by Marla Monroe
“I’m fine, Bea. Billy and Craig took good care of me. I just got home and was about to call you.” Kayley held up her phone to show her.
“I couldn’t wait any longer. Ask Sam. I was about to go crazy worrying about you.”
“I’m so sorry, Kayley. I never should have left you there. I was so worried about Bea, I let you distract me.”
Billy started to say something, but Craig grabbed his friend’s shoulder at the same time Kayley said his name.
“Billy.”
“Let’s go, Billy. Need to get those boxes unloaded.” Craig walked over to the door.
“I wrote our numbers down on the pad in the kitchen, Kayley. Call us if you need us,” Billy said.
“I will. Thank you both so much for—for everything,” she finally said.
They both just nodded and walked out, closing the door behind them. Kayley hated seeing them go. When she’d wanted them to earlier, she hadn’t expected it to hurt to be separated from them like this. It was as if a part of her sense of safety had left with them.
“Sam, look and see what she might need from the store and grab it for her, will you, hon?” Bea asked.
“Of course. Any special requests, Kayley?” he asked as he headed to the kitchen.
“Oh, Sam. You don’t have to do that. I’m sure I’ve got plenty of everything I need.” Kayley didn’t want to be a bother for him.
“I don’t see bread or juice, Kayley. I’ll get those for sure. Anything else you might like?” he asked, walking out of the kitchen once more.
She didn’t trust herself not to start crying. She just shook her head. He bent and kissed Bea on the forehead. When he reached the door, he turned back.
“Bea, come lock the door and be sure it’s me before you open it back up.”
Her friend got up and locked the door after her husband had left, then returned to the table and took Kayley’s good hand in hers. It was obvious that Bea had been crying at some point. She hated that she had been the cause of it. Kayley had never liked being the center of attention or being a burden to others.
“Tell me what happened, honey,” Bea finally said.
Kayley shuddered then poured out all of her fear, knowing her friend would understand and be able to help her put the pieces of her life back together again.
* * * *
Billy fumed the entire drive back to their house. He hadn’t wanted to leave Kayley at her house at all, but especially this soon. She’d barely had time to start healing. How would she be able to manage with a bandage on her hand and her leg? He knew Bea would see to her, but she wasn’t him and Craig. He didn’t trust anyone else to see to her care. After all, they’d left her at The Den on a Friday night of all nights without making sure she got safely into a taxi first.
At this rate, he was going to grind his back molars down to nubs as much as he had ground his teeth over the last eighteen hours. Not to mention how much it ached from all the tension. Dammit, she belonged to them. They should be busy packing her up and moving her in with them, not heading home without her.
“Take it easy, Billy. You’re going to end up wrapping us around a phone pole if you don’t slow it down.”
Craig’s normally easy voice didn’t sound so relaxed right then. He glanced down at the speedometer and grunted. Maybe he was pushing it a little. He let off the gas some and forced his hands to relax around the steering wheel.
Get a grip, Billy. I can’t take care of her if I’m six feet under. All that matters is that she’s safe. Craig and I can convince her to move in with us once things settle down some.
He let out a breath and started making plans. They would go ahead and clean out the office now so she wouldn’t have that to argue about. He hadn’t seen anything much in the house that might have been a family heirloom they would need to find a place for. That meant all she would need moving was whatever was in the office and the personal crap that women tended to collect like clothes and makeup and bathroom gear.
When he stopped in the drive, Craig jumped out of the truck and unlocked the door leading into the mudroom and laundry area. Billy followed him inside. The other man checked the fridge, grabbing a couple of beers and handing one to him.
“So, what sort of plan have you come up with in that head of yours? I know you have one started. You had that faraway look in your eyes the last five miles home.” Craig leaned back against the kitchen counter and popped the top on his beer.
“We’ll get the house ready first. She’ll try to say there’s not room for her and her stuff. Way I see it, she doesn’t have much stuff in the first place. We’ll start with the office.” He took a drink of beer, enjoying how good it tasted going down.
“That sounds like a good start,” Craig said, obviously surprised he’d come up with something logical.
Billy knew he usually acted first and thought it through later. This time, he’d almost done that, but Bea arriving early had saved his worthless ass this time. Instead of telling Kayley that it didn’t matter if she called Bea or not, she was still packing her shit and moving in with them, Billy had calmed down on the ride back home and let his mind circle for a while. It had eventually come to the conclusion that Craig was right. She needed to talk to another woman about what had happened. She wasn’t used to them enough yet to open up about how she felt or the fear that had settled into her soul.
As much as Billy hated to admit it, Craig was normally right about such things. It was amazing that his friend stuck with him considering the number of times Billy had acted before thinking or letting Craig think for them.
“She’ll be okay, Billy. If we don’t hear from her tomorrow afternoon, we’ll call or go by and check on her. But she needs some time.”
Billy nodded and turned up the can. Better to get started now. They didn’t have a lot of time to get things in shape for her. They weren’t bad housekeepers for the most part, but anything to do with paperwork pretty much ended up in the office, which meant it laid around for months before one of them would go in and go through it before tossing it in the trash.
He stood up and tossed his empty can into the trash then stretched and strode toward the hall and the office on the other side of the living room. He could hear Craig chuckling in the other room as he opened the door to a nightmare of files, papers, and boxes that needed emptying and throwing out. With a sigh, he stepped into the room and opened the first box he came to.
Three hours later, Craig called a halt to their paper and cardboard demolition to eat dinner. He didn’t bother to hide his relief. The dust was killing him, and trying to decide what to do with some of the stuff had given him a pounding headache.
“How much more do you think we have to go?” Craig asked as he threw two steaks on the grill they had marinating for their camping trip.
“Hell, I don’t know. I hate fucking paperwork.” He watched as his friend checked the fire.
“You’re not even working on that part of it, dude. You’re unpacking boxes and throwing crap out.”
Billy hid a grin from his friend behind his hand as he rubbed his face. He’d purposely chosen the boxes to keep from having to decide what they needed to keep and what could be trashed.
“Yeah, well. Dealing with the boxes is like paperwork.”
“Asshole.” Craig shook his head as he returned to the kitchen.
Billy stayed outside to watch the sun begin to disappear behind the trees behind their house. How did people live out in the desert where there were no trees for shade? He couldn’t imagine not having trees for birds and the damn noisy cicadas to live in. In truth, he couldn’t imagine living anywhere besides Cougar Den. Everyone knew everyone else, and people looked out for each other for the most part.
Maybe that was why what had happened to Kayley tore him up so much. Crap like that just didn’t happen there. Yeah, they had their share of problems like the occasional bar fight and petty theft, but people didn’t live long in Cougar Den if they didn’t fit in. No one would have anyt
hing to do with them if they threatened their way of life.
He was still standing there listening to the damn noisy bugs when Craig came back out to pull up the steaks. He planned to have a talk with those assholes who’d dared to attack their woman. He wanted to make sure that after they got out of prison that they never showed their face in his town again. Come Monday morning, he was going to pay a visit to the Sheriff’s Department and visit with the three worthless pieces of humanity. He was sure he could talk Cletus into letting him in the back for a minute. One minute was all it would take to deliver his message.
“Ready to eat?” Craig asked as he walked toward the door.
“I’m getting there.”
Chapter Nine
“What do you mean they’re gone?” Billy asked, keeping his voice low.
“They made bail first thing this morning. We told the judge they were a flight risk, but he didn’t listen and gave it to them. Sheriff didn’t like it either. That’s why we went out to the hotel to warn them not to leave town, but they had already checked out and disappeared.” Cletus didn’t look any happier about it.
“Dammit, Cletus. What in the hell is going on that they were even eligible for bail?” Craig said.
Billy kicked the counter in front of him, cursing like a sailor with every word Craig thought the man had ever heard of. Cletus winced a time or two after a particularly graphic one.
“That’s enough, Billy. Anyone else hears you, and I’ll have to lock you up.” Cletus shook his head.
Billy wasn’t finished, but he did lower his voice until he was mostly muttering under his breath. Craig tried to think. He didn’t like that they were anywhere around their town.
“Did you notify the company they worked for?” he asked.
“Yep. Felt that was our duty to let them know the sort of men they had hired. I don’t believe they have a job with that establishment anymore now. If nothing else, they’ll have to move on to find another place to work.”
“If they don’t blame Kayley and come after her,” Billy groused. “Did you think of that?”
Cletus’s jaw tightened. “We didn’t really have a choice, guys. We have to notify them to notify us if they show up for work or send for their last check.”
“Fuck!” Billy stormed out of the building, slamming the door behind him.
“This is bullshit, Cletus.” Craig shook his head and turned to follow his friend.
“Keep a close eye on Kayley, Craig. I don’t trust them to stay away from her.”
Cletus’s warning burned in his gut the rest of the afternoon as they worked at the garage. When Kayley hadn’t called them Sunday by noon, Billy had gotten Craig to call and check on her. She’d sounded fine, but he knew her well enough that she could have been miserable and not let on. Their woman would be a constant challenge for them. She would always want to do things herself and didn’t like asking for help with anything. He could already see the fights ahead of them between her and Billy. Both were as stubborn as a summer day was long.
“I say we go over there after work and move her in with us whether she wants us to or not,” Billy said from across the bay.
Craig straightened up from the motorcycle he was changing the plugs on. “I think we better go clean up first. If we try and make her move like this, she isn’t going to want us touching her stuff.”
Billy scowled at him and narrowed his eyes. “I’m not stupid, Craig. I was planning to go change first.”
As worried as his friend was, Craig doubted that he’d thought about it, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to admit it. It made him smile for the first time that day. Then reality popped him in the face again. They needed a plan to convince her to stay with them. As much as he hated to scare her, telling her that they were worried that the men might come looking for her seemed like the only solution to getting her to give in and let them take care of her.
“I don’t think we have a choice, Craig. I know what you’re thinking. She won’t come with us otherwise. If for no other reason than to play hard to get after we rejected her for so long.” Billy’s voice sounded resigned.
The fact that his friend had been able to read his inner struggle over how to get Kayley to stay with him proved he was thinking too hard. Normally Billy had no idea what was going on in his head. He preferred it that way. It made it so much easier to stay one step ahead of his friend’s occasional episodes of self-destructive behavior.
“You rejected her, asshole. I tried to get you to change your mind.” He couldn’t help pointing that out to him.
Billy grunted and ignored him. Craig hadn’t expected anything different.
“I knew when we claimed her everything would change, Craig. I didn’t think she was ready for that,” Billy said out of the blue.
Craig knew he was right.
* * * *
Kayley stared at the computer trying to get her eyes to uncross so she could finish the line of code she had been working on, but it was obvious that wasn’t happening. She was tired. It had been over six hours since she’d sat down to work. Her body hadn’t recovered from the incident, as she liked to refer to it, from Friday night. She needed to take a break.
She stood up and gingerly stretched, mindful of her bruised ribs and sore knee. Her left hand ached from being used so much, but she needed to work to keep her mind occupied. Not only was she trying to keep Friday night out of her head, but she was also trying to stop reminiscing about spending time up close and personal with Billy and Craig. Why had she been hurt when she finally got the chance to lie between them in bed? It wasn’t fair.
That would never happen again. It just wasn’t in the stars for her. She sighed and walked gingerly out the door and down the short hall to the kitchen. Time for something to eat. She had plenty of groceries thanks to Sam’s grocery run on Saturday. Bless his heart, he’d been well instructed by Bea before they arrived to make himself scarce while they talked. He’d spent the time making sure she had anything she might need for the next two weeks.
She pulled out a frozen dinner of lasagna and, after reading the instructions, popped it in the microwave on high for eight minutes. Then she poured a glass of tea and sat at the little table to wait for the microwave to signal that her dinner was ready. The sound of someone outside her door aroused her curiosity. She’d already gotten the mail. Her mail carrier had heard she’d been hurt and brought it all the way to the door for her earlier.
She hobbled over to the door and looked out the window next to it but saw no one around. She craned her neck to look toward the other side of the house but saw nothing moving. Maybe it had been a dog walking across her porch. Finally, she gave up and eased over to the door. Keeping the chain on the catch, she opened the door just enough to look out and saw an envelope on the mat in front of the door.
Kayley slipped her hand through the small opening and grabbed the corner of the envelope, dragging it closer so she could pick it up and slip it through the opening. She closed the door and locked the deadbolt before turning the envelope over to look for something to tell her who it was from.
The ding of the microwave scared her to death. She gave a small scream and jumped, dropping the pouch to the floor. She picked it back up and carried it over to the table where she dropped it and went to see about her meal.
After uncovering her lasagna, Kayley carried it by the edges to the table and sat down to eat. She eyed the bare paper as she blew on her first bite of the meal to cool it off. Who would have dropped something by without stopping to talk? Maybe they thought she would be resting after her incident and hadn’t wanted to bother her.
It hadn’t felt heavy, but it wasn’t the right sort of envelope for a get-well card either. Maybe it was payment from that asshole, Larry, for the work she’d done for him that he kept putting off paying for. It would be like him not to want to talk to her. Besides, he was cheapskate as well, and dropping it off instead of mailing it and paying for a stamp would be right up his alley.
Forking the now cooled bite of lasagna into her mouth, she grabbed the envelope and tore it open, expecting a check to fall out. Instead, a piece of paper sat lodged inside. She frowned and pulled it out. When she unfolded it and read the message, Kayley thought she’d pass out as a roaring in her ears blocked out all other sound.
If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave town and not be around for my friend’s hearing next week.
The paper dropped to the table as she fought not to pass out. Kayley jumped up from table, knocking the chair over in the process and ran into the bathroom. She slammed the door, locking it with fumbling fingers. All she could think about was the feel of their hands on her, holding her down as they tore at her clothes.
Kayley turned around in the small bathroom, trying to think of a weapon. She searched the drawers and under the vanity, managing to locate a can of hairspray and a small pair of scissors. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. She crouched in the tub, holding the scissors and hairspray at the ready. Her knee ached in that position, and her hand ached from holding the hairspray.
Oh God. What am I going to do? He’ll find me in here. I’ll never get away.
Every noise bumped her heart rate higher. Even the normal creaks of an old house sent her pulse sky high and had her breath coming in spurts as she struggled to remain quiet.
I need to leave. I’ll pack and go somewhere else until it’s all over. He’ll leave me alone if I don’t testify.
The thought of not testifying made her ill. If they weren’t prosecuted, they’d just do it to someone else, maybe even come back for her. Uncertainty circled in her head as she vacillated between running and standing her ground. How could she protect herself, though? She didn’t even own a gun.
The longer she sat there, crouched in the tub, the worse she felt. Her back was aching and her side felt as if someone had touched a live coal to her there. Her cramped fingers made it so that she would probably drop the damn can of hairspray if she tried to use it. She finally straightened out some in the tub to relax her knee and held the can between her legs so she could grab it at the first sign someone was trying to get in the bathroom.
