Another day.
“I’d never hurt you. Joe and I would never do anything to hurt you, Maggie.”
“Hey, why so serious? Where did my pirate go?”
“You’re engaged.”
The teasing slipped from her face. “Let’s not talk about that now.” Maggie turned her head, attempting to touch him with her mouth.
Sly hesitated, part of him wanting to push Maggie to discover the truth. Didn’t she want them any longer? He didn’t like the idea of sneaking around. When it came to romance, he wasn’t the kind of man to steal from another. This aspect bothered him and it’d worry Joe too, not that they’d discussed the matter yet.
“Come on. Make good on your promise.”
“What promise?”
“Seduce me, Mr. Pirate.” She lowered her eyelids but peeked up at him in a seductive manner. “Plunder your stolen wench.”
Sly considered resisting then shrugged inwardly. They’d talk later. Not a problem. He leaned closer and kissed her, a slow nibble of lips. She ceased her restive fidgeting and strained up toward him, encouraging him to deepen the contact. When their mouths finally parted, they were both breathing hard.
“We have some chocolate syrup in the fridge. I’m thinking chocolate will complement your silky skin.” Sly pressed a kiss to the curve of one breast, pausing to lick around her nipple before backing away.
“Sly!”
“Soon, sweetheart. You like chocolate.”
“But I won’t be the one consuming it.” She pouted and her breasts moved up and down with her rapid breathing, making him linger. He found himself leaning back to steal a taste of one pouting nipple.
Finally, with a chuckle, he pulled away and wagged a chiding finger in her direction. “Don’t try to distract me. I’m going to get the chocolate syrup.”
“Party pooper.”
“You’ll thank me later.” With a last lingering glance, Sly left the bedroom.
Halfway to the kitchen, someone pounded on the door. Before he had time to dart back down the passage to his room to grab a pair of jeans, his visitor wrenched open the door. Two cops shouldered their way inside before Sly had a chance to protest.
“What’s going on?” he demanded. “You don’t have any right to burst in here without permission.”
“Put your hands on the wall where we can eyeball them,” one of the men ordered.
“Show me your ID.”
Both men flashed official-looking IDs in front of him. He caught a glimpse of their marked car through the open door. Definitely cops. Another car pulled up behind their vehicle, but Sly’s sight couldn’t pierce the darkened windows. He decided to obey and placed his arms on the wall. If he cooperated, he’d learn the truth much faster.
One cop remained with him while the other disappeared, obviously checking each room. He appeared again and strode past them. Sly stiffened when he approached the bedroom where he’d left Maggie tied up.
The man came to an abrupt halt and glanced back to glare at Sly in disgust. “She’s here. Bastard tied her up.” He entered the bedroom and disappeared from view.
“Does Laura know you’re here?” These guys weren’t part of Middlemarch’s police force.
“Shut up,” the guy behind him ordered.
The second cop appeared in the doorway again, a hint of loathing on his face. “Bastard kidnapped her. Raped her too.”
“I did not! Ask her. Ask, Maggie. She’ll tell you the truth.” Horrified, Sly stared at the two cops. What the fuck was going on?
Maggie appeared, fully dressed in her wrinkled clothes. Her hair lay in disheveled locks on her shoulders, her lips swollen from their kisses. A faint bruise marked her neck.
“Maggie? Tell them the truth.”
“Shut the fuck up,” one of the cops snarled.
“Mr. Charles is waiting outside for you in the car. We’ll come by to take your statement later this afternoon.”
To Sly’s horror, Maggie hurried past them without meeting his gaze.
“Maggie?” When she vanished, Sly realized she wasn’t going to help him. She was too busy saving her own skin. “Maggie!”
“Bastard,” the second cop snapped. “I despise men like you.”
“Where are your clothes?” the other cop asked.
“In the bedroom.” Sly contemplated using his brute strength to get free and nixed the idea. Saber wouldn’t want him to draw attention, and this situation contained the makings of a cluster fuck without bringing feline business into prominence. Hell, what a bloody mess. He let the two cops guide him roughly toward the bedroom. The room reeked of Maggie and sex.
Sex without duress, not that anything he said would convince these numbskulls of his innocence. Everything he and Joe did with Maggie had been wholly consensual. In silence, he pulled on his clothes. Once dressed, they cuffed him and read him his rights.
Hell, he hoped Joe didn’t arrive back to complicate things. Somehow, he needed to get word to his brother without landing him in the middle of this fiasco too. One of them was bad enough. Saber would have kittens. Despite their stunts in the past, no one had ever accused them of kidnapping or rape.
“Let’s get him back to the station.”
Together the two cops manhandled him out to their car and shoved him in the back. The other car left, the dust kicked up from the gravel road signaling its progress. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Joe. Sly focused on him, and sure enough, his brother turned and stared straight at him. His eyes widened and he took half a step forward. Sly gave a swift shake of his head and Joe froze.
“Get Saber,” Sly mouthed.
Joe inclined his head and backed up, watching the police car as it pulled away. Sly clenched his fists and stared at his brother, taking strength in the knowledge his family would help him. He watched Joe until his twin was no longer visible.
* * * * *
“What the fuck?” Joe stared after his brother, seated in the rear of a cop car. What had happened while he was away? Where was Maggie?
Joe left the storage shed at a run, heading for the house. “Maggie? Are you here?” Lack of response and a quick search told him the place was empty.
Picking up the phone, he dialed Laura and Jonno first—their private residence since it was the weekend.
Jonno picked up. “This better be good—”
“Jonno, can I speak to Laura?”
“Sly?”
“No, Joe. Please, it’s urgent. Is Laura there?”
Rustling sounds echoed down the line while the phone changed hands.
“Joe? What’s the problem?”
“A cop car drove off with Sly in the back. Was it you?”
“No. Who were they? Where were they from?” She paused a beat. “Are you winding me up?” Suspicion laced her tone. “You interrupted us to play—”
“No, Laura. I swear to you, hand on my heart. Some cops arrested Sly, or at least they’ve taken him away. I have no idea why.” Joe made a mental note to stop playing jokes on his family and friends. This was serious and they didn’t believe him. “They carted him away.”
“Plain car?”
“No, it was a marked cop car.”
“Tell me everything.” Laura sounded less suspicious.
Worry gripped Joe, making it difficult to draw breath. This was something to do with Maggie. Gut feeling had told him to stay away from her, but he’d followed Sly’s lead anyway. He should’ve listened to his instincts since they were seldom wrong. He ran through the events of the previous evening and this morning, not leaving anything out.
“Are you sure she wanted to spend time with you? Did you kidnap her?”
“No! Of course not. Ask Jonno. We’d never hurt a woman. We might get a bit kinky, but we’re not into abuse. Hell, check with Jake too. They’ll both tell you the same thing.” He fell silent, anxiety stirring his feline.
Unable to remain still, he started to pace the confines of their kitchen. A couple of the tiles were cracke
d and needed replacing. The bright green wall made him wince every time he entered the room. He and Sly intended to decorate during the evenings or when adverse weather made it impossible to get out on the farm.
“I’ll ring Charlie to try to discover what’s going on.”
“Thanks, Laura. I’m going to visit Saber and Emily. Ring me there.” He disconnected the call, mentally running through the chores. He’d shifted the steers, fed and watered the dogs and the dozen chickens they’d purchased the previous week. Everything else could wait until he returned home.
* * * * *
A month later
The public gallery in the Dunedin courtroom was crowded, Sly’s prosecution attracting lots of public attention. Joe sat on a hard, wooden seat, numb as he watched and listened to the lawyer do a hatchet job on his brother. Beside him, Saber stiffened, his face remaining impassive even while listening to the damning evidence during the lawyer’s summation.
Despite the crowded court system, someone had managed to rush this case.
“All rise.”
They stood while the judge and jury filed out of the court.
A knot of emotion blocked Joe’s throat, his eyes stinging as he fought to keep himself together. His feline urged him to attack, to fight this travesty of lies with violence. Blindly, he turned, desperate to get outside in the fresh air.
“Steady.” Saber squeezed his shoulder in a bruising reminder for Joe to hold his shit together.
“I have to stand outside.”
“We’ll all go.” Saber led the family exodus from the courtroom.
They ignored the reporters and made for the far end of the courtyard outside the court. Felix and Leo stood on guard, chatting together while watching closely for eavesdroppers.
The rest of his family and friends surrounded him, offering unspoken sympathy with their presence.
A shiver racked Joe, fear battering his mind. He’d tried to visit Sly, but his brother refused to see him. The lack of close contact made him feel as if he were missing a limb. Sly was his best friend. They did everything together.
Fury simmered inside him. Anger at Maggie for her deceit and lies. Anger at Sly for refusing to say anything and fight the charges. Anger at the helplessness filling him because he couldn’t fix this mess.
“Joe, quit growling,” Saber snapped, cuffing him sharply across the jaw. “Hold yourself together.”
Emily shot her husband a chiding look and grasped Joe’s hand, pulling him closer. She winced when one of his claws scratched her. “You need to keep control. Push back your feline now.”
Joe swallowed and struggled to control himself. She was right. The last thing Sly needed was for him to turn feral in the middle of the courtroom. “They’ve twisted everything.” His voice broke and a shudder swept him. God, he didn’t think he could go back into the courtroom for the sentencing, yet he needed to stay strong for Sly.
“They’re gonna lock him up and throw away the key,” Tomasine, one of his sisters-in-law muttered in disgust.
“Can’t we do something?” Emily cast imploring eyes at Saber. “Maybe if I tried to talk to Maggie again, make her understand how she’s destroying Sly’s life.”
“Talking to Maggie didn’t do much good the first time,” Saber said in a hard voice. “I’ve still got people in place. Medical staff for when they process him into the system.”
“He’s innocent,” Joe snarled. “This shouldn’t be happening.”
“The evidence suggests otherwise.” Saber’s ferocious stare scared the crap out of Joe and went a long way to help push his feline back and regain full control.
“If Sly’s guilty, so am I,” Joe said. “Maybe I should turn myself in to the cops.”
Saber grabbed him as he turned away. “Don’t even think it. At least Sly kept you out of this trouble.”
Emily scowled. “I can’t believe I once called Maggie a friend. There’s something wrong with the entire family.”
Joe wasn’t as sure about not turning himself in to the cops. Already separation from Sly was doing his head. He couldn’t concentrate with the aching gap in his mind, in his life. Like him, Sly enjoyed the outdoors, which was why they’d purchased a farm. They were a team. Twins against the world.
At the far end of the courtyard, the reporters stirred. Maggie’s fiancé appeared on the court steps and spoke to the animated reporters and camera crews. He was much older than Maggie and in his late forties, according to Emily.
A marriage of convenience.
Joe’s mouth twisted as Maggie joined her fiancé on the steps. She’d always enjoyed the finer things in life, and obviously she cared more about money than about truth and justice. Decency.
People started to file back into the court.
“Showtime,” Joe said in a harsh voice.
With his family and friends flanking him, they entered the court, taking seats to listen to the verdict. It wasn’t long coming.
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
The judge read out the sentence and Joe’s stomach bucked violently.
Ten years.
Beside him, Saber shot to his feet. Joe didn’t understand why until he realized he was standing too. Joe stared at his twin and, for the first time, Sly lifted his bowed head, to meet his gaze.
A wealth of emotions passed between them. Fear. Anger. Acceptance.
Love.
Then Sly broke the connection, turning to exit with the guards.
Joe watched his brother until he vanished. Like an automaton, he allowed Saber to guide him from the court. His eyesight blurred, fear for his brother threatening to overwhelm him. Worst of all was the sense of disbelief. The betrayal by a woman. Outside, they paused for the rest of their family.
Nathaniel Charles escorted Maggie to a waiting taxi. As he helped her into the rear of the vehicle, Maggie glanced up and noticed him. Her mouth parted a fraction and the color fled her cheeks. She wrenched her gaze from Joe to smile brightly at her fiancé.
Sending a good man to prison because of her lies didn’t trouble her. All she cared about was her good name. So shallow. She’d always borne the character trait, but neither he nor Sly had worried much, stupidly thinking their love would help her grow.
Obviously not. The woman was beyond help.
Her husky chuckle reached Joe, his feline hearing catching her open amusement without difficulty. No, she didn’t care about ruining his brother’s life or sentencing Joe to a world of loneliness and despair.
Her concern was only for herself.
In that moment he vowed to make Maggie Scarlet pay. Karma might be a bitch but she had nothing on a pissed feline.
Chapter Two
Six months later
Kiera Pascoe swept into the Storm in a Teacup café, waved at Emily and Tomasine behind the counter and stomped over to Ambar Patel who was sitting at a table near a window.
“I need a man,” she said as she yanked out a chair and plonked her overall-clad butt onto the wooden seat. Her eyes narrowed on her friend. “You have two. Give me one of yours.”
“No.” A grin surfaced in Ambar despite her instant rejection of the suggestion.
Kiera sniffed loudly. “Well, that’s plain selfish. Did you order yet? I only have half an hour. I promised Joe Mitchell I’d fix his tractor in time for him to mow his hay tomorrow morning.”
“I ordered for both of us. My men love me.” Ambar returned to the topic of men and the fact Kiera needed one. “We’re happy together.”
“Yeah. Yeah. It’s positively sickening.” Where was she going to find a man? Heck, maybe the better question was why had she settled in Middlemarch, a country town?
“Last I heard, you were too busy building your business to bother about a man. Just you and your trusty vibe, you said.”
“Yeah, well. That was before my three older brothers rang to tell me they’re coming out to New Zealand to attend polo school.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“They’re br
inging a friend with them.”
“Your brothers are matchmaking?” Ambar’s brows rose, highlighting her amusement. “I suppose they have hoity-toity English accents like you and Hari?”
Kiera snorted because Ambar expected the response. A halfhearted reaction while her mind drifted to her brothers’ coming visit. They hadn’t admitted it, but her brothers—or Matthew, at least—intended to put pressure on her with emotional blackmail. A society marriage. Children. They were hoping she’d give up her weird fascination of tinkering with engines. So unfeminine. An agitated growl built deep in her throat, vibrating and wringing a chiding scowl from Ambar.
“Sorry.” Returning to England and a pointless society life was the last thing she wanted. She liked running the garage and working with motors and machinery. So what if her work played hell with her manicure? Running the garage gave her more satisfaction than attending exclusive London gatherings, and her career gave her a sense of closeness to her grandfather. The gruff old man, who’d discovered her crying one day when she was seven years old, had given her a very special gift—one of freedom. He’d taken her with him to a vintage car rally.
Ambar made small-talk with Tomasine Mitchell when she delivered their coffees and sandwiches. When Tomasine left, she frowned at Kiera. “What are you going to do?”
“I have three days to find a man. My brothers fly into Dunedin on Wednesday. They want to spend a few days with me before traveling up to Christchurch for the polo school.”
“Isn’t polo where they play croquet on horseback?”
Kiera chuckled, imagining her brothers’ reaction to Ambar’s description of their favorite sport. “Sort of.”
“I didn’t know they had polo schools.”
“They’re spending the entire summer improving their game,” Kiera said glumly. “I told them I work in an office.”
Ambar made a tsking noise. “You’re screwed.”
“Yeah,” Kiera said in a morose voice. “You’d better enjoy my company while you can. Once my three older brothers gang up on me, I won’t stand a chance.”
“Your brothers sound like tyrants.” Ambar paused to sip her latte.
My Twin Trouble Page 2