by K. C. Lynn
“You all right, Mama?” she asks, her small voice scared and uncertain.
Closing my eyes, I gather my composure and paste a reassuring smile on my face. “Everything is fine. I’ll be just a minute, okay?”
At her nod, I press a kiss to her cheek then close the door and turn to face Derek. This time I don’t let my fear control me and back him away from Hannah. “You stay the hell away from me and my daughter, you son of a bitch.”
The warning doesn’t deter him, a chilling smirk lifting his lips. “Still as feisty as ever I see.”
I slide across the tail of the truck, my back pressing tightly to the hot metal as I try to escape him, but with every step I take, he follows.
“I have to admit, Ryanne, you have more guts than I thought, showing back up here.”
“I mean it, Derek. Stay away from me!”
“Or what?” he asks. “What are you going to do about it?”
“It’s not me you have to worry about, it’s Justice.”
“Is that so?” he asks smugly.
My chin lifts. “That’s right. He won’t think twice about killing you, especially if I tell him what you did to me that night. I wonder what the people of Winchester would think about their mayor forcing himself on women.”
The threat wipes the amusement off his face and replaces it with fury. Panic infiltrates my chest when he cages me against the truck. “Do you really think anyone is going to believe a dirty slut like you?”
My eyes remain on his, refusing to cower. “They have no reason not to.”
“They have every reason not to.” He points to where Hannah sits. “That child makes you no different than the others. You’re just another one of their whores.”
My teeth grind, tears building behind my eyes. “You know nothing about me or my family.”
“I know more than you think I do. I always have.”
That statement, along with the knowledge in his eyes, makes my blood run cold.
“Everything okay over here?”
My gaze snaps past Derek to find Knox, his hard eyes assessing the situation I’ve found myself in. Relief swamps me and I use the opportunity to step out of the corner I’ve been backed into.
“No. It’s not,” I tell him, hating how shaky my voice is as I come to stand next to him.
He positions his body in front of mine and the buffer has me breathing a little easier. “Harassing innocent women, Mayor?”
“We were just having a conversation is all,” Derek lies, straightening his jacket before turning to face Knox completely. “It’s unfortunate what happened to your daddy’s land. Hopefully not too much damage was done.”
Knox’s stance is calm but a silent fury radiates from him. A fury only a stupid person would provoke. Derek has never been smart.
“Nothing we can’t handle,” he relays calmly, too calmly.
“Any idea who did it?”
“Yep.”
Derek cocks a brow. “Mind sharing?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” The threat in Knox’s voice rings through the air, loud and clear.
A new tension fills the air, the unforgiving truth hanging between them.
A knock on the window penetrates the heavy moment as Hannah waves excitedly at Knox. I hold up a finger, indicating one more minute. She nods and turns back around in her seat.
“She’s cute, Creed,” Derek remarks. “Which one of you does she belong to? Or do you even know?”
Knox lunges for him, his fingers wrapping around Derek’s throat as he pins him against the back of the truck.
“You have never known when to shut that fucking mouth of yours, Lancaster.” He leans in closer, his voice lowering dangerously. “Stay away from my family, Ryanne included, or I will cut out your fucking heart and feed it to you.”
A chill crawls down my spine at the threat. I have no doubt Knox would do exactly that.
Derek struggles for breath, his eyes bulging as he claws at the ruthless hand stealing his air. I begin to think he’s not going to make it out of this alive but Knox finally releases him with a shove.
Derek stumbles back, heaving for oxygen as he massages his throat. “You made a big mistake, Creed,” he wheezes out.
Knox isn’t the least bit fazed. “Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind and finish you off right now.”
Derek is finally smart enough to listen.
Once he’s out of sight, I’m finally able to release the breath that’s been trapped in my chest, my hand resting on my queasy stomach. I look up at Knox to find him watching me. A million words dangle in my throat, all of them evading me as our gazes become locked on one another.
The moment is broken when Hannah knocks again. Walking over, I open the door for her.
“Hi, Uncle Knox!” she greets him, completely oblivious to everything that just happened.
He walks closer. “Hey, kid.”
“What are you doing here?” she asks.
“Just came to pick up some stuff for our target practice.”
Excitement dances in her eyes. “Y’all are going shootin’?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Cool. We’re heading back home right now too.”
His gaze shifts to mine. “I’ll follow you home.”
I nod, still having a hard time speaking.
“See ya there, kid,” he says before walking away and heading for his truck that’s parked on the other side of the lot.
After closing Hannah’s door, I finally find my voice. “Knox!” I call out to him.
He turns around.
“Thank you.” There’s so much more I want to say but it’s all I can seem to manage at the moment.
He doesn’t acknowledge my gratitude but I didn’t expect him to.
When he continues to his truck, I climb into Justice’s. The entire way home my mind reels with all the events that took place within the last hour. From my run in with Jessica, to that jerk Derek, but above all else, the way Knox came to my defense.
Was he just doing the honorable thing? Or does he not hate me as much as I thought he did? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for the latter.
Justice and Braxten are both out in the yard when we pull up, Knox parking right next to me. Something Justice doesn’t miss by the way his assessing eyes take in both of us as we climb out of the vehicles.
Dread twists my stomach as I think about him finding out about Derek but I know it’s unavoidable. There is no way Knox won’t tell him. He’s going to be furious, especially when he didn’t want us to go alone in the first place.
Hannah runs ahead of us, barreling straight into Justice’s arms.
“Hey, baby. Did you have a good time at the park?” he asks.
“The best. I even made a new friend. Her name is Amelia.”
“We ran into Jessica Clemson,” I jump in to explain. “I had no idea she and Craig were married.”
“Yeah, they have been for a while now.” It’s all he says on the subject, his knowing eyes shifting from Knox to me. “Everything okay?”
“Yep.” I offer quickly.
Knox makes no move to back me up on that and awkward silence settles over us all like a heavy blanket until Hannah breaks it.
“Uncle Knox says y’all are shooting. Can I come?”
“No!” I answer before he can.
A scowl adopts his face at the quick response. “Why not?”
“She’s too young.”
“There’s no such thing,” Braxten says, inserting himself.
“Yes, there is,” I argue. “I mean it. I don’t want my five-year-old daughter around any kind of guns.”
“Come on, Mama. Please?” Hannah pleads.
“Yeah, please, Mama?” Braxten mocks, taking her from Justice’s arms. He holds her out in front of him, squeezing her chubby cheeks together with one hand. “How can you say no to this face?”
A smile twitches my lips. “Nice try.”
“Let her at lea
st come and watch,” Justice says. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Please?” Hannah pleads again.
Between all of them, I find myself unable to say no. “Fine,” I relent. “But no shooting. Only watching.”
“Yay!” Hannah cheers.
Braxten situates her on his shoulders. “Come, grasshopper, we shall start your introduction to the world of ‘don’t mess with a Creed or else…’”
Her laughter trails through the air as he strides away. The light moment is quickly forgotten when the three of us are left alone.
“Someone going to tell me what happened?” Justice asks, cutting right to the chase.
“It’s not a big deal,” I start but get cut off by Knox.
“I caught Lancaster giving her shit outside the drugstore.”
Justice’s furious eyes snap to mine. “What did he do?” His dark voice has my pulse skipping nervously.
“Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
Knox grunts, calling me out for the liar I am.
I shoot him a narrowed look, not appreciating how much more difficult he’s making this.
“What did he do, Ryanne?” Justice asks again, his tone even harder.
“He was just being an asshole, all right!” I snap, having enough of his attitude.
“No, it’s not all right! This is why I wanted to come with you.”
“Look, you’re the one who said I need to stop hiding. That’s exactly what I did. Knox showed up, but if he hadn’t I would have dealt with it on my own like I always have. So back off!”
His jaw ticks in frustration, our glares locking as tense seconds pass.
“Right…I’m gonna go ahead and finish getting my stuff together,” Knox mumbles. “I’ll meet up with you.” He walks to the garage, leaving the two of us in tense silence.
Justice’s angry eyes never waver from mine. “Did he touch you?”
The rage and fear hardening that one question has my shoulders deflating. “No,” I whisper, knowing it’s only half the truth because years ago he did touch me in a way I never want to be touched again.
“Tell me what happened.”
“Exactly what I told you would happen. Insults and accusations were thrown around.” I swallow thickly, tears clouding my vision.
“I’ll deal with him.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“I said I’ll take care of it!” he snaps.
“You can’t fight all my battles for me, Justice.”
“Watch me.”
His protectiveness does all sorts of things to my sad heart. I’ve never had that. Never had anyone care enough about me to fight for me, I’ve always done it on my own. Always been alone.
“Until things cool down you don’t go anywhere without me. Understand?” His bossy tone grates on my nerves but after what happened I know he’s right.
I nod my agreement.
He leans down, his arresting eyes holding mine until the very second our mouths align and become one. The heated touch is powerful like always, penetrating every one of my wounds and righting all the wrongs between us.
Moaning, I wrap my arms around his neck, my heart trying to climb out of my chest and be one with his. His strong arms come around me, lifting me off my feet as we become lost in the world only he and I can create.
It’s a perfect world.
By the time he severs the connection and places me back on my feet, I’m gasping, my lungs reaching for air.
He swipes his thumb over my swollen lip, a ravishing hunger raging in his eyes along with something else, something I can’t name but it has my heart dancing in my chest.
Before I have too much time to think about it, he flashes me a cocky smirk that does all sorts of things to my insides and walks away, leaving me standing alone like a lovesick fool.
The man is beautifully infuriating.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Justice
Country music fills the barn while the families of Winchester gather for a night of fun and socializing. Usually I wouldn’t be caught dead at something like this but Hannah wanted to see Amelia again and I wanted to get Ryanne out. Get people used to seeing us together.
There’s no denying the shock on some of the faces when we walked in but they were smart enough to mask it and not only welcome Ryanne back but Hannah as well. It was a good move on their part.
Not long after we arrived, Jessica pulled Ryanne onto the dance floor and they’ve been there ever since. My father eventually joined them, leaving my brothers and me at the table we’re sitting at now. He’s been going back and forth between dancing with Hannah and Amelia to spinning Ryanne around. He’s completely in his element and looks happier than I’ve seen him in a long time, maybe ever.
“I still can’t fucking believe you talked me into this,” Knox grumbles, not as enthusiastic to be here as the others. He hates crowds.
Neither he nor Braxten were eager to come but I was able to entice them with a plan, another reason I chose to come. It’s an ample opportunity for us to talk to Craig Clemson. Despite the fact he works for Toder, he’s a good guy and the three of us have always gotten along with him. I figure if there’s a chance to get any kind of information about the damage done to my father’s property it will be from him.
Agent Jameson called my father yesterday and gathered all the information. He said he would try to dig up anything he can find on his end but encouraged us to do the same. He assured us that if we could get any kind of evidence he would bring them down.
“It’s not so bad,” Braxten says, relaxing back into his chair. “The view is nice. Look at all the hot women shaking their asses, especially his,” he adds, punching my shoulder with a cocky smirk.
I shoot him a glare, the same one I’ve been sending to all the other fuckers I’ve caught checking out my woman. It’s that fucking black dress she’s wearing. The way it clings to her body and teases the tops of her thighs. It would tempt any red-blooded man.
The need to claim and possess burns within my blood. I want to mark her, make her mine forever and make sure every motherfucker knows it. Her wearing my ring would solidify that, so would her walking around, stomach swollen with my child. The thought has me growing hard on the spot.
She wants it as much as I do. I know she does. She’s just being stubborn to prove a point; the tension around the farm hasn’t been helping matters either.
“Look, I need to talk to you both about something,” I say, but make eye contact more with Knox than Braxten. “I need you to make more of an effort with Ryanne. She thinks you hate her.”
Knox avoids my gaze, lifting his drink to his lips. “Why would she think that?”
“Geez, I wonder, Mr. Personality,” Braxten chuckles.
“You barely acknowledge her,” I tell him.
He shrugs. “I’m like that with most people.”
“Not her,” I say, tone firmer. “I need you to do this, Knox. The more comfortable she feels the more of a chance I have at convincing her to stay. I want us all together. I want this to work.”
He nods but says nothing else. I know it’s hard for him, not only because of the change of our relationship that we have yet to talk about but he already has issues with women. He doesn’t trust any of them.
“I’ll make more of an effort too,” Braxten cuts back in. “I’ll start kissing her to make her feel more welcome.”
I nail him in the shoulder, making the fucker laugh.
Our exchange comes to an end when Craig approaches our table. “Well look who it is,” he bellows with a grin. “The infamous Creed brothers joining the families of Winchester for an annual dance. How times have changed.” His tone is filled with amusement as he takes a seat at the table, clinking his bottle against each one of ours in greeting.
“Well Justice here is a family man now,” Braxten mocks. “So that makes him like the rest of you sorry bastards.”
Craig grunts but it’s good-natured. “Congrats, by the way
,” he says, tipping his beer in my direction. “Jessica enjoyed catching up with Ryanne yesterday. It seems our daughters did, too.”
“That’s what I hear.”
“How long are you guys in town for?”
“Depends on who you ask,” Braxten says before I can, earning himself another glare from me.
“Ain’t too keen on being back, is she?” Craig chuckles.
I shrug. “Not really, but hopefully I’ll be able to change her mind. Either way, I’m not leaving until I know my father is safe.”
The bottle pauses at his mouth, regret flashing in his eyes. “I heard about Thatcher’s land. I’m sorry. It shouldn’t have happened.”
“You’re right. It shouldn’t have and we’re going to make sure it never happens again.”
All easiness fades from him. He knows exactly where this is going.
“What can you tell us about it, Craig?”
“Nothing, man.”
“You have to know something.”
He shakes his head. “Toder didn’t let us in on any of it. He closed the case and made it clear we move on.”
I’m not surprised to hear it but the information still has my blood heating.
“He’s a shady fucker, you guys know that. His reach is far.”
“Maybe, but ours is farther,” I tell him.
Silence descends, the unspoken truth falling over the table. “What do you mean by that?”
“We know people,” Knox says. “People who can bring them all down if we can get the evidence we need.”
Doubt flashes in his gaze but there is also no denying the hope there, too. He wants them taken down as much as we do.
“We’re trying to do this by the law, Craig, but in order to do that we need your help,” I push. “We know who did it, and we know he’s covering for them like he always does. All we need is one piece of evidence, anything to bring them down, and we need your help to get it.”
His gaze shifts around the room, doing a quick scan of our surroundings before leaning forward, bracing his arms on the table. “Look. It’s not much but Hodges said the night of the fire Toder came in reeking like a fucking gas station,” he says, talking about another deputy he works with. “His shift had long ended but apparently he came back to the station, saying he forgot something. Shortly after he arrived is when the call came in.”
