He stared at her for a long moment. He was going to think she was a complete idiot. God, he might even take offence. Why wouldn’t he? She’d just told him that she’d decided to go after him to help her because he was mean.
What a dick she was.
“That’s right, baby. I am mean. I’m mean enough to take care of you. I’m mean enough to do what needs to be done.”
He leaned forward. “And I’m mean enough to keep you here, to keep you safe, even against your will.”
She stared at him, her pulse hammering. “You can’t keep me here against my will.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Watch me.”
“West, even you aren’t above the law.”
He rubbed his finger over his chin “Malones don’t care much about the law.”
“Everyone has to follow the law; if I tell Jake you’re keeping me here against my will, he’ll make you let me go.”
“You’d have me arrested, baby?” he drawled.
Her breath hitched. “Of course not.”
“Because that’s the only way you’re getting away from me.”
His words sent a shiver up her spine. “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
He leaned forward and wrapped his hand around the side of her neck, his thumb resting on her chin. “Nobody’s going to get hurt.”
“You can’t promise that,” she whispered.
“I can.”
She shook her head. “Your arrogance is out of control.”
He grinned. “Baby, this is just the tip of the iceberg. You’ve had gentle West these past few days. Before that you had nasty West. Now, you’ve got bossy and arrogant West because I’m going to keep you safe, even if that means going against your wishes.”
“This isn’t the Wild West, you know. You don’t get to make your own laws. You’re not the hero in charge of keeping the damsel in distress safe.”
He snorted out a laugh. “Baby, if this were the Wild West there’s no way I’d be the hero. I’d most definitely be the villain. I’d kidnap the damsel in distress and I wouldn’t let her go.”
“Until she was safe, you mean,” she said. She needed things clear between them so she didn’t keep hoping.
“Maybe not even after that,” he muttered.
What did he mean by that? Before she could ask, he had her up in his arms. “Now, the reason I was yelling for you is because I went upstairs to check on you and you weren’t in bed, where you’re supposed to be.”
“West, I’m not an invalid. I’m not sick. It’s just a few bruises and they’re mostly healed.”
He paused, he looked down at her incredulously. “A few bruises? Baby, your arm is in a sling because your shoulder was dislocated. You have a broken finger. One side of your face is black and blue. A few bruises?” He shook his head as he started for the stairs.
“West, if I go back to bed, I’m going to go insane.”
“You can watch some TV.”
“I’m sick of watching TV. I hardly ever watch TV. I want to go see Beast.”
He walked into her bedroom and set her gently down on the bed. “Not happening.”
“West,” she complained. “I don’t need to go back to bed.”
He stood and placed his hands on his hips, looking down at her with a frown. “All right. You can go downstairs and sit with Mia. But you are to rest. You’re not going to help her do any of the cooking or cleaning. You’re not to leave the house. And don’t walk back upstairs without me.”
“Am I allowed to pee by myself?” she asked with a snarky grin.
He tilted his head to the side as though thinking about it, but she saw the teasing glint in his eye. “I will allow that.”
She shook her head. “You’re crazy, you know that, right? I shouldn’t give in to your demands, it will just make you worse.”
“You should always give in to my demands, because I’m always right.”
Yep, his arrogance was definitely out of control.
He set on her feet. She half-fell into him, graceful on her feet as always. He held her securely, placing an arm under her ass to lift her up against him. Her feet dangled in the air and she just stared up at him, feeling the magnetism of him pulling at her.
She tentatively wrapped her hand around the back of his neck. For a moment he held still, and she thought he was going to reject her. But then he lowered his mouth and took hers. And there was nothing soft about this kiss. This kiss was possessive and hard.
He laid her on the bed on her back, lying on his side next to her as he moved his mouth along her jaw and down her neck. His hand ran down her side then up under her T-shirt and cupped her breast. He ran his thumb over her nipple, and she arched up with a gasp. The feelings that raced through her stole her breath. She needed more, so much more.
He moved his mouth lower and then he drew up her T-shirt and he kissed along her tummy.
Oh, God. Oh, shit.
“West, please, yes.”
He yanked her T-shirt up higher, and she gasped at the sudden movement then groaned as her shoulder protested.
He stiffened then reared back. “Shit, did I hurt you?”
“No, I’m all right. Don’t stop.” Please, don’t stop.
“All right? You’re not fucking all right. You’ve got bruises covering your body, a broken finger, a dislocated shoulder and I fucking threw you on the bed.”
“You didn’t throw me on the bed,” she pointed out. “And you didn’t hurt me. It was just a shock.”
His eyes blazed. “Don’t lie to me, Flick. Never. That.” He stood. “I’ll go get you some painkillers and a heat pad. Then I’ve got some stuff to do. I’d appreciate it if you would take things easy. Please.” He turned and left the room, leaving her lying there gaping after him.
What the hell had just happened?
And did he just say please?
11
“It’s all your fault,” he raged, he face purple with anger. She cringed from him, knowing what was coming next.
“Please,” she whimpered. “Please, don’t.”
Her begging only seemed to fuel his cruelty. “All your fault.”
His fist rose and slammed against her cheekbone. Agony engulfed her face.
She screamed.
Flick sat up with a gasp, groaning as her shoulder protested the movement. Sweat coated her skin, and her breath came in rough, shallow pants. Nausea bubbled. She climbed out of bed, moving as fast as she could to the attached bathroom. She just made it to the toilet as the contents of her stomach came up.
Not that there was much to throw up. She stopped heaving and, exhausted, slumped down on her good side on the cool bathroom floor. The sweat on her skin dried, leaving her feeling chilled. Shivers rocked her body.
She needed to get up. Take a shower, get into a clean nightie, and go back to bed and pretend to sleep for the rest of the night.
But she knew she wouldn’t.
You would if West were here.
Because West would have soothed her back to sleep. But West was avoiding her. Sort of. She’d caught him watching her several times when he thought she wasn’t looking.
Every morning, he’d set up a glass of water on the kitchen counter beside her pain pills with a note telling her to take them and eat some breakfast. And Mia had told her he always checked in with her to see how Flick was doing.
But he acting so unlike himself. He was being gentle, so careful with her. But it wasn’t the sort of gentle and careful you might be with someone you cared about, who you wanted to look after. It wasn’t the same gentle as before.
It was the sort of careful and gentle you’d be with someone who was a friend of the family. Someone you felt obligated to help but couldn’t wait for the day they were no longer your problem.
He was distant. He was polite. He was not West.
She’d give anything to have him boss her around. Tears threatened and she took a deep breath. She didn’t want to cry. She had to be stronger than that.<
br />
But West’s distance hurt her. Even more than the night he’d said all those horrible things to her. Because, at least then, he’d been real. Honest. At least then, she’d known what he was thinking.
Now she had no clue. She knew he regretted the kiss. That much was clear. She just wasn’t sure if he regretted it because he thought he’d hurt her, or because she wasn’t Lana.
A tear leaked free, and she made herself sit up. She had to pull herself together. Mia had started giving her concerned looks, and Alec was watching her much more closely. She was already a burden to them; they didn’t need to worry about her state of mind too.
They were all on edge, waiting to see what Spencer would do. Nobody was letting their guard down, despite the fact they’d heard nothing from him. She was still restricted to the house, only allowed outside when one of the Malone boys could take her. And then, they were armed and watchful.
Yep, she needed to concentrate on getting better and figuring out what the hell she was going to do with her life. She knew Spencer would come for her. She also knew she couldn’t stay there forever, hiding.
Time to make some plans.
“Morning, darlin’,” Beau drawled as she walked into the kitchen. He was leaning against the counter, facing her, sipping a cup of coffee. It should be illegal for someone to look that good while doing something so ordinary. “Looking beautiful as always.”
She rolled her eyes at his greeting. Beau would flirt with the Queen of England.
“I look like crap.” And she did. The bruising had faded a lot on her face, but it was now a puke green color. She’d thought about covering it up with makeup but she didn’t own any and she wouldn’t much know how to apply it if she did. Then there was her lack of sleep and appetite. Her hair was lifeless and dull, her skin sallow, and even she could see she looked borderline gaunt.
Even before all that had happened, she wouldn’t have called herself beautiful. More like passable. So, she knew he was talking shit.
“You look beautiful,” Beau said in a strangely firm voice. It wasn’t a tone she’d heard from him before, and she stopped short to stare at him. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”
She blinked. “Beau, you tell every woman between one and ninety they’re beautiful.”
“Hey, that’s not true, I told Mrs. Washman she was beautiful the other day and she’s gotta be at least a hundred and ten.”
She just shook her head and poured herself a cup of coffee. He leaned in and gently grasped her chin, tilting her face up. He studied her intently. “What’s going on?”
All right, she didn’t know what to do with serious Beau. Flirty Beau, outrageous Beau, incorrigible Beau, yes. Not this Beau.
Had she fallen down a rabbit hole?
She faked a large smile. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Flick, you’ve got dark circles under your eyes and you’ve lost weight.” He frowned. “West is supposed to be taking care of you.”
“He is.”
“Uh-huh, that’s why he’s been around so much these last few days?”
“He’s busy working.”
“He’s got a whole lot of brothers who can take over his workload. But maybe one of us should be taking over his care of you.”
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” she stated, but even she heard the lack of conviction in her voice.
“Uh-huh, I think you very much need someone to take care of you. You’ve been doing it yourself for far too long. I can see I need to have a word with my brother.”
“Beau, just leave it. Please.”
“What happened between the two of you?”
She shrugged.
“We’re friends, you and me. Friends talk with each other.”
“He’s your brother,” she pointed out.
“So? Got plenty of those. He was always my least favorite anyway.”
“Beau!” she protested, before she caught a glimpse of laughter in his eyes. “You’re such an idiot.”
“I still meant it, darlin’. West has all of us. We’d go to bat for him against anyone.” He gently gasped her shoulder as a wave of sadness hit her at his words. It was no less than she’d expected. West was their brother. She was no one. “But not at the expense of you, darlin’. We’d never go to bat for him against you.”
“Beau—”
“All I’m saying is if you need someone to kick his ass for being a dick, then I’m more than willing to take on the task.”
“That’s the kindest offer I’ve had all week,” she teased, needing to lighten the mood.
“Meant it, darlin’.” He tapped his chest with two fingers then pressed them to his lips and blew her a kiss.
Total flirt.
“Where is everyone?”
His face darkened slightly. “Butch is still away on business. Tanner and Maddox took Mia into town to get groceries. Alec and West had to go take care of some ranch business. Jaret is out checking the other fences.”
“Everything okay?”
“One of our fences was cut last night. Some cattle are missing.”
“Someone stole some cattle from you guys last night?” She gaped at him.
“Yep.”
“That’s insane. It’s got to be someone who isn’t from around here, or who’s really stupid.”
“Amen to that, darlin’. West is going to kill them when he finds them.”
A small chill went down her body.
“Good news is, that leaves me on Flick-watch.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, almost as though he felt her discomfort. “What do you want to do? Watch a movie? Play some strip poker? Spend the day in bed?” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
She burst into laughter. Now, that was the Beau she was used to
“Can we go down to the stables? I want to see Beast.”
He set down his coffee mug and looked at her. “Going stir crazy stuck in here, darlin?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Sure, let’s go see your horse, he’s moping without you. We’ll take him some treats.”
Poor Beast. This was the longest he’d ever gone without her. And, although she knew the Malone’s were taking good care of him, she missed him. Beau glanced down at her feet. “Need some help putting on your boots?”
She was just wearing flip-flops, as it was impossible to lace up her shoes or boots with her arm in a sling.
“Yes, please.” She sat on the chair as he moved to the mudroom and grabbed her boots. He knelt before her and slipped them on, tying up the laces. He stood and held out his hand to her. She took hold and they walked outside. She’d been outside a few times since coming here, of course. But only briefly, and only with West.
“You won’t get in trouble with West for bringing me down to the stables, will you?”
“Hmm, you know what, you’re right. We should go back.”
He turned around and she reached out for his arm, grabbing hold. “What? No, wait.”
She caught his grin and she sent him a disgruntled look. “You’re teasing me.”
“Yep. It’s all good, darlin’.”
She chewed her lip.
“Don’t worry, Flick. Come on, let’s go see your Beast then we can watch some TV and make out on the couch.”
“We’re not making out on the couch.”
He placed his hand over his chest. “She turns me down again. There’s only so much rejection a man can take. I may never recover.”
As she laughed at him, she tripped. God, why did she have to be so clumsy? He lunged for her, catching her. Suddenly, he jolted and they both fell to the ground in a heap.
“Beau? You okay?” she groaned, trying to ignore the agony in her shoulder. Ow. Shit. She needed to pay more attention to where she was walking.
Something hit the ground next to her head, sending up a puff of dust. What was going on? A bad feeling developed in her stomach and she turned to Beau.
Who hadn’t moved.
/> “Beau! Beau!” She knelt, grabbed him with her good arm, trying to shake him. Another plume of dust filled the air and finally got it.
Someone was shooting at them!
She screamed, “Help! Help!”
She didn’t even know if Raid was around and she couldn’t wait to find out. The stables were closer than the house. They needed shelter. It didn’t compute that the shooter could easily hit her, that they were deliberately missing her. It also didn’t occur to her to run and get help.
“Help! Help! Shooter!” she yelled as she pulled at Beau, trying to tug him across the ground. She shoved her injured arm out of the sling, ignoring the pain that slashed through her as she grabbed hold of Beau under the arms. He was heavy. God, how was she going to move him? Where had he been shot?
She didn’t notice the shooter had stopped as she dragged him, grunting with the effort, her shoulder burning, tears and sweat mingling. Her breath sawed in and out of her lungs, but she got him closer to the stable then inside. She collapsed with a sob.
“Beau, Beau, oh, God. Please be alive. Please be alive.” Her whole body trembled with shock and horror. She managed to roll him over, crying out as she saw the blood on his chest.
Fuck. Fuck. She felt for a pulse.
There. It was faint but it was there. But, oh, God, now what did she do?
Her phone. Call someone. She reached into her back pocket and drew out her phone. She dialed 911 and quickly told them the situation. She put them on speaker, pulling her T-shirt off as she spoke so she could ball it against the injury. Where was the shooter? Was he coming this way? Where could she hide Beau?
“Ma’am? Ma’am, are you there?”
She didn’t recognize the dispatcher and thought she must be from a different county.
“Please, I’m scared the shooter is going to come find us. I need to stay quiet. I need to end this call.” She turned off her phone and looked around for a weapon. She needed something to defend Beau with. She grabbed hold of his feet, pulling him into an empty stall. As soon as they were safe, she was going to start lifting weights or something. By the time she moved him, her whole body was shaking, her shoulder burned with an agony that was indescribable. But she couldn’t worry about that right now.
How West Was Won (Haven, Texas Book 7) Page 14