The Chains That Bind [The Men of Treasure Cove 10] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever)

by Rebecca Joyce

  “I got your puberty right here, dickhead,” Nelson said, crudely grabbing his crotch.

  “Enough!” Richard’s thunderous voice boomed throughout the room.

  Every muscle tightened in his face, and as much as he wanted to punch his brothers, Jake took a calming breath, and then another. Because what was about to happen next, he could not stop. There was not enough relaxation exercise in the world to calm the fury he saw in his brother’s eyes. His fist curled tightly, and his knuckles whitened. He slowed his breathing and took another deep, cleansing breath.

  “What happened between Cami and Nelson?” Richard asked.

  Duke’s eyes lowered, Levi’s looked out the window, and Jake turned around. Only Nelson kept looking at him. “I was the first to be with Cami.”

  “Okay?” Richard said, not understanding.

  “No, Richard,” Nelson said seriously. “I was her first.”

  Slowing getting to his feet, Richard walked over to his brother and looked him dead in the eye. “What do you mean, Nelson? She was married for damn near ten years.”

  “He never touched her. She was a virgin when I slept with her.”

  “Why do you care, Richard? You bolted the moment she arrived,” Duke said angrily.

  “He’s part of this, too, Duke,” Jake countered.

  “I thought you didn’t give a shit,” Duke said, never taking his eyes off him. Out of all his brothers, Duke felt the most. He was the one Richard was going to have to convince that he meant what he said, and until that happened, Duke would never forgive him.

  “I love her, Duke,” Richard said with all the sincerity he had in him. “I made a mistake, a horrible mistake that has affected too many people, including all of us. I went to New York. I saw Dad. He knows that Cami is with us and so is Ethan. He is being blackmailed by a man named Jacques Boudreaux.”

  “What did you say?” Duke asked, slowly getting to his feet. By the time Duke stood, Richard noticed that all of his brothers were on their feet and closing in on him fast. Something was wrong. They knew something he didn’t, and whatever it was, it was bad. “I said Dad…”

  “The name,” Levi growled.

  “Jacques Boudreaux?”

  “Son of a bitch!” Jake roared.

  “That motherfucker!” Duke added.

  “I’ll kill him!” Nelson vehemently said.

  “I’ll help you,” Levi insisted sternly.

  “What? Who are you going to kill?” Richard asked, unsure if they were talking about him or someone else.

  “Don’t worry, brother. You can still live. However, our father is a dead man walking,” Duke said, cracking his knuckles.

  “The man that is blackmailing Dad, Jacques Boudreaux, is Cami’s ex-husband,” Levi informed him. Blinking, Richard watched as everything fell into place. He knew all the players, why his dad was being blackmailed, and most importantly, he knew who their client was and why he wanted Cami.

  “Oh god,” Richard gasped. “We need help, and we need it now. We need to bring in Braxton, and someone needs to call the FBI.”

  “What are you talking about, Richard?” Jake asked.

  “Mr. Linkman…he’s… Oh man, it all makes sense now. He knew if he showed us a photo of the woman, we would instantly recognize her. Then I found out that Dad was dirty. He admitted to taking bribes. However, when Dad mentioned her son, I didn’t understand, only that he knew more than he was letting on. Dad needs him gone, and our client Mr. Linkman or Boudreaux wants Cami because she has Ethan. Whoever has Ethan holds all the cards. Cami isn’t the one in danger. Ethan is. She figured it out and ran.”

  “She has been protecting him all this time,” Jake whispered.

  “Are you telling me that Dad wants to kill his own son?” Nelson asked.

  “Yes! He needs Ethan gone. Dad is on a fast track to the presidency. If it ever got out that Dad had an illegitimate son from a woman who he practiced his dominant ways on, he would never be elected. Add in the blackmail money from a known criminal, and well, Dad’s career is screwed.”

  “What about Boudreaux or Linkman?” Duke asked.

  “Oh shit!” Levi gasped, clicking away on his computers. “Richard’s right. I’ve been digging around since Cami told us the name of her ex-husband. The man is dirty as hell. Jacques Reynard Boudreaux was born in Iberville Parish, Louisiana. His parents are unknown. He has a rap sheet a mile long, ranging from simple assault and battery to gun smuggling. He hit the big time when he hooked up with known arms dealer Sergio Pavlov. The FBI has been trying to bring down Pavlov’s cartel for years, with no luck.”

  “Dollface was married to that?” Nelson sighed, looking at his brothers. Richard didn’t even want to think about what she went through being around that bastard. He was hanging onto his fury by a thin thread as it was.

  “Boudreaux needs Cami to take care of Ethan. With Ethan in his hands, Boudreaux has Dad in his back pocket. Dad won’t want it publicly known, so he will continue to pay the man. However, now that Dad has been elected to the senate, Boudreaux has an ace in the hole. Dad is slated to sit on the Senate Arms Committee. With Dad in with Boudreaux, Boudreaux and this Pavlov person can continue with their business,” Levi said, turning to face his brothers. “Richard’s right. This all boils down to who has the power, and right now Cami does, because she has Ethan. We have to protect that boy and Cami. We need help.”

  “All right, here’s what were gonna do,” Richard said, smiling for the first time in four days.

  * * * *

  The boys had been in their office all morning in a meeting with a client. Well, she thought it was a client. All she knew was that when she woke this morning, she did so alone. It felt strange not waking next to one of them. She was amazed at how comfortable she had become, and so quickly. Nevertheless, this morning there were no good morning kisses, no hugs, just a large empty bed and no one to snuggle against.

  She had gotten up, showered, and dressed for the day. That was when she saw their office door closed. When she had walked past the door, she heard muffled voices and an occasional curse word. Figuring it had something to do with their line of work, she left them to it and started her day.

  It was easy taking care of the Masterson brothers. The brothers were generally clean and rarely fussed about anything she did, unless she decided to dust while they were watching football. She only did that because she knew it aggravated them. She liked riling them up every now and then. Hell, they did it to her every chance they got.

  She was in the kitchen getting ready for dinner when Ethan walked in looking dejected. “What’s wrong?”

  Sighing, Ethan sat at the table, “Nothing.”

  “Well, if nothing is wrong, I better get back to work then,”

  “Mom,” Ethan said, looking up at her. “I was thinking. Since we are staying here, could I go to school here in Treasure Cove? The town is real nice, and the fellas are way cool. They listen when I talk and are super nice to me. Levi told me the school is just down the road. He said that in the spring, he would get me a bike so I could ride it to school. I’ve never ridden a bike, and didn’t want to tell him that, but I know I can learn.”

  Pulling out a chair, Cami sat down, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. It wasn’t that simple. She knew it. If she were to enroll her son in school, they would send for his transcripts. Then her ex would have their location. It wasn’t hard to track people in today’s age. Hell, just running a simple credit card gave away her location. That was why she left all of that behind, only using cash and working under the table when she ran out. She had tried her best to give Ethan a normal upbringing.

  When she knew it was time to leave her ex, she prepared for everything, even gathering the materials for homeschooling her son. Ethan wasn’t happy about it at first, but he was a good kid and he didn’t complain that much. However, now that they had been in one location longer than she intended, things started to change. She never expected to land herself back into the arms of the
Masterson brothers, nor did she expect them to refuse to let her go. It was one thing to dream as a young girl of spending the rest of her life with the boys she loved the most, but to actually have that dream right before her, she just wasn’t sure it was possible.

  “Sweetie, you know you can’t. I’m sorry. I want this mess over, too, but I don’t know what to do,” she explained.

  “You can ask the brothers for help, Mom,” Ethan advised. “I see how they hug and kiss on you. Please, they will do anything you ask, I just know they will. Winter break is almost over. I really want to go back to school, in a real classroom, with friends, textbooks, desks, with crappy cafeteria lunches, and recess.”

  God, she felt like the worst mother on the planet. The one thing he wanted and she couldn’t give it to him. It would be so easy to give in and just admit him in the school before the next semester started. He could finish out the school year while she worked to make the extra cash they needed before it was time to leave again. Looking around the house, she realized it probably wasn’t a bad idea. They were in the middle of nowhere stuck between two mountains. With the town so small, they could keep themselves hidden from prying eyes. The area was remote and off the beaten path, so her ex-husband would have a harder time finding her.

  “All right, Ethan. On Monday, I will have Duke take us to the school. I will admit you, and we can go from there.” She smiled, praying she was doing the right thing.

  “Really?” Ethan jumped from his chair. “You mean it? I can go?”

  Grinning, she nodded and laughed when Ethan all but tackled her in a tight bear hug.

  “You break her, Ethan, and you will have us to deal with,” Jake said nonchalantly as he entered the room.

  Releasing his mother, Ethan grinned. “I won’t, I promise.”

  “Glad to hear it. So what has you so happy?” Jake asked as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

  “Mom said I can go to school on Monday,” Ethan informed him. However, when he looked at her, neither of them said a single word.

  “That’s great, kid,” Jake finally spoke. “Why don’t you go watch some television? I need to have a talk with your mom, okay?”

  “Sure thing,” Ethan replied right before he left the room.

  When her son was out of earshot, she turned to Jake. “What’s wrong?”

  “Not here. Come with me,” he said, holding his hand out for her. Worried, she took his hand and said nothing as he led her into the office, closing the door behind them.

  She kept her mouth shut when Jake offered her a seat. She tried to smile, but something about the seriousness on everyone’s faces worried her. There were two strangers also present that she had never met. Who they were she had no idea, but something about the way they looked had her worried. Then one of them spoke. “Ms. Boudreaux…”

  “Anderson. My last name is Anderson, but please call me Cami.”

  Nodding, he smiled. “Cami, my name is Braxton Connelly, and this is a good friend of mine, Landon Michaels. I live around these parts, and I’m good friends with the Mastersons. They asked me to be here because they think you need my help.”

  “I don’t see why. They seem to have everything under control,” she whispered, looking at the brothers.

  When she turned to look at Jake, he replied, “Baby, there are some things we can’t do. That’s why we asked Braxton to come over. We just got lucky that Landon was visiting at the time. We already told them everything, so you don’t have to worry. Just let them help, baby, okay?”

  “Okay,” she muttered, turning to look at Braxton again. “What do you need from me?”

  “Well, for starters, I would like your permission to fingerprint and get DNA samples from you and your son,” he asked plainly.

  Every muscle in her body tensed. Cautiously, and extremely slowly, she stood. “Who are you?” Her voice barely audible, she moved closer to the door, only to be stopped when Duke rose from his spot, blocking her path. She felt Jake standing behind her, yet he didn’t touch her.

  “My name is Braxton Connelly,” he repeated, holding out his hands, almost in a peace offering. “I’m the sheriff of Treasure Cove.”

  “And I’m Landon Michaels, ma’am. I work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the other one said. Cami’s heart fell. She knew her decision to run had its consequences and that everything she did affected Ethan, but never, not once, did she think the brothers would turn her into the police. She thought they believed her. She never lied to them. She told them the truth. She couldn’t understand why they did this.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  For weeks, she and her son drove across the United States, staying off interstates and avoiding large cities. Back roads and small towns were her best friends. Moreover, up until she landed in Treasure Cove, she was doing fine. That was until her last car ran out of gas. She should have changed cars when she had the chance. Too bad there was nothing she could do about it now. What was done was done. She couldn’t change the past, but she could change the future.

  It wouldn’t take long for the sheriff to arrest her, and he would take Ethan from her. He would call her ex, and then everything would have been for nothing. All the running and hiding was getting old, she knew that, but the alternative was not an option. When she made the decision to run, she did so knowing that if she were caught, she would die.

  Her ex made that perfectly clear when she found the papers. His threats were not just words spoken, they held weight, and when he threatened her, she believed him. That night she fled and had been running ever sense. She left everything she had ever known, took what she absolutely needed, and left. She never looked back, not once, and she never regretted anything, until now.

  “Dollface, you have to stop running,” Jake said, placing his arms around her.

  “Baby, you have trust someone,” Richard said, speaking up.

  “Let us help you, love,” Duke said, reaching for her hand.

  “Ms. Anderson,” the sheriff began. “Cami, I am not here to arrest you. Nor am I here to take your son away from you. I am here to help you.”

  “Braxton’s right, Ms. Anderson. When Jake called this morning and told us your story, I made a couple of phone calls. Is this the man you married?” Landon asked, handing her a sheet of paper.

  Cami looked at the black-and-white photo, cringing as the smug face smiled back at her. Unable to talk, she nodded, wondering what he was going to ask her next. She didn’t have the best luck with law enforcement. She decided saying nothing was better than spilling her guts, so she chose silence.

  Landon handed the paper to Levi and said, “The man in the photo is Jacques Boudreaux. He is wanted on several charges, but the main one is arms dealing. The DEA and FBI have been looking for him for years now. We thought we had him ten years ago, until he up and disappeared. I’ve contacted the Louisiana Bureau, and they are sending two agents to help. They should be here within the next hour. The DEA is also sending two agents to help out in case this Boudreaux person shows. Braxton has also contacted Garrett Riley with the U.S. Marshal Service. As of right now, until Boudreaux is in custody, and Cami has clearly identified him, there is nothing Riley can do, but he said he will send Zac Phelps and see if he can help out since he’s no longer with the Marshals. In addition, Braxton has notified the town, and they are all on alert. You landed in a very unique town, Ms. Anderson.”

  “We take care of our own out here, Cami. You’re safe with us.” Braxton smiled.

  “In the meantime, if you don’t mind, ma’am, can you answer a few questions for me?” Landon asked

  “Why isn’t Zac with Garrett?” Duke interrupted, crowding around her. She was thankful, because she wanted to bolt. The sheriff and the FBI agent were making her nervous. They sounded honest enough, but she didn’t know them. Trust was something she was low on at the moment, and she was really considering rethinking her trust in the brothers. Nevertheless, when Jake’s arms tightened around her, and Duke squeezed her
hand, she knew she would always trust them. She may not like what they did, and she sure as hell didn’t appreciate them not talking to her first about calling the sheriff, but if they trusted Braxton Connelly and Landon Michaels, then she could at least give them the benefit of the doubt.

  Laughing, Braxton replied, “Apparently the big redneck and Garrett had a falling out. Riley is in Chicago, and Zac, well he went back home to Simple.”

  “Does Pandora know Zac’s coming?” Nelson laughed.

  “No. She disappeared shortly after the last fiasco. Moon Goddess isn’t saying where she went, but assures everyone that Pandora is safe and happy,” Braxton informed them.

  “Are you talking about the cute purple-haired woman, the one who runs the reception desk at the Best Lay hotel?” Landon asked.

  “Yep,” Braxton said and then laughed. “Landon, you really do need to move here. You miss out on a lot of fun.”

  Over the next hour, Cami answered every question she could that the sheriff and the FBI agent asked, and when she couldn’t do it anymore, they accepted that and didn’t push. That alone gave them brownie points in her book. However, when it came time to fingerprint and get the DNA samples, she almost refused. If it weren’t for Duke standing right next to her the whole time, looking as if he was ready to pound them into dust if they made one funny move, she wouldn’t have done it. Nevertheless, it was done now, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  Ethan took everything in stride. Hell, when the sheriff started fingerprinting him, Ethan thought it was so cool. Ethan even talked the sheriff into letting him fingerprint and collect DNA samples from the brothers. Overall, now that everything was out and in the open, she did feel as if some weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She wasn’t sure what her future entailed, or if letting the law handle things from here on out would work. However, if kept her and Ethan safe, it was all worth it. She didn’t relish the idea of testifying in court about what her ex-husband, but she would do it, just to make sure he never came around her or Ethan again.