by Sam Crescent
“By the way, your soup tasted like dog shit,” Tulip said.
“I know. I don’t know why, though. I mean, I make a mean lasagna, so turning it into a soup should have been so easy,” Jade said.
“Are you always this chirpy?”
Landon snorted.
“No, I’m not. Usually, I’m really moody but for some strange reason, I enjoy killing people. Especially if it’s men intent on taking me back to my family. I do like killing them.”
Tulip lifted her hand to her face. This was all a little too much.
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m far from okay but there’s nothing we can do about it. You’re not going to let me leave, so I’ve got to deal with this shit on my own.”
Chapter Seven
“Nothing unusual? You’re sure?” Landon asked.
“Like I said, if there was anyone here that I didn’t recognize or gave me cause for concern, I would have found some way to get into contact with you. There was some press here, or at least tabloid people over a pie-eating contest. I stayed out of the way. No pictures.”
Landon nodded as he looked out into the night sky.
He was the only one who knew where Tamsin was. He’d taken her to a small town, given her a whole new identity and the means of starting a new life. It didn’t mean he stopped missing her. He did. He missed all of his family, but sacrifices needed to be made. He hadn’t acted rashly even though his brothers liked to think he did. Nope, killing his father was a perfectly sane idea. Fucking stupid, and he wasn’t an idiot. He knew he’d messed up, but he’d done what he had to do.
Protecting his sister was more important to him than anything. She didn’t need to be part of this life. After he’d done what he could to keep her safe, he’d been more than happy to die. Of course, he’d never been willing to die. Every single person who came after him would have to deal with him putting up a fight. His father hadn’t raised someone who was willing to give up.
“How are you?” she asked. “Not that I don’t like hearing from you, Landon, but you only ever call me when you’re in trouble.”
He laughed. He’d accidentally told her he was running for his life and may not call for a while a few months ago. Big mistake on his part. He knew she worried, and he’d been high on painkillers at the time. He learned his lesson and never called her unless he was in control of all of his functions.
“I’m fine.”
“And how is everyone else? You know, Jacob, and the others.”
“They’re fine. Last time I checked, they had nothing wrong with them,” he said, rubbing at his face. “I’ve got to go now. Stay in that town. Don’t befriend anyone you don’t know. They’re still looking for you, Tamsin. They will find a way to get to you but I’ll do whatever I can to protect you.”
“I love you, Landon. If you see the others, tell them I love them and miss them, but I like my life here. I’m free, and that’s the way I want it to be.”
“Will do.”
He hung up the cell phone.
“Who was that?”
He turned to see Tulip standing outside the hotel room door.
“You shouldn’t be outside.”
“Jade’s cleaning the gun. No offense, but I don’t even think she should have a gun, let alone clean one.”
“She likes to shoot.”
“Yeah, and I like to live. You don’t have to tell me.”
He pocketed his cell phone. “My sister.”
“You have a sister?”
“I have five brothers, one sister, and one half-brother. A big family.”
“Your sister isn’t with your brothers?” she asked.
“No. I put her somewhere safe, where she can have a life without people trying to sell her off for some family deal.”
“You protect her?”
“I do what I can to keep her safe. So far, no one has found her. It’s all I can do for her right now.” He had no doubt the Savonas were still looking. She was gifted to them. On her sixteenth birthday, she was supposed to be theirs, but that day had come and gone. Now he could only hope she stayed hidden from them, or he’d kill them.
With all of his problems right now, he needed a small miracle. He rubbed at his temples.
“Thank you,” she said.
He dropped his hands. “For what?”
“Saving my life. You didn’t have to do anything to help me, but you did. I’m grateful. I don’t want to die and I don’t have a death wish,” she said.
“You’re being nice to me so I will teach you how to shoot.”
“No, I mean, yes, but no. I want to learn how to shoot. That’s a given, but I was just saying thank you for keeping me alive.”
He took hold of her arm and urged her back inside the hotel room. Jade had already finished cleaning her gun and was curled up in bed.
“If you two are going to have sex, I need a different room,” Jade said.
“We’re not going to have sex.”
“I don’t know if I feel sorry for you.”
“Not funny,” Tulip said.
“Have fun.” Jade rolled over. From experience, he knew it wouldn’t be long before she was asleep.
“Lie down,” he said.
“Is this the way you speak to all of the girls?” she asked.
“Only the ones I like.”
She didn’t argue with him and laid her head on the pillow.
He removed his jacket, kicked off his boots, and lay down beside her. He didn’t give her a chance to argue with him. He took her in his arms and pulled her close.
Pressing his nose against her neck, he breathed her in. At first, she was tense, and he accepted that. There was no other way to expect her to react.
“I want you to teach me how to shoot.”
“So you can blow my balls off?”
“No. I don’t want to die.” She rolled over, and there wasn’t much light in the room, but he could see her. He knew he’d be able to see her anywhere.
“I can protect you.”
“Landon, I get it. You’ve been at this for some time, but even still, people need to accept they need help.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you. I can guarantee that with my life.”
“What about you?” she asked.
“What about me?”
She sighed. “Look, you said with this curse thing you’ve got, you feel this connection. The women don’t. You have to make us fall in love with you, right?”
“Exactly.”
“I need you to teach me how to shoot.”
“You’re safe, Tulip. You won’t ever have to worry about the pain of losing me. You don’t feel this like I do.”
“But that’s the point, right? I don’t feel it now but it doesn’t mean I won’t ever feel it. What if you succeed and I fall in love with you? I don’t think it will happen. I’m a hard person to love and I don’t love easily, but I know the way the world works. It’s cruel and evil. If there’s a chance I fall in love with you and you’re lost to me, I’ve got to be able to deal. If I lose you because I never learned to fight, how am I going to live with myself? You’ve gotten this second chance with me but you’re not a twin, Landon. I won’t get a second chance and you’ll leave me out in the cold, miserable and all alone, because you refused to train me. That’s not fair, not even a little bit.”
He sighed. “You make a good argument.”
“Landon, you’re not talking to a child here. I’m a full-grown woman. I won’t do anything stupid. Let me help.”
All he wanted to do was protect her, to prove he could, but she was right. He couldn’t allow his pride to get in the way or influence this decision. He had to take steps, drastic steps to keep her safe. Even as he wanted to deny her request, it was stupid of him to do so.
“I’ll train you but I want something out of the deal,” he said.
“I knew I shouldn’t be happy about this.” She shrugged. “Fine. What is it you want?”
“
You.”
“You have me, Landon.”
“No, I want all of you. When we move on, you’ll share my bed, and I don’t mean to sleep. You’ll belong to me in every single way that counts and matters.” He wanted to be inside her, to claim her, but he also wanted to work on her falling in love with him.
“You want to sleep with me.”
“I was going more for making love and fucking than anything else.”
She licked her lips, and he wanted them wrapped around his dick. He wanted to taste her as well. To hear his name falling from her lips.
“And if I say no?”
“Then I won’t give you lessons.”
“This is blackmail. I had a perfectly valid point.”
“I’m still an arsehole, like you said. I want you and I’ve been without a woman for a really long time. I think it’s only fair we do the deed.” This was far from romantic. If a guy spoke to his sister like this or gave her this kind of ultimatum, he’d be so fucking pissed off.
He wasn’t talking to his sister though, and this woman belonged to him.
“Fine. You’ve got a deal,” she said.
****
The streets and towns all blurred into one.
Tulip didn’t know how long it took them to find somewhere to stay for longer than a night. Landon was always careful. Jade dyed her hair at each stop and even applied fake bruises or did something to make herself look different. Tulip stayed the same. She wasn’t on anyone’s radar, at least not yet.
Landon didn’t like it when she went in to pay for the room. She had to wonder if he even trusted her, but she knew in his own way, he cared.
After what felt like a month of hard traveling, Landon found a place. It looked like an abandoned farm. There was no one living there, and it even had an old for sale sign out front. It had faded over time. The land was overgrown, but the shed was big enough for them to park the truck and stay hidden.
Jade groaned the moment they looked at the house. “It looks like people just forgot to want to buy this place, or sell it.”
“It could be sold, but they’re waiting for the right time to build on it,” Landon said.
“I don’t want to go in there. It already looks like animals are living inside.”
“We’ve got nowhere to go and this isn’t the first house we’ve crashed in that was a fucking mess.”
“It’s a shit tip,” Tulip said. “I bet there are rats, mice, bugs, death. I mean, even the devil wouldn’t live here.”
“We’ll make the most of it,” Landon said.
“I’m not going to get lice, am I?” Jade asked.
“With the gun, you look all fierce and badass, now you sound like a girl.”
“I am a girl. I don’t want to have to deal with lice. I like my hair.”
“You dye your hair so much, I doubt they’ll live on you.”
“Oh, that’s cool. What about you?”
“I’ve lived with lice before. I can deal.” She would simply shave her hair off if needed. Maybe then, Landon would find her less attractive, or maybe this was a test from him, to see if she was easy.
Landon grabbed her hand, giving her no choice but to follow or have her arm ripped out of the socket. He walked up the broken porch steps.
“This is straight out of a horror movie,” Tulip said. “There is a murderer here.”
“I’ve never seen horror movies. I wasn’t allowed to,” Jade said.
“How come?”
“There’s a lot of stuff my family wouldn’t allow. I wasn’t even allowed to watch romance movies. Falling in love, that kind of thing. I couldn’t even read sex scenes in books.”
Tulip stared at the girl. “Your family is a bunch of control freaks?”
Jade laughed. “You could say that again. They were training their daughter to be the perfect, dutiful wife, who would make them proud for a husband of their choice.”
“Wow, that’s messed up.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Stop yapping. Let’s get a move on.” Landon wouldn’t let her go.
“He adores us, really. He could kill us. I guess the only murderers here are Landon and me. I totally kill people now.”
“Could you two be quiet?” Landon asked.
“Why? No one’s here. I can’t imagine your guys finding this place. It goes against every single thing you are. Landon used to be a little rich boy and so he has expensive taste in all areas. Isn’t that what you told me?” Jade asked.
Tulip had seen the Denton house. She knew the kind of lifestyle this guy had and living in a possible rat- and animal-infested house didn’t seem like him. She didn’t really know him and she’d never lived with a bounty on her head, so it wasn’t like her to judge.
For the next hour, they checked out every single part of the house. They discovered the boiler still worked, as did the heating, and most of the damage to the house was cosmetic. The kitchen worked with a stove and a fridge. It just needed a good cleaning.
If anything, the house was in need of some simple tender loving care.
She and Jade got on to cleaning the kitchen while Landon ran out to grab them all some food.
“You know he cares about you,” Jade said.
“He doesn’t even know me and besides, it’s not like you’ve seen us together.”
“Good point. I’m just saying, you know, I’ve never seen him act like this with anyone. He talked about Sarah in the beginning, but over time, it faded. I think it bothered him more, you know, not caring. His feeling for her just diminishing.”
“You care about him, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. He didn’t have to help me but he did.”
They finished up the kitchen and Jade nodded in appreciation. “Now, rats aside, I will eat in here.”
“I haven’t seen any rats.”
“I’m not getting my hopes up, Tulip. Believe me, I would advise you don’t either. Let’s go and check out some bedrooms.”
They made their way upstairs, and following Jade’s lead, she checked each step in turn to make sure she wouldn’t fall into it. The last thing she wanted was to be injured.
“Have you and Landon been on the run for a while?”
“Yes. For some time at least.” She shrugged. “It is what it is. He offered to set me up in a situation like his sister’s. I don’t even know what his sister is doing but I told him no. I guess when he took me from my home, I figured I would stick with the guy who took me from hell into heaven.”
“This is heaven?”
“You don’t know what my hell is like. One day, I’ll tell you.”
They found a couple of bedrooms. The beds weren’t made and the mattresses looked like they had seen better days. She helped Jade lift one and her newfound friend nodded in approval. “No blood. At least we know no one died here. That’s a plus.”
She dropped the mattress down and a wave of dust filled the air.
Their bedrooms were close together.
“Landon won’t mind this place either. So long as we all have a bed, he doesn’t care.”
Tulip didn’t let her know that she’d given herself to Landon. She didn’t even know what it entailed. It could be anything.
Sex, for sure. Even though, she didn’t know if it meant anything else. This was the first ultimatum she’d been given and she wasn’t exactly up to date on all the details.
Landon’s return brought their conversation to an abrupt stop.
They both walked downstairs to find Landon already in the sitting room. He’d thrown a couple of cushions to the ground and took out food.
“Well, what do you think?” he asked.
“So far, I’ll take it. No rats in sight, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t around.”
“I have no doubt. We’ll stay here a couple of weeks. I’ll work on figuring out Maddox’s code to break, and once I get this bounty off my head, we’ll be good,” Landon said.
“Code?” Tulip asked, picking up a contai
ner of Chinese food. Back home, the Chinese she used to enjoy came in little clear plastic containers. She normally loved a fried rice and plain curry.
“Landon believes if he can figure out the code to Maddox’s bounty, take the money, and wipe it off the system, there’s a chance he could get the hunters off his back. We believe his brothers are doing the same thing but as yet, we haven’t been able to crack the code. In the beginning, hunters were on our case all the time. Then slowly, they started to diminish.”
“It’s my brothers,” he said.
“How do you know it’s them?”
“They’re offering out extra bounty for other missions. It’s the only way to keep them all off my back. Don’t get me wrong, some won’t be lured by the other offers, but it’s a shot.”
“Your family’s that rich?”
“They will do whatever it takes to keep me safe.”
“Even though you killed your father.”
“I did what I had to do. Maddox needed killing. I was the only one with the guts enough to do it.”
Tulip shrugged. She’d never met this Maddox, so she wasn’t going to judge. In her world, some people always needed hurting, but it never meant she got what she wanted. No. In her world, she got used to lying low, avoiding, and running.
Eating the noodles, she listened to Jade talk about the perimeter, their ammo, and keeping a low profile. Landon had been gone a while because he couldn’t go to the local supermarket. He’d gone out of his way to get them some stuff.
“Don’t you think it would be wise to go back to your brothers?” Tulip asked.
“No,” Landon said. “I have no intention of ever going back home. There’s nothing for me there. Eat your food. We’ve got to rest.”
Chapter Eight
Later that night, Landon arrived at Tulip’s bedroom. No, their bedroom. He’d let Jade and Tulip use the bathroom while he took care of securing the front door and setting up some traps in case they were followed without him knowing it. He never liked to take any chances, not with their safety.
Keeping them all alive was important to him, his sister as well. He was the only one who knew her secure location, and it would stay that way.