by Maya Banks
He turned to the older Colters and Dillon. “I’ll want the three of you to remain with Lauren at the hotel we choose. We’ll have a set time to report in and if you don’t hear from us, if we’re so much as a minute late, you’re to cut and run with her. Get her to the airport as fast as possible and get the hell out of there. The only priority is her safety. If something happens to me and Liam, I’ll want you to take her home and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure her protection.”
The others nodded their understanding.
“Okay then, I’d like to take Lauren back home so Liam and I can talk to her privately,” Noah said. “We’ll check back in before we take out for Raleigh. If we leave in three days, that gives us plenty of time to arrive ahead of the D.A. and set up.”
Adam, Ryan, Dillon and Seth nodded their agreement.
To Ethan, Michael and Max, Noah grew more serious. “You’ll need to be on guard while we’re gone. We have no idea how far reaching this is or what Joel Knight will do in order to keep Lauren quiet. You’ll need to watch Holly, Callie and Lily like a hawk. Don’t let them go anywhere alone, and make sure one of you is always with them.”
The other men scowled and crossed their arms over their broad chests. Their body language said all they didn’t.
“We’ll keep in touch,” Noah said quietly. “Right now I want to take Lauren home. She’s upset and shook up. I want a chance to explain what’s happening to her privately so she’s not considering the potential danger to her family. She’s very reluctant to do anything that causes any of you harm.”
“She’s ours,” Adam said simply. “It’s what we do for family.” He paused a long moment and then looked to both Liam and Noah, taking them both into his intent gaze.
“You’re family now too. That protection extends to you.”
Noah swallowed, blindsided by the surge of emotion he felt at the older man’s words. Noah knew he had family. Liam’s parents. They were as much his parents as if he’d been born to them.
But as soon as he’d walked into the Colter home, as soon as he’d met Seth and Seth’s brothers and knew how fiercely protective of Lauren they were and of their own women, there’d been a part of him that had selfishly wanted that connection himself.
Since he was a teenager, Liam and Liam’s parents had been Noah’s only support. The only people he had to turn to. And now, through Lauren, an amazing, beautiful woman, he had even more extended family. Good people. The kind he’d always wished for.
“That means a lot to me, sir,” Noah said, his voice cracking.
Adam smiled, his eyes full of understanding as if he knew every part of Noah’s past.
“And you can stop calling me sir, son. I’m proud Lauren has men who know the meaning of respect, but you’re family now, so you can either call me Dad like everyone else, or you can call me Adam. And if I know my wife, if you call her Mrs. Colter, she’ll have a kitten. She has a lot of names but all of them are said with love. You can call her Mom, Mama C, Mrs. C, but not Mrs. Colter. She gets persnickety about that.”
The knot grew bigger in Noah’s throat and he glanced automatically to Ethan and Ryan Colter to see if they shared Adam’s opinion.
Ryan Colter stuck out his hand and merely said, “Welcome to the family. I expect you to take good care of our little girl. She’s the baby now. We care a lot about her. She’s been through a rough time.”
“We will,” Liam spoke up from a few feet away as Noah shook Ryan’s hand. “This isn’t some passing fling for us, sir. I love Lauren. She’s been it for me since the moment I set eyes on her. I didn’t want to let her go when Mr. Wilder came to get her, but I knew she needed time with her family and that she needed time to heal. But there was never a question of me coming for her.”
“Same goes,” Ryan said gruffly. “You can call me Ryan or Dad. I’ll answer to either. Mr. Colter just makes me sound old and stuffy.”
Max cleared his throat and rose. “I need a moment alone with Liam and Noah if the rest of you don’t mind.”
Ethan glanced sharply at Max, speaking up for the first time. “That depends on what you plan to say. I don’t want any trouble, and the last thing your sister needs is more turmoil. You upset her and it’s not us you’ll have to worry about, because you’ll have one very pissed-off Holly Colter to contend with.”
Max shook his head. “There are some things we need to get aired out. That’s all.”
“Then we’ll be in the kitchen,” Adam said. “You boys come get Lauren when you’re done. I’m sure you have a lot you need to work out between you when you get back to her apartment. But before we go, I do want to extend an invitation for you three to come stay out here. It’s a hell of a lot more isolated. It’s private. And it would be a lot safer than being in town. Those locks on Lauren’s apartment aren’t worth a damn. I’d planned to get in there and fix them once she got moved in, but with everything that’s been going on, there hasn’t been time.”
Liam and Noah exchanged glances. Liam lifted his eyebrow and nodded.
Noah turned back to Adam. “It’s not a bad idea, sir—Adam.”
“We’ll talk to Lauren about it and get back with you,” Liam added. “I like the idea of having her out of the diner where anyone can see her.”
“Just give me a call. We have plenty of room,” Adam said.
The older Colters filed out of the living room toward the kitchen, leaving their sons to follow. Max remained and Noah braced himself for the confrontation.
When they were alone, Max glanced sharply at the other two men.
“I don’t like the speed in which this ‘relationship’ has progressed,” he said with a frown. “Lauren is extremely vulnerable right now.”
Liam’s lips twitched and he glared at Max. “Just because you had your head up your ass where Callie was concerned doesn’t mean the rest of us do when it comes to our woman.”
Max’s face flushed a dull red, and then he sighed. “Sit down, both of you. I’m not going to try to kick your ass. I just want some answers.”
Noah took his seat in one of the armchairs. Liam was more reluctant to sit down but perched on the edge of the other armchair.
“You’re right. I made my share of mistakes with Callie. I fought the inevitable. I’m damn lucky I didn’t lose her and that she has such a loving, generous, forgiving nature.”
“Then perhaps you understand why we’re not willing to do anything to risk Lauren. Physically or emotionally,” Noah said in a low voice. “We aren’t fighting anything. We want her. No matter how long it takes.”
“Look, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around the kind of relationship you’re wanting with my sister,” Max said painfully. “There are so many reasons why, it makes my head spin. I realize the Colters have a very atypical relationship and family. No one blinks an eye over them. It’s just part of the Colter package. You don’t even really question it because you look at them and it’s who they are. And it’s so apparent that those men love their wives and that the women love each man equally. But it’s also like looking at a fantasy. Something that isn’t real. Lauren is my sister. I love her dearly and she’s been hurt far too much in her young life. I want to protect her and I want her to be happy. And while a relationship like the Colters have is just fine for them, the idea of Lauren being involved with both of you concerns the hell out of me.”
Liam cleared his throat, but Max held up his hand.
“Let me finish. Let me get it out so that we can clear the air.”
Noah nodded and gave Liam a quick glance to make him stand down.
“The Colters live here. In Clyde. A town they’ve been a fixture in forever. Their son is the sheriff. The dads have friends dating back over thirty years. They live a very isolated existence in a very small population that accepts their unusual arrangement. This isn’t the rest of the world, though. Have you given any thought to where you’ll live with Lauren? Have you considered if you’ll ever have children and what kind of life t
hey’ll have?”
Max’s words didn’t come out in an angry torrent. He was passionate and obviously concerned for his sister, something Noah could well understand.
“What about your families?” Max added quietly. “Are they going to accept and understand the relationship you and Lauren have?”
Noah glanced to Liam because it had been the same question he’d had in the beginning.
“Noah doesn’t have family,” Liam said quietly. “My family is his family. They’ll love Lauren and as long as Noah and I are happy, they’ll be happy for us.”
“My point is you can’t protect her from everything,” Max said. “There’ll always be someone who questions or doesn’t understand or openly reviles you and Lauren because of who you love.”
“We understand that,” Liam said gruffly. “And we don’t have all the answers right now. The only thing that occupies our mind is getting Lauren through this thing with Joel Knight safely. Once she’s free of that threat, then the choice will be hers to make as to whether she wants a life with us. From there we’ll take it one day at a time, but she’ll never be alone. She’ll always have us. And she’ll always have you and the Colters.”
Max nodded. “I understand and I appreciate your devotion to her safety. I apologize for some of my earlier remarks. Lauren is very dear to me. After our mom passed, it was just the two of us, and I feel like I failed her because I wasn’t around to see the kind of man Joel Knight was. I was too locked in my own private hell over Callie.”
“Apology accepted,” Noah said.
Max stared hard at Noah, as if trying to see deeply inside Noah’s head. “Do you love her?” he asked bluntly. “Liam’s been very adamant about his feelings, but you haven’t had anything to say.”
Noah didn’t need any time to think about his response. He just wasn’t as comfortable about throwing the words around publicly. To him they were intimate, private words and if used too much, they lost their meaning. He coveted them, never having heard them growing up. To him, they were the most precious gift to give to another person.
“Those words are for Lauren only,” Noah said in a soft voice. “She means more to me than any other person has ever meant to me. I wouldn’t be here if she didn’t.”
Apparently satisfied with Noah’s response, Max rose and extended his hand to shake Noah’s. Noah shook it and then Max turned to Liam to do the same.
“If you need anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to contact me,” Max said. “Give me a go date and I’ll make sure the jet is ready.”
Noah nodded, then he turned to Liam. “Let’s go get Lauren. We have a lot to go over with her.”
CHAPTER 26
WHAT did he say?” Lauren asked anxiously as they pulled away from the Colter house.
“He’s very eager to talk to you,” Noah said. “Apparently they’ve been looking for you for some time. They were worried that you’d met a similar fate as some of the other women of Knight’s association.”
“They thought I was dead?” Lauren gasped.
“They weren’t sure what to think. Only that you’d disappeared and they were very interested in talking to you. They’ve been investigating Knight for over a year, but he’s squeaky clean and no one inside his organization will talk. They’ve been looking for any way in they can find.”
“So he believed you? I mean about the information we have?”
“We didn’t go into that kind of detail,” Liam said grimly
She frowned. “I don’t understand. What did you tell him then?”
“Just that we had incriminating evidence, detailed evidence, that he would be interested in,” Noah said. “I didn’t want to tip our hand this soon. He jumped on the opportunity. I could practically hear him drooling through the phone.”
Lauren went quiet, Holly Colter’s words echoing through her head.
“This could take a long time,” she finally murmured, her gaze sliding sideways so she could take in Noah’s and Liam’s expressions. “I was talking to Holly about when she was in protective custody. It was months before she saw Adam, Ethan and Ryan again, and it could have been much longer except her ex-husband pled out at the last minute instead of going to trial.”
Liam’s hand slid over her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. “No matter how long it takes, we’re going to be right there with you.”
“What about your family, though?” she asked anxiously. “This seems like an awful lot to spring on them. Not only are you and Noah involved with the same woman . . . me . . . but now you may have to disappear for months or longer because of what I’m doing.”
“I’ll call them before we go meet Castanetti,” Liam said. “I’ll explain everything to them then.”
Lauren twisted her hands in agitation. “I don’t want them to hate me before they ever even meet me.”
Noah smiled. “I can’t imagine the Prescotts hating anyone, and certainly not someone as sweet and beautiful as you are. They’re going to love you, Lauren. I admit, I was worried at first, but I was doing them a huge disservice. They’re some of the most loving, giving people I’ve ever met. I was fortunate enough to be able to call them my family.”
“We’re very lucky,” Liam said in a low voice. “We have your family solidly behind us and they’re obviously hugely loyal, and we have my family who I expect nothing less from. With families like ours, we can’t possibly lose.”
“I’d like to meet them,” she said wistfully.
Noah pulled her hand up to kiss it. “As soon as we can arrange it, we’ll absolutely take you to meet Liam’s parents. But you come first.”
When they reached town, Noah parked in front of the clinic in one of the on-street parking slots. He left the SUV running and Liam got out and opened Lauren’s door for her.
She frowned. “What’s going on? Where are you going?”
“It’s where we’re going,” Liam said, taking her hand. “You and I are going to run up to your apartment so you can pack a bag. We’ll tell you all about it and the plan. I promise.”
The blood drained from her face. “Do you think we’re in danger here?”
“We just don’t want to take any chances, honey,” Noah said gently. “Now that we’ve made the call to the D.A., we have to prepare for any eventuality. Now go on. I’ll wait here. Liam will go up with you.”
She turned and numbly allowed Liam to lead her up the stairs to her apartment door. Once there, he took the key from her hand and inserted it into the lock.
“Stay glued to my back,” he ordered tersely.
She pressed herself to his back as he pushed open the door. He drew his pistol and did a quick sweep of the room.
“Shut the door but don’t lock it,” Liam ordered. “Not yet. You stay here by the door and don’t make a move, while I check the other rooms. If I yell at you to get out or if you hear anything that sounds off, you hightail it back to Noah. Understand?”
She nodded.
He disappeared into her bedroom and returned mere seconds later, his gun down by his side.
“Okay, go in and get your bag packed. I’ll have mine and Noah’s stuff ready in just a few seconds.”
It was hard deciding what to pack and what to leave. What if she never came back to this apartment again? It was a hysterical thought, but it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Her decision had the power to alter the course of her entire life. Not only hers but Noah’s and Liam’s too. Her family’s as well.
She closed her eyes. Oh God, please let her have made the right decision. The right choice. Just once.
“Lauren?”
Liam’s call from the living room galvanized her to action. She hurriedly went through her closet and pulled several outfits from the hangers. She only had one suitcase, but she had a duffel bag that could carry quite a bit, so she used that for shoes, underwear and socks, and all her toiletries.
In the suitcase, she piled jeans, slacks, two skirts and all the tops she’d chosen. Her
stomach churned when she realized that she would most certainly be expected to make a court appearance.
She went back to her closet and took three dresses from the end, and then made sure she had the matching shoes. How ironic would it be for her to wear one of the dresses Joel had bought for her to testify in the trial to convict him?
In the end, she couldn’t get her suitcase to zip. Frustrated, she leaned and pushed but couldn’t budge it. Knowing she needed help, she called for Liam.
“I can’t get it closed,” she said, flipping her hand impatiently at the open suitcase on her bed.
Liam’s eyebrow went up. “I can see why.”
“I wasn’t sure what to pack,” she said defensively. “I mean packing for an indeterminate amount of time is kind of daunting, you know?”
“Shhh, baby,” he soothed. “It’s fine. We’ll take what you’ve packed and if you need something later or if you figure out you’ve forgotten something, Noah and I will get it for you. Don’t let this stress you out.”
She took a deep breath. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I am kind of freaked out right now.”
He tugged her into his arms and kissed her brow. After a quick, fierce hug, he gently pulled himself away and went to close her suitcase.
His muscles bulging, he pushed down on it enough to get it zipped, and then he hefted it upward so he could get it off the bed and onto the floor so it could be rolled.
“All ready?” he asked.
She glanced around the room one last time and then nodded.
“Get your bag. I’ll take the suitcase. Once I get you into the car with Noah, I’ll come back up for mine and Noah’s bags.”
She grabbed the oversized duffel and hoisted the strap over her shoulder, and then followed Liam back through the living room and down the stairs to the street.
Noah got out to help put her bags in the back, and then he guided Lauren to the passenger seat while Liam sprinted back up the stairs for the other bags.
“Where are we going?” Lauren asked as they waited for Noah.
