“If I tell you and you tell on me…”
“We’ve been through this. What you tell me, I won’t share. Now answer the question.” He gripped the pen, leaning on the table, resting his elbows.
“Yes,” she said, “but you can’t tell anyone.”
He had no doubt she was telling the truth from the fear written all over her face. “Until you give me the go ahead and agree, I will say nothing to no one.”
She seemed to relax a bit.
“See? That wasn’t so hard.”
The look she gave him screamed teenage attitude.
“How about one more question? Did anyone at the Humboldts’ hurt you?”
This time she got up, but not before he saw something there. “You said one. I answered your one. You don’t get any more.”
No, but he’d hit a nerve, and he was more convinced than ever that someone at the Humboldts’ had messed with her.
“What about her?” Billy Jo said. “Is the dude she’s married to going to show up here and hurt her?”
He’d wondered when she’d bring it up, knowing she’d heard the details of what Rose had said. It had become a pallor that had hung heavy over them while they ate their burgers.
“I’ll see to it he doesn’t,” Chase said. He hadn’t yet had a chance to do anything for Rose, considering she’d basically shut down after lunch and buried herself in renovations, hammering, sawing, drilling. He’d offered to help, but she’d refused.
He’d make inquires. He too had connections.
“So you’re basically fixing everything for everybody,” she said.
“You’re analyzing me now.” He stood up, shaking his head, offering a soft smile. “Old habits. It’s what I do, handle problems.”
She said nothing but seemed to be considering something. “So are you and Rose having sex?”
If he’d have been drinking something, he’d have choked. He heard something and realized Rose was standing there, wide eyed. Of course she’d heard.
“No, Rose and I are not having sex. We are two respective adults sharing space in a common goal of seeing to it that you have a nurturing environment, a safe home, a place that’s stable so I can get your butt out of the trouble you’ve landed yourself in.”
She was glaring at him as if he’d just pulled that explanation out of his ass. Rose, too, but then, he basically had.
Then Billy Jo was looking at him and Rose as if considering something. “Well, you should,” she said. “You two kind of look like you belong together.”
This time, Rose’s jaw slackened, and Chase gritted his teeth. “And how so, smartass?” he said.
Billy Jo shrugged. “It’s the way you look at each other when the other’s not watching.”
Chapter 22
Chase had been gone for three hours, having been up at the crack of dawn. Rose had heard him rattling downstairs in the kitchen. She hadn’t climbed out of bed because she was having a hard time looking at him, considering what Billy Jo had said. Of course he was attractive, easy on the eyes, and his body was one any girl could have appreciated. He was kind, thoughtful, and he’d turned his life upside down to help a kid he didn’t even know when no one else could or would have stepped up.
She’d told him about Travis. Yes, she trusted him, and yes, she wanted him, something she hadn’t admitted even to herself. Now it was out there, even though it wasn’t.
Having Billy Jo point out the attraction between them had been awkward, and worse was the fact that she had feelings for Chase that she hadn’t given herself a moment to consider after he’d moved in two days earlier. Even though he’d invaded her space, her comfort zone, this was the first time she’d realized she felt safe, and that was all down to him.
“This is so not good,” she’d murmured as she pulled the covers over her head. The early morning sun had just tipped over the horizon, and she’d waited until she heard his car. Then she’d gotten up.
She’d opened her door wearing pajama shorts and a T-shirt and had taken in the sight of Billy Jo coming out of the bathroom, watching her. The girl had narrowed her eyes and said nothing, shaking her head as she walked past to her room and shut the door. She seemed to know too much about things no girl her age should.
So now here it was, late morning, and the only thing Billy Jo had asked of her was “Has Chase called?”
No, Chase had not called, and the girl was ignoring her. How in the hell was this supposed to work? She’d pulled down the tarp and pulled out the baseboards she’d cut. She planned to put them up after she got the hardwood flooring down, and after that she’d put the mud on the walls and sand it down before painting. She wondered if she had enough when she looked up and saw dust on the driveway. Chase was back early. She turned over two of the boards and saw mold. “Shit,” she said, taking in the dampness. The sound of the motor had her looking up again. That wasn’t Chase, she realized, and she saw an old truck with big wheels that she didn’t recognize.
That was when she felt the alarm, because it looked like Marty Humboldt. Her hand went to her side, but there was nothing there, no sidearm. She touched her head, remembering it was still under the bed in the box where she’d tucked it, because having Chase here had eased some of her worry and the need she’d felt to carry all the time when she was alone at home. She strode up the steps into the house, then closed the door and locked it, seeing the fridge door open and Billy Jo pulling out a can of soda. Maybe the expression on her face said everything.
“Marty Humboldt is coming down the driveway. Call Chase now,” she said as she went up the steps to her room, dropped to her knees, and pulled out the box under her bed where she’d stuffed the 9mm. She checked to make sure it was loaded and then tucked it in the waistband of her jeans, pulling her shirt overtop. She was on the stairs when she heard pounding on the door.
“Billy Jo, you get your ass on out here now,” Marty shouted, and Rose hit the landing and went to the door, seeing the knob rattle. Her heart was racing, and she could see the fear on Billy Jo’s face as she stared at the door and pressed the phone to her ear.
“It went to voicemail,” she whispered. She was looking to Rose to do something.
Rose pulled the gun from her waistband and gestured behind herself. “Go upstairs now, lock yourself in the bathroom, and call the sheriff.”
Billy Jo was standing, staring at her with the gun. She didn’t know what she was thinking, but Marty was now slamming his body against the locked door, and he was going to get in.
“Go now!” she shouted and turned just as the front door crashed open, wood splintering. Rose held up the gun, taking the stance she’d been shown in self defense training a year earlier, and she flicked off the safety and rested her finger on the trigger as she aimed. “Marty, get the hell out of my house now. I will shoot you. You’ve broken in, and I will not hesitate to put you down like the dog you are.”
“Really, Rose, put the gun down. I just want to have a talk with Billy Jo. We just need to settle some things between us.”
She was shaking her head, and then he was looking over her shoulder at someone. She wasn’t sure. She was about to look but caught herself wondering whether it was a trick.
“Billy Jo!” he shouted. “I know you can hear me, so you listen up. Get your ass down here right now, and we’re going to have a conversation.”
Rose motioned with the gun that she meant business, even though it scared the hell out of her. She’d never fired her gun at anyone, but she also feared what this man would do to Billy Jo if he got any farther inside. “I said get out!” She moved the gun a fraction and pulled the trigger, and it splintered the front door framing. He ducked, and his hands went up. “Next one is going in your knee,” she said and moved her gun to point.
“You crazy bitch! I knew you were trouble. Never should have sold you that gun,” he shouted.
She could hear a car—the sheriff or Chase. She wanted Chase. “You have three seconds to decide, or I will shoot you.”
<
br /> He took a step back, and she kept her gun on target.
“Hey!”
She heard a male voice she didn’t recognize. Marty stepped outside, his hands up. Rose followed another step, freaking out because she didn’t know who was there.
“What the hell is going on here?” It was that male voice again, and she caught a glimpse of a good-looking dark-haired man—tall, handsome, and totally ripped. Who the hell was this? She was freaking out, and she held the gun as Marty backed up.
“This crazy bitch is trying to shoot me!” Marty yelled, and Rose stood there on the step, not dropping her arm.
“Marty, get the hell out of here, and you don’t come back here again,” she yelled. “You leave Billy Jo alone. If you come back, I will shoot you.”
The dark-haired man looked worried, watching her and then Marty, who climbed into his truck, started the engine, and pulled away. That was when she dropped her arm and started shaking.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe you did that! That was so totally awesome,” Billy Jo said from the top of the stairs. Then she ran down and actually hugged Rose, who took in the stranger who was watching them both.
He inclined his head as Rose rested her arm around Billy Jo, holding her as if still protecting her. She didn’t know what to do as she stared at the dust receding in the distance, the gun in her hand limp.
“Who are you?” she said, finger off the trigger but ready to lift it again.
The man with amber eyes, short brown hair, and a killer smile said, “Aaron McCabe. Is my brother Chase here?”
Chapter 23
Chase couldn’t believe he was actually taking on Freda’s case. Even Freda, who’d wondered who in the hell he was—which had been her exact words when she was led into the visiting room to see him—hadn’t believed him until he told her that Billy Jo had shared her plight.
After a little digging and a chat with the DA, he’d learned that Freda had in fact witnessed the stabbing and murder of a retired teacher. The accused was currently incarcerated, awaiting trial, and the public defender who’d visited Freda once hadn’t pushed at all for her release.
Chase realized there were a number of factors, the first being that Freda couldn’t read English, the second that she was an undocumented immigrant. The chance she’d up and leave had been the only factor that had swayed the judge to sign the order.
Chase, though, because of his promise to Billy Jo, planned to file a motion to have her released, and he would push for steps to have her testimony recorded and sworn before a judge just in case she did disappear. It would be an easy win, and he couldn’t wait to tell Billy Jo so he could start focusing on getting her out of the jam she was in.
When he returned to Rose’s, Chase didn’t recognize the pickup parked out front, and for a minute as his foot jammed the gas pedal, he feared her ex had found her. He pulled around the truck, dust flying, and jammed his car in park before he got out and saw the dark hair and buff body of his brother, who was striding down the front steps. Rose was watching him with a look he didn’t recognize.
“Aaron, what are you doing here?” He couldn’t believe it. “You’re supposed to be in Henderson with Luc. What, why?” Maybe it was his nerves that had him stammering, the adrenaline that was still pumping from his worry that something had happened.
“You look a little freaked out,” his brother said as he strode down and gave Chase a hug. Chase searched out Rose and Billy Jo, who were lingering in the doorway. “Sent Luc down to Henderson without me. Had a feeling someone should come and check on you after you blew us off. Suddenly you’re setting up a life here. Figured it had to be pretty important or you’d finally gotten yourself into something you’re always trying to dig everyone else out of. Seriously, you okay?”
“Sorry, saw the truck and…” He gestured vaguely, because he couldn’t share Rose’s story with Aaron. He looked to Rose again. “You guys okay?” he asked.
She nodded but didn’t say anything.
“You may want to ask your lady there what I drove into,” Aaron said.
Chase stepped closer to the house and up the steps, taking in Rose. She did look pale, and Billy Jo was hanging close.
“Marty showed up,” Billy Jo said. “Rose fired off her gun. Put a bullet right there.” She pointed at the door frame, and Chase looked around and wondered how calm he seemed, because right now he was freaking out, thinking of a lot of things that could have gone wrong. He was standing so close to Rose. He touched her arm, his hand rubbing. She didn’t pull away, but he could feel she wasn’t as calm as she was letting on. He took in the wood splinters, the damaged front door.
“Did he do this?” He touched Rose again, and he could feel her shaking.
She nodded. “Yes.”
He pulled her to him and held her. She gripped his shirt front as she held on for a second, and he looked down at her. She was scared but tough. “Billy Jo, what did he want?” he asked, then turned to Aaron, who was at the foot of the stairs, standing on the concrete step, looking up.
“He wanted to talk to me, make sure I don’t talk,” Billy Jo said. “Rose said she’d shoot him if he came back.”
It wasn’t lost on him that she was actually using Rose’s name. “And no one called the sheriff?”
“He just left,” Aaron said. “He said he’s going to go have a chat with Marty.”
Rose still hadn’t said anything. Maybe it was shock. Then she slid her hand to his chest and patted. “Why don’t I go get dinner ready?” she said, her voice shaking.
“Where’s the gun?” he asked.
“I have it,” Aaron said, pulling it from his waistband. He held it up and handed it to Chase with the barrel pointed away. “I emptied it.” He pulled out the clip from his other pocket and handed it to Chase, as well, who took both.
Rose was already in the kitchen, and Billy Jo had actually followed her and was talking to her, taking something that Rose handed her. That was something he hadn’t thought he’d ever see. So they’d bonded over what? Something totally fucked up.
“What the hell happened here?” Chase said to Aaron, his voice low, taking in the gun and the clip in his hand.
“I don’t know, but when I pulled in I heard the shot. Then the guy came out. Big guy, he kicked his way in. I’m thinking he wasn’t here for a friendly visit. Jesus, talk about your homegrown badass.”
“Well, what did the sheriff say?” He would call Moss himself, get the fucker on the phone and make sure Marty didn’t come around anymore.
“Talked to that lady of yours and the kid, saw the damage the guy did. He seemed pretty mad and cut out of here. Just said he’d take care of Marty Humboldt, and that was after he asked who in the hell I was. Seems you’ve picked an unusual place to suddenly put down roots.” Aaron was still watching him and then glanced to the side as amusement touched his lips. “I just can’t figure out how in the course of a few days, you’ve stopped a robbery, stepped in to help a girl who nobody wanted and are now a foster parent to her, and moved in with a gorgeous woman you’ve known for, what…?” His voice was low and his tone incredulous. “Less than a week.”
Okay, when he put it like that, it did sound bizarre.
“Wow, you really do take this whole fixing everyone thing to a level I’ve never seen before,” Aaron said. Then he rested his hand on Chase’s shoulder as he looked around. “But I have to say, you’ve got great taste in women.”
He took in Rose, who was standing in the kitchen with Billy Jo, who was still talking to her. Rose said something, but the entire time she was watching Chase.
“I do,” he said, and he realized this whole temporary home he’d started wasn’t so temporary after all.
Chapter 24
“You didn’t say two words all through dinner,” Chase said. He had rested his hands on Rose’s shoulders where she was sitting outside in the dark on the back deck. She’d needed a minute to sort out her feelings about Chase, Billy Jo, and the fact that she was out th
ere and couldn’t hide anymore.
She could feel the moment he was going to pull away, and she reached back and rested her hands over his, feeling his wrists, just holding on. She didn’t want him to pull away. There was something about his touch that was grounding. Then he stepped around her and sat in the chair opposite her. With a little tug, she was up and slipped onto his lap, his arm around her, her head resting on his shoulder. He made it so easy.
This was nice. She’d never believed she’d feel a man’s arms around her again. As he settled his other arm over her hip, she said, “I was scared, and all I could think was that I had to protect her and couldn’t let Marty near her. He was going to hurt her, threaten her because she knows things about what he does, what his family does. Everyone around these parts knows or suspects, but no one says anything because they’re scared shitless of him. I was scared. I just made another enemy today.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she shut her eyes, taking it in.
“I was going to shoot him,” she said, feeling Chase’s arms around her tighten.
“I know you were. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
She lifted her head, taking in this man who was turning her world upside down, a man who was trying to fix everything for everyone. “Chase, you can’t promise that.”
His arms had loosened, but they were still around her. “I promise you that you and Billy Jo will be safe no matter what. If I have to move you, hide you, I’ll do it. I talked to the sheriff already, told him it was time to make a deal for Billy Jo. Called the DA, too. Left him a message about this little visit and told him I’ll turn this whole area into a media shit storm if he doesn’t drop this ridiculous robbery charge. They know I mean it. You, too, with your husband. You’ve been hiding from him, scared shitless that he’ll track you down, but he won’t risk the media circus. For his career, it would be too important. I’ll file the divorce papers for you, and he’ll know we’re together. He won’t try anything, not with me here. I’ll make sure he leaves you alone. I too have connections, know people who know him.”
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