by Jess Bryant
She shook her head, “I don’t want sugar-coating. I need to know. What are you going to do?”
“I’m gonna call my… friend… in Houston. He’s gonna pay that fucker a visit and explain how things are going to go down. Namely, if hitting him don’t work, we’ll break things and if breaking things don’t work, he’ll lose some vital appendages.”
Her mind whirled and she felt nauseous again, “You really think that will work? That your friend will send that message for you?”
“Yeah. He will.” He fidgeted for the first time, dropping his gaze, “He owes me… and Cash. He’ll do this for us.”
She took an unsteady breath, trying to decide if she was okay with all of this. It would be bloody and violent but Hoyt had earned every bit of what he had coming. This was the Bomar way of dealing with things. She trust Colt and if he trust whoever was in Houston then she did too. He would make Hoyt go away, once and for all, and all she had to do was trust him and keep her mouth shut.
The water went off in the bathroom and she knew their time to discuss this was almost over. Cash would walk out of that bathroom at any second and she would have to look him in the eyes and keep this a secret. Her guts twisted all over again. Secrets were what had hurt them the last time. Secrets and lies. But she was doing this to protect him. Colt would take care of it and Cash would never even have to now.
“Is there anything I can do?” She asked, one eye on the bathroom door.
“No, just let me know if that fuck sends you anything else.”
“And you’ll call your friend today?”
“As soon as Cash leaves for work.” He rubbed at his eyes again, “I don’t like the idea of lying to him but he can’t know about these threats. He’d lose his fuckin’ mind.”
“I know.”
“He’d drive to Houston and he’d kill him this time.”
She swallowed hard and nodded, “I know.”
“I can’t let him go down that road. We’d lose him for good. He’d never get over it.”
“I know, Colt.” She blew out a breath, “That’s why I’m trusting you to take care of it.”
Whatever he had to do to protect his twin, that’s what Colt would do. She trust him to do it. She worried about him too but she convinced herself that it would be okay. He wasn’t going to do the dirty work himself. He could handle his role in it and come out unscathed.
She had to believe that because her only other option was what?
Tell Cash and let him go to prison for murder? Never. Not do anything and let Hoyt have the twins arrested and ruin her life? Not a chance. Go back to Houston, back to him, like he wanted? No way in hell.
She couldn’t figure out what he was really up to or what he was thinking threatening her like this. It was so much more psychotic than anything he’d ever done. Usually he was much more subtle. And she didn’t think for a second that he actually wanted her back, it was just a matter of his pride being hurt. He’d been overpowered and he wanted to get it back. He’d made an error in judgement this time. He didn’t know he was dealing with Bomars.
“Thank you Colt.”
He shook his head, “Don’t thank me, I’m only doing what I always do. I’m protecting Cash.”
“And me.”
“And you.” A small smile broke his hard façade, “You’re one of us now.”
Chapter Eighteen
Being a Bomar meant that Cash always expected the worst. He’d never had many good things in his life. For the most part it was all loss and hurt, pain and anger, so he almost didn’t know what to do with the overwhelming happiness that he felt now that Jemma was his. But even happy, he found himself waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to tear her away from him, for the inevitable moment when it all went wrong.
He hated himself for thinking it. Hated that he was so conditioned to expect failure that he could scarcely imagine a life where he didn’t somehow fuck it up and lose her again. Hated that despite every moment he’d spent with her that he found himself questioning what was going on in her head.
She’d been quiet the past few days and he couldn’t figure out why. At first he’d chalked it up to some sort of illness. She’d said she was dizzy Monday morning and that night, when he’d asked her how she felt she’d said she was tired and they’d gone to bed early. In the back of his mind, he’d wondered if she wasn’t pregnant already but it seemed too early for those symptoms even if she was.
He’d tried to go easy on her, be gentle with her, but he knew something was wrong. It wasn’t that she wasn’t talking to him. They still talked, about anything and everything. They laughed and joked and tackled the tougher issues. They still touched, all the time, every chance they got. They held hands and stroked and caressed each other, always reaching out as if they were magnetized and couldn’t be parted. They still made love, and fucked, every day, multiple times a day.
But something was wrong.
He could see it in the way she looked at him sometimes this week. It was like there was something on the tip of her tongue that she almost said time and time again, but as soon as he asked what it was, she swallowed the words and shook it away. He didn’t know what it was, didn’t know how important it was, but he knew there was something she wasn’t telling him.
He’d decided not to press her on it. Whatever it was, he could wait until she was ready to admit it. They’d already rushed through so many other things in their relationship, leaping back in with both feet. He wouldn’t force her to admit to anything else until she was ready and he hoped that eventually she would come clean about whatever it was of her own free will.
She’d been through so much with that bastard. He’d hurt her so badly for so long. Cash knew she had scars that he hadn’t begun to see. She had trusted that man, even loved him at some point, and he had broken that trust and forfeited that love. He’d been cruel and unkind and worse he had abused her for years.
Whatever it was that she was working up to telling him, it could wait. He would wait. He had all the time in the world. He planned on keeping her forever. He rubbed the medallion in his pocket to remind himself of that.
“Are you sure you can’t stay?” He found himself watching her as she gathered her things.
She’d come over as soon as he was off work today under the guise of watching a movie with him. They’d flipped off the lights, crawled under a light blanket together on the couch and within a half hour he’d had her screaming his name as he put his mouth on her. Her addictive taste still lingered on his tongue and just the memory of her on her knees, her head bobbing over him as he found his own release had him hard all over again. He’d held her to his chest while the movie finished playing and had every intention of carrying her to his bed until she stood to leave.
“I haven’t spent a night at Skylar’s all week.” She smiled at him softly.
“So?”
“So, I live there and I feel bad skipping out on her all the time. She’s my best friend and she needs some girl time. She was there for me when I needed her and I need to be there for her.”
He smiled because that sweetness was one of the things he loved about her, “I know. I just want you all to myself.”
“I’m all yours.” She came back over to him and leaned down, brushing her lips against his. “Except on girls night.”
He could probably change her mind about leaving. If he dragged her into his lap and worshiped her hot little body with his tongue again, she’d reconsider. But when the heat of the moment passed, she’d feel guilty for bailing on her best friend so he didn’t grab her.
She was right. She hadn’t spent a lot of time with her friend lately. He’d been monopolizing her.
Every minute that he wasn’t at work, he’d been with her for the past few days. Even before he’d taken her to bed, they’d spent most nights hanging out, getting reacquainted and though Skylar hadn’t been outright hostile towards him anymore, she hadn’t come around to befriending him either.
They didn’t all hang out together. He didn’t go to Skylar’s apartment and she didn’t come to his. When Colt had been on good terms with the blonde they’d at least passed politely on the streets but lately she would barely even look at him.
“How is Skylar?” He smirked when Jemma raised an eyebrow, “What? I’m not allowed to ask about her? I know she still hates me but the feeling was never mutual.”
“She doesn’t hate you. She’s just… wary, I guess would be a good word for it.”
He snorted, “She doesn’t trust me with you.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think it’s you and me that she wants to bitch about over margaritas tonight.”
She shot the back of the apartment a spare look that told him all he needed to know. Colt wasn’t here. He wouldn’t have engaged in couch aerobics with her if he was. But he was who she was thinking about now.
“She’s still mad at my brother.”
“She’s not mad. She’s hurt and she’s pissed off that he doesn’t seem to care that she’s pissed off.” She raised an eyebrow, “Did you know she’s not talking to him? At all? No phone calls or lunches or anything?”
“No, I didn’t know that but it explains his attitude. Colt’s usually pretty chill as long as we aren’t dealing with the family shit but he’s been even more moody than usual this week. If Skylar’s giving him the cold shoulder that would explain it.”
Jemma bit her lip and busied herself slipping back into her shoes, “Uh huh.”
“You know something about it?” He pushed to his feet.
“Uh… no. I mean, Sky just wants him to apologize and he won’t. They’re friends and really, as strange as their friendship was to me at first, it seems to me if it was as important to him as it is to her that he’d just say sorry and stop being an ass.”
“You think they’re just friends?” He caught her by the hips and pulled her back against his chest when she straightened from putting on her shoes, “Because I think all this friends stuff is just their version of foreplay.”
Jemma leaned into him with a surprised laugh, “You know, you might be on to something.”
He didn’t know what was going on with his twin and Jemma’s best friend but he knew it went a lot further than mere friendship. There was something between them. That was clear just from looking at them. The question was why they refused to do anything about it.
“She still has that boyfriend.” He pointed out.
“And Colt still won’t apologize for hurting her feelings.” Jemma twisted, wrapping her arms around his neck, “So it looks like they’re at a stalemate, neither of them willing to take the chance on the other.”
“I hope those crazy kids work it out.”
“You sound like an old man when you say things like that.” She laughed.
“Mmm, older and wiser.”
She rolled her eyes, “Like we have it all figured out?”
“We’re together and we’re trying. That’s more than they’ve managed.”
“True.” She brushed her lips against his chin, “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
He took her mouth with his and reveled in the way she opened to him. He would never get enough of this woman. Having her in his arms felt right. She made him feel whole. He didn’t feel quite so damaged when she looked up at him with those beautiful gold-flecked eyes hazy with desire and all the love she didn’t hide from him.
“I’ll probably drunk dial you later. Sky wants to go to the bar and Billie’s pouring tonight. Pick up and I’ll dirty talk you so hard you won’t be able to see straight.”
“Mmm, or you could just come over.”
“Maybe if you’re lucky.” She winked as she stepped out of his arms and opened the door and he couldn’t resist smacking her cute little ass.
She squealed with laughter and raced away and he watched her go from the doorway. He couldn’t help himself. Watching Jemma walk away from him was both a pleasure and a pain. She blew him a kiss when she reached Skylar’s door and he pretended to catch it like the love-drunk fool he was before she grinned and disappeared inside.
He sighed and shut the door behind him. Turning to look around his apartment, he fought the sudden loneliness that ached in his chest. It was always like that in the first minutes after they parted. She took his heart with her and he wouldn’t be whole again until she returned to him.
So, what to do tonight? He’d planned to spend his evening with Jemma but since she’d gone off for girl’s night at the bar with her friends he picked up his phone. He had no idea where Colt had disappeared to tonight. In fact, his brother had been scarce all week. He’d joked about him being in a bad mood because of Skylar’s silent treatment but he thought it was more than that. He just didn’t know what and he hadn’t asked because he’d been so caught up in Jemma.
He punched the first number in his phone to call Colt and then listened as it rang and rang and rang. Eventually voicemail picked up and he hung up instead of leaving a message. He’d never liked that his calls went unanswered when he dialed his twin. Liked it even less now that he knew Colt had been spending time with Lincoln.
What was his brother keeping from him?
A loud banging on the door jolted him out of his worry and he grinned. Maybe it was Jemma. Maybe she’d changed her mind and come back. He rushed to the door to jerk it open, already intending to pull her into his arms and not let her up for air when he realized it wasn’t her.
“Just couldn’t stay away could…”
The end of his joking question got stuck in his throat. His eyes went wide and all the air expelled from his lungs in one gust, as though he’d been punched in the gut. And that’s what it felt like because as he blinked and processed that what he was seeing wasn’t a mirage, the last person he’d ever expected to find standing on his doorstep smiled at him.
“Hey little brother.”
He struggled to comprehend what was happening, “Remy?”
“The one and only.” His grin widened, “Wait, that was always y’alls joke wasn’t it? Because there’s really two of you.”
His head spun at the casual greeting. As if it was a normal occurrence for him to open the door and find his older brother on his porch. As if having him standing here, close enough to hug, or punch, wasn’t the equivalent of hell freezing over.
He stared at the man in front of him, trying to catalog all of the differences from the memory he’d kept stored in his head. He’d never updated the image he had of his big brother he realized. To him, despite all the years, Remy had remained a tall, lanky teenage boy. But he wasn’t eighteen anymore, and he wasn’t lanky anymore either.
It didn’t take him more than a second to do the math. Ten years. It had been more than ten years since the last time he saw his brother face to face. A decade in which he himself had gone from a scrawny, pre-teen to a grown man. He probably shouldn’t have been surprised by the changes in his older brother but everything about Remy standing here in front of him, in Old Settlers, was a surprise.
His dark hair was still cut the same as it had been the day he left them behind. Before that day, he’d always worn it long around his shoulders. He’d buzzed it off when he joined the military and even now it was shaved down close to his skull. For some reason, he’d always imagined Remy had grown it back out, like their father’s, but he hadn’t.
Cash pushed back his own lighter locks and met the eyes that were so much like his own. Except that they weren’t, he blinked in surprise. His memory must have warped after years without anything to compare it to but his own or Colt’s. Remy’s eyes weren’t the same as theirs after all. His were a darker shade of blue, midnight blue, so dark they were almost black.
Like Decker’s.
He snapped back to the present, “Wh… What are you doing here?”
Remy’s smile fell instantly, “Can I come in?”
Cash nodded on pure autopilot. His long lost brother was here, asking to come in.
He had no idea what had finally brought him back home. Had no idea what had brought him to their doorstep but it didn’t matter. Could he come in? The answer was yes.
“Yeah, of course, yeah come in.” He moved aside.
He caught the familiar scent of smoke as Remy brushed past him and tried not to wrinkle his nose. He’d never taken up smoking. Neither had Colt. He figured that probably had something to do with the memories of Decker putting his stubs out on their skin when they were kids. But of course Remy had no such terrible memories to put him off the deadly habit.
“I know I took a chance comin’ here and all but Colt said we could talk if I handled that situation for y’all and I thought… well, hell, I just wanted to see you. I hope I ain’t intruding.”
Cash scratched his jaw, “Yeah, I mean no, I mean… you’re not intruding.”
“Good. Good.”
He looked at his brother as the other man glanced around the apartment. He was fidgety, clearly nervous, and Cash couldn’t blame him for that. He had to swipe his hands against his jeans since they’d started to sweat. He’d thought about seeing his older brother again a hundred times but somewhere, in the back of his mind, he hadn’t truly believed he ever would.
Remy had been gone for ten years. He hadn’t been in the military that entire time. He hadn’t been deployed overseas for ten straight years or stationed somewhere he couldn’t come for a visit. He’d left the Army at some point and instead of coming home, he’d stayed gone.
Of course, Cash only knew that much from the sporadic phone calls he received every couple of months. If the calls came more frequently for a while, it was only because Remy had drunk-dialed. Lately they’d gone nearly an entire year without hearing from him and then he’d called Colt out of nowhere a couple of weeks ago and now there was this. He was here.
“You said you talked to Colt?”
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, we talked.”
Cash eyed him skeptically, “He knew you were coming?”
“Nah, not exactly. He just said we could talk after I helped him out so I thought…” Remy shrugged, shifting around to look around the apartment again, “Nice place you boys got yourself. Good to see you got out of the ol’ homestead.”
