Claim Me Hard (Bridgewater County Book 2)

by Vanessa Vale

  She gave a snort of laughter. “Yeah, I figured. What I can’t work out is what you’re doing working here as a waitress if you have a background in medicine.”

  Again, it wasn’t a question so I wasn’t compelled to answer. To explain that would mean telling her everything and that was too dangerous.

  After a brief silence, Jessie seemed to accept that I wouldn’t be offering up any explanations anytime soon. Instead, she changed the topic. “You know Robert Murphy is planning to retire soon.”

  I glanced up at her, her hands deftly lining up the little white packets then shoving them in a plastic tray. “Who’s Robert Murphy?”

  “The town doctor.” She did a terrible job feigning innocence as she stuck the box of extras back under the counter. “He happened to mention that he’s looking for some part-time help at the office until he finds a replacement.”

  Bridgewater needed a new town doctor?

  “Oh really?” I tried not to sound too interested, but my mind was already leaping ahead to the possibilities. What if I took over his practice? I could have my dream career and still stay in Bridgewater with Cole and Declan. Assuming they still wanted me. No, they didn’t want me. They weren’t at the diner, were they? It was over. It was a fling, just as I’d wanted. Some of my excitement faded at that thought.

  “Robert mentioned that you might be a good fit,” Jessie continued, checking the salt shakers down the line of the counter, grabbing one that needed to be refilled.

  I looked up in surprise. “He did? When was that?”

  Jessie grinned. “At breakfast. He comes in most mornings for his egg white omelet. You’ve never met him because it’s not your shift.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “I knew word spread quickly around here, but I can’t believe a man I’ve never even met heard about it in less than a day and wants to hire me.”

  Her eyes widened. “Heard about it? What you did? Young lady, didn’t you see?”

  I frowned. “See what?”

  Jessie bent down to reach under the counter. “I figured you saw it or I would have shown you first thing. I can’t believe nobody told you before now.”

  “Am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?”

  Jessie straightened and held up a newspaper in triumph. Her smile widened as she handed it over. “Check it out. You’re famous.”

  My stomach sank before I even saw it. I could hear the blood rushing in my ears as I reached for the paper with numb fingers, but I knew what was coming. Even so, seeing the front page with my own eyes was still a shock.

  Local Waitress Saves Choking Man.

  I did a quick scan of the article and saw my name, Hannah Lauren. This couldn’t be happening. If Brad was looking for me, and I was sure he was, this would get his attention. He’d be looking for Hannah Lauren Winters and if Hannah Lauren showed up in one of his searches—not to mention a Hannah Lauren who could perform a minor surgery—he’d see it. He’d know.

  Oh God, this couldn’t be happening. Not after everything I’d done to escape and to start over. And why hadn’t I changed more of my name? I’d been so stupid! I’d stayed under the radar so far. No credit cards, no ATMs. I’d done nothing that would have me come up in any kind of financial search. One newspaper article and my shabby attempt at hiding was destroyed. I was smart enough to be a doctor, I should have been smart enough to avoid one dangerous ex.

  While I was book smart, Brad was street smart and that was dangerous. Really dangerous. He was going to find me. I choked on a sob and clapped my hand over my mouth to hold it in.

  “Hannah?” Jessie said. “Hannah, honey, are you okay?”

  I couldn’t bring myself to respond. If I tried to speak, I’d start to cry. And once I started to cry, I might never stop. It was over. This new life I’d built for myself—a new life that included two men I cared about—it was time to give it up. Time to start over. I had to leave. I couldn’t stay here in Bridgewater where Brad would find me and everyone else.

  “I’m fine. Sorry, I am tired.” It was hard work to fake a smile, but I did it. I stood. “If you’re okay here, I’ll go take a nap.”

  “Sure, honey,” she replied.

  I went out the door and around the side of the building, taking the stairs to my apartment. I hadn’t packed much when I fled California, but I’d need it all, wherever I was headed. East, maybe. Or south, where it would be warmer come fall. I couldn’t say goodbye to Jessie, to anyone. I thought of Declan and Cole. Maybe it was for the best that they had gotten over the idea that I was meant to be with them. Especially since I wasn’t going to say goodbye. Their suspicions would be confirmed, that I’d only wanted them for a quick fuck. Love ‘em and leave ‘em Hannah. Yeah, that was me. At least, it was now.

  CHAPTER TEN

  COLE

  My head was pounding, but that didn’t stop Dec from giving me hell. I’d been so pissed after I left Hannah the day before, I’d come home and finished off a bottle of whiskey, something I hadn’t done since college. Now I was paying the consequences, not just for the drinking but for the way I’d yelled at Hannah.

  Dec had been tied up at the hospital in Bozeman and then work so it wasn’t until this morning that I had a chance to fill him in on what happened. We were supposed to go see Hannah at lunch like usual but we started arguing and never stopped.

  Needless to say, Dec was not pleased by my less-than-forgiving stance. No, he was fucking pissed.

  “I can’t believe you told her we were through with her without giving her a chance to explain.”

  I winced at hearing it put like that. My gut churned and it wasn’t from the whiskey.

  “I didn’t exactly say we were through with her.”

  His sigh was filled with disgust. “Might as well have.” He slammed his palm against the wall and I winced, my head ready to fall off my shoulders. I went to the cupboard, pulled down the Tylenol, popped a few in my mouth and stuck my head under the kitchen faucet to wash them down.

  “Jesus, Cole, we’re supposed to be convincing this woman that she can count on us. That we can be trusted—”

  “We can be trusted. What about her? Instead of ripping me a new one, maybe we should be more concerned with figuring out if she can be trusted.”

  The look he gave me was almost pitying. “I know you have your trust issues with women—”

  I gave a short, humorless laugh at the understatement, ran my hand over my face, felt the stubble that was one day too long. ‘Trust issues’ was putting it mildly. “Can you blame me?”

  He shook his head. “Of course not.”

  I knew he was telling the truth. He’d been there during the worst of it. As my best friend, he’d been around constantly when my dad first met Courtney and brought her into our lives. He’d seen with his own eyes just how fake and manipulative she could be. Worse, he’d watched as my father fell for it. He’d been a sucker, and he ended up paying for it with his life. “I’m not going to repeat my father’s mistakes.”

  Dec nodded in understanding. “I get that, Cole. But there’s distrust and then there’s just plain foolishness. Hannah is not Courtney. Hell, she’s nothing like her.”

  I opened my mouth to protest but he held up a hand to silence me. “Do you really think she came here, to Bridgewater of all places, because she was looking for some guys to swindle?”

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at my best friend. When he put it that way…

  “And if she was here to con people, what’s she doing saving some choking man with a tracheotomy on the diner floor?” His voice rose in frustration.

  “Maybe you have a point,” I said, grudgingly. My mouth felt like a rat had died in it. I went to the fridge, found the carton of OJ and guzzled some down. I wasn’t pissed at him. I was pissed at myself. I wiped a hand over my lips. “But she’s still hiding something.”

  Declan gave a weary sigh, dropped into one of my kitchen chairs, stretched his legs out. “Of course she’s hiding somethi
ng. We knew that from the beginning. She was skittish, nervous with us, and not because both of us want her. At this point, all we know for sure is that she’s hiding medical training—not exactly damning evidence that she’s some sort of gold digger like your stepmom.”

  “Fine, she’s a paramedic or a doctor. Nurse, even. She wouldn’t just come here to hide the fact that she knows her shit. What’s she really hiding?”

  Guilt was nagging at me as his words hit home. Deep down I’d been coming to the same conclusion but sometimes my hatred for Courtney had a way of clouding my judgment. Even with her living in Florida with my dad’s money, she continued to fuck with me. But this time, it was my doing, because I hadn’t let her shit go. I had a sick feeling in my gut…like I’d made a horrible mistake. I couldn’t blame what I’d said to Hannah on the whiskey.

  “I don’t know what it is, but something tells me she’s scared.” Declan shook his head. “Haven’t you noticed the way she jerked away from our touch when we first met her? Or the fear in her eyes when she’d first arrived?”

  I had noticed. We both had. We’d even talked about it. But I’d forgotten all of that the day before in my anger at being played for a fool. Now, I realized I hadn’t been played. I was just a fool.

  Shit. I owed Hannah an apology. I just hoped I wasn’t too late.

  My phone cut off the rest of our conversation. I grabbed it from the coffee table. “Jessie? Slow down, what’s going on?”

  Dec came into the room, leaned in to try and hear what she was saying.

  She told me to get down to the diner—said I needed to talk to Hannah, whatever that meant. I hung up and recapped for Dec as I grabbed my truck keys and headed to the door. When I realized I had no shoes, I swore and I went to find them.

  “Want me to come with you?”

  I shook my head, dropped onto the bench in the mud room, worked on my first boot. “I need to apologize on my own. This is probably Jessie’s way of getting me there to do just that.”

  He laughed. “All right, then I’ll head to the station. If Hannah needs us, let me know.”

  I promised to do that and we both took off. Jessie had been so vague, I was half convinced that this was just her way of meddling. But on the off chance that she wasn’t exaggerating, and Hannah really was upset, I pressed my foot to the accelerator and sped all the way there.

  When I got to the diner, it was nearly empty. The lunch crowd had left and it was too early for dinner.

  Jessie met my gaze from behind the counter where she was pouring a customer more coffee, then pointed toward the ceiling. Turning around, I went back out and around the side of the building. I took the steps to Hannah’s apartment two at a time. My head still pounded, but I would live. Before I could knock, the door opened.

  She stopped, wide eyed with fear at the sight of me. She wore a pair of jeans and a simple white t-shirt, sneakers. She had a small bag in her hand, as if she was going somewhere. Somewhere far.

  “Hannah.” As I spoke, I reached out to touch her arm but she gasped and flinched, nearly toppling back into the apartment’s living room as she scrambled to get away from me.

  Ah shit. The fear in her eyes was unmistakable. I brought my hands up, palms facing forward like I was under arrest. “Easy, darlin’. It’s just me.”

  Some of the tension seeped out of her, but the wariness remained in her eyes and it was killing me. Guilt gnawed at my gut. I’d been such an ass. She wasn’t out to get us or trying to play us for fools. I’d let my issues with that bitch of a stepmother cloud my judgment and nearly lost us the love of our lives.

  Dec had been right—this woman was running scared. And she was running.

  She dropped her bag to the floor with a thud, turned away from me. I followed her in and closed the door behind me, but careful to give her a little distance. “Hannah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so rude to you yesterday. I jumped to all the wrong conclusions and I apologize.”

  She looked over her shoulder at me, blinked a few times and her eyes started to focus on me. That was a good sign, at least. I couldn’t take seeing this feisty independent woman looking so scared. Someone was after her. I knew that now. Could see it as plain as fuck.

  Whoever had done this to her would have hell to pay. But first we had to help our woman, starting right now.

  I reached out slowly to take her hand and she let me. Let me turn her to face me. “You need to know something, darlin’. I may be an asshole sometimes and Lord knows I have a shitty temper. You, me, and Dec—we’ll have our fair share of arguments, but neither of us would ever lay a hand on you.”

  She was quiet for so long I thought she might never respond. When she did, her voice was soft and sweet. “So you still think there’s going to be a ‘you, me, and Dec?’”

  I grinned at her and she gave me a shaky smile in response. “Darlin’, you can’t get rid of us that easily. We’re not even close to giving up on you. If you’re leaving, we’re going with you.” I leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. “You’re the one for us, no doubt about it.”

  She sighed and the rest of the tension seeped out of her. I pulled her into my arms and she rested her head on my chest. “But you have to tell us what’s going on. That’s the only way we can help you.”

  I could feel her nod. “Okay.”

  “Are you afraid to stay here?” I wondered. She was running and running scared. Of someone in town? Someone from her past?

  She nodded. Fuck, no one should be afraid to be in their own apartment.

  “Come on, let’s go meet Dec and you can tell us both what’s been going on.”

  I called Dec from the truck and he was there waiting for us back at my ranch by the time we pulled up. He didn’t say much when Hannah got out of the truck, just took one look at her and wrapped an arm around her, guiding her inside.

  Much as we both wanted answers, her comfort came first. She’d been totally spooked when I found her. While she’d calmed down a lot, she’d felt…fragile. Dec made her some food while I drew a bath. It wasn’t until she was fed and bathed and sitting between us on the couch that we started asking her questions.

  She told us everything—all about her abusive ex and how she went on the run. Dec and I stayed quiet, but my blood was boiling. What I wouldn’t give to beat the living shit out of that asshole. I knew Dec was feeling the same way judging by the death grip he had on the mug he was holding. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the damn thing crumbled in his hand. But Hannah didn’t need our anger, she needed us to listen, so we kept it under wraps.

  “I didn’t know what else to do, so I ran,” she finished.

  “I’m glad you told us,” Dec said. “Now we can protect you. You shouldn’t have to deal with this, with him, alone.”

  Dr. Hannah Winters. She was a fucking doctor. One who’d gone to Stanford and had just finished up her residency. She’d been working at an ER in LA when her ex had fucked with her. A goddamn doctor, with any kind of social services resource available to her, had been so afraid that she’d run, hid. Hid who she was, even from us. And would have continued to do so except for the choking and the emergency trach.

  Hannah shook her head. “I don’t want to drag you guys into this. Brad is a real piece of work. You could get hurt—”

  Before she could finish, I scooped her up and into my lap, tucked her so my arms were about her. If someone asked if the hold was to comfort her or me, I’d sure as shit say it was to make me feel better. Knowing she was on my lap and safe, that’s the only thing that eased my anger. “That’s sweet of you to worry about us, darlin’, but you’ve got it all turned around. You’re ours to protect and cherish. It’s our privilege to take care of you. Your problems are our problems, got it?”

  She nodded against my chest and I rewarded her with a kiss. “Tell me, Dr. Winters, how can we take your mind off your worries and help you to relax?”

  I saw the smile tugging at the corner of her lips and my heart nearly melted in my chest. It w
as damned good to see that fear gone and some happiness in its place. Dec moved closer on the couch and one of his hands started stroking her leg.

  After her bath I’d left her one of my t-shirts to put on, which fit Hannah like a dress and revealed those long, sexy legs. I heard her breath hitch as Dec’s hand reached the edge of the t-shirt and stroked her soft thigh.

  My cock grew hard at the thought of all the ways we could help distract her. Judging by the way she started wiggling that ass of hers in my lap, she could feel it. I nibbled on her neck as she and I both watched Dec’s slow and steady progress. He was teasing her, tormenting her. By the time his hand reached her pussy she was writhing and trying to find her release.

  But that wasn’t going to happen so fast. There was one lesson she still had to learn. In one move I flipped her over so she was lying across my lap, the t-shirt ridden up so her rounded ass was bare and so tempting I thought I might come right then and there.

  She gasped when I brought my hand down and smacked that ass, watched as my pink handprint appeared.

  “When we take control, darlin’, it means we want you to clear your brain, to only feel. Control, yes. But you have the power. We’re possessive men. With Brad, he wasn’t possessive. He was fucking obsessed with you.” I spanked her lightly. “Understand the difference?”

  “Yes,” she replied, sagging against me, beginning to give over.

  I spanked her again. “This is for not telling us your problems, darlin’.”

  When I did it again, harder this time, she moaned. Dec parted her legs as I raised my hand once more. As I brought it down, he thrust his fingers into her pussy.

  “Oh god.”