by Sam Crescent
“Yeah, I’ll talk with him.”
Staring at the doctor, he waited for the door to shut.
“Are you going to be sticking around this time?” Jeremy asked.
“I was gone before I knew she was pregnant last time.”
“I don’t care. Pregnancy is a stressful time for a woman. Darla’s got enough stress with her mom. She doesn’t need you to up and leave if it gets too hard.” Jeremy was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
“Is this what you advise all your patients?” Luke asked, getting annoyed.
“No, I don’t. Darla’s different. She’s a strong woman, but I’m also a local of Stone Valley. I’m looking after all my girls that are pregnant, or not. Darla doesn’t have a father. Apart from her mother, she has no one.”
“You’re crossing a line, but I can tell you now, Darla has me, Jon, and Ryan. She’s not alone, and if we can help it, she’ll never be alone again.”
“Good. Keep it that way.”
The older man dismissed him. Leaving the office, he saw Darla standing by the doors, looking nervous.
“Was it bad?” she asked.
Wrapping his arms around her, Luke kissed her neck. “It wasn’t bad or good. Your doctor was looking out for you. It makes me like him a little bit more, knowing he cares.”
She shivered and he heard the slight moan escape her lips. “Can we go home?” she asked.
“No, you’ve got another day before we can touch you.”
Jon told them about her reaction when he’d been washing her in the shower. They all agreed to give her time to recover and it was taking its toll on everyone. Cupping her ass, he walked her outside of the practice and down the steps. It was a warm day and Darla was dressed appropriately.
“I’m going to the library and then picking up Nathan. Is there anything you want for dinner tonight?”
“No, we’re ordering in pizza,” Luke kissed her cheek and stepped away. “I’ve got stuff to do myself. Wait by the nursery and we’ll pick you up.”
She nodded and crossed the road. “Take care.”
He watched her until she walked into the library. Heading in the opposite direction, he went to the corner of the road and down the slight alley. The bookstore was in a closed-off section, but was big enough to supply a lot of books. April Ross, the owner, was a sweet young woman in her late twenties. He rarely saw her around town but knew she had an admirer in the BDSM club, at least according to rumor, which he didn’t listen to that much.
Entering the shop, he saw plenty of locals looking around. He went straight to the baby section and filled his arms with titles. April stood behind the counter, wearing glasses, and a long woolen jumper over clothes that hid her curves.
“Is Darla expecting?” April asked.
“Yes, she is,” he said, smiling.
“Fantastic. We’re having a discount day today and your titles are ten percent off.” She scanned all the books and did some typing that took the price down. Luke knew April was telling a little white lie. The woman was too nice for her own good and she kept to herself in the bookstore.
“Thanks. You should stop by the Dancin’ Donkey sometime. Darla would love to chat with you.”
April went bright red. “No thank you. It’s not my scene.”
“Okay, well, think about it and get back to me.”
He left the bookstore, whistling. Luke nodded at several locals as he passed. Ruby was one of them, returning from Pleasure Palace looking red and walking funny. Shaking his head in amusement, he climbed into his truck and headed toward the Sheriff’s station. David stood outside smoking a cigarette and talking with Don.
Both men approached the truck as he climbed out.
“You need to leave,” David said.
Luke saw the other man was glancing over his shoulder toward the Sheriff’s doors.
“What? Why?”
“Trevor’s got evidence and he’s about to make an arrest, your arrest,” David said.
“This is not looking good.” This came from Don.
“What the hell is going on?” Luke asked, feeling the panic rising up.
“The disk we found in your home is footage of the woman murdered at the border of Stone Valley,” David said. “DNA was retrieved under her fingernails. I rushed it through with my contacts but Trevor saw the evidence before me. The DNA is from you.”
“Luke Willis, you’re under arrest,” Trevor said. The Sheriff’s voice was too loud to be heard. Glancing around the town, he saw some of the people who knew him stop and stare. Tessie, Markus and Brant were among them.
“Call my brothers,” Luke said. He looked at Don and David. “Darla’s pregnant, but call them first. They’ll know what to do.”
He couldn’t say anything more as he was dragged inside and thrown into a cell.
* * * *
Ryan was looking over the books while Jon was going over the schedules. Tate sat on the sofa in the corner of the room. It looked like she’d put herself in charge while they’d been away. Most of the work was done in her hand.
“Are you still working at the diner?” Ryan asked.
“Of course. I get all the gossip that’s actually true when I’m there. Here, I’d be convinced aliens were attacking us or some crap like that.” She was sucking on a lollipop. “Why are you here? Do you really think I’ll fuck your business over?”
“It’s happened once. We’re just a little nervous about it happening again,” Jon said, looking up from his own work.
“That’s insulting. I’m not your stepfather.” Tate folded her arms, pouting as she did.
Putting the pen down, Ryan stared at Darla’s friend, trying to find patience. “This has nothing to do with you or your skill. We just don’t like the thought of leaving this place for anyone to deal with.”
“It took a lot out of all of us to get it back up and running,” Jon said. “And we don’t want to take any chances.”
Tate softened. “Okay, how are Darla and my little man?”
Chuckling, Ryan told her how their people were doing. Thinking about Darla got him all worked up and excited. Darla was trying to manipulate all of them into taking her again. He’d almost caved and if it weren’t for his brothers, he’d have been fucking her that morning.
“She told you she was pregnant?” Tate asked.
“Luke is at the doctor’s with her right now,” Jon said, looking at the form in front of him.
Their names being shouted cut across the silence in the room. Frowning, Ryan got up and followed his brother out of the room. Don and David stood at the entrance to the bar. There were not that many customers, as the bar was not completely open.
“You need to get to the Sheriff’s department,” Don said.
“What?” Jon took the lead, moving closer.
Ryan held a pen in his hand, looking at the two older men in front of them. “What the hell is going on?”
“Luke’s been arrested on suspicion of murder,” David said.
Ryan held onto the counter for some support. The room went deathly silent. Tate burst out laughing. “Luke has been arrested for murder? Yeah, right. That man can’t hurt a fly, let alone kill someone.”
David opened his coat, pulling out an envelope. “Do any of you recognize this woman?”
Ryan glanced at the picture. He heard Tate gasp as he recognized her. Staring into the other man’s face, he jerked his head in a nod. Jon shook his head. “I’ve not seen her before in my life.”
“She’s the woman who was flirting with Luke the other night. I told her to back off,” Tate said.
“I also caught her in the stockroom. Luke pushed her away as she was making a move on him. She scratched his face. We got it all on camera,” Ryan said. “I even saved the footage.”
“Okay, we’re going to need that footage. Trevor is in way over his head. He’s going to get someone killed if he doesn’t back down,” David said.
“Have you found anything on Derek or our mom?�
“No, nothing is cropping up at all, which is not good.” David stopped, looking around the room. “Can we talk somewhere more private?”
“Sure,” Jon said, taking the lead and walking back to the office. Tate followed them into the room as well. “I don’t think you should be in here.”
“Cut the crap, Jon. I saw her, you didn’t. I’ve got every right to be in here. Darla’s my friend and I’m not going to let her man rot in some cell when he doesn’t deserve it.” Tate’s arms were folded.
Ryan knelt down in front of the safe, typing in the code and pulling out the tape. He pushed it into the video player and pressed play. Luke came onto screen, followed by Peaches. The sound was good as well.
“I’m going to need that tape. I’m also going to need all three of you down at the station. Can you do that for me?” David asked, taking hold of the tape.
“Sure,” Ryan said, feeling sick to his stomach.
“What’s going on?” Jon asked. “What are you not telling us?”
David and Don looked at each other.
“No, don’t look at each other, look at us. Our brother is being accused of a murder he didn’t commit. You can’t keep us in the dark. What else is going on?” Jon’s voice rose.
Ryan went to his brother’s side. “Calm down, Jon.”
“No, I’m not going to calm down. This woman basically attacked out brother and you got hit around the head by someone who knew our house, Ryan. This is not a bunch of coincidences. Something is going on and I want to know what.”
He couldn’t argue with Jon’s assessment. Everything about what was going on stunk.
“I don’t feel comfortable discussing this without Luke,” David said, after several minutes passed.
“Darla’s pregnant,” Ryan said. “We need to know everything that’s going on in order to protect her.”
Don and David cursed at the same time.
“Fine, we’ll have to talk with your brother as well,” David said.
“Fine.” Ryan gritted the words out. Tate stood beside them as well, offering her support.
“I got a call last night. A woman was found in a hotel room, killed exactly like this woman we found here. Her description matches that of your mother. I’m waiting for the photos and evidence to confirm it’s the truth.”
Ryan swayed on his feet. He’d never really loved his mother, but finding out that information startled him.
“Jackson and Byron are on their way to identify the body. They asked us to keep the information confidential. They didn’t want you to know the truth,” David said.
“Our mother could be dead?” Jon asked.
“Yes. We have reason to believe that everything that happened is directed at the Willis line.” David stopped talking, looking at each of them.
“Have you talked to the Sheriff about it?” Ryan asked.
“He doesn’t want to hear it.” David pocketed the photos. “I’ve been trying to get through to him, but he won’t listen to me.”
Ryan rubbed his eyes. “Take us to the Sheriff. We’ll talk with him or do something.” He knew Darla was in the library. Hopefully everything would be back to right before they picked her up and took her home.
* * * *
Jon walked into the Sheriff’s office and stopped when he saw Darla sitting, waiting. She was crying while Trevor was firing questions at her. Before he could stop himself, he charged at the man, shoving him away. He landed in a punch before David held him back.
“What the fuck are you doing? Are you insane?” Jon asked.
“She’s a potential suspect.”
“Darla’s fucking pregnant and none of us are suspects.”
“Watch your lip, boy.”
“Listen, asshole, get your head out of your ass and you’ll start to see a whole load of stuff you’re fucking missing.” Jon yelled the words, ready to hurt the Sheriff once more. No one scared his woman. Darla looked petrified and he was pissed off that she’d been subjected to that.
“I’ll arrest you as well,” Trevor said.
“You put another of our boys in jail and you’ll be answering to me, Trevor Buttons,” Byron Willis’s said. His voice carried through the whole of the room. Everyone went silent.
Going lax in David’s arms, Jon turned to see both of his fathers standing in the entrance of the Sheriff’s office.
“This is none of your business,” Trevor said.
Jon noticed he put the cuffs away.
“None of my business? I’ve just had to identify the dead body of my ex-wife. My youngest boy was hurt bad and you spent more time questioning him than doing a good job.” Byron went toe-to-toe with the Sheriff. Jon was shocked by how big his father was. Both Byron and Jackson were big men. No wonder their mother kept them away. If they had known what Derek was doing, they’d have killed him. “I’ve been gone from Stone Valley for a long time, Trevor. I was here when I voted you in. You were a fine man. A good man who’d do everything to keep this town clean. What the hell happened for you to arrest one of my boys?”
Trevor no longer looked in control. He looked terrified.
“Stone Valley has changed. Stuff happens that I can’t control.”
Jackson took a step closer. “No, it hasn’t. Stone Valley has just been targeted like the rest of the world. You’re not special. This town hasn’t changed. The people still look out for each other.” He turned to Jon. “Let go of my boy.”
David released him and Jackson cupped his face. “Stay in control, son. It doesn’t do any good to get angry.”
Jon nodded and went to Darla. He pulled her into his arms, surrounding her with warmth.
“Luke’s done nothing wrong. He’s a good man,” she said.
“I know. They’ll sort this out. I promise.” Looking at Jackson and Byron, Jon knew his fathers would handle everything. They were in control and knew what they were doing. Closing his eyes, he rocked her in his arms, wishing his own shaking would vanish.
Tate took a seat beside Darla. “Well, this has been a bit too much entertainment for me. I don’t like it.”
“Your carpenters looking intriguing now?” Darla asked, sniveling.
“Nah, nothing like that,” Tate said, laughing.
Jon chuckled as well. He watched as all the men, including Ryan, went into a room. Part of him wanted to know what was happening while another part didn’t. He was more than happy to comfort his woman while waiting for Luke to be released.
“Luke wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Darla said.
“We all know that, sweetie. Are your dads sticking around?” Tate asked.
“I don’t know.” Jon kissed Darla’s head.
“I think they’ll be sticking around. Trevor needs an extended break. I’m sure the whole town will agree.”
“He’s a good man,” Jon said.
“Not under pressure, he’s not.”
Jon wasn’t going to argue when he agreed with Tate’s opinion. Someone was after the Willis line. He didn’t know why, but his mother was dead and Ryan had been maimed.
“I’m so sorry to hear about your mother,” Darla said.
He held her tighter, not wanting her to see the lack of emotion on his face. Jon really didn’t care that she’d died. His mother hadn’t meant anything to him in a long time. She’d always put on a show for his two fathers when they were home. She’d never been nurturing or kind. In fact, she’d been a nasty bitch, and the way she was with Derek was the real woman inside. No, he didn’t feel anything at his mother’s death.
An hour passed with him holding Darla when finally the door opened. Ryan came out and minutes later he was joined by Luke. His older brother looked pale. Darla left him and charged for Luke.
“I was so worried. I heard what happened at the library.”
“Don’t worry. We’re getting Nathan and going home. Dads are going to handle everything. We’re to go home and rest.” Luke kissed her head, leading the way out of the Sheriff’s office. No one stopped them on the way out.
“I’m going to ride with Ryan,” Jon said. “You take Darla and Nathan home. We’ll be right behind you.”
Jon watched his brother and woman go. Looking at Ryan, he headed toward the truck. “Are you up for driving?”
“Yeah. I need to get home and hold Darla in my arms.”
“I think that’s what we all need,” Jon said, climbing up beside his brother. They followed behind Luke as they stopped off at the nursery. From his position in the car, he saw she dodged questions from people who asked.
When Nathan was strapped safely in the truck, they were heading out toward their home. Jon watched the truck in front, concentrating on everything but the fear threatening to spill inside him. Someone was after them, he didn’t know why, and it was freaking him out.
“Are you scared?” Ryan asked.
Glancing over at his brother, Jon nodded. “Yeah, I’m scared. Someone has a problem with us and we don’t know who. We’ll figure it out.”
Ryan nodded, glanced over at him.
Jon watched his eyes widen.
“Look out!”
The words left Ryan’s mouth and a second later, the truck was veered off to the side. He didn’t have time to see what happened as they spun around. Ryan had been going at such a fast speed that the truck flipped onto its side. He held onto the door handle, trying to keep himself in his seatbelt. None of them had time to scream. In the distance, he heard screams when the car came to a stop. Turning his head, he saw the other car a bit away down the road. Minutes late, the other car blew up.
* * * *
Darla screamed as she looked back in time to see the car charge into Ryan’s truck. The truck was going too fast and she watched it flip up, rolling until it ended back on its wheels. The glass shattered and the truck looked bent at odd angles.
Putting a hand to her mouth, she felt the truck she was in slowing down. Luke cursed and she couldn’t stop her scream as the car that had connected with the other truck exploded.
Luke was on his cell phone calling it in. Looking behind her, she saw another car heading toward them. It was Tate’s car. Keeping her hands over Nathan’s ears, she climbed out of the truck, bringing her son with her.
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