Shelter from the Storm (Finley Creek Book 2)

by Calle J. Brookes

  BRYNNA was shaking when Houghton’s bodyguards dropped her and Mel off at the front door to Luc’s mansion. They’d spent the last two hours at the ER, waiting for her to get examined. The doctors hadn’t told her much. They’d told her everything seemed fine.

  They’d done her first ultrasound. She’d seen the heartbeat. Seen the proof that the baby was real had overshadowed everything else—and almost erased the awkwardness over the vaginal ultrasound.

  She’d carefully tucked the small photos into the backpack that went with her sister everywhere. She’d also, for the first time in her adult life, sworn her big sister to complete secrecy.

  She’d told Mel the truth—Chance should learn of the baby before anyone else. It was only the right thing to do, after all.

  Mel had agreed.

  She’d held Brynna’s hand through everything. And had been there when they’d found the tiny little black blip on the ultrasound machine.

  It was her baby. Hers and Chance’s. And it was real. Mel had seen it, too.

  And then got all gushy-eyed. All happy for Brynna. Worried, but happy. Excited. Just like Brynna was starting to be.

  It was real. Real.

  And someone had almost killed them all that afternoon.

  What was she going to do about it?

  She and Mel had also discussed how they were going to tell their family about what had happened.

  They both knew the truth—somehow someone had followed them from Finley Creek to St. Louis. And knew enough about them to find them at Carrie’s. To follow them to the doctor’s office.

  But who? Brynna had tried and tried, but no one stood out.

  Not even the man Mel said had almost tripped her on the sidewalk.

  Brynna had still been confused by the doctor’s words. She hadn’t even seen a man near her sister, had she?

  But Mel said he’d looked right at her.

  Had it been him? What were they going to do now?

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO.

  * * *

  BRYNNA had kicked off her blankets, like she always did at night. The sight of something so normal had Mel breathing again. Had her moving past some of the shock she’d just experienced. Mel moved as fast as she could through the apartment she, Brynna, and Gabby had borrowed from Carrie. She checked on them, starting with her sister.

  Gabby was snuggled under at least two blankets, her head barely visible on the pillow.

  They were safe. The fear that Handley Barratt had harmed them terrified her—but they both still slept.

  But it hadn’t been a dream. She had woken up to see her father-in-law looming over her bed.

  She stepped back out into the living room. The apartment was the largest in Carrie’s building—her sister owned nine units plus the huge loft that she and her family lived in—and had three bedrooms.

  Mel sank to the chair. Thank God. She’d been so afraid when she woke and Handley Barratt and two of his bodyguards were leaning over her.

  She’d honestly thought the older man was there to kill her, and then take out Brynna and Gabby.

  Why? Was it just because of what his son had done? Was he trying to confuse everything they knew by throwing false information their way through her?

  It made a cagey kind of sense, didn’t it?

  She pulled her phone free and dialed her brother-in-law quickly. Sebastian would double the guards on them and she knew it. He’d be far more effective at keeping Brynna and Gabby safe than she would.

  Handley Barratt had gotten into her bedroom. She’d never felt more vulnerable in her life.

  It was his father that had terrified her so badly, so why was she wanting Houghton so badly?

  She called her father instead.

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE.

  * * *

  IT was three a.m. when someone pounded on the door to the apartment she and Gabby and Mel were sharing on the floor directly below Carrie and Sebastian’s loft.

  Mel answered it quickly. Brynna half thought her sister had been awake.

  It took her a moment to focus on the gun in her sister’s hand. And the one in Sebastian’s.

  Her brother-in-law stepped into the apartment. “Mel?”

  “Handley Barratt and two of his bodyguards were in my room less than three minutes ago,” Mel said. “He wanted to talk.”

  Sebastian swore. “Damn it, Mel.”

  “Tell me about it. I opened my eyes and they were there.”

  Sebastian looked at Brynna and Gabby. “Did you two see anything? Hear anything?”

  Gabby shook her head, obviously freaked. Brynna waited for her friend to have a total melt-down. But she didn’t. Gabby held herself together somehow.

  She was doing a better job than Brynna was, that was for sure. “What did he want?”

  “To talk. He mentioned being there the night Brynna was born.” Mel’s voice broke. Brynna’s attention sharpened on her sister.

  Mel was shaking, wasn’t she? Scared. Why did it always surprise her when something scared Mel? “Why?”

  “He said…he said he paid someone off the night Brynna was born. There had been a murder and he was there to talk to the victim, but he was too late. Dad…Dad was there, but had to leave. Handley said…the Marshall Murders weren’t his doing and that he only suspects who orchestrated it. And he says he was there the night Carrie’s mother and step-father were murdered, Seb. He said he was the man who took her to Oklahoma. Unless it’s all a lie.” Mel sank onto the couch. “I don’t know what to think of any of it. If what he said is the truth, this goes back a lot further than ten years, doesn’t it? At least twenty-four, maybe more.”

  “Maybe it does. But what does it all mean?” Brynna asked. “And what are we supposed to do?”

  “I don’t know. But if this goes back to the night Brynna was born, to a murder scene your father was at and to the night Carrie’s mother was murdered, it doesn’t explain anything at all. It just makes things all the more complicated. I wondered if he was just trying to confuse us by adding misinformation to what we already know. He’s probably crafty enough to do that.”

  “Strings. It all comes down to strings.” Brynna said. “Strings that tie this and that together. But they all start at the center, don’t they? But how do we find the center? How do we find it? Before…before…before…before…”

  Sebastian put both hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. Like she’d seen him do to Carrie a few times. “Focus on me, Bryn. Just focus on me, babe. Deep breath. You are all safe now. I can promise you that.”

  Brynna nodded and focused on her breathing. Focused on getting herself back under control. It was all she could do.

  Sebastian turned to Mel and Gabby. “Why don’t the three of you grab your things for in the morning? Come upstairs with me. You can take the guest room and the couch in my office and in the living room.”

  “We don’t want Carrie and Maddie and the new baby at risk,” Brynna said automatically.

  “They won’t be. I’m calling in some favors. I’m getting a team of agents to sit on the street for the rest of the night. And Seth is going to crash down here. Al’s out of town and her mother has the baby.” He patted her shoulder, then reached over to help Mel stand. She didn’t have her crutch. Without it she was more than a bit unstable. “You’ll be safe. We can decide what to do in the morning.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR.

  * * *

  EVERYONE knew what it meant. They weren’t safe in St. Louis any longer. Brynna stayed quiet while Mel described what had happened. She was still too raw to be able to contribute much, and her sister seemed to understand that.

  And she was half afraid she’d let it slip about the baby. She wouldn’t do that to Chance. No matter what else was between them, he deserved to know about his child before anyone else. It was only right.

  No matter how much she wanted to tell her father and the rest of her family.

  “We can’t stay here,” she finally said once the initial excit
ement was over. “We can’t. He, they, somebody…they know we are here. The longer we are here the more we risk making Carrie and Maddie targets. And anyone else we care about.”

  “I can keep you all safe, Brynna,” Luc said.

  “We can keep all of you safe,” Mel said. “By going home. At least Brynna and I can.”

  “And me. You go nowhere without me. We’re a triple set, remember?” Gabby said at Brynna’s left. Her friend had immediately taken the seat next to her. She thought Gabby felt her upset and was doing her best to comfort.

  Brynna bit back a small smile. Gabby was going to be her baby’s aunt, wasn’t she? That mattered.

  “What are you saying?”

  “We’re saying that if we go back home to Finley Creek, maybe these guys will follow us and leave Carrie and Jilly and Syd and Ari and Lacy alone,” Brynna put it into direct words. “But I think Mel should stay here, too.”

  “Not likely. Where you go now, I go.” Mel said. “Besides, Handley came to me. Not you. He’s involved me in this, just as much as anyone. I don’t know if he’ll try to get to me again and I want Jilly and Syd far away from me if he does.”

  “I don’t like this,” their father said. “I don’t like splitting you girls up. It makes us too vulnerable. Too hard to defend.”

  “You don’t need to defend us, Dad. You need to keep Jillian and Syd and Carrie and Maddie safe. And Lacy and Ari,” Brynna said. “We won’t be unprotected. You know that. Elliot will see to it that we are kept safe. I trust him. Mel does, too.”

  “Damn it, I do, too. But no matter how much I trust him, I am still your father. I can’t sit back and watch you just walk right into danger.”

  Mel held up a hand and the room quieted. “Maybe not. But…in Finley Creek we have an entire TSP post at Elliot’s beck and call. We won’t take unnecessary risks, Dad. But Brynna is right. With the three of us here, we’re endangering everyone. It’s better for us to be a contained target with just three people than more than three times that—including Maddie—like we are here in St. Louis. We’re going back. It’s the only option I can see that we have.” She held out a folded piece of paper. “This is the man who nearly knocked me down outside the doctor’s office. I’d lay good money he’s the one who almost ran us off the road. Take a good look. The DNA sample Lacy got came back. To that man. A Charles Raymund, registered sex offender.”

  Their dad took the fax that had come to Carrie’s home office earlier. He stared at it for a long time. “This is him?”

  “Yes. It’s him,” Brynna said. “He’s the man in the woods. The one that wanted to force me.”

  Lacy looked at the paper. “Yes. That’s the guy who shot Lanning.”

  “Charles Raymund,” her father said the name quietly. “Why does that sound so familiar? I don’t recognize his face.”

  “That’s one of the things we’ll go back to Finley Creek to find out.” Mel said, firmly.

  Brynna got it—Mel had made up her mind. She was going back to Finley Creek.

  And Brynna and Gabby were as equally determined to go with her.

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE.

  * * *

  BRYNNA loved looking at Finley Creek from an airplane. It was even better on a private plane because she didn’t have to worry about other passengers.

  Well, except for Mel and Gabby, but they weren’t paying attention to the windows at the moment.

  Gabby was excited to be going back. Brynna knew her friend had been hurting without Elliot; even though they’d video chatted and spoken on the phone as much as they could—and Elliot had flown up to visit her twice—it wasn’t the same.

  Brynna knew that for herself. She hadn’t stuck around when Elliot had visited; he looked too much like his brother. Reminded her of who she had tried to forget.

  Her hand covered her stomach. She wouldn’t be forgetting him anytime soon, would she?

  “Bryn?” Mel asked. “You ok?”

  Her sister looked at the hand she still had on her stomach. Brynna nodded. “Just thinking. Wishing…wishing this was all over and everything was normal again. It’s going to be Christmas soon.”

  For the first time in her life she had spent Thanksgiving in a place other than her own home. It had been nice to be with friends like they were, but it wasn’t the same. And she’d been aware of that.

  Elliot had flown up to join them, bring Jarrod with him instead of Chance.

  Brynna had tried not to miss him. She really had. Even before she’d learned of the baby. But since she knew now…all she could think about was him. And what she was going to tell him.

  “I know. But a lot can change in the two weeks or so between now and Christmas. We’ll get these guys and we’ll get normal back,” Mel said. “We’ll all be ok.”

  Brynna nodded. She would. Eventually.

  “We’re descending,” Gabby said, looking at the two of them. She knew something else was going on, didn’t she?

  Brynna hated not telling her friend what was going on. She never kept secrets from Gabby. Ever.

  But this time…she had to tell Chance first.

  The plane landed and they were helped off by some of Luc’s men. He’d sent bodyguards and the pilot and co-pilot, plus a private steward who had seen to their every need on the short trip. She wasn’t used to someone catering to her every whim, that was for sure.

  It took some maneuvering to help Mel down the small flight of stairs. When they were finally off of the plane they were greeted by a tall man in a dark suit.

  Mel stopped walking. Brynna almost knocked into her. “Houghton.”

  “Melody. I heard you were coming home.” Houghton Barratt turned toward Brynna and Gabby. “A little birdie told me what happened last night. I’m sorry.”

  Someone called Gabby’s name and they all turned. Elliot hurried across the tarmac of the small private airstrip. Gabby squealed and jumped into his arms. Brynna turned away to give them privacy.

  Houghton Barratt was leaning over Mel, his hands on her waist. Brynna tried not to eavesdrop on what they were saying—Gabby and Elliot were kissing, not talking—but it was impossible.

  He was apologizing for his father and was running his hands all over her sister. Was he trying to make sure his own father hadn’t hurt her? He had his hands in her hair now. “I have missed you.”

  “Houghton, why are you here?” Her sister had missed him, too. Why didn’t she tell him that?

  “Because you’re coming home with me. To my Barrattville place.”

  “No.”

  “So you are going to take your sister back to where? Your father’s house? How are you going to secure it? The TSP? Well, that’s not good enough for me, little one. It’s not. Anything can happen. At least at my place I have guards that I trust. Armed guards, and I can hire more. Hell, even that fool Lucas has offered six of his own men to help. Would that make you feel more comfortable?”

  “I—“

  “Melody, I’m just going to have to kidnap you again. And your sister. I’m not going to let anyone hurt either of you.” He leaned down and kissed her sister quickly then pulled back. “Come with me.”

  Mel looked over at Brynna and stared at her for a moment. “Bryn?”

  They had planned to go home with Gabby. But…Brynna wasn’t certain that was what she wanted. She looked at Elliot and Gabby who were just now taking a breath. They deserved their privacy, didn’t they?

  Well, for that matter, so did Mel and Houghton. Houghton’s house was a whole lot bigger—she’d googled and looked at photos. She’d even taken a virtual tour through an architectural website. There would be plenty of space for her and Mel. “I think we can go with Houghton.”

  Armed guards didn’t sound so bad, either.

  And maybe…maybe it would give her sister time to figure out what she wanted.

  Mel hadn’t stopped touching Houghton, any more than Gabby had stopped touching Elliot. Did her sister realize that?

  Houghton surprised her when he
leaned down and kissed her on her forehead. “Thank you, little sister. Consider my little cottage your own, ok?”

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX.

  * * *

  ELLIOT had seen the limo waiting in the airport parking lot when he’d driven up and he’d suspected who he would find inside waiting. It didn’t surprise him to see Houghton Barratt wrapped around Mel. He had yet to figure out what had happened between the two of them in the past, though he suspected whatever it was had been pretty intense.

  The guy couldn’t keep his hands off of her whenever she was in range. Elliot understood that himself—he had Gabby back and he couldn’t wait to get her somewhere alone.

  It took him another fifteen minutes to get Gabby’s bags from the plane and shake the Becks and Barratt. He felt momentarily guilty seeing Brynna. She still looked so…fragile, didn’t she?

  Tired and pale—paler than normal, anyway. He was only marginally reassured with the knowledge that she’d be under heavy guard with Barratt, and that her sister was watching her like a hawk.

  It wasn’t Elliot’s place to interfere between Brynna and his stupid brother, though he knew Chance was beyond miserable.

  His brother had missed that girl, probably more than Chance would ever admit. He’d bet good money that Chance had grieved her.

  Which was just stupid on his brother’s part. Brynna was right there, beautiful and his brother’s through and through. All Chance had to do was step up and tell her that he wanted her. That he needed her.

  Words Elliot was more than willing to tell the woman he loved.

  He just had to have faith that Chance and Brynna would figure things out between them eventually. That was all that he could do.

  His brother wasn’t completely stupid, after all.

  Still, having the three women back in Finley Creek changed things as far as their investigation was going. For one thing, he’d promised the superintendent and a few others of the TSP that there would be an official hearing to determine what happened in the explosion. He’d been able to put off the governor and superintendent by calling in favors—Marcus owed him quite a few—by telling him that Brynna was recuperating in St. Louis, but with her back…he might be able to delay the inquiry until after the New Year.