by Sheila Kell
“You look good, brat.”
She groaned as he winked at her. He then checked on her dad before she could form a scathing response. She wanted to stamp her foot like a child and tell him to quit.
“Everything okay?” Matt asked her quietly.
Was it? She didn’t know. Her mind was still in a jumble. The foundation? Her rapist’s brother? Her ex-fiancé? Her father? No. Nothing was okay, but she’d get through it. She’d been tough—fearful but tough—all these years; she could do it again. This time, she had Matt and HIS by her side. This chapter in her life would come to an end, and she would finally win.
“Sit down and let’s talk,” Adam directed.
Matt and Brad sat on each side of her on the couch, not giving her room to move. Ken positioned himself in the doorway. Were they that worried about Luke getting into the house? Good Lord, she hoped not.
“I have something to say,” she started before anyone else could speak and decide her future without her input. “I can’t let the thought of Travis Ripley ruin my life any longer. Even though he’s in jail, I remained hidden and living in fear. I won’t give him or his brother that power.” She turned to Matt. “What do we need to do to catch Luke and make him pay for what he did to my dad?”
Matt exploded. “We’re catching him. You’re”—he pointed a finger at her—“not catching him. We’re keeping you safe until he’s captured.”
“And how long do you think that will take?” she asked.
“As long as it does.” Matt’s tone seemed more controlled than it had just been.
With a huff at that absurdity of the answer, she narrowed her eyes a fraction. She appreciated what they were doing—would continue to do—for her, but she wanted to help capture the threat so her father and she would be safe again. “Not good enough.”
Matt’s face moved to mere inches from hers, and he ground out, “It’ll have to be.”
Breath hitching, she couldn’t help but wonder why at that moment she hoped he’d kiss her.
“HOW COULD SHE even think that she could help us catch that fucker?” Matt railed to Brad as he settled on the floor in the living room while Brad, who had won the coin toss for the couch, settled into his comfy bed for the night lying on his side, facing Matt.
The home had three bedrooms, but Adam had turned the third one into an office, so they could either sleep on the furniture or floor, or travel to a hotel. The last was unacceptable to him. He needed to be where Caitlyn was, or he didn’t think his heart could take it. She was in danger, and letting her out of his sight was damn difficult. Hell, he’d have crawled into bed with her if she’d have let him. Although, he doubted sleep would’ve been on his mind. She was still too hot of a package for his dick not to respond. Thank God he didn’t allow that head to make the decisions.
“She’s always been tough,” Brad remarked. “She had to have been to survive what she did and come out so strong”
“Still.”
“I can’t get over the changes in her.”
Matt’s back stiffened and his ire went on red-hot alert. There was no telling what the hell would come out of Brad’s mouth, but he had to know what his brother meant. “What do you mean?” he questioned slowly.
“You know. She’s filled out more.” He could hear the laughter in his twin’s voice, and he wanted to deck him right in his smartass mouth.
“Fuck you.”
Brad rolled onto his back and put his hands underneath his head, gazing at the ceiling. “You still love her, don’t you?”
Sputtering, Matt didn’t know what to say, but finally got out, “What do you mean?” There was nothing like sounding defensive to avoid answering a question.
With a sigh, Brad turned back to him. “You heard me.”
He couldn’t lie to his twin, and he didn’t see a reason to even consider it. It would be the first time he’d admitted it out loud in eight years though. “I never stopped.”
“Did she forgive you like you wanted?”
His heart pounded. His brother knew what he’d needed. Brad had been at the door of the hospital room when she’d yelled at Matt and told him it was his fault. “Yeah.”
“And?”
Matt exhaled a long breath. “I don’t know.”
“I do. You can’t forgive yourself.”
How could Brad know him that well? Of course, he’d swear to know his twin the same, so that was a stupid question.
“If you want a future with her, you have to forgive yourself and move forward like she has.”
“I don’t know that she’s moved forward. I mean, there’s no us that she’s considering.”
Brad resettled himself on his back. “You won’t know unless you try, but, brother, I’m serious. It won’t work unless you drop that heavy weight you carry. The shit happened, and you can’t change it, so it’s a waste to dredge it up.”
Matt snorted. “When did you become the expert on relationships?”
“I’m not. I just know the two of you really well. Goodnight.”
Brad hadn’t told Matt anything he hadn’t already known and considered. The questions were whether he could forgive himself and whether Caitlyn would ever consider a relationship with him again. Just because she forgave him didn’t mean she wanted to rush back into his arms like nothing happened. No, she wanted to catch a fucking asshole who meant her harm.
That night, his dreams weren’t filled with the SEAL mission where he’d lost friends. Instead, they were filled with Caitlyn running in fear and him not being able to get to her.
The next morning, he woke early and hurried to dress. “We’re leaving today,” he told Brad, who’d just stood to stretch. They’d been here longer than he wanted. Of course, he hadn’t wanted to come here in the first place, but he couldn’t have kept Caitlyn away.
Brad nodded. “The second team should be here by ten. Maybe we should just take that team instead of switching out teams.”
“No, sir,” Ken said, walking into the room with a cup of coffee in his hand. “Believe me, that was my plan, but Adam trusts these men, so he wants them on Caitlyn. I tried to explain the next set of men would be as good, but he wouldn’t hear of it.”
“Are you ready to transition and get on the road?” Matt asked as he folded the blanket he’d used.
“We are. Besides your vehicle, we have two vehicles for the team, so we’ll be able to see if anyone is following us. Brad said he’s riding with you.”
Matt narrowed his eyes at his twin, who just smirked. Since Devon had organized approval to drive through the three states and keep their weapons in open carry, he attached his nine-millimeter Glock to his hip. The subcompact Glock attached to his ankle was a no-brainer.
“Adam’s sister should be here about the same time. He said she’d want to see Caitlyn.”
“Hell.” Matt wiped his hand over his face, his pulse racing. “It was bad enough coming down here. That fucker could be watching somewhere, waiting to know for sure she’s here.”
“We’ve got her covered,” Brad stated, as if reading his mind.
“I want her out of here and back to the safety of her own home.”
“It’ll only be a short visit,” Brad said, then clarified, “We’ll make it a short visit.”
Caitlyn came into the living room, helping her father as he struggled to walk the distance. All three men rushed to him, but Ken had somehow managed to put down his coffee and get their first.
“Catie said she’d cook breakfast for you this morning,” Adam said, smiling.
Caitlyn, on the other hand, grimaced.
Seeing that, Matt piped up, “I’ll help. Come on, Caitlyn.” He touched her arm to lead her to the kitchen, and he felt the brief contact down to his groin. “Let’s get cooking.” In the background, he heard Brad chuckle at his comment.
Once they were in the kitchen, he turned to her and asked what they planned to cook.
Opening the refrigerator to look inside, she said, “Spend the time
with my dad is what I want to do.”
Accepting the bacon she’d handed to him, making sure to brush their hands for the warm, electric touch, he smiled. “And he wants you to play hostess. We’ll fix this up fast.” He relieved her of the carton of eggs and placed them on the counter. Remembering where the pantry was, he searched it for pancake mix and syrup. Once he’d succeeded, he added them to the countertop. She went behind him and added grits. After they’d finished locating pantry items, they were ready to make breakfast. “I hope it’s okay, I put pancakes in instead of biscuits because those boys will be hungry, and it’ll be less work for you and more time with your dad.” He didn’t mention they were mostly northern boys and probably wouldn’t eat the grits. Then again, with the manners that had been instilled in all of them by Kate, they’d probably eat them to be polite.
Their eyes met, and his heart did a flip-flop in her softened gaze. She was bravely dealing with her situation, and it fed his soul.
With the water on for the grits first—they took the longest since they weren’t instant—Matt took the time to discuss their travel with Caitlyn. “We’ll give you a half hour to meet with your aunt before we get on the road.”
“Thirty minutes. Are you nuts? I want an hour.” Her emotions were pleading, her eyes asking for the time, and he fought not to wrap his arms around her for comfort.
“Do you realize it’ll already be late when we get there and it’ll be hard for the men to scope out the place their first time in the dark. You have a lot of woods nearby they’ll want to check.”
“One hour. And they shouldn’t have to worry about it when we first get there. Luke doesn’t know where I live.”
But it wasn’t impossible that he’d find out. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Good grief, you’re stubborn.”
A smile lifted her lips and his breath caught at the action. “I remember you calling me that a time or two.”
In that instant, he wanted to grab her and kiss her hard. Hell, it hadn’t been the first time he’d wanted to do so since he’d seen her again, but her being playful jolted his dick to action. It made him crave her more than he already did.
He wondered what she’d do if he scooped her up into his arms. Nothing good. He remembered how when he’d tried to take her arm to come into the kitchen she’d flinched. And maybe it was automatic, but he didn’t like it. Not one fucking bit.
How would he try to win her love back if he couldn’t even touch her?
“One hour,” she repeated.
Roused back to the conversation, he sighed in resignation. “One hour. But that’s it. We get on the road even if I have to carry you kicking and screaming to the car.”
She smiled sweetly. “Deal. Now, it’s time to get this breakfast going.”
In no time, Matt flipped the last pancake—his cooking chore—and served Adam and the first rotation of the men. As he’d predicted, the men ate small portions of the grits and gave a perfunctory smile. Kate would be proud of them. They’d taken to her mothering really well. They just enjoyed her cooking so much they’d do anything to get invited to the table. Even if it meant eating something they didn’t like so they could have what they did like.
The second crew of men offered to clean the dishes before Liz Fenton arrived. And when she did, Matt felt like he’d been through a whirlwind. The hour flew by, and he was exhausted by the time he, Caitlyn, and the men left in three vehicles. And he hadn’t done anything but be in Liz’s presence. A great presence. Somehow he’d never met Liz while he and Caitlyn had dated. It was intriguing to finally meet the woman Caitlyn had always raved about.
“What did you think of Aunt Liz?” she asked as they buckled into their seats.
Matt noticed Brad, who sat in the back, kept his mouth shut, leaving the question to him. This would be a fun trip. His very own chaperone.
With that unfortunate thought, he started the car and tried to form the right words to answer the question. He didn’t want to be in the doghouse before he’d had a chance with her.
THEY ARRIVED IN Kentucky without issue. Brad kept up the conversation asking Caitlyn nonstop questions about her organization, the dogs, and the warriors who received them. She barely had an opening to ask about the Hamiltons. She wanted to know about Matt and his life since they’d been apart, but couldn’t bring herself to ask openly with Brad in the car. However, Brad did offer tidbits of what Matt had been doing since she’d left him. Of course, the incident that split them hadn’t been brought up. Thank God. She had no idea if Brad knew what had transpired between her and Matt after the rape. Being that they were especially close twins, he probably knew, but Matt had always been private. She could only hope he hadn’t spread that she’d been an irrational bitch.
When they’d been close to her home, Matt had sent one of the cars ahead of them to check things out. She’d already had to hand over her keys before they’d left Water Valley. Matt must’ve planned for it. His planning and taking over the trip and her protection relaxed her. Thankfully, Matt wasn’t pushy about it. Had he been a big bully, then she might’ve had something to say. But, as long as it kept those around her safe, she’d deal with it for as long as she could handle the intrusion.
She chuckled inwardly. Thank goodness it was Matt and not Brad. Matt had been right that Brad had changed. The twin had no filter and was dominating in almost any instance. No wonder he was still single. But she did concede that he was always gentle with her. It was how he discussed people outside the Hamilton fold that she’d noticed his personality in full force.
Brad ended a call on his cell phone. “Ken says the house and facility are clear. They’re still checking the woods. That could take a while.”
Matt nodded, slowed, and took the next off-ramp from the interstate. “Hungry?” he asked.
She almost said no, but her stomach took that moment to rumble loudly. She laughed. “I guess I am.”
“How about Cracker Barrel?” Matt offered.
“Oh, I love their shopping.”
Brad grunted. “I think he meant to eat, not shop, brat.”
Once again, she ignored the nickname. In truth, part of her liked that he felt close enough to her to give her a nickname. She only wished it was something else. “Oh, their food is good.”
When they reached the door of the restaurant, she stopped when Brad pushed past her and entered first. What the hell happened to gentlemanly manners?
As if reading her mind, Matt leaned down and whispered in her ear, “He’s checking the place out to make sure it’s safe.”
“Oh,” she breathed. Of course. She’d felt so safe with them; how easily she’d forgotten. Yet, did they really think Luke had followed them, then driven ahead and stopped at Cracker Barrel on the off chance they stopped to eat? The men might be taking this a bit overboard, she thought.
“We don’t expect him yet, but until we know where he is….” Matt trailed off.
He’d placed his hand on the small of her back and slowly propelled her forward before she realized he’d said “yet.” They didn’t expect him yet. A shiver raced down her spine. They expected him even though they’d done what they needed to do to get her home safely.
Of course they anticipated him at some unexpected point in time. Why else would they surround her here and at her home? She couldn’t fret over it since there was nothing she could do about it, but she couldn’t forget it either. The idea of running into any Ripley left her cold inside, and she hated that feeling.
Realizing she hadn’t shrunk back from Matt’s hand on her back, she made herself stay the course. Allowing him to touch her—even so lightly and with purpose—it really was progress that she could accept Matt’s touch, even as minuscule as it was, and even Brad’s, but no one else’s.
Sitting down to a carb-heavy dinner—they didn’t have much else on the menu—she laughed as Brad told stories of the brothers.
“The night before Matt went into the navy, me and some of the guys from college took him out.
Boy was that a night to remember.” Brad shook his head and took a big bite of his steak.
“Enough,” Matt growled in response.
“Oh?” she quizzed as she covered a french fry in ketchup. “What made it so memorable?” She bit into the fry and almost moaned with delight. There was something about the combination that just set her taste buds on fire.
“Tattoos,” Brad stated while Matt said, “Nothing.”
Glancing back and forth between the brothers, she smiled. “Tattoos, huh?”
“It’s nothing,” Matt reiterated.
“Don’t listen to him,” Brad advised with a mischievous smile. “We have matching tattoos so we would always remember each other and the fun we had.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. Matt had never been a tattoo person; in fact, he’d always been a little opposed to them when they’d been in college. She guessed getting drunk must’ve fractured that thinking.
Not that she was opposed to them. She was indifferent, since it wasn’t her body. Men, and women, could have them or not, but she didn’t want needles unnecessarily stuck in her skin. Only she didn’t really care for them on the face. It could sometimes be a bit creepy.
“May I see?” she dared to ask, knowing Matt wasn’t happy about the topic.
“Not in here,” he directed at Brad, who’d grabbed hold of his shirt as if ready to pull it up or off.
She stifled a chuckled. She wouldn’t put it past Brad to rip his shirt off in public. That much hadn’t seemed to change in him. “Ooh,” she cooed. “I’m intrigued.”
Brad winked at her. “I’ll show you anytime, brat.”
Again he called her that. But she wouldn’t allow him to get a rise out of her, which she was sure he was doing. Or maybe he was trying to get a rise out of Matt, since this tattoo thing seemed to bother him. She wondered why that was.
“You will not,” Matt ordered.