by Donn, KL
“I won’t leave you, sparrow. Not now. Not ever. You belong to me.” His lips kiss along my spine. “I belong to you.”
I don’t know why his words make me so emotional, but the conviction, assurance, and absolute certainty make me cry. Hot tears track down my face as his body covers me, and he whispers in my ear again, “I love you, Isabella Malcolm, and as soon as you reciprocate, we can really begin to enjoy our lives.”
Tenderly breaching my body, Cross makes sweet love to me. There’s no quick buildup to the finish line. There’s nothing but sweetness and gentle kisses. Love abounds by more love.
As my body readies itself to grace him with everything he craves, I provide him with what he desires. “I love you, Cross Malcolm.” My heart breaks free, and I can breathe deeper, more fulfilling.
“I know you do, baby. I always knew,” he groans in my ear as we both fall over the edge into ecstasy. “I’ll always take care of you, Bella, never fear that.” It’s a promise I know I can hold him to.
* * *
Cross
My sweet sparrow is so fucking terrified of being alone, and it’s all because of her goddamned uncle, taking her last bit of family away so violently. Progress with his case has not been moving nearly as quickly as I’d like, and now, I’m about to take things into my own hands.
“Do you have an issue with waiting for fucking daylight?” Crux groans through the line.
“Need you here,” I tell him, barely able to get a full sentence out after the message Sheriff Wade left me not long ago.
“On my way. Crew, too?” No hesitation.
“Yes,” I bite out.
“We’ll be there.” Crux hangs up. I knew I could count on him. My brother understands obsession better than most.
Curtis and Sully were released on bond once their attorney worked his magic in the courtroom and went above local heads to a senator. If I had my guess, Curtis has dirt on the man.
But now, it’s my turn to mete out the justice Isabella deserves. After not locating her sister’s body where she remembered it being buried, she had a mild panic attack, and Doc Banner instructed me to give her the sleeping pills he prescribed for her.
After making love so thoroughly and finally confessing that our love is solid to each other, I had hoped to have a quiet evening at home. Watch a movie. Drink hot cocoa on the porch, stargaze. Something other than more fucking tears.
I’m sick and fucking tired of my woman hurting so goddamned badly. She needs peace and happiness. Not the mess that her family keeps dragging her into. Not that Curtis Lindsay deserves to be called her family. What he deserves is to be burned alive.
Assholes like him shouldn’t get to breathe the same air as the innocent women they set out to destroy. And I’m about to make sure that never happens again, just as soon as my brothers get here.
Crawling into bed behind a restless Isabella, I stroke her flesh until she settles and then wrap myself around her body, ensuring she feels safe in my hold. I don’t want her to dwell on anything else when she’s around me.
I fall asleep sometime before dawn creeps in, but it doesn’t take much for me to wake up when I hear my door opening.
“Get the fuck out,” I bitch.
“How the hell did he know it was us?” I hear Crew curse.
“Your fucking cologne, douchebag,” I growl. Crux laughs.
“I don’t wear cologne,” my older brother complains.
“Then maybe it’s because you smell like a damn sawmill,” Crux teases.
“Get the fuck out!” I snap, not wanting to wake the woman in my arms.
“Jesus. He asks us to come, but now he kicks us out. What the fuck.” Their retreating steps are followed by an, “Ouch, shit, man. What the hell’d you do that for?” as the door closes. Crux must have punched him.
Crew is the asshole in our family.
Crux is the badass. Nothing scares him.
And I’ve always been the quiet one. A joker or a lover over a fighter. What I’m about to embark on, goes far beyond what I’ve ever done in my life, and there isn’t an ounce of regret as I carefully crawl from the bed. Not liking that I’m about to leave my wife, but not willing to let her suffer a moment longer, either.
Grabbing jeans and a shirt from the closet on my way out of the room, I meet my brothers in the kitchen. “How the hell did you two get here so damn fast?”
“My jet.” Crew shrugs. Crux says nothing as he grabs an apple and takes a bite. “So, what are we doing here, bro?”
“Isabella and I got married four days ago,” I share with them, and their mouths drop to the floor.
“What the fuck!” Crux is the first to recover.
“You barely know that girl,” Crew points out.
“I know everything I need to,” I defend as I button up my shirt.
“I was only fucking kidding about that, man. Where the hell is Zack, and why didn’t he stop you?” Crux is unreadable as he tries to reprimand me.
“I sent him home day before yesterday when there was nothing left for him to do here. He’s filed all the paperwork he can to protect Isabella. Marrying her was the only way to stop her from going back to that hellhole.” Just thinking about her being handed back to Curtis has my blood boiling with rage.
“But she’s eighteen…” Crew is still confused.
“Maybe so, but some shit happened, and she’s only free because she had someone as a guardian. Marrying her means she’s completely mine, and no one can take her from me.”
“Christ, you sound like Crux. What is with you two, obsessed over these broken-ass women.” He shakes his head, and if it weren’t for the desperate look in his eyes, I’d knock his lights out, but something is going on with my big brother.
“You’ll understand one day,” Crux tells him before asking me, “So what’s the plan then?”
“If Isabella finds out, she’s going to be pissed at me, so keep your fucking mouths shut.” The smartasses mimic a zipper across their lips. “I’m anteing up a hundred grand for him to disappear.” I’d rather bury his body, but I refuse to be separated from my wife.
“Shit.”
“Fuck.”
Their sentiments echo my own. I’m putting myself in a position I’d rather not be, but he needs to either leave or die.
Chapter Ten
Cross
“You sure about this, bro?” Crew asks for the fifth time.
My answer won’t change as I put my truck in park. “Positive.” I couldn’t involve my ranch hands in the felony I’m about to commit, they’re good men. And while I would pay their legal fees should we get arrested, I don’t want to put them in that position. It’s what I have family for. Nick is still going to give me shit for not telling him, though.
Crux and Crew exit my truck, both intimidating to men who don’t know them. Crux might be leaner than Crew and me, but he’s probably the deadliest of the three of us. Crew is a wall of muscle. His obsession with working out and beefing up makes him look like a brick shithouse.
The sun has begun to rise, and I know before long Bella will be up and wondering where I am, so as much as I’d like to stick around and allow this dickhead to hit me so I can kick his ass in return, I want this done and over with quickly.
“What are you doing here?” Sully spits on the deck of the farmhouse they live in as he steps outside.
“Need to see Curtis,” I tell him.
The large man pulls a gun from the small of his back as he eyes us up and down. Crew isn’t pulling any punches as he taps his own Glock against his thigh, and Crux has a shotgun sitting on the hood of my truck. I have my own pistol tucked in the waistband of my jeans, but I’d rather it not turn deadly if I can help it.
“Yo, Curt!” Sully calls into the house behind him. “Got some boys here wanting to see you about a whore.”
I tense at his use of the derogatory term and fight the urge to knock his teeth down his throat. “Don’t got all day,” I say feigning boredom.
> “What?” Curtis snaps as the screen door slams against the side of the house, and he stomps out in nothing but a dirty pair of shorts.
“I want you out of town,” I throw out. He laughs. “I’ve got a hundred grand if you leave today.” Waving the envelope with the cash, I see his eyes light up with greed.
“What makes you think I want that?” He steps forward, and it confirms that he does.
“I have another hundred grand if you tell me where Camilla’s body is.” I hear my brothers cursing behind me. They didn’t know I was going to offer that up as well.
“Two hundred k if I leave, huh?” His greasy fingers scratch his hair-covered beer belly, and I cringe. The man is a fucking pig.
“She gonna drop the accusations?”
“Not likely.” I shrug. And I’d never ask her to. “Your finances are shit, Curtis. You need this money. Take it and run.”
“You could get arrested for this.” He smirks as he walks closer, intending to grab the money from me.
“I could kill you for what you did to her,” I bark.
“So why don’t you?” Curtis stops just feet from me.
“I can talk my way out of bribery, not murder, moron.” The closer he comes to me, the more I want to blow his head off.
Licking his lips, he spits, barely missing my shoe and says, “Fine, we’ll leave.”
“Now,” Crew demands. He deals with negotiating all the time, so I know he’ll make sure I get what I want.
“Give us an hour to pack up.” I nod. I fully intend to come back and make sure of it. “About Cami…” Sully laughs.
“What the fuck is so funny, lurch?” Crux barks, stepping up to stand beside me.
“Thing is, when Isa ran, we burned her body,” Curtis responds, laughing like it’s a fucking joke. My anger is completely unleashed, and before anyone can stop me, I’m on him.
Tackling him to the ground, my fists land blows to his face, chest, anywhere I can reach. The son of a bitch killed her then turned her to ash. I won’t let this go.
“Cross!”
“Fuck, man, stop!”
“Get him off!”
My brothers and Sully are yelling and cursing, but I don’t fucking care. Nothing is going to erase Isabella’s agony over not being able to give her sister the proper burial she deserves with their parents.
“You son of a bitch! You should have let them fucking go. You could have set them fucking free!” Blood covers Curtis’ face and has splattered on my shirt. A small pool of it surrounds the bastard’s head.
“Come on, Cross!” My brothers finally get a good grip on my arms and rip me off the older man’s unconscious body.
“You can forget it. Keep your money. I’ll be coming for the girl,” Sully snaps as he tries to help his fallen friend.
“Wrong,” I growl as I rush him. The impact takes us both to the ground, and I hear the crack as his head bounces off a rock, and his eyes roll in the back of his head. “Pussy,” I spit out as he passes out.
Crux checks for a pulse as I stand up. “Still breathing. What the fuck is wrong with you, Cross! You’re the cool one, you keep the level head. What. The. Fuck!”
“You don’t fucking get it! She has nightmares every fucking night. For years, she protected Cami, only for these assholes to rape and murder her. She died in Bella’s arms! They don’t get to do this shit and get away with it!”
My breathing is rapid and labored, and I can feel the menace rolling through my body. I itch to get my hands on either man again and show them real fear and pain, the same way they did Isabella and Camilla.
“We have to call the sheriff,” Crew says from beside me.
“Do what you have to,” I bark out. I can’t look at them because I just might fucking snap their necks. They would deserve it, too.
Fuck!
I spin around, intent on giving these two pricks what they’ve been working up to.
“Cross no!”
“Shit, dammit, Cross, stop!”
I hear my brothers, but I ignore them as Curtis regains consciousness, and I throw myself towards him. “Time to meet your maker, Curtis.”
* * *
Isabella
Lying in bed alone nearly an hour after I woke up, I wonder where Cross has gone. He doesn’t normally leave me by myself, but maybe something needed his attention, and he didn’t want to disturb me.
After the news we received last night, I didn’t think he’d leave my presence for, at least, a month. Curtis and Sully are free.
Free to terrorize. Free to live their lives. While Cami is dead, and I’m in constant terror unless my husband is my companion.
Considering that if there were an emergency, he wouldn’t have had time to do the chores we share together, I force myself up from bed and get dressed after going to the washroom and brushing my teeth.
The scent of coffee fills my nostrils as I open our bedroom door, and I wonder what’s going on as I walk downstairs. I can hear masculine voices from the direction of Cross’ office as I stroll past the front door and stop short when I encounter two men that I don’t recognize but look uncannily like my husband.
“Hi,” I squeak out.
“Don’t freak out,” one says. I wasn’t.
“We’re Cross’ brothers. I’m Crew, that’s Crux.” He gives a wave.
“Where’s Cross?”
“That’s…complicated,” Crux, the one with the intimidating neck tattoos, says as he stands and moves from behind the desk.
“So uncomplicate it.” I’m trying very hard not to panic about why they’re here and Cross isn’t. Not once did he mention his brothers coming to town.
They share a meaningful look before Crew starts. “You see, Cross is…good. He’s the best one of us really.”
“Never been in trouble his entire life. Cross always does the right thing,” Crux continues.
“Until you.” I take a breath at Crew’s simple words.
“Yeah, until you. You threw him for a loop, and now he’s out of sorts. He’s more like…”
“Crux,” Crew admonishes when his brother doesn’t finish.
“Dude!”
“It’s true, bro, and you know it. Girls turned the two of you into obsessive assholes.”
“What are you saying?” I’m trying to wrap my head around their bickering.
“Shit.” Crux rubs a hand down his face and watches me closely as he informs me, “Cross is in jail.”
I’m in shock. That wasn’t what I was expecting. Not even close. “Why?” I already know the answer.
“He beat Curtis and Sully into unconsciousness.” Crew doesn’t seem to be as remorseful as he’s trying to sound.
“Twice,” Crux supplies. “Well, Curtis twice anyway. Sully never really woke up.”
“Bigger they are, harder they fall.” I can’t believe these two. Making jokes.
“Why are you here? Why are you not fighting to get him out?” I don’t wait for them to answer as I spin around and grab a set of truck keys off the hanger in the kitchen. Slipping into my boots, I head out the door in search of a vehicle I have no idea how to drive. I only know that I have to get to Cross. He needs me.
“Where the hell are you going?” Crew runs after me.
“Where do you think?” I bite out, playing with the buttons on the key fob until I see a truck light up, and I stomp off towards it. “You two should be fighting tooth and nail for him to be set free, not here making jokes.”
“Hold on, princess.” He grabs my arm as Crux catches up to us. “We are tending to what he needs.”
“What’s that?” I’m so angry I have tears in my eyes, which only serves to make me more furious.
“Watching over you.” Crux’s muted voice deflates some of my anger towards them. But only a very small amount.
“I don’t need you to take care of me. I need my husband. I need Cross to tell me what to do to.” And the damn breaks. I tried to fight it off. I tried to push my fear and anxiety to the
back of my mind, but I know he’s facing serious charges even if they haven’t outright said so.
“This was supposed to be over! He was supposed to be mine now!” I wail, and both men look at me like I’ve lost my mind, and maybe I have. I feel like it, anyways.
“Hey there, sugar,” Nick’s soothing voice says before I feel his hands on my shoulders, spinning me around and pulling me into his chest. “It’ll be okay. You’re freaking these two out with your tears. I think Crew here might actually fly home from thought alone.”
“I need him, Nick, I need him home.” My voice is hoarse as his arms tighten their hold.
“We all do, sug. He’ll be back. Don’t you worry none.” I wish I could believe him. I want to. With everything I am, I want to believe it, but nothing good lasts very long in my life.
* * *
Cross
“What the hell were you thinking, man? Why the fuck would you even go over there?” Colter shakes his head at me for the dozenth time as I sit against the cold brick wall in the Gateston Sheriff’s Department lockup.
“I was thinking, I needed my fucking wife safe. I wanted her to have one night of peace and no nightmares. That son of a bitch burned her sister’s body. How the fuck would you feel?” The more I think about it, the more pissed off I get.
I know Zack is on his way back to Wyoming again. I sent him home after all the paperwork for our marriage was finalized and we were in the clear. I didn’t think I’d need him anymore.
I also didn’t think I’d be charged with two counts of assault.
Even if the assholes deserve it.
“He’s pressing charges, Cross. I can’t help you this time.” I don’t bother to answer him. I have nothing left to say. My wife deserves more justice than she’s received. Curtis was getting away with everything, and I couldn’t stand for it.
“Where is he?” I hear Isabella’s sweet voice and stand up straight, stepping up to the bars. I strain to peer into the front office for just a glimpse of her.