Colton's Fugitive Family

by Jennifer Morey

  They reached the front doors and Lucas held one open for her, his head tilting as his gaze found her cleavage. The bra she wore pushed it up with the padding underneath and to the sides of her breasts. When his eyes lifted, she narrowed hers in warning.

  He grinned and put his hand on her lower back as they walked inside. Passing through the administration area, they reached the large conference room where everyone had gathered. Policemen, policewomen and all of the K-9 officers sat on rows of chairs. Even Dr. Patience Colton was there, pretty, with dark hair and dark eyes, and dressed in her veterinarian’s coat. Before Demi had gone on the run, she’d brought in an abandoned dog that had been injured and Patience had fixed the poor creature up. Demi had found a good home for the pooch. She found the veterinarian nothing like what the rumors said. Daughter of Fenwick Colton and a member of the richest of the Colton clans in the area, she worked hard and treated people as equals.

  As Dr. Colton glanced over the crowd and saw her, Demi forced herself not to tense. Would Patience recognize her? She seemed to look from Demi to Lucas as though taking notice he had a new girlfriend. She looked away without any indication of recognition. She stood next to tall and muscular Nash Maddox, a K-9 cop with sandy blond hair and hazel eyes who frequently glanced over at the doctor with a telling intimate connection.

  Demi didn’t think she’d ever seen so many Coltons and Gages in one room together. The fate of the K-9 center united them. Could it be that this would finally end the hundred-year-old feud? The Colton ancestors had blamed the Gage ancestors for cheating in a poker game, which had cost the Coltons a lot of land. While those ancestors were long gone, fights over land and property and a general pervading animosity continued, passed down the generations.

  Dark-haired and serious, Detective Carson Gage stood next to his half sister, Elle. Tall and curvy, her medium-length hair was freshly combed and shiny and, like most in the room, she wore jeans. Carson saw Lucas and gave a nod of greeting. Demi had never noticed him to be overly chummy with his half siblings. His girlfriend, Serena Colton, wasn’t there. She and Demi had gotten close before she’d gone on the run. Serena lived out at the Double C Ranch. She surmised that Elle had grown closer to Carson since she was seeing Anders Colton, the foreman of the Double C Ranch.

  Lucas’s father, Edson Gage, wasn’t there but he had no reason to be. He had no ties to the K-9 center, just a lot of old money.

  She recognized a few other of the attendees, like Micah Shaw. His father had been a regular at The Pour House, her father’s bar. Micah had always been in love with Bea Colton, another daughter of Fenwick Colton, and Demi wondered if they’d finally be able to get married. He chose a seat near the front.

  She searched for Hamlin Harrington and found him sitting by himself in the front row. With a full head of brown hair, he was handsome at sixty. In a dark suit and tie, he didn’t look around at anyone except Layla, who stood next to Officer Hunter Black off to the side of the seating area and front of the room.

  Demi spotted Brayden standing beside her other half brother, Shane. Shane took no notice of her, but Brayden’s brooding gaze said he didn’t like that she was here with Lucas. He had to know it was her in disguise...or did he?

  He walked over. “Lucas,” he greeted. “Kind of strange, you bringing your new girlfriend here.”

  “Talk to her about that.”

  Brayden stood beside Demi, glancing around as though checking to make sure her cover passed muster. “I wouldn’t have recognized you if I didn’t know you were staying with Lucas.”

  “Good.” No one stood or sat close to them so she wasn’t concerned anyone would overhear. Lots of people talked among themselves, as well.

  “Are you doing all right?” Brayden asked.

  She knew what he meant—was she all right with Lucas.

  “Yes.” She glanced at Lucas and their gazes met briefly. They were too all right. Excessively, heatedly, too all right.

  “If he hurts you in any way, I want to know about it.”

  Lucas sent Brayden his answering disdain with just the slide of his eyes.

  “Be nice to each other.”

  “I’m serious, Demi. If you need another place to stay, you can stay with me. You’re my family and Gages haven’t shown much appreciation toward that.”

  “That’s changed over the last year,” she argued with a harsher whisper.

  “Maybe so, but your future is on the line.”

  “Lucas won’t let anyone take me off to jail.” She again met Lucas’s eyes, and as seemed to happen every time they looked at each other, a warm spark tickled her.

  “I won’t.” Lucas looked directly at Brayden, who met the defiance with distrust.

  Finn Colton entered the room and headed for the front podium. The chief of police had thick, dark-blond hair and blue eyes, and had captured the heart of Darby Gage, Bo’s ex-wife. Demi hadn’t experienced any awkward confrontations with her. After she’d discovered Bo’s true nature, she wished she’d had the opportunity to talk with Darby. While she’d been in hiding, Demi had learned that Darby had taken over Bo’s German shepherd breeding business.

  The microphone whined as Finn reached the podium and said, “Welcome everyone.” He moved back a bit from the microphone. “As you are all aware, the K-9 center is in need of new funding by the end of the year. Fenwick Colton is here today to give you an update.” With a grim face that promised whatever Fenwick would say wouldn’t be good news, Finn turned to his right. “Uncle Fenwick?”

  Finn was the son of Judson Colton, the ranching side of the family. While they had money, they did not have as much as the Colton Energy clan.

  Dressed in an expensive medium-gray suit and purple tie, Fenwick walked regally up to the podium. Thin and not very tall, he had to adjust the microphone.

  “Thank you for coming,” he began. “As many of you know, I have been working to secure alternate funding for the Red Ridge K-9 Unit.” He looked over the crowd like the dauntless corporate shark he was. “I feel obligated to let you know where that stands as of today. Hamlin Harrington had agreed to donate enough funds to save the unit. However, as you also know, given the circumstances surrounding his son, Devlin, that deal has fallen through.”

  A rush of anxious murmurs crossed the crowd.

  “What happened with Layla’s wedding to Hamlin?” someone called out the question.

  “I cannot ask my daughter to marry a man she not only doesn’t love, but would do so on monetary conditions. I’m sorry. I don’t want the K-9 unit to be shut down, but at this point I don’t see any other way.”

  Another rash of murmurs and whispers spread.

  “Does Hamlin know his son is the Groom Killer?” someone else asked.

  “There’s no evidence to prove that,” Finn said from his stance a few feet to the left of the podium.

  “There is against Demi Colton,” another officer countered.

  Demi tensed as a wave of murmurs swept the crowd.

  “When I spoke with Hamlin, he indicated he did not know about his son’s murderous ways,” Fenwick said. “And it is with a heavy heart that I bring you this news.” Fenwick ran a finger beneath his eye and Demi wondered if he was tearing up.

  Fenwick? Crying?

  “This K-9 center was very important to my late wife. I’m afraid I will disappoint her. My company is in financial trouble. We’ve tried everything and it’s fallen through. I am helpless to save this K-9 center. He wiped his other eye. “I am very sorry.”

  Apparently he was genuinely sorry.

  The murmurs grew louder. Demi could hear the emotion in the exchanges even without hearing what was said.

  “Are we seriously all going to be without jobs after the end of the year?” Brayden asked.

  Lucas didn’t respond but Demi could see the news had him concerned.

  Demi caught sight of
Layla Colton. She had left the seated crowd and stood before her father, talking in what seemed a soothing way. Fenwick wiped his eyes again and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

  Why had she backed out of the marriage? Layla struck her as someone who would do anything to save Colton Energy. If she didn’t marry Hamlin, where would she and her father get the money they needed?

  “Can I have your attention, please?” Finn Colton had returned to the podium.

  The murmuring and increasingly loud talking died down.

  “I know this comes as bad news, but I want you to know we’re doing everything we can to save this unit. In the meantime, I have an update on the Larson case that not all of you are aware of.”

  Demi perked up at that. Twin brothers Noel and Evan Larson had the worst reputations anyone in Red Ridge could have. The pair of thugs engaged in many criminal activities ranging from smuggling automatic weapons and drugs to money laundering and murder, but Noel was the more aggressive of the two.

  “As many of you know, we had a lot of circumstantial evidence against them, but nothing that would prove their criminal activities, especially murders. After finding a stockpile of illegal weapons at their grandmother’s house, however, and the threat to Officer Hunter Black’s life, we’ve arrested them. We’ve also arrested Mae Larson for her involvement. We’ve had one witness come forward just yesterday. Prior to this, any who crossed the Larsons or did business with them were too afraid to talk. This witness claims to have seen Noel Larson shoot a man over a drug deal. We are in the process of gathering more evidence and information on the man who was murdered.”

  A round of cheers erupted. The Larsons had gotten away with crimes for too long.

  “In addition to that, we’ve informed Mae Larson of her charges and she’s agreed to testify against Noel and Evan to reduce her sentence.”

  Another, louder set of cheers filled the room.

  Mae had taken Hunter Black in as a teenager after his parents died. It must have come as quite a shock to discover she worked with the twins. Looking at Hunter now, Demi didn’t notice any reaction, but he might be good at concealing his emotions in public.

  Demi saw Elle looking at her. Was she suspicious or just curious about the new girl Lucas had brought? Elle headed over.

  Uh-oh.

  Lucas glanced at Demi as though sensing the same.

  Elle came to a stop before them. “Hi, I’m Elle, Lucas’s sister.”

  “Hi, I’m Chelsey.” Demi changed the sound of her voice so it was lower.

  Elle studied her again and then looked at her brother. “You sure get a lot of girlfriends.”

  If Demi was his girlfriend, she would have been worried. Lucas went through girlfriends like socks.

  “I keep hoping he’ll meet someone who works for him.”

  “Is that even possible?” Demi asked.

  Elle fell into another close study of her. “You seem familiar. Have we met?”

  Demi should not do much talking. Even disguised, her voice, or something she said, might give her away.

  “No. I’m not from here. I get that a lot, where people tell me I look like someone they know.”

  “Huh.” Elle looked from her to Lucas.

  Demi felt certain Elle had figured it out. If she had, who else would? Demi searched the crowd. Most were busy talking. The topic of the meeting had distracted them.

  But then Elle returned her gaze to Demi and took in her large breasts before meeting her eyes.

  “Any more luck finding Demi?” she asked Lucas.

  “Not yet.”

  “Demi?” Demi asked. “Who is that?”

  “She was wanted for murder, but Devlin is the Groom Killer, not Demi.” Elle looked over at Lucas. “One would think she would know that by now.”

  Lucas said nothing and Brayden sort of grinned.

  Elle knew.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t say anything,” Elle said.

  Demi checked the crowd again. “What if someone else recognizes me?”

  “I didn’t recognize you. I saw you with Lucas and took a guess.”

  Other people could make the same guess.

  “I don’t think she has anything to worry about anyway,” Brayden said.

  “Yes, she does.”

  Demi followed Lucas’s gaze to a cop she didn’t recognize. He stared at her and Lucas with a set brow. When he started toward them, Lucas put his hand on her back.

  “Let’s go.”

  She couldn’t have agreed more.

  Chapter 9

  Lucas closed the door to his cabin after Valeria and Vincent left. They said they had spent the evening watching G-Force and Wolf had loved it. Lucas found that humorous because Wolf was too young to comprehend a movie. He pictured the little guy fascinated by the colorful screen and moving guinea pigs dressed in special ops gear.

  Now he faced Demi holding Wolf in that sexy costume of hers. While he missed her red hair and green eyes, the dark wig and brown eyes had a dramatic effect on the shape of her face. And those breasts...

  She looked up. “He’s aslee—” She stopped abruptly when she saw him.

  He cleared his throat and scratched his head.

  “Um...” Demi turned. “I’m going to put him down.”

  Lucas followed, magnetized by the sight of her and more. The more part he wouldn’t and couldn’t address.

  At the door, he leaned against the frame and watched her gently put Wolf into his crib. She covered him and then stood there looking down.

  Pushing off the doorframe, he joined her and saw Wolf’s sweet, innocent face in peaceful sleep. His tiny hand rested atop the soft white blanket. He had Demi’s red hair and green eyes. Lucas couldn’t see much of his brother in the boy, but he’d probably grow into that. He wondered if he’d remind Lucas of Bo as a kid. That would bring back a lot of good memories.

  When he turned to Demi, her eyes rose from checking him out. He supposed they’d both done their fair share of that tonight. The more time he spent with her, the more difficult it became to remain aloof. How far would this attraction go? It seemed to have generated its own power source. What had begun at her cabin had simmered and gradually intensified.

  Ever since he’d seen her come out of the bathroom in her sexy getup, he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her. Now that they were finally alone, he couldn’t control his desire. The urge to touch her was too great.

  Facing her, he did what came naturally. He slid his hand to the small of her back and pulled her against him. Her hands curved over on his biceps and her eyes drooped with responding warmth, which only encouraged his baser instincts. He felt them rev into a low roar and did nothing to restrain the inner beast.

  He pressed his lips to hers the way he’d been wanting to ever since he’d kissed her that first time. She moved her mouth with his and the kiss quickly escalated to a deeper taste. Her hands glided over his shoulders and crossed behind him. He held her firmer to him, and continued to satisfy the need to devour her.

  When she moved her hips against him, he unzipped the back of her dress and let it fall. The vision of her, now clad only in her stuffed bra, panties and high heels, only heated him up more. He took in her pushed-up cleavage. Unbearable.

  Lifting her, he carried her across the hall to his bedroom. Setting her on the bed, he stepped back and removed his shirt, shoes and jeans, making quick work of it.

  He went to her and she moved back on the bed as he climbed over her. Kissing her more slowly now, he didn’t bring his body down yet. The anticipation killed him.

  Moments later he could not contain his passion and kissed her the way he had in the other room. He heard her shoes fall to the floor and then she ran her bare foot up his calf, her legs widening as she did.

  He left her mouth to groan in pleasure and met her feverish eyes. Rising
up a little, he unclasped her bra. The material parted and the stuffing fell away. He paid no attention to it and put his mouth around the tip of her right breast.

  She arched her head back and moaned, moving her hips against him.

  That’s when he realized he could have her right then, and it would be so hot he would go out of his mind. Lose control. He had experienced nothing like this with any other woman.

  A shot of fear arrowed through him.

  He lifted his head and stared down at her. She regained some coherence and opened her eyes.

  “What are we doing?” he asked.

  “It’s okay.” She lifted her head to press another kiss to his lips.

  He felt the extreme fire swirl again and lifted higher. “I’m serious, Demi. What is this?”

  “It’s sex.”

  She could have sex with him even when she didn’t trust him. He’d have been all right with that if he hadn’t had this inner struggle going on right now.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” He got off the bed and stood.

  Demi propped herself up on her elbows and caught sight of the stuffing on the mattress. Hurriedly re-clasping her bra, she scooted off the bed.

  “I get it. I’m not one of your supermodels so I’m not safe enough to have sex with?”

  What was she saying? Did she honestly think he wasn’t attracted to her? “What do you mean, one of my supermodels?”

  “You prefer beautiful bimbos to smaller-chested average women like me who can actually form thoughts.” She rolled her eyes in what appeared to be self-reproach.

  Knowing her, she hadn’t liked making the comparison. She never said anything bad about anyone. Demi might have a temper but she treated people with respect. Lucas was a little taken aback that she might be jealous of any woman who could snare him, even temporarily.

  “Demi—”

  “Stop. I’m going to sleep now.” She left the room.

  He doubted either one of them would be able to sleep for some time.