Wanted Dead or In Love: A Small Town Romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 3)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “In the meantime, what?”

  Headlights flashed outside and I pulled my gun. I reached for Carly, but she was already on her feet, gun in hand.

  “Who the fuck did you call?”

  “Relax,” Eric said, holding out his hands. “It’s just Jack and Corduroy.”

  “What?” I asked, slipping into the shadows as the car parked.

  “The sheriff and his deputy,” Eric clarified. “You remember him, and Corduroy went to school with Robert. They’re here to help.”

  “Goddamnit,” I swore. “When I said that I needed to trust you, I meant that you would keep this between us.”

  “They’re not going to tell anyone,” Eric tried to assure me, but I was so far past assurances at this point.

  “I knew we shouldn’t have stayed.” I looked at Carly, who looked just as apprehensive as I did. I strode across the room and took her hand in mine, dragging her behind me to the front of the house.

  “Where are you going?” Will asked as he followed me.

  “To hide.”

  “From what?”

  I spun around and got in his face. “You have no fucking clue what you’re dealing with. Do you really think I would have run if I could have trusted just anyone? I don’t give a shit how trustworthy they are. You brought them in here without talking to me first. You put them in danger.”

  “This is their job, man. Besides, Derek told us to do it.”

  I shook my head and pulled Carly behind me, hiding in the front hall closet just as the back door opened. I left the door cracked so I could hear what was going on.

  “Is there some reason you called me out here in the middle of the night on New Year’s?”

  “We have a situation we need help with,” Eric said.

  “Don’t tell me you fucked it up with her already, Bob.”

  “Fuck off, Corduroy.”

  “Both of you, shut up. This is serious. Do you really think I’d call you out here at two o’clock in the morning for nothing?”

  “So, what’s going on?”

  “I need you to swear that both of you will take this seriously and not a word of this gets spread around town. Lives depend on it,” Eric said. “My niece’s life depends on it.”

  “Your niece?”

  There was silence for a moment and then I heard little whimpers from our daughter. I clenched my fists. Who the fuck brought her downstairs? She should have stayed hidden.

  “Uh…where’d you get a baby?”

  “This is Alessa, Josh’s daughter,” Eric told them.

  There was silence for a moment and I debated whether or not to come out. I had no idea how anyone would react to us being here, but now that they brought Alessa into it, there wasn’t any point in hiding. I squeezed Carly’s hand and pushed the door open. Together, we walked out of the darkness toward the kitchen. All eyes flicked to us, watching us as we approached. Jack’s eyes flicked to our guns and then he quirked an eyebrow at Eric.

  “Really?”

  “Just hear them out.”

  “Why don’t you lower your weapon. Especially since there’s a child in the room.”

  “Trust me, I know how to use this, and there’s no way I would hit my own daughter,” I bit out.

  His eyes flicked to Carly and he nodded. “Ma’am.”

  Carly glared at Eric. “This wasn’t what we agreed to.”

  “Well, the alternative isn’t something any of us can live with, so take the help and let’s get this worked out,” Eric said calmly.

  Carly

  “That’s one clusterfuck of a story,” Jack said, pacing the kitchen.

  “No shit,” Josh retorted. “Did any of you really think that I would just walk away from my family willingly?”

  Jack stopped pacing and looked at me, his eyes narrowing. “And what are we supposed to do about your family? Do you have any idea the kind of hell you could bring down on this town?”

  “Hey, watch your mouth,” Josh spat. “She didn’t ask for this any more than I did.”

  “She all but admitted that she’s a killer.”

  “No, she admitted that she was forced to kill someone for her father. Kill or be killed. There’s a difference.”

  “I think it’s awesome,” Joe nodded. “I mean, having a trained killer on standby is pretty cool.”

  “I’m not an assassin,” I spat. This whole sharing thing was grating on my nerves. I wasn’t used to having to explain myself anyone. It had just been Josh and me for so long that I didn’t even know how to talk to these people.

  “Look, can we just take a step back and figure out what to do from here?” Eric asked. I could tell he was the rational one, the one that thought things through all the way before making a decision. So was his brother Robert. They would be the most level-headed and therefore, the two I felt I could trust the most.

  “I think Eric and Robert should take Alessa and go somewhere safe.”

  “Now, hold on a minute,” Andrew stood up. “Why do they get to go somewhere safe?”

  “Because I trust them the most out of any of you,” I snapped.

  “And it’s not safe,” Eric chimed in. “If anyone finds out about Alessa, they’re as good as dead.”

  “Glad I was volunteered,” Robert smirked.

  “None of us is going anywhere until Derek gets here,” Eric cut in. “He’s trained in this. He can get everyone to safety and keep us that way until we figure out where to go from here.”

  “You know I’ll do whatever I can,” Jack told Eric. “But we’ve got a small department. How soon can he get here?”

  “He’ll be here by noon. I just called you here to help out until then.”

  Jack turned to me, shaking his head slightly. “That’s one hell of a mess you’ve gotten yourself into.”

  “I’m not asking anyone to stick around,” I said, a little irritated. “I didn’t ask for protection. I just want my daughter safe, and frankly, the more people that know about what’s going on, the harder it’s going to be to keep her a secret.”

  “We would have found out anyway,” Corduroy said. “You can’t just walk around town with a baby that no one knew about and expect no one to ask questions.”

  “Especially Mary Anne. She’s like a bloodhound,” Jack snorted. “And with the way your brothers put everything out there on social media, I’m surprised you haven’t been given away yet.”

  “Hey, we don’t put everything out there,” Joe scoffed. “Nobody knows about Robert’s kid.”

  “What?” Jack asked. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Okay, I may have let that one slip,” Joe muttered, “but it’s not like Jack’s going to tell anyone.”

  “What is he talking about?” Jack asked Robert.

  Robert rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Joe.”

  “Hey, it’s not my fault you kept it a secret for so long. It was bound to come out. You know how small towns are.”

  “Yeah,” Eric snapped. “And all the gossip seems to come from you.”

  “And Robert,” Joe added quickly. “Let’s not forget who told the whole town about your wedding.”

  “What kid?” Jack shouted.

  “I knocked Anna up in high school,” Robert said. “She moved out with her aunt and uncle. That’s why she was gone for a year.”

  “You let her have a baby on her own?” Jack asked incredulously. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Can we not rehash this again? Christ, if it wasn’t for Corduroy, nobody would even know!” Robert snapped.

  “You knew?” Jack asked Carter.

  “Why do you call him Corduroy?” I asked.

  “Because his name is Carter Roy. Corduroy? Get it?” Robert said.

  “Wait, I’m still trying to wrap my head around you knocking up Anna,” Jack interrupted.

  “How is this my fault?” Carter asked.

  “Because you knew and you didn’t tell me.”

  “It wasn�
��t my secret to tell,” Carter shot back.

  “Oh, but it was your place to tell my whole family?” Robert asked.

  “He didn’t tell me,” Josh said. “I wasn’t here.”

  “Can we move on from this?” Anna asked. “It happened a long time ago, and we have bigger issues to deal with right now than a pregnancy that never should have happened.”

  “No kidding,” Jack scoffed. “Like the fact that three of you have now each knocked up a woman you weren’t even married to. What the hell happened with this family?”

  This was insane. This whole family and all their friends were insane. I thought my family had issues, but for a small town family, they were so…defective. And now I was becoming part of them, whether I liked it or not.

  “Can we just get back on point?” I asked.

  They all stopped their bickering, though there were a few hard glares shot at one another.

  “Look, the point is, you need protection until your brother gets here. We can help you out.”

  Josh shook his head, snorting out a laugh. “Jack, you know I love you like a brother-“

  “Hey,” Andrew said, like he was offended.

  “This is not something you can deal with. If you get involved, it puts you at risk.”

  “And your family,” Eric said.

  “Your family?” Josh asked, a perplexed look on his face. “You got married?”

  Jack nodded, a slight grin on his face. “Got a little boy too.”

  Josh’s face lit up and he stepped forward, giving Jack a huge hug and a pat on the back. “That’s great, man. I’m happy for you.”

  “Yeah, well, if you hadn’t run, you would have been best man at my wedding. I had to settle for Corduroy.”

  “Thanks,” Corduroy nodded.

  “No problem,” Jack said, not bothering to look at Corduroy.

  My eyebrows shot up at how much that would have hurt anyone else, but Corduroy seemed to just brush it off. I internally cursed myself that now I was thinking of him as Corduroy.

  “Look, all of us staying up isn’t doing anyone any good. Carter and I will keep watch tonight. I’m sure you guys are tired from your drive,” Jack said. “Trust me,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to you or your family.”

  Josh nodded and stepped beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Thanks. I owe you one.”

  “You bet your ass you do. And when this is over, and the whole town knows you’re alive, I’m letting you explain all this shit.”

  “Thanks, man. That’s so nice of you.”

  “Hey, you’re the one that pulled us into this crap. It’s only fair that you have to deal with the fallout.”

  Josh turned, pointing me toward the stairs. “Where are we going?”

  “Upstairs, to sleep.”

  I stopped, putting a hand on his arm. “You can’t be serious. You want to trust them to look out for our family?”

  “I’m going to stay up. I’ll keep a lookout from our window.” His eyes flashed over to them and he gave a nod. “Look, they came all the way out here to help. You get some sleep and I’ll stay up.”

  I sighed and glanced back over at them. “You’re sure you can trust them?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. I didn’t want them called because I didn’t want them involved, but I know they’ll do their jobs.”

  “Just because you trust them to do their jobs doesn’t mean they’ll do them well. Just keep that in mind,” I said, before heading up the stairs.

  I slept surprisingly well for staying at a house that I couldn’t be sure was secure. But Josh had promised that he would stay up and keep watch, and I trusted that he would wake me if there was a problem. I stretched and then used the bathroom, brushing my teeth and splashing some water on my face. As I looked in the mirror, I noticed how tired I was. Always being on the run, always worrying about who might be following you was exhausting.

  I stepped into the hallway after getting in some clean clothes, and I walked over to the baby’s room. But after hearing all the ruckus downstairs and peeking into the baby’s room, it was clear that Alessa was the entertainment downstairs. I zipped up my hoodie to ward off the chill and headed downstairs. Kat was in the kitchen with Anna, drinking coffee and chatting. I had a feeling that I was going to get stuck talking with the girls if I didn’t find Josh soon. I didn’t know how to have girl talk, and frankly, I wasn’t interested in it.

  “Hey,” Kat smiled. “Coffee?”

  “Please.”

  I took my seat and practically snatched the steaming mug out of her hands. I took my first sip and sighed. “This is so good. I can’t tell you the last time I had good coffee.”

  “Eric insists on the good stuff since Anna got him hooked on the coffee from the bakery.”

  “You work with Eric?” I asked Anna.

  “Yeah, I’m his office manager.”

  I nodded, not sure what else to say. I was shit at trying to talk to other people. I glanced at the time, seeing that it was already eleven. “Wow, I really overslept.”

  “It’s fine. Honestly, the guys have been down here since last night catching up,” Kat said, waving me off.

  “I guess they would have a lot to catch up on,” I said guiltily.

  “We’re all just happy that you guys are here.” She glanced in the other room and then sat down, lowering her voice. “Look, I’m not trying to make you feel guilty here, but Eric spent every last dime he had trying to find Josh. His disappearance hit them all hard. So, if you can find a way to end this and keep him around, we’ll all be forever grateful.”

  I swallowed hard, trying to figure out how to put her at ease. “I have no idea if we’ll be able to find a way out of this, but I promise, if there’s a way, we’ll make it happen.”

  “Good,” she said with a nod.

  A line of SUVs pulled into the driveway and I immediately reached for my gun. “Josh!” I shouted, hiding to the side of the window.

  “That’s just Derek,” Anna said.

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  Josh ran into the room, his gun drawn. He peered out the door and then lowered his weapon when a tall guy stepped out of the driver’s side. But then I saw something that sent chills down my spine. A man stepped out, dressed all in black and as scary looking as the last time I had seen him. Josh stepped forward to rush out the door, but I put my hand on his arm.

  “No, wait. What the hell is your brother doing with Garrick Knight?”

  “Who?” Josh asked.

  “That man out there,” I spat. “He’s an assassin. You thought I was dangerous? That man is literally an assassin, and he’s not known for being forgiving! What the hell did your brother do?”

  Josh shook his head slightly. “Let’s find out.”

  “Wait, you have to let me take the lead on this.”

  “Carly, that’s my brother.”

  “Trust me on this,” I pleaded. He looked into my eyes and then nodded, taking a step behind me. I pulled out my gun and headed out the door, my gun drawn. “Stop right there,” I shouted.

  All of them stopped where they were, obviously taken aback by the greeting. I walked down the steps slowly and approached the vehicles.

  “You’re Derek?” I asked the one that I assumed was Josh’s brother.

  “That’s me. We’re here to help, so why don’t you lower your gun.”

  “Not until you tell me what the fuck you’re doing with Garrick Knight.”

  His gaze shot over to Knight’s, but he just shrugged. “He works for our company, but his name is Hudson Knight.”

  “Bullshit,” I spat. “Do you really think I wouldn’t recognize the man that tried to kill me?”

  Knight snorted. “As I recall, you were the one that pulled a knife on me.”

  “Because you were there to kill me,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

  “She pulled a knife on you?” Derek asked. “Really?”

  “That’s right,” I repli
ed snottily. “I’m not just a pretty face.”

  “No, I believe it,” Derek replied. “I’m just surprised that anyone got the drop on Knight.”

  “She surprised me with a handshake.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” Josh said from behind me.

  Knight huffed in irritation. “It’s like I always say, never trust a handshake. It’s deceptive. It makes you think that your enemy comes in peace. That’s what she did to me.”

  Derek barked out a laugh. “Are you serious? She took you down with a handshake?”

  Knight shot a furious glare at Derek. “I learned my lesson.”

  “A painful lesson, if I remember correctly.”

  “Can we rewind and go back to the part where you were trying to kill Carly?” Josh asked.

  “It wasn’t personal. She was part of the mafia. It wasn’t like she was innocent.”

  “I was a teenager.”

  “And you’d just killed a man,” he shot back. “The hit was withdrawn after you got away.”

  “Wait,” I said, confusion filling me. “The hit?”

  He sighed in irritation. “Yeah, the hit. You didn’t really think that I just showed up to kill you after you killed one person, did you?”

  Honestly, I hadn’t really thought about it much over the years. I thought it was part of the business and I had to learn to grow a thicker skin.

  “So, can we just go inside and figure this out?” Derek asked.

  “Not until you tell me what he’s doing here.”

  “He’s here to protect you,” Derek said. “He’s not an assassin.”

  “Why should I believe you? Why would you bring someone like him to your brother’s house?”

  “Exactly,” Derek said. “Why would I bring someone that would hurt my family?”

  The fact was, I was pretty sure that Derek would do anything to protect his family. I couldn’t see any reason at all that he would bring Knight here if he intended to hurt me. Not with his brothers here. Slowly, I lowered my weapon and nodded to Derek. I just hoped this decision didn’t get us all killed.

  Josh

  “Holy shit,” Derek muttered as he walked toward me. “It’s really you.”