, you can take the money or whatever you want,” Mike said, with a calmness he didn’t feel. “There’s no need to shoot anyone.”

“Shut the fuck up!” The tallest of the four was apparently the ringleader and, as such, was the one they didn’t want to piss off. “Get on the fucking floor, now! All of you!”

Jake held up his hands in a placating manner. “All right. Just chill. Everyone do as he says.”

They all lowered themselves to the ground, slowly. Mike, near the kitchen door and his two waitresses, the others in the middle of the room by the bar. Once they were all down, the ringleader strode toward the front door and locked it. “Bring the shit in and let’s get this done.”

The nervous guy and one of the others went back into the kitchen, and Mike’s brow wasn’t the only one furrowing in confusion. “Bring the shit in”? What the hell was going on? Is it a robbery or not?

Returning to the far end of the bar, the leader bent down and grabbed Daniella by the hair. She screeched in pain as he forced her to stand. Growls came from the Dominants in the room, in addition to Doug, and Mike started to get up from the floor to help his employee. “Leave her—”

“Shut the fuck up and get down on the floor!” He held the gun to Daniella’s head, and whatever color had still been in her cheeks drained. Her eyes wide in fear, she tried to keep herself close to the man to ease the pain in her scalp. After Mike laid down on his stomach again, the punk gestured to the others on the floor and barked at his friend. “Search them and grab their cell phones. I don’t want any fucking surprises or anyone calling the cops. If any of you move, I’ll put a bullet in this bitch.”

Mike didn’t know how his brother, Nick, Doug, and Charlotte were staying so calm, but it had to be from their training. Meanwhile, the rest of the hostages seemed like they were barely holding things together. When asshole number two patted down Jake, he found a 9mm at the operative’s lower back. Pulling it out of the holster, he pointed it at Jake’s head. “What the fuck? Are you a fucking cop?”

“No! He’s not!” With his mask still on, Jose had returned with the fourth accomplice and a bunch of equipment that confused Mike even more. “He’s a-a bodyguard—not a cop! He’s the owner’s brother.”

“Bodyguard, huh?” He nudged Jake’s thigh with his foot. “Think you’re a tough guy? Try anything stupid, and I’ll pump you full of lead.”

Jake glared at him. “I’m not looking to get shot, but you should know those two guys and the lady in the red shirt work with me, and they’re probably carrying too.” He’d jutted his chin toward Doug, Nick, and Charlotte.

Stunned, it took Mike a moment to realize his brother knew the guy was going to find the weapons on the other three anyway, and as much as Jake had probably hated to announce they were armed, it was for the best. That way, these punks wouldn’t think any of them were cops and shoot them on principle. Mike was glad Charlotte’s state ID and shield were in her purse behind the bar where he’d put it for safekeeping. What he couldn’t figure out was why Jose had stepped in and possibly saved Jake from being killed. Jose had met Jake and Nick the other night when they’d stopped in for dinner. Charlotte had told Mike about her suspicions that his new employee might be in trouble—looks like she’d been absolutely right. Even if the two of them hadn’t already figured out who Jose was, it was now obvious to everyone in the room that he knew them—and, in return, they knew him. Hopefully, his cohorts didn’t figure that out, too. They were covering their faces, and Mike had seen enough movies and TV shows to pray it meant they didn’t plan on killing anyone as long as they couldn’t be identified later. If only Mike could get behind the bar where there were two silent alarm buttons. One was near where the waitresses placed their orders at the rear end of the bar, and the other was below the register closest to the front of the room.

Once everyone had been searched and stripped of any weapons and cell phones, the leader released Daniella. He glanced around and stepped over to the entrance to the darkened party room. Finding the light switch, he flipped it up, bathing the room in a soft glow from the overhead, recessed lights. The prick pointed at Daniella and Jenn. “Get in there.”

Scared, Jenn looked at her Uncle Jake, her wide eyes brimming with tears that hadn’t spilled over yet. With a stoic expression, he nodded. “Go ahead, Baby-girl. It’ll be alright.”

She stood and held Daniella’s shaking hand as they cautiously disappeared from Mike’s view into the smaller room.

The leader snarled. “Sit down.” He then waved his gun toward the others. “You two bitches get in there, too.”

Slowly, Charlotte got to her feet, and Mike could tell she wanted to kick some serious ass, but had to wait for an opportunity. And it scared the hell out of him. If something happened to her, he didn’t know what he’d do. He couldn’t deny it anymore. Sometime between her birthday party and tonight, he’d fallen in love with her. And now, they were all in danger and still had no idea what was going on. Charlotte put her arm around Colleen’s shoulders and walked with her across the expanse toward the party room.

As they passed Mike, Charlotte glanced down at him. It was then he saw the fear hidden behind her brave front, and he tried to give her a reassuring smile. Somehow, he knew she was more afraid for him and the others than for herself. She had that same nature Mike saw in his brother. Jake had always said if he died trying to save an innocent’s life, it would be worth it. Now, it was clear to Mike that Charlotte would martyr herself if the choice came down to her or someone she cared about. God help him if that happened. He couldn’t let her do that for him and would do everything he could to ensure she never had to make that choice for anyone else.