Snowfall

by Suzanne Cass

  He wanted to kiss her. The night they’d spent together a little over a week ago, trapped in his truck, had brought them closer. He’d heard that feelings forged in adversity were often much stronger; connections formed quicker than normal that way. Whatever it was, he felt as if he knew Stella, like they’d been familiar for many months, not merely a few days.

  “There’s something I need to tell you,” she said quietly, but he was hardly listening. Her presence was affecting his capacity to do anything normal.

  They were alone together, standing beneath the night sky, with nothing and no one to interrupt them. His blood fired hot through his veins as he stepped toward her, brownie falling forgotten from his fingers. This would be different to when he kissed her under the mistletoe. He didn’t want to hear whatever it was she needed to tell him. He wanted to get lost in this moment.

  “Can I kiss you, first?” His lips hovered above hers.

  Her gaze sought his, still filled with starlight. “Please.” Her single word was a breath of air.

  He required no more encouragement. His mouth found hers.

  The hot chocolate burned his fingers as it lapped over the edge of his mug. Dropping the tin mug with a clang on the pebbles, he used his now-free hand to gather her up closer. She jumped at the sound, but then did the same with her mug, burying her hand into the neck of his coat, standing on tiptoe to reach his mouth.

  He tasted the sweet chocolate on her tongue, licked it from her lips. He suddenly wished they were no longer outside. He wanted to rip the bulky overcoat off her slim frame, run his hands over her hips, feel her rounded butt through the fabric of her jeans. It was all he could do to stop his jaw from dropping open when she’d walked into the room earlier in those skin-tight blue jeans, and that cute pink sweater. She’d looked amazing.

  Stella drew in small, breathless gasps, but she didn’t break their kiss, pulling his mouth down onto her lips so he was left with no uncertainty as to how much she wanted this.

  A faint sound reached his ears. Wyatt ignored it, letting the noise of the rushing water beside them drown it out. But soon, the sound got louder and morphed into a voice, calling his name. Stella seemed not to have heard, still lost in their passion.

  “Wyatt.”

  Shit. It was Levi.

  “Wyatt, I know you’re there, I can see your fire. Answer me.”

  Stella flinched and pulled away, finally hearing Levi. He had to hand it to his brother, at least he hadn’t come barreling onto the little beach, with no regard to what they might be up to. Instead, he’d stopped just outside the glow from the fire, where the grass first met the rocks. Wyatt sighed and lifted his head. Even out here in the middle of nowhere, he couldn’t kiss Stella without being disturbed.

  “What do you want?” He asked flatly, but there was an edge to his question that would make Levi understand he was not amused at being interrupted.

  “Your friend, Tony just turned up again.”

  “Tell him to go away.” Wyatt refused to relinquish his hold on Stella, still hoping that Levi would go away and leave them alone, and they could get back to what they’d been doing. She squirmed and looked up into his face, then pushed gently on his chest. Shit, the spell was broken. He let go of her, ready to round on his brother and tell him exactly what he thought of him.

  “You need to come and talk to him. Now, Wyatt. Something’s happened. Something terrible.”

  Wyatt froze. What was he talking about?

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  STELLA COULDN’T BELIEVE what she was hearing. She scrubbed a hand across her eyes, and blinked. They were all sitting around the kitchen table. Cat and Levi on one side, her and Wyatt opposite, with Tony on the end, agitated and tapping his toe. Levi had his cell phone up to his ear, talking quietly, but urgently, into it.

  Part of Stella remained caught in the moment of kissing Wyatt. Her lips were still warm and wanting more, and her brain was still firing on overload, her senses full of him. The smell of him. The feel of him. The way he surrounded her. But then Levi’s call had snapped her out of her dreamlike state, and she was trying to get her intellect to fire on all four cylinders again. Even the fact that they’d hurriedly cleaned up the campsite and put out the campfire, then walked up the trail behind Levi, almost at a jog, had her a little disoriented.

  “Say that again.” Wyatt scrubbed a hand through his hair. She could tell by the complete bewilderment on his face, he was having a hard time trusting what Tony had just told them.

  “Bryce is dead, dude.”

  Wyatt shook his head, confusion and anger clouding his eyes, as if Tony were speaking a foreign language.

  Levi put his cell down on the kitchen table. Both Levi and Wyatt had beautiful bronze skin; Stella loved the color, it reminded her of caramel fudge candy. But right now, Levi’s face was as pale as the white wall behind him.

  “That was Jude, he’s at the scene. He wouldn’t give me any details, of course, but he confirmed Tony’s story. Bryce is dead.”

  Stella put a hand to her mouth to cover her gasp. She’d never met the man, but this was terrible. Her gaze darted to Wyatt. What must he be thinking? What must he be feeling? His face was closed, eyes narrowed and focused on the tabletop, as if he’d withdrawn into himself.

  “I told ya,” Tony said. “But you wouldn’t believe me. He was gunned down, I’m telling ya.”

  Levi backed him up by saying, “Jude wouldn’t corroborate how he was killed. But by the sound of his voice, it was pretty serious.” He fixed his gaze on his older brother, and Wyatt suddenly seemed to get that this wasn’t some cruel, made-up joke. It’d really happened. His face went from white as a ghost, to a horrible green color, and Stella wondered if he was going to throw up. She wouldn’t blame him; her stomach was roiling uncontrollably, too.

  Wyatt stood and began pacing back and forth across the kitchen. “You’re not making any sense,” he snapped. “Why the fuck would anyone gun down Bryce?” He stopped his pacing and fixed Tony with an uncompromising gaze.

  The other man raised a thin eyebrow. “Because they thought he was you.”

  Wyatt reared away from Tony, as if he’d been struck, his face a grimace of fear and pain. “That’s ridiculous. Why would anybody want to kill me?”

  “It was only a matter of time before they came here,” Tony mumbled, almost to himself. “I should’ve known better. Should never have gotten you involved.”

  Wyatt surged forward and grabbed Tony by the neck of his shirt. “What the fuck are you talking about? Who came here, and why? What does this have to do with me? What have you done, you bastard?” Wyatt shook Tony so hard his teeth rattled. Stella gave a squeak of surprise, frightened by his sudden violence.

  “Wyatt,” Levi cautioned. He was also on his feet, but he didn’t intervene, he probably wanted answers as badly as Wyatt. Cat had also got to her feet and was standing stiff-legged beside Levi, as if ready for a fight.

  “If you let me go, I’ll tell you,” Tony replied with a strangled gasp.

  Wyatt gave a disgruntled snort but let go of Tony’s shirt. “Start talking,” he growled. He sat down heavily. Stella had never seen him look so fierce before. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of what Wyatt may have looked like while he’d been in prison. This was no refined, cultured, well-behaved man. This was the primal, angry, and very determined warrior side of Wyatt. Most of her was appalled by the change in him, but a tiny part was also excited.

  As if noticing her distress, he reached over and grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry. So sorry you had to be involved in any of this.”

  She squeezed his hand but said nothing, waiting for the wiry man at the end of the table to speak. Four pairs of eyes all turned toward Tony, and he shrunk back at the hostility in their stares. Stella had no idea who this man was, or what he meant to Wyatt. Even though she suspected he was a friend from prison, Wyatt had never substantiated her suspicions.

  Tony spent some time rearranging his shirt, shooting a dagger-like glar
e at Wyatt from beneath lowered brows.

  “First, have you still got my package?” he finally asked.

  Wyatt scowled, and Stella wondered if he might grab him by the collar again, but he eventually said, “Of course. It’s in my bedroom.”

  “You kept it on the premises? I thought you said you hid it?” Tony’s voice was a mixture of scorn and concern.

  “I did, then you told me you wanted it back, but you never turned up. Remember?” Wyatt’s dark eyes glittered dangerously.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Tony waved a hand dismissively. “And I’ll tell you the reason I didn’t show up. But can I see my package first? It’ll help answer some of your questions.”

  Wyatt glanced at Levi, who nodded. He cast another quick scowl in Tony’s direction before he disappeared down the hallway.

  Tony shifted in his seat, giving Levi a sideways glance. He had the look of a fidgety rat, on the constant lookout for danger. “Make it quick, will ya? I need to get outta here. Actually, youse all need to get outta here, if you know what’s good for ya.” For the first time that night, Tony’s gaze landed on Stella, including her in his remark.

  What the hell did he mean by that? Surely, she wasn’t in any danger. Was she? She didn’t have time to dissect that idea, however, as Wyatt returned, carrying a small, black backpack.

  He dumped it on the table in front of Tony and said, “Here. Is this what’s causing all the problems?”

  “Don’t tell me you haven’t even taken a peek inside?” Tony’s mouth dropped open.

  “You told me not to. You said it’d be better for my health if I didn’t know what was in there.”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d actually listen to me.”

  Stella was enthralled as she watched Tony take out a bulky package wrapped in brown paper. He unwrapped it in front of them, spreading the layers of paper out on the tabletop as he went. More and more paper was unravelled, and Stella was beginning to wonder if there was actually anything inside, when a small, velvet bag was at last revealed. Tony held the bag in his hand, bouncing it on his palm as if gauging the weight.

  “Feels like it’s all still here,” he announced, to no one in particular.

  “Come on, open it up,” Cat snarled, her patience finally wearing out. They all watched as Tony untied the drawstring and upended the bag onto the paper spread out on the table.

  Stella sucked in a breath and then held it. Merde.

  Diamonds.

  Lots and lots of diamonds. Even in the dull light of the kitchen, they sparkled and glistened with a life of their own. What was Tony doing with all these diamonds?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “HOLY FUCK, ARE they what I think they are?” Cat was the first to speak.

  “Yep, they’re A-grade diamonds. Most of them cut, some uncut.” Tony looked so fucking pleased with himself. But all Wyatt wanted to do was smash that grin right off his face, and whack those diamonds off the table, as if they never existed.

  He had a horrible, sinking feeling. “Do they belong to who I think they do?” he asked heavily.

  The pleased look on Tony’s face evaporated, and his eyes darted around the room again.

  “If you mean Dmytro, then no, the diamonds are mine.”

  “Bullshit.” Wyatt’s word was an explosion.

  “They are.” Tony looked up, but wouldn’t meet Wyatt’s gaze. “I took them as payment. He fucking owes me. How many times have I fenced his stolen goods for him? He never paid me properly, not once. This is supposed to be my retirement plan.” Tony stood up, legs akimbo and eyebrows bristling belligerently.

  “Holy shit, Tony.” Wyatt couldn’t find the words to express his disgust and dismay. He shook his head slowly. Not only had Tony stolen these diamonds, he’d dragged Wyatt into his stupid, scatterbrained idea.

  “I didn’t think he’d miss them. They’re a small part of the rest of the haul. Dmytro wanted me to sell them on the black market. I told him prices were down right now. Global downturn, that kind of thing. And people were wary of buying his stuff, because he’s doing time, and all that.”

  “So, you stole his gems and concocted some story, then ran off and gave them to me? Why did you do that?” The whole thing was mind-boggling, and Wyatt couldn’t wrap his mind around the whole clusterfuck that was Tony and his diamonds. Now Tony’s problem had become his problem.

  Cat reached out, as if to pick up one of the diamonds, and Tony slapped her hand away.

  Immediately, she was up on his face. “Don’t you touch me.” Her menacing growl even had Wyatt wanting to take a step back. He’d always loved that Cat was tough enough to take care of herself. Levi had done well to find a feisty woman who loved him as much as she did.

  “Well, don’t touch my diamonds then,” Tony replied. It seemed Tony did have a backbone when it came to protecting his valuables.

  Wyatt was still unclear as to Tony’s motivations for including him in his harebrained scene. “Let me get this right. Dmytro figured out you took some of his diamonds, and now he’s after you? Is that correct? And so, you gave me the diamonds, to what? Throw him off the trail?”

  “Something like that,” Tony agreed, still keeping an eagle eye on Cat, who’d retreated to lean against the kitchen countertop, scowling at him. Perhaps it was the oblivious way Tony seemed to wave away his question, or perhaps it was the fact that he was now in deadly danger because of this prick, but Wyatt suddenly saw red.

  “You bastard. We were supposed to be friends. I just got out of jail. You only got out a month before me. Why would you do something like that to yourself? To me? You know I need to stay straight.”

  Tony looked at him, surprised. “I did it because we are friends. Friends are supposed to have each other’s backs. I would’ve done the same for you.”

  Wyatt had heard enough from the slimy little sleazeball. Tony’s version of friendship was warped and completely wrong. How could Wyatt have ever thought they’d been friends? He launched himself at Tony, and they fell into a sprawling heap on the kitchen floor. Vaguely, he thought he heard Stella scream as he punched Tony, but he was too incensed to stop.

  Wyatt aimed a few punches at Tony’s face, and the other man landed a good left hook into his ribs before Levi roared, “Stop it.” He reached into the fray and dragged Wyatt off Tony. “We don’t have time for this. You can sort out you warped version of friendship later.” Levi was panting nearly as heavily as Wyatt. “You need to come up with some kind of plan, brother. Because I’m thinking those guys who killed Bryce will probably find their way here, soon. Am I right?” Levi snarled at Tony, who was levering himself off the floor, holding his nose with one hand.

  “I thing you broke my gnose,” Tony said, his words indistinct, as he tried to stem the flow of blood.

  “Am I right?” Levi repeated, ignoring the other man’s pain.

  “Yeah. You’re right. Now gan I have a nissue, or something?”

  Cat flicked him a clean dishcloth from out of a drawer, still looking at him with disdain, as if she, too, wanted to punch him in the face. Stella was standing in the corner, hands covering her mouth, watching the entire scene unfold with wide-eyed horror. God, what must she think of all this?

  “How long have we got?” Wyatt asked, feeling defeated and exhausted.

  “How the hell should I gnow?” Tony’s voice was muffled behind the dishcloth. But when Wyatt took a menacing step toward him, he added, “If they had this address, they would’ve come here first, so they’re going to need to ask around. But it won’t take them long. We might have an hour, perhaps?”

  An eerie silence descended on the little kitchen as they all digested Tony’s words.

  “Holy shit,” Cat whispered into the stillness.

  “You have to disappear for a while,” Levi said coolly. “Give Tony back his diamonds, and you vanish into the woods. It’s what you’re good at. You can come back when all this has blown over.”

  Wyatt considered his brother’s words. It wasn
’t a bad idea. And with such short notice, it might be the only idea. He locked eyes with Stella. A million different emotions flickered over her face, none of which he could decipher. She must be terrified. It might be a good idea to get out of here. At least if he went, he’d take the danger with him.

  “You might become suspect number one if you run,” Cat said.

  Wyatt hadn’t even considered that aspect. But it was true, he was probably the first person the police would come looking for over Bryce’s death, because he had a record. They’d all conveniently forget that he’d been innocent.

  “There’s not a lot I can do about that right now.” He lifted shoulder. “Dmytro is a lot scarier than Sheriff Buchanan. I’ll face him later.”

  It all came crashing down on him. How much he’d screwed everything up. How much he was hurting the only family he truly cared about. How he was about to lose something good. Because whatever might’ve been building between him and Stella was now dead and buried. She’d never have anything to do with him again.

  Wyatt sat and lowered his head into his hands. “I can’t believe I got you guys involved in this. I’m so sorry.” His chest ached with the weight of his words. The weight of what he’d brought onto his family. If only he hadn’t ended up in jail. If only he hadn’t tried to help his next-door neighbor, Zoe, in the first place. If only he’d seen Tony for the person he really was in prison.

  Levi laid a hand on his shoulder. “I can’t say I’m all that happy about it. And we’re going to have a very long conversation when this is all over. But you know we got your back, bro.”

  Stella came up as well and lay her hand on his arm, murmuring, “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”

  Which it wouldn’t, but Wyatt didn’t have the strength to argue. Then it hit him. What about Stella? Was she in danger, too? How was he going to protect her?

  His gaze flicked between Stella and Levi. His brother must’ve picked up on Wyatt’s distress.

  “I’ll look after her.” Levi said, his face grim but determined. “I’ll take her somewhere safe, maybe out of the state while we sort this out.”