Truth Is Found

by Morgan Kelley

  He thought about it, and then he pictured the outcome. “Hey! No you will not! I’m the only man you’re going to dick tease!”

  Tori loved how he’d gone red. “Now we’re even.”

  He growled.

  “Look! He’s on the move. You better tuck up, and get ready,” she stated.

  Julian did what she said, his eyes never leaving the guy. It looks like the jig is up with Sheila. He just wasted half of their morning rendezvous time getting his nails done.”

  “Yeah, well, we know Daniel Nelms didn't tell Sheila he knew, so we can assume that the Martins gave him a head’s up.”

  They continued following him.

  When he stopped at the bank, Tori grabbed her baseball cap and sunglasses. “I’ll be back. I’m following him in.”

  Julian didn't like it, but she’d be the one who would blend in. A Native out of place was a giant sore thumb.

  As he watched his wife cross the parking lot, he held his breath. As each minute ticked away, it made him crazier and crazier.

  When he was just about ready to head into the bustling office, he saw her hightailing it out of there.

  When she hopped in, Tori was grinning.

  “What?”

  She handed him a lollipop before sticking hers in her mouth. “He’s in there opening a line of credit for the Martins. It seems that the Nelms aren’t the only ones who are having financial issues. He was picking up some papers and signing off on the loan.”

  “Really?”

  “Yup.”

  “You know what this means.”

  “That Jerrel, Angel Martin, and her husband Marcel just moved up the suspect chain?”

  “Yeah, right to the top. If they’re taking out a big loan, it isn't likely to bail out,” Julian stated. “We have the exact same type in our account.”

  Tori looked over. “What? We do? Why do we have a big loan when we’re operating in the black?”

  He nodded. “It’s to keep us liquid in case I want to buy out another office or scoop up the competition. I can move quicker with cash than I can with having to get a loan.”

  She was impressed. “You’re good at this boss thing, Jules.”

  He grinned. “Let’s get back. I want to think about this, and pay my debt.”

  “To me?”

  He grinned wickedly. “I love dining on my babe in the morning.”

  She wasn’t going to argue with that.

  You’d have to be crazy, and she was anything but that…

  * * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *

  Shopping for Fate

  Across Town

  Beau helped Nyx open for the day. After lifting the blinds, she lit some pretty candles and incense. It smelled really calm and relaxing inside the shop.

  He hated to admit it, but he rather liked it in there. Whenever Nyx did her thing, he was at ease. It was like he’d found a sanctuary that she’d built, not only for herself, but now for him too.

  He enjoyed that feeling of being included in her life. It was the little things that made him happy, and some scented candles were at the top of the list.

  Beau craved that peace.

  Next to his job, he wouldn’t mind selling herbs, oils, and all the other interesting things she had in there.

  When she was finished, she smudged the room with sage and then him too.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “I’m cleansing us.”

  “I just showered.”

  Nyx laughed as she kissed him. “I’m removing any negative energy. This is my safe place.”

  “Oh,” he said, taking the sage from her hand. “Let me do you, and I don’t mean like we did the other day or all last night.”

  She laughed. “I like having you here.”

  If he had anything to do with it, they’d always have this. Somehow, he was going to make it work. As he mimicked what she had done with the sage, he could feel the ease surround them. “I think this stuff works.”

  “Yes, it does.”

  When she opened her eyes, he didn't look right. There were lines between his eyes.

  “Do you have a headache?” she asked.

  “Yeah, a little one. Why?”

  “If you go back upstairs, you’ll find aspirin in the first cabinet over the sink. Take a few.”

  “I’ll be okay.”

  “Why suffer?” she offered. “Do you get them a lot?”

  “Sometimes.”

  She went up on her toes to leave kisses across his lips. “Go grab some. You’ll feel better.”

  Beau wasn’t going to argue. Heading out, he left the door open to the stairs that lead up. “I’ll be right back.”

  Nyx continued moving around her shop. The second she heard the bell ring, she turned.

  That’s when Trey began screaming in her head.

  ‘Run!’

  She recognized the man. He worked at the winery, and whenever she went there, he appeared to be in charge.

  “Can I help you?” she asked, taking in his drunken, disheveled appearance. He couldn’t be more than twenty, but his face was distorted with anger.

  “Where is he? He killed my sister!”

  She wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about. “Who are you looking for?” she asked, still hearing Trey in her mind screaming a warning.

  This had to be bad.

  The energy in the room had gone from peaceful to bad.

  Nyx was getting scared.

  “Him! That drifter who my father hired! Where the hell is he? I’m going to kill him!”

  Her heart pounded.

  Before she could make a comment, he attacked.

  The second his hands went around her throat, Nyx panicked. This was just like what happened in her past. It was all coming back, and she was scared out of her mind.

  “Please,” she whispered as he began squeezing. He had her on her tiptoes as he shook and choked her.

  She couldn’t scream.

  She couldn’t fight.

  He was going to kill her in a drunken rage, and she knew it. Nyx didn't want to die.

  Not now.

  Not here.

  At one point, she did, but she’d found her reason to live. As he struck her in the face, bruising her cheek, she prayed Beau would hurry back….

  Before it was too late.

  He couldn’t find the damn aspirin, so he grabbed some juice and a piece of fruit. They were going to seriously talk about what constituted a snack.

  Nyx didn't have a clue.

  Guys liked things that were full of sugar and had chocolate chips--not fruit. That was part of the food pyramid, and not something to binge on in gluttony.

  As he stood there eating his snack, the radio attached under her cabinet clicked on.

  He stared at it.

  “Trey?” he asked.

  “She’s. Being. Hurt!” it warned, flipping through the channels like it had the first night he’d rescued her.

  His heart stopped.

  “Shit!”

  Beau dropped everything, racing down the stairs and to the shop. When he ran through the door, he saw the most horrible thing in his life.

  Romeo Nelms had Nyx on her knees, her face was pale, and her lips were going blue.

  He was killing her.

  He charged the man, taking him to his back. Romeo looked shocked, but Beau didn't care. This asshole had placed his hands on Nyx.

  She was his.

  The anger washed through him as they took swings at each other. Shelves crashed, books toppled, and blood sprayed the window from Romeo’s face when it was met with Beau’s fist.

  As the man went down, Beau turned to make sure Nyx was okay, and she was sobbing. At that same moment, Romeo tried to escape out of the shop.

  Well, he was out of luck.

  Beau was lost in the killing haze.

  He followed, grabbing the man outside. When Romeo swung, Beau blocked it, and then countered with his own attack. He nailed him a few times in the face, a
nd then twisted his arm until he heard it break.

  Romeo screamed in pain.

  Beau left him there.

  There were people moving around, calling the police. He had to get to Nyx before they came. Racing inside, he pulled her into his arms.

  “Baby, are you okay?” he asked, checking the vicious angry marks forming around her throat.

  “I am now,” she whispered, going into his arms. The second he wrapped them around her, she felt a million times better.

  “The police are coming, and I need you to tell me you’re okay,” he said, lifting her chin. Beau wasn’t a fool. He knew what he just did was going to cost him some jail time.

  He’d beat a man in the street.

  Granted, he deserved it, but the cops would still take him in.

  She nodded, clinging to his body.

  Just then, the door to her shop burst open, and in came two deputies with guns drawn.

  Before she could tell them what happened, they had Beau on his knees and his hands cuffed behind his back.

  “Get my sister,” he stated. “Tell Tori what happened!”

  As they pulled him away, the paramedics were taking the man who attacked her in the ambulance.

  Nyx wanted to cry.

  Beau’s eyes never left her face.

  “I’m okay,” he shouted, trying to reassure her, as they shoved him into the back of the cruiser.

  She tried to get them to set him free.

  She tried to explain to the cop, only they didn't care. They already had a preconceived notion about Beau, simply because he was a soldier and tattooed.

  They wouldn’t listen, despite what she told them.

  The uniformed deputies didn't believe her.

  At all.

  There was only one thing left to do.

  Nyx had to do what Beau asked. She needed to find the Littlemoons and pray they’d help.

  * * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *

  Darkwood Monastery

  Pulling in, Julian saw her before they even came to a stop. Nyx Nightingale was running right toward them, and she was sobbing hysterically.

  Immediately, Tori was out of the SUV. This worried her, since her brother was instructed to lay low and keep an eye on her. Now she was alone.

  Her stomach knotted.

  The second they were out of the vehicle, Nyx was clinging to her. She was weeping, her neck had vicious bruises already forming, and she looked like hell.

  “What’s wrong? Where’s Beau?” Tori asked.

  She continued talking really fast, trying to get it all out. Her words were coming out as gibberish.

  Julian pulled her against him and hugged her. “Breathe for me,” he ordered. “You’re going to pass out.”

  Slowly, she took in the air before she hyperventilated.

  “Again, where is my brother?” Tori asked. “Did he do this to you?”

  She wouldn’t believe it if Nyx said yes.

  “No. We were at my shop,” she began, taking more deep breaths. “He went upstairs to get aspirin for his headache, and left me alone.”

  They listened.

  “Romeo Nelms showed up drunk. He did this to me. He tried to strangle me.”

  That still didn't explain what happened to Beau. “Where is Beau?”

  Nyx struggled not to be sick. Trey was screaming in her head, and she couldn’t stop him. Only Beau could silence her demons.

  “He came down and saved me, only they fought. The sheriff’s deputies took him to jail.”

  Tori wanted to run to the station, but she had to get it all out of the woman. “Did they question him or you?”

  She shook her head. The crying started again. “They put him in handcuffs because of me. He fought because of me! You have to help him. I told the deputies what happened, but they didn't care. They wouldn’t believe me. They told me he was dangerous and a drifter.”

  Julian loaded her up into the back of his SUV. “We’re going to go get him now.”

  “Where’s Romeo?”

  “Hospital,” she sobbed.

  Tori sat in the back with her as Nyx had her breakdown. She held the woman against her as she shook. If this wasn’t love, Tori didn't know what was. The woman was incredibly distraught.

  “It’s my fault.”

  They didn't understand why.

  “When he attacked me, I couldn’t fight. I froze. I was so s-s-scared.”

  They knew why.

  She’d been a victim of rape, and in that moment, she must have been terrified.

  “I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t…”

  Tori hugged her. “Shhhhhhhh. It’s okay. We’re getting Beau out.”

  Nyx didn't believe it.

  She’d ruined his life.

  “You have to stop crying and focus,” Tori said. “When we go in there, you’re going to be our technicality that gets him out. You were attacked. The deputies didn't get your statement, and they profiled Beau.”

  She struggled to stop crying.

  “The sheriff knew he was ex-army. They think he’s not stable, and he just beat a man on a sidewalk. It’s like ‘Rambo’.”

  She looked clueless.

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “We’ll have a girls’ night and watch it together. Just stop crying. Beau needs you. If you love him, you’ll pull this off.”

  It worked.

  Immediately, she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “I can do it. I’d do anything for Beau.”

  Tori was proud of her.

  Considering her past, Nyx was tough as nails. She was pushing through the fear and would come through. There was no doubt in her mind that the woman had a brass set. She just needed to find them.

  The radio came to life.

  “Bethany!” Julian ordered.

  “It’s not her, Jules,” Tori reassured. If it was, she’d hear the music.

  “Then who the hell…”

  The channels began flipping.

  “Save. My. Brother.” It stated, jumping station to station until it found the right words.

  “We will, Trey,” Tori stated.

  Julian was trying to stay calm. This was the last thing they needed. It was bad enough Bethany haunted their lives, now they had a dead soldier in their radio.

  Christ!

  Where would it end?

  “Is. She. Hurt,” it asked.

  “I'm fine, Trey,” Nyx reassured as if it was completely normal to talk back to a radio.

  “We’re here,” stated Julian, pulling into the parking lot. The sooner they got out of the SUV and located Tori’s brother, the better off they’d be.

  Then, he could freak out on his own time.

  “I can do this,” Nyx stated.

  “We know you can.”

  * * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *

  Police Holding

  Beau wasn’t answering any questions.

  He didn't care what they said.

  Until Nyx got his sister there, they weren’t going to try and trick him into spilling his guts. He was a seasoned soldier, and when taken, you didn't talk.

  To him, this was the same situation.

  Interrogations could go bad.

  He’d seen it happen before in the military. Words could easily be twisted, turned, and then you were in Leavenworth on some trumped up charges.

  Yeah, that was happening over his dead body.

  “Son, just tell us your side of the story. You’re a stranger in this town, you beat a man nearly to death, and broke his arm. Something set you off. Is it flashbacks? Are you angry all the time?”

  Beau leaned back against the stonewall, his military boots on the table. There was no way he was talking, but if he did get out, Romeo was a dead man.

  He’d put his hands on Nyx, and that was unacceptable. When Beau made a promise, he kept it. Nyx was his to protect, and someone violated that.

  He promised to keep her safe, and he’d failed.

  That pissed him off.

  Now,
he’d keep to himself until his sister and Julian got him out. He trusted his family. They wouldn’t let him down.

  “Well, we can’t help you if you don’t talk. We’ll have to send you to the jail until we sort this out.”

  Beau stared straight ahead.

  Yeah, he’d straighten this out.

  As soon as he got free.

  * * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *

  Tori led the charge to get to her brother. Inside the station, she demanded to speak to the man running the police circus. As soon as he entered the room, he held up his hand.

  “Before you get all riled up, he’s being charged with assault. He beat a man in front of a group of people. Ex-Fed or not, you can’t fix this.”

  Oh, yes she could.

  “Actually, his rights have been violated by your deputies. Here is Ms. Nightingale. Look at her neck. She was attacked in her own shop by Mr. Nelms, the ‘victim’. Look at the bruising. Look at the mark on her cheek. Your poor ‘victim’ attacked a defenseless woman in her own shop.”

  The sheriff moved closer. “Is that true, ma’am?”

  “Yes.”

  “Beau was under my order to keep her safe, and he did just that. When Romeo Nelms attacked her, Beau Christensen came to her rescue. That’s all.”

  The sheriff looked worried. He glanced over at the two deputies standing there, as if waiting for them to refute the evidence.

  “Romeo Nelms broke the law, violated her space, and was only a ‘victim’ after he got his ass handed to him for doing so. If any other man came to her rescue, he’d be congratulated. You profiled him, and that’s against the law.”

  The sheriff weighed his options.

  His men weren’t saying shit.

  “Your deputies never asked what happened, or questioned the wounds to her throat and face. They saw my brother, knew he was an ex-soldier, and violated his rights.”

  Nyx stepped forward. “I told them what happened, and they dismissed me. They were hell bent on arresting Beau without cause. That’s wrong.”

  Tori crossed her arms over her chest. “You have one hell of a mess here, Sheriff.”