Dangerous Witness (O'Connor Brothers Book 7)

by Rhonda Brewer

  “Keith goes around his house naked?” Bethany didn’t move inside the house.

  “I’m sure he does when his wife wants him to.” Aaron chuckled and motioned for her to come in.

  “Keith’s married?” Bethany stepped inside but didn’t go any further into the house.

  “Yes, everyone except Nick and me is married, but he’s getting married in July.” Aaron walked further into the house and shouted out again.

  “A.J., if you wake Patrick I will rip off your balls and give them to the cat.” A pretty auburn-haired woman came into view and poked Aaron in the chest.

  “You know how to scare a man.” Aaron bent down and kissed the woman’s cheek.

  “Yes, yes I do.” The woman smiled, and Bethany instantly liked her.

  “Bethany, this is Keith’s beautiful wife, Emily.” Aaron wrapped his arm around his sister-in-law. “Em, this is Bethany Donnelly, she’s the woman we need the security for.”

  “I’m so sorry you had to deal with something like that. Come on in. I’m sure you must still be in a state of shock. Let me get you something to drink. What would you like, tea? Coffee? Or something stronger?” Emily linked her arm into Bethany’s and guided her into a large kitchen.

  “Coffee would be great.” Bethany sat on one of the stools next to the island.

  “Where’s Keith?” Aaron stood behind her, and she had trouble containing the shiver as his breath blew across her neck.

  “He’s in his office.” Emily didn’t turn around as she poured two cups of coffee.

  “Hey, I don’t get a cup?” Aaron tossed his hands in the air.

  “You can get your own.” Emily sat next to Bethany and slid a cup in front of her.

  “And here I thought you loved me,” Aaron grumbled as he grabbed a cup himself.

  “I do.” Emily winked as Aaron disappeared down the hallway.

  “You’re safe here. Nobody can get on this property and A.J. will make sure your home is secure.” Emily covered Bethany’s hand.

  “Thank you, but I honestly don’t think all this is necessary. I mean, the man who shot my co-worker didn’t even know I was there.” Bethany sighed.

  “Honey, I know exactly what you’re going through. Keith and I didn’t exactly have the typical start to a relationship.” Emily gazed out the window, lost in a memory that made her smile like a woman in love.

  “It obviously worked out, but what does that have to do with me?” Bethany shifted on the stool.

  “Keith was hired by my dad to protect me because of a threat against my life. I didn’t know about it until the last minute, and I was not happy about it. I didn’t exactly make it easy for Keith in the beginning.” Emily rested her cheek on her fist and laughed.

  “That’s the understatement of the decade. This beautiful woman nearly got me killed.” Bethany turned to the deep grumbly voice from behind them.

  “I am a dangerous beauty, or so he says, but he loved every minute of it.” Emily’s face lit up like a light bulb when she turned to face her husband.

  “Not every minute. Getting shot wasn’t fun.” Keith stepped next to Emily and kissed the top of her head. “It’s nice to see you again, Bethany.”

  “You too, Keith. It’s been a long time.” Bethany smiled, but she couldn’t keep her gaze from looking over Keith’s shoulder to where Aaron stood lazily against the door jamb.

  “How is it you haven’t aged, and the rest of us look ten years older?” Keith winked.

  “Speak for yourself, asshole.” Aaron made his way to the sink and placed his cup in the sink.

  “Oh, I don’t know. You’ve matured in the last four years I’ve known you. You don’t hit on every woman you meet anymore.” Emily laughed.

  “No, just every second one.” Keith chuckled.

  “You know, you two used to be my favorite. I’m leaning more toward Ian and Sandy now.” Aaron rested his ass against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Did I hear my name?” Bethany turned at the female voice coming into the room.

  “Yeah, A.J. doesn’t like us anymore.” Emily laughed.

  “What’s wrong, manwhore?” the woman teased.

  “Manwhore? Really, Sandy?” Aaron shook his head, obviously frustrated with the teasing.

  “I call it as I see it.” The woman rested her arms on the island and smiled at Bethany. “I’m Sandy O’Connor, and you must be Bethany.”

  The pretty woman with short dark curls held out her hand, and Bethany shook it. She was trying to remember if she’d ever met the woman.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Bethany shook Sandy’s hand.

  “Sandy’s married to Ian and they have four kids.” Aaron wrapped his arm around Sandy’s shoulder.

  “Wow, you don’t look like you’ve had one child.” Bethany waved her hand up and down at the woman’s tiny figure.

  “Ian and I work out. A lot.” Sandy wiggled her eyebrows, making Aaron and Keith gag.

  “Yeah, Bethany doesn’t need to know about any of that, Sandy.” Keith shook his head. “Sandy’s going to look into Randy.”

  “Our company does a full investigation on employees. All the information came back clear,” Bethany explained.

  “I look for the things that aren’t so obvious.” Sandy winked.

  “Sandy’s the Penelope Garcia of Newfoundland Security Services.” Emily grinned at her referral to one of the characters on the television show Criminal Minds.

  “Do you have a Derrick Morgan as well?” Bethany chuckled.

  “No Derrick but we have tons of hot, sexy, muscled men.” Emily sighed.

  “Princess, you do remember you’re married to me, right?” Keith growled.

  “Don’t worry big boy; you’re the only one that rocks my world.” Emily stood up and pressed her lips against Keith’s cheek.

  “You’re damn right.” Keith grinned.

  “When we’ve finished discussing my brother’s sexual prowess, could we discuss his newest client?” Aaron rolled his eyes.

  “Awww, are you feeling a little lacking in that department? Maybe you should stop running around with all those airheads and find a woman with brains.” Sandy nudged Aaron with her shoulder, and the way his eyes went immediately to her caused her stomach to flutter.

  “Yeah, that’s what I need, a woman who makes me feel like a piece of shit,” Aaron snapped at Sandy and stomped out of the house.

  The surprised expressions on Sandy, Emily, and Keith told her they were shocked by his behavior. She was as well. His brothers and cousins teased him all the time when they were teenagers, and she hadn’t seen him get upset once.

  “Wow, who pissed in his cornflakes?” Keith stood up and glanced at Bethany. “I’m going to go talk to him.”

  Sandy and Emily glanced at each other, and when Bethany heard the sound of the front door, they turned to her.

  “What happened between you and A.J.?” both women said at the same time.

  “Nothing, he was one of the police to show up when I called for help.” Bethany shrugged her shoulders and prayed they would leave it at that.

  “No, why did you two break up? From what Ian told me before I came here, you and Aaron dated in high school.” Sandy smiled.

  “Yeah, and as far as we know, he hasn’t had a serious girlfriend since then,” Emily continued.

  “Kristy said A.J. changed after you left.” Sandy tilted her head. “Why did you break up, anyway?”

  Did she want to discuss ancient history? No, but it was hard to believe Aaron hadn’t had a serious girlfriend since high school. She remembered the rumors about the O’Connor brothers floating around Hopedale back then. Her sister even warned her about dating one of the O’Connor boys, but in the eight months she and Aaron were together, Bethany never saw anything but a devoted and loving boyfriend.

  “I moved away,” she said, but the truth was she left because she didn’t want to see the smirk on Raquel’s face when Aaron came clean.

  “B
ethany, are you okay?” Emily covered Bethany’s hand with her own.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Bethany lied.

  The truth was, feelings she’d thought were long gone were resurfacing again. Humiliation, anger, and devastation. Bethany felt them all when she realized the truth. Now that she thought about it, she was no different than Aaron because she hadn’t been in a long-term relationship since him. No man ever lasted more than a month in her life. She’d never found anyone that made her feel the way Aaron did. Even if it was all a ruse to win a bet, it hadn’t been for her because she loved him with her whole heart.

  Now those feelings were resurfacing, and it terrified her. Had she ever stopped loving him? The only question bouncing around in her brain was, why hadn’t Aaron ever had a serious relationship in the last thirteen years?

  Chapter 6

  Aaron slammed the door behind him and stomped to the end of the front deck. Sandy and Emily teased him all the time, and he’d laugh it off. Why did all of a sudden their little jokes piss him off? He knew the answer, but he didn’t want to admit it.

  “Fuck.” Aaron punched the side of the house in frustration.

  “If you want to punch something, there’s a heavy bag in the gym.” Aaron didn’t look up at the sound of Keith’s voice.

  Aaron turned and braced his back against the side of the house. He stared at the line of trees that surrounded the sides and back of Keith’s house. It didn’t calm him as he’d hoped. The only place he could go that would help him relax was the beach. It was always the place he went when he needed to calm himself or forget everything.

  “Are you going to be able to deal with this?” Keith leaned against the house next to Aaron.

  “Don’t be stupid,” Aaron replied.

  “A.J., all of us know.” Keith turned so that he was facing Aaron and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Aaron turned his head and looked into his brother’s blue eyes.

  “You never got over her,” Keith spoke the truth, but he’d be damned if he’d let his brother know it.

  “You’re out of your mind.” Aaron scoffed.

  “Maybe, but I remember how you were after she dumped you. I also remember how you changed and turned into the love em’and leave em’ guy.” Keith raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh, because you were such a virgin up until you met Emily.” Aaron rolled his eyes.

  “I admit I slept around before Emily but not for the same reason you started doing it. You were doing it to kill the pain of losing her.” Aaron hated that his brother was so observant.

  “That was thirteen years ago. Jesus, I’ve moved on.” Aaron turned away from Keith and hoped his brother would drop it.

  “No, you haven’t,” Keith continued

  “Look, Dr. Phil, drop it. I can do my job without losing focus. Bethany is just a witness to a murder, and I’ll make sure she’s safe until we find the killer. End of story.” Aaron pushed off the house and started to head back into the house.

  “So, you’re okay with me putting Crash and Crunch on this?” Keith asked.

  Brent ‘Crash’ Adams and Hunter ‘Crunch’ Crawford were two of the men that worked for Keith and his business partner Dean ‘Bull’ Nash. They ran NSS together and were one of the best security firms in the country. Aaron thought of the men as brothers but something about having them look after Bethany had his teeth clenching.

  “That’s what I thought.” Keith stepped in front of Aaron.

  “What? Crunch and Crash are good at their jobs.” Aaron tried to step around his brother.

  “But your jaw clenched, and your shoulders tensed at the thought of anyone else protecting Bethany.” Keith was getting on his last nerve.

  “I’m a cop, not a bodyguard. My only job is to make sure she makes it to court once we find the fucker that killed her co-worker. Nothing more.” Aaron hadn’t meant to shout, but the sound of the slight gasp behind Keith had his gaze darting to the left.

  Bethany, Sandy, and Emily stood next to the open door, and the look on Bethany’s face made him want to ask Keith to punch him. She turned and headed down the steps toward his car without a word.

  “You’re such a fucking idiot. You need to stop catching your dick in your zipper. Crash texted and said the house is secure.” Sandy glared at him.

  “I’ll get her home.” Aaron hurried around Keith and down to his car where Bethany was already sitting in the passenger seat staring out the front window.

  Aaron got into his Dodge Charger and closed the door. For a few seconds, he sat with his hands on the steering wheel. He felt like he needed to apologize for what he said but nothing he said was a lie. Bethany was a witness. He was doing the same thing that he did with anyone that could be in possible danger. Right?

  “How long will I need security?” Her voice cracked.

  “Until we can find this guy.” Aaron started the car.

  “What if you don’t find him?” Bethany replied.

  “We’ll find him.” Aaron pulled away from Keith’s house and turned toward the exit of the property.

  Aaron would rather she stay at the secure bunkhouse, but he knew Bethany would never go for it. Keith built them for his staff to stay when they were in Newfoundland. As the years went on, many of the employees bought houses around Hopedale, leaving most of the bunkhouses vacant. Aaron and Nick had taken over one of them when they were assigned to the Hopedale Division of the Newfoundland Police Department.

  Nick no longer lived with Aaron. His brother and his fiancée, Lora, bought the house on Sunset Street in Hopedale because it was close to the station. It also helped that Lora’s little girl enjoyed her backyard right next to John’s little girl. His brothers had to put a gate in the fence that separated their property, so the two little girls could play.

  “People get away with things that hurt people all the time.” Bethany’s voice was barely above a whisper.

  She was right, but as Aaron stopped the car in front of the gate, he turned to her. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes; she was scared. The whole reality of the situation had to be hitting her like a ton of bricks.

  “They do, but I’m not going to let this guy hurt you.” Aaron studied her profile.

  “I can’t have someone follow me forever.” Bethany sighed.

  “I’m aware of that, but for now, we're just cautious.” Aaron covered her hand with his and realized he’d made a colossal mistake by touching her.

  Her hand was cool, but she didn’t pull away. Bethany turned her gaze and met his eyes. Her green eyes always took his breath away, and that hadn’t changed. When a tear slipped from the corner of her eye and trailed down her cheek, Aaron instinctively reached to wipe it away.

  “Don’t.” She pulled back before he could touch her. “Take me home, Aaron.”

  With that statement, Aaron opened the gate and made his way to the street where he saw her for the last time. He’d left a box on her doorstep with the ring and the letter he’d written to her because she’d told him once that handwritten notes were romantic. It didn’t mean anything to her because she never even sent it back to him. She probably tossed it without opening it.

  Aaron pulled into the driveway of her house and jumped out of the car. He glanced at the door as he made his way around the car to get her things. Her father stood at the top of the steps as a young boy ran down the steps and wrapped his arms around Bethany.

  Does she have a kid?

  “Holy crap, are you okay?” The boy looked to be about twelve years old and was a little taller than Bethany.

  “I’m fine, Cameron.” Bethany hugged the kid, and a sudden realization hit Aaron like a punch in the gut.

  Was it possible the kid was his? If he was the age Aaron thought, then it was possible, but how was he supposed to ask that question? He carried her bags up the front steps and nodded at Lewis Donnelly. Bethany’s father looked the same as he had the first time Aaron met him. Aaron didn’t understand the scowl
he got from the man.

  “Mr. Donnelly, nice to see you again.” Aaron held out his hand, but Lewis just continued to glare.

  “So, you’re a cop. Didn’t think someone so dishonest would make it in the police force.” With that statement, Lewis stomped down the steps and wrapped his arms around Bethany.

  Aaron was dumbfounded. He didn’t understand why Bethany’s dad would say something like that, but when he thought about it, he hadn’t spoken to Aaron at the family supper either.

  Before he had a chance to ask what the man’s problem was, the young boy came running up the steps. Aaron almost passed out at the blue eyes staring at him.

  “Hey, I’m Cameron.” He held out his hand to Aaron.

  “A.J. O’Connor.” Aaron shook the boy’s hand and was impressed with his firm handshake.

  “I want to be a cop, too.” He grinned at Aaron.

  “First, you need to start bringing your grades up.” Aaron turned around as Ally came out of the house.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Cameron groaned, and Aaron couldn’t help but laugh.

  “You need to have good grades to get into the academy.” Aaron glanced at Bethany as she stepped next to the boy.

  “That’s what we keep telling him.” Bethany tussled Cameron’s light-brown hair.

  “Aunt Beth, give me a break.” Cameron rolled his eyes.

  Aaron felt a wave of relief fall over him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want children, but if Cameron had been his son, then it meant Bethany kept him from his child all those years.

  “A.J.” Aaron turned to where Crash and Crunch stood at the bottom of the steps.

  “Holy mother of God.” Allyson gasped.

  “That’s Crunch and Crash; they’ll be doing security for Bethany.” Aaron nodded toward the two men.

  “Ummm, Crunch and Crash?” Bethany wrinkled her brow, and Cameron laughed.

  “Cool names.” The kid nodded.

  “They're nicknames. All Keith’s guys go by them. Crunch’s name is Hunter Crawford, and Crash is Brent Adams.” Aaron chuckled but lost the humor when he glanced at Bethany’s dad.

  Why was the man staring daggers at him? Aaron had always thought Lewis liked him. He’d even taken Aaron fishing a couple of times before they left Newfoundland.