by Sam Crescent
He escorted her out in the dark night. She rubbed her arms, warding off the chill. Removing his jacket, he placed it over her arms. He was really warm. The fabric of the suit had to be really thick, otherwise he was poorly and didn’t know it.
“Thank you, Jon. This night has been perfect.”
“It doesn’t have to end. Would you like to go for a walk?”
“I’d love to.”
Taking her hand, he moved away from the restaurant and bar. There was no rush to get home and he really didn’t want the night to end.
* * * *
Tate had to be the most stubborn woman he’d ever had the displeasure of working with. She wouldn’t do as he asked, refused to serve customers she didn’t like, and above all else, she kept shooting glares at him. He’d done nothing wrong. Her attitude hadn’t much improved when Tyler and Neil, the two carpenters, entered his bar.
“Where’s Darla tonight?” she asked. He noticed she shot him the question when the other two men reached the bar.
“She’s on a date with Jon. Ryan is looking after Nathan. Everything is fine. You don’t have to be a mother hen all the time.”
“I’m not being a mother hen,” Tate said. She looked toward the other men, trying not to give them the time of day.
“Serve them or you’ll be looking for another job,” he said, warning her.
She stuck her tongue out, but decided to serve them.
The phone ringing in the back stopped him from serving more people. “Are you good to watch them?” he asked.
“Sure. Go and do what you’re good at, answering phones.”
Rolling his eyes, Luke wondered when he’d lost his mind enough to hire her.
“This is the Dancin’ Donkey, how can I help you?” He waited for someone to answer.
“You’re in trouble, little boy.” Luke froze as the cackle came across the phone.
“Who is this?” he asked. Something in his gut was telling him to run. His thoughts turned to the people he loved. Jon, Ryan, Nathan, and Darla. Were they all okay?
“Your time is coming, along with the other boy, the silent one, but I can’t say Ryan’s going to last much longer. Your biggest mistake was walking away. I sure wonder how Darla’s going to feel with only two brothers instead of three.”
Slamming the phone down, he ran out of the bar. His hands were shaking and he ignored the people shouting his name. Getting home was the only thing he could think about. Something was wrong with Ryan. He felt the fear curling in his gut.
He pressed on the gas and pulled out of the bar as fast as he could.
Driving in the dark, he turned the headlights on quickly.
Shit, fuck, shit!
His mind raced as fears of what he’d find clawed at him.
“I shouldn’t have left him alone. Fuck!” He hit the steering wheel as hard as he could. Nothing got through to him.
The Sheriff?
Crap, he needed to call the sheriff. He reached into his pocket, looking for his cell phone. The blasted device was off. Trying to turn it on, Luke jerked the truck down the long drive toward his home. The porch lights were on and the front door was open. His fears returned. Ryan wasn’t stupid enough to leave the front door open.
Putting the truck into park, he climbed out, charging for the door. He didn’t stand around to wait.
The muddy foot tracks were what he saw first. At the bottom of the stairs, he saw Ryan out cold on the floor.
“Ryan!”
Going to his body, he checked for a pulse and sighed with relief when he finally found one. His hands were shaking, dialing the Sheriff’s number.
Trevor answered on the fourth ring.
“I need you to get up at the Willis house, Trevor,” Luke said. He gave the address, seeing the blood across Ryan’s head.
His brother’s bat lay beside his head.
“What’s going on?” Trevor asked.
“My brother’s been hit. He’s out and I need you here.”
Closing his phone, he dialed an ambulance. The panic was immense and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a disk with a rose taped to it.
He ignored it, refusing to deal with what was happening. Ryan was the only person who needed him. Everything else could wait.
“Come on, Ryan. Wake up.”
A car pulling up outside had him reaching for the bat. He lifted it in the air and headed toward the door. Darla charged up the stairs. “Tate just called us. She said you charged out of the bar pretty quickly.”
Jon walked up behind her.
Her gaze went over his shoulder. “Ryan.” She pushed past him, going to kneel at his brother’s side.
“What the fuck happened?” Jon asked, clearly shaken up.
“I don’t know. He’s down and I don’t know how.” He dropped the bat on the stairs and followed his brother back inside.
Ryan groaned. “Nathan?”
Without another word, Luke charged upstairs. Nathan’s door was shut. Opening the door slowly, he turned toward the bed. His son was still asleep.
“He’s fine,” Darla said, looking at the little boy under Luke’s arm.
“Guys, the Sheriff is here.”
Luke went back downstairs. Ryan was rubbing at his head, groaning.
“What’s going on?” Trevor asked.
Looking toward his younger brother, Luke offered as much support as he could while Ryan told them everything.
Chapter Six
Ryan glared at the paramedics as they poked and prodded him. His head hurt like hell and the last thing he needed was another light shining brightly into his eyes. The man didn’t look happy about being thrown to the ground. He’d reacted to being prodded in the side of the head by shoving the paramedic away with ease.
“You need to let him check you over, Ryan,” Darla said.
A blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. She was pale and the Sheriff was currently taking statements from his two brothers. None of them knew what happened.
“I was running, Darla. I heard either the front or back door slam and I went to check it out. I couldn’t find anything else and I went to check on Nathan. He was sleeping soundly.” Ryan went through the steps, trying to find what he’d missed. She took his hand within hers. “I heard the creaking of the floorboard.” He continued, needing to focus on who could have attacked him. “The floor had muddy footprints and the television was back on.” Ryan groaned as he tried to remember exactly what happened.
“It’s okay. You don’t need to think about this.”
“We’re going to need to come back tomorrow morning. I’m going to ask you not to touch anything,” Trevor said, pocketing the notebook. “If there is anything either of you remember, please let me know.”
Ryan watched as Trevor rubbed a hand down his face. “Why were you on call tonight?”
Trevor was the town Sheriff, but everyone knew it was usually the Deputy who took care of the night shift.
The paramedic left Ryan alone after suggesting some painkillers.
“What’s going on?” Luke asked.
Standing away from the ambulance, Ryan wrapped his arms around Darla to try and keep himself stable.
“We’ve got a bit of a situation. I don’t want to alert everyone after everything that’s happened. Stone Valley has been quiet for years. A few parking tickets and the occasional naked person does not prepare anyone for what’s happened in the last year and a half.” Trevor appeared to go pale.
Ryan knew the other man was referring to the situations with Tessie and Ruby. Both women had been caught in some dangerous situations. He didn’t know the ins and outs of it but it wasn’t good either way.
“What’s going on?” Jon asked.
His brother stood close beside him. Resting an arm across his shoulders, Ryan tried to stop himself from puking.
“Last night, a woman was found raped and murdered outside of town. She was literally behind the border of our town sign. Her death falls under our jurisdiction.”
“Do we know the woman? Is she a local?” Luke asked.
“I’ve never seen her before, but I’ve called in a few favors to bring in a person to do the autopsy.”
Darla was shaking beside him. Ryan held her as tightly as he could, but it was hard for him to do.
“How did she die?” The question came from Luke.
“I’m not at liberty to say. You know this, Luke.”
“Fuck what liberty you’ve got. A woman was murdered in Stone Valley. We have a right to know who it was and how they died.”
“Mommy?” Nathan’s voice cut across the noise.
“Baby.” She pulled away, going to her son. Ryan didn’t move, preferring to lean heavily on his brother.
“I don’t care what you want. I’m the Sheriff and I’ll be handling it.”
“Someone has died?” Tate asked.
All the men jerked toward the new arrivals. Tate, with Tyler and Neil, was climbing out of a car.
Trevor cursed. “I’ll be back tomorrow to check the crime scene.” He turned and focused his attention on him. “Ryan, if you remember anything, anything at all, let me know.”
“I will.”
Within a matter of minutes, the Sheriff and the ambulance had left.
“This is fucking horseshit,” Luke said, kicking up some dirt.
“What’s going on?” Tate asked. “How is Darla?”
“She’s inside, putting Nathan back to bed.” Before either of them could stop her, the other woman was charging toward the house.
“Crap, she only said she was coming out here to make sure Darla was okay,” Neil said.
“It’s fine.” Jon raised his hand, placating the other man. “We’ve all had a bit of a scare. Darla needs someone. We’ll be too protective for her to deal with.”
“How was your night?” Ryan asked, needing something to talk about other than being bashed over the head. His head hurt like hell and all he wanted to do was go home and curl up against his woman.
“Amazing. I took her to Fabio’s and then for a walk. She’s really something.” Jon smiled, clearly taken by their woman.
“I think we should move this inside,” Luke said.
They all started walking toward the house. Darla was in the kitchen with Tate.
“You guys can go home. I’m spending the night with Darla. I don’t think she should be alone.”
Ryan tensed. There was no way Darla was having a friend stay over, not tonight. He wanted her in his bed.
“You’re mine tonight, Darla,” he said, walking toward her.
“You need rest.”
He shook his head. “No, what I need is my woman, in my arms, for tonight.” Tugging her into his arms, Ryan ignored the pain and held her tightly against him. “Please, don’t disappear on me tonight.”
“Fine.” She turned to Tate. “I really hate to push you out the door—”
“But you’re going to,” Tate finished the sentence. “I’m not leaving until I’ve finished my drink. You should know not to send people away after what we’ve just heard.”
Darla finished making the drinks and Ryan leaned against the counter nearest her. He reached out, touching her every now and then to make sure she was real. It was surreal to feel so close to her and yet so far away. She still looked stunning from her date. Jon had probably planned to keep her to himself all night, but Ryan needed the comfort of her in his arms.
Once drinks were finished and Tate gave them an order to be at the Flippin’ Tasty in the morning, their guests left, leaving the house eerily quiet. Rubbing his arms together, Ryan took hold of Darla and headed upstairs.
“You’re not going to talk about what happened?” Jon asked.
“I’ve talked enough for tonight. I need to feel my woman in my arms. Nothing more.” He started upstairs, feeling his brothers’ stares on his back. Opening his bedroom door, he ushered Darla inside, closing and locking it behind him.
On instinct, he checked the windows and made his way around the room, securing everything.
“Ryan, you got hurt real bad tonight. You should be resting, not doing some kind of recon on the security of your house.”
He didn’t answer. When he felt safe with everything he checked, he sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out for her. She went into his arms without a fight. Pressing his head against her stomach, he inhaled her scent, calming his crazy nerves.
“What’s going on?” Darla asked. “You’re scaring me.”
“I just got hit over the head tonight. I can’t find any reason why I should be able to deal with that. I’m sorry. It’s not something I can handle.” He stopped to take a breath. “Whoever did it has made me scared, okay?”
She nodded. “Why are you scared?”
“Whoever got into our house knew where to hide. I was on my guard, Darla. I knew where to look. I’ve just got a bad feeling that this is the beginning of something else.”
* * * *
Ryan’s words sent chills down her spine. The fierce look of knowledge he was sporting scared her even more. Darla knew Ryan better than he knew himself. This was not the pain talking, but he actually believed something worse was going to happen.
Slowly and lightly, Darla stroked his head, trying to ease his concerns.
“It was probably some lucky burglar.”
“Who tries to burgle someone and not take anything with them?”
Letting out a sigh, she looked at the far wall. She was surprised to see a large mirror showing their reflection. “I don’t know,” she answered him honestly. Their conversation was not making her feel any better. “You’re going to have to phone your dads. They’ll want to know that you’re okay.”
“I’ll deal with them in the morning. For now, I just need to hold you.”
His arms banded around her, tightly. Closing her eyes, Darla concentrated on the feel of him close to her. His strength startled her and turned her on at the same time. She became conscious of her short dress as his fingers started to stroke above her ass.
“Ryan, I can’t think when you do that.”
“I don’t want you to think.” He nuzzled her stomach, drawing her dress up. She looked down at him in time to see the heat in his eyes. In one swift movement, he tugged the dress over her head, standing up to finish the job. Standing before him in the black lingerie that Jon had brought, Darla saw the arousal building in Ryan’s eyes.
“Jon’s got good taste.” Ryan fingered her nipple, creating a flash of heat to her core. “Then maybe you should thank him?”
“I’ll thank him in the morning. For now, I’m going to enjoy you.”
“You’ve just experienced a head injury, Ryan. Sex is the last thing you should be doing,” she said. Even to her she sounded breathless.
“We’re not having sex. There’s so much more to sex than fucking. I’m going to touch your body and that doesn’t take a lot of work from me. Besides, the tablets that paramedic gave me are working.”
“You really should have gone to the hospital.” Her words ended on a moan as he sucked her nipple into his mouth.
“No. Hospitals are too expensive and they’d have given me the same as what the paramedic did. Pills.”
“You’re a doctor now?”
“You’re being a smart-ass.” He kissed up her chest, nibbling on her neck before claiming her lips.
Her moan grew deeper as he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth before plunging his tongue inside. Ryan’s hands were everywhere, taking what he wanted, and she loved every second of it.
“Take your panties off,” he said.
“You’re being a little bossy.”
“Do as you’re told. I’ve waited too long for this moment.”
Giggling, Darla pushed the lace of her panties to the floor and gasped as Ryan picked her up in his arms.
Darla knew she needed to tell him to stop, but she couldn’t. He placed her on the bed and she noticed his steps were small. His head had to be hurting.
“
Stop worrying about me. I can see your brain working and that’s what is giving me the headache.”
“Really? It has nothing to do with you being hit by a baseball bat?”
“Smartass.”
“You’ve said that already.” Darla gasped as his hand settled over her mound at the apex of her thighs.
“So there is something I can do that will shut you up.”
“You’re not being very fair.” Arching off the bed, she gripped the sheet underneath her, trying to find her sanity with his touches.
He opened her slit, sliding a finger around her clit, then down to probe her entrance.
“You’re soaking wet.”
“I’m naked and you’re not.”
“Is that the reason you’re soaking wet?” he asked.
She slapped him on the arm, frustrated with his attitude. “No, get naked. If you can touch me then I at least get to touch you. You’re not the only person who’s been waiting for this moment to come.”
He chuckled, leaving her to undress. Ryan didn’t go far. He stood beside the bed, teasing her with his slow undressing.
“You’re not being fair.”
“We’re not having sex, missy. This is a show and we’re going to enjoy it.” He removed his shirt, and he didn’t hide the wince well at all.
“You’re too sick.”
“If you get off that bed, I’m going to bend you over my knee and give your ass a good spanking.”
“Are you threatening me?” she asked, remaining firmly where he placed her.
“Yes.”
She wasn’t frightened by his threat, more intrigued by it.
“Have you been visiting Don’s sex club in town?” Darla asked, getting hotter by the second.
“No, do you want me to go and get some pointers?” He unbuckled his belt, then began removing his jeans. Her mouth watered as each tanned bit of flesh was revealed to her gaze. He, like Luke and Jon, was a fine male specimen.
