"Sorry, Jules."
"It's okay, just a bump." She stood up straight and flashed me a wicked smile when she realized it was me. "How's it going? You back home for good now?"
My phone started ringing again and I checked the display. Ash had already called me ten times and I had told her I would call her when I knew what was going on. I hadn't spoken to Emily yet, so I didn't know everything. At least, that's the excuse I was giving myself. Mostly, I just didn't want to hear my little sister lecture me again.
I silenced my phone and looked back at Jules. "Yeah, I think so. Just wrapping up a few things."
"Great. That's good news. This whole case has been a total bummer. You need a break," she said and fluttered her eyelashes at me.
I rolled my eyes and vaguely heard the sound of a door opening, but Jules latched onto my arm and pressed against my side. Before I could push her away, she tilted up on her toes and whispered in my ear, "Let's go for a drink. You look tense."
I started to shake my head, but a throat clearing behind me pulled on my attention.
I turned to see Emily standing there with her wide emerald eyes on me and the officer who I had asked to bring her to the station.
"Saw the shiner you gave Dawson," he said with amusement.
Jules was still latched onto my arm and I attempted to shake her off, but Emily looked away before I could and started walking down the hall, her expression impassive.
"Good job tonight. I'll see you later," he said and jogged to catch up with her.
Everything inside of me wanted to go after her, wanted to tackle the guy to the ground when I saw him grasp her upper arm to lead her across the station. Tackling him would feel damn good, but going after Emily right now could screw everything up.
Jules was still waiting for an answer and instead of giving her one, I pushed her hand off of me and walked away from her. There was only one person I wanted to be with and she was going to think I hated her until I could prove otherwise.
I made it outside and pulled my phone out of my pocket. Ash had called again so I called her back, preparing for a shit storm of questions. She answered on the first ring.
"Conall! What the hell? I've been trying to call you."
"I know, Ash. I've been busy."
"Well, what's going on? Is Emily okay? Did her brother confess? Did you talk to her?"
"She's fine other than the fact that she can't stand to look at me. Yes, her brother did confess and no, I didn't talk to her."
She sighed, "Why are you boys so dumb?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. You're an idiot if you think she can't stand to look at you. She loves you. She's probably just really embarrassed. I know I would be. God, I left town because I was mortified about what happened with Lucas. Give her a minute."
She was right. I had every chance to go to her, but I had been too scared. I wouldn't be surprised if she was doing the same thing. But seeing Jules whispering in my ear probably didn't help the situation.
"So? When will you know?"
I didn't have to clarify to know that she was asking about the deal with Lucien. I'd told her about it and if it hadn't been for Luke, she would probably still be crying tears of happiness. She'd been so damn emotional since that night at dinner when Lucas had to carry her home because she was so drunk. I'd have to ask him if there was something going on that he wasn't telling me. The wedding was still months away so it couldn't be stress. Not yet at least.
"Tomorrow. She'll see the judge tomorrow."
"Good. I'm guessing she'll only be there for a few days at the most from what you told me," she said excitedly.
"Ash," I started.
"Okay, I'll shut up about it. We're not focusing on that anyway. You are going to need my help, brother. I have a plan and I think you're going to want to hear it."
Chapter 14
Emily
Emily was still shocked that she had only spent three nights in jail, but she wasn't going to ask any questions. They had released her with instructions to stay in town until further notice and that was that. Rayce was going to prison and she was needed to testify against him for the attempted murder of Deputy Givens and the assault on Deputy Shaw. After the last couple months of lying about being the only witness to a murder, now she was an actual witness to her brother's deranged actions.
He had cooperated well enough to ensure that her part in Ripley's case was due to a manipulation. Her brother may have been greedy and insane, but she knew some part of that boy she knew still cared about her. It was enough to give her some kind of closure.
She spoke with him before she had been put in that cell and he didn't apologize for his actions, but he didn't need to. She didn't need an apology, just a reason to go on with the rest of her life and not blame herself anymore.
She could do that.
She would do that.
She'd told him she would always love him no matter what. He stayed silent.
That was the last she saw of him and she was prepared to face him again. For the first time in her life, she didn't feel the heavy weight of guilt over what had become of his life and this loneliness would fade with time.
Captain Miller said she couldn't stay at the apartment her and the marshals had been using, but he gave her directions to a place that would take her in for free until she could get back on her feet. She needed to call the school and see if they would take her back. Substituting had been fulfilling, but she wanted to teach her own classes again and she would need the money as soon as possible.
She took a cab from the police station where she had met with Miller and tried not to search out Conall over the heads of people standing around. After seeing Julia all over him, not seeing him was probably a better idea. She knew he didn't want anything to do with Julia, but still… he had a life to get back to and she didn't want to interfere.
The cab pulled down a street dotted with only a few houses and stopped at a nice looking house on the far end. It wasn't the Brannock's beautiful home, but it looked just as welcoming.
She climbed out of the cab and thanked the driver, paying him the last little bit of cash she had in her wallet. He took off without another word and she started up the path to the front porch, wondering who on earth would take her in for free.
She would have to call the school right away or pick up a part time job to make a little money until she could find something more permanent. With a record now, she couldn't imagine it would be easy.
She climbed the steps to the front door and knocked. Captain Miller told her they had already sent her suitcases the day before, so the only things she had were the clothes on her back and her purse, which was pretty much empty now.
The door opened and her feet stumbled.
Conall stood in front of her with a tentative smile and she pinched herself on the arm to make sure she wasn't still sleeping in that tiny cell on that uncomfortable cot. She wasn't. He was really in front of her and her traitorous heart started beating again.
"I-I don't understand…"
He reached out and grasped her hand, gently pulling her inside and shutting the door. The inside was even more welcoming than the outside. Sure it looked a little like a bachelor pad with the biggest flat screen she'd ever seen mounted to the wall and very little furniture. The pictures on the walls were of him and his family, though, and she felt a lump form in her throat.
No pictures were ever taken of her family and she wished she could at least have some kind of memento of the years Rayce was happy with her.
"As you can tell, this is my home," he said gently from behind her, still holding her hand in his.
"Why am I here?"
He turned her around and pulled her closer so she had to look up to see his eyes. He cupped her face in his hands and his thumbs traced the dark circles under her eyes and down to her lips where his gaze lingered for a moment. She licked her lips without realizing it and he groaned softly, his eyes smoldering.
"Because
I love you and I want you here with me."
"But I-"
"I was an idiot. I know a lot of people wouldn't understand, but I do, and I love you too much to let something like what happened come between us. You're mine, remember? I take care of what's mine."
She couldn't breathe and biting her cheek wasn't helping to hold back the tears. He caught some with his fingers before bending down and kissing away the others. He kissed every inch of her face and she closed her eyes, savoring the feel of him, before she offered him more, tilting her chin up so he would get the idea that she needed his mouth on hers.
"Plus," he brushed his lips lightly over hers, but didn't give her what she wanted. "I'm not really one to talk anymore when it comes to breaking the law."
She was confused, but couldn't really focus on anything but the feel of him kissing her so tenderly. He still wanted her and she still wanted him, that's all she knew.
"Say something, baby. I need to know what you want."
She opened her eyes and saw the apprehension in his, mixed with arousal, hope, even fear. She loved this man. Loved everything about him. His strength, his loyalty, the way he protected his family. The way he protected her. She loved him and couldn't believe he still wanted her. "I love you, Conall. I'm so sorry."
"Shhh," he soothed and smoothed his thumb over her bottom lip. "It's over and it's not your fault, okay?"
She sighed and closed her eyes once more. "You're all I've got now," she said, hoping he understood how much his words meant to her. "I realize that I can't blame myself for Rayce's choices. If he would have ended up in a foster home, he might have gone down the same path. I gave him all the love I could in the time I had to give it."
"And it was more than enough," he said firmly. "You have two brothers now, Em. Brothers that would die for you if they had to. A sister that will drive you crazy just because she can."
She chuckled and happiness filled her, putting all the pieces of her heart back together and replacing the missing ones she lost so long ago.
"And you have me." He kissed the corner of her mouth, "I love who you are, I'll protect who you are, and I'll die doing it."
Another tear rolled down her cheek and he caught it with his lips before hovering over her mouth, sharing her breath. "You've changed everything for me. I've waited my whole life for you, Emily. Now that I've got you, nothing," he pulled back and looked her in the eyes, those beautiful sapphires burrowing deeper into her soul, "nothing will take you away from me." He held her face between his hands and she melted into him. "Just let me love you, now."
His lips pressed firmly against hers and the kiss started out tender and slow, then desperate and consuming. He moved his hands down her arms to her waist, rounded over her hips until he was gripping her backside, and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and then they were moving.
He carried her down a hall into a bedroom and she didn't care to look around just yet. She locked her arms around him as he carried her to the bed and they both fell onto it, never breaking the kiss.
Lifting his weight off of her, he trailed kisses down her neck and further down over her shirt until he stopped at the hem, curled his fingers around it and started to push it up, his lips following the path back up.
"I've missed you so much, Emily. Thank God we got that judge to only give you three nights, I would have gone crazy if it had been any longer," he mumbled, his lips caressing her belly.
She reached down and tugged on his hair to lift his face. She didn't know how his words could have penetrated her mind at a time like this, but they did.
"What do you mean 'we'?"
He stared up at her before resting his hand just under the swell of her breast and moved back up to kiss her chin and lips.
"I made a deal with Lucien Ripley. He's actually a good guy if you overlook the fact that he's a successful criminal."
"Lucien?"
"That's how I found out about Rayce."
"Oh," she replied and remembered her time spent in that damn interrogation room, listening to all the things her little brother had done, including his arrangement with Lucien Ripley. That's what Conall had been talking about when he suggested he had broken the law, too.
"The guy said he actually admired you. You teach for his cousin's niece or something and he thinks you are - and I quote - 'a fucking angel'." He was grinning down at her and his fingers were trailing back and forth over her heated skin, making it hard for her to concentrate.
"Oh," she breathed.
"Would you like me to tell you what happened?"
She shook her head, "Later."
He smiled that beautiful smile that showed his perfect white teeth. His eyes flickered with heat and something she could only guess was love.
"Agreed."
He moved back down her body and pressed his lips where he had left off, kissing her belly and pushing her shirt up and over her breasts before his lips followed.
She gripped his shoulders and moved her hands over the glorious muscles in his back. He kissed along the edge of her bra along the swell of her breast and then lifted the shirt up and over her head. His hand moved beneath her to the clasp of her bra and he made quick work of removing it before his mouth went back to work.
"I can't get over how beautiful you are," he whispered against her nipple and wrapped his lips around it, making her cry out. She held him against her and shifted her hips, the pressure already building. "I can't wait any longer, baby. I need you," he growled.
She lifted her hips again and his hand smoothed down her stomach to the front of her jeans. He tore at the button and before long, she was naked and sprawled out in front of him. He sat back on his knees and gazed down at her. She knew her skin was flushed and the heat of his eyes was like a caress as they moved down her body.
"Please," she begged.
He made quick work of his clothes and was back on top of her in the next moment, kissing her collar bone and running his hands all over her skin. She was surrounded by him.
"You know you don't have to beg, love. I'll give you anything." His fingers slipped between her legs and found her hot and wet. He pressed one inside of her and groaned. "Damn, baby. You need me as much as I need you, huh?"
"Con…"
His lips crashed down on hers and consumed her. His tongue explored her mouth and just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, he pressed inside of her, filling her the way she remembered.
They moved in rhythm together, clutching tightly to one another and giving each other everything. He pulled her legs tighter around his hips and lifted her until they were both upright, facing each other, her on his lap, still moving together.
She was close. So close.
"Con, I…"
"Let go, Emily. Let me have it."
She knew his words had a double meaning and for the first time in her life, she finally let it go. She didn't need to hold onto the hurt or the memories that caused her grief. The void that had been in her life for so long, the worry, the struggles. She let them go and let Conall take it from her.
She cried out her release and he buried his face in her neck and joined her, taking it from her and giving back more than she could ever ask for.
A family of crazy people who she loved and who loved her back.
A future with him.
The End
###
Gus
"Another one bites the dust," I sang into the phone.
"Shut up, Gus Gus. You're next," Conall grumbled back at me.
He had just informed me that Emily had moved in with him back in Denver and things were going really well so far.
"So my big brother is shacking up with a good looking blonde who has a record," I teased. "That's hot."
He sighed into the phone and I could just see him shaking his head and clenching his fists. He probably wanted to punch me.
"God, I want to punch you right now," he confirmed and I threw my head back with laughter.
"
Good. I wouldn't be me if I didn't tempt my siblings into beating the shit out of me. Ash got enough hits in to last her a while, but you, my brother, were too busy falling in love to pay any attention to me. I feel your pain."
He chuckled and the twinge I always felt in my chest when I was away from my family twisted. I missed them already.
A rhythmic thumping sound came from the other side of my bedroom wall and I rolled my eyes.
"What the hell is that?" Con asked, irritating me more that he could hear the noise over the phone.
I shot to my feet and started for my front door. "It's my God damn neighbor. She's always turning on some bullshit music and blasting it so loud that it wakes me up."
I'd been working late shifts for months now and spent the mornings catching up on some much needed shuteye. My neighbor, a short, red haired pain in the ass, knew that and didn't give a damn about it. At least three times a week, she blasted some kind of kid music and annoyed the hell out of me.
At first, I just let it go and started going to sleep the minute I got home to make sure I got enough, but the last couple weeks since I'd been back in town, it had been too much. It was time to say something.
Conall was laughing, "Serves you right, man. You need to be nicer to her. By the way, how are things going with that girl from the internet?"
"Great, I'm meeting her in person next week and by the way, I'm nice to her. I just don't like cookies that taste like cardboard and thirteen year old chocolate."
When she first moved in several months ago, she had tried to be a good neighbor and bake me some cookies. She was hot, so I accepted them and planned on asking her out later on.
"It's the thought that counts," he mumbled.
"Not when it forces me to spend two hours on the toilet at work."
He laughed so hard I had to pull the phone away from my ear. Asshole.
Yeah, I wasn't exaggerating either. Ended up getting bottles of Tums and laxatives with big bows tied around them on my desk for the next couple weeks. It wasn't pretty.
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