The Mistress's Misfits [The Men of Treasure Cove 11] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Rebecca Joyce

  “I’m glad you liked it. Now release me,” she said firmly.

  Jack came up behind her and hauled her to her feet. As Brannon quickly did up his pants, Jack helped Katarina get re-dressed, but still left her hands tied behind her back. “Sorry, pussy Kat, but we kinda need your help with something. Hope you don’t mind but you’ve just been enlisted into the Kincaid wacky world of chaos. My brothers and I will make it up to you. Won’t we, boys?”

  “Oh yeah, sure.” Conner grinned, holding a duffel bag and walking toward the door.

  “Maybe we should ask her first?” Brannon asked. He knew what plan C was, and though Katarina was pretty open-minded, he wasn’t so sure she would go for this. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her a part of their lives, because he did, but he worried that everything was moving a tad too fast for her.

  “What’s to ask? We want her and I know she wants us, even if she’s too stubborn to admit it. We’re just bypassing the dating phase. If we keep her sexed up, she won’t have to worry about a thing, I promise,” Jack said, all too seriously for Brannon’s peace of mind. He didn’t like the look in Jack’s eyes, and something in the way Conner was slobbering had him taking a step back. He could admit he wanted Katarina, but he didn’t want to hoodwink her into anything. But then again, he thought, looking at the beautiful woman that stole his heart, who was he to interfere with fate? Maybe this was supposed to happen like this for them. No sense in messing with what the universe had already mapped out.

  “Someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Katarina interrupted.

  Going with his gut, Brannon decided to ride out this crazy train and see where it took him. “Oh, sweetheart, I love when you go all Domme on me, but now’s not the time. Right now, we need you docile and amiable. So be a sweet little kitten and go with Conner.” Brannon grinned and then kissed her cheek. As soon as she was out of the room, he rounded on Jack. “What in the hell is going on?”

  “Mom confessed.”

  “Confessed to what?”

  “To killing Tatiana.”

  “No,” Brannon whispered as his legs gave out and he plopped down on his bed, knowing that now everything changed.

  Chapter Six

  Conner sat across the table from her at The Crystal Tumbler in Celestial, never taking his eyes off her. She was beautiful, his dream girl, and he couldn’t wait to lavish her with all the love he had in him. If only he could figure out how to get her to stop looking at him as if she were about to disembowel him. Of course, he could pinpoint the exact moment he started seeing that particular look in her pretty blue eyes, yet Conner could honestly admit that he just may deserve some retribution on her part, no matter how completely justified his actions were.

  After securing their mother over at Miz Raven’s three days ago, Conner decided it would be best to take Katarina back to her place so she could get a change of clothes. He wanted her to be comfortable, and since he was a nice guy, he patted himself on the back for doing the right thing. However, the moment they were in her apartment and he removed her panties from around her wrist, well, his little bird of paradise went all cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs on his ass.

  Her claws raked and her mouth pecked at him until he was scared shitless of the woman. Then to add insult to injury, she pushed him down on the bed and cuffed his ass to her headboard and stormed out. Yep, his little dove was a vicious, vicious woman, and he wanted her more than ever.

  It didn’t take him long to extricate himself, and when he was free he went a-hunting. Like with most exotic birds, when the mating call was heard, nothing was going to stop the bird from acquiring its mate. Spotting a collar and chain on her dresser, he grabbed it and headed back into the living room, where he found her on the phone.

  “Braxton, I am telling you what I heard. You have to do something, before someone else gets hurt,” she said softly into the phone. Conner smiled. She was so sweet. She cared for his family, and it warmed his heart. Silently walking up behind her, he reached down and ended the call.

  “Braxton? Braxton, are you there?” she said.

  “No he isn’t, my little dove,” Conner said clearly, and Katarina yelped, rising quickly from her seat.

  Slowly moving toward her, he said, “Now be a good girl and please don’t make this harder than it has to be. We just can’t have anyone finding out about our momma. She’s a sweet woman, and sometimes, she doesn’t think clearly. My brothers and I will figure this all out, but in the meantime, we can’t have you calling the local police. They wouldn’t understand what’s at stake. So you see we are your only hope.”

  “I won’t tell anyone. I promise,” she replied, backing up.

  “Why are you fleeing, my dove? I won’t hurt you.”

  “Then leave,” she said. “Leave and never come back.”

  Sighing, Conner sat on the couch and hung his head. “I wish I could, but my brothers won’t let me. I know you really don’t want anything to do with us. I get it. We’re just three freaky men you accidently got hooked up with. Your life was probably dull, mundane, and uncomplicated before you met us. But Jack and Brannon love you. Do you know that you’re all Brannon has talked about for these past couple of months? Moreover, Jack, well, I saw the way he looked at you. He’s never responded to a woman before the way he did with you. And our mom, well, she thinks you’re just as pretty as a summer rainbow. So, don’t you see we can’t do this without you? We need you with us, to help.”

  She leaned against the wall and just looked at him as if he were speaking Greek or something. He couldn’t blame her. Hell, he heard what he said, and it sound ludicrous, even to him, but it was the god’s honest truth. A watered-down version, but the truth nonetheless.

  “But I heard,” she whispered.

  “I know it sounded bad, but Mom isn’t a bad person. If she did kill Aunt Tatiana, she had a good reason. That woman was meaner than a snake with a bite just as lethal. She was not a nice woman, Katarina, and the world is better off without her in it.”

  “That’s not for your mother to decide.”

  “I know, but Aunt Tatiana already had one foot in hell when she tried to take the town away from us, so who cares if Ma gave her a little push?”

  “Do you have any idea what you’re saying? You are condoning your mother’s actions, and if you don’t go to the police and tell them what you know, you are just as much to blame. You could go to jail for a very long time.”

  “Better me than Ma,” he muttered. How could Conner make her understand just what his mother had done for him without telling her the whole story? He owed his mother his life, and if it took several lifetimes, he could never truly repay her for what she’d done. He still didn’t like thinking about that time. The wounds still ran deep within him, yet knowing that his mother had taken care of everything just to make him safe made everything better.

  His body shuddered, and his brow began to sweat. It always did when he thought about that time. He had never known pain like that before could ever exist.

  Growing up with two older brothers and parents that loved him, he never experienced anything more than the occasional scuffle between boys. However, that day, his world changed and nothing would ever be the same. For a long time, he’d known he was different, but he and his brothers kept everything a secret because they, too, weren’t like everyone else. It wasn’t easy growing up with a crazy mother and two rodeo clowns acting at being ranchers. His family never could follow the norm, and well, one day, his secret came out and a town resident felt it was his civic duty to rid him from this earth.

  He was doing a pretty good number on him, too, when his mother happened upon them. His mom flew into a rage and beat the man within an inch of his life. She would have killed him, too, if his brothers hadn’t stopped her. When Jack realized who had beaten him up, they all knew they were in trouble. That night a lie started, and until this day, everyone believed it. His family enlisted certain family members to help control the chaos, and, well, everything was
thought to be taken care of. That was until the wife of the beaten man decided to press charges against his mother. That was when everything went to hell…fast.

  Since there was nothing he could do about the past, his actions could affect the future. He needed to see to it that his mother stayed free, and regardless of what Katarina thought, she was instrumental in their plan. Now all he had to do was convince her that what he and his brothers fought for was the right thing.

  “Phillip Conner, look at me,” she said, moving closer to him. She knelt before him, placing her hands on his knees. “I don’t know why that look is for upon your face, but whatever brought it about, please know that as long as you’re in this apartment with me, I won’t do anything to hurt you.”

  “You don’t understand. If I can’t convince you to come back with me, then he will win and then everything will have been for nothing,” Conner pleaded with her.

  “Who will win?”

  “Melvin Hickenbottom.”

  “Who?”

  “Melvin Hickenbottom was once a resident of Celestial. He ran Starshine’s Cosmic Emporium before Helios Martinez bought them out. He and his wife Bertha Mae had moved to Celestial after their son ran off with another man.”

  “What do they have to do with all of this?”

  “Mr. Hickenbottom was the man who damn near beat me to death for being a pervert. Mom stopped him. She saved me that day. So don’t you see? I can’t let my mom go to jail. You have to help us, Katarina. Please.” He whispered that last word as he felt a tear fall down his cheek.

  “Conner, you’re not a pervert, because if you were, that would mean everyone in Treasure Cove and Celestial was, too. So stop calling yourself that. Now, what does Melvin Hickenbottom have to do with your mom killing her sister?”

  “It has everything to do with it. Jack got a letter in the mail. Someone spilled the beans, and if the police get wind of what really happened, Mom will go back to jail, and everyone will be mad at the family. That’s what my brothers and I are trying to stop. We know our family isn’t perfect, but we can’t let everyone down. We have to protect them.”

  “Conner, you’re not making any sense.” Katarina sighed, sitting next to him. “Maybe you should start at the beginning, and don’t leave anything out, okay?”

  Nodding, he told her everything.

  After telling her the whole story, Conner sat back and quietly let her digest everything he said. He knew it was a lot to take in, and he was risking everything by telling her, but he and his brothers needed her help. Since it was just him, he saw no other way but to come clean. Now, he just prayed he had made the right decision and she didn’t go running off to the police.

  * * * *

  Katarina had heard some crazy unbelievable stories in her lifetime, and she wasn’t all that sure that Conner was really being truthful with her. Her gut was telling her that there was more to this story, but when she looked into his eyes, she knew that what he did tell her was the truth. It broke her heart to think of anyone in this day and age doing what they did to Conner. He was just a young man who liked experimenting. There was nothing wrong with that. Hell, she was in the same boat. Nevertheless, the reality of it all was that what happened to him was still happening today. Hatred and loathing were a part of life, and she knew from experience that if one didn’t conform, the repercussions could have an impact. However, unlike Conner, she was able to walk away relatively unscathed, but the hurt and pain were still present.

  There was nothing she could do about what happened to him in the past, but she could help him now. Oh, she wasn’t entirely sure about going along with the Kincaid brothers’ crazy convoluted plan, but she couldn’t let him fight this alone. She didn’t have anyone in her corner when she faced her tormentor, but she could be there for him, wherever this piece of filth was.

  She really didn’t know the Kincaid brothers all that well. Well, she knew two of them in the biblical sense, but that was it. However, from what she could ascertain, they were loyal to their family and only wanted to do what they thought was right for their mother, no matter how crazy they made everything. She tried not to think about what Gabriel and Matthias had told her earlier, because if she thought too long about it, she knew she would condemn the brothers right on the spot. Nope, she decided to take an objective approach to them and only think of what she knew of them, and from what little information she had, they were all good men…bat-shit crazy, but good men.

  Therefore, going against the screams in her head, she followed her heart and said, “Okay, what is it exactly that you need me to do?”

  Conner looked up at her and smiled. A real, genuine smile, and her heart melted. God, she was letting these brothers get to her. One was a force of nature, the other was a dominant closet puppy with training issues, and this one…well, one look from him, and she melted right before his feet.

  “Well, my dove,” Conner said. “Have you ever heard the saying that sometimes the only right thing to do is the wrong thing?”

  She was so screwed.

  * * * *

  Brannon and Jack sat across the desk looking at one pissed-off sheriff. Oh, he didn’t blame Braxton Connelly one bit. The sheriff should have been home with his wife and husband tending to their new baby. Instead, he was glaring at them as if they were the cause of all that was wrong and evil in the world. Brannon had seen that look on his good friend’s face only a couple of times, and still it instilled fear into him. Of course, it didn’t help when Rafe Anderson was leaning back in his chair, snickering at the whole situation. The one time that kid decided to wake up and pay attention had to be now.

  “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t lock the both of you in jail right now?” Braxton said.

  “Uh, because we haven’t done anything wrong yet?” Brannon replied, praying that was the right answer.

  “That’s the operative word, ‘yet,’” Braxton argued, then turned his attention to Jack. “And you, jackass, better stay away from the Pleasure Cave. Gabriel will have your balls skewered to his dungeon wall if he sees you within fifty feet of his place, understand?”

  “Sure, got it. Stay away from Gabe,” Jack muttered, unrepentant.

  “So, do either of you know why Katarina Carter called and started insinuating that your mother killed Tatiana Romanov? According to her, she heard it straight from your mouths.”

  Brannon was going to beat the hell out of Conner. All that little shit had to do was hide Mom and babysit Kat. How hard was that? She was tied up! Turning to Jack, Brannon didn’t know how to respond to Braxton’s questions. First off, it sure felt different when he was on the other side of the desk being interrogated. He didn’t like it. At all. Second, he knew he couldn’t say shit because once he opened his mouth, Braxton would know he was lying and then everything would be out in the open. Nope, instead Brannon decided to sit back and let big brother handle this one. He wasn’t stupid.

  Jack rolled his eyes and sighed. “You are such a wussie, Brannon.”

  “Actually he is very smart,” Rafe piped up. “Brannon can’t lie to save his life.”

  “Exactly,” Braxton growled. “However, you sure as hell can, Jack. So lay it on me. Regale me with the convoluted story I know you are about to pull out of your ass.”

  “Well, I was going to tell you the truth, but since you’re going to act like that, I ain’t gonna say shit, except for this. Unless you have evidence to arrest us, we are leaving.” Jack grinned.

  “Oh I have nothing against you or Brannon yet. However, I do have a reason to haul your mother in here for questioning. Now, would either of you happen to know just where she might be?”

  “Nope.” Jack smiled.

  “Ain’t seen her in three days,” Brannon said truthfully, relieved that he wasn’t lying to his boss. He really liked Braxton and enjoyed working with him. Nevertheless, Rafe was right. His one glitch was that he couldn’t lie to the sheriff. Oh, he could lie to anyone else, but there was just something about the way Braxto
n looked at him that had him spilling his guts every time.

  “Fine, have it your way.” Braxton sighed. “Rafe, put out an all-points bulletin on Sophie Kincaid. Make sure to note that she is a flight risk, but to handle with care. Call over to Celestial and let Pisces know, so he can be on the lookout for her, and then call Landon Michaels and tell him we have a lead on the Romanov-Van Ottoman murder.”

  Brannon watched as Rafe picked up the phone and started making phone calls. He couldn’t sit around and watch as his friends did their jobs, especially when that job was to find, acquire, and apprehend their mother. Getting up, he headed for the front door, when it burst open and in walked Zac Phelps.

  Zac Phelps had returned to Treasure Cove last month to help Braxton and Landon Michaels apprehend a fugitive on the FBI’s most wanted list. It just so happened that the fugitive was after Camellia Anderson, a sweet woman who had sought out the help of her longtime childhood friends, the Masterson brothers. Though Zac wasn’t instrumental in taking down the fugitive, he did come in handy by distracting Camellia. Zac was a good man, an honest man, and Brannon liked him a lot, just not right now. He wasn’t in the mood for Zac’s exuberant personality.

  “Hey, Brannon, how they hanging?”

  “They’re hanging by a thread,” Brannon muttered, slipping out behind him into the cool, crisp day. He was going to lose his job. He just knew it. Once Braxton found out his part in this whole charade, his friend and colleague was going to hang his ass out to dry. He needed to fix this mess and fast.

  * * * *

  Jack didn’t blame his brother. He knew that Brannon loved his job, and the thought of losing it, or worse, being on the other side of the law, didn’t sit well with him, but Brannon always took care of family first. His brother may grumble and moan, but he would do the right thing, even if it was the wrong thing.

  The day before they had managed to get a hold of everyone who took part of the original prison break fiasco, and though several of them were still willing to help, Jack knew that with Annie pregnant and Kelly taking care of little Molly, he couldn’t risk them. So, after making a few phone calls, he managed to find two replacements that would make this plan more interesting. Everything was still a long shot, and they still could all end up in jail, but Jack was determined to see it all through.