by Kara Kelley
Suicide by cop.
* * *
Avery dreamed of Rocky and her sweet mountain man daddy, but then Prescott tore his way into her dreams and twisted them. She woke and bolted up with a start when her nightmare had Prescott killing both Rocky and Mike on the side of the mountain.
She shivered in the cold, dark room. It was inky black, and the quiet felt unnatural. She shoved the blankets aside and blindly walked to the main room. The fire was out, all but a slight glow in the coal and ash below. She opened the door and piled more wood in, then wandered to the window, hugging herself, wondering where Mike was and if he was safe. In the dim light of the moon, she saw Rocky’s bed and swallowed the thick emotion welling in her throat. Her eyes went to the chopping block next. That’s where she’d attempted to play with the bear. They hadn’t really bonded until he followed her though.
She wrapped her arms tighter around herself and shivered. She was about to head back to the warmth of the bed and wait for Mike when she remembered Officer Riley. Her brow wrinkled, and she looked to the bathroom. The door was open, and there was nowhere else inside the cabin that he could be, so she scanned the property. Something flashed in the wooded area down the mountain, and she squinted to get a better look. Fumbling through Mike’s coat, she found the binoculars.
It was too dark to see much until a cloud broke open, exposing the moon. That’s when she saw Alex. What did he want? And seriously, where the hell was Riley? She watched Alex approaching the cabin, a glint of silver in his right hand and a beam of light in his left. He was staying to the sides of the brush to keep hidden. The door was unlocked, so she lunged for it, locking it tight, then ran for the cell in the bedroom.
With the phone in her hands, she went back to the living room, wondering who to call. Mike had the work phone, but she didn’t have the number. She didn’t know the address of the cabin if she dialed nine-one-one. But she found herself wondering whether she needed the police in the first place. Would Alex really hurt her? They’d lived together, been intimate, and shared a life. Her hands trembled as the image of him shot in the bed of his apartment. All the blood, her horror, and her tears. The betrayal.
Avery stilled her shaking hands and drew in a deep breath. He might be an asshole, but Alex was nothing like Prescott. He didn’t have the same kind of motivations. Alex was greedy and a liar, but not a murderer. She could handle him.
Her eyes darted around the room, and she quickly went to the cellar hatch. She couldn’t see Alex any longer with the moon hidden by another cloud, but she knew what to do. She twisted the latch and let the door fall open into the hole. She yanked the ladder up and dragged it into the bedroom. When she came back, she pulled the rug back over the hole. It was a sturdy little rug and didn’t show any dips where the floor fell away, at least not enough to notice in the dimly lit cabin.
She quickly unlocked the door and went back to the kitchen. She stood in the corner where the small, L-shaped counters met, pressing her belly tightly against it, fiddling with the kettle, knowing the clearest path to her was over that rug. She heard the gentle shuffling of someone climbing the porch stairs and the squeak of the doorknob. She wondered if Riley was lying in wait somewhere. It was a comfort thinking he was, but her gut said she was on her own.
“Mouse.” His voice was still full of charisma and charm, but now it made her shiver. She spun slowly, keeping herself tight into the counter corner—like a trapped mouse. “What are you doing up?”
“Alex.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I have a better question. What are you doing alive?” She moved her hand slowly behind her, enough for him to catch the movement but for him to think she hadn’t wanted him to.
“Stop moving, mouse.” He held up his hands and gave her a half smile that made his dimple stand out. It was a smile that had once made her heart patter. “I’m not going to hurt you. I love you.” Liar. She swallowed the urge to laugh sardonically at his bullshit and relaxed her shoulders a bit instead. She bit her lip, hopefully looking like the insecure, smitten girl she once was.
“Why are you here, Alex? And why did you do it?”
“How could you ask that, mouse? Obviously, I’m here to get you. You’re my wife. I want to bring you home.” She noted that he’d completely neglected to answer the second part of her question. He took a step forward, and she tried to look nervous. Since she was brimming with anxiousness, it wasn’t a stretch.
“We split before you faked your own death. I’m not your wife.”
His patronizing chuckle made her jaw tighten, but his stepping closer eased it. “Aw, mouse. Until we’re divorced, you’re still my wife, and I’ve decided I’m not going to let you divorce me.” His voice held a note of threat.
“Don’t come any closer, Alex.” She lunged for the knife from the block and held it with trembling hands.
Alex laughed the kind of laugh that made his body tip back slightly. Then he wiped his hand across his smooth chin and gazed at her with open amusement and contempt.
She looked closely at his pretty boy face and her brow wrinkled. How had she ever found him attractive? He seemed so weak and snake-like. Mike was a bear, with his big beard and rugged, weathered face, muscles built of hard labor not gym equipment, and his expressive eyes that spoke nothing but the truth. He’d showed her everything he felt with those eyes.
Alex lied, cheated, and manipulated. He deceived with his whole body. And now she’d pay him back in kind.
He took three more steps toward her. She kept her eyes off the mat so she wouldn’t tip him off, but it was hard. She wanted to make sure he was walking the right path. She pressed back as if cowering in fear and closed her eyes, willing tears to come. She thought of Rocky and then Mike still in danger, and they easily sprang to her lids.
“Please stop,” she whimpered. “I know you want the money. You can have it. I plan on living here, so I won’t need it anyway. Just don’t come any closer.”
His brows rose high and then fell, hovering low over his eyes.
“Here? With that Neanderthal?” He crossed his arms. “I heard he beats you. Why would you want that? I may have overspent and partied too much, but I never hurt you.”
“You hurt me more than anyone ever has, Alex. You used me, dismissed me, and pretended to love me. Mike takes care of me. He took care of me even when he didn’t want to—before he even knew me. And he doesn’t beat me. He would never lay a finger on me without my consent.” She almost giggled at the dumbfounded expression on his face. Oh, yes, she agreed alright. Let Alex make of that what he would.
“And you know what?” she continued with a smile. “It turns me on. A real man like him revs my engine like you never could. I’ve never been so wet for a man, nor so satisfied, Alex.”
Anger flashed in his eyes, and he pulled a gun out of his coat pocket, launching himself at her—just as she’d intended.
“You bitch—” And as the carpet gave way, and his eyes widened in shock, Avery gave him the finger. His arm hit the side of the hole on his way down, and the gun skittered across the kitchen floor and landed by her feet.
She slid across the floor on her knees, grabbed the door, yanked it up, and latched it. She broke into hysterical laughter that eventually turned to tears, before she finally crawled to the sofa, listening to Alex kick up a fuss locked in the cold dark cellar. She pulled the blanket over her head and waited.
* * *
“Baby, wake up.” Avery’s eyes fluttered open to see Mike’s furry face close to hers. “It worked. We got him. It’s finally over.” His face split into a wide grin and she sleepily wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her up into his arms and spun her before setting her on her feet.
“You, my brilliant little brat, saved the day. We got so many tips. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.”
He smile mimicked his then until she saw Riley.
“Where the hell were you last night?” Her snarl startled even her. She hadn’t realized how scared she’d been un
til then. Mike’s brow furrowed. A strum of warning thrummed in her belly.
“He left me alone last night!” She pointed at Riley, her hand shaking in anger. Alex chose this time to start hollering from the cellar. Mike looked to the floor, puzzled and then at Avery.
“I’ll explain in a minute. Just ignore it for now,” Avery said, gritting her teeth. Mike’s brows rose, but he nodded. Avery looked back at Riley.
“Where the hell were you?” She pointed to the cellar where Alex still shouted. “I had to deal with that shit all alone.”
“I’m so sorry, Avery. I was vigilant and walking the perimeter most of the night until I ran into some trouble.” He looked sheepish. “The kind of problem I didn’t expect.”
Her face contorted in confusion. “What kind of problem?”
Who else was left, who could want to harm them? She got Alex, the cougar got Eddie and Moe, and Mike took care of Prescott. Mike grabbed her hand and kissed it before linking their hands.
“Seems a bear chased him up a tree,” Mike answered for Riley and Avery’s eyes widened in alarm. She turned to look at Mike and saw a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
“A bear?” she repeated.
“A specific bear.”
“Oh, my God! Rocky? Are you saying Rocky’s alive?” She clutched Mike’s shirt with her fists and pulled him close. “Please tell me he is!”
“That bloody bear ran me right up a tree and sat there all night, daring me to come down.”
Avery’s hand found her mouth and her eyes welled, both tears of joy and laughter bursting from her simultaneously.
“And I held him there with this.” Annie walked in with a shotgun propped over her shoulder. “No hoodlum’s gonna get his hands on my Yukon Jill.”
Alex started thumping something beneath them, and Annie walked over, dropped the hatch, and pointed the shotgun at the hole. She looked back at Avery.
“I’m sorry, Yukon Jill. I didn’t know you had your hands full in here. I shoulda left Rocky on duty and checked on you.” She peeked back down into the cellar. “Shut your damn pie hole, or I’ll shut it for you.” She yanked the door closed with a thud and twisted the lock. “Can’t hear myself think. Trying to tell a story here,” she muttered to herself. Mike chuckled before he spoke. “I found them this morning,” Mike said, nodding his head toward Riley and Annie. “Rocky had no wounds. Just a little tranq dart stuck in his ass and Annie, well, she had nothing wrong with her either unless you count that scowl on her face.” He beamed at Annie.
“Oh, thank God!” Avery said and rushed to hug Annie. When she let her go, Riley spoke. “I kept telling her I was a cop, but she didn’t believe me,” Riley huffed.
Annie snorted and set the gun down beside her like a walking stick. “I’ve seen better fake badges out of cereal boxes, boy.”
“I thought you’d been eating oatmeal your whole life?” Avery challenged. Annie guffawed and waved off her comment. “I think my work’s done here.” She looked closer at Avery. “You okay, Yukon Jill?”
She nodded. “I’m better than okay, Annie. Thank you.” Mike put his arm around her shoulders. “You can thank me by helping me with my garden later this week. For now, I’m going home. Damn geese’ll be having a fit with the rooster crowing for his breakfast. Gerdy hates that ol’ bird.”
Riley went to the bathroom while Mike walked Annie to the porch. Avery put on a pot of coffee, her mind on Prescott. Was it finally over?
Mike came up behind her and put his arms around her waist just as the coffee started to drip.
“Tell me what happened. You caught him?” she asked and Mike led her to the couch, sitting first and pulling her into his lap. Then he told her everything.
“He was your brother?”
“Honestly, I don’t know if there’s any truth to what he told me, although my gut says there is, but I don’t want to know. I’m just glad it’s finally over.”
Mike looked to the kitchen when he heard the muffled yelling start up again. “Care to explain that?” He looked at Avery with a lifted brow.
“I caught something too,” she said with a grin. Mike’s mouth twisted.
“A douchebag,” Avery blurted and Mike’s face split into a huge grin and he kissed her.
“Let’s have a look-see.” Mike went to the kitchen, opened the hatch, and peered down. “We’ve got a rat, I see.”
“A big one.”
Mike left the hatch open and went back to Avery.
“Seems the whole family had a successful hunt tonight…” Riley walked out of the bathroom just as he spoke. “Even Rocky.” Mike chuckled at Riley’s disgruntled expression. “Sorry, buddy. He apparently doesn’t like strangers hanging around his master’s girl.”
Avery leaned close and whispered, “Ooh, am I the master’s girl?”
He growled, covered her cheeks with his big hands, and kissed her hard. His lips found her ear.
“Nope, you’re Daddy’s little girl,” he whispered back. “One in need of a spanking.” He pulled back and winked, and she felt her face burn. Her stomach flipped at the thought of being over his knee.
“Among other things. Many other delicious things,” Mike added out loud and shot a look over his shoulder at Riley. “Things our mountain’s way too crowded for currently.”
Riley cleared his throat and stared at the noisy floor.
“Any chance you want me to get rid of the rat in your cellar? Sounds like a big one.”
Avery laughed, loving the description. She was no mouse, but he was definitely a rat.
“Yeah, and don’t be gentle,” Mike said, making Riley chuckle and pull out his cuffs.
“Ladder’s in the bedroom,” Avery said before Mike covered her lips with his again for a long, hot kiss. His lips explored hers, and his tongue mated with her mouth. She was nothing but mush in his arms, her body a quivering, needy, one-minded thing.
She was relishing in the feel of his beard against the skin of her neck when Riley spoke.
“Don’t let us interrupt you.” They both looked up to see him shoving a handcuffed Alex toward the door. “If you can unlock your lips long enough, can you come in tomorrow for statements?”
“Hang on,” Mike said, rising from the sofa. He walked up to Alex, swung and cracked his fist into his nose. “As promised—broken bones. Now get the hell off our mountain,” Mike said gruffly. He pulled Avery up off the couch, keeping her eyes pinned with his and holding her hands tightly. “I’m taking my woman back to our bed, where she belongs. We’ll be in tomorrow. Make sure that fucker sleeps on cement tonight, would ya?”
“You bet.”
When the door shut, Mike’s look turned feral, and Avery’s insides felt like jelly.
“We have something to take care of now, don’t we, little girl?”
She stepped back and squeaked.
“Now? But you just got home, and I want to…” He stopped her with one arched brow and a finger to her chin. “Avery?”
“Yes, Daddy?”
“I need to know one thing.”
“What?”
“Can you leave it all behind? Really? The money, the lifestyle, the material things?”
“I only need you.” Her statement was sure, but then she cocked her head. “Although, I may occasionally fantasize about a real tub.”
“I’ll make you one. A wood-fired outdoor tub, fully Mountain Man Daddy approved, no electricity necessary. I’m also going to take you away. Anywhere you desire, honey. And right after that, we’re going to figure out this fake marriage shit so I can drag you to town and make you a Yukon Jill officially.”
“You mean it?” Her eyes welled. “You want me to stay?”
“Damn right I do, but first two things need to happen.” He released one of her hands to hold up a finger. “One, we get the asshole locked up for good. Whatever that takes.” He held up a second finger. “Two, I give you the spanking you so desperately need and deserve right now.”
Avery’s eyes widened,
but then she relaxed. She did need one and deserved it, too. She couldn’t wait. Yes, his spankings hurt, but that feeling of helplessness was damn sexy, and submitting to him left her totally relaxed and at peace. There was something completely illogical about it, but she didn’t care.
“Yes, Daddy.” She pressed her lips together nervously.
“That’s my good girl.” He led her to the bedroom. “When I’m finished teaching you to talk to me and stay put instead of running, I’m going to keep you in my bed all day. You know that, right?”
“I’ve spent most of the time I’ve known you in a damn bed, Daddy.” She groaned.
“Yeah, but this time there won’t be any resting going on.” He wiggled his brows over his shoulder at her, and she giggled.
“Well, in that case, it sounds perfect.”
He half smiled, flopped on the bed, and yanked her over his lap. She squealed but felt safely tucked against him the instant she landed. He lowered the flap of the long johns, and she shivered at the chill against her bottom. His hand made quick work of warming her though. In fact, her whole body heated, but the continuous, relentless, meaty spanks had her desire on hold.
“Ow, okay! Daddy! Please, are we done?”
“Did you honestly think after I already spanked you twice for running away that I’d let you off with just a little hand spanking?” He chuckled. “You’re going to learn this lesson, honey, the hard way.” He stopped and patted her lower back. “Up you get, little girl.” Her hair was tangled, and her cheeks felt flushed. He eyed her, and her chest fluttered because the love she had for him was complete and all-encompassing. He slowly unbuttoned the one-piece but kept his eyes on hers. Her panting breathing slowed, but when he peeled the material down her shoulders again, her respirations increased.
“Step out.” She obeyed, and he tossed the garment onto the floor. “Now, young lady, we try this.” He leaned forward and opened the drawer she had snooped in so long ago. He pulled out the handmade paddle he’d been working on in the shed. Her eyes darted from it to him, and her throat went dry.
“My belt didn’t do the trick, but I think this will.” He smacked it off his palm and grimaced. “If this doesn’t work, nothing will.” She started gnawing on her lip. He patted his knee. “Let’s go. Back over, little girl.” She hesitated, but when his chin dipped low, she quickly placed herself across his knee.
