Laney squirmed in her seat, carefully keeping her face averted, fearful Riser might read her mind. She had to get them off this train of conversation before it completely derailed. “So, what branch?”
He paused so long she had to look at him to make sure he’d heard her. He was studying the highway, leaned back in his seat yet clearly tense. Seemed he was just going to ignore her when he said, “The kind of branch people don’t talk about.”
“That’s no surprise.” She raked a nervous hand through her hair. Riser definitely wasn’t a normal man. “I figured as much. So, how exactly are you going to use your skills to help me and Lily?”
Chapter Seven
Riser already had a plan A and a plan B. He’d try to keep it on the up and up first, get his friend Sheriff Bo Lawson to put some weight on the local judge. But if it didn’t work out that way, Riser had no problem doing things his way. “Bo will help. He’s got a lot of weight in the force, even more pull with the FBI. He can go right over your ex’s head and handle the shit lickety-split.”
He’d keep it to himself that he’d slit the fucker’s throat if that’s what it took.
Especially after Laney told him exactly why she was so afraid. Men like that didn’t deserve to walk the streets, much less in a uniform. There was a special place in hell for cops who beat their wives and children, for people who’d taken an oath to protect and serve and then used their power to do the opposite, and Riser would like nothing better than to open the door wide and kick him through it.
“I don’t know, Bo’s always seemed so…” Laney’s words trailed off, and she touched her bottom lip with her finger.
Damn, she had sexy lips. He came close to tasting them in the hospital, bastard that he was, and now that almost kiss was taking control of his mind.
Riser shifted gears and accelerated, fiddling with the radio without turning it up or down. He had to channel this restless energy moving through his muscles before he did something stupid, like reach over and grab her hand again. Thread her fingers through his. Feel her soft skin.
“I think the word you’re looking for is uptight?” He and Bo had butted heads on more than one occasion, but that was only because they were both stubborn. And they’d both been after the same chick. Not that Riser could think of why at the moment—all he could think about was the girl riding in his front seat.
“I was going to say something more along the lines of ‘strict with the law,’ but whatever. Do you really think he’ll help us? I’ve never known cops to cross each other.”
Riser heard the slight tremor in her voice. Bastard. He tightened his hands around the steering wheel, fighting to keep his rage in check. He asked softly, “I take it you’ve tested that theory?”
Her head bobbed in one jerky nod, and Riser braced himself for what he knew she was about to say.
“After the first…” Laney paused, and he could tell she was thinking of how to word it.
Riser ground out, “Don’t sugarcoat it for me. The more I know, the better I’ll be able to protect you.”
Laney sucked in a deep breath, the move making her breasts strain against the material of her T-shirt. Riser snapped his head around, focused on the empty stretch of blacktop in front of him. He had to keep his head on the mission that had found him. Protecting her and her daughter was more important than this draw he felt toward her.
“Look, I don’t want you to think I’ve got battered women’s syndrome or anything, because I don’t.”
“I’d never disrespect you like that. Ever.” Her strength and iron will in the hospital was impressive. Not many people would notice details like she did. She was smart. And damn, if she wasn’t sexy, too—the kind of sexy that didn’t know it. It was a one-two punch to his heart.
“Okay. After the first incident, I went to Mark’s partner. He was best man at our wedding; he was Lily’s godfather. And he’d barbecued burgers in my backyard.”
The thread of sadness in her voice had Riser clenching down. “Did he tell Mark you came to him for help?”
Riser silently added asshole number two to his burn list.
“No. It was worse than that. He told me… He told me that it was my duty as Mark’s wife to help him take the edge off from work, in whatever way my husband required.”
Riser’s vision tunneled, until all he could see was the narrow width of the road in front of him. “What town?”
“Riser, you can’t—”
“I’m not kidding, Laney. Where do your ex and his good-old-boy buddy work?” As soon as Riser got Laney and Lily all tucked away, nice and safe, he was going to pay a little visit to Arkansas. Screw the headlines, screw the ramifications—whatever town these two cops were patrolling was endangered by these men’s very existence. The fact that they pretended to be protectors made bile rise up his throat. Hypocrites. Soon-to-be-dead hypocrites.
This wasn’t something he was willing to settle the “right” way.
“I’m not telling you.”
Of course, she wouldn’t tell. She was too decent for that, even after her husband had tried to beat the goodness and heart right out of her. Fucking asshole.
“I thought I could talk to you about this,” she said coolly, “but I see I was wrong.”
Riser’s foot eased off the pedal, and he turned and stared at Laney with narrowed eyes. “You trying to guilt trip me?” Because it was sure as hell working. She hadn’t been looking for vengeance; she’d been looking for comfort. And he’d reacted with anger, even if it was on her behalf.
“No, Riser, I understand,” she said. “You’re a man of action. This is how you react to trouble. I should never have put my burden on your shoulders and expected you to carry it. I’m sorry.”
“Are you serious? You’re sorry?”
He didn’t believe his ears. Laney was apologizing to him for talking about the abuse her husband had put her through. Christ. “Number one, don’t ever apologize for talking to me. Number two, yes, thinking about a man hurting you in any way makes me…upset.” Riser floundered for a word that wouldn’t ignite her suspicion. Thinking about her ex putting his hands on her in violence made him fucking furious. The man had pledged to love and cherish her, and he’d wounded her—inside and out—instead. A vow breaker through and through. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted that way, and I don’t want you to stop being honest with me. I promise, I’ll listen with an open mind.”
Her mouth fell open and that had him focusing on her full lips again. They had to get out of this car. This close proximity to her was affecting his self-control. His thoughts were sure to drive him crazy. They kept tipping back and forth from putting his hands around Mark’s neck to spanning her waist with his hands and caressing her skin. Laney pulled her legs up and crossed them on his seat. With her shorts on, he could see the slender slope of her calf muscles and a peak of satiny flesh that disappeared into her shorts. He was desperate to touch her and see if she was as soft all over as she looked.
Riser reached across the console and threaded his fingers through hers. He knew he shouldn’t, but damned if he could stop himself. “You can tell me the rest, Laney. I won’t get angry.”
He half expected her to pull her fingers away. A woman who had been through what she had experienced probably didn’t want a man touching her in any way, shape, or form.
She curled her hand into his and squeezed. “I went back to him. I decided to give it one more try. I thought, stupidly, that it was just the alcohol. That Mark had been so drunk he hadn’t realized what he was doing. And it was good again for a while.”
Her hand tightened. She stared out the windshield with the expression of a war-zone survivor. “And then he had a bad day at work. And he used me to take the edge off.”
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
Riser had to wrap his hands around the steering wheel like twin vises to keep from showing his fury. He’d promised Laney he wouldn’t explode, no matter what she told him. Thank God, Riser ha
d years of experience in the Special Forces. They’d trained him to keep his shit under control in all kinds of situations. Still, gunfire, combat, bombs, whatever—none of it compared to how he felt right now, listening to Laney’s story.
“And Lily?” She’d told him earlier that Lily was the reason she’d left. That Mark had done something to worry her about Lily’s safety. Had Mark used that beautiful little girl to take the edge off too? Riser’s vision clouded into a blood-red haze. If Laney answered yes to this question, she would seal Mark’s fate.
“No,” she said softly. “He took a step in the direction of her bedroom, and I grabbed the lamp off the table and smashed it against his head. I threw some of our things into an overnight bag, and then we were gone.”
That would have made him grin a little—she really was strong as nails, a spitfire—if he hadn’t been so furious at the man who’d hurt her. “And you’ve been in Mercy ever since?”
Laney’s nails dug into the back of his hand. “I didn’t get very far the first time. I made it to a motel about an hour away before I had to pull over and rest.”
Riser read between the lines—her husband had just beaten her; she’d needed to pull over and pass out. “He found you there?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“How did you get away the second time?” he ground out.
“I dosed his coffee with some old sleeping pills. This time I was prepared.”
“You were brave.” She’d taken a huge risk. If the pills hadn’t knocked him fully out, Riser had no doubt her ex would’ve made her pay.
“I was terrified, but Lily’s safety means more to me than my life. It was worth the risk.”
Laney taking any kind of risk made his insides crawl. He didn’t know why. He’d seen lots of battered women overseas, children too, and worse. There was always worse. But he’d never allowed himself to react physically or emotionally to their trauma. He’d gone on like a machine, gunning for the bad guys, barely sparing a thought about controlling collateral damage.
Yeah, he’d done it for the right reasons—protecting people weaker than himself was just what he did—he’d never felt what he felt now. Holding her hand was such an innocent thing, but it warmed his chest and made him want to do more. Not more like right now—but long term.
Riser shook his head; the blood loss was causing hysterical delusions. That guy at the bar must have cut him deeper than he’d thought. There was no denying the burning in his side had gone from about a three to a ten, and fatigue had settled on him just as quickly. Laney’s worry was apparent by her shoulders rising inch by inch up her neck ever since they’d left the hospital. Riser shut his mouth and kept his hand on the steering wheel, completely at a loss for what else he could say to comfort her.
He wasn’t the comforting type. But he couldn’t deny the protective instinct that had exploded to life at the hospital.
He didn’t care what he had to do—he wasn’t going to let Laney become another Caroline. He wouldn’t allow any harm to come to her, not if there was an ounce of blood still pumping in his veins.
Chapter Eight
It was midnight by the time Riser unlocked the door to his cabin and ushered Laney inside. He flicked on the lights and gestured for her to follow him through the small, sparse living room into the kitchen.
Riser scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck and looked at her with an unreadable expression. “You think you could be comfortable here for the night?”
She eyed the black leather couch; it was big enough for both of them to lie on it together. “Yeah, it’s perfect.”
“You’re not sleeping on the couch. You’ll take my bed.” Riser’s commanding tone made her mouth go dry. Suddenly, the open living room seemed small, like he was sucking up all the empty space. What would it be like to share Riser’s bed? For some reason, she seriously doubted he’d be selfish or quick, like Mark had always been at the end… Her breasts tingled; her womb clenched.
Riser continued, “I’ll take the couch. There’s a shower in there—” he pointed to the bedroom, “—if you want to freshen up some. I don’t have any women’s clothes here though, so you’ll probably have to put yours back on.” He swallowed, and he looked almost nervous when he added, “Or you could borrow one of my T-shirts.”
“Oh, a shower would be nice. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Positive. Come on. You clean up, and I’ll see if I’ve got some noodles or chips hidden in the kitchen.”
She nodded her thanks, because, well, her mind was too frazzled for her to think of anything to say. She followed him into the bedroom, which was just as sparsely furnished as the living room. It wasn’t that big, but there was a king-size bed in it. She shot him a questioning look.
He shrugged. “You sleep in enough sleeping bags, you learn to cherish a big mattress.” His reply made total sense. He’d probably slept on much worse than sleeping bags. It had taken her weeks to get used to the twin mattress she’d managed to trade for after she and Lily first went on the run.
Riser went to a four-drawer chest, the only other piece of furniture in the room, and pulled out a soft, light-blue T-shirt. He handed it over and flipped the lights on in the en-suite bathroom. “Towels are under the sink. I’m going to call Bo while you take a shower, holler if you need me.”
He was gone before she could say thank you, and for that, she was grateful. If she’d spent even one more minute standing in his bedroom with him, she probably would have jumped his bones. Things had been tense enough in the car, what with her focusing so much on how drop-dead gorgeous he was up close, so the moment he’d mentioned the word ‘bed,’ she’d immediately thought of him in it. With her.
And the whole time, he’d planned on sleeping on the couch. Stupid woman, why would a guy like Riser want a girl like you? The fluorescent light overhead did nothing to hide the shadows under her eyes or the tired tilt to her lips. She’d been wearing the same shirt and shorts since Lily had started puking—a good twenty-four hours. Dear God, she’d completely forgotten about the stains on her shorts from the times she hadn’t been quick enough with the trash can. She gingerly lifted her T-shirt to her nose. Oh, dear Lord. He’d been forced to smell this the whole time? No wonder he didn’t want to share a bed with her—she smelled worse than the garbage disposal. And to think she’d started daydreaming about how good his hand felt around hers. He must’ve only touched her out of pity.
She didn’t deserve a man like Riser. Maybe she was never meant to have another relationship. How could she be so stupid as to want one again after what Mark had put her through?
But there was something about Riser that made her want. Her skin prickled and strained in his direction. Hadn’t she learned wanting was dangerous?
Laney stepped into the shower, cranked the dial until the water was punishingly hot, and let it pour over her head. The tears started immediately, falling as hard as the water from overhead. She silently sobbed as she scrubbed her skin with shower gel from a travel-sized bottle. Anger welled inside her, aimed this time at herself.
How could she even be thinking about Riser …like that when her daughter lay in a hospital. Laney didn’t even know how the surgery went… She didn’t even know if Lily… Laney threw the washrag on the shower floor and angrily jerked the lever to the left, cutting the water off. She fumbled blindly to wipe away her tears. How could she have left her daughter in that hospital, knowing Mark would show up? What kind of mother was she? Dear Lord, would she ever see her daughter again?
There was a knock on the door. “Laney?” Laney quickly wrapped a towel around her, but she had no control over the sobs. They ripped free from her chest, ragged and out of control.
“Laney, I’m coming in there.”
What had she done? How could she have—
“Oh, Christ.” Riser took her in his arms, and she collapsed against his chest, unable to stand up on her own two feet for a moment longer. Today’s events flashed through her mind like a bad
movie reel on repeat—Lily getting sick. Staying up all night. Making the decision to take her to the hospital, knowing it was a risk, and then having her worst fears confirmed. Mark had found them.
And everyone thought she was the bad guy. The police were out to get her.
“Laney, you’ve got to stop. Take a deep breath, before you make yourself sick.” She was barely aware of Riser rubbing small circles on her back.
“I—I just left her. I don’t even know how the surgery went. What if—” A fractured sob broke her voice in half and she couldn’t continue.
“No. Lily is fine. You did the right thing. If you had stayed there, Mark would’ve taken you away. You’d have never seen her again.”
“But—”
“No buts. Trust me, I talked to Bo. He sent Cheri to sit with Lilly. He’s working on a warrant for Mark and he’s cleared the BOLO on my truck, no more cops hunting us down. It’s all working out just like I promised. You did the right thing.”
He was right—logically, she knew it—but her heart felt like it was being ripped in two. Normally, she didn’t let Lily out of her sight when she wasn’t at work. She’d found a tiny daycare in their new town that took cash and didn’t require records. No one there knew her identity. No one knew Lily.
Laney had done everything right—she kept to herself, stayed away from credit cards and electronic records. She’d dropped off the map.
Until Lily got sick.
Trusting someone else with Lily’s life, when Laney had been her sole provider for so long, was like swallowing rusty nails. Riser made it a little bit easier. When everyone else in the hospital had looked the other way, not wanting to get sucked into her problems, he’d stepped forward and took charge. He’d made sure her baby was taken care of. And he hadn’t hesitated to help Laney escape the hospital—even though he might well pay a price for the help he’d offered.
Brotherhood Protectors: Riser's Resolve: Men of Mercy (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 5