by Avery Gale
“I think it was the same truck that tried to scare me the other night, but I really don’t know. My head hurts so much, but every time I go to sleep someone wakes me up. Can I sleep here? You won’t let them push me off the road again will you? Boy, I’m really thirsty, too. Did I eat lunch? Boy, I’m tired.” And just like that she was fast asleep.
Bree giggled and said, “Even though we always worry about patients with severe concussions, they can sure be a hoot, too. Her scans all came back clear, but I’d like to keep her overnight to be sure. And Cash, if you could stay with her that would be helpful. She seems to settle the most when you are in the room. I’m just guessing, but are you the first one of the three of you that she met?”
When he nodded, she simply smiled and then started herding out the other staff that had rushed in at Layla’s squeal. Dylan Marshall was leaning against the wall and moved closer as the room emptied out. Cash looked up and asked, “Did you hear her?”
“I did and that jives with what she told Noah at the scene. I want to check with Bree, but from what I’ve heard sometimes the confusion isn’t immediate after a head injury, and if that’s right, her report to Drummond would be even more credible.” Collin and Clay were clearly confused by their conversation and Dylan and Cash brought them up to speed quickly and as quietly as possible, hoping Layla would get a bit of rest before they had to wake her again.
“Noah said he had met several vehicles on his way up the mountain, but he hadn’t really paid much attention because he’d been concentrating on driving on the slick roadway. But he did say that Layla was adamant that a large truck had caused her to wreck and she just didn’t understand why the truck stopped and she felt like the driver was looking at her before it had simply sped on down the mountain. And had you guys heard her mention anything about a previous incident before just now? Because that was new information for me.” Dylan had taken his iPad out and was tapping so hard on the screen Cash almost cringed.
Collin had stepped forward and shook his head before reaching for the device. “Damnit, Dylan, you’re going to put your Jolly Green Giant fingers right through the fucking screen. What are you trying to do? Beat the poor thing into submission?”
“What? Well, the damned thing doesn’t work very well for me for some reason. It likes Mia better. Anyway, I was sending a message to my deputies to keep their ears to the ground and be on the lookout for a large dark-colored truck that doesn’t seem to belong to a local.”
Collin had the iPad in hand and was quickly finishing typing the message Dylan had started. When he was through, he turned to Dylan. “It likes Mia better because that sweet wife of yours doesn’t beat on it like it’s some kind of African drum issuing a call to arms. Come by the house someday and I’ll give you the iPad for Dummies crash course. It’ll save you a lot of grief and probably a lot of money as well.”
Dylan laughed and then agreed to meet up with them tomorrow at their home. They had assured him they’d be taking Layla home with them so they could take care of her. Just as Dylan opened the door to leave, Kat Lamont swept through the open door. “Oh my God, is she okay? I couldn’t believe it when I heard she’d had an accident on the way back to you. How long does she have to stay here? Do you need me to bring her anything? Is Bree her doctor? I know she was planning to drive really slowly, so I can’t imagine how she had trouble. Did one of you find her? What time was it? God, I hope she didn’t have to lie in the cold very long.” She shivered and started to open her mouth to speak again but was interrupted when her husbands both stepped around the tiny blonde.
“Katarina, I don’t know how you do it, love, but I do believe you just set a new personal record—six questions and three topic changes without taking a breath. Impressive, but perhaps a bit overwhelming, don’t you think?” He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head before looking down at her indulgently, then looking up at each of them, he asked, “How is she?”
Collin stepped forward and explained what Bree had told them. Both Alex and Zach nodded and listened intently. But Kat had moved to sit next to him and was slowly stroking Layla’s hair back from her face in the soothing strokes of a mother. When Cash smiled at her he saw she had big tears in her eyes. “She is so sweet and fun. And she’s crazy about the three of you, you know?” She paused for a moment and then sighed. “I was so hoping that just once I’d make a friend that some ass hat wasn’t trying to hurt.”
“Katarina, language. I swear, we can’t take her anywhere anymore.” Alex’s words were tempered by his smile and when Cash looked over at Zach he saw the big man wink at his tiny sweetheart of a wife.
Everyone laughed quietly when Kat cringed and then shrugged. “Sorry, but I’m a passionate person.” And then glancing at her husbands she added, “And it’s all because of you, my loves.”
Alex shook his head. “Good save, love. Now, perhaps you’d like to ask your questions one at a time?” Cash let his brothers give everyone the updated information while he kept quiet hoping Layla wouldn’t be disturbed as he held her against his chest. She hadn’t stirred and it was very satisfying to feel her curled against him like a contented kitten.
After everyone had been shooed out by the nursing staff and Layla roused so she could identify the current President of the United States and the date, he settled her once more and lay alongside her on the bed. Collin and Clay left to take Lainy back home and take a look at Layla’s car. He’d also heard Collin speaking with Zach about enlisting Mitch Grayson’s help with background checks to see who could possibly be targeting the Red Clouds’ woman. He was too busy assessing everything that had happened to sleep so he just held her in his arms and thanked the Great Spirit for the opportunity.
He was still frustrated that she hadn’t driven something safer, but in all honesty if she had, she might not have fared as well. If she’d been in a vehicle she wasn’t accustomed to, she might well have lost control sooner and not had the guardrail to slow her down. He shuddered at the thought of how different this day could have ended.
Chapter 17
Layla had been ready to climb the walls for days. All three of the Red Cloud brothers had hovered until she’d nearly taken each of their heads off. She wasn’t sure she’d have been allowed to return to work yet if it hadn’t been for Lainy and Cora Red Cloud’s help. Cora and her husbands had arrived the day she’d been dismissed from the hospital and had stayed for several days helping keep her corralled. She’d been grateful for their company and for keeping the men distracted so they didn’t actually smother her. Cora was a pistol and it was easy to see where Ilaina had gotten her fierce independence as well as her incredible beauty.
She had enjoyed the time she’d spent with the elder Red Clouds and had nearly cried when she’d sat and watched the family interact during their meals together. Losing contact with her large extended family had been almost more than Layla had been able to bear, but she’d thrown herself into proving to them that she could not only survive, but that she could thrive as well and it had been that distraction that had gotten her through.
Tori and Trace had been out of town when she’d had her accident, but her sweet friend had stopped by the Red Clouds’ each day to check on her since their return. Layla was fairly certain her friend was pregnant, but she hadn’t had a chance to ask her because there hadn’t been more than a few seconds when they hadn’t been surrounded by other people. Layla might be outspoken, but she certainly wasn’t rude and she understood the value of discretion. She knew that the Bartells were trying to conceive, and she could hardly wait until the couple had good news to share. Layla planned to be the best “aunt” there ever was. Since Tori and Trace were both only children, and Layla was basically an orphan, she’d nominated herself as “aunt” to their future children.
Looking around the motel, she was amazed at what all had been completed in the past few days. They were nearly ready for guests and Layla could barely contain her enthusiasm. They’d started taking reservations a couple of days ago an
d her assistant manager had stepped up in fine fashion while she’d been gone. She noticed a piece of string hanging from the light fixture in her office and wondered how it could have gotten there. Glancing around she saw a small wooden stepladder and decided to investigate. Her wrist was still in a cast but the ladder appeared to be stable and she was too curious to wait for someone else to happen along.
Just as she reached for the string she heard a loud snap that sounded like wood splintering and then the ladder went out from under her. She heard herself scream and then it felt like her right ankle had been locked in a vise before hitting it with a hammer. Holy fucking shit that hurts! And how am I going to get to the phone I left on my desk?
* * * *
Clay had been working on the last of the security cameras when he’d heard a scream. He knew Layla was the only woman in the building so the sound had sent him into a panic. When he ran into her office he found her on the floor clutching her ankle and crying softly. He barely glanced at the small wooden ladder but noticed the leg looked as if it had been cut part way through and then broken the rest of the way off. After checking that she wasn’t injured anywhere else, he sent a quick message to his brothers and made a quick call to the hospital’s emergency department to let them know he was on his way in with her.
“I don’t understand it, that ladder is brand new. How could it have broken so easily?” Layla’s question was already weighing heavily on his mind and he wasn’t moving the ladder until his brothers and Dylan had a chance to look at it.
Scooping her up into his arms he made his way to the door but returned to lean down so she could retrieve her phone and purse before heading out to his truck. Collin came skidding in to the parking lot just as they approached his truck. “Oh, sweetheart, what’s happened to you?”
Clay could count on one hand the number of times he’d heard that tone from his older brother and you could be sure it had never been spoken to him. He had to suppress his laugh because it really was a kick to hear Collin speaking sweetly to a woman other than their mother or sister. He had always been such a strict Dom that he rarely came across as compassionate and that had worried Clay and Cash when they’d first discussed sharing a woman like their parents.
Cash met them at the hospital and they all waited while Layla’s broken ankle was set and cast. Clay had felt so sorry for her. He remembered the many times he’d broken bones and knew she was replaying her day and wishing she could rewind and start it over. Six weeks sounded like forever when a part of your body was being wrapped in plaster and fiberglass. And now that she had a wrist and an ankle in casts there was no way she could safely return to her small guesthouse at ShadowDance. As far as he was concerned, aside from the fact that she hadn’t been hurt any worse, that fact was the one bright spot in this whole mess.
Layla had been given mild painkillers and was happily chatting up everyone within earshot. But once she’d started giggling with Bree about having three “honeys” they’d had to intervene. Collin had gone instantly pale and he and Cash had laughed out loud at his mortification. For a genius multi-millionaire involved in a polyamorous relationship he could really be uptight sometimes—and damned if that didn’t amuse the shit out of Clay.
By the time they returned home, Layla was out cold and they’d all been relieved because she’d been little miss Chatty Cathy for over an hour and suddenly he had a real appreciation for Alex and Zach’s exasperation with Kat’s ability to rapid-fire questions seemingly without ever stopping to take a breath. Hell, it had been exhausting trying to keep up with the subject changes alone. They’d elevated her leg and tucked her in on the family room sofa so they could keep track of her while they made dinner.
Not long after they’d moved to the kitchen they heard a soft ringing and finally realized it was coming from Layla’s purse. When it continued to ring several more times Cash had asked Lainy to fish the noisy thing out so they could make sure it hadn’t been anything urgent. There were dozens of missed calls. Several of the calls were from Tori and Kat and Ilaina quickly noted their numbers and moved to the side to call both women so they wouldn’t continue to worry. But there were several from a caller only showing up as unknown and there appeared to be a voice mail from that number as well.
Collin dialed Layla’s voice mail. “I’m glad she had her pass-code already stored in the memory. Now let’s see who thinks it’s so important that they’ve tried to call her twenty-two times in the past two hours, shall we?”
Cash stepped forward frowning. “I don’t like snooping through her phone, but the sheer number of calls is disconcerting—let’s see what’s up.” They had quickly moved into Collin’s office and closed the door so that they didn’t wake up Layla.
The voice that came over the voice mail recording sent chills up Clay’s spine and his words were terrifying. “So, precious niece of mine, how did you like the little bump and grind on the mountain road? Had you been up meeting with those pervert bosses of yours? Were you headed back down to fuck the three guys you’ve been shacked up with? And how did you enjoy the slight adjustment I made to your ladder? That broken ankle ought to make running from me a bit tricky, don’t you think?”
The next message began to play and the man sounded even more menacing. “Do you think you can just fucking not answer your phone forever? You can run, but you can’t hide. Bet you weren’t expecting your favorite uncle to be out of prison quite so soon were you? Let the games begin. You’ll pay for what you did, don’t think I’ve gone soft on your ass, you fucking traitor.”
Clay thought Cash’s words summed it up pretty well. “Fuck! I’m going to kill the son of a bitch.”
* * * *
Collin had saved the messages and forwarded them to his own e-mail, Mitch’s, and Dylan Marshall within seconds. He’d also moved to his computer and was typing furiously skimming everything he’d found about Layla looking for the word uncle. Nothing was tagging and he couldn’t figure it out. When his phone rang, he wasn’t surprised to see Mitch’s name on the I.D. Pushing the button for speaker phone he simply said, “Talk to me.”
Mitch’s no-nonsense communication style was a throwback to his time in the military and his current job working with the Lamonts. Since Cash had worked for Alex and Zach a couple of times on contract jobs, Collin was aware of the very lucrative side business the Lamonts had doing black ops for various governments, including their own. “It has to be a juvie record, that’s the only thing I can figure. I’ve got feelers out looking for those, but I think I may have stumbled onto something already. A man named Nick Lang was tried and convicted of murder in Houston several years ago. Seems the only witness was his minor niece. She testified and he was convicted, but was released recently on appeal—some fucking technicality that was completely aside from the fact the bastard beat a man to death in an alley. Hell, he can admit it now and never be retried because it would be double jeopardy to charge him again. If this is the guy, he is a loose cannon. His rap sheet is thirteen pages long. He had a long string of arrests from the time he was ten years old and he has a lot of rather nasty associates as well. I’ll keep looking and get the full report, but I’m fairly certain this is our guy. Alex and Zach are sending you a couple of guys for perimeter patrol and we’ll update your security systems ASAP. Later.” And with a click he was gone.
Collin went back to work on the computer, barely glancing over his shoulder at Cash. “You guys protect Layla and Lainy, I’ll keep digging. And I want to make sure Dylan has patrols around here as often as he can. I’d love to see Lainy go visit Mom and the dads, but I doubt she’ll agree to it.” He suddenly stopped typing and looked at Cash and Clay. “We have to take care of this. We can’t lose her. She’s everything.” When his brothers both nodded he returned his attention to his keyboard.
Once he started searching various news sources for Nick Lang the stories that flooded his screen turned his stomach. The man was a cold-blooded killer who had openly bragged to associates about using his bea
utiful young niece as a distraction while he “worked.” And he’d been screaming threats at the young girl and her mother as he’d been led from the courtroom after his conviction. Then by all accounts, Layla’s entire family had turned on her because she’d dared to cross one of their own. He’d read brief bits of her testimony and when the prosecutor had asked her why she’d agreed to testify, she’d simply answered that it “was the right thing to do.”
Running his hands through his hair in frustration he tried to imagine what kind of courage it took to make a decision like that as a teenager. And then to be turned out by your entire family was almost unimaginable. His heart nearly broke when he remembered her soft words as she’d sat on his lap one evening while his entire family had been laughing and watching an old comedy movie together. She’d leaned against his chest and whispered more to herself than anyone, “I’ve missed this so…”
He hadn’t really understood her remark then and now he was kicking himself for not asking her about it. How the hell had she survived, let alone managed to finish high school and college? His respect and love for her just kept growing exponentially.
Chapter 18
Layla was trying to shift her position when a pain shot through her leg causing her to sit straight up gasping for breath. It took a few seconds for her to realize she’d cried out and another few seconds to regain her bearings and realize she had tears streaming down her face. Blinking she saw Cash run into the room with Clay and Ilaina close on his heels.
“Love, are you alright? I heard you yell.” As he got closer he must have seen the pain in her expression because he turned and asked his lovely sister to retrieve the pain meds and glass of water.
“Oh, wait, Ilaina, you don’t need to be fetching things for me. I’ll get them in a minute.” She blinked again and looked down at her ankle. What the hell? “Hold up. Why is my leg in that cast? Oh shit. How am I going to get down those stairs to the guesthouse? They are slick when it rains and it’s supposed to snow. And I have to go to work or I’m going to lose my job and I really like my job. I have good bosses and I like living in Climax and I’m making friends and everything. And…woah…why is the room spinning around…oh damn, I think I need to lie down for a minute before I get that medicine and well, my stomach is not feeling so good.”