by L. P. Dover
“What happens if you or the others get married? Who’s going to live at the ranch?”
His green gaze met mine. “Want to get married and find out?”
I slapped his arm. “I’m being serious.”
He laughed and took my hand, bringing it to his lips. “Neither I nor my brothers have been seriously involved with anyone. We haven’t had to think about it.” His lips touched my hand. “But if I were to get married and my wife wanted to live here, my brothers would let me have it. Our family has enough money.”
“And yet, you share a house with two siblings. I think it’s nice you’re close to them. I imagine I’d have been that way if I had some.” I laid back on the rock. It was warm from the sun. “What’s Wade like?”
Ian settled in beside me, still holding my hand. I stared up at the fluffy, white clouds rolling by. “He’s two years older than me, but not as charming. The man’s serious, just like Bryce. They get it from our father. Reed’s a mixture of both my parents.”
“I’m assuming you’re like your mother?” I asked, smiling over at him.
He met my gaze and smiled. “Everyone loved her. She always joked around and knew how to have a good time. I got that from her, but the rest from my father.”
I glided my fingers down his tattooed arm. “What about the tattoos? What do they mean?” He had a skeleton on one arm, intertwined with various other scenes. It reminded me of something medieval. Then on the other arm, there was a sword and scales with a snake wrapped around the hilt, all surrounded by other markings that covered his arm. A date was written on the blade.
Ian glanced down at his arm and sat up, placing a hand over the scales. “I was going to tell you this at some point. At least here, if you try to run away, I can catch up with you.”
Heart racing, I sat up and faced him. The look in his eyes made me nervous. “Why would I run away?”
“You’d be surprised, buttercup. I have a lot of secrets. Ones I haven’t shared outside of my family and close friends.”
“Tell me,” I pleaded. “There’s nothing you can say that’ll scare me.”
He stood and helped me up. “I doubt that.”
Holding my hand, we jumped across the rocks back onto the bank. I untied Ellie and watched him walk over to Charger. “Just tell me, Ian. I might not know what kind of things FBI agents do, but I’m not stupid. I know it can be dark and dangerous. I bet you’ve killed people too.”
He hopped onto Charger’s back, never taking his eyes away from mine as I climbed onto Ellie. “What would you say if I had?”
I shook my head. “Not a damn thing. Is that what this is about, that you’ve killed people? I’m the daughter of a police officer, Ian. It comes with the line of duty.”
“Not like this.” Charger grew restless, his leg muscles twitching. He could sense Ian’s distress. “I kill. It’s what I do.”
“Okay,” I said with a shrug. “Is that supposed to scare me?”
“It should, especially knowing I’ve killed over two hundred people.”
The breath whooshed out of my lungs. At first, I thought it was a joke, but there wasn’t even the slightest hint of a smile on his face. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
He nodded and looked down at his arm. “The scales and sword represent the Circle of Justice. It’s a secret group, formed by my father.” Sighing, he lifted his eyes to mine. “We’re assassins. I kill people who escape the system, people who deserve to be dead. I hunt them down and kill them without a second thought.”
I started to speak, but he held up his hand. “Don’t say anything, Grace. Just think about what I said. You need to know what kind of man you’re with.”
He took off with Charger, leaving me behind. “Ian!” I shouted.
His whistle echoed in the trees and Ellie whinnied, lifting her front feet in the air. I screamed and held on tight as she bolted after him. But Charger was too fast. We made it back to the ranch in one piece, and Ian was nowhere to be found. Charger was alone in the field, so I hopped off Ellie’s back and walked the rest of the way to the house.
He needed to know I wasn’t afraid. The only thing I was afraid of was falling in love with him. But even that was too late.
I found Ian using the tracker watch, but I didn’t go to him. Instead, I went inside the house and took a shower. He wanted me to think about what he’d said, but there was nothing to think about. I couldn’t imagine him being an assassin, but it didn’t make me think any less of him.
Once my hair was dried and I was dressed, I walked out of the bedroom to the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut. I thought Ian would come back to the bedroom to search for me, but he’d gone straight for the kitchen.
I tiptoed down the hall and peeked around the wall. I could see him standing at the sink with his back to me, drinking a glass of water. He put the glass in the sink and started toward me, only he couldn’t see me. When he turned the corner, I flung my arms around his neck and kissed him.
I pressed my forehead to his. “I don’t care what you are or what you do. I’m in love with you.” As soon as I said it, I knew something wasn’t right. He’d gone stiff, and his lips didn’t taste the same. I opened my eyes and stepped back. The man in front of me had the same face and eyes as Ian, but wasn’t the man I loved. “Bryce.”
His eyes widened and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Grace?”
Nodding, I moved further back, cheeks burning like fire. “I am so sorry. I thought you were Ian.” I should’ve known by his clothes, but I hadn’t been paying attention. Bryce was wearing a white button-down with gray slacks, definitely not what Ian had been wearing for our ride.
“And I thought you were dead. How are you here? I’ve seen the news.” I’d never officially met Bryce, but I could tell he didn’t have the joking personality like Ian.
“I escaped a few days ago, but no one knows I’m alive. Ian’s keeping me safe.” I squeezed his arm. “Again, I’m so sorry.”
His lips tilted slightly. “I’m glad you could tell the difference. Most women can’t.”
“I knew you were different the second I kissed you.”
“That’s nice to know,” Ian said, his voice clipped. My pulse spiked. I looked around Bryce’s shoulder and Ian was in the living room, staring at us. His gaze narrowed at Bryce. “What are you doing here? It’s not safe.”
Bryce turned and nodded. “I know, but I had to see you. When I saw the news about Grace, I thought you’d need me.” A harrowing look passed across Ian’s face and the room fell silent. Bryce glanced from Ian to me. “I’ll be outside. I have to leave by the end of the night.”
Bryce placed a hand on Ian’s shoulder in passing and walked out the back door. Ian kept his gaze on the floor, then looked up at me, his green eyes boring into mine.
“I’m so sorry, Ian. The second I kissed him, I knew something wasn’t right. It’s not like I wanted—”
He held up his hand. “You don’t have to explain. I think I’m more surprised he’s here than you are.”
I took a step closer. “Why would he risk everything to make sure you’re okay? What do I have to do with this?”
“Because he knows how I feel about you,” he answered, sighing heavily. “I haven’t cared about anyone since the last girl I cared about died in the car accident. I was distraught over that. Bryce is the one who helped me through it.”
“He really loves you,” I murmured.
Ian nodded. “We look after each other. I was with him those three weeks I was gone.”
“He’s an assassin too?” I asked, keeping my eyes on his. I wanted him to know I wasn’t afraid.
He nodded again. “So is Reed, and my older brother. I had to help Bryce kill a member of the mob up in New York. And that’s why Reed’s been disappearing at night.” With the way he looked at me, it was like he expected me to show fear. Instead, I walked right up to him and clutched his face in my hands. His eyes widened in surprise.
“I’m
going to tell you what I said to Bryce.” He pulled me into his body and I melted against him. “I don’t care what you are, or what you do. You could kill a thousand bad guys and I’d still be in love with you.” For a few seconds, all he did was stare at me, until a mischievous grin brightened his face.
“You told my brother you loved him?” he asked, and I nodded, embarrassed. Smiling, he continued. “And you love me?”
“I said it, didn’t I?”
Chuckling, he kissed me, his tongue sliding in deep. I moaned into his mouth and let him claim me. “It’s about damn time you admitted it to yourself.”
“What about you? Have anything to say about it?”
He set me down and winked. “Oh, I have a lot to say, buttercup, but now’s not the time. We have company.” He nodded toward the window, where Blake, Hadley, and Connor stood, talking to Bryce.
“What’s going on?”
“We have to get prepared. If everything goes to plan, the first stage of getting in with Daniel starts tonight.”
Ian
“I never got to say thank you for helping me. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you,” Bryce said, rubbing Charger’s snout.
I leaned against the stall door. I could hear Blake’s tires crunching gravel as they made their way down the long drive. We’d just finished up with our plan for Daniel. Now, all we had to do was wait for the right time. “You’re welcome. Thanks for coming to check on me. I don’t know what I would’ve done if Grace hadn’t escaped.”
“I take it she knows what we are?” he asked.
I nodded. “She needed to know. There’s no way I could be with her and not tell her the truth.”
Bryce patted Charger’s back and shut the stall door. There was something bothering him; I could see it on his face. “I get it. You’ve wanted her for a long time.” His phone vibrated and he pulled it out, a small grin tilting the corner of his lips.
“Something you want to tell me, brother?” I asked.
He tucked his phone away, smile fading. Sighing, he walked out of the barn and I followed him to his rental car. “Her name is Layla Costello.”
As soon as he said the last name, I couldn’t believe what I heard. “Are you fucking kidding me? Please tell me she’s not who I think she is.” If my memory served correctly, she was the daughter of the man he was missioned to kill.
Bryce blew out a frustrated breath. “Yes, she’s Anthony Costello’s daughter, and she’s in Wyoming with me.”
“What? Why the hell would you bring her here? Where is she?”
He nodded toward the road. “About three miles south of here. I rented a cabin for a couple of days, before we fly out to Seattle. Anthony trusts me with her. It took a year to gain that. That’s why I had to bring her.”
“Where does she think you are?”
His gaze wandered over to the barn. “I told her I’d find her a horse. We just bought a farm together in Norwich.”
I barely recognized my own twin standing before me. He’d just bought a damn farm with this woman? Judging by the look on his face, there was more to the story. “Do you love her?”
His jaw clenched. “She’s not like her family.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Yes,” he snapped, glaring over at me. “I love her. At first, I was using her to get to her father, but . . . things changed.”
“And you think she’ll still love you when you kill her father? What about when she finds out who you really are?” His silence spoke louder than words. Now I realized why it’d taken him so long to make the kill. “You don’t want to do it, do you?” I knew my brother better than anyone.
“It’s complicated. I’ve lived this life for over a year now.”
“Do I need to go up there and kill the bastard?”
“No,” he growled, his body tense. “I don’t want you anywhere near New York.”
“Then get it handled, Bryce. Your family misses you. Your real family. Don’t forget who we are, who you are.”
He opened his car door and sighed. “I miss it here. When I saw the news about Grace, I had to find a reason to see you. I’m glad she’s okay. I wish I could help you with the case.”
“Me too.”
“Tell Reed I stopped by, and that I’m sorry I couldn’t stick around.”
We hugged, then he hopped in the car and rolled the window down. I didn’t want him to go. “What are you going to tell your girlfriend when you show up without a horse?”
“I won’t be without one,” he mentioned sadly. “I need you to arrange for Charger to get shipped to New York.” I had a feeling that was what he’d want.
“Okay. I’ll get it done. You have my word.”
“Thanks, brother.” He lifted his hand in a wave and took off. “Until next time.”
The front door opened and Grace joined me. “Everything okay?”
Putting my arm around her waist, I shook my head. “I’m afraid this might be the last time I see him.”
She stepped in front of me, her expression serious. “He’s a Chandler, Ian. Whatever happens, he’ll be back.”
I watched him disappear down the road. “I sure hope you’re right.”
Just then my phone beeped.
Reed: Daniel just pulled up at Wild River.
Me: Good. I’ll get the plan in motion.
Once Reed arrived at the ranch to stay with Grace, I was on my way, wire in place. I told him about Bryce, but there was someone else who needed to know what was going on as well. Pulling out my phone, I called him.
“Good evening, son,” my father answered, his voice guarded. “How are you?”
“Grace has been found alive.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “I was afraid you were calling to tell me otherwise.”
“No, thank fucking God. She showed up on my back porch, just fell into my lap. Apparently, people are being hunted and she was one of them. She escaped and told me everything.”
“What the hell,” he growled. “Any leads?”
“Yes, which is why I need you to stay quiet until Reed and I figure all this out. Her father knows already. We’re so close to nailing this guy.”
“Good. If you need me to do anything, just let me know.”
“Will do.” Before he could hang up, I cleared my throat. “There’s something else I wanted to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Bryce stopped by today.”
He sucked in a loud breath. “You saw him? How is he?”
“He looks good. He wanted to make sure I was okay after hearing about Grace. But Dad, he came out here with Layla Costello. And I’m sure you can imagine why they’re together.”
“Oh, no,” he groaned. “Please tell me he hasn’t fallen for her.”
“I wish I could. I’m just hoping he finds his way back home.”
The line went quiet, but I could sense my father’s pain. I couldn’t imagine what it’d feel like to lose a son, especially to the Costello family. “Thanks for telling me,” my father said, his voice low. “If he doesn’t get out, we’ll force him out ourselves.”
“I’m on board. Just say the word.”
We hung up just in time for me to pull into the Wild River bar parking lot. Daniel’s car was there, but so were a few others I recognized, including Zoe’s. Groaning, I got out of my car and walked inside.
In a corner table, Zoe sat with another man. She stiffened when I walked by, but I paid her no attention. And as luck would have it, there was no sign of Daniel, but Jared and his sister, Lauren, sat at the bar, along with Emily. This could actually turn out to my benefit. Emily was the one I wanted to observe. Before I could sit down, Jared took off.
The bartender, a tall, lanky man with glasses, laid a coaster down in front of me. “Care for a drink?”
“Gin and tonic, please.”
The bartender nodded and mixed my drink, stealing side glances at the women. I looked over at Lauren and she didn’t seem to notice the
man staring at her. Lauren Beckett was a beautiful woman and she knew it, but no one compared to Grace. She smiled at me and glanced down at my drink. “One of my favorites.”
I held up my glass. “Can’t go wrong.”
Lauren giggled. “My brother says it tastes like pine trees.”
Shaking my head, I took a sip. “Your brother’s an idiot.” I wanted to say much worse, but held back.
Lauren snorted. “Got that right. Do you know my brother?”
“A little,” I said with a shrug. “We have some mutual friends.”
Emily bumped Lauren in the shoulder. “Oh, stop. Your brother’s a sweetheart. I love working for him.”
Daniel walked through the front door and his gaze locked onto us at the bar. Waving him over and pretending to smile was the hardest fucking thing I’d had to do in a long time. I wanted to kill the bastard.
With a wide grin, he came over and sat beside Emily. “Dude, you’re holding out on me over here. You got two lovely ladies all to yourself.”
“You’re such a flirt,” Emily teased seductively. Daniel winked at her and smiled at Lauren.
“That he is,” Lauren agreed. “Uh-oh, skeez alert.” She nodded at me, letting me know someone was coming up behind me.
“I see you don’t know how to return calls,” Zoe hissed.
I tossed back the rest of my drink and glanced at her over my shoulder, clearly unamused. The others looked on, trying their best not to laugh. Now that Zoe was clearly not in cahoots with Daniel, I didn’t see the need to keep stringing her along. “Didn’t think you cared. There looks to be another man at your table.”
She looked at the man and shrugged. “He’s a friend. The least you could’ve done was return my calls.”
Lauren put her arm around me, pressing her breasts into my chest. “He thought you’d get the picture, sweetheart. He’s been busy with me. Sorry.”
Zoe huffed and turned on her heel, storming back to her table.
Lauren laughed and patted my back. “You’re welcome.”
“Thanks. I owe you one.”
She winked. “I’m sure I’ll see you around soon. Maybe I’ll collect on it then.” Her fingers slid down my arm. “I’m heading out, guys. Daniel, it was nice seeing you again. You all have a good night.”