by Becca Van
Although she’d asked the other woman why she felt that way, Tiff had never answered, but she’d reiterated her warning. Something in Bella’s expression must have given her away, or maybe it was because she knew Brett way better than Bella did. “That little shit did this, didn’t he? And you didn’t press charges, did you? Why the hell not, Bella?”
“He’s grieving, and from the smell of him, he was on a bender.”
“You listen to me, young lady.” Tiff wagged her finger at Bella. “That bastard has always had a drinking problem, and I think he’s into other substances, too. I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard rumors around town. His mother is a drug addict and his father drank himself to death. One of these days he’s going to get a bad batch of drugs or have a drug-induced psychotic break. Stay away from him, Bella. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Tiff turned and began to walk away, but she stopped and glanced back over her shoulder. “What your sister saw in that lowlife, I’ll never know.”
Bella sighed as Tiff hurried down the street. She’d never really liked Brett either, but she’d never told Maria that. The two times she’d met him, the hair on her body had stood on end and goose bumps had covered her flesh. Now that she thought about it, she’d never seen Brett or Maria hugging or kissing. If they’d been so enamored of each other, they shouldn’t have been able to keep their hands off of each other. Wouldn’t they? Maybe they’d just been friends, but if that had been the case, surely Brett wouldn’t be taking her sister’s murder as hard as he was. Her brain began to whirl as she remembered each abusive phone call she’d had from Brett. Every time she’d answered the phone, he screamed profanities at her and blamed her for Maria’s death, but not once had he said he missed her sister or how much he’d loved her. That made her think that there was more going on here than she was seeing, but what?
Why was Brett so hell bent on making her life a living hell?
Chapter Three
Kent was happy that he and Dawson had the weekend off. They were planning on going to the homesteader festival today, but he was hoping that they would catch up with Isabella more.
He and Dawson had given that Brett asshole the third degree, and though the little prick had played a good game, Kent had a feeling that Brett was playing at mourning. Yes, he’d reeked of alcohol and body odor as if he’d been too depressed to bother with his personal hygiene, but there’d been something in that fucker’s eyes that set the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. Brett Taylor’s grief, and the tears in his eyes whenever he’d mentioned Bella’s sister and how much he’d missed her, had been too contrived. If Kent didn’t know better, he would have thought the bastard had had acting experience, but he didn’t.
He and Dawson had run a background check on the twerp, and though there hadn’t been any arrests or run-ins with the law, there had been notes that his parents had been uncaring since they’d both been into alcohol and drugs. From Kent’s experience, he knew that the apple never fell far from the tree, and he had a feeling that Brett Taylor was either a user, or a user and a dealer.
Dawson had suggested they go and talk with Maria’s work colleagues throughout the week, which they had, but no one at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum had anything good to say about Brett. In fact, the curator had said he’d caught Brett and Maria arguing and she’d told him that they were through. That had his and Dawson’s guts churning in knots, and they’d put Brett to the top of their serial-killer suspect list.
Jasmine Urban, the FBI profiler, was currently going over the fucker’s file with a fine-tooth comb. Kent wanted to warn Bella to stay away from the bastard, but he was worried that if he did and Brett Taylor was their unsub, then they would be putting her in even more danger. They were going to have to keep a very close eye on Taylor. They’d already informed Clay, Spence, Cooper, and Tanner that the asshole was bad news and up to something. At least all of them would be watching the little fucker, and if he even so much as twitched a finger in Bella’s direction, Kent would arrest his ass faster than he could blink.
“You ready?” Dawson asked as he exited the front door of their home.
“Yeah.” Kent shoved to his feet from where he’d been sitting on the deck while waiting for his friend to get ready. Kent was so eager for the day to begin he’d been up and at ’em since dawn. He’d tended to the horses, making sure they had plenty of feed and water after he’d mucked out the barn and placed down fresh hay. After that he’d showered, shaved, and dressed in clean clothes before starting breakfast when he’d heard Dawson up and about. “Do you think she’ll be there?”
“She has to be, doesn’t she? As far as I know, everyone on the committee has to make an appearance.”
“Yeah, but she might not turn up until later in the day. What are we going to do? Hang around the festival and hope we don’t miss her? You and I both know that with all the tourists as well as the locals, it will be hard to spot her in the crowd.”
Dawson stopped at the front of the truck and met his gaze with a raised eyebrow. “Do you really think we won’t be able to find her?”
“Nah.” Kent grinned. “I think we could pinpoint her in a crowd of fifty thousand.”
“There ya go.” Dawson smirked and hopped into the driver’s seat. Kent got into the passenger seat and, after putting his seat belt on, rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He couldn’t wait to see Bella again. He and Dawson were going to ask her out on a date, and they weren’t going to let her say no.
* * * *
Brett cursed as he slammed into the bungalow at the back of his drugged-out mother’s property. He would never set foot in the dump she called a home ever again. Just walking past the open window and smelling the stench emanating from it turned his stomach. He didn’t care if she ended up overdosing and killing herself. In fact, he hoped she would, and then he would sell everything. Maybe when he was loaded up with cash, that sexy little bitch would look his way. He’d only befriended her sister to get to her, but that hadn’t worked worth a damn. Maria had seen through him after only a few weeks and had tried to get rid of him, but he was like a bad penny that just kept turning up over and over again. He wondered why Maria hadn’t told Isabella that she’d kicked him to the curb, but figured it was because there was a three-year age difference between them and their group of friends wasn’t the same either. He shrugged and smiled because no matter the why of it, it had made his job easier over the last four months.
Brett grimaced as he hurried into his bathroom and stripped off the dirty, smelly clothes before dumping them on the floor with disgust. His ploy had been working until those two fucking deputies had stuck their noses into his business. Since Brett’s old man had drunk himself to death and his mother was high every minute of every day, he never once touched alcohol or used drugs. He did, however, deal. He’d made a shitload of money from peddling substances, and what had him laughing as he stepped into the shower under the hot spray was thinking about how much cash his slut of a mother had handed him over the years, so she could get her next fix. After scrubbing his hair and body, he stepped out and dried off. The growth he’d been sporting was driving him crazy and would have to go. Since his play on grief and despondency hadn’t worked on Bella, he was changing tactics. After cleaning up, he was going to attend the homesteader festival and show her that he had his life back on track. Maybe if she saw he was making an effort, she would look at him like the man he was, rather than the loser he’d been portraying.
Isabella Fuller was a stunningly gorgeous woman, and she was going to be his. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction when she got a load of his clean good-boy image. She would be the one apologizing after he begged her forgiveness for hitting her. He could just imagine her on her knees, kissing his feet and praising him for turning his life around, and after he accepted her apology, he was going to shove his cock in her mouth until she made him come.
Brett wrapped his hand around his hard dick, pumping it up and down as the fantasy took hold. One way or the oth
er, Isabella was going to be his.
* * * *
Bella waved, smiled, and greeted people as she wandered the homesteader festival stalls. Everyone was laughing and having a great time, and as far as she knew, there hadn’t been any problems. She was glad she’d been scheduled to make an appearance early, because then she would have the rest of the day to do whatever she wanted.
She winced when she brushed a strand of hair back from her face. The bruise on her cheek had been easy to conceal with makeup, and thankfully the swelling had receded. She’d hardly slept a wink this week, which was stupid considering Brett had stopped calling and waking her in the middle of the night, but for some reason that made her even more uneasy. Not that she answered her phone after the first week of abusive phone calls, anyway, but at least with him calling he’d been predictable. She wasn’t sure what was going on with her sister’s ex, but she had a dreadful feeling that whatever it was, wasn’t good.
She pushed her trepidation aside and glanced at her watch. She only had five minutes of duty left, and then she could leave if she wanted, but she’d always loved watching the street gunfight reenactment of Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok and gang. There was also the Trapper Stampede Rodeo on at seven p.m., which she had every intention of being at. She loved watching the bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding. Her heart raced just thinking about it. She loved watching animal and rider pitting themselves against each other. To her there was nothing sexier than seeing a tough cowboy opposing a horse’s determination to throw him off. All those muscles flexing and rippling. There was nothing like it.
“Hey, Isabella.”
Bella cringed inwardly when she heard Brett’s voice, tried to wipe all expression from her face, and turned to meet his gaze. Her mouth gaped open when she saw that he’d showered, shaved, and was wearing clean clothes. She quickly snapped her mouth shut, forced an answering smile and hoped he didn’t see her shiver of apprehension when she noticed that his smile didn’t reach those cold green eyes.
“So what do ya think?” Brett asked as he held his arms out to the side, offering his body for inspection. He was a handsome man when he was clean, but she felt no attraction toward him since he left her feeling cold and trepidatious. There was something evil lurking in those green irises, and she wanted no part of it, or him.
“It looks like you’re finally turning your life around.”
“That I am. I want to apologize for hitting you. There’s no excuse and I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“It’s over and done with, Brett. Forget about it. I have.” She turned away from him, intending to get as far from him as she could, but he reached out and grabbed her shoulder. She gazed at his hand and then met his eyes. He got her meaning and removed his hand from her body, taking a step back. “I haven’t finished.”
“Haven’t finished what?” she asked, nervously glancing about, pleased that she was in public and not alone with him.
“Apologizing. Let me buy you a cup of coffee. I want to make up for the hell I’ve put you through over the last four months or so.”
There was no way in hell she was spending any more time in his company than was necessary. “Thanks for the thought, but I’m good. You’ve already apologized. Let’s leave it at that.”
He nodded, but his eyes narrowed, and she was sure she saw anger in them. She decided now was as good a time as any to move, so she nodded to him, and hurried away. She shivered when she felt his gaze on her body, and her stomach roiled, but she didn’t look back to see if he was watching her, because she knew he was. She wasn’t about to give him any satisfaction from her awareness of him. The guy seriously creeped her out.
She’d just reached the parking lot and was heading toward her car when she heard someone calling her name. She turned to see Dawson and Kent striding toward her. She swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth as she watched the muscles in their thighs lengthen and contract under the denim jeans they were wearing. Another shiver wracked her spine, but this one wasn’t because she was nervous or scared. It was for an entirely different reason.
Bella crossed her arms when she felt her areolae ruche and her nipples harden, and she hoped like hell the two handsome lawmen didn’t notice. Her pussy spasmed and moistened, and she licked her suddenly dry lips.
“You aren’t leaving yet, are you, darlin’?” Kent asked when he was standing no more than two feet in front of her.
“I’ve already done my duty.”
Dawson moved to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze. “Then now you can have some fun.”
Bella didn’t protest as he guided her back to the festival. Now that he and Kent were here, she felt safer. The only reason she’d been about to leave was because of Brett.
* * * *
Kent sighed with relief when Bella let Dawson guide her back to the festival. His heart had flipped in his chest when he’d seen her in the parking lot and he’d known that she’d been about to leave. He was hoping that she would spend the rest of the day with him and his friend. He’d never reacted to a woman the way he did to Bella, and he knew that she was the one he and Dawson had been waiting for. He just hoped that they could convince her of that, too.
“Why were you leaving?” Dawson asked as he removed his arm from around her shoulders before clasping her hand. Kent took her other hand but kept his gaze straight ahead when she looked from him to Dawson and back to him again.
“What are you doing?” Bella asked, tugging her hands from theirs.
Kent sighed with disappointment and though he wanted to grab her hand again, he refrained. He glanced at Dawson with a quirked eyebrow and when Bella’s gaze turned back to Kent, Dawson gave a slight shake of his head. He’d wanted to tell Bella that they were attracted to her but Dawson was right. It was way too early to be so blunt. They needed to woo her, get her comfortable in their presence, and then hopefully move forward from there.
“Brett’s here.”
Kent glanced about but he didn’t spot the asshole. When someone almost walked into Bella he clasped her hand and guided her off to the side, away from the hordes of foot traffic and turned to face her. “Was he bothering you?”
“No, not really.”
Dawson moved in closer to her back, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her back against his body. “What do you mean, ‘not really’?”
“He actually apologized for hitting me and…”
“And?” Kent quirked an eyebrow.
She shook her head. “He apologized and he’d cleaned up his act. Showered, shaved, and he was wearing clean clothes.”
“But you don’t trust him, do ya, baby?” Dawson asked.
“Not in the least.”
“Good.” Kent nodded. “He’s bad news. Stay away from him.”
She glared and frowned at him, but she nodded her agreement before pulling out of Dawson’s hold.
“So are you hungry?” Kent asked as they began to walk again.
“Actually, yes. I slept in and didn’t have time to eat breakfast.”
“Well then, let’s go get something to eat.” Dawson winked and they began walking again.
Kent couldn’t stop inhaling Bella’s sweet scent. He had no idea if she’d used perfume or if the aroma was coming from her hair or the shower gel she’d used that morning, but the more he inhaled, the more he wanted to smell her. She was so tiny the top of her head didn’t even reach his shoulders. He surreptitiously studied the intricate knots she’d put her hair up in and wondered how long it would be once she’d let it down. He could just imagine those gleaming blonde tresses sliding over his naked body as he made love to her.
He glanced over when Dawson cleared his throat, and he knew by the heated look in Dawson’s eyes, that his friend’s thoughts had been along the same line as his.
“So what do you have a craving for, darlin’?” Kent asked and centered his concentration back on Bella rather than the hunger that was rag
ing through his blood.
“I’m not sure.” She smiled up at him. “There’s too much to choose from.”
“What don’t you like, baby?” Dawson asked.
“I’m pretty easygoing. I like a lot of things.”
“Do you prefer sweet or savory?” Kent asked.
“Both.” Bella grinned impishly, but she was also shy and glanced off to the side when she caught Kent watching her.
“There’s a hot dog stand over there.” Dawson pointed. “Popcorn’s thataway, and hot potatoes are behind us.”
“Or we could walk to the diner? Or one of the cafés if you’d prefer?” Kent suggested.
“What do you guys like to eat?”
“Anything,” Kent replied at the same time Dawson said, “Everything.”
“I think I’d like a loaded potato.”
Kent and Dawson turned with Bella in between them, and then they strolled back the way they’d come. He noticed how many people waved, smiled, or greeted her by name and knew she was well liked by everyone in the community. Her personality was a contradiction from what he’d seen, fiery and passionate at times, shy and introverted at others. Kent wanted to get to know every single facet of the woman walking between him and Dawson, and hoped she gave them the chance to.
“Do you have any plans for the rest of the weekend?”
“No, not really.”
“I can hear a but in there. Care to explain?” Dawson asked.
“I’d planned to go to the rodeo tonight.”
“That’s good ’cause we’re riding in the bareback bronc competition.”
Bella stopped in her tracks and gazed from Dawson to Kent and back again. A slow smile curved her lips and lit her green eyes from within. Kent’s breath hitched in his chest, and he swore his heart stopped beating for a second or two.
“You’re not yanking my chain, are you?” she asked excitedly.
Kent grinned and placed his free hand over his heart. “I’m wounded that you would even suggest such a thing.”
