Page 1 of Torn in Half

Chapter One

As the clock struck midnight in Tampa, Florida, Ian Sawyer closed the file he’d been reading, picked up the remote, and shut off the TV. CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and all the other news stations had been covering a natural gas explosion that had flattened three four-story, brownstone, apartment buildings in New York City since just after 4:30 p.m. At last count, six victims had been transported to the hospital with varying degrees of injuries, while seven bodies had been pulled from the rubble. Several hours after the residential neighborhood had gone up in a fireball, NYPD, the FBI, and Homeland Security all finally confirmed there was nothing to indicate it had been an act of terrorism. In fact, 9-1-1 had received two calls about the smell of gas just minutes before the explosion. As a retired Navy SEAL and current co-owner of a private security company with numerous government contracts, Ian had a vested interest in any incident that might be terrorist related, especially on US soil.

Standing, he stretched and smirked when his dog, Beau, did the same. The lab/pit mix had literally ended up on Ian’s doorstep when he was a puppy several years ago. Ian had adopted him and trained him to be a protection dog for the fenced-in compound where he and his two brothers lived with their families. Recently they’d added four more dogs to the growing business—B.D.S.M, which stood for Bravo, Delta, Sierra, and Mike—two Belgian Malinoises and two German Shepherds. Their names had been a nod to Ian’s other venture, The Covenant, a lifestyle club that he’d owned with his brother Devon and their cousin, Mitch, which was also located within the compound. As a result of the new canine additions, Beau’s duties had been modified, and he was now in charge of protecting Ian’s pregnant wife, Angie, and Devon’s wife, Kristen, and son, JD.

Beau’s collar had a fob on it that opened doggie doors throughout the four buildings on the property, as well as one in the fence that separated the one that housed the club from the rest of them. The dog could come and go as he pleased and got plenty of exercise during the day, which meant Ian didn’t need to take him for a walk before going to bed.

Turning out the lights in the living room, he ambled down the hallway to the master bedroom suite. The apartment was huge, just like the other three in the building, and could rival any penthouse in Tampa. After Ian had gotten over his initial shock that he was going to be a father, he’d insisted on hiring a cleaning woman to come in twice a week. At first, Angie had argued with him about it—she had her own way of doing things—but as the pregnancy progressed, and she’d gotten tired easily, she’d reluctantly agreed he’d been right. Now, she admitted to looking forward to having the woman stay on for at least the next few months. Ian was more than happy to keep the woman on indefinitely, so Angie could spend her time enjoying their new baby and getting rest whenever she needed it. He’d already moved things around in his TS office and created a baby corner, in case his wife needed a break from their newborn. A portable crib and changing table had been installed last week, to go with a small cabinet stocked with anything and everything the baby might need. His mother had laughed when he’d told her about it in their last phone conversation. Meanwhile his father had said he was glad to hear his oldest son had gotten his fair share of “smart” genes when it came to keeping the peace in his marriage. Dev had been mad he hadn’t thought of all that when JD had been born, but he’d quickly rectified the situation and now had a similar set up in his own office. Notwithstanding his father’s tongue-in-cheek remark, Ian was looking forward to spending time with his child whenever he could. Although, before meeting Angie, he’d thought he wouldn’t be having any kids, despite the natural protective and nurturing instincts, among a few other traits, that made him a Dominant in the BDSM lifestyle.

Passing one of the two smaller bedrooms, Ian glanced inside where all the neutral-gender baby stuff was waiting for the new arrival. Gone were the pinks and purples that had been the decor after his goddaughter, Jenn Mullins, had come to live with him after her parents had been murdered. She now lived in one of the other apartments by herself, while finishing up her college education and an internship in social work. Ian and the rest of the TS Alpha team were her unofficial uncles. Having watched her grow from the moment she’d been born, the six men were having trouble coming to terms with the fact she was now a grown woman. They now had to sit back and let her make her own decisions in life, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t give any guy she dated the third degree. They’d make sure the man who won Jenn’s heart would know he’d be fed to the sharks in the Gulf of Mexico if he ever did anything to hurt her.

Little Bit, as Ian and Angie had dubbed their child, was due in five days, but according to the obstetrician, the baby could come at any moment during the next week or so. That announcement from yesterday’s appointment had been driving Ian nuts. Modern science could predict tsunamis, find a black hole fifty-five-million light years away, and create artificial limbs with a freaking 3D printer, but they couldn’t tell him what day his kid was going to be born.

With Beau following, Ian entered the master bedroom. The faint moonlight peeking through the window blinds enabled him to make out his sleeping wife’s form. He was glad she was out like a light, given how uncomfortable her back and legs had been lately, and how many times she had to get up to use the bathroom each night. How men thought women were the weaker sex was beyond Ian. He knew it wasn’t true and Angie hadn’t even gone into labor yet. She’d suffered through horrible morning sickness early in her pregnancy, which had then morphed into managing day-to-day activities while having the equivalent of a medicine ball strapped to her abdomen 24/7. And now, she faced trying to push a watermelon through something that was tight enough to strangle his cock. Nope, women were definitely the stronger sex, and Ian was man enough to admit it.

As Beau spun a few circles on his large dog pillow on the floor in one corner of the room, Ian climbed into the king-sized bed and tried to get comfortable without waking Angie. Unfortunately, he wasn’t successful.

“What time is it?” she murmured.

“Just past midnight. Go back to sleep.”

“Mmm. Can’t. Gotta pee.” She paused, then added, “Can you go for me?”

He chuckled, but the truth was he’d do anything humanly possible for his wife, lover, and submissive, including sharing the responsibility of raising their child. Unfortunately, getting up and taking a piss for her was not something he was able to do. “Wish I could, Angel.”

Throwing back the covers, she awkwardly maneuvered her body until her legs swung off the side of the bed and struggled to sit up. Ian kept his hands to himself. The last time he’d tried to help her, like a good Dom should, she’d nearly bitten his head off. Her hormones were wreaking havoc on her moods, causing them to swing wildly, and many days Ian had to tread lightly. He knew she didn’t mean to snap at him and had let her get away with a few things that normally would’ve resulted in a punishment. Other times, it had been obvious to him his kinky wife had been subtly asking for some form of discipline, and he’d given it to her within reason. Thankfully, Angie had been using the same obstetrician Kristen had used, one that was in the lifestyle and understood the different types of play. If Dr. Sellares knew her patients practiced BDSM, she provided the couples with a list of acceptable activities that wouldn’t harm the baby or mother-to-be.

As he waited for Angie to return, Ian turned onto his side and closed his eyes. He wouldn’t fall asleep until she was back in bed. Years in the Navy and being on black-ops missions had taught him how to control his sleep. He could nod off immediately if he wanted to, or rest with his eyes shut while still being aware of his surroundings.

Behind the bathroom door, the toilet flushed, and simultaneously, his cell phone chirped from where he’d placed it on his nightstand. Its low beeps were just loud enough to wake him but not Angie if they’d both been asleep. Knowing if someone was calling him at this hour it couldn’t be for anything good, Ian snatched up the device and connected the call without looking at the screen. “Sawyer.”

“Ian, it’s Dad.”

At the strange tone in his father’s voice, he threw the comforter and sheet aside and sat up. Beau was at his feet before he even spoke. “What’s wrong?”

“I need you on the jet to the Philippines as soon as you can. Your mom is . . . she’s missing, Ian. Someone took her.”

“Wh—”

“She—she went to town with one of the nurses to run some errands just after eight this morning. When they didn’t come back in an hour like they were supposed to, we figured they were delayed and would be back soon. After another half hour, I called her cell phone, but it went to voice mail, so I grabbed one of the guides and we went looking for them. We found their vehicle about two miles up the road, pushed off the side of the road and down a hill. It was empty, but Marie’s and Jocelyn’s phones were left on the seats. A young boy that lives nearby said he saw three or four men block the road, and when the women stopped, they were pulled out of the SUV and forced into a van. One of the men then sent the SUV down the hill. Ian, he’s not certain, but he thinks the men had guns. The boy didn’t think either woman was injured, but we’ve checked the hospital and another clinic anyway. The police took a report and are out looking for them, but there’s not much to go on.”

Ian had already grabbed his go-bag out of the walk-in closet as he was listening to his father rush to explain the situation, then he pulled out a clean pair of BDUs and a T-shirt from his dresser drawers to change into. Having turned on the bedside lamp, Angie was sitting on the edge of the mattress, wide-eyed, watching him. He stopped and looked at her when his father said, “I know this is a lot to ask right now, with Angie ready to have the baby, but I need you and the teams here. We have no idea who has them, where they are, and why they were taken.”

“We’ll be there as soon as we can, Dad. I promise, we’ll find them, and then I’ll be back in Tampa in time to see my kid born.” He’d accept nothing less.

As he got a few more details from his father, Ian’s heart was breaking. Even though she still didn’t fully know what was going on yet, Angie’s eyes were watery, and her lips were trembling. All she’d figured out so far was he was leaving to go halfway around the world, where Charles and Marie Sawyer had been doing charity work, right before she was due to give birth to their first child.

Ian’s mother was a plastic surgeon who donated time each year to Operation Smile, traveling to the poorer areas in Third World countries to perform reconstructive surgery on children who suffered from a variety of facial deformities. Charles, known to family and friends as Chuck, was a self-made real estate billionaire, who could afford to travel with his wife and donate his time to help improve the poor areas she visited. When the four Sawyer brothers were young, they’d gone with their folks for a few weeks each summer and pitched in too.

Hanging up the phone, he kneeled in front of Angie. At some point, Beau had jumped onto the bed to comfort his distressed mistress. Since he couldn’t put his head in her lap because of the baby, he was snuggled up against her hip. Ian grabbed Angie’s hand. “Mom’s missing, Angel. I have to go.”

“Oh my God, Ian! What do you mean she’s missing?”

He quickly filled her in, then continued. “I’ve got to get Dev, Nick, and Jake, then call the rest of the teams.” Devon and Kristen lived in the apartment above them, while the youngest Sawyer brother, Nick, aka Junior, lived with his husband, Jake “Reverend” Donovan, in the apartment above Jenn’s. All three men were on the TS Alpha Team. Jake had been on SEAL Team Four with Dev and Ian, while Nick had spent his SEAL tours with Team Three in San Diego, before retiring less than a year ago to join his brothers and Jake in Tampa.

Grabbing her own cell phone from the nightstand, Angie waved him out of the way so she could get to her feet. “I can help make the calls. I’ll start with Omega Team while you take Alpha and anyone else you need to get ahold of.”

Before she could hurry away, he stopped her momentum, cupped her cheeks, and stared down at her. The most amazing thing that’d ever happened to him had been the day he’d met her. The second most being the day he’d married her. He wanted the third thing to be the moment he saw her bring their child into the world. Would he miss it? God he hoped not. But if that happened, he knew Angie wouldn’t go through it alone. Kristen, Jenn, and the other women associated with Trident Security, and a few from The Covenant, would all have her six. Their extended family took care of their own, and if he couldn’t be there, she’d have the best support team ever. “I’ll be back in time for Little Bit, Angel.”

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