Pistol Whipped (Love on Target Book 3) Read online

  Pistol Whipped

  A Love on Target Novel

  Ashley Bostock

  Copyright © 2015 by Ashley Bostock

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are being used fictitiously. Any references to such are entirely coincidental and are used for merely the telling of a fictional story.

  There is always that one person in your life that believes in you, no matter what you do. That someone who has no problem letting you know when they’re unhappy or pleased beyond belief. That one person you never want to letdown, no matter what.

  Grandma, I dedicate this book to you.

  Contents

  Not to Miss!

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Irresistible Billionaires

  Not to Miss!

  Also by Ashley Bostock

  About the Author

  Not to Miss!

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  Chapter One

  The smell of fresh paint immediately hit Logan’s nostrils as he walked into Lolita’s. Gabriella was at it again. What was she painting now? Couldn’t she learn to leave well enough alone? He followed the scent like a dog, to the back room of her store and found her on her knees, wearing shorts that were too short for work, with her paintbrush in hand, painting yet another oak chair. He walked over to her iPhone and turned down the music.

  “Cinderella, how many chairs are you going to keep painting?”

  “I needed another chair. Those pink garters I bought a week ago have all sold out already and people are asking for them non-stop.”

  “So, what does that have to do with another chair?”

  “Logan! Duh! The chair they were displayed on clearly wasn’t enough so when my shipment comes in today, I can lay those garters on that chair and once this baby dries, I am going to lay the new matching stockings and panties on this chair.”

  Logan ran his hand through his chestnut hair that got lighter every time he was out in the sun. He leaned up against one of her worktables and absent-mindedly began caressing the tiniest pair of panties he’d ever seen that were lying next to him.

  They were red. His favorite color. They were made out of mesh lining making the entire front of the panties see-through.

  Also, his favorite.

  No panties at all would be his preference but for whatever reason, ladies seemed to love wearing them, so see-through panties would be the next best thing. Every time he came in here and helped Gabriella, he was astonished by how much money people, mostly women, were willing to pay for this crap. The red panties he was currently fingering cost…twenty-eight dollars! They were made of the flimsiest material; he could literally rip them off in one fell swoop.

  “Quit touching my panties.”

  Logan tensed at her command. They were technically ‘her’ panties, but they weren’t her panties.

  At least he didn’t think.

  He supposed she could be wearing these exact same panties underneath those short shorts of hers. He rubbed his hand over his eyes. Why had he even begun to wonder what little Cinderella was wearing underneath her clothes? They had been friends since second grade and he never once considered—present time excluded—what she might wear down there.

  Well, there was that one time when they had just graduated high school and he was helping her out of her gown, and underneath she had worn this yellow sundress and somehow the zipper had managed to get stuck on the gown…or the gown got stuck in the zipper? Either way, to this day, he still never understood how that could happen. But he was the only one inside her house and he was designated with the task of helping her get the gown unstuck.

  He had been nervous. He could feel some kind of tension in the room, which was crazy because it was just Gabriella—his nearest and dearest friend since grade school. He managed to unzip her dress and the zipper had gone down low enough that he could see the dimples in her lower back as well as the pale-yellow thong she had been wearing.

  In a whisper she had threatened him. “Don’t look at my panties.”

  But the way it had sounded hadn’t sounded like a real threat. Her voice was really breathy and quiet. He had managed to get the gown out of the zipper’s teeth and zip her dress back up before he had stormed out of her bedroom. That had been the only time he had ever considered doing anything to Gabriella that had gone far beyond friendship.

  “I’m kidding. You know that, right? Don’t look so serious, Logan.”

  He was brought out of his trance by Gabriella’s soft laugh.

  “I was just thinking about something else,” he told her truthfully.

  “Do you like those panties?” She nodded to the red ones in his hands. “That’s just a sample. Then I can decide if I will order more or not.”

  Without thinking, he asked, “Who samples them?”

  She tilted her head and looked at him like he was an idiot, her eyes wide. “Who do you think?”

  Visions of Gabriella prancing around in these skimpy panties came to mind. Her curves. Her tits. He forcefully set them back down on the table and shook his head.

  “So, do you need any help, then?” He cleared his throat. “With any painting or anything?”

  Gabriella laughed. “Come hold this for me, please? What has gotten into you lately? Ever since the trouble with the credit union, you haven’t been acting like yourself. Is it still bothering you? Is there anything you want me to do to help you get through this?”

  Again, her and the barely-there red panties.

  He shook his head, hard. “I’ll be fine. Lucy and I are going out to dinner tonight to that new restaurant by the mall. Have you tried it?”

  “No. Brandi and I want to but haven’t found time yet. Are you and Lucy finally an item?” She bent lower, painting along the lower rim of the chair as Logan held the back, tilting it just enough for her to reach. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and she balanced on her paint-splattered shoes, deep in thought. She wore her grubby clothes to paint. Her denim cutoffs paired with a pink V-neck shirt.

  “No, we aren’t an item. We are still just seeing each other. We are free to date whomever we want. No strings attached.”

  Gabriella rolled her eyes. “Is that what you think she wants?”

  “No. S
he wants to be exclusive but I’m just not feeling it yet. Anyway, what about you and what’s his name? Are you guys “together” together?”

  “His name is Cody and things have potential but so far, I’m much too busy for a relationship.”

  Logan wasn’t sure what his problem with Gabriella was lately. He’d been around her more than any other female in his entire life aside from his mother. She was his nearest and dearest friend. They had laughed and cried together. Had gone through break-ups together. Had experienced college and everything thereafter together. And here he was unable to stop himself from looking down her V-neck shirt at her voluptuous tits that he had no business looking at. Especially when all she had asked from him—a friend—was a helping hand.

  Logan let out a groan as he closed his eyes, trying to get the image of Gabriella’s creamy white skin out of his head. This couldn’t go on much longer. There was no way he could be around her and let his imagination run wild—what was it doing? He was appalled with himself. He had never thought of Gabbie as his sister—ever. But he had never, ever looked at her the way he was right now. Sure, he appreciated her silky auburn hair, her stunning green eyes, all of the freckles that lined the bridge of her nose and her curvy body, but he hadn’t ever appreciated them.

  Not like he had been lately.

  As he sat there holding her chair, trying to look anywhere but down at her and at the curves inside her blouse—because that is where his gaze kept going—he pondered when his sudden attraction began. He thought about the last few times they had been together hanging out and for the life of him, he couldn’t think of a single moment that stood out.

  Besides, he wasn’t sure it was full-blown attraction anyway. He didn’t know what it was. All he knew was that he had begun to see Gabbie in a new light, had suddenly begun to appreciate the curves of her hips as well as the curves of her breasts. He started noticing the flecks of brown in her green eyes and the way her hair would go from straight to wavy to curly all in a day’s worth of hard work.

  He looked around at haphazard boxes and a few lacy items that lay in the back room. A strappy bra—with straps that circled her breasts and nipples—that didn’t actually cover the nipple part, was strapped around a mannequin. She wore the lingerie she sold.

  As good of friends as they were, he never dared ask her what she wore for undergarments. If he had to guess, he would bet his last dollar that she wore this stuff just like all the women who came here because she loved what she did and Gabbie couldn’t sell something she didn’t love herself. He knew her well enough to know that was how she rolled.

  “Logan? Logan Anthony Reeves?”

  Bringing him out of his daze, he looked down at Gabriella, trying hard to be a gentleman and keep his eyes on hers. “What?”

  She wriggled her nose at him for about the millionth time since they’ve known each other. “Are you sure nothing is bothering you? You know you can tell me, right?”

  Not this. He could never tell her this. Who knew what her reaction would be? She could very well threaten him with her handgun. He shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine. I was just thinking about things going on at work. That’s all. Have you been to the shooting range lately?”

  Her eyebrows rose and she shrugged her shoulder. “Okay. I won’t ask anymore. You can set the chair down. Thanks. Oh, and yeah, Brandi and I went two days ago. They have these hot pink paper targets now. It was fun.”

  She stood up and began putting away her paint supplies. She took her brush to the sink and began rinsing it off. Logan put the lid on her paint can and set the empty cup she had filled with paint into the sink, watching the turquoise color the water as it swirled down the drain.

  “What are you doing tonight? Going to the shooting range?” He teased. For a woman who’d gone through the trouble of getting a license to carry a concealed weapon, she took it pretty seriously. He was sure there were people out there who got one and never learned to shoot, but not Gabriella.

  “No, I’m not. Why? What are you doing?”

  “Do you and Brandi want to come with us tonight? You can be my buffer.”

  “Did you just roll your eyes? Logan, if you don’t like her, why are you wasting your time with her? Why are you wasting her time?” She looked at him pointedly.

  “I’m not wasting anyone’s time. We’re enjoying each other’s company. She just…wants me too much sometimes. You know what? Forget it. Why are we talking about this?”

  “She wants you too much? Really? Is that what guys really think when women want attention? All we want is attention and reciprocity, Logan. Since I’m your best bud you should know all of this already. I can’t believe you think that.” She swatted at his arm. “That is terrible. Poor Lucy.”

  “Not poor Lucy. Seriously. She calls and sends me texts all of the time, sends me pictures you don’t want to see—trust me. It’s not giving her attention that bothers me, it’s that she is so desperate sometimes.”

  “Logan! Then ditch her. Don’t be the guy that strings her along only to break her heart. That’s not you.”

  “I’m not stringing her along, Cinderella. She knows exactly what I want. And right now, she gives it to me.”

  Gabriella’s eyes popped open. “Are you talking about sex? Oh gosh, I should have known.” She stepped away from the sink and looked at him. He suppressed his grin as she rolled her eyes, “that sex was all this was about.”

  His hand came out and in his age-old gesture, he squeezed her cheek. “Don’t tell me you and Brody haven’t had sex yet and that’s not what your relationship is about. Not even a little? He, too, is a guy, Gabbie.”

  Her cheeks went to a light pink and she threw her head back. “It’s Cody, first of all, even though I refer to him as ‘the chef’ sometimes, and second of all, well, we haven’t really gotten to that point yet.” She bent her head down, clearly embarrassed. “Close, but not close enough. I just…he just…well, there hasn’t been an opportunity.”

  Now he felt like a major butthead. She was obviously bothered by the fact that Cody wasn’t interested in her enough to want to initiate sex. He had rubbed it in her face like everyone wanted it. Which made him wonder exactly why this guy wasn’t into it? Gabbie was quite breathtaking and she oozed sex appeal, whether she knew it or not. Come to think of it, Logan wasn’t sure which bothered him more: the fact that the guy didn’t want to sleep with her or the fact that the guy could be sleeping with her if he so chose. Logan let that thought drift away and responded truthfully. “Don’t worry, he will. He will find the opportunity. Guaran-fucking-teed.”

  As he watched Gabriella finish cleaning up, he couldn’t help but wonder whom this guy was. Did he not see a good thing when it was standing right in front of him? More importantly, and Logan tried to ignore this thought, but could the chef’s loss ever be Logan’s gain? Would Logan ever have enough balls to find out?

  Chapter Two

  Gabriella grew up poor. Her mother and father could never hold a job for longer than three months, at best. Mostly, it was her father who would get some fly-by-night job and work long enough to earn a few paychecks—at least enough to spend the evenings at the bar. Her mother mostly stayed at home with Gabriella and her younger sister, Genevieve. She was the Queen of finding every government subsidy, scholarship, etcetera, to apply for and get for the family. That had been her full-time job. In Gabriella’s mind, the time she had spent scamming the system, she could have used to find an actual job. It wasn’t like her mother was ill or unable to physically hold a job.

  Many times Gabriella crawled through Logan’s bedroom window to eat at his house because her family had no food. Big sister that she was, and wonderful people Logan and his family had been to her, she had always brought home something for her sister. Hidden, of course, because if her parents knew she had food they would take it for themselves.

  Her mother and father’s off-again and on-again relationship made it easy for Gabriella’s mom to receive government aid bec
ause she always checked the ‘single’ box. There were times in her life where her mom was gone for a few weeks and times where her dad was gone for a few weeks.

  Moments where Gabriella had no clue if social services was going to come and take her and her sister away. There were plenty of times in her childhood, that she had actually prayed for that to happen. At least then, there would be someone to count on. Gabriella hated her childhood. She was never physically abused by anyone, but she had experienced her fair share of emotional turmoil where her family life was concerned.

  Seeking an outlet to avoid home, she had done the only thing she knew to do – she had gone to school and applied herself to her studies, above and beyond the call of duty. She didn’t do anything half-assed. She knew the only way she and her sister would ever be free of that life was to not follow in her parents’ footsteps, and to Gabriella that had meant excelling at school.

  She eventually earned an academic scholarship to college and earned a master’s degree in Business with a special emphasis in Marketing and Finance. College had been a breeze for Gabriella and thank God she had Logan to lean on. Without Logan by her side all of these years, who knew what she would have done. There were so many times in her life where having Logan around had changed her life for the better. He had single-handedly pulled her out of the darkest corners of her life—unbeknownst to him in some cases. He had been a true friend. Often times, more often than she had done for him, he went above and beyond the call of friendship. He was, then and now, the best friend she could ever ask for.