The Dirty Dozen: Alpha Edition

by Kay Maree

  If I was going to have to run again, I needed to do it now, before our reliance on the wonderful world of Falls Ridge encompassed everything.

  Lena got up at my beckoning and followed me into the hall.

  “I’m going to try to speak to Tabby in the jail.” I took my bag from the closet and extracted my phone.

  Lena’s eyes widened, and she took a breath then said exactly what I needed her to. “I’m here.”

  Her fingers found mine, and I turned on the device. Multiple missed calls and voicemails scrolled. Emails. Messages. Most of it junk.

  I skipped the messages from Dad’s solicitors. Tabby’s solicitors. Police.

  No message from my sister or my father themselves.

  I’d expected this, in a way. It still hurt.

  “I’m going to try the jail.”

  I dialled the number I’d saved in my notes and got through to an operator. By some miracle, she agreed to my request and said she’d call back if my sister was willing to speak to me. I hung up and slid down the wall, landing on my backside on the floor.

  “She will,” Lena assured.

  Benjamin tottered out and plonked himself on my lap. He needed a nap and curled up in my arms. My phone buzzed.

  I answered it, putting it on loudspeaker. Lena jumped to close the lounge door for privacy then took a seat at my side.

  “Autumn?” my sister barked down the line. “Is that you?”

  “It’s me,” I said, almost calmly.

  Benjamin gazed at the phone.

  “I’m here with Benjamin and—”

  “Stop! Not on this line. Listen, my solicitor has instructions for you. Why are you calling?” Tabby snapped.

  “It’s Christmas. Don’t you want to say hello to Benjamin?” I uttered.

  “Yeah, it’s such a merry fucking Christmas. I’m in jail, for Christ’s sake,” she replied, a jeer in her voice. My sister had never been pleasant, but I reared back at her tone.

  “Autumn, I know this is tough for you, but I’m going to make it really simple to understand. We can’t talk openly, so don’t run your mouth. Talk to my solicitor.” She drew a breath. “Did you do everything I asked you to when we last spoke?”

  “Sure. Tabby, Benjamin’s right here—”

  “Then that’s good enough. Call the damn solicitor.” The line went dead.

  I stared at my phone. The screen darkened before I blinked.

  Benjamin wriggled, then his head tipped back, and he snored gently.

  “Biotch.” Lena used her non-swearing-mum words with quiet vehemence. “What a motherflupping biotch. You are shouldering all of her problems, and she gives you grief? I’m ashamed we were ever friends.”

  I ducked my head. “She’s just like Dad.”

  “Let me put Benjamin to bed. He’ll be in with the kids here tonight. Have a drink or three. We’ll talk about it.”

  She stood and collected my heavy, slumped nephew and carried him upstairs. We were all meant to be staying over at the lovely farmhouse, but suddenly, I needed something else.

  I needed honesty and a pair of strong arms. I needed for a good man not to be alone on a day when he should’ve been with family.

  Lena came down the stairs, baby monitor in hand. She took one look at my face and chuckled. “Take our car. We won’t be using it until tomorrow. Just be home early.”

  I darted past her, kissing her cheek as I went. Then I did an about turn and popped my head in the lounge and focused on Lena’s mother-in-law. “I’m so sorry but I need to head out for a while. Dinner was wonderful.”

  “Not at all. You have a good time, dear. Bull should be getting home about now anyway.” She gave me a warm smile. “See you in the morning.”

  My jaw dropped. “How did you know—?”

  Next to her, Mark grimaced. “Uh, Autumn? Small town rules. Basically, there are no secrets. We’re all rooting for you and Bull.”

  I snapped my mouth closed. Well, all right then.

  I drove away as fast as the snow tyres would take me.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Come for Me

  Bull

  My truck headlights picked out the car outside my bar. It could only be…

  My heart thudded.

  All day, I’d thought about the lass. If I’d been distracted by her before, now, I was…smitten.

  I parked behind her car, and we climbed out at the same time. She flew over the snow and leapt into my arms.

  “Bull,” she uttered, and her legs wound around my waist. She kissed me. “Where have you been?”

  “I supply a soup kitchen. I make a run there every couple of days.”

  Autumn groaned. “Could you be any more perfect?” Then she kissed me again and started unbuttoning my coat.

  Moving fast, I carried her around the building, headed for my apartment. A growl came from deep inside me as we kissed, and everything I’d needed today, the hole in my soul that only family holidays brought, had been filled. She’d come for me. No one did that. Not for me.

  Out of sight of the street, I backed her to the wood-clad wall under the covered walkway and devoured her mouth. “Missed ye,” I said like a fool, moving to kiss her throat.

  “Make love to me,” she replied and dug her fingers into my hair and pulled my face up to stare into her eyes.

  Those damn gorgeous eyes saw right through me.

  Slowly now, I walked us the last few steps to my door and wrangled the lock. No one ever came back here. No one but me. And now her.

  Without putting her down, I shut us in and shed my coat. Then I reached under her long skirt and found her hip and the delicate string of her underwear.

  “Do it,” she urged, her breathing hard.

  I huffed a laugh and snapped the damn underwear right off her. Then I positioned my legs wider apart, pinning her to the wall. “Here in the hall?” I ran a finger up the inside of her thigh, finding her core wet.

  God, this lass.

  “Here. Everywhere. Just don’t stop.” She kissed my cheek, moving to my neck as I undid my jeans and freed my aching cock. Getting a condom from my wallet and into place took far longer than I was prepared to wait, but then we were ready to go.

  I lowered her gently, lining up.

  “Don’t go slow. Not tonight.”

  Fine with me. I jacked my hips and filled her with one thrust.

  We both yelled.

  “Bull, more!” she urged, and I set a punishing pace.

  This was it, everything.

  “Never going to stop,” I promised.

  Autumn held on for dear life, no sass from her now, just taking everything I had. Before, she’d battled me for control. Now, she’d given herself to me completely.

  I liked it both ways. I liked everything about this lass. I needed this so damn much.

  “Oh God!” she moaned, over and over.

  Fresh heat surged, and I pounded her against the wall. My balls tightened; my muscles tensed. Then she clamped down on me, her orgasm starting, and I was done. In a series of rapid thrusts, I pulled out as far as I could and slammed home.

  “Mine,” I told her. “Mine,” I shouted, telling the world.

  Then I came, too, and reality shattered around me. I stilled, spilling inside her, so dizzy and so in—

  I smashed down my train of thought. In lust. I was utterly in lust.

  “Merry Christmas,” she said, still pulsing on me.

  Then she began to laugh.

  I did, too, then I slid to the floor, still seated in her.

  “Aye, lass, it is now you’re here.”

  ****

  Orange light spilled from the wood burner that heated my home. Autumn held a cup of coffee and regarded me from the opposite end of the couch. I wanted her in my arms, but she had something she needed to say.

  “I like it here,” she finally said.

  “I like ye being here.”

  Hum
our tinged Autumn’s expression, but it quickly faded. “Benjamin’s happy and settling in well. There’s nothing for me to go back to in Scotland. Dad’s home belongs to the military and will be given to someone else. I could take Benjamin twice a year for visits with my sister in jail but I’m not even sure she’ll care.”

  I sat forward. “Are you telling me you’re planning to stay?”

  She dropped my gaze. “Bull—”

  “I want ye to. Stay, I mean.” My big heart panged, the sensation alien after being closed down for so long.

  “You don’t know me. Not really. I’m not that great a person.”

  “Tell me, then.”

  Autumn sighed, but she stretched her feet out so they touched my bent legs. “Tabby, Tabitha, my older sister, was always Dad’s favourite. He is, was, a Wing Commander in the Royal Air Force. She worked in engineering. They both are hard people.”

  Nothing like her. I didn’t interrupt, and she continued.

  “I told you they’d both been jailed for fraud. Well, before I knew anything about that, I lived with Dad, under his thumb. He’s a control freak, and I’d decided I had enough. I wanted to move out, but every time I brought it up, he would turn evil. His temper…”

  Autumn gazed into the distance, her cheeks reddening.

  “Was he violent to ye?” I asked softly, though inside, ire rose.

  “Yes. He’d grab me and yell a lot. Slap me sometimes. But I was more afraid of him turning Tabby against me and them not letting me see Benjamin. My nephew is my world. So instead, I made up a plan to get Dad to not want me around.”

  “What did ye do?” I took her foot in my hands and ran my thumbs in firm strokes. Nothing she could tell me would be that bad. But if she needed to get it off her chest, I’d listen.

  “I staged a scene where Dad walked in on me draped over one of his pilots. Like we were about to have sex, though it wasn’t true. I used this poor drunk guy, and it was all for nothing. Plus, Dad fired him.” She blew out a breath and put down the mug, wringing her hands like guilt was eating her up.

  “I tried to make it right. I gave evidence at a preliminary trial. The man I screwed over couldn’t make it, so I went on his behalf. The RAF offered him his job back, but I can’t change the fact that I ruined his career.”

  “Did ye speak to him about it?”

  She nodded, her gaze still somewhere else.

  “Does he blame you?”

  “No. Actually, he said I did him a favour. He’s married now. He and his wife got to spend time together because of the damage I caused.”

  Enough. I reached out and grabbed her arm then pulled her up my body to lie with me.

  “Do ye feel better for telling me?”

  Autumn huddled in. “I felt like such a crappy person after that. You make me feel…”

  “How do I make you feel?”

  “Not so crappy.”

  This confession had a purpose, even a man as dense as I could see it. She trusted me, at least she wanted to. There was far more that I needed to know, and now was the time to ask.

  “I told ye I like ye,” I said, laying a kiss on her hair. “If ye stay, I plan to keep ye.”

  Autumn raised her head, shock in her eyes. But I wasn’t finished.

  “Tell me what you’re afraid of. Tell me why ye ran. Let me protect ye.”

  “This is the problem. I don’t know who’s after us.” She gripped my arm. “I brought Benjamin home to Dad’s house one evening a few weeks ago. When we walked in, the place was trashed. Two men ran past us and out of the door. I was terrified so I packed our bags and rang the jail. Dad couldn’t talk, but Tabby could. She said the people they’d defrauded would be out for revenge and to take Benjamin and run and not tell anyone where we were going.”

  Something didn’t add up. “But the men who raided your da’s home didn’t touch ye?”

  She shook her head. “No. Which makes me think they were after something else. I have no idea what, but in a couple of days, when the solicitors’ offices open again, I’ll try to find out.”

  I pondered it for a moment. “If you’re not in danger, will ye still want to stay in my wee town?”

  Autumn blinked, seeming to be working through something. “From the moment I got here, I’ve been ready to leave again. All my pay from the bar has been saved. Benjamin and I are living out of bags at Lena’s. It’s exhausting looking over my shoulder all the time.”

  “Then let me have your back. Trust me.”

  In my arms, in my bed, the lass of my dreams curled up and soon breathed evenly, asleep and exhausted from finally learning to trust.

  As she slept, I made promises to her sleeping, slight form. “I’ll protect ye,” I whispered. “Your boy, too. If you’re mine, if ye stay with me, I’ll keep ye safe. No one will hurt ye. If they come near ye, they’ll answer to me.”

  I wouldn’t let her down. Tomorrow, I’d show her how it would be if we dated. There was no way Autumn—damn, I needed to get her real surname—would ever want to run again.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Options

  Autumn

  Bull roused me early, before dawn. I’d told him I wanted to be there when Benjamin woke up and, as always, he’d listened. He turned on the lamp, and I opened my eyes to find myself in his bedroom. I checked the clock.

  Enough time to thank him for making me feel so secure.

  He left the room, returning a short while later with two steaming mugs of coffee. I took the cups and placed them on the bedside table, rid him of his boxer shorts, and put my mouth on him. Bull gripped my hair, letting me tease him, but after his breathing grew ragged, withdrew, grabbed a condom, then rolled me over and thrust inside me.

  We made love in his bed, then we kissed until the last minute when I couldn’t delay any longer.

  He followed my car but, at Lena’s mother’s farmhouse, Lena came to the door, a very much awake Benjamin in her arms. They both smirked and waved.

  The sky tinged pink with the morning’s light, and Bull climbed out of his truck. He took a hesitant step towards me. I beckoned.

  “Come, meet Benjamin.”

  He did, putting out a huge hand for Benjamin’s tiny handshake. Lena gave us a moment, and my nephew beamed as I made the introduction.

  “You’re a braw wee lad, aren’t you?” Bull gazed at Benjamin then switched his attention back to me. “He looks just like you.”

  Benjamin reached for Bull’s beard, and we both grinned at his curiosity.

  Stephi’s excited chatter came from inside the house, and Benjamin flapped to go find her. I let him toddle into the hall, and Bull dragged me into his arms. Standing on the porch step, I was almost his height.

  “I want to see you later,” he murmured. “I want to take you out. The bar’s closed today.”

  I wanted to see him, too. “Benjamin will nap at lunchtime.”

  Lena stuck her head out the door. “We’ll take Benjamin with us this afternoon. You kids have fun.”

  We’d jumped out of each other’s arms, but Lena left as soon as she’d come.

  “Seems I’m not the only one who wants ye to stay.” Bull took my face in his hands and gave me a soft kiss. “Then it’s a date. I’ll come for ye later. Dress warm.”

  “What are we going to do?” All the warmth in me came from him. He filled me up, this huge man with the biggest heart.

  “I’ll drive ye north to do the vampire tour.”

  I parted my lips in surprise. “I’d love that.”

  “Maybe on the weekend, you’ll let me take ye to the hot springs and we can skinny dip.”

  He had the best ideas. “Don’t be late picking me up,” I said.

  Bull walked backwards a few steps, the sweetest grin on his face. “Never, lass.”

  Then he was gone. And I had a life to straighten out.

  ****

  It took almost an hour to listen to all the voicemail messag
es left by solicitors and the authorities. The gist of it was that a vast amount of money was still missing. Private investigators had been working behind the scenes to find the cash. The authorities were urging me to get in touch.

  I stared at my phone. Was that who’d been in the house?

  Dad and Tabby’s solicitors were desperate to speak with me, so I dialled the office and left a message. In the UK, it was another public holiday, so they wouldn’t be open until tomorrow. Then I sat back and thought about the mess my family had made.

  I’d never stolen a thing in my life, but I’d unknowingly lived off the proceeds of crime. I’d spent Dad’s money. Everything I had came from him.

  Just like everything Benjamin had came from Tabby. She’d set up a small savings account for him—I had the papers in our bags at Lena’s house.

  That was one area I’d left uncovered.

  “I need to go back to yours to check on something,” I said. Benjamin had played happily around me as I’d worked, and now, I put him on my hip. He could stay with me for this. “We’ll be back in an hour.”

  Lena waved us off, and I hopped into her car and drove.

  In the kids’ room in Lena’s house, I dug into Benjamin’s case. The pack of papers Tabby had insisted I brought were at the bottom, and I placed Benjamin on the floor then sorted through them. His birth certificate sat with his baby records. Then came a bound stack of greetings cards Tabby had been so keen for me to put into a scrapbook for him.

  A printed statement in an envelope gave me the details of Benjamin’s savings account. It held a small fund; certainly nothing significant enough to cause us to be hunted.

  I sat back on my heels, because this had got me nowhere.

  At my side, Benjamin played with the pile of birthday cards, pulling them from the elastic band that held them together.

  “Tum Tum!” he exclaimed, shaking a card from its envelope.

  A slim piece of white paper fell out.

  I snatched it up and narrowed my gaze. It was a legal-type document. I skimmed the words. A property address was referenced throughout. It appeared to be the ownership papers to a house.