Free A Matter of Time 05.5 - Just Jory (MM) by Mary Calmes Page B

gray.”
    Without warning, he bolted toward the back of the bank and out of sight. His partner, the guy whose face we couldn’t see, yelled for him to stop and then tore after him.
    “Now where are they going?” The lady asked.
    “I dunno,” I said, leaning forward to try and see.
    “My name is Felicia, by the way, Felicia Jones.”
    “Jory,” I said, turning my head to smile at her.
    “Tony,” the man on my left chimed in.
    I looked over at him and grinned. “Great to meet you both. Maybe we should all have lunch sometime when this is over.”
    They both agreed that would be lovely, and some other people offered as well.
    When my cell phone rang a bit later, I looked over at the counter where it was. The robbers had put them all there when they collected them. I wasn’t sure if I should move or not.
    “What do you guys think?” I asked the collective.
    Tony shrugged. “I don’t see anybody, I say g’head.”
    “You want me to go grab it?” Another guy asked from a few people away from me.
    “No, I got it,” I told him, getting up, hearing Sam’s ringtone: Raindrops by Stunt.
    Walking to my iPhone with the hot pink metallic case––it needed to be bright, otherwise I lost it––I touched the answer button and then the speaker.
    “Jory?” He yelled at me.
    “Hi,” I smiled down at the phone because his picture was there, and it was one of many that I loved. He was squinting at me and his brows were furrowed. God, he was cute.
    “Hi?” He was annoyed. “What the fuck is going on in there?”
    “Not sure,” I said, looking around. “We seem to be alone. Have been for like the last, what,” I asked, my eyes flicking to the others, “five minutes?”
    “I say ten,” Felicia offered.
    “About that,” Tony agreed.
    “Yeah, like ten minutes at least,” I said back into the phone. “I think they might have bailed.”
    Heavy sigh. “Have everyone sit down, we’re coming in.”
    Of course he was coming in; they’d be lucky if he didn’t kick the door down and lead the way. Who needed a battering ram when you had Sam Kage with you?
    “Okay, sitting down.”
    Minutes later, watching the SWAT guys come in was ten kinds of awesome. The doors flew apart; five guys rushed in, dropped to one knee, yelled at us to get down, and froze there. The second wave came in and rushed across the room, forming a sort of phalanx around us and then finally, the last guys charged across the room to the other side.
    Once everyone yelled the all clear, Sam came charging into the bank and I could tell he was mad, probably because the SWAT commander had made him wait, but when I lifted my hands and waved, I saw him breathe as he charged toward me.
    “Oh, Jory, your man is fine.”
    “I know, right?” I smiled at Felicia, watching him; the fluid stride, his massive shoulders, his height, all of him strong and virile. He still made me breathless even after so long.
    Kneeling down in front of me, hands on my face as he looked me over, I watched his brows furrow. “Are you all right?” He asked, his voice deep and resonant, even lower than normal because he had been scared.
    I leaned forward, put my cuffed hands over his head so they were around the back of his neck, and smiled wide. “I’m fine.”
    He let out a shaky breath, wrapped me in his arms, and hugged me tight. When he stood up, easily, even with my added weight, I had no choice but to wrap my legs around his waist. Normally he didn’t like public displays of affection, but this seemed all right. He carried me out, one hand on the small of my back, the other on my ass. He walked me to his monster SUV, a Chevy Suburban, put me in the passenger seat and locked the door.
    I tapped on the window, and he rolled it down with the remote control fob thingy in his hand.
    “Yes?”
    “Don’t say yes like I’m bothering you!”
    He was waiting.
    I lifted my wrists for him. “Aren’t you going to take these off?”
    “You’re kidding, right?” He asked,