“I’m tired. I’m so damn tired. My head is pounding.”
“Of course you are. It was a long day, sweetie,” Milton told her.
Nevin reached out and cupped her cheek. He stroked her lower lip and smiled at her.
“A good night’s sleep will help.”
She shook her head.
“That’s not what I mean, Dr. Cortland.”
He squinted his eyes at her and she swallowed then held his gaze. “Nevin.” He gave a small smirk in celebration.
“Tonight I said some things. I...”
She lowered her head and he tilted her chin up toward him.
“You’ll tell us everything. Soon. I know you will because deep down inside, deep in your gut, never mind in your heart, you know we’re good men. Trustworthy men.”
“Maybe it’s me who isn’t good enough for you.”
“Nonsense,” Jack stated, joining them along with Jesse.
“We can talk later in the day. We’ll be here to work on the window and then basement after we catch some sleep. How about noon time, we come on over?” Milton told her.
Nevin watched her eyes as she nodded but looked away. She wasn’t going to be here when his brothers got here.
“You have the key, right?” she asked.
“Aren’t you going to be here? You’re not running off and avoiding us now, Carina,” Jack said firmly.
She shook her head.
“I have an appointment in town and some errands to run.”
“I said I would bring you,” Milton said to her.
“I need to take care of this first. Later in the day you can,” she said and he nodded at her.
“Okay. Let’s get the place locked up and you ready for bed,” Nevin stated.
“I’ll help out with that,” Jesse said and winked at her. Nevin chuckled and Carina lowered her eyes and blushed.
“I think I’ll handle it alone, Jesse.”
“Can’t blame a man for trying. Gonna be hell being away from you tonight,” he admitted with his hands in his pockets, looking over Carina and licking his lips.
“We’ll make some plans to get together this weekend. Okay, Carina?” Nevin said to her. She nodded and he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. One by one they kissed her cheeks and forehead and then went around the house making sure everything was all locked up. As she walked them to her front door he could tell she was hurting. None of them wanted to leave her, but she wasn’t ready for them to stay.
“Goodnight, baby,” Jack said and gave her a wink. The others did the same and Nevin was the last to go.
“Take something for that headache and drink some water so you don’t get dehydrated from vomiting. If you feel sick during the night you call me. You understand? I’ll get here.”
She smiled at him.
“Okay, Doctor.” He raised one of his eyebrows up at her and she chuckled low and looked so damn feminine and sweet it was killing him to leave her.
“Tomorrow, Miss Fay.” He gave a wink and headed to the truck with a heavy heart.
Chapter 3
“What do you want to do?” Collin asked Steven. They were at the shooting range, working on their times and preparing for the hunt this weekend. The group was growing bigger, and more men were joining, coming in from other towns now that they were promised the lifestyle of kings.
“What the hell do you think I want to do? I want to find her,” Steven replied and then he placed his ear protection over his ears and clicked off a few shots. When he was done, he looked at Collin. He held his gun firmly. Collin was his best friend, his buddy for years. He finished his session and then removed his headgear.
“She’s out there. We’ll find her.”
“We never should have handled it the way we did. If we were patient, and I waited to slowly involve you, she would be here,” Steven said to him.
Collin squinted his eyes and looked around them to ensure no one was eavesdropping.
“We didn’t have a choice. Anderson had his eyes on her and you know it.”
“He knew she was mine. He knew I was planning on marrying her.”
“Like that stops men like Anderson, Voight, and Bogurt? Come on now, Steven, get your head out of your ass. They run this fucking town, this operation. You should know that. Bogurt’s my damn uncle.”
Steven swallowed hard. He loved Carina more than anything, but this town, his family, this lifestyle owned him. They owned every person they set their eyes on. It was a tradition, a way of life that had been taking place for generations.
“Carina was inexperienced. She adored you, but you knew the rules going into a relationship with Charlie Fay’s daughter. You exposed her to our world, and with that body, that platinum blonde hair and blue eyes, she stood out as a goddess. Why the hell do you think you were getting so much attention for promotion? Those added bonuses to your checks, and the invite to the hunts positioning your seat with the higher ups in the group by my uncle and the others? They were setting you up to bring her in as the jewel.”
“What?” Steven asked, eyes wide and knowing exactly what Collin meant. If Carina was chosen as the jewel, then she would be taken by all three higher ups. She would be taken away from him.
“That’s why it was so important for you to invite me into your relationship with her. Having my father as one of the head leaders, she couldn’t be touched by anyone. She would be ours and we would protect her.”
“We could have waited. Could have slowly gotten her used to your touch.”
“She’s the woman. She’s to be at your, at our command. All rights, all positions taken away, and her purpose would be to provide for us in all ways we asked. Do you think the alternative for her would have been better?”
Steven shook his head. The leaders were all big men, older men with little to no respect for women. To their wives, though, they were perfect husbands, but behind the closed doors of the order they were sadistic. The things he saw them do over the years were outrageous. He had his own desires, his own fantasies he wanted Carina to fulfill, but now things were different. Collin was right. They were in this together in order to protect her from worse harm. They were in this so one day they could be leaders, too. There was no getting out and no reason to. He had everything. At least he did when Carina was here in Starling Grove.
“Do you want to still look for her on our own or do you want to take advantage of the order’s offer to assist?”
“Then what? Accept that they get to punish her for taking off while we sit there and watch? She’ll never forgive us, forgive me for any of this.”
Collin gave him a shove.
“You accepted this life, the order. We protected her by claiming her body that night even if it was against her will. If we thought for a moment she would take off, then we would have continued to seal the deal and make her understand her choices. She didn’t let us. She took off, snuck out of here undetected. It’s been months, Steven. Months. I think we should ask the order for help. Accept the penalties. And the time we spend helping Carina heal after the punishments will bring us closer and make her realize we are her destiny and her protectors.”
Steven clenched his teeth and thought about the punishments that would come to Carina from the leaders.
“They’ll beat her, display her at the hunt for all to see.”
“They won’t fuck her. Everything else she will deal with and so will we because in the end she’s ours. These are our lives. This is what we were born into. She’s tougher than we gave her credit for. Whatever battle wounds she winds up with after the punishments will be a reminder of where she belongs and what could happen if she ever decides to take off again.”
“I’m never going to let her go again. You’re going to help me, Collin. We’re bound to her and her to us.”
Collin placed his gun in his holster.
“We’ll kill anyone who stands in our way of getting her back. Call the leaders. Call my uncle and get the help we need in finding Carina so we ca
n move on together.”
“And if she refuses to return?” Steven asked.
Collin smirked.
“You know as well as I do that these men are trained better than any cop or soldier out there. This is part of what they do. They’ll grab her and no one will know a single thing or even where to look to find her.”
“That means we can’t return here to town for a while. We’ll be moved to isolation.”
Collin placed his hand on Steven’s shoulder and squeezed then smiled. “More time alone with our woman to make her understand her place and learn to serve her husbands well.”
* * * *
Carina had a bad night’s sleep. When she heard banging going on outside she didn’t know what was going on. Then she remembered Milton and Jesse saying they were going to replace her window in the kitchen and fix the cabinets under the sink that were destroyed by the water.
She looked over at the clock. Ten a.m. Too freaking early on her day off from work to get up, besides having very little sleep last night. She was embarrassed. She lost it in front of them. Threw up her dinner, had to be held by Nevin in the bathroom on the floor. He stayed with her. Milton and the others, too. Something had to be said for that.
She pulled the pillow over her head and then remembered that they would need to come into the cottage to fix those things, too. If she didn’t get up, she knew they would find a way in. They were resourceful.
Her cell phone buzzed and she pulled the pillow off her head and looked at the text messages. She’d missed a bunch, mostly from Antonia asking what the heck was going on, and that Cesar would be at the office for her appointment at eleven. Apparently the guys must have called him, too, and figured out where she was heading. Then she got the latest message. Hot coffee, from Jesse. How the hell did he get her cell number?
Antonia? Cesar? Ledger, God damn it, did anyone mind their own business around here?
She pulled back the covers and when she got up her head pounded. She grabbed on to it and took slow breaths, hoping the pounding sound would subside.
She stood up and made her way to the bathroom, worrying about her messed up hair, the obvious signs of a night spent crying and tossing and turning. She looked terrible. Carina brushed her teeth, washed her face, and then freshened up best she could but it was obvious she had a bad night despite the hot shower she had taken before going to bed because she couldn’t fall asleep. She threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top, then her sneakers.
She had a heavy heart and felt badly for the way she treated the guys last night, but knew it was better this way. If she ignored the attraction she felt for each of them then she wouldn’t have to face the fears she had. She wouldn’t have to relive that night her whole world shattered, and she wouldn’t have to feel the sadness and pain. Each time she remembered Steven and Collin, and thought about that town, she felt sick. She rubbed her palms along her thighs, heart pounding, anticipation bringing on that sick, terrified feeling in her gut because she had to face them.
She also knew she would be facing Cesar today, and that wasn’t going to be easy. He was a cop, too. A man of power, of capabilities that instinctively made her think of running. Then she thought of Antonia, and even Amber, and Brooklyn who gave her a job not even knowing who she was or what her life had been like. She took a chance on her and now Carina was taking a chance on Brooklyn, Antonia, Amber, this town and all it said it stood for. That didn’t mean she could take a chance on the Cortland men.
She took a deep breath and headed out to the kitchen. What she hadn’t expected was to see Milton standing there without a shirt on, bent over the open hole in the wall where a window once sat.
Her mouth gaped open. Muscles upon muscles greeted her stare, along with a lot of tattoos in color, artwork with intricate designs. She was shocked at her body’s reaction.
“Morning, sweetheart,” Jesse called to her from the window. He was displaying his own set of sex appeal in the form of a trim, fit, muscular build and tattoos along his shoulders.
“What in God’s name is going on? I thought you said noon time?”
She tried to act angry, but her tone was flat and came out in a heated breath.
Milton stood straight and Jesse disappeared from the window.
Milton wiped his hands on his jeans. She couldn’t help but stare at his body. It was hard to ignore and so were her hardened nipples pushing against the tight tank top she wore.
“I’m the landlord, remember? I have a spare key and we needed to get things started a little earlier so that we can make plans for later tonight. Besides, you had nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t break in. I would never hurt you in any way,” he said to her and she swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat as the front door opened.
She rubbed her temples. She didn’t want to argue.
“Just forget it. I thought there was coffee,” she said and started to walk toward the kitchen when Milton stopped her. She immediately tried to step away and he gripped her hip.
“There are nails on the floor in there. I don’t want you to get hurt. Jack is on his way with the coffee.”
He slid his hand from her hip and she held on to the last bit of the way it felt as he lifted his hand but then he stepped closer and ran that same palm up her ribs then to her cheeks. He tilted her face toward him, eyes scrunched with concern.
“What’s wrong? You look…exhausted.” He studied her face and she closed her eyes.
“Bad headache.”
“Shit, and we’re banging up a storm,” Jesse said, joining them.
“No, it’s okay. This needs to be done. I’ll take something and then I have to go to town.”
He stroked her throat and then ran his thumb over her lip.
“Are you still upset over last night?”
She turned from his hold. “It’s none of your concern. We discussed this.”
“No, you demanded something we’re not going to allow,” he replied.
“Really? You want to what? Force yourselves on me and make me yours?”
His eyes widened. God, she didn’t mean that. She ran her hands over her face and then turned from him.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her close.
“Never. You’ll come to your senses and know what we all feel is real and too powerful to ignore. When you do, we’ll still be right here.”
She exhaled and Jesse now stood in front of her.
“How about something for the headache?”
“I’ll grab some stuff and my bag. Antonia will be here any minute.”
“For what?” Milton asked.
“To give me a ride to town and to get me the papers I need so I can pick up my car. I won’t need a ride from you later, Milton, but thank you anyway.”
He looked really pissed off but instead of saying something to her he just stared at her and then turned around and started working on the window. Boy, did one disappointed, angry look from Milton make her feel like shit.
At least he didn’t argue. Instead she thought she had a reprieve and could head outside to wait for Antonia. Jack showed up with a tray of coffee for all of them, and some pastries for breakfast along with Antonia.
* * * *
Jack was itching to ask Carina why Antonia was here, and why not let him bring her to town if she couldn’t wait for Milton. One look at his brothers and he could see they were upset. He wasn’t completely surprised that Carina was putting up those walls again.
“Hi, what in the world is going on in here?” Antonia asked and took in the sight of the mess.
“We had some major flooding issues last night during that storm. My basement was a swimming pool,” Carina said to Antonia.
“Oh, God, did it destroy anything you had down there?” Antonia asked.
“Some of the stuff but not the important things,” Carina said and looked emotional. Jack watched her but she wouldn’t look at him. It was like the sight of him in uniform upset her. It pissed him off to learn tha
t a cop, a soldier had been the one to hurt her in some way so badly that she could ignore this attraction between them all and distance herself from him. He wanted her to love his uniform, to love that he and his brothers were soldiers and would never hurt her but instead put her first. He was itching to set her straight and make her see they were right for her and nothing that happened in her past mattered. Why was she being so damn stubborn?
“Thank you for the coffee and the pastries. I don’t know if we have time though,” Carina said.
Antonia looked at her watch.
“We have time. I’m about fifteen minutes early.”
“Here, help yourself, Antonia. I didn’t know you were coming over or I would have picked up another coffee.”
“She can share mine. I usually don’t finish a full cup anyway,” Carina said.
“You look tired, honey, were you all up late last night handling this mess?” Antonia asked.
“Pretty much. It was exhausting, but the guys all were here helping so it wasn’t like I needed to handle it alone,” Carina said and looked up at Milton and Jesse. They had stopped working and threw on their T-shirts. It wasn’t that hot out but maybe his brothers were trying to get her aroused so she would let her guard down and stop fighting this.
“So what are you ladies heading into town to do today besides get Carina’s car?” Milton asked.
Antonia opened her mouth to speak and then looked at Carina, who kept her head down as she ran a finger along the rim of the coffee.
“Just some errands, maybe a quick lunch. I need to go into the Filling Station tonight. First night back,” Antonia said and smiled.
“That’s good, honey. Are you sure you’re rested enough and feeling up to it yet?” Jack asked her and Carina looked up and stared at him then looked at Antonia.
“You sound like Fox and the guys. Even Cesar wants me to wait a little longer, but I’ve waited long enough. In fact, I’m moving in with them. I was going to ask you, Carina, if you wanted to rent that cottage from Brooklyn since she owns it. That way these guys can fix up this place for someone else.”
The Battlefield Series 3: Trusting Love (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 7