by Sam Crescent
“Yep, but I can’t do anything about it. I just have to accept that I’m weird.”
She released a breath. “Fine. We’re both weird. Let’s do this.”
She held her hand out and he didn’t even hesitate. He took hold of her hand. His grip was firm, tight, comforting.
He led her out of the room. He changed the position of his hand so their fingers were locked tight together.
“What was it like to kill your parents?” she asked.
He took them up some creaking staircase. The scent of death hung heavy in the air. The house was old and in desperate need of repair. Most of the paint had peeled off the walls. She’d seen horrible places and had even slept in some of them. The worst was being on the street, but when you consider rape a better alternative, you know your life is fucked.
He stopped at a door that looked nicer, cleaner than the other rooms. The door was white with a few cracks in the wood.
“Parent, I only killed one.”
“What was it like?”
“You’re not going to kill your parents.”
“I know I’m not. I just, it’s not like they were really living to me in the first place but it can give me something to imagine, don’t you think?”
“You don’t have a problem with me killing my dad?”
“Why would it bother me? He’s not my dad and I don’t know the guy. He killed your girl. He deserved to die. I’m not the kind of girl to linger on those kinds of details.” She shrugged. “Sorry. I believe the world has people you need to kill and people who do need to die.” She stared at him as he kept his gaze on her. “Does that upset you? I’m not a nice person and I believe people deserve to die.”
“I don’t think you’re a bad person.”
She laughed. “I’m not a good one. Believe me. My life hasn’t been magical but if I can go back and pull the trigger on some of the sons of bitches in my life, I would. No hesitation. Don’t try to paint me as your perfect girlfriend, Landon. I’m not her. I will never be her.”
Chapter Six
Landon and Jade had spent hours making this place even livable. Yes, there were rats and roaches, but they kept traps near the rooms they slept in. The bathroom was one of the places they paid close attention to. Some of the rooms in the house had broken windows, holes in the walls, those kinds of things, but they had worked together to clean it up really nicely.
Stepping into the bathroom, Tulip whistled. “You did a nice job. You can leave.”
“Not happening.”
“Seriously, you want me to piss in front of you? What if I need to … have something else?”
“I know people shit, even girls. Trust me, don’t worry about it.” He closed the door behind him.
“You’re infuriating. You know that, right?”
“I’ve been told, and believe me, I don’t care. Take your piss. Get it done so we can move on.”
“I want a bath.”
“There will be plenty of hot water.” He didn’t know for sure if that was true but this woman wouldn’t stop talking.
“Fine.” He gave her his back to give her some privacy.
“Out of mild curiosity, does this mean you want to have sex with me? You say you love me and I still don’t believe it.”
“You keep adding that bit on. You’re not going to forget that I want you anytime soon.”
“I will, believe me. It’s boring. Moving on, do you want to have sex with me?” The toilet flushed and he turned around to see her washing her hands in the sink. There was no handle towel so she flicked her hands in the sink before putting them by her sides to dry.
“Yes, I want to fuck you, really bad.”
“Oh, then I don’t think you should be here while I’m taking a bath.”
“Tough. You see, I think you don’t understand how this works, Tulip. You’re mine. I don’t know what the fuck that means but the way I feel for you now is stronger than…” He stopped.
“Stronger than what?”
He stared at her. The words he was going to say weren’t ones he wanted to admit.
“Stronger than your feelings for her…? Is that it? You want me more than you wanted Sarah? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
“Get in the tub.” He leaned down and started to run her a bath. There was some bubble bath that Jade used. He rarely had the luxury of taking a bath. The thought of lingering on anything too long was too much.
“Do you miss her?” Tulip asked.
This was a hard subject.
In the past couple of hours, his thoughts about Sarah had diminished to nearly nothing. He had to actively think of her. Guilt rushed through him.
He’d picked Sarah but she had never made him feel this way. There was no way Tulip was second best, surely. One look at Tulip and seeing the vulnerability in her eyes tore him apart. He needed her in his arms, holding her, taking care of her.
“Yes,” he said. The lie fell easily from his lips. He didn’t know when it happened but he’d stopped missing her a short time ago.
“Oh.”
He tested the water. “It’s warm.”
“I really am second best.”
Don’t let her believe that.
His hands clenched into a fist.
You didn’t feel this way for Sarah.
Don’t let her cry.
She’s hurting.
“Seeing as you’re missing the sister I never knew about, maybe you could give me some privacy while I take this bath?”
“Not happening.” He didn’t want to leave her alone. He didn’t want to give her a chance to cry.
She breathed in deeply. “You’re an arsehole, you know that?”
“Yep, but I’m still not going anywhere.” He stood by the door, leaned up against it, and watched her, arms folded, waiting.
She blew out a breath and nodded her head. “Fine.”
He watched her as she composed herself.
She turned her back to him and started to remove her clothes.
His already hard dick seemed to get even stiffer. She flicked the catch of her bra and he watched it fall down, exposing her back. When it came to showing off her ass, he wanted to groan at the unfairness of it all. She had a nice, juicy ass, perfect for him to touch, to squeeze. He wanted her bad.
She stepped into the water, keeping her body covered as much as possible. “It’s not too hot.”
She ran her hands in the water, leaning back. The bubbles covered her body so he didn’t get a good look at her tits. She didn’t turn toward him, and he hated her for cutting him off, but he knew deep down he deserved it. She didn’t owe him anything.
His feelings about Sarah were his own problem.
The truth was, he did feel guilty.
Guilty for letting Sarah down. The pain of knowing this girl had been out there the entire time, waiting for someone to love her, and he hadn’t gone looking. He hadn’t known she existed, but for him, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was knowing her, being with her, loving her.
She didn’t even know what true affection was.
“Is this your friend’s shampoo?” she asked.
“Yes, you can use it.”
“Awesome.”
He watched as she washed her hair, sliding back beneath the bubbles then coming back up for more.
Unable to not touch her, he stepped away from the door, walked the few steps toward the bath, and took the soap from the side dish. As he lathered up his hands, Tulip didn’t even look at him. He placed his hands on her back and began to wash her.
That one touch and he felt calm, prepared.
“I lied,” he said.
“What about?”
“Missing her. I did miss her. She was my friend for a short time. I ended up going to England because I caused way too much trouble. Sarah was a friend from the moment I saw her. She was nice. I liked her.”
“Good for her.”
“She was a good person, through and through. This life, I know it scared her.
There were times when I held her and she would tense up. I knew deep in my soul she couldn’t completely accept me for who I was, what I was. After she died, I wanted to kill myself. I thought a part of me was gone forever. Little by little, I didn’t go crazy. My anger is still there. I killed my father and I don’t regret that. For his own means, he killed innocent people and as far as I’m concerned, that means he can never be forgiven.”
“But your feelings for Sarah?”
“For the past few months, they have grown less and less. I think about her, but I don’t feel pain. I’m sad she’s gone. It’s such a waste of a life, but I feel myself returning. Since I met you though, something is different.”
She chuckled. “No offense, Landon, you’ve known me for a couple of minutes. It’s not long enough to get over a love.”
“What if I didn’t love her?” he asked.
“I can’t give you the answers you want. I don’t know what it is you felt for my … twin. I don’t even know what to call her. I only know that I’m here in the present, and I’m confused. I want to run away. I want to hurt you, but at the same time, I want to know what all of this means.” She nibbled her lip. “I’m not the kind of girl to give this feeling a chance.”
“What feeling?” he asked.
He cupped her cheek. She was so beautiful. Stroking her face with his thumb, he wanted to join her in the bath.
“Like the ground is shifting beneath my feet and I don’t have any way of controlling it. I don’t understand this. Even as I want to push you away, I don’t want you to stop touching me.” He saw her try to blink the tears from her eyes. “I’m scared.”
“You don’t have to be. I’m here.” He would do whatever he had to in order to protect her.
He leaned in, about to kiss those lips again, when the door suddenly crashed open.
Jade was there. “Someone’s here, Landon. I don’t know who it is, but we need to move.” She held the laptop, showing it to him.
He checked the security cameras that would alert them to anyone near the property. Three masked men were at the gates. He saw the guns.
“Time for us to go. Bath time is running short. Get out. Get dressed. Stay with her, and stay close. I’ll be back in a minute.”
He and Jade had prepared for this. He would have to teach Tulip to protect herself because he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.
****
Tulip didn’t need to be a genius to know running toward a forest was a bad sign. Her hair was wet. It was cold and her clothes stuck to her body. Landon had already thrown a jacket over her in an attempt to keep her warm, which was really sweet. She had to stop thinking of Landon as being nice or sweet, or any kind of words like that.
He still had feelings for Sarah, or at least he thought he did.
Either way, she didn’t know who was chasing after them. Landon and Jade both had a gun. What did she have? Oh, yeah, Landon’s hand.
She didn’t exactly have any experience with a gun. Nope, she only knew how to use a knife, her fists, and a mean kick.
“How do you think they found us?” Jade asked as they went deeper into the forest but stopped behind some foliage to take cover.
“I was too exposed making a phone call. Do you recognize them?”
“Not a chance. Their masks cover their faces. I don’t know who they are or what they want.”
“I think it’s best if you two stop whispering. We know they’re following us. What we need to do is get to shelter,” Tulip said.
Staying outside all night would put them all at risk to the elements. She didn’t exactly know what was hiding in this forest, but she had a pretty good idea it wasn’t anything she wanted to wake up to at night.
“Come on, let’s keep moving.”
Landon once again took her hand. They rounded a tree and she couldn’t help but cry out as a bullet struck the wood near her head.
“Fuck!”
He pulled her in front of him but they were protected by the tree and suddenly, she was near gunfire.
Within seconds, she was thrown to the ground as Jade and Landon began to fire. Landon’s body covered hers, and she hated being so vulnerable. This wasn’t good. She needed to get to cover but with his weight bearing down on her, there was no escape.
She covered her ears to try to muffle the sound.
Time passed and suddenly, the weight was off her.
She got to her feet to see Jade had a flashlight.
“What are you doing?” Tulip asked.
“We’ve got to see who sent them.” Jade took a step toward the fallen men.
“Are you fucking crazy? We’ve got to keep moving.” Tulip couldn’t even see the bodies.
“No, we need to know if they’re my family, Jade’s, or bounty hunters.”
“Do you really think they’re going to have a badge with a name on it? It doesn’t work like that.”
“If they have the Castillo crest on the back of their neck, they’re mine,” Jade said.
“The Denton D for my family’s soldiers,” he said.
“And a bounty hunter?” Tulip asked. They were both crazy with a death wish.
“There are no marks. There’s nothing,” Landon said.
He didn’t walk away from her. Before she could stop him, he held her hand and walked her back toward where the bodies were. “You can look away if you need to,” he said.
“It’s not the first time I’ve seen a dead body. I’ll be fine.” She’d seen a lot in her life and even though it freaked her out to admit it, she wasn’t going to fall. She wasn’t some victim. This was her life as well.
Jade bent down and checked the back of the neck. “They’re not ours. Bounty hunters.”
“We need to get cover.”
“Let’s hope he didn’t see us,” she said.
“Why would it matter if they saw us? They’re dead.” Tulip felt the beginnings of a headache, and an odd feeling she really should have stayed with Landon’s family. It might have been easier for her.
“I’m supposed to be dead. Landon kidnapped me. He was going to kill me until I convinced him I wanted to be free. We were supposed to be married. I’m the reason Sarah got killed. The Denton and Castillo families would make us one hell of an empire.”
“Let’s not forget the deal he struck with the Savona for my sister,” Landon said.
“Yes, three messed-up families, united as one through marriage. If anyone was crazy enough to do it, it would have been Maddox.”
“This is all great, but we have to find shelter. I’m not going to be at the mercy here of whatever creatures live in this forest.”
“Bears and wolves mostly. Believe me, we want out of here,” Jade said. “You lead the way, boss.”
Landon held her hand and they walked back toward the house. The gates were open and there was a single black truck parked a few feet down from the house.
“Let’s use their ride,” Landon said.
“We need to load up on ammo as well,” Jade said.
“Where did you learn to shoot?”
“Landon taught me. If he wasn’t going to kill me, he didn’t want to have a liability on his case. He taught me to shoot.”
“She’s pretty good at it too,” Landon said.
“Then you’re going to need me to learn. There’s no way I’m going to have my face planted in the dirt while you two are fighting. I’ve got to fight back.”
“Not happening.” Landon opened the truck door and checked inside. There were more guns and ammo. Jade looked happy about that, sliding in the back.
“Are you kidding me right now?”
Landon shoved her in the passenger seat, and she moved across so she could sit behind the wheel. The keys were already in the ignition. They were on the wrong side of the vehicle, but that was supposed to be the norm in this country. She hated this place.
“I’m not kidding. You don’t need to fight.”
“I’ve just been in the middle of a little fight t
here that tells me you’re so wrong about that.”
“I’ll protect you.”
“You’ll protect me, but what about me protecting myself? There are going to be times when I’m alone and I’m going to need looking after, and I can do that. I can protect myself.”
“You’re not going to be alone.”
“Why?”
“You’re going to be with me.”
“Don’t give me the whole speech about you being able to protect me. We both know that is messed up and so far from being true,” she said.
“I’m not going to let you out of my sight. I’m going to protect you with my life.” He reached out, taking her hand, and she had no choice but to get closer to him or make for a really uncomfortable ride.
“That was a close one,” Jade said. “We nearly didn’t make it out alive. We’re going to need her if we’re going to survive with you having a bounty on your head. Until your brothers can disable it, they’re going to keep on coming. You could die, Landon.”
“This is the first one in months.”
“Because we’ve been able to lay low. With little miss doppelganger here, they were able to find us. You exposed yourself, Landon.”
“You’re saying this is my fault? Bitch, I’ve had a really bad couple of days, so if you want to lay blame at anyone’s feet, make sure it’s at his family’s. I was happy in my own little world, working two jobs, making a living. I’m here against my will.”
She was more than happy to take blame when she needed to, but there was no way she was going to take any of this shit.
“Enough,” Landon said. “We’ve got to keep moving. Find a hotel for the night, and then we’ll take it from there.”
He still didn’t let go of her hand.
“A year ago, you would have been able to take me. I’ve been training with Landon. I’d like to see you try.”
“Do not even start with me,” Tulip said. She was at the end of her tether right now.
In a foreign country, with her dead sister’s boyfriend, chased by a bunch of bounty hunters, homeless, and penniless, she wasn’t in the mood for any garbage, not tonight. Not now.
Landon didn’t stop driving and he didn’t let go of her hand.