Poppy

Curly dragged me out of the SUV and had me pinned against the side of a building, a gun in my side, out of sight of the ship, and all I wanted to do was pass out. I was seriously finding it difficult to stay on my feet, but I couldn’t dwell on any of that right now, because I didn’t know where the rest of the Dogs were.

“Do not pass out on me,” Curly growled.

“I won’t, but I really need to pee,” I whispered. “Can we find a bathroom, please?”

“Goddammit.” He peered around the corner, and then dragged me forward.

As I followed, I saw no one. In fact, it was eerily quiet. Maybe I’d just imagined Hatch being there... you know, like when you’re in the desert and you swear you can see water, complete with a palm tree and shit?

Curly pulled me harder and I tripped, crying out as I went down on my knees.

“Get the fuck up,” Curly snapped, but he didn’t get a chance to say or do anything else, because he was suddenly on the ground and my dad was on top of him, beating the living shit out of him.

“You motherfuckin’ piece of shit,” Hatch ground out in between hits.

Curly tried to fight back, but it was no use, and once Hatch had ahold of his head and slammed it into the concrete, Curly was out cold.

I, on the other hand, was being hauled up (albeit gently) and I tried to fight, but strong arms lifted me and a soft voice said, “It’s me, Poppy. Doom.”

I relaxed a little, knowing I was in friendly hands for the moment.

He carried me inside of a building, and set me on a metal bench, hunkering down in front of me as a man with FBI written on his Kevlar vest approached. He pulled out a handcuff key and unchained me, just as Hatch came running inside and straight to me.

“Fuck!” he snapped. “Someone find me a fuckin’ first-aid kit.”

“I’m okay,” I lied, and Hatch pulled me into his arms where I promptly gripped him around the waist and burst into tears. “I thought they were going to kill me, Daddy.”

“I’ve got you, baby girl,” he whispered, stroking my hair gently.

I pulled away. “Where’s Devon?”

“He’s dealin’ with the shit on a ship. Doc’s with him, though.”

“Does he know I’m okay?”

Hatch scowled as he shook his head.

“Ohmigod! Does he know Curly took me from the compound?”

“Don’t know. Doc’s makin’ the call as to whether or not to tell him.”

“Sid!” I ground out. “He’s going to go ballistic and get himself killed!”

“He’s covered, Poppy. No one’ll let him get killed.”

“Call him.”

“Pop—”

“Call him right now!”

“Poppy,” he said, his voice low and lethal. “Do you trust your man?”

“Of course I trust him.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Then believe me when I tell you that Devon isn’t in a position to receive phone calls or texts. And if you truly trust him, then you’ll trust that he’ll make it back to you. I know you don’t like it, but that’s the way it is.”

I blinked back tears and stared at my dad. He was right. I didn’t like that he was right, but he was right all the same. So, I nodded and let him hold me as I prayed that Devon would come back to me... and fast.

* * *

Devon

From my place on the crane platform, I could clearly see all four men surface to the upper deck and make their way to container number nineteen, where Bogdan was posted. He kept his head down and briskly stepped aside as the captain and Cavanaugh approached the entrance.

“Shall we?” Harlan asked, motioning to the container’s control panels. “I understand we’re to enter our codes at the same time, or there will be... unfortunate consequences.”

“That is correct,” Captain Vasili replied. “On my mark...”

With that, they punched in their respective codes, and the door locks disengaged with a loud metallic clank.

“Please keep in mind, the girls may perhaps be... a little... worse for wear,” Vasili said nervously.

“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing a little soap and a good scrub won’t cure. Maybe I’ll reward Arnie and Sly here with that little job,” Harlan said, eliciting creepy smiles from his guards as the doors opened fully.

Their smiles instantly dropped as they were greeted, not by a huddled mass of scared young women, but by nine male crew members armed with guns, wrenches, and even a machete. The effect was even greater than I’d ever dreamed of. They swarmed the bodyguards, and then Harlan, who was at first confused, then furious. The crew would have likely torn them apart had I not quickly jumped down from my perch and stopped them.

“What the hell is going on here, Vasili?” Harlan cried out to the captain as the crew disarmed his guards and held all three men in place. “Do you really think you can steal my money and live? You’re gonna die for this! You hear me?” He obviously thought this was a double-cross on the captain’s part.

“That’s not quite what’s going on here, Harlan,” I said as I reached the mob.

When Harlan saw me, he not only stopped yelling, but smiled wider than I’d seen to date. “Sparky! My dear Sparky, I’m so very happy to see you. You really have no idea.”

“And why the hell is that?” I asked, now standing inches from his face as the crew held him tightly.

Doc and Bogdan raced up to join us.

“Well, for two reasons, really. The first is, I wasn’t wrong about you or your club. You see, I just had the feeling you were the hero type, and that despite my warnings, you were going to attempt to stand in the way of my business ventures. I pride myself on being able to read people, so I’m happy I wasn’t wrong about you. Not one little bit.”

“I’m so glad not to have disappointed a redneck, human trafficking, piece of shit.”

“No need for nasty names, Sparky. Besides, I think you’re going to want to be much nicer to me.”

“Oh yeah, why’s that?” I snapped.

“That’s the second reason I’m so happy,” he said cheerfully. “I was so sure you were going to be a fly in my ointment, I took out an insurance policy.”

“If you’re planning on blowing up the boat, we’ve already found, and disabled, all the C-4 charges on board.”

Harlan’s face turned a new shade of evil. “No, this one’s a little more personal.”

“They’re waiting for the signal, Sparky,” Doc said tensely.

“One second,” I replied, and turned back to Harlan. “What the fuck are you talking about? What insurance policy?”

“Let’s just say, if you don’t have these men let go of me right away, Poppy will pay the premium.”

My blood ran cold.

He had Poppy.

“I’m calling in Agent Moore, Sparky!” Doc called out again.

“Goddammit, Doc! Hold on!”

“Agent Moore?” Harlan asked. “Are you working with the FBI, Sparky? Oh, this just got very interesting, indeed.”

“Where is she, you sick sonofabitch?” I demanded, grabbing him by the throat.

“Let me go and I’ll show you,” he rasped as he struggled for air. “Keep me and my men here and she dies.”

I tightened my grip one last time before releasing Harlan and nodding to the crewmembers, who then released his men.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Doc snapped.

“He has Poppy, what the hell can I do, Doc?”

“Now I’m going to have to ask you all to put your weapons on the ground right over there,” Harlan said, still catching his breath, and pointing to a spot on the deck. The crew dropped their rifles and assorted weapons in a pile and backed up.

“Now, that’s much better. And I’d hold off on that signal to your FBI buddies. An old friend of yours, Curly, has Miss Poppy hidden away safe, someplace very close, and if he doesn’t hear from me soon, he’ll cut her into little pieces.”

“Make the call now,” I said glaring at him. “Tell him to release her, and when she’s safe I’ll let you go. You can just walk away.”

“I don’t think you understand how this works, Sparky. You see, I’m the one in charge here. I’ll most certainly be leaving here this evening, but I’ll be leaving with my cargo, my money, and my freedom, because if I don’t, Poppy will die. If you don’t think I’m serious, please allow me to call Curly and have him cut off one of her fingers, or better yet an ear.”

He pushed a button on his cell phone, and switched it to speaker mode. It rang twice and went straight to voicemail. He hung up and tried again with the same results. I could tell he was losing his patience, but tried to remain calm and collected as he tried to reach Curly’s phone for the third time.

“Hey, Foghorn Fuckface! Are you looking for me?” a female voice yelled.

For a split second, I thought my damaged eardrums were playing tricks on me, but I quickly realized I was definitely hearing Poppy’s voice. My head snapped to the right and I could see her approaching, along with agent Moore, Hatch, and Alamo, who had guns drawn.

I spun back around and immediately clocked Harlan square in the nose, causing a satisfying gush of blood to flow all over him and his suit; a stark contrast of bright crimson against a sea of white linen. He staggered back and I rushed for Poppy, but Harlan grabbed one of the assault rifles from pile on the deck, and put himself between us.

As he turned off the safety on his rifle, I reached for the 9mm I’d tucked in the back of my pants earlier. I squeezed off one shot, only managing to hit his right arm, but with enough force to push him further away from me, toward the ship’s rail. Harlan smiled, blood, staining his ultra-white teeth and he raised his weapon at me once again. As he did, a single shot from Agent Moore hit him square in the forehead, sending him over the railing, onto the deck below.

I ran to Poppy, taking her into my arms before kissing her deeply. My heart sank into my chest when I saw the black eye and scrapes on her face. I could see she’d been through hell, and I was happy to have helped send the bastard that did this to her back there.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I am now,” she said before pulling me in for another kiss.

We walked to the rail and looked over, to see Harlan Cavanaugh’s mangled corpse lying on the deck below. Blood pooled around him, as FBI agents, and the now liberated captives surrounded his lifeless body.

Poppy leaned over the rail and yelled, “I told you you’d end up with a bullet in your head, Colonel Chicken Dick!”

God, I love this woman.

I squeezed her and she whimpered. “What, baby?”

She grimaced. “Bruised ribs I think.”

“Doc!” I bellowed.

“And, now I’ve lost my left ear,” she grumbled.

“Shit, sorry,” I said.

She dropped her head to my chest and held me tight. “I’m okay, Dev. Just never ever let me go, okay?”

“Promise, sweetness.” I slid my hand to her hair, careful to be extra gentle because I didn’t want to hurt her.

Doc rushed over and did a quick check of Poppy’s injuries, determining she needed scans, so I settled her in one of the FBI’s SUV’s, and once Hatch joined us, Dalton drove us to the hospital.

“You feelin’ worse, baby girl?” Hatch asked Poppy.

She was in between the two of us, but leaning heavily against me.

“I feel kind of dizzy.”

“Not far, Poppy,” Dalton promised, pulling up to the emergency room less than five minutes later.

“I’ll get a chair,” Hatch said, and walked inside, while I gently lifted her out of the car.

“I’m gonna be sick,” she warned, and rushed to the bushes just outside the doors...which automatically opened and closed with every motion she made.

I stroked her back and she stood up straight just as Hatch arrived with a wheelchair.

“Gotta head back to the scene,” Dalton said. “Y’all okay?”

“Yeah, brother, we got this,” Hatch said, and shook his hand. “Thanks for your help.”

Dalton nodded and headed to his car, pulling away from the curb, and I helped Poppy into the chair. I guided her inside, Hatch fussin’ like I’d never seen him do before, and then he was handing his insurance information to the receptionist and getting Poppy sorted.

I grabbed her a bottled water, a can of pop, and the blandest crackers I could find in the vending machines, then we hunkered down to wait.

* * *

Poppy

“Honey, I’m okay,” I insisted as Devon fluffed up my pillows (again) and tucked the covers gently around me (again).

We were back at the compound and I was in his bed, with strict instructions from the very serious ER doctor to stay on bedrest for two days in order to fully heal. I had a cracked rib, along with a couple of bruised ones.

Luckily, I had really strong drugs to keep me from caring about whether or not I was in agonizing pain every time I breathed. I was currently holding an icepack against my black eye and trying not to throw it at my man.

“Let me take care of you,” Devon argued, sitting on the bed and leaning his back against the headboard.

“Okay,” I said. There was no point in arguing, not that I wanted to, because it made him feel like he was being useful and I know he needed that right now.

“Did you call your mom?”

I nodded. “She didn’t pick up.”

I had to use my dad’s phone because mine was in the middle of a freeway somewhere.

“I’m sure Hatch’ll let you know as soon as she calls back.”

I bit back a yawn. “I’m not worried. I’d rather she not know about any of this until it’s absolutely necessary.”

“I hear ya.”

Someone knocked on the door, so Devon slid off the bed to answer it, and Hatch peeked in. “How are you feelin’, baby girl?”

“I’m good, Dad.”

“If you ever leave my immediate vicinity without me signing a permission slip in triplicate, I will murder you in the face,” my mother threatened as she pushed past my father.

“What are you doing here?” I cried as she sat on my bed and pulled me in for a gentle hug.

“Are you kidding me?” She leaned back with a frown. “I got on a plane the second I got the call that you’d been taken. Hawk and Payton are watching the boys for a few days.”

I burst into tears and fell back into my mother’s arms. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

As my mother held me while I cried, Hatch and Devon sat on the bed, surrounding me. Once I’d calmed down (and taken another pain pill), the four of us sat in our little family huddle and debriefed, with Devon filling me in on what happened on the boat (I’m pretty sure he censored a lot), and Hatch filled him in on everything that happened at the docks. He said the Curly connection was from a feud with him years ago, but it was done now. I had a feeling he wasn’t telling me everything, but there was no point in asking, because he’d never give me more.

I watched as Mum leaned back against Dad and he held her close, wrapping an arm around her and linking his fingers with hers, and I felt so much love, I nearly burst.

Devon mimicked Dad’s position with me, and I snuggled into him as we got off the subject of our horrific couple of days and gloried in the love and security of our family unit.

Devon made the decision right then and there that he was coming home with me and I was good with that. I had a feeling no one would argue, and I squeezed his fingers as he kissed me quickly.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“Love you, too, sweetness.”

I’d longed for him forever and now my life was complete.