Married To The Mafia: Book II

14 - Piscataquis Sheriff Department.

The gun shots sounded like canon blasts, making his ears ring.

At first, the pain didn't register so he waited for a few seconds and when the few seconds was over, it still didn't. When the ringing in his ears stopped and the dust had settled, Marcel was on the floor, while the two men were subdued by Cody and Ivan.

How the hell had they gotten here? Devlin decided to worry about them later.

He looked around and saw that Delaney had bailed and Pamela was struggling with her binds. He raced towards her and fought with the wires until they were off. By the time he removed her gag and blindfold, she was hysterical and weeping. She threw her arms around him about the same time that he wrapped his arms around her and they both sobbed hysterically.

His veins overflowing with relief, he pressed her close and buried his face in her neck, touching her, feeling every part of her, wanting to assure himself that he wasn't dreaming and he was in fact holding her in his arms once again. By the time they had calmed and regained composure, the wail of siren could be heard. Devlin reluctantly let go of her and held her at arm's length.

"I have to leave. They can't know I'm here."

She nodded in understanding but none of them moved. They lingered in each other's arms for more seconds before he reluctantly stood and got into a truck Cody had running. He glanced one last time at her and she managed a weak smile for him but it didn't hide the traumatized look in her eyes and that wrenched at his heart. He wanted to weep.

Strands of hair damp with sweat fell over her face. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles, and she looked like she could use a hot meal or two, a nice long soak in the bath and a lot of sleep. He couldn't wait to be reunited with her but he knew that the interrogation and questioning would take some time.

The moment the door of the truck slammed shut, it roared to life and was speeding away, leaving a cloud of dust at its wake. Devlin glared at his men.

"How the hell did you find me?"

"We followed you." Cody said simply.

He breathed. What was the use getting mad at them? They had saved his ass. It had been risky but they had saved his ass. He could never repay them for their unending loyalties. His throat tightened,

"Thank you." He said, sincerely meaning it. "Very much."

~

Pamela tried to breathe, tried to assure herself that she was out of danger, that she was safe, but her attempts were futile. Having escaped a near-death situation had dragged raw on her nerves. Also, being surrounded by strangers was more unsettling than she wanted to admit. There was no one she knew, whom she could look in the eye and have assure her that she was really safe and that the worst was over. The only familiar face was being zipped into a body bag, for heavens sakes. That alone was enough to water down her vain attempts at being strong.

She wondered how long she could keep her emotions in check. A sinusoidal wave of hysteria was tugging at her sanity and she would relish nothing more than to explode and cry hard. But she didn't want to cry alone, she wanted to do it in the arms of her man.

She winced at the pain that the prick of a needle caused but welcomed it. She needed something to jar her back to reality. Hot liquid coursed through her veins and it was painful. She gave the EMT who had promised her "only a slight prick" a baleful look. He laughed. He then urged her to puff up a breathing tube. Her breathing was fine, he said, the only thing she needed was a bucket load of supplements and rest.

She told him he could say that again.

When he was done, she was relieved and glad to be let off very easily but she was stopped by two detectives that wanted to question her. They were doing their jobs, they'd said, and so were the others that had turned the once quiet hatch to a beehive of activity. It was swarming with various crime scene personnel, coming and going as their duties required.