Men of Mercy: The Complete Story

by Cross, Lindsay

  Self-preservation kicked in, though, and as much as she wanted to be his savior, she wanted to live more. Sparrow lifted the glass to his lips. “Drink. Let me think on this a spell.”

  He drank without question. “More. Give me another shot.” Sweat beaded along his brow and she obliged, pouring him another whiskey. He downed it like a man dying of thirst. How much longer could she hold out? They both needed release.

  “I want to cut you free. I want to real bad. But I can't risk it. I'm asking you nicely, so please tell me the truth. What do you want with my family?”

  “Right now all I want to do is to bury myself between your thighs.”

  He might as well have struck a match and set her ablaze.

  Desperation edged through her veins. How long would it take for the drugs to kick in? Freaking hell, this man was sex incarnate. She wanted to enjoy him longer, even if she meant to ultimately destroy him. After tonight, she might never get to kiss him again. And after him, no man would ever measure up.

  Sparrow pressed her lips to his, seeking solace in his touch, wanting to lose herself for just one more minute.

  He met her full force, lifting his head from the pillow and going at her aggressively. Possessively. She'd always imagined sweet little kisses and loving words. But Hank, even bound to the bed, dominated her.

  As his kiss grew lazy, she realized the drugs had started working. Still, she clasped him to her for a while longer, unwilling to give up their connection. No matter how hard she held him, though, he slipped away, and she let his head drop to the bed. “Hank?”

  “Hmmm?” His lids lay heavy and low, and his grin was languid.

  “Why are you here?” Sparrow forced the guilt down. He might look innocent right now, but this man was deadly.

  “Hoping to get laid.” She couldn’t help but smile at his groggy words.

  “I want you too. But if you want me, you’ll tell me why you're here, why you came to my mountain.”

  “My mountain,” he echoed.

  Had she given him too much? If he was going to do nothing but repeat everything she said, this would be useless. “Jake, why are you here on my property?”

  He closed his eyes and his black brows dipped down in frustration. “Not Jake. Not your mountain. My mountain.”

  Sparrow sat back on her heels, crushing her crotch onto his still hard cock, Jared answered by pressing into her.

  “Who are you?”

  His eyes opened and she was swallowed whole by their blackness. “I'm the boy who got away.”

  His words tugged at her, pulling forth an inkling of premonition, like she should know exactly who he was—and she had the sinking sensation that she did know. Sparrow braced her arms on the mattress, watching the expression on his face. “Tell me your full name.”

  “Jared Crowe.”

  Sparrow fell backwards off the bed and shoved her fist in her mouth to keep her scream inside. The boy from her dreams. One of the two she’d found tied and beaten like dogs, stuffed in a closet to starve to death. Her young heart had been unable to stand their torture a moment longer, so she’d snuck into their shack one night and set them both free. Jared and Hoyt Crowe.

  The heirs to Crowe Mountain. Miss Kay had held them hostage after their parents’ sudden death, holding on to them to secure the land deed to the mountain and surrounding land. After the boys’ disappearance, Miss Kay had told everyone they were dead, leaving her with an indisputable claim to Crowe Mountain.

  If Miss Kay found out the identity of Sparrow’s captive, she’d kill him. Slit his throat and burn the body. Had Sparrow set him free as a child only to trap him as an adult?

  She approached the bed on trembling legs.

  “Why would you ever come back here?”

  “She took him. She took my brother. Have to get him back. He can't stand the dark.”

  Sparrow nearly doubled over. He’d been telling a partial truth earlier. But why would Miss Kay go after the Crowe brothers after all these years?

  Sparrow sank to the bed, elbows braced on her knees, and let her head fall into her hands. A memory she’d buried long ago whispered to her from her subconscious. “Come with us. I'll find a way to take care of you. Get you out of this place.”

  Even then, beaten and starved, he’d tried to save her. But that was before Tootsie’s overdose, and Sparrow hadn’t had the heart to leave her mother to fend for herself. Tootsie could barely get out of bed most days, let alone manage the trailer. And now the tortured boy she’d set free had come home, and if Sparrow carried through with her plan and used him to ensure her position with Miss Kay, it would all but ensure his death.

  “Have you seen him, Sparrow. Have they got him in the closet?” Jared’s voice dropped to that of a child in pain, hurt and questioning. Unbidden, tears rose to her eyes and she shook her head because she couldn’t force words through the tight cinch around her throat. “I wish you would've came with us, Sparrow.”

  His words shook her tears free. “I wanted to. I wanted to more than anything.”

  “Where's my brother? Where is he? I have to find him before they hurt him.”

  This was no longer the strong, dominating man from minutes ago; this was the little boy she'd saved all those years ago.

  The last rays of sunlight streaming through the broken window blinds faded, leaving the room in a strange sort of dark twilight. The old lamp on her nightstand was too dim to light much beyond the table on which it sat.

  Jared strained against his bonds. “No, not the dark. Please not the dark.”

  His pleas ripped her from her thoughts. His skin had turned pale and sweaty, and his pupils were huge and unfocused. Her heart ripped in two, straight down the middle. No. She could never turn him over to be murdered, not even if it meant her own death. She would save him and his brother again. Just like when they were little kids. It felt a bit like fate.

  “Sparrow, please untie me. I can't take it. Too much. Have to protect him. Have to protect you,” Jared was rambling now, turning his head from side to side on the pillow.

  Sparrow caressed Jared’s face with one hand and reached for the knife with the other. Yes, she would help them escape, but maybe she would go with them this time. If she could convince Squirrel to leave, Jared could help them start a new life. A life somewhere far away from this place that ran on drugs and booze and whoring.

  Chapter 9

  When Jared came back to consciousness, his head was heavy and throbbing. He reached up to clasp his temples between his palms, trying to rub some of the grogginess away. Memories of Sparrow naked and riding him flitted through his mind. Her sweet smile, the taste of honey whiskey, and then…nothing. Just darkness.

  Darkness made lighter as soon as he realized she’d set him free. Jared shot upright, the sudden motion setting off such a pounding sensation in his head he nearly fell off the bed.

  “Whoa, slow down.” Sparrow appeared in front of him, the skimpy outfit from before back in place.

  “What did we do?” His voice was rough and gravelly, like he hadn’t spoken in a while and needed practice.

  “Nothing. You passed out.” He remembered nearly losing control. He remembered the feel of her skin on his. He remembered wanting her as he had never wanted anything in his entire life. Why couldn't he remember the rest?

  “What do you remember?” Sparrow asked.

  Jared searched through the haze in his mind, but came up with nothing but fuzzy cobwebs. No sunlight showed through the blinds, and the room was dark except for a crappy lamp. “Did I sleep the whole day?”

  Sparrow followed his gaze. “No, it's after midnight now. You slept for a few hours.”

  “What happened?”

  Her cheeks flushed pink and she avoided his gaze. He grabbed her hand, gently wrapped his fingers around her wrist, and pulled her to him. “What happened?”

  “I, I got scared. I got scared that I was losing control of the situation. So I gave you just a wee bit of something special in you
r whiskey, something to knock you out.”

  “You drugged me?”

  That tempting pink blush turned to dark red, and instead of the anger he’d expected to feel, he found himself wanting to comfort her. He gave a tug and she fell into his lap, simply enjoying the sensation of her skin against his. “It's okay. I'm not mad, you can tell me.”

  It was true. He should be furious. He should tie her to the bed and leave her there so he could go out looking for his brother. Instead, he eased his fingers up and down her arm in an effort to soothe her.

  Sparrow blew her hair out of her face and turned the full force of her amber eyes on him, causing his breath to hitch. He knew this wasn't a normal reaction. Maybe the explanation was simple. Maybe memories from the past were the only link between them. But his instincts told him it was something more. And years of Special Forces training had taught him to trust his instincts.

  “Jared, it was really stupid of me to try and seduce you to get information. But I didn't count on feeling this way. Having these reactions. And I got scared. That’s why I drugged you.”

  His gut tightened as the first shimmer of anger edged its way into his psyche. He hated the thought that he’d spent the day tied down. If a man had done it to him, he would’ve killed him.

  Then she clasped his hand between her two tiny ones and held it up between them, her gaze fraught. “I remember who you are now. You’re the boy from my dreams. I…I thought you died. Miss Kay told everyone you and Hoyt were dead.”

  So much for the element of surprise. Jared tilted his forehead to hers. “I remembered you the minute I saw you.”

  She pulled back, the shock clear on her face. “Why didn't you say anything?”

  “How was I to know that you hadn't turned into one of them? I mean, you stayed here. This place is evil.” Before she could say anything he continued, “Look at who owns it. Miss Kay chained and tortured her two orphaned nephews, her own flesh and blood, for no reason whatsoever.”

  Her mouth fell open. “You don't know?”

  “Know what?”

  “You’re the true heirs to the mountain. Your mama and daddy had the land deed, so when they died you would have inherited half the county.”

  All those years of wondering why. The not knowing had left scars on his soul far deeper than any physical injury. Scars that bled tension into his veins. Scars that tormented him in his sleep. Now the same girl who had saved him all those years ago was easing his suffering once more.

  “Jared, say something. You're scaring me.” Sparrow cupped his cheek, her fingers soft and healing against his rough skin.

  Jared laughed, but even he could tell there was no humor in the sound. No, this was the type of laugh that landed someone in a psych ward.

  “Oh, Lord. I shouldn't have told you that.”

  Jared reeled in his emotions. After having spent so many years pushing them down and containing them, it was almost easy. Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her to him. “Don’t you see, Sparrow? You've given me my freedom again. All these years…I couldn’t understand why our only kin would have done that to us.”

  “Oh Jared, I'm so sorry.”

  “How did you know?”

  Her smile, just as broken and scarred as his own, twisted sideways. “Nobody pays attention to the whores’ kids. I was invisible. I was sitting out back, making mud pies underneath Miss Kay’s porch, when I heard her and Carl talking.” Sparrow paused, her eyes welling with sadness. “That's when I heard about you and Hoyt. They wanted to kill you both for the land.”

  “So you risked your life to save mine?” Jared felt an odd tightness form in his chest. He’d gone so long on autopilot, not caring about anything, that he couldn’t even process his own reaction to what Sparrow had done for them.

  Sparrow nodded, “I'd always thought my life was so bad, you know, living with a druggie prostitute mama, but at least she loved me in her own way. She never beat me. Never hurt me.”

  “What if Miss Kay had caught you? Do you know what she would have done?” Jared's heart stopped, the tension in his chest growing.

  Her broken smile stayed in place as she caressed his cheek, and Jared felt himself leaning in to her touch. “Remember what I said? I was invisible. They never even suspected me. And since Miss Kay had kept it such a big secret that they were hiding you, she couldn't question anyone. Not long after you disappeared, they started spreading the word that y'all had drowned down in Blue Hole Lake.”

  The story was almost too crazy to be true. Almost. But in the most twisted fucked up way he could imagine, it made sense.

  “I haven't heard about your brother being held here, but I don’t think Miss Kay knows. I think Jimbo and Bob have him.” Sparrow’s words brought him back to the present. My reason for being here in the first place. Even if Miss Kay wasn’t involved, Hoyt was being held against his will. Jared swallowed the huge lump of guilt. Hoyt had tried to tell him his thirst for revenge would result in regret and Jared had made Hoyt come here. He was responsible for Hoyt’s capture.

  “I need your help,” Jared said. “I don’t remember much outside the closet. Where would they keep him?” Jared could barely remember his own parents’ faces. All his memories seemed to start in that closet.

  Sparrow bit her lip and fell silent. Then she nearly jumped off his lap, her feet slapping the floor. “The only place strong enough to hold a grown man would be the old shack in the woods. Nobody goes out there anymore. If they kept him in camp, people would be talking.”

  “Can you take me there?” Jared’s feet hit the floor with urgency. He buttoned his black pants and searched for his shirt. Sparrow pulled it out of the rumpled sheets on the bed and handed it to him.

  It was still dark outside. If he could get Hoyt out before the sun rose, then he could summon his team for extraction before Kay figured out she had both Crowe brothers in her clutches. Jared winced inwardly; he and Hoyt had pretty much gone AWOL. They’d informed their commander they were taking leave for a week, but that had been two weeks ago. He could only imagine how pissed off the rest of the team would be. But no matter how pissed, they would come. Task Force Scorpion wouldn’t leave their men to die.

  “Absolutely.” Sparrow snatched the knife from the nightstand and strapped it around her waist.

  Jared paused, unable to look away from the sight she presented. That skimpy white top which showed off her stomach, cut offs that could give Daisy Duke a run for her money, and fucking sexy legs with a huge bowie knife strapped to her hip. Damned if she wasn't the sexiest creature he’d ever laid eyes on. “You know how to handle that thing?”

  “I learned how to skin a deer when I was just a kid. What do you think?”

  He didn't doubt her abilities with that knife. Anyone who could survive up here for this long would have to be able to take care of herself. Speaking of, his gun and supplies were hidden in the woods near where Sparrow had originally found him. “I need a gun.”

  “Follow me. I’ve got some choices. You want a handgun or a shot gun?” Sparrow headed to the living room, Jared hot on her heels. She stopped before a chest that sat directly beneath the wall of animal heads.

  “Do you mount all the ones you kill?” Jared asked.

  Sparrow paused in what she was doing and looked up at the wall. “Nah, just the ones with a story behind them. The rest I usually sell the skins and keep the meat. I don’t waste anything if possible.”

  The deer with the rearranged face drew his attention again. “And that one, what’s his story?”

  She cringed. “My first kill. Squirrel forgot to tell me where to aim the gun.” Then she bent over the wooden chest and Jared forgot all about the deer. Her shorts showed off her ass to a spectacular degree, stealing his breath. When they got out of here and his brother was free and clear, Jared had every intention of finishing what she’d started. Only this time, he wouldn't be the one tied to the bed.

  “Will this work?” Sparrow thrust a surprisingly nice nine-millimeter pistol
and KA-BAR knife in his direction.

  Jared raised a brow, even though he knew he shouldn’t be surprised at the collection. He’d have to remember Sparrow wasn’t like the primped and prissy girls he’d dated in the past. He hadn’t figured out all of the intricacies of what she was like yet, but he wanted to. “Perfect, what else you got in there?”

  She passed him a couple of extra clips of bullets. Jared tucked the pistol and knife into his waistband, and the extra ammo went into his cargo pocket. Sparrow proceeded to pull out a rifle and a rolled leather bag about the size of his arm.

  “What's in the bag?”

  Sparrow didn't pause, “My throwing knives. Never go anywhere without them.”

  “You weren't kidding about being good with a knife, were you?”

  Sparrow’s gaze turned confident, her smile saucy. “Honey, there ain't no one on this mountain better with a knife than I am.”

  He could only imagine. “What else you got in that chest?”

  “A couple of hand grenades, a few more pistols and shot guns, and some extra ammo. You know, the regular stuff.” She shrugged and closed the lid. “But this should get us out of here just fine.”

  “Do I want to know why you have grenades?”

  “Nope. Better off if you don’t. Now, are you ready to head out? Night time is burning and we gotta move.” Sparrow headed toward the back door, slinging her rifle over her shoulder as she went.

  He’d left something important behind the last time he ran from this mountain, and he had no intention of repeating that mistake. “Pack your bag. I'm not leaving you behind the second time.”

  Sparrow stopped in her journey to the door. “I…I don’t think I can leave, Jared. This is my home.”

  Jared crossed the room to her and took her arms in his hands. His stomach tensed just thinking about leaving her here to rot in this place. And when Kay found out he’d escaped…. “What do you think Kay will do when she discovers that you let me go?”