Free to Love (The Colson Brothers Book 8)

by Reese Madison

  “Our wife.” I corrected hoisting her up on my horse. “Where’s your gear?”

  “I buried it. I figure that way if I have to run again I’ll know where to start.”

  “You better not run again. I swear if I have to watch Eve fake one more smile my heart’s going to break.” I complained before high-fiving Larry. “I owe you my life buddy. Thank you.”

  “You’d do the same for me. I’ll put the fire out and catch up in a few minutes. We can set up camp down by the river. Let travel time in the morning.”

  “Got it.”

  Eve

  I hate it when Cord goes out on overnights. I know I’m not the best company lately, but he keeps me from the brink of suicide. Him and the animals. I can’t bring myself to slit my wrists because my horses would know, and they’d miss me. cord would too, but at least then he could move on. I know every time he looks at me he thinks about Mykela.

  God I hope she’s okay. After not sleeping all night I decided it can’t possibly be too early for wine and poured myself a glass. Cord will nag me for it later. Fine. Whatever.

  About halfway through the glass I heard Larry’s truck pull up. Cool. Let the nagging begin. If he guilts me into sobering up I’ll go down and see if the bunnies need fluffing later.

  The front door opened so I turned around to greet the guys. A third figure smaller than all of us pushed the fur hood off her face and the glass slid from my fingertips as my whole body shook.

  “Mykela.”

  She nodded and I ran to her getting a piece of glass stuck in the bottom of my foot along the way. We fell to the floor as I proceeded to kiss her, then slap her, then kiss her again. This went on until she rolled and pinned my hands over my head.

  “You look like shit as a blonde.”

  “You look like shit as a skinny bitch.” She countered. “When was the last time you ate?” She looked up at Cord. “Why are you starving our wife??”

  “Trist me, if I’d had an appetite either I might have been able to convince her to eat more. You two catch up while I clean up this mess.”

  Typical Cord. He’s always cleaning up after me. I helped Eve off the floor and took her to the kitchen where I treated her foot while telling her where I’ve been all this time.

  The ass chewing started the next morning after we spent the rest of the day and night punishing each other in bed, on the floor, and in the shower. Oh, and the kitchen. We may or may not have polished the dining room table with Eve’s ass.

  After the last year of being without the two loves of my life I’ll take the verbal abuse. I’ve earned it. They try to get me to admit what I did was stupid and wrong, and I’ll play along to some extent, but to be honest I still don’t see any other way out of it.

  Peter was never going to give up those pictures. We’d have never gotten to that computer before him to hit send. Cord confirmed that much when he told me they’d just barely gotten to the machine before it was set to automatically upload.

  As far as I was concerned if the pictures got out I’d spend the rest of my life hunting them down and deleting them as long as I was confident in the knowledge Peter would never be able to hold them over my wife’s head again. They locked him up once and he got away. Who’s to say he wouldn’t again.

  Now none of us have to live our lives looking over our shoulders. Well, except me. The good news is if I ever do get locked up I now know this cool chick named Angela that can bust me out.

  I seriously doubt the FBI will spend much time looking for the person who killed a pedophile. Number one they now have a cooperative ‘in’ with the club. Number two I’d turn it into a media circus from hell.

  Eve brought me a cookie and sat down hard on the couch beside me. “Even though you don’t deserve cookies.”

  “Yeah, but you love me.” I took a big bite before she shoved me to the floor and sat on my stomach to tickle me until I begged for mercy. I let her win because well, she always wins. Cord too. I’d rather be a loser up here with them than a winner in some hole without them.

  Freedom comes in many forms. With Angela it was freedom to stay out of prison, and out from under the control of a now ally with the FBI. For Lars it was the freedom to get his life back. Cord is free from the sadness that was once a hole in his heart. Eve is free from losing me to my work, or anyone else for that matter.

  Me?

  I’m free to love.