Page 31 of Securing the Odds

Hatred flashed in Kevin’s eyes. “I’m not scared of you.”

“No? Well, you should be scared of him.” Jake tipped his head just as Deck made his move.

Kevin swiftly turned his head, but Deck had already grabbed his gun arm, aiming it down and squeezing the pressure point in Kevin’s wrist until he dropped the weapon.

Jake lunged, kicking the gun out of reach before going after Kevin.

The scuffle ended with a few well-placed punches before Jake even worked up a sweat.

“That was too easy.” Deck eyed the three unconscious guys on the floor.

“Guess the idea wasn’t so dumb after all.”

“Yeah, should’ve known better than to bet against the House.”

Sensing movement at his back, Jake turned his head. Tammy was making her way to him. He met her halfway, cupping her face in his hands once he reached her. “You okay?” He skimmed her cheeks with his thumbs, savoring the silky texture of her skin. “Seeing that gun trained on you, I swear, it took ten years off my life.”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t afraid, I knew you wouldn’t let anything happen to me. I was more worried for you.” Her eyes scanned his face. “How about you, are you hurt?”

“No, baby. Not even a scratch.” He kissed her then, unable to resist, before releasing her.

Taking her by the arm, he led her back to the couch where he found his discarded knife lying on the floor and snatched it up. He rested his hands on her shoulders and spun her around. “Let’s get these restraints off you.”

He cut the zip tie from her wrists, and she shook out her arms. He helped, rubbing her shoulders. After a few seconds she threw her arms around his waist. He returned the hug, pulling her close.

“How’d you find me so quick?”

Her face was buried in his chest, but she still wasn’t close enough. He squeezed her to him tighter.

“Would you be mad or upset if I told you I put a tracker on your phone?”

A muffled chuckle vibrated his chest. “No.”

“Then, I put a tracker on your phone.”

That had her full out laughing, her body rocking against his.

“Um, I hate to break up the lovefest, but can you keep an eye on these guys while I go find something to tie them up with?”

Jake’s eyes snagged on the black strip of cloth still lying on the couch. “Here,” Jake tossed Decker the gag, “use this on the shithead in the blue shirt.”

Deck raised his brows. “That one the asshole ex?”

Jake tipped his lips up, happy to see the blood smeared under the asshole’s nose and the black starting to form on his cheek. “Yeah.”

Deck executed a swift, short back kick, nailing the guy in the kidneys. “Oops.”

“What are we going to do with them?” Tammy asked, leaning back in his arms.

Deck eyed Jake and asked, “Time to call the cops now?”

Jake answered with a curt nod. “Time to call the cops.”

Jake tookTammy to her house because she said she needed mac and cheese, tequila, and her comfy pajamas and he didn’t have any of that at his. He didn’t care where they stayed as long as they were together.

Nate was already at the house when they arrived. Dealing with the cops had taken longer than he would have liked, but it could have been worse. He’d called Parker, his buddy that had interviewed him at the bar, and thankfully, he was on duty and therefore the first one on scene.

Saved time with the “gray” areas of his story.

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