by Becca Van
Sally brushed her teeth, rinsed, and then took the mouthwash Rick passed to her before taking a swig right from the bottle, swishing it around her mouth and then spitting it out, before rinsing with water again. Rick lifted her from the counter, dried her face and mouth with a towel, and then pulled her against his big, warm, muscular body. Tears burned her eyes again, but Sally blinked them back.
“I’m sorry about your brother, love.”
Sally nodded in acknowledgement and drew in a shuddering breath.
“Luke, Will, and Damon will do everything they can to find that fucker and his followers and put them behind bars for the rest of their lives.”
“I know,” Sally sobbed.
“Is she all right?” Frank asked.
Sally pulled out of Rick’s arms and nodded. Frank opened his arms and she ran into them with a hiccup. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held onto him as tightly as she could. He hugged her just as firmly and she shivered, but this time desire had nothing to do with it. Frissons of fear were skating up and down her spine and no matter how hard she tried to push that emotion to the back of her mind, this time it wouldn’t be shoved away.
The figurative target she’d felt she had on her back had moved to encompass her whole body and she wasn’t sure she was going to get out of this unscathed or alive.
Sally hooked her arms around Frank’s neck when he lifted her from her feet and up against his chest.
“We’ll keep you safe, sweetheart. We would give our own lives to protect you.”
Sally nodded as Frank carried her back out to the living room. When she saw the Atkins brothers as well as Damon were sitting on the sofas and armchairs, she hid her face in Frank’s neck. Although she didn’t really care that much, she knew her eyes were red and swollen, but it was the concern on all the men’s faces that she couldn’t handle right now. While she’d already cried, she knew that there was a wealth of tears still locked up in her aching heart, and she didn’t want them to see or hear her break down again.
Frank took a seat on the sofa next to Will, taking her with him. Sally unhooked her arms from around his neck and met Will’s gaze when he caressed a hand over her head and hair.
“How did you find out?” Sally heard the note of hysteria in her voice but she couldn’t help it.
“Luke and Damon have been looking into Angelo Perez. They told you they would, Sally. You have no need to be scared,” Will stated in a calm voice.
“No need …” She jumped from Frank’s lap, uncaring that the other men were watching her and stumbled away nearly falling over the coffee table. “That bastard has contacts in the police department. Anything to do with him would be known about almost right away. Luke and Damon have no idea who the fucker has on his payroll. For all we know, they tipped Perez off on where I am.”
Sally backed away, looking around wildly for somewhere to hide. She knew it was too good to be true. She should have kept moving instead of staying in one place so long. Pain pierced her heart at the thought of never seeing Will, Frank, and Rick again, but she would go if it meant keeping them safe. They didn’t really know who they were dealing with. Perez had eyes and ears all over the place. None of them was safe and now her stepbrother was dead.
And it was all because of her.
Chapter Seventeen
“We need to go get her tonight,” Angelo snarled.
“How? They have armed men patrolling the place. There are always one or two walking around the property and they’re packing weapons.”
Angelo sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. The anger he’d felt when he’d seen Sallyanne laughing and dancing with one of the men was getting out of control. He was so hot he was sweating and his muscles were pumped, ready to fight to get his woman back. Just the thought of her having sex with another man, let alone three, was enough to tip him over the edge. He roared with fury as he ran at the bed, stabbing and slashing at the bedding and mattress wishing it was one of the men who’d touched his woman.
His rage finally abated and he panted as he tried to catch his breath. He was paying Ramon a shitload of money to do his bidding and now wasn’t any different. “That’s what I pay you for,” he finally answered Ramon calmly after he had his breath back. “Find a way to make it happen.” Angelo stared at his knife and then met Ramon’s gaze. He knew when Ramon swallowed audibly that his message had been received. If Ramon didn’t get Sallyanne and bring her to him, his life would be forfeit.
Ramon nodded as he turned toward the motel door. “I’m on it, boss.”
“Make sure you aren’t seen,” Angelo ordered before the door closed behind his 2IC. He flopped back on the destroyed bed and tried to imagine the look of horror on Sallyanne’s face when she came face to face with him again. His cock hardened and he rubbed it through his jeans. Just seeing her in his mind, on her knees as she sucked him deep into her throat with the knife against her neck, had him ready to spill his seed. He undid his jeans, yanked them and his underwear down to his knees, and began to pump his hand up and down his shaft as he remembered what it was like to fuck Sallyanne’s cunt. Seconds later he was groaning as his seed spewed from his dick to land on the carpet at his feet.
“Soon, Sallyanne. Soon you’ll be back where you belong. In my bed, under me. You’re going to pay for sending me to prison and running from me.”
* * * *
“How the fuck are we going to get this bastard?” Frank asked.
“Luke’s already sent his photo out to everyone with a cell phone in town. As soon as he steps foot in Slick Rock, we’ll have him.”
“And what if he doesn’t?” Rocky asked.
“Any stranger who so much as twitches a finger will find themselves behind bars before they can blink,” Damon stated emphatically.
“What we should be doing is looking for this prick.” Frank shoved to his feet and began to pace.
“We can’t.” Will sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “As much as I want to do the same, we need to make sure everything is done by the book.”
“Will’s right,” Damon said. “If we want that fucker to stay behind bars for the rest of his life we need to do it right the first time.”
Frank nodded his acceptance. “I know. I just hate what the fucker’s done to Sallyanne. He raped her and murdered her brother.”
“I understand how frustrated you all are,” Bull began. “But you can’t just bail him up and rip his head off with your bare hands. From what you’ve all told us, this guy has cops in his pocket, which means he probably has some of the best lawyers in the country on speed dial.”
“Fuck!” Rick got to his feet, tipped his head back, and stared at the ceiling. “I hate this. I hate feeling so useless.”
“We all do, Rick,” Will said. “But until we have concrete evidence that Perez murdered Sally’s brother, we don’t have shit.”
“What about the statement that Sally made to that bastard cop?” Frank asked. “Is there any way he might still have the original unchanged copy?”
“Luke said the commissioner’s working on it. Officer Brush’s place is being searched as we speak. IT experts are going over his lap top and computer to see what they can find,” Damon explained. “If they find anything, y’all will be the first to know.”
“Let’s hope they find something soon. The hair on the back of my neck is itching something fierce.” Frank sighed as he glanced down the hallway toward the closed bedroom door. He hated feeling so useless. He wanted things to come to a head now so that he and his brothers could spend the rest of their lives living in peace and loving Sallyanne.
“So is mine,” Rick said. “In fact, I think we’re being watched.”
Bull, Rocky, and Ridge nodded in agreement.
“We’ve felt the same thing, but whoever it is has to be using some high-powered binoculars because we haven’t spotted anyone.” Ridge sighed with frustration.
Damon rose to his feet and met Will’s gaze as he also stood, offeri
ng his hand to shake. “Take as much time off as you need. Your job will be waiting for you when you’re ready to come back to work.”
“Thanks.” Will shook Damon’s hand. “I appreciate that.”
“It’s to our benefit.” Damon shrugged and smiled. “Luke’s been grumbling the last few months about wanting another deputy on board after the last one transferred to another county. Plus, we don’t have to worry about training you since you’re retired military.
“Are you two sure you don’t want to jump the security business ship?” Damon glanced at Rick and Frank.
“Maybe after all this crap is over and done with, we can think about it?” Frank met Rick’s gaze and raised an eyebrow in query.
Rick shrugged in response. “Keeping Sallyanne safe is our major priority right now.”
“As it should be,” Damon responded. “I’ll make sure another alert is sent out to keep on the lookout for anyone new in town and I think we’ll set up regular patrols to the surrounding area. Hopefully someone will see or find where that bastard is watching y’all from.”
Frank and Rick shook Damon’s hand good-bye and then Frank began to gather the used coffee mugs.
“Why don’t you let us deal with that?” Rocky suggested. “You need to go and make sure your woman is all right.”
“Thanks.” Frank handed over the mugs he had collected before spinning on his heel and heading to the bedroom. He hated not being with Sallyanne after finding out her brother had been murdered, but he and Rick had needed to know how things were going to be handled so they wouldn’t stuff things up. Anger surged through his body at the thought of Perez being let off scot-free on a technicality. However, since there wasn’t much anyone could do until the fucker made his move, making sure Sally was okay was on the top of Frank’s list.
* * * *
Sally buried her head beneath the pillow when she heard the door to the bedroom open. She’d been crying again and while she didn’t care that whoever had entered the room would see her red blotchy face and swollen eyes, it was the guilt she felt in her heart that she wasn’t sure she could hide from them.
She felt the mattress dip behind her and though she had a pillow covering her face, she knew by the scent that it was Frank snuggling up toward her.
“Are you okay, sweetie?”
Sally nodded automatically but she wasn’t sure that she would ever be okay ever again. She’d just found out the last living member of her family was dead, had been tortured and murdered. The pain in her heart was almost too much to tolerate. She wanted to scream and rage against the world, Perez, and his cronies at what they had done. It was so unfair. She’d lost so much and there was no way for her to turn the tables, turn back the clock, and get it back.
Her mom, stepdad, and now her stepbrother were all gone and she had put Will, Rick, and Frank in danger. It wasn’t that she was worried they couldn’t look after themselves, because she knew they could. They were trained military, after all, but she knew that Angelo Perez wouldn’t give up until he had what he wanted, and that was her.
Frank had slung an arm around her waist and his front was pressed against her back. The instant he was settled, he lifted the pillow off her face and pulled her tighter against his body.
“You won’t be in danger forever, Sally. The sheriffs and Will are going to find him and his cronies and lock them up behind bars,” Frank said calmly, yet with emphatic sincerity.
Sally inhaled raggedly before rolling over to her other side so she was facing Frank. He wiped the tears from her face before scooting closer and hugging her tight.
She didn’t need to look toward the door when she heard two more sets of feet moving quickly down the hall. Will and Rick came in and crawled up on the bed with her and Frank.
Rick lay down behind her and Will sat on his knees near her feet.
“How are you feeling, baby?” Will caressed up and down her jeans-covered leg.
“I don’t know,” Sally whispered, not sure how to put her roiling emotions into words.
“Try, love. You need to talk and we’re here to listen.” Rick kissed her head.
“I feel so angry. I want to scream, to shout and hit something, but I also feel numb. It’s as if I’m dreaming and none of this is real, but I know I’ll never wake up from this nightmare.” Sally tried to stifle the sob building in her chest, but it was impossible. Her grief was too new, and was so overpowering she felt raw.
“Don’t hold back, sweetheart. You need to cry.” Frank pulled her upper body against his chest and his kind loving gesture was the catalyst that broke the dam.
Sally cried so hard her body was wracked each time a deep guttural sob erupted from her mouth. She felt as if she was suffocating and the need to run was an urge too strong to ignore. She pushed against Frank’s chest, trying to get away, but he just tightened his hold on her and held her as her heart felt as if it broke in two. She thumped her fists against his chest as the excruciating pain surged through her body. She screamed and hit and cried until she felt as if her head was going to explode from the hammering pounding on the inside of her skull. Finally, when she had no more tears left, she hiccupped and shuddered as she tried to regain her breath and slumped down in Frank’s arms.
As exhaustion took its toll and began to weigh her down she was aware of Frank, Will, and Rick, running their hands over her back, legs, hair, and arms. She wanted to apologize for her loss of control but already she was slipping into sleep.
Sally just hoped when she woke up that they would forgive her for her behavior and then she would talk to them about how to catch Angelo Perez.
* * * *
Will wiped at his damp eyes before meeting first Rick’s and then Frank’s gazes. His brothers were as choked up as he was but even if they hadn’t been, he wouldn’t have been embarrassed or ashamed to show so much emotion in front of his brothers. He knew what it was like to have such pain in the heart and was thankful that Sallyanne had been able to cry and vent some of her grief. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that would be the last of her sorrow, because he knew it wasn’t. Grief could and would sneak up on a person when they least expected it, and though it was hard to deal with at times, he was glad that Sallyanne wouldn’t have to deal with it alone.
He watched Rick tenderly brush a few strands of hair off her cheek, and she sighed in her sleep. Will got to his feet and after rolling his neck and shoulders to relieve some of the tension and clearing his throat, he said, “Stay with her until she wakes up. She needs all the sleep she can get.”
“I will,” Frank replied and nodded to Will before he left the room.
Will didn’t have to be at the sheriff’s office to work. He was going to call Remy and see if his boss could find out more on Perez. The Alcott brothers had contacts in the FBI as well as on the street. If anyone could find what they needed to take Perez down it was Remy, Giles, and Brandon.
He didn’t need to worry about patrolling the property since Rocky, Bull, and Ridge were keeping vigilant. His time was better spent trying to get the goods on Perez.
Will entered the office, booted up the computer, and got to work.
Rick came in just as Will’s cell phone rang.
“Luke, what have you got?”
“The IT techs have found Sallyanne’s original statement. When we find that fucker, we can nail him to the wall. The doctor who took care of her injuries took DNA and sent it to the lab. When she got the results back and the police didn’t follow up, she kept a file and the DNA swab.
“I’ve contacted her office and the new doctor is going to send the swab to the forensics lab, and he’s e-mailed me the file and photos of Sallyanne.”
“Shit!” Will clenched his hands into fists as he fought the anger and sadness welling up in his heart and soul. “I’m glad the doctor kept a record and everything. You need to send me what you’ve got.”
“Will … I don’t think you should be looking at that stuff. It’s bad, man, and I don’t want you go
ing off half-cocked when you read the report and see the photos.”
Will swallowed around the lump in his throat. “The doctor didn’t send any inappropriate photos of Sally, did he?”
“Fuck, no,” Luke answered immediately, “but Dr. Martine took some snapshots of where Sallyanne was cut with the knife.”
“I’ve already seen, touched, and kissed her scars, Luke.”
“Yeah, well, this is different.” Luke sighed and Will could practically see the sheriff running his fingers through his hair. “I know that if this was my wife, Flick, I’d hate to see her this way. Not because I couldn’t handle looking at the damage done to her, but because I love her and the thought of someone raping her and cutting her—”
“I won’t let the anger rule me, Luke.”
“Okay, but this is against my better judgment. Just make sure you keep it together and don’t do anything to jeopardize this case.”
“I won’t,” Will said.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Luke replied. “Once Perez’s DNA has been through the forensics lab, the scientists will see if they can match it to the DNA on Sally’s brother. But I don’t think it will. Perez has a lot of people hanging on his strings and from what I’ve gathered, Phillip Ramon is his main crony. I’m betting he’s the prick we want for murdering Simon Simpson.”
“Have you got anything on him?” Will asked.
“The asshole has a rap sheet as long as my arm. Burglary, assault, trafficking, and car theft, just to name a few.”
“Fuck!” Will clenched his teeth. “How the hell is the bastard still out walking the streets?”
“Perez and his lawyers,” Luke replied. “The bastard always seems to have a convenient alibi.”
“Who’s the fucking lawyer?”
“Pierre St. John.”
“The Pierre St. John? The criminal defense lawyer who is now a DA in New York?”
