by Becca Van
“What’s the problem, Officer?” Kat asked after finding her voice. She was glad he was standing on the other side of the counter and couldn’t see her wringing her fingers together.
“Ma’am, I’m Deputy Sheriff Jalen Donnybrook. There’s a situation out at the Triple L Ranch. The owners have asked that I drive you out there.”
“Oh my god. Niki.” She raced around the counter and stopped in front of the deputy, clutching at his arm. “What’s wrong with my sister?”
“I don’t have any of the details, ma’am. We can find out on our way.”
Kat dropped her hand from his arm before hurrying toward the door.
“Kat, you forgot your purse,” Shyann called out.
“Shit!” She turned back but stopped where she was when Shyann passed her bag to the cop. She hoped he wouldn’t drop her purse and spill the contents out all over the floor. She’d decided to carry the USB drive with her at all times. There was no way she was leaving the thumb drive at home where anyone could access it. The neighborhood might be crime free and peaceful, but she’d learned to be cautious.
Kat shifted from foot to foot impatiently as the deputy waved good-bye to Shyann and walked toward her. “Thanks,” she muttered as he handed her the purse.
“Are you okay, ma’am? You’ve gone really pale.”
She looked at him from the corner of her eye as they walked toward his patrol car parked out front, to find him watching her intently. “I’m fine. I’m just worried about my sister. Please call me Kat.”
“Nice to meet you, Kat,” Jalen said.
She forced a smile onto her lips as he opened the passenger door for her, but she knew it had fallen short. She was too worried about Niki for the normal courtesies.
After closing her door, he hurried to the driver’s seat, got in, and buckled up. Kat put her seat belt on, then clutched tightly to her purse as he drove away from the library.
“Do you know what’s wrong with Niki?” she asked.
He glanced at her for a second and nodded. “I don’t know what happened, but your sister is in some sort of unresponsive state. Rigby Lyndon called the sheriff and asked that you be brought out to the ranch.”
“Did one of those assholes hurt her?” Kat asked angrily.
Jalen shook his head, looked at her before gazing back at the road. “Brent, Hes, and Rig would never hurt a woman or child,” he answered firmly.
“And how the hell would you know that if you’ve just moved here?” Kat frowned at him.
“Because they’re my cousins.”
Kat nodded since she didn’t know how to respond. She didn’t know this man or the men her sister was working for. One thing she did know was if one of the Lyndon men had hurt Niki, she was going to rip their fucking balls off.
Kat was out of the car and running toward the house before it had even come to a complete stop. She rushed up the stairs and through the open doorway and almost tripped over one of the three men sitting on the floor near the kitchen counter. She gasped and covered her mouth when she saw Niki shoved up tight into the far corner of the kitchen, staring blankly at a cupboard.
“What did you do to her?” she asked from between clenched teeth.
“I hugged her from behind,” one of the men said.
“And you are?”
“Brentley Lyndon. These are my brothers Heston and Rigby.”
Kat knew that Jalen had entered the house, too, but she kept her gaze on the three men watching her sister with worried expressions on their faces. She knew deep in her psyche that whatever was going on with Niki didn’t really have anything to do with them. The men living in this county would rather cut off their right arm than ever hurt someone weaker than they were.
She glanced at the deputy before meeting each of the Lyndon brothers’ gazes. “I think it would be best if you all went outside and left Niki to me.”
“Do you know what’s wrong with her?” Heston asked.
“No.”
“I think we should call a doctor to come out and check her over,” Jalen suggested.
Kat shook her head. She had basic health insurance since she was working at the library, but she didn’t think a housekeeper’s position would have such a benefit. She wanted to try and see if she could get through to Niki before the men called a GP and started racking up huge bills they’d have to pay off. However, if her sister did need medical care, Kat wouldn’t deny her.
“She looks like she’s in shock. Let me see if I can get through to her. If she doesn’t come around, then we can think about calling in a medical professional.” Kat waited as the men left the house and stood talking on the back porch. She slowly walked over to Niki and sat beside her sister. Instead of prying Niki’s arms from around her legs, she caressed a hand over her sister’s shoulder and down her arm and started talking. She didn’t speak about anything important, just what she’d been doing at the library. It took about ten minutes before she heard Niki sigh and then she blinked. A confused frown crossed her face and she turned to gaze at Kat.
Niki had no idea why she was sitting on the floor or why Kat was sitting next to her. She gazed about the room and then looked into Kat’s eyes again.
“Welcome back, honey,” Kat said gently. “Are you okay?”
Niki nodded and gulped when she remembered being terrified out of her mind when someone had come up to her from behind. She tried to blink back the threatening tears, but they wouldn’t be quelled and rolled down her cheeks. And then she began to sob.
Kat pulled Niki into her arms, and she hugged her sister back tightly as she bawled her eyes out. She cried and cried and cried until she started to feel sick, but then her tears slowed and finally dried up. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was muffled since her face was against her sister’s shoulder.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Niki.” Kat drew back and wiped the moisture from Niki’s cheeks. “Talk to me, sis. What scared you so much you weren’t even here?”
Niki shook her head and lowered her gaze when her cheeks heated. She was ashamed and though she’d already told her older sibling that her father had practically sold her to his henchman for a car. She hadn’t told her that Vinnie had sexually assaulted her, only that he’d kissed and groped her a few times. She knew Kat wouldn’t judge her or think any of it was her fault, but she didn’t want her sister to hear all the sordid details and look at her differently.
“I’m not leaving this spot until you talk to me, and neither are you. I’ll tie you up if that’s what it takes,” Kat said sternly, her arms crossed beneath her breasts.
Niki couldn’t help but giggle as she imagined her sister trying to hold her down and hog-tie her like the Lyndons probably did to brand their cattle.
“Much better.” Kat smiled at her, and then her expression became serious. “Tell me.”
“You already know Father sold me to Vinnie for a car. Vinnie digitally raped me.”
“He fucking what?” Kat yelled. She scrambled to her knees, then sat back on her heels, looking devastated and horrified. “I’ll kill those fucking assholes.”
Niki shook her head even though she knew Kat didn’t really mean what she’d said. Her sister was so angry her face was red, but then she paled until she was as white as a ghost. “Did that creep…” She shook her head and reached out to clasp one of Niki’s hands in hers, gripping her tightly. She cleared her throat. “Did he rape you, Niki? Did he put his cock in you?” she asked hoarsely.
“No, but it was a near thing.” And just like that Niki told Kat everything she’d put up with until she’d managed to escape with Rosita’s help.
“Let’s hope the police use the evidence we sent to arrest him and his minions asses,” Kat said and hugged Niki again.
“Who the fuck is your father?”
Chapter Six
Brent, his brothers, and Jalen moved closer to the open doorway when Niki and Kat started talking. When he heard Niki say her father had sold her for a car, and that she’d been r
aped by some motherfuckers fingers, rage like he’d never known coursed through his body. He clenched his hands into fists so tight he was sure his skin was about to split open. Every muscle in his body pumped up, and he ground his teeth together so hard they made a grating noise. He glanced at his brothers and then to Jalen and saw they were just as furious as he was. Brent wanted to go inside and ask questions, but he stood stock still as he listened to the rest of Niki’s story. He was worried that if he so much as took a step, he was going to explode and that was the last thing he wanted. He’d inadvertently already scared the bejesus out of Niki and didn’t want to do it again. Nevertheless, when he heard her sister talking about incriminating evidence, he couldn’t hold back any longer and rushed inside.
His brothers and Jalen followed him in. He was glad that the deputy sheriff, one of his cousins, was here and had heard what Niki had been through. With his and the sheriff’s help, maybe the lawmen would be able to send on information to where their fucking bastard of a father was and get him locked up behind bars.
He didn’t stop moving until he was on the kitchen side of the counter. The women were hugging and though he didn’t want to scare either of them, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut any longer. “Who the fuck is your father?”
Niki flinched but Kat glared at him.
Brent scrubbed a hand over his face, drew in several deep breaths to get ahold of his wrath, and looked at them again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, Niki.” He met Kat’s gaze again. “I want to know who your father is so I can beat the shit out of him.”
“I’d like to know his name, too,” Jalen said. The deputy sheriff had a scowl on his face, his arms crossed over his chest and his legs shoulder-width apart. He looked intimidating as hell. Brent turned to gaze at the women again to make sure they weren’t scared of him. Kat was scowling at him just as fiercely as Jalen was scowling at her. Niki’s face was pale with blotchy patches of red after crying too hard, but to him she was so fucking beautiful. She could have been wearing a sack and been covered in dirt and she’d still take his breath away.
“It’s none of your business,” Kat spat out, still glaring at Jalen.
Jalen didn’t move or speak but continued to scowl at Niki’s sister. The sparks flying between them were hot enough to heat the room. If the subject hadn’t been so serious, so horrifying, Brent would have smiled. He’d bet his last dollar that Jalen and his brothers were going to woo Kat without looking left or right. Kat was going to be claimed, and it was going to be an interesting show. However, he and his brothers were more interested in courting Niki. He just hoped that what had happened to her hadn’t made her so scared of men she wouldn’t give them the time of day.
If he had his way, he would move the sisters into the ranch house where they could watch over them and keep them safe.
Hes was so angry he couldn’t speak. He’d heard and seen some violent and dastardly things in his life, but hearing what Niki’s father and the other fucker had done to her, disturbed him. His first instinct was to grab his rifle, pry out where the fucker was living, find him, and shoot him dead, but he’d never jeopardize his own life by doing something so terrible. He wanted to be here for Niki. He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could to get to know her and hopefully woo her into their bed. But right now, he wasn’t sure that was ever going to happen. She’d been sexually abused, which would undoubtedly make her nervous around men. No wonder she always flinched and whimpered when he, Rig, or Brent came up behind her and scared the living daylights out of her. They hadn’t meant to frighten her, but she’d learned to be wary of the opposite sex.
“Kat?” Niki said in a soft voice, drawing her sister’s attention.
“Yeah?”
“I’m scared.”
Kat swallowed audibly and pulled Niki into her arms. The two sisters looked so small and fragile, and that only made his anger compound hotter, his muscles tautening even more.
Niki pulled back so she could meet her sister’s eyes. “I don’t want to live like this anymore.”
“Like what?” Kat’s voice cracked on the last word, but she sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, once more back in control of her emotions.
“I don’t want to live in fear, looking over my shoulder expecting to see Father, Vinnie, or one of their goons after us. I don’t want to be scared about them finding us, dragging us home, and beating us until we can’t move. I don’t want to be scared about being cornered and raped. I don’t want to be locked away behind a closed bedroom door for days on end, wondering what will happen to me next.”
Tears rolled down Kat’s and Niki’s faces. Hes glanced at Jalen and saw the other man was leaning against the kitchen counter, his hands braced on the granite and his head hanging down. He looked as if he was barely managing to stay on his feet. Hes felt the same way. His heart was aching for the Gilmore sisters and what they’d endured. No one should have to worry about the stuff Niki had said. A father was supposed to love and protect his daughters. Not beat them and sell them as if they were a commodity.
“I don’t either,” Kat sobbed. “I’m sorry I left you behind. If I could have come to you and gotten you out safely, I would have.”
“Kat, stop. You have nothing to feel guilty over. None of this is your fault.”
“I know you’re right, but you’re my sister. I should have been there to protect you.”
Niki got up onto her knees and cupped Kat’s face between her hands. “No, you shouldn’t. It’s our father’s job to protect us, but all he cares about is his life of crime and staying at the top of the ladder. He doesn’t care who he steps on or uses to keep his top rung position. You know that. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. If I’d had the opportunity you’d had, I would have taken it like you did.” Niki paused to inhale. “It’s time, Kat. Time to stand up and fight back. Father and his men all deserve to be behind bars for what they’ve done, what they’re doing. We aren’t going to be free until they are.”
Kat nodded when Niki lowered her arms. “You’re right.”
Niki stood and proffered her hand to Kat to help her up off the floor. “Let’s do this.”
Kat nodded again, tugged Niki into her arms, and hugged her tight. “Yes. It’s beyond time.”
Hes sighed with relief at the sisters’ accord, and some of his anger dissipated. He knew he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear, but he wasn’t about to give his wrath free rein and end up scaring Niki and Kat.
That was the last thing he ever wanted to do.
Rig’s heart was aching. He knew he, his brothers, and Jalen hadn’t heard the half of what Niki and Kat had endured, and while he was mad as hell, he hated seeing the two women so scared.
He and his brothers trusted Jalen and his siblings with their lives and had done so time and again while serving in the Marines. In fact, they’d all saved each other, but Rig wanted one of the sheriffs here, as well. Luke and Damon were good men and had more experience than Jalen, Dante, and Mica Donnybrook as lawmen. While he knew that Jalen and his brothers would do everything within their power to find the men who’d abused the Gilmore sisters, he would just feel better if one of the sheriffs were present.
Deciding to voice his opinion, he moved closer to Jalen and spoke softly. “I don’t like any of this.”
“Neither do I,” Jalen said. “Even though I’m quite capable of writing down what they’re going to tell me, I’d feel better if I had some backup. I need to call in and let my bosses know I’m going to be here for a while yet. Maybe they’ll send another deputy out or Luke and/or Damon will want to be here, too. I’m going to step outside and make a call.”
Rig nodded. “I’ll hold the women off from talking until you let me know what’s going on.”
Jalen clapped him on the back. “I appreciate that,” he said before stepping outside.
Rig moved toward the kitchen and started making a fresh pot of coffee as well as putting the kettle on. He didn’t ca
re that he wasn’t getting any work done and would probably need to work twice as hard tomorrow or later tonight to catch up.
Right now, Niki needed him and his brothers, and he wasn’t going anywhere.
Niki hated that she’d fallen apart and that the Lyndon men had been so worried about her that they called Kat away from the library, but the tight fist which had been around her heart for weeks was finally gone. She could finally breathe deeply for the first time in forever. She was embarrassed that she’d cried so hard and so much, but she felt so much better for it. She was exhausted after her emotional upheaval and could hardly keep her eyes open, but this moment had been hovering over her head for weeks. While she wasn’t ashamed that she’d walked around with so much guilt and turmoil, she was sort of glad she’d finally broken down.
She knew she had nothing to feel guilty about, but her father and his asshole right-hand man had belittled her and emotionally abused her until she felt as if she didn’t deserve to breathe. A few times after getting hit to the point she could barely walk, she’d contemplated ending it all. She’d figured that killing herself was the only reprieve she’d ever get from being hurt again and again, but she just couldn’t do it. Every time she thought of using a razor blade to slash her wrists while in the shower, Kat’s beautiful face had flashed into her mind. Plus, she hadn’t wanted to give in. Her father and Vinnie would have won if she’d given up.
While she worried about Rosita, it had been the older woman’s choice to stay behind and there was nothing she could do about it. Niki had begged and pleaded for Rosita to come with her, but she’d adamantly refused.