14. Courtney

I wake disorientedand don't recognize anything about the room that I'm in.

But then I see the guys piled up around me and smile. I'm with them where I belong.

My brow furrows. And then I realize that what woke me was my phone going off.

I grab it and tiptoe out of the room. "Hello?" I whisper, trying to keep my eyes on the guys in the bed.

"Courtney Monroe? This is your alarm service. There's been a break-in at your house. The police are already there and waiting for you. They need you to go through the house and see if anything was taken."

"Shit!" I grab my dress from the floor and my panties and bra, finding only one of my damn shoes. I can't find the other.

I guess I'm going shoeless.

I run out the door and smile when I manage to make it without hearing one single stirring from the guys. They need their rest. This is the police. I'll be safer than if I was with them.

I call my car and fifteen minutes later, I'm on my way and biting my fingernails, surprised that I'm not more shocked.

But going by the problems we've been having with the system it's not really that shocking that someone got through it.

My driver pulls up outside the house and my brow crinkles. There are no lights on in the house and there's only one car in the driveway and it's mine.

I glance over at the driver who looks back at me suspiciously. "I thought you said the police were here?"

"That's what they told me."

"Why don't I wait here for a few minutes?"

I nod my head. "That might be best."

I step out and carefully walk up my driveway, my eyes darting back and forth. An uneasy feeling pings in my belly. I know that I was trying to be nice to the guys but I feel like maybe I've made a gigantic mistake.

I reach the door and it swings open when I barely touch it. I feel a little niggling suspicion that tells me not to go near that place.

But I ignore it and head deeper into the house. It looks like somebody's been working on this place and my eyes study the room as I push inside. My shoes and stuff are piled up in the center of the room and there's a lighter and gas can next to them.

"I figured you couldn't resist coming by yourself."

I turn and my heart sinks at the smug look on Evan's face. "Don't do anything stupid, Evan."

"I'm not doing anything stupid. I'm righting a gigantic wrong." His head cocks and he glares at me. "Did you know that my mother was kicked out of college because of what she said to your mother. She thought she was sleeping with the dean of students and it turns out she was a virgin so everyone knew that wasn't the truth. So she was ostracized. She couldn't get any other job because of those charges. This company should have been my mother's. She was dating your father. And your mother just threw that stuff out there and they charged mine with bullying and kicked her out of school. She couldn't get another scholarship so her academic career was over. Just like your life and your company are about to be."

And then he jumps for me. I dart around the coffee table in the room, grabbing a vase and lobbing it at him, flowers, water and all. He grins but it's a psychotic thing to see.

I dart around him and head for the back door but before I can get there, he grabs my foot and I slam into the ground my eyes watering and my body aching like I've been felled by a linebacker during the Super Bowl.

I scrabble to get away from him, rolling over and kicking him in the face. Smiling when he grunts in pain and shuffles backward, blood streaming down his nose.

Before I can get moving again, he screams and lunges at me, his hands wrapping around my throat and squeezing. Dots dance behind my eyes and my mouth is open, gasping for air. I push and pull at his hands, trying to get them off of my throat as pain erupts in my chest and throat, my body straining for anything at all to keep it alive at this point.

"Shit!" My eyes close and I know I must be fading fast because I think I heard one of my men. Maybe Cash.

But that's just wishful thinking. Nobody's here and I'm gonna die. I was an idiot.

But then sweet air barrels into my chest and the pressure on my throat is gone. It hurts and I gasp painfully.

I gasp and choke, rolling over and sitting up. Max catches me to him and holds me so tight that I squeak and he loosens his grip.

"I'm so happy to see you." I cough and choke and whimper through the pain, my voice barely audible.

I look over and see Cash has Evan on the ground and he's banging his head off the floor while he's handcuffed. I nod towards them and Max grunts.

"Too bad for him. It's less than he deserves."

Sirens break through the quiet of the night and I groan, closing my eyes when a paramedic rushes through the door.

"Oh fuck" I groan, barely able to force the words past my lips.

"Don't even think about it. You're going to get checked out. That's it."

I glance at the three men around me and smile. "Fine," I whisper hoarsely.

Reid leans down and kisses my forehead. "I'm gonna punish the hell out of you when we get you home, sweetheart. You broke the rules and bad girls get spankings."

I grin and lean back, letting them look at me. That doesn't really sound so bad to me. As a matter of fact, I think I'm looking forward to all of it.

And to spending the rest of my life with my three men. I had no idea when I saw them without their masks that love and happiness was just a breath away with them.

The End!