by M J Andrews
By the time she’d taken on Brant, she had several wins under her belt. But she was never as impacted on any other file. She closed her eyes and saw their faces. A white sheet folded neatly over their collarbones while they lay on a cold hard slab of metal. She tried not to remember them that way. But the mind had an unusual way of working.
“During cross-examination, I didn’t hold back. It wasn’t about Brant. It was about the victims and I made sure that he knew that,” she said firmly, as her memory of the cross-examination floated into her mind.
“Your witness, Ms Scott,” the judge had bellowed in her direction.
Lexi stood and buttoned over her blazer. Brant hadn’t taken his eye off her the whole trial and she wouldn’t let him intimidate her. She knew just how to push his buttons and she wasn’t going to stop until she did. She strode confidently towards the witness box, where Brant sat smugly after telling in disgusting detail what he did to his victims.
“Mr Brant, I’d like to first thank you,” she announced.
“For what, Ms Scott?” he asked bemused.
“Well, you’ve made my job pretty easy,” she smirked, “you’ve spent a lot of time telling the juror in extraordinary detail, all the horrors you inflicted on your victims. Are you proud of what you’ve done?”
The corner of Brant’s mouth twitched.
“Of course I’m proud. Who wouldn’t be proud of doing something exceptional to another?”
“We’ve heard you talk about what you’ve done to them,” she stated as she slammed down twelve pictures in front of him of his victims and called out their names.
“Jane House.”
SLAM
“Wendy Stratton”
SLAM
“Alyssa Barrington”
SLAM
“Jackie Sutherland”
SLAM
Jessica Degraw”
SLAM
“Ashley Barlow”
SLAM
“Melissa Foster”
SLAM
“April Flynn”
SLAM
“Judith Moores”
SLAM
“Brend La Croix”
SLAM
“Danielle Buckingham”
SLAM
“Janice Ryan”
SLAM
She never took her eyes off him as she finished her display and gathered the pictures. He didn’t even deserve to look at them.
“But what about what was done to you, Mr Brant?”
His face dropped and his body tensed. The defence hadn’t thought to dig into his history to identify any mitigating circumstances, but she had. She knew why he killed the way he did. She knew him better than she knew herself at that stage.
“Nothing was done to me…” he growled.
“On the contrary, Mr Brant. You see, when I take a case I like to get to know my opposition. You told everyone that you had perfect upbringing. That there was never any conflict and that you taught yourself how to kill, isn’t that correct?”
He didn’t answer.
“Tell me, Mr Brant, do you know a woman by the name of Maggie Branton?”
Silence.
“Oh c’mon, Mr Brant… You can’t tell me that you don’t know the name of your own mother,” Lexi poked.
“She’s not my mother,” he gritted.
The doors at the rear of the court opened and in walked Maggie Branton, shackled and sporting an orange jumpsuit.
“There she is,” Lexi commented.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” he screamed.
Lexi gave the guards a wave of her hand and they escorted Maggie out of the courtroom. Just her presence set off Brant.
“Now, would you like to revisit the question about your upbringing, or should I just continue and fill in the blanks for you?”
More silence.
“You see, your birth name is Branton. Your biological mother also happens to be one of the nation’s most prolific serial killers. She could give Aileen Wurnous a run for her money,” she paused, “But that’s not all she did, is it Brant?”
She saw the pulse throb in his neck and his pupils contracted as his fists clenched for control.
“In fact, you were her first victim,” she continued.
“I was not a victim!” he screamed.
“Oh yes you were and you have the scars to prove it. Cigarette burns on your arms, a tactic used on all of your victims. Whip marks on your back, also used by you. A hammer was taken to your kneecaps and hands…”
“STOP IT! You bitch! I did all of it! Not her. She’s not going to steal my limelight. I did everything and I’m a better killer than her!” he cried furiously.
Lexi closed the distance between her and him and stared him down.
“The only difference between you and your mother is that she got caught before she could go past victim number ten. Otherwise, you’re just a pitiful boy trying to be like his mommy.”
Lexi jumped back into her reality and stared at the shocked and sad faces of the McGuires. Tears streamed down her cheeks, as they always did when she recounted slamming the victims' photos down.
“During the trial, I received various notes from Brant. Once he was placed in maximum security they stopped. It was symbolic to him. The only way we knew the murders were connected was because he stapled or nailed a note into the chest of his victims.”
“Jesus Christ…” Remi said.
“Lex, what did the notes say?” Sawyer asked.
“Like this one,” she nodded to the paper in his hand, “he referred to all his victims as his pet. Then he detailed their torture and deaths before taking responsibility and taunting the police.”
“Brant escaped during transport and the FBI suspects he is hunting Lexi. Which is why I’ve called you all. Brant isn’t above using the people Lexi loves to get what he wants. You all need to be on your game and cautious. I’m going to be staying here with Lexi but I need to know I can count on you guys to help if needed,” Sawyer said.
Everyone around the room nodded.
“So, is everyone staying here or what? I don’t know about you guys but I need to sleep…” Lexi announced.
“Naw, I’m going to take the ladies home and have everyone stay at the ranch until this is over with. We don’t want Emma and Leo in the middle of this,” Remi stated.
The crew stood and walked to the door. They all hugged and kissed Lexi before they left, except for Aubrey, who was blissfully sleeping in Remi’s arms. The McGuires were good people and like Sawyer, when you gained their trust, you had their loyalty.
Sawyer shut the door and armed the alarm. Lexi glanced at the clock and saw four am appear as she let out a yawn. Sawyer chuckled as he softly turned her shoulder and walked behind her up the stairs.
“Let’s get you to bed…” he directed.
“You mean, let’s get us to bed, right?” She turned and faced him. The desire in his eyes pooled and heat flushed through her body before he bent and tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman carry.
“I’m not too tired for that, sweetness,” he growled before he tossed her onto the bed and kicked off his shoes.
“Thank goodness,” she sighed, “I think ten years is long enough to wait, don’t ya think?”
“Ten seconds is too long,” he grumbled before he crawled up her body and seized her lips in a scorching kiss. The weight of his hard body was bliss. He kissed with such passion and fire that she was begging for more. He shifted and slowly left soft kisses down her nape and collarbone before he rose to capture her ear lobe between his teeth.
“You have no idea how much I’ve dreamt of this,” he whispered seductively.
She moaned as his hands grazed the hem of her shirt. She quickly sat up and stripped off her shirt and pants. She grabbed Sawyer in a kiss and only broke to remove his shirt. She softly danced her fingertips over his firm abs and he hissed in pleasure at her touch.
“Pants. Off. Now.” She demanded.
Sawyer stood
and shucked his pants, “So bossy…” he grinned.
He gazed down at her from the end of her bed. He slowly roamed her body as if memorizing every inch of her skin into his memory. His eyes landed on the scars from the accident. She had multiple. A large one on her leg, where there were a titanium plate and screws. One on her stomach, where a shard of glass pierced her skin. And then the one on her face.
Lexi started to wonder if he was second-guessing everything now that he’d seen her body on full display. She made to cover herself with the blankets and he quickly grabbed them from her hands.
“Don’t ever cover yourself for me, Lex?” he said seriously.
“I know the scars aren’t pretty….”
“Stop,” he interrupted as he moved up the bed laying kisses on her calves and pausing at the scar on her thigh before placing light kisses there.
“Every scar you have is a reminder that you’re still here. And I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.”
He used his fingers to slide her thong off her body before he continued his journey up her body. When his lips finally landed on hers, she was itching to have him inside her. She felt the large bulge in his briefs as it rubbed against her core. She ran her hands over his strong muscled back as he moved down to her breasts.
“Tell me what you want Lexi,” he begged.
“You… I want you.” she hissed.
“I know that darling. I meant how do you like it?”
“I’m not breakable if that’s what you’re asking,” she countered.
At that moment he slid his tongue lightly over her waiting nipple. The lightest sensation but it set her on fire. He used his index and thumb to roll her other sensitive bud and pulled slightly.
“Oh, God…” she moaned.
He roughly sucked her nipple into his mouth and rolled it between his teeth causing her to arch into him. She’d been with men other than Sawyer before, but none of them felt like this. She yearned to touch him and make him moaned in delight.
“I want to taste you,” he declared moving down her body, “Is this okay?” he asked.
Lexi was so entranced by her body’s reaction to him that she didn’t know if she answered. But she nodded and bit her lip. She’d never let men down there before. But she had a feeling Sawyer knew what he was doing.
He wiggled himself between her legs and used his strong calloused hands to push open her thighs. Without any warning, he ran his hot tongue from her entrance to her clit. Lexi’s hips rose with the sensation.
“More…” was all she was able to gasp out in response.
With that, he spread her wet folds and using his tongue circled her clit. He rotated from hard pressure to the softest of grazes. He had her pleading for release as her hips rocked into him.
“God Lexi, you taste so sweet. I could do this all day,” he said as he dove into her core again. This time he used his strong hands to penetrate her heat while he assaulted her clit. Lexi’s hands flew to his hair as she felt her release build. It was as though she wasn’t in control of her body because she wanted the release so desperately that she roughly grabbed him pushing him into her core.
“Baby, I’m going to come. Please Sawyer,” she begged easing her grip briefly.
“Come for me, Lexi. I want to taste you as you come,” he growled.
That was all the incentive she needed as he buried his face between her legs and rammed his fingers into her core fiercely. The orgasm rocked through her body as her legs gripped his head to her as she rode out the first wave. Once the spasms slowed, she anticipated that Sawyer would move on, but he didn’t. He was hungry for her and he devoured her again. This time with more passion and vigour than before. He moaned against her core as he plundered her arousal. She felt a second wave erupt through her body and he pulled her clit into his mouth and sucked hard.
“Fuck…me,” she screamed and collapsed back against the pillow.
“Your wish is my command,” he said slyly as he chucked his briefs and searched for a condom.
“I’m clean and I’m on the pill,” she told him.
“I’m clean, but I’ve never…” he shook his head.
“Sawyer, if you don’t get in me right this second I am going to lose my mind…”
He pulled her by her hips towards the end of the bed, placing her legs adjacent to his chest. He took his long hard cock and rubbed it against her core.
“You want this?” he teased.
She bit her lip and nodded. The next second he filled her to the core with a groan. Sawyer was a big man, in every way. She felt her walls clench around him slowly adjusting to his size. He filled her perfectly. It was as though they were two halves of a whole finally coming together.
“Fuck, you feel good,” he hissed as his hips began to move slowly and she thrust upward to greet his movements. Sawyer pounded her over and over as beads of sweat rolled down his hard masculine chest. He shifted his hand to her clit and rubbed her sensitive bud eagerly. Light shattered behind her eyes as she screamed his name in ecstasy. She felt her walls clench around his member and heard the loud moan before his warm essence filled her to the rim.
Silently, he rose and grabbed a towel to clean up the mess they’d made. Then he lifted the sheets and tucked her inside before crawling in behind her. He kissed her shoulder sweetly.
“Go to sleep beautiful. I’m not going anywhere,” he reassured.
She fell asleep in his warm embrace feeling assured that he would protect her from all her demons. At that moment, she found happiness and her heartfelt whole for the first time in a decade.
Chapter 17
Sawyer
Sawyer woke as the sun hit his face from the bedroom window. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted while they adjusted to the light. He felt Lexi’s warm body snuggled in tightly to his chest. She was still peacefully asleep so he took the opportunity to look at her. Her warm brown hair covered her face and he gently pushed it off her forehead. She let out a quiet sigh and his heart grew in his chest. He’d never spent the night with a woman. He never wanted to, but Lexi was different. She was the one who got away and now that he’d finally reconnected with her, he had no plans to let her go.
He ran his fingers lightly up the bare arm that was wrapped around his waist. Lexi stirred before she looked up at him with a doe-eyed smile.
“Good morning,” she mumbled cutely with a shy smile plastered on her face. She snuggled closer and pressed a kiss to his chest. Sawyer smiled and tipped her chin upward so he could capture her lips in a proper morning kiss.
“It is absolutely a good morning, sugar,” Sawyer replied, as he broke the kiss and gazed into her iridescent green eyes. She shifted backwards and laid her small dainty hands on top of one of another before she placed her chin on her hands and stared up at him.
“So, Sheriff… What’s the plan for today?” she asked.
“What do you have to do?” Sawyer asked as he tucked a runaway strain of hair behind her ear. She arched an eyebrow and a slow smile crept up her face.
“Well…” she said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a man in my bed. Perhaps we can make the most of it before the McGuire’s and the Scotts descend on our bliss.”
“I like the way you think,” he commented. He intertwined her hair around his hand and pulled her to him for a scorching kiss. She quickly jumped on top of him and straddled his hips. His hands moved to her hips. Their mouths danced in perfect harmony and the passion was fuelled by every whimper and moan she produced. She moved her kissing to his nape and she bit and sucked at his skin. She continued to move lower and plastered his strong chest with slow sensual kisses leaving fire in its path. She continued her descent down his body.
“I’m liking where this is going,” Sawyer teased. Lexi caught his gaze as she reached the sensitive V under his abs. The anticipation was killing him and he’d longed to see Lexi eager and willing to wrap her hot plump lips around his shaft. He was just about to beg when his cell phone on the ni
ghtstand rang. Lexi froze and Sawyer cursed.
“Ignore it,” he requested, but once the ringing ceased, his work cell started.
“Sheriff, I think you’re needed,” she chuckled, as she moved up his body and wrapped herself in the sheet from the bed. Sawyer ran a frustrated hand down over his face as Lexi slid off the bed and strolled toward the bathroom.
“But what about what I need?” he groaned.