Crossroads 5: Show Me What Love Is (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “Riley, it’s okay. Let him go. He’s not here to hurt me.”

  “Of course I’m not here to hurt you. Damn, Bethany, you think after all this time that you would be kind of relieved to see me.”

  “Relieved? Really, Angelo? I haven’t seen you or heard from you in years. Are you in trouble?”

  Chancellor watched his eyes, and the guy didn’t look one bit trustworthy at all as his eyes darted away from Bethany and from them. He was lying.

  “No, I’m not in trouble. I’m actually in great shape. It’s why I wanted to find you and talk. Alone,” he added, looking at each of them.

  Collin wrapped his arm around Bethany’s waist and held her close. “Not happening.”

  He looked at the three of them and Bethany. “You’re with all three of these guys?”

  Bethany pointed up at him. “Yes, I am, and they love me, and I love them. They’re here for me, support me, and would do anything for me, unlike you.”

  “Come on, Bethany, you’re going to hold it against me forever? Just because I was out of state on a job and couldn’t get to the hospital to see you?”

  “Yes.”

  “But I couldn’t get there, and I got Curran back. I fucked his whole deal up with that bullshit sentence he got after nearly killing you.”

  “Oh, really? What did you do? Because you weren’t in the city helping me.”

  “I was making sure he got busted for having shit he wasn’t supposed to have in his cell. Cost him an additional year, and even had some guys put a beating on him, courtesy of me.”

  She stared at him, and Chancellor couldn’t help but to think at least the guy had done that, but he still didn’t trust him or like him.

  “What do you want me to do? Thank you?” she asked with attitude, and Chancellor was proud of her.

  Angelo stared at her and then ran his fingers through his hair. “No, just maybe forgive me so there are no hard feelings between us. Maybe to be somewhat normal siblings and have some kind of relationship.”

  “Is that what you want today? Or is it something you’re willing to work at and build upon? Because I can’t take the emotional roller coasters anymore, Angelo. I’m done feeling hurt, feeling used and abused. I’m finished with that hard life of suffering and heartache. Done.”

  “I’m finished with it, too. This is a new beginning. I just want to make things right. I don’t need to stay long, just a few days so we can hash things out, and then I’ll leave if you want. I won’t need to stay here and ruin what you’ve established, but I would like to not be far, in case you need anything.”

  “I’ll think about it, but I don’t need anything from you or from anyone. I think I’ve proven that over the years, and I have Riley, Collin, and Chancellor.”

  He rubbed his chin and looked at Chancellor. “You have a pretty mean right hook, dude.”

  Bethany exhaled. “Chancellor, Riley, Collin, meet Angelo, my brother.”

  Angelo gave her a smile and then stepped closer and pulled her into a hug.

  Chancellor didn’t like it at all, and one look from Riley and Collin and he knew his brothers didn’t trust this guy one bit, either.

  * * * *

  “Not fucking happening,” Riley said to Bethany. They were in her bedroom with the door closed and Chancellor was in the living room with Angelo.

  “He needs a place to stay and only for a few days,” she said to him. He was so angry.

  “I could have locked him up. He should be behind bars right now for breaking in here. My God, Bethany, that is not normal behavior.”

  “I know that, Riley, and we went over this. It is twenty degrees out there, and he waited outside for two hours before deciding to break in to get warm.”

  “You’re too fucking nice,” Collin snapped at her.

  “What do you want me to do? I don’t have much here that he can steal, and I don’t believe he will steal anything. I’ve never seen him so sincere and ready to change and do the right thing. I want to give him a chance.”

  “So he can fail and hurt you again? I don’t like it. He’s up to something,” Riley said to her.

  “He isn’t. He wouldn’t put me in danger. In all the years, during all the times he needed my help, I was never in danger.”

  “But when you were, and you needed him, he wasn’t there for you,” Collin said to her.

  She swallowed hard. “You’re right, and I may never truly get over that, but he is my brother. He’s here now, and if I can somehow maintain even a little bit of a decent relationship with him, it would help in so many ways. Just to know and be able to say I have a brother. You have no idea,” she said, feeling the tears sting her eyes.

  Riley ran his fingers through his hair. “Fuck. You’re too fucking nice. Too fucking sweet. If he hurts you, if he brings trouble this way, I’ll fucking kill him myself.” He pulled her to him and hugged her.

  “He can stay here, but you’re not. You’re coming home with us,” Collin stated firmly. She smiled at him as she hugged Riley, pressed her face against his chest, and reached out to take Collin’s hand.

  “I think that will work out fine. I’ll just stop here to see him tomorrow night after work.”

  “Yes, but then the weekend is ours. It’s supposed to snow tomorrow night, and we can spend the weekend cuddling by a fire, making love, and just being together,” Riley said to her.

  “Sounds like the perfect weekend. I love you guys so much. This will work out fine. You’ll see. I just know it will.”

  * * * *

  Bethany stood by the bar along with a few of her colleagues as they waited for the table to be prepared. It was early, and she planned to excuse herself right after dinner and before dessert.

  “There you are. You look beautiful as always,” Cristano said as he greeted her with a kiss to her cheek.

  His eyes roamed over her blouse. She wore black wool pants, ankle boots, and a burgundy blouse. She had also brought her waist-length wool coat since snow was coming and the temperature was dropping. It was funny, but she loved the smell of snow in the air, even more so as she thought about the upcoming weekend. She smiled.

  “Thank you, Cristano. This is so nice. I can’t believe how crowded the restaurant and the bar are.” She glanced around. He pressed closer to her as more people squeezed by. He held her gaze.

  “Well, you had everything to do with that. Romulo is thrilled. I’m thrilled. We make a great team, Bethany, and I’m looking forward to working with you again really soon.” He eyed her lips, and she felt uncomfortable. She was kind of annoyed, too.

  “It’s supposed to snow tonight. Will you be traveling back or staying over as precaution?” he asked.

  “Oh, no, traveling home. I have plans.”

  He appeared to be biting his inner cheek, as it caved in, and then he squinted at her.

  “Oh, that’s right, the Cummings men. You surprise me, Bethany. Three men and you? You’ve come a long way from four years ago and being the sweet, easily-manipulated young virgin.”

  She was shocked by his words, and she knew he meant to be hurtful. That was Cristano, and that was why she never trusted him and needed to leave this job.

  “Tell me, how does Angelo feel about that? His sister and three men?”

  She was caught off guard. She knew it showed as her mouth gaped open and she squinted, and looked away, but she quickly pulled herself together.

  “My brother? What do you mean? I haven’t seen him in over a year. Why would you ask me that?”

  He stared at her, and she knew he didn’t believe her and saw through her lies. Why was he asking about her brother? Had Angelo done something to piss off Cristano? Was Cristano after Angelo?

  “Oh, I don’t know, I thought I heard some gossip about someone seeing him. You know, your brother has made some enemies over the years. If you were smart, and if he were to contact you, or need some help this time, you would deny him. Then again, I know how truly sweet you are deep down, but people do change.”r />
  “He’s my brother, and I haven’t seen him.” She took a sip of wine and then turned as her boss said the table was ready. She glanced at Cristano, and he motioned for her to go ahead.

  “I’ll be there momentarily,” he said as he eyed her over and his expression appeared different. He looked insulted, angry, maybe amused. She wasn’t sure, and she just wanted to head out now and get home, but she had to stay for dinner. It wouldn’t be right to leave now. As she glanced over her shoulder, she saw Cristano on the phone. Something was going on, and she needed to talk to Angelo.

  What have you done this time, Angelo? God, why can’t I just have a normal, happy life, instead of one filled with danger and heartache?

  * * * *

  “I’m going to take care of everything. No one knows a thing,” Angelo told Bethany as she arrived at the cabin an hour earlier than she had said.

  “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe that you brought this trouble here. What are you going to do? Somehow Cristano must know this guy Ferdinand because Cristano looked at me and knew I was lying about seeing you recently. The whole way he asked me caught me off guard. You know what? I don’t need this. I told the guys that I would meet them at their place. I’m packing my stuff and going there.”

  She pulled on her black wool sweater. She had changed into a pair of dark jeans and her boots, pulled her backpack onto her shoulder, and was reaching for her cell phone when the door burst open.

  Angelo shoved her behind him and heard her scream. He was shocked and couldn’t believe his eyes. His heart pounded at the sight of seeing Ferdinand’s hit men, Royce and Chan.

  “Bingo,” he said, and Bethany was hovering behind him crying.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, trying to act dumb.

  “You’re coming with us, and you better have Ferdinand’s money,” Royce said to him, walking closer.

  “Fine. I have it. Just leave my sister alone. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Your sister isn’t our concern. Someone else has plans for her.”

  “What?” he said, and then Royce and Chan looked behind them. Angelo pressed back against his sister as Curran entered through the open doorway.

  “Oh God, no. No,” Bethany cried out.

  Angelo knew he couldn’t let Curran get his hands on his sister, or these men, for that matter. He looked at her.

  “I love you. Always remember that.”

  “What?” she asked, eyes wide, tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Run,” he said through clenched teeth.

  She looked up, and she booked toward the back hall.

  “You can’t run from me, baby. I’ve waited a long time for this,” Curran said, and Angelo attacked him. He struck Curran in the face and tried and pound on him. Curran tossed him like a sack of potatoes onto the floor. He was a huge man, and looked to be bigger, more muscular than Angelo remembered. Curran grabbed Angelo by his collar and throat.

  “You’re going to pay for setting me up in jail and fucking with my sentence, and know now, before you die, that your bitch sister is going to suffer, too. I’m going to fuck her, and then I’m going to beat her and finish the job.” He shoved him down to the floor, and Angelo grabbed onto his leg. Curran dragged him across the floor, but then Royce and Chan started kicking him and beating him.

  “No. You leave her alone. Leave her alone, damn you!” he screamed out, and he hoped that Bethany had gotten away. She had to live. He never should have come here. He’d probably just killed his sister, the only person who always forgave him and simply loved him.

  * * * *

  Bethany ran for the woods. There was nowhere else to go. She couldn’t run to one of the other cabins or she could get someone killed. She headed for the woods. She knew them well, even in the darkness. The only light came from the moon, and now it was snowing to boot. She would get up the mountain and over to the other side.

  She was so scared. She wished she could help Angelo, but he’d brought this on and now he risked his life to save her. My God, Curran is here, and he wants me back. How the hell could this be happening? She shivered, despite having the wool sweater, and then she heard gunshots. She stopped short and looked back through the darkness. She heard running, and heavy footsteps in the distance. She needed to run. Curran would catch up with her.

  “Stop running, Bethany. You know you can never get away from me. You’re mine. You’ve always been mine!” he yelled out to her from way below.

  She figured she had a head start on him, and Curran didn’t know these woods like she did. She was scared, so scared and shaking from fear and from the cold and then snow falling down on her.

  What was she going to do? How would she get away from him? He’d always had such power over her and always won. Had she been kidding herself all these years thinking that he had forgotten about her and his promise to be the only man she ever made love to? The tears poured from her eyes, and her pace slowed. She was battling herself and her will to live and to get away from Curran. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. She was happy. She was in love. She thought about her men. Collin’s words popped into her head.

  “You’re beautiful, smart, and a natural survivalist. If you’re ever in trouble or need a safe place, a shelter, this is the best place to go. No one knows about it. No one.”

  She clenched her teeth and made fists by her side as the snow and wind slapped against her cheeks. “I can do this. They’ll come for me and find me there. Riley, Collin, and Chancellor will find me. I can make it. I know I can.”

  She looked over her shoulder. She thought she saw a shadow in the distance and then heard his yell again.

  “I’ll get you. You can’t run. You’re weak, and you don’t know shit about the woods. You’re a city girl. My city girl. Stop right there, Bethany, and wait for me. It will only be worse for you if I have to continue to chase you.”

  He continued to yell and try to intimidate her into stopping as he trekked up the ridge, but she could hear his voice. He was losing his breath. Hiking entailed training and a lot of practice to build up strength in your muscles and your lungs. She could get away from him and survive. She had to. She wasn’t giving up on seeing her men again. This wasn’t over. Curran wasn’t going to win.

  * * * *

  “What a fucking mess, Riley. Where do we start?” Mitch McKay asked. Then his brother Tiegen joined him in Bethany’s cabin. There was blood everywhere, and two men lay dead, one of them being Bethany’s brother.

  “We have to find her. She ran. That’s obvious from the broken back window in the bedroom and the footprints toward the woods,” Riley said to them and the other law enforcement officers who gathered around the area. They had one man in custody, a duffel bag of money and a gun in his possession, as well as another vehicle there.

  “We don’t know how many are after her, or if she’s hurt. It’s snowing like fucking crazy, and I doubt that she’s dressed for it,” Riley said. “We need to get a search party going and find her. She’ll die out there.”

  “Come on. Let’s let forensics handle this and see if they have a name on the registration to the vehicle,” Mitch said to him.

  When they got outside, there were police and ambulance attendants all over, as well as their friends.

  “Here, we grabbed all the gear and some guns,” Collin said, handing Riley his hunting jacket and a shotgun.

  “We have Damien, Elwood, and Toro Vancouver to help take up the east side toward Spook Rock. She knows that trail well and could probably make it through there in the dark,” Collin said to him.

  “She’s not dressed for this weather or for hiking. The temperatures alone could send her into hyperthermia,” Chancellor stated and pulled on his gear. They had others there ready to help, too.

  “The neighbor said they heard more gunshots about ten minutes after the first set in the cabin. They also said they heard a man yelling and heading up into the woods,” Junior said, joining them.

  “Yeah
, the car belongs to a Cristano Chicatiro, and the person licensed to drive it is Curran Duveoux. They’re related,” Niko told them.

  “Oh, fuck. Curran? Holy shit, no. We need to move. We need to find her before he does,” Collin said in a panic.

  “Who are these men?” Mitch asked.

  Riley quickly explained.

  “We’ll grab our gear and the quads and head up on the west side while you head north,” Damien told Riley.

  “Yeah, we’ll find her before he does,” Elwood said, and they started to head off.

  Collin looked at Riley and Chancellor then Mitch and the others.

  “She’s smart. She’ll know she’ll need to head for shelter and could just take a turn to the right. She could head anywhere, and this weather isn’t going to be a help following her path. We need to track her, Chancellor,” Riley told him.

  “I’ve got it. Let’s move. I’m going to kill this bastard if he hurts her and end this shit once and for all.”

  An hour later, they were heading toward Spook Rock. As they radioed in to the other teams, no one had caught sight of her at all.

  “What’s that? What the hell is that?” Riley said to his brothers as they paused to catch their breath They were moving as fast as they could and trying to track Bethany. At this point, they weren’t sure she would have survived in this snow and frigid temperatures. Not if she wasn’t dressed for it and geared up.

  “It’s a body. Jesus, Bethany.” Chancellor hurried toward it, and as he got closer, he stopped and drew his gun. Riley and Collin did the same.

  “It’s a man. It has to be Curran,” Chancellor said.

  Riley bent down and turned him over. He was frozen and pale. He touched his neck, looking for a pulse.

  “Dead.”

  “Good. Let’s move. We have to find her. She could be lying in the snow, dying,” Chancellor said and started to head to the left. Collin grabbed his arm.

  “Wait. Slow down and think. Look around us. We need to track her.”