“Whoa!” someone yelled, and an arm wrapped around her midsection, hauling her back. She fell with her savior, hitting the ground behind them.
She looked up into the eyes of James Glen. His ever-present cowboy hat had fallen off, revealing his longish, golden-brown hair.
“What was that?” Holly asked, barely able to speak.
“That was some asshole tourist,” James replied. “Are you okay? Logan is supposed to be catching speeders. Where the hell is he? Trev, did you get a plate number on that asshole?”
Holly looked up, and there was a gorgeous slab of cowboy looking down at her. She was pretty sure she knew who he was, though. Trev McNamara, professional football’s bad boy and, if rumor was true, James Glen’s new partner in the Circle G Ranch.
“No. It all happened really fast. Are you all right, Miss? Should I get a doctor?” Trev asked, reaching a hand out. He had her on her feet in no time. “I think we need to call one. It looks like he missed you, but he caught that other guy.”
Holly’s heart nearly stopped. “Alexei!”
She raced across the street where Caleb was kneeling over Alexei’s body. She nearly screamed when she saw the blood on his leg.
Caleb looked up, his eyes rising to meet hers. “He’s fine. He got clipped across his thigh, but it’s not broken. The worst we’re looking at is a hematoma.”
“I am fine, dushka. Caleb pulled me back in time.” Alexei took the hand Caleb offered, and they got him to his feet. “I should have watched what I was doing.”
“It wasn’t just you,” James said, striding up with his friend. “Holly nearly got it, too. That asshole came out of nowhere.”
If Alexei had been counting on Caleb for support, he would have fallen to the ground. Caleb was all over her like a monkey momma checking for bugs on her baby. His hands were suddenly everywhere.
“Where are you hit? Are you bleeding? How bad is it? Should I call an ambulance? There’s nothing an EMT can do that I can’t, but they can get us to a hospital faster.”
Well, she couldn’t really trick herself into thinking he didn’t care. “Caleb, I’m fine. I didn’t get hit. James pulled me out of the way then softened my fall by hitting the ground first in a gentlemanly manner.”
James had his cowboy hat back on. He tipped it and winked. “Ma’am, it was all in a day’s work.”
Caleb picked her up anyway. He simply leaned over and scooped her up, hauling her to his chest. “Come on, Alexei. We need to check her out. James isn’t a doctor, so you’ll excuse me if I don’t take his professional advice. No offense.”
James’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “None taken, Doc. I never would. I know you have a tranquilizer gun, and you know how to use it.”
Trev McNamara’s eyes went wide. “Tranquilizers? You people run around shooting each other?”
“Just Mel. How did I get this reputation?” Caleb asked. “Alexei, could you pick up the bag? It’s got the plug and lube and stuff in it.”
“Caleb!” Holly shouted, feeling her skin flush. The man had not one ounce of discretion.
All the men around her laughed.
Trev slapped James on the back. “Damn, I like it here. I can’t wait to tell Bo this story.”
James picked up the bag—which was apparently filled with sex toys—and passed it to Alexei. “Yeah, well, I think you’re going to fit right in.”
She had to wave over Caleb’s shoulder. He strode down the street toward his small clinic. Alexei smiled as he tried to keep up.
“I will have to remember to not get injured while you around, dushka. The doctor plays favorites.”
“Caleb, he’s hurt.”
“Are you hurt?” Caleb yelled over his shoulder.
“This, I will survive,” Alexei answered.
“See. He’s fine.” He leaned down and managed to get the door to the clinic open. He strode to the exam room and tenderly placed her on the small table. His hands immediately started to unbutton her shirt.
“Caleb, I’m fine.”
“I’ll decide that.” He pushed her shirt off her and smoothed his hands across her shoulders. “You have a contusion right here.”
She hissed just a little as he touched it. “I scraped the sidewalk.”
“Alexei, the antiseptic is in the second cabinet. Get it for me and then take your pants off.” Caleb looked back at him. “And no arguments. I’m the boss in this office. You’re limping.”
“It is nice of you to notice.” Alexei said it with a little smile as he did as he was asked. He passed Caleb a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some gauze and then started on the button of his slacks. “I hate this man who drives too fast. He ruin perfectly good pair of slacks.”
“Take off your bra, sweetheart,” Caleb ordered. “He could have ruined your life. I find it interesting that he nearly managed to mow down two people, but he drove straight as an arrow afterward.”
“Caleb, I don’t need to take off my bra.”
Caleb tore open the packaging on the gauze. “Alexei?”
Alexei placed his folded slacks on the counter and walked around her back. He had her bra unhooked faster than she could protest. “Dushka, do not disobey doctor. He is boss here. If you disobey, he will not give you lollipop. You will be bad girl. You know what bad girl gets.”
Bad girls tended to get cock. What were they playing at?
Caleb shook his head. “You had to bring in the pervert, didn’t you, Holly? You couldn’t have chosen someone perfectly normal to complete our little threesome?”
She hissed slightly as he cleaned the teeny tiny wound she’d taken. It was so small that it hadn’t even bled much. It shouldn’t affect her abilities in the least. It certainly shouldn’t stop either one of them from showing her a little affection.
“Tell me you don’t want to play doctor. That is what you call it, no?” Alexei’s finger traced her spine. She leaned into his touch.
Caleb continued to work on her. “Yes. That’s what we call it. But only after the pretty patient proves herself fit for play. And we should talk about that car.”
Alexei’s voice went deep and dark. “We will talk about it. Later.”
“As long as we get around to it. That didn’t feel like an accident to me.”
Holly sat back up straight. “What do you mean it wasn’t an accident?’
“Shhh.” Caleb dabbed at her wound. “I said we would talk about it later and we will. For now, I want you to lie back.”
She sighed. He didn’t sound like he was going to move. Sometimes Caleb turned into the rock that bumped up against a really hard place. She lay back on the padded exam table. Alexei loomed over her.
“Everything will be all right, dushka. Your men will take good care of all your parts. We will let no one be taking you from us.”
“Do you think it’s Scott? Do you think he could get so mad about Nicky he would try to run me down?” It seemed incomprehensible. Scott was a jerk, but he wasn’t a killer. Of course she also would have guessed that he couldn’t possibly have tossed their son out into the cold.
“It was probably just some asshole. And I don’t think anyone would want to hurt you, sweetheart.” Caleb’s hands worked the button of her jeans. “You weren’t the only one who got hit.”
She tried to get up. Alexei gently pushed her back down. “You think someone wants to hurt Alexei?”
Both men laughed. It annoyed the hell out of her.
Caleb ran his hands along her abdomen, pushing in lightly, feeling all along her torso. “I think there are several people who would love to see Alexei in two pieces.”
“You are wrong, Caleb. They would love to see me in many pieces. One threatened to put body in wood chipper and fertilize yard. And I have had many, many threats to death.”