If Only

“You’ve earned it.” Z took the bottle and refilled Galen’s glass. “Enjoy. You’re staying with Dan and Kari tonight—and Dan is driving.”

“Got it all planned out, eh?” Galen gave Z a narrow look. “Thank you, Mama.”

Into the stunned silence of the submissives, Z smiled and answered, “You’re welcome, my boy.”

The room broke up with laughter, but Sally didn’t join in. “I want to go home,” she whispered. She wanted her own room, her bed, her…stuff.

Vance had heard her. “Aside from being a crime scene, there’s blood and glass all over. And it needs to air out. You and Galen need to stay somewhere else tonight.”

To lose the hope of going home felt like having a Band-Aid ripped off. With an unhappy sigh, she took a sip of her drink. Okay, it really was good champagne.

Galen frowned. “We need to get the place cleaned up before—”

“I sent a crew,” Nolan interrupted in his usual no-bullshit manner. “They’ll fix the window.”

Galen said, “But—”

“Andrea recommended a trauma and crime scene cleaning service,” Cullen cut in, hugging his sub who ran a normal cleaning business. “They’ll be out there as soon as the police give them clearance.”

Vance stared. “You—”

Seeing the Feds’ surprise, Sally hid her grin against Vance’s shoulder. Her poor Doms had no idea what happened when a Shadowlands Master—or submissive—needed help.

“Gabi and I swung by and managed to coax Glock into a carrier,” Marcus said.

“Boy, I use insults…but nothing like a cat in a foul mood.” Gabi rolled her eyes. “It’s a good thing Marcus doesn’t speak feline, since your cat started with, ‘Rat-turd human, if I throw a stick, will you leave?’ and descended to, ‘Chicken-butt human, you’re so ugly, Hello Kitty said good-bye to you.’”

Sally could just see Glock with his tail twitching and hissing out insults. As she giggled, laughter swept around the room.

Galen’s deep laugh turned into a groan, and he pressed his hand over his ribs where that bastard Somerfeld had kicked him. Horribly hard.

Sally glared at Gabi.

“Sorry, Galen,” Gabi said, grinning unrepentantly.

“We took Glock to the pet boarding place we use during vacations.” Marcus handed Galen a card. He glanced at Vance and tapped the hospital bed rail. “Happens I like having you on that side of the bed railing rather than me.”

Vance grinned. “I’ll be out tomorrow. And thank you for finding Glock.” He held his hand out to shake and winced.

“Don’t move,” Sally snapped at him before turning a frown on Marcus.

The lawyer chuckled. “Easy, li’l spitfire. I know how much bullet holes hurt. At least, I was smart enough to take pain meds.”

Yeah, he’d been shot last year—and Gabi had been crazed. As Sally put her head back down on Vance’s shoulder, she remembered how Raoul had been shot as well. How upset Kim had been. But at least her friends’ Doms weren’t in law enforcement.

Hers were. So this might not be a one-time deal, not for them. Her Feds might have gotten rid of the Harvest Association, but there were always more criminals.

Criminals had guns. And knives. And gasoline.

* * * *

Sally’s unnatural stillness on the drive to Dan’s house had given Galen an uneasy feeling. And when she’d disappeared into the nursery with Kari, with barely a smile for him, he was downright worried.

“Problem?” Carrying a couple of beers, Dan motioned him out the back door.

“Not sure.” Ignoring the patio swing, Galen settled into a dark wicker chair with a grunt of relief. In the future, he’d avoid kneeing a perp in the jaw. After leaning his cane against the chair, he stretched his leg out. “She’s upset about something.”

Dan sat down across from him and handed over a beer. “All three of you almost died. The house could have blown up. She watched a man almost burn to death. You seriously expect her to be cheerful?”

“No. But there are different kinds of upset. This one feels different.” Galen took a long pull of icy-cold liquid.

From the window above came Kari’s soft laughter. But Sally’s infectious giggle was absent, and Galen felt the loss deep inside.

“You’re a good enough Dom to know if something is off.” Dan’s eyes narrowed. “Thinking back, seems like she changed after she switched positions, from your arms to curling up against Vance. But I didn’t get the feeling she has a problem with having two men. And you’ve been sharing her all along.”

“No, this isn’t related to threesome problems. I think it might be when Marcus reminded her that he’d been shot.” Galen frowned. If she’d remembered that, she’d also remember Raoul’s time in the hospital. And Vance had been shot twice now. And my chest looks like I went headfirst through a paper shredder. Far too much violence for a young woman who’d grown up on a farm rather than in a city. “She might have realized how dangerous our work can be.”

“She knows. Hell, she works in my station.”

“And she’s not doing well with it. The sight of blood bothers her, even more than violence. I’m going to try to talk her out of taking a position in a law-enforcement area.”

“You fucking asshole. I just got the brass talked into offering her a job.”

“Now there’s a pity.” Galen grinned briefly, then sobered. “Did Kari have trouble with your job?”

“Oh yeah, for a few months. Now she’s okay. But from what you said, Sally has suffered more loss than Kari. And has less family.” He rose and looked down at Galen. “If she takes you on, she’ll have two lovers at risk every day. You going to ask that of her?”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. You think about it. Better yet, talk about it. Fuck, I’ve learned recently that sometimes—Dom or not—there’s no understanding what’s in a woman’s head.” Dan tipped his bottle in a salute. “I’m going to see what Kari has planned for tomorrow. It’s Father’s Day—my first.”

As Dan walked into the house, Galen repositioned his injured leg and tamped down his feeling of envy for the lucky bastard. Yeah, time to start looking toward the future.

In the west, the sunset slowly faded, leaving behind pink streamers like the sad remnants of a party.

* * * *

Sally held Zane in her arms, swaying back and forth, nuzzling his neck. He smelled like soap and baby powder—and love. Something about holding him settled her. With an adorable grin, he hit her nose with the rattle he held.

“Sheesh. I guess guys are just born violent,” she muttered.

Kari finished putting away the stack of baby clothes and laughed. “Nah. My cousin’s daughter pulled her hair so often that she started wearing it on top of her head.” She pointed to the rocking chair in the corner. “Sit. He gets heavier with every minute you hold him.”

Sally grinned and bounced Zane, making him squeal with laughter. “Yep, he’s definitely getting heavier.” After settling into the chair, she looked over at her friend. “Kari?”

“Mmmhmm.” Another stack of clothing got tucked away.

“Doesn’t Dan’s job ever bother you? That he could get hurt?”

Kari turned, saw Sally’s expression, and sank down onto the ottoman. “Oh, you got the cop’s wife syndrome. No wonder, after today.”

“Yeah.” She kissed Zane’s soft cheek, trying to keep the memories at bay.

“Yes, it bothered me. A lot. Still kinda does.” She gave Sally a wry smile. “Although we talked about it, he could only promise that he’d be careful. The thing is, being a cop is who he is. Right down to the bone. And I can’t love him and ask him to be someone different.”

“I guess.” Sally rocked a little faster, thrilling Zane, who decided to stand on her lap and bounce along. Didn’t sound as if there was a good answer. But she was sure she now knew how Galen had felt when he was worried about her safety. God, how did he stand it? She gave Kari a bright smile. “You and Dan look…happier.”

“Last night was…” Kari sighed with a happy smile. “Like we were before Zane.” She rubbed a finger over her lips. “Maybe even lovelier.”

“How’s that?”

“We know each other better. I trust him even more because I’ve seen him with Zane. Dan really is as protective and caring and strong as I thought in the beginning. And when he cuddles our son, I just melt”—she gave Sally a mischievous look—“in a whole different way than seeing him in black leathers.”

“You are too much.” Sally lifted Zane and blew a raspberry on his belly.

“Sally, I owe you thanks for pushing me into talking with Dan,” Kari said softly. “And so I’m going to do you the same favor. Talk with your guys. It’s truly easy to decide someone is thinking about one thing, when really, you’ve got a whole different problem.”

Hmm. And what had that discussion between Dan and Kari been about? Sally wondered. But she’d probably never know. Some women shared all. Others didn’t. Sally nodded. “I will. In fact, can I sit up here and sing lullabies to Zane while I think?”