“Let me grab the keys from Josh and I’ll meet you out there,” I said, heading into the living room. The guys were all laughing, but immediately shut up the moment I stepped into the room.
“What are you guys talking about?” I asked, wrapping my arms around Josh’s waist.
“I was just telling them about how I found out your real name.”
“And what exactly did you tell them?”
“Wait,” Eric said, pulling out his phone. I’m getting an alert on the property.”
“Oh, that’s Natalie,” I grinned. “She got us a present and went out to her truck. So, what did you tell them?”
“Basically that I hid behind you as you kicked ass.”
“Well, behind every strong man is an even stronger woman,” I grinned.
“Don’t I know it,” he smirked.
“Don’t sell yourself short,” I grinned at him. “It may have taken five years, but you eventually learned how to shoot.”
“It didn’t take me that long,” he scoffed.
“Don’t listen to a word he says,” I said to all his brothers and Jack. “He may have known how to handle a gun, but it took me training him every step of the way.”
“Hey, that’s not true. I had help before you. And don’t forget about me bashing in those guys’ skulls with the toilet lid.”
Jack started laughing. “Is he serious?”
“That’s how he escaped. I got out the window, but Josh beat them with the toilet lid.”
“You should join the police force,” Jack joked. “We may not have that many criminals, but I know the whole town will feel safer knowing you’re out there, with your toilet lid, ready to take down anyone.”
“Haha,” Josh said dryly. “Was there something you needed?” he asked me. “Besides to humiliate me?”
I held out my hand, grinning up at him. “Keys please.”
“You’re not planning on running away, are you?”
“I think this town has enough vehicles dumped in the lake.”
“What?” Jack asked. “Is that where your vehicle is?”
“One of a few,” Josh smirked before handing over the keys. I kissed him and walked into the kitchen, grabbing my coat as I headed outside. I had kept Natalie waiting long enough. But as I approached her truck, I noticed that the passenger door was open, but she was nowhere around. Hesitantly, I walked around the truck, thinking maybe she was just at the back where I couldn’t see her. That was when I saw the drops of blood in the fresh snow. Her footprints went to the back of the truck, but then were joined by a second, much larger set of prints.
My heart started pounding in my chest. I knew this was about me. It had to be. Nobody here had any enemies, but I certainly did. The question was, who had escaped from Antonio and come after us?
The tracks led away from the house, and as I looked up, I realized where Natalie was taken. There was a barn on the other side of the property. It appeared to be rundown, which I assumed meant people didn’t regularly go there. I started running, afraid for what I was going to find when I got there. When I reached the barn, I slowly approached the open door, listening closely. What I heard had me stepping back in shock.
“Just keep your mouth shut until she gets here.”
“My husband is the sheriff,” Natalie said, her voice wavering slightly.
“I don’t give a fuck who you are. Do you really think I’m going to suddenly grow a conscience and let you go?”
I could hear the anger in Levi’s voice, but I didn’t know why he would take Natalie hostage to get to me. Taking a deep breath, I walked through the barn doors with my hands raised. I could see the hope in Natalie’s eyes that Jack was with me. If I had been smart, I would have gone for help, but I had been on my own so long that I hadn’t even considered it. Now Levi had her in front of him, a gun pressed to her temple.
“Levi, what are you doing?” I asked, walking slowly toward him.
“What the hell does it look like I’m doing?”
“It looks like you’re making a really bad mistake. Natalie has nothing to do with us.”
“Wow, that’s very perceptive of you. Do you think I give a fuck? She’s nothing. I’m here for you.”
“Then let her go.”
“Not a chance in hell. You’ve already fucked things up for me. I’m not letting you do that again.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, taking another step toward him. He looked scared almost, desperate.
“You were supposed to come back to me. You were supposed to marry me!” he shouted. “I had it all worked out with your uncle.”
“My uncle?”
“We had a plan. I had the name and he had the resources. It was all so fucking perfect.”
“Levi, you’re not making any sense.”
“I was supposed to fucking marry you!” he shouted. “As long as I fulfilled my end of the agreement, I would have the money and the power. Nobody would ever fuck with me. That was the agreement that I made with my father. But then you went and killed yourself and I had to find another way in. My father has practically disowned me. No money, not unless I could find a way back into the family. So, I stuck by your father for the first year. I was practically glued to his ass, playing the devastated fiancé. But it was pretty fucking clear I wasn’t getting anywhere with him.”
“So, you manipulated my uncle?” I asked accusingly. But Levi just laughed at me.
“You’re such a stupid girl. You always were.”
I shook my head, surprised by what I was hearing. “But when we were younger-“
“I was using you,” he snapped. “Do you really think I wanted to marry someone like you? Too good for her own family,” he scoffed. “I fucked you because I had to. I needed you on my side.”
“Then apparently, you didn’t fuck me good enough,” I shot back.
“I guess not.”
I glanced at Natalie, her eyes wide as she listened to this all play out. I had to keep him talking. He had a lot of anger, so hopefully it wouldn’t take much to keep him going. I had to hope that somebody would realize we had been gone a long time and come looking for us.
“Someone came after me before I called you. How did they find me?”
“Pure luck,” he laughed. “You were good. You hid well, but we caught you on camera. We wouldn’t have even known it was you, except we were trying to find witnesses for another matter. Your car popped up on the camera, and along with it, your face. Your uncle sent someone after you the moment we realized you were never really dead.”
“So, when I called you…”
“I already knew you were alive,” he smirked. “I was just biding my time until I could find you. And then you called me for help and solved all my problems.”
It made sense, his urgency to help me all along was so he could get what he had been after all along.
“Levi, the organization has fallen apart. I don’t understand why you still need me.”
“Because my father has completely turned his back on me. I have nothing! My apartment is gone if I don’t pay for it myself.”
“I don’t have any money.”
“You have all the money from the will. Your father left everything to you and your brothers. And now that everyone but Antonio is out of the way, you’re the only one that can access those funds.”
Except, I didn’t have access to those funds. I was still legally dead. None of that had been worked out yet, and I wasn’t in a hurry to get the ball rolling. Besides, after the massacre on my father’s property, I was pretty sure that the feds would have all his assets frozen pending the investigation, which could go on for years. But the minute I told Levi that I had nothing, he would kill Natalie and me.
“Okay, I get it. I’ll get you the money. All of it.”
“Oh, I know you are. You’re going to marry me and then sign every penny over to me. And if you’re good to me during that time, I’ll possibly even let you live.”
I nodded, tr
ying to come up with some way to stall further, but the only way I could see to get Natalie out of this was to go with Levi. “Alright,” I said, approaching him slowly again. “I’ll go with you willingly, but you have to let her go.”
“Why? So she can run off to her husband and tell him that I’m forcing you to come with me? I don’t think so,” he said, spinning Natalie around and pointing the gun at her chest.
“Wait!” I shouted, rushing forward. “You don’t have to do that. We’ll tie her up.” I glanced around quickly, spotting rope on an old riding lawn mower. I ran over and snatched it, rushing back over. “We can tie her to that post. Then we’ll leave and she won’t be able to say anything until I’m long gone.”
“And she’ll tell them that I forced you!”
“And you think I can’t lie? My whole life has been a lie. What are they going to do? Force me to say that you took me? It won’t matter because we’ll already be married.” I could tell that he was considering this, but he wasn’t convinced yet. “Levi, nobody has to die. I will go with you willingly and we’ll do exactly as you say. I know what’s at stake here, and I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize that.”
He stepped back from Natalie and shoved her in my direction. “Fine, tie her up. But I swear to God, you make one wrong move and I’ll come back and murder everyone.”
“I understand.”
I took Natalie by the elbow, purposely not looking at her as I dragged her over to the post. I shoved her down into a sitting position and then yanked her hands behind her back. Once she was secured, I slowly stood and walked back over to Levi. His gun was still pointed at me, but he seemed calmer than before.
“We should go, before someone realizes that I’m missing,” I said calmly.
He jerked his head toward the barn door and together, we headed for the entrance, but as we got closer, I realized that the only way I could ever really be rid of Levi was if I took care of him myself. Even if I paid him off and did as he said, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t kill me and come back to finish off everyone else. He was a loose cannon.
When I felt his elbow brush against mine, I spun, grabbing his arm holding the gun and shoving it toward the ceiling. It went off with a bang and shards of wood floated down around us. I slammed my elbow back into his stomach as I struggled to grab the gun from his hands. He twisted and kicked out, catching me in the stomach. I went flying backwards and rolled when I saw him aim the gun at me. The shot missed me by inches.
I rolled again, just barely getting cover behind the lawnmower when he shot again. I prayed the shots were drawing some attention, but I couldn’t wait. Especially since Natalie was out in the open. I ran at him when I saw him swing his gun in her direction. I just barely got to him, tackling him to the ground as his gun went off again. This time, the shot hit my shoulder and I cried out as we crashed to the ground. I had his hand pinned above his head and I slammed it down over and over, trying to knock the gun free. His other hand came up and wrapped around my throat, choking me, but I kept slamming his hand down.
The gun flew out of his hand and his other hand squeezed harder around my throat. I was losing oxygen fast and black spots were dancing in front of my eyes. His other fist came up and slammed into my face and my head snapped to the side. He shoved me off him, but it took a second to regain my footing after I almost passed out. Coughing, I got up and raced after him, slamming into him from behind. We hit the lawnmower, moving it just slightly, but when he spun me around and slammed into me again, the lawnmower rolled out from behind me. I heard the crack of wood as it hit a post, which probably wouldn’t be a problem under normal conditions, but this barn was barely standing.
Levi and I both looked up as we heard a crack from overhead. The support beam that was attached to the post was shifting. Levi’s fist came at me hard again, knocking me to the ground. As I lifted my head, I saw Natalie yelling something at me, but Levi must have hit me pretty hard, because she sounded all muffled. A hard kick to the stomach had me gasping for air, and when I rolled to my back, I saw what Natalie was yelling about. The post was starting to fall and the beam was about to come crashing down.
Levi grabbed me by the hair and started dragging me to my feet. I kicked out at him, needing to get loose and get over to Natalie to get her out of here. If that support beam fell, the post she was tied to would fall also, and she would be crushed under the weight of it all.
Using all my strength, I twisted free of Levi’s grasp and kicked him hard in the chest. He went flying backwards, right into the lawnmower, pushing it into the post again. I ran for Natalie, just barely getting to her as the support beam started falling. I struggled with the knots, glancing up at the shifting beams all around us, and finally got the knot free. The whole damn building was about to come down around us.
“Run!” I shouted, pushing her toward the door. Dust fell all around us and the groan of wood made me think we weren’t actually going to make it out of here.
“Natalie! Carly!”
Shouts came from the entrance of the barn, but I was tackled to the ground before I could see who it was. I heard the crash of beams falling to the ground, but Levi had his hands on my throat, strangling me so hard I knew I had only a few seconds left to live. I could see the anger in his eyes, and I could feel the rage in the way his fingers dug into my throat. My hand scrambled around me for anything I could use. I felt the cool metal under my fingers, the sharp prongs that could be used as a weapon. With my last bit of oxygen, I snatched the prongs and yanked the pitchfork closer to me, then grabbed the handle and shoved it right at Levi’s throat.
The pressure on my throat instantly released and I took the opportunity to grab the handle with my other hand and shove it further into his neck. Blood spurted at me as he fell to the side and I scrambled out from beneath him, barely getting to my feet as Josh grabbed me and started hauling me toward the door. My eyes widened in shock when I saw Jack on the ground beside Natalie. She was trapped under a beam and he was struggling to get it off her, along with all of the brothers. With one big heave, they hauled the beam up as Jack pulled her out from underneath it and slid his hands under her, then got up and ran for the door.
We barely made it out of the barn as it collapsed to the ground. Josh wrapped his arms around me in a big hug, practically holding me up. My whole body ached and I knew my throat probably had bruising all around it.
“Is she okay?”
I pulled out of Josh’s grasp and looked over at Natalie, who had blood trickling out of her mouth.
“We need to get her to the hospital,” Jack said, his voice shaking.
“I’ll get the truck,” Joe said, turning and running for the house.
I covered my mouth with my hand, tears filling my eyes as I watched Jack pleading with Natalie to stay with him. This was all my fault. If she died, I would never forgive myself.
Josh
After Joe got back, we loaded Natalie into the truck and watched as Joe and Jack drove off with her. But even as they drove away, I found myself thanking God that it hadn’t been Carly that was crushed under that beam. What kind of person did that make me?
Carly turned toward the barn as tears streamed down her face and I wrapped my arms around her from behind. “It should have been me,” she whispered.
“It shouldn’t have been anyone,” I said, trying to comfort her. In reality, I was pissed at myself for not having noticed sooner that they were gone. When the girls came to get us, they had already been gone for a long time. Kat and Anna had been lost in conversation and the rest of us were too busy drinking beer to notice that something was wrong. And then when we heard the shots, I knew we were already too late.
“This had nothing to do with her. If she dies-“
“She’s not going to die,” I said, turning her in my arms. I took in the livid marks on her neck, brushing my thumb against them lightly.
“You don’t know that. She had blood coming out of her mouth.”
“And they’re getting her to the hospital. You need to go too.”
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice hoarse.
“If you were fine, you wouldn’t be about to collapse in my arms.” I wanted to check her over to see how badly she was really hurt, but Carly wasn’t the type to be fawned over. If I tried to see the damage right now, she would probably kick my ass.
“Hey,” Eric said, “we need to go.”
I nodded and picked Carly up in my arms. When she just barely protested, I knew she was hurt worse than she was saying. She moaned slightly when I shifted her in my arms and that was when I saw the blood seeping from her shoulder.
“Shit.” I set her down on the ground, ignoring her slapping at my hands.
“What’s wrong?” Eric asked.
“She’s bleeding.”
“It’s nothing,” Carly insisted.
I jerked her coat open and stared at her blood-soaked shirt. Feeling under her shoulder, I felt the exit wound, which gave me hope that she would be fine. But her face was growing paler and she was starting to shake slightly.
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice shaking.
“You’re not fine,” I growled, tearing off part of her shirt and pressing it to her shoulder. Taking her other hand, I pressed it over the fabric. “Hold this, okay? I’m gonna get you to the hospital.”
“I’m-“
“You’re not fucking fine!” I shouted, making her flinch.
“Stop fucking yelling at her,” Eric said. “I’ll go get the truck.”
“No, I can carry her.”
“I can walk,” she said.
“Don’t make me kick your ass right now.”
She chuckled slightly. “Like you could ever kick my ass.”
She moaned again when I lifted her, but didn’t protest when I started carrying her back toward the house. I didn’t pay attention to anyone else as I got her in the truck, but I knew all my brothers were coming along.
“Where’s Kat? I need her to help me with this wound.”
Wanted Dead or In Love: A Small Town Romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 3) Page 29