by Lexi Blake
Scott stared at Caleb, a decidedly satisfied look on his face. “Dr. Sommerville, it’s been a pleasure to meet you. I assure you my party is going to be interested in what I learned on this trip. You know, I always thought that one day I would get back together with Holly. I really did care for her. Oh, not in an official capacity, of course. She isn’t political wife material. But I thought I would have her again. I suppose not. You seem to have hurt her as much as I did. I don’t think she’ll give either of us another chance, so I’ll take what I can. Yes, I think outing you will make up for losing Holly.”
He turned and walked out the door.
And Caleb stood there. Alexei checked his need to punch something. There would be time enough for that. For now, he had to deal with his partner and fast.
“Go after her.”
Caleb seemed frozen. Only his lips moved. “She made her choice.”
“It was wrong choice. You need to fight for her. Can’t you see that’s what she needs? It would have been different, very different, if you had been one to tell your story—your name. But it came from the man who broke her once before. Can’t you see? She needs you to fight.”
“She walked away,” Caleb’s voice was hollow. “She walked away when I asked her to stay. She didn’t really ask me anything. She heard my name, and she judged me. She doesn’t want me. I was right to have stayed away in the first place. And now I have to leave town. I can’t blow my brother’s career up over a failed romance.”
“It only fail if you allow. And do not worry about your brother. I take care of this. Stay. Think.” He turned, hoping Caleb would still be there when he got back, but he had to take care of something first.
“Alexei!”
Alexei turned at Nate Wright’s sharp bark.
“Don’t you kill that man in my parking lot.”
“I will not kill. But he might wish I do.” Alexei turned and strode out the double doors. Rage churned in his gut, but he checked it. Beating the shit out of Scott Lang wouldn’t solve anything. It would make things worse. In this case, the threat was worth far more than the act.
Scott Lang stood by his Audi, his keys in hand.
Alexei stopped in front of the man. He was pleased when Scott let the hand holding the keys fall to his side.
“What the hell do you want?”
“You know who Caleb is, but my question now is do you know who I am?” It was time to introduce himself.
Lang gave him a once-over. “You don’t look familiar.”
“Do you know the name Alexei Markov?”
His eyes widened slightly. Alexei was pleased to see fear begin to creep onto Scott Lang’s face. “You’re the Russian who turned on the mob.”
“And several politicians,” he admitted. “I do not discriminate.”
Scott’s hand went to the door of his car. “I’ll ask again, what do you want?”
He wanted many things. He wouldn’t get most of them, but there were a few that were truly worth fighting for. “I want to turn back clock and make sure you never open that mouth of yours. I cannot be doing that. But I can explain a few things to you. I really am everything the press says. I really did everything they say. I did it for my brother. For revenge. I spend years pursuing this revenge. I give up life for it.”
“Yes, I read that.” Scott swallowed as he spoke.
“I do not give up revenge until I meet one woman. Holly.” He leaned against the Audi. “I am only alive because of Caleb Burke. You should understand that I consider these two people my family.”
“Are you threatening me?”
He smiled, though he knew it was the smile of a hungry wolf. “I am explaining the truth of the world to you. You think your wealth will protect you. You think you can hire enough guards to be buffer between you and my revenge. This is not true. If you tell world about Caleb, Holly, and myself, you will never be spending another night in restful peace. You can put walls between us. You can put men between us. It will not stop me. I will come for you. I will be there one night even if it is long in the future. I will be the last face you see before blood leaves your body. I vow this. If I have my way, Caleb will marry Holly. I will be happy to be the secret. I will be happy to be anything they allow me to be. I will not be the reason they are taken down. If anyone be finding out, I will hold you accountable.”
Scott’s face had gone a pleasing shade of stark white. “I can’t promise that. I can keep my mouth shut, but it could still get out.”
“No. If it does, I will come for you.”
“Damn it, man,” the politician practically whined. “You can’t hold me accountable.”
“I will come for you.” He stepped away from the car. His point seemed to have been made. “Remember this. You can tell whole world, and I will come for you. You can tell single friend who tells someone else, and I will come for you.”
Scott straightened his shoulders, but his voice was still whiny and small. “Don’t you think you scare me.”
“You will make decision. If wrong decision, then I will come for you. I will come for you because I will have nothing left. I will watch you, Congressman. I will always be watching you.”
He turned away to see Caleb standing there, his hands on his hips. Alexei felt himself flush. Damn it. He hadn’t wanted Caleb to see that part of him. He’d been careful to always be the smiling Alexei around Caleb. He knew Caleb had read the stories, but he hadn’t seen the truth of him.
The Audi peeled out of the parking lot like the devil was chasing it.
“I think the congressman might have peed himself.” Caleb said the words, but Alexei didn’t see any humor in them. His friend stood there, grim-faced and hopeless. “You didn’t have to do that. My brother is a big boy. Trust me, he can handle himself. It wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to use a scandal to bring down a Sommerville campaign.”
It would be the first time Alexei had been used in such a way. He wouldn’t stand for it. “It is my problem to handle. Not his.”
Caleb ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t understand you. Why the fuck would you think that? I don’t get anything about you. Why the hell are you here?”
How could he make Caleb understand? This didn’t work if they didn’t watch out for each other. “I love Holly. She is better part of me.”
“Then why the fuck didn’t you go after her?” Caleb asked, his eyes straying down the road where Holly had taken off.
Alexei took a long breath. This was a gamble, but he’d never been known for playing it safe. “Because you are part of me, too.”
Caleb shook his head, his eyes returning to Alexei. “God, you’re confusing.”
He sighed. Caleb couldn’t seem to see the truth. “I am not. You are simply not as smart as you think.”
Caleb stopped and stared, and then a smile crossed his face. He laughed from deep in his belly. He laughed, doubling over. “I’m definitely not as smart as I think. I’m stupid. So fucking stupid.”
Caleb’s laugh turned into something sad. Alexei felt it in his heart.
“I don’t know what to do,” Caleb admitted. “I know what my instinct is. I should leave.”
“Your instinct is stupid.”
“She doesn’t want me.”
“She is scared,” Alexei explained, though he thought it should be evident. “She need you. And you need her. Please to be thinking about this. She thinks you loved your wife.”
“I didn’t,” Caleb replied, his voice hard with guilt. “And I hate myself for that. I did what was expected of me. I did what I’d been taught to do. I married Caroline, and then one day I knew I needed something more.”
“Will you need more than Holly?” Alexei knew the answer, but he wanted to hear Caleb say it.
Caleb didn’t even hesitate. “No. I love her. Fuck. I said it. I love her. I don’t think I deserve her though. My brother is capable of giving me hell. I don’t think he will. I think as long as I stay out of the spotlight, he won’t care what I do as
long as I’m happy. He’s not a monster, but he could say something. He could make her feel bad. I can’t promise that some pushy reporter won’t find out. I knew she would feel this way, and I took her anyway. I need to leave. I need to let her be happy with you.”
They really did need him. He’d worried about his place, but it was obvious now. Caleb was a brilliant man, a kind man. He was the type of man the world needed, but he’d been broken in a way that left him incapable of trusting himself. He needed someone who didn’t mind kicking a little ass—even his.
The good news was he was great at kicking ass. “You not go. You will stay. You will stop with the aching belly and begin to grow back your balls. This is not worthy of you. Our woman is out there. She is alone, and yet you stand here worried that she will not forgive. Make her forgive. Give her something. Give her your story. Tell her why you are afraid. Tell her why you don’t sleep with her.”
Caleb’s eyes came up.
“Yes,” Alexei explained. “I see closet. I am man with curious nose.”
“You’re nosy,” Caleb corrected. “You’re a nosy bastard. And I’m not bellyaching. I can’t change who I am.”
“So stubborn. You already change. You change when you agree to be with her. And don’t be telling me you were only there for the sex. You were in love, simply not man enough to say. Be man, Caleb. Be man you were when you decide to walk away from wealth to help people. Be man you are in your soul, not the one who is too scared to reach out for what he needs.”
“I sleep in a fucking closet because I can’t stand to be in the open.” His hands went to his hair, shoving it back even though there wasn’t enough of it to fall in his face.
Alexei shrugged. “This we can handle. We make nice closet for you. We tuck you in and close door.”
“Damn it. You don’t get it. You make this sound easy, but it isn’t.” Caleb practically growled his frustration.
He found himself oddly calm. He understood Caleb far better than his friend could know. “No, you make hard because it easier to live with than to let go. You cling to pain because you know it. It is familiar. It is blanket. You think I do not understand? When I close eyes, I see my brother. I do not see him as he was. I see him dead. I see the blood as though that was only thing that mattered about him. Blood. Everywhere. One bullet reduces him to a mess on the floor that someone had to clean up. I see this when I close eyes at night. And I force myself to think one thought of him. I think about day he teach me to skate. I replay that day in my mind. The air is crisp and cold around me, but my brother’s smile is warm. He is patient. He teach me what he knows. That was my brother. That was his life. He was taken from me. I take him back. You had something taken from you. Are you strong enough to take back?”
“You’re a fucking bastard.” Caleb’s eyes closed, and when they opened again, there was a suspicious moisture there. “I love her. I don’t want to let her go. I don’t want to let this go.”
Alexei reached out and gripped his friend’s shoulder, something deep inside falling into place. “Then don’t let go.”
“You know you’re using me as a substitute for your brother. You have to see that.”
Maybe he was, but it couldn’t hurt anything. He saw Caleb for what he was. Caleb was nothing like Mikhail with the exception of the fact that Alexei cared for both. “It is more than that, but even if it was, I am good brother. I would be good brother to you. I would not be letting you down.”
A gleam of hope entered Caleb’s green eyes. “I can’t ask for more than that. Alexei, I sometimes walk in my sleep. I hit the walls. I kick at the furniture. It’s more complicated than sleeping in the closet.”
He’d wondered if a lot of Caleb’s problems didn’t stem from this. This was an easy thing to fix. “No, it is simple. When you get out of bed, I will wake you and put you back in. Your body will learn.”
“And if I hurt Holly?”
There it was. He could see it now. This was Caleb’s greatest fear.
“I will not allow it. You have to trust me or this will not work. You have to know that I will protect her, even from your demons.”
Caleb finally nodded. “Yes. Yes, I want this. I’m pissed at her right now, though.”
“I am angry myself. She walk away. She is not allowed to do such a thing. I believe a spanking is in order.” His little dushka didn’t know what she’d done. He’d practically begged her not to walk away. He’d been willing to grovel, but it appeared she needed something more.
“I think she does deserve a spanking. And a good one,” Caleb agreed.
Alexei turned and saw Logan Green staring at him.
“You really believe that shit you just spit?” The deputy’s voice was tight.
This was the chance he’d been praying for. “Yes, I believe. And it apply to you, too. Something bad happen to you. You are the one allowing it to change you. You are the one allowing it to beat you. I let this darkness inside beat me for years and years. I let it take my youth. You are on same path. You can hate me all you like, but this I know.”
“You don’t know shit, man.” Logan stalked past him and pulled the door open and slammed into his Bronco, gunning the engine. He backed out without bothering to look behind him, the wheels peeling away.
“You tried.” Caleb’s hand was on his back.
“We’ve all tried.” Nate Wright and the marshals stood on the steps of the station house. It was obvious they had heard more than Alexei would have liked. The whole town had a curious nose.
“Alexei, I think you should come with us.” Jessie frowned down at him. “This isn’t about the doctor. This is about you.”
His stomach twisted. “I cannot leave. This is home.”
“Yes, and you’re endangering everyone in this town,” Jessie pointed out.
The sheriff snorted. “I wouldn’t count us out yet, Marshal.”
“He needs to be in witness protection.” Jessie’s face was set in mulish lines.
“Jessie, you know why he’s here. He’s in love with the woman.” Michael turned to his partner, his lover, his voice going low. “I thought we talked about this.”
Her head shook. “I changed my mind. He needs to come with us. He’s too valuable to risk.”
“I can’t go. I can’t to be leaving.” If he left, Holly and Caleb would fall apart. He would fall apart. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn’t leave.
Nate stood tall, settling his hat on his head. “Stand down, Marshal. I already put out a call. Every person in this town is going to be looking out for Alexei. He’s one of ours now. We protect our own. Now, unless you’re willing to take him into protective custody, I think you should let him go. I got a call from Callie a couple of minutes ago. The women of Bliss are currently descending on Holly’s cabin.”
Caleb went a little white. “Are you serious?”
“Why are they going to Holly’s?” Alexei asked.
Nate frowned. “It’s called ‘Break Up Patrol.’ Every woman who can will rush to the recent dumpee’s house to offer support. It’s an estrogen fest of the highest order. No man who wants to keep his balls on will go in there, but I think you two are going to have to. Unless you want to end up groveling for the next year or so. And I would appreciate it if you would break that shit up. Callie insisted on going. She needs to be in bed. I have some riot gear if you need it.”
Alexei shook his head. “I can handle these womens.”
Caleb pointed to him. “He can handle the women. I’m going to hide behind him.”
“Good thinking.” Nate tipped his hat. “Alexei, you carrying?”
“I carry much.” He could carry many things. He was very strong.
Caleb’s head shook. “He wants to know about the gun you stuff down your ass.”
“I do not stuff gun in ass. I have it in small of back. You need to reread anatomy book.” He realized what he’d revealed and winced. “Sheriff, I need gun.”
“You also need a permit to carry concealed. Co
ngratulations, I just certified you as a training instructor for Bliss County’s safe gun program. Cam will get all the paperwork done. Until then, don’t conceal the fucker. And Caleb, it might be a good idea for you to carry that tranq gun. I know you don’t want to kill anyone, but if you don’t have a problem shooting Mel on a regular basis, I don’t see why you can’t tranq an assassin.” Nate tossed Caleb a radio. “And keep this on at all times. You see anything shady, you call.”
“I think I can handle that.” Caleb put the radio in his pocket.
And they could handle Holly. If she thought they would let her walk away, she was in for a surprise.
Chapter Fifteen
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Laura asked, throwing her hands up in the air as she paced across Holly’s living room floor.
If she’d expected sympathy from her BFF, she’d been wrong. Laura had charged in like a lion and started to roar.
“He lied to me,” Holly explained, though she’d mentioned that fact more than once.
“About his name,” Laura shot back.
“Yes.”
Laura pointed at her. “I lied to you about my name.”
“That was different.”
“I lied about mine, too.” Rachel Harper came to stand beside Laura.
Holly turned to Nell, who held Rachel’s baby, Paige, on her lap. Nell looked completely innocent even though she was the one who had instigated this horror show. “Why would you do this to me?”
“I didn’t lie about my name,” Nell said with those wide eyes of hers.
“That is not what I am talking about, and you know it.” She wasn’t going to let Nell be obtuse about this.
“I did what any friend would do when she sees her friend jumping off a cliff. She calls in her stronger friends to pull you back.” Nell bounced the baby on her knee. “If it were left up to me, I would jump off with you. I’m not the best person to handle this sort of thing. But Laura is really good.”
“So is Rachel,” Callie added with a bright smile. “Rachel is excellent at telling me when I’m doing something silly.”
