Wanted Dead or In Love: A Small Town Romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 3)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  Derek walked in the back door and grinned at me like he’d just won a million dollars. “Who’s the best brother in the world?”

  “Eric.”

  “Eric? Seriously? That stuffed-shirt?”

  I shrugged. “He is letting me live with him and his wife is helping out with Alessa.”

  “Okay, besides him, who’s the best brother?”

  “Are we talking about anyone’s brother or just in our family?”

  He rolled his eyes at me.

  “Okay, then…Joe.”

  “Joe,” he stared at me.

  “Andrew?”

  “Why the fuck would Andrew be the best brother?”

  I shrugged. “Why not?”

  “Why-“ He took a deep breath, interlocking his hands behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling.

  “You look tense.”

  “After all I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me?” he growled, but there was no heat behind his words.

  “In all fairness, I haven’t been here for seven years. How could I possibly pick out who the best brother is? And let’s not forget Will.”

  “Will hasn’t been here in days! How could he possibly get best brother status?” he shouted.

  “Well, for one, he’s not yelling at me.”

  “Fine, I’m going to tell you something, and then I’ll let you decide once and for all.”

  “Okay, dazzle me.”

  “Reed Security has been keeping tabs on the Scavuzzo family, and with the help of Antonio, we think we’ve eliminated most of the family members. The remaining few are just the low men on the totem pole.”

  “What does that mean for Carly and me?”

  “Well, since Antonio pointed out anyone we missed, and the feds are pretty much just happy that the Scavuzzo organization is wiped out, I’d say you’re in the clear.”

  “But how do we know that Antonio won’t be a problem?”

  He snorted. “Trust me, we’ve made it very clear that we’ll be monitoring him. Besides, he seems genuinely upset about what’s happened. I would say he’s going to disappear and you’ll never hear from him again.”

  My brows furrowed in worry. “Is he going to be okay?”

  Derek’s jaw dropped. “Are you fucking serious right now? You’re worried about the man that wanted you dead?”

  “He only wanted us dead because he was being manipulated. And he’s Carly’s brother. The last thing she needs is to lose her last remaining family member.”

  He sighed and pulled out a chair. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s wrapping up some loose ends right now, but I’m guessing he’ll be leaving soon. Besides, if he was dead, we would hear about it. He’s the last remaining member of the Scavuzzo family. Everyone still thinks that Carly is dead.”

  I nodded, taking it all. “So, explain to me how this makes you the best brother in the world?”

  He guffawed, slamming his hand down on the table. “I made sure this was all possible!”

  “Technically, you did this with Reed Security’s help. And Knight. And Hunter.”

  “And I work for Reed Security,” he pointed out. “You wouldn’t have them without me.”

  I leaned forward in my chair, tilting my head. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but they do protection services all the time, right?”

  “So?”

  “So, if you didn’t work for them, I still could have called them and retained their services.”

  He scoffed at me, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you don’t see how awesome I am. I took out the mafia-“

  “With Reed Security resources.”

  “I gave you protection at the house.”

  I nodded my head from side to side. “Technically, you sent Knight in to take them out.”

  “I protected you here at the house!”

  “Eh, I think Hunter’s been doing most of the work. He really deserves a pay raise.”

  Derek sat across from me fuming, the anger coming off him in waves. But then he smiled and stood. “Fine, I’ll give you something that’s been a long time coming.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  His eyes twinkled evilly. “I’ll call Ma for you. It should be a good reunion.”

  Carly

  “So, tell me why you’re coming with me?” I asked Joe as we drove into town. I wanted to see the town and check out potential jobs, even though Eric had already told me that jobs were scarce in town. Plus, I thought it would be nice for Alessa and me to walk around town and feel like it was our new home.

  Joe shrugged, his hand resting lazily over the steering wheel. “Just thought I’d be brotherly.”

  “But you aren’t my brother.”

  “No, but that kid is my niece, which makes you my brother’s baby mama in-law. Or something like that.”

  “So, you’re coming with me to…get to know me?”

  “It’s not like I have anything else to do today.”

  “Aren’t you a biker now or something? Shouldn’t you be running drugs or stealing weapons off the backs of trucks?”

  “I’m not that kind of biker,” he grumbled. “We do good shit. Just last year, there was a kid that was fighting cancer. All of us got together and raised money for the kid’s family.”

  “By raising money, do you mean that you stole it from people at gunpoint?”

  “You’re really funny, you know that? Last I checked, I wasn’t the one raised in the mafia.”

  “What made you decide to join a biker gang?” I asked curiously. “Was it the tattoos or the bike?”

  He shrugged a little, going silent on the other end of the truck.

  “Oh, come on. There are no secrets between brother’s baby mama in-laws.”

  He huffed and shook his head, but I could see the grin on his face. “When Kat got together with Eric, they had something really special, even I could see that. I…I thought what it would be like to have my own family someday, and I really wanted what he had. But I was the town joke. I work at a tattoo parlor, but I stay out late and party, and nobody really takes me seriously. Not even my brothers. I’m a joke to them.”

  “I really doubt that,” I said sincerely.

  “Yeah?” he said sarcastically. “My brother wanted me to get a real job, something that I could build on. When I told him I had been saving for a tattoo shop, his first reaction was disgust, and his second reaction was disbelief. My own brother didn’t believe that I would ever amount to anything.”

  “You know, I don’t know your family very well, but Eric seems to be the one that wants to take care of everyone. Maybe he just doesn’t really understand your plans, and since he doesn’t know how it’ll turn out for you, maybe he’s just worried about you.”

  “I don’t need him to worry about me. I may look like a loser, but I’ve worked my ass off to save up for this place. And the only people that really got it were Decker and his friends.”

  “The biker gang,” I said, more of answering my own question.

  “It has a name, you know.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “The Corn Huskers.”

  “The-“ I stared at him, sure that I had heard him wrong. No gang would ever name themselves something like that. Not if they wanted to be taken seriously. “You’re fucking with me.”

  “Of course, I’m fucking with you. It’s The Shadows MC.”

  “The Shadows. Isn’t that kind of…dull?”

  “It’s named that because the guys in the MC do things for communities from the shadows. We don’t want recognition and we don’t want to really be advertised. When we see something that needs to be done, we do it.”

  “So…you’re a do-gooder.”

  “Of course, I am. Why does everyone assume that I ran off to join the circus?”

  “Not the circus, just a deadly biker gang that would get you killed.”

  “Not everyone that’s in a motorcycle club is in it for illegal activities. We don’t even get together every day. We all hav
e jobs and lives to live. It’s not like we just sit around all day and drink beer. Most of the guys have their own businesses or they’re cops or firefighters. We even have a mayor that wants to join.”

  “No shit?” I grinned.

  “No shit. We get together a couple times a week. We talk about anything new we want to help with, and when we’re done, we go out riding.”

  “Wow,” I said, looking over at him. “So, what you’re really saying is that you weren’t tough enough for a real biker gang, so you joined the toy version.”

  “You know-“

  “I’m joking!” I laughed. “I think it’s really great that you found your people.”

  “Yeah, well, try explaining that to my brothers.”

  “Why don’t you? If this means so much to you, sit them down and tell them about it, along with your tattoo shop. You know Eric’s a worrier, so maybe show him your plans for the shop and your business plan. That should set him at ease.”

  “You think?”

  I shrugged. “What do I know? I suppose you could keep going, having your brother think you’re about to get yourself killed.”

  He pulled into a space in front of a bakery and shifted into park. “Fine, I’ll talk to them, but you have to do something for me.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Figure out what the hell you want with my brother. He doesn’t deserve to be jerked around. Not after everything he had to go through.”

  “I’m not-“

  “Yes, you are. I don’t know what the hell the issue is, and frankly, it’s none of my business, but something is definitely wrong between you two. You need to figure that out so you can both move on with your lives.”

  He pushed open the door and got out, going to the back seat and grabbing the car seat. I immediately got out, wondering what the hell he was doing.

  “Joe, I’ve got this.”

  “What’s wrong? I’m just taking my little niece out for a stroll.”

  “People are going to think she’s yours,” I hissed.

  “Nah, not if I tell them. Trust me, Josh doesn’t want to be here for this.”

  “For what?” I asked as he pushed past me and headed into the bakery. I ran behind him, wondering what the hell he was up to, but it was clear when I skidded in behind him and everyone in the bakery turned to us and stared.

  “Hey, everyone,” Joe shouted, though he didn’t need to. “You got this covered, Corduroy?” he asked the sheriff’s deputy in the corner. “This here is Alessa and her mom, Carly. They’re going to be living in town now, so please make them feel welcome!”

  He pulled me into his side and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Immediately, people jumped up from their chairs and came over, drilling me with questions.

  “Did you and Joe have a baby?”

  “Why didn’t we hear about her before?”

  “Joe, no one ever said anything about you having a baby. You kept that a better secret than Eric’s baby.”

  “Almost as good as Robert knocking Anna up in high school,” another laughed.

  “What?” Everyone gasped.

  Joe was staring at everyone in confusion. “Hang on a minute. I think you’re all confused here.”

  “Robert didn’t knock up Anna in high school?” Somebody asked.

  “Well, yeah, but-“

  “What happened to the baby?”

  “Is that why Anna disappeared for a year?”

  “And where was Robert during all this?”

  “Hang on,” Joe shouted, placing his fingers between his lips and giving a loud whistle. It got deadly silent and Joe nodded, clearing his throat. “You all know that Josh was missing for the past seven years. He met this woman,” he said, pulling me against him again, “Carly, on the side of the road. Her family was after her, trying to kill her.”

  “Joe,” I muttered under my breath. “What are you doing?”

  “I got this,” he whispered.

  “It doesn’t look like you do.”

  “Anyway, her family tried to kill them. They ran for it for seven years, got in a couple of shootouts, and made a baby along the way!”

  “Is the mafia coming to kill us?” one woman shrieked.

  “I just got my lawn done last summer!” another said. “I can’t have it torn apart by ruffians!”

  “There are no mafiosos-“ Joe stopped, his eyebrows pulling together. “Mafiosas? Which one would be correct?” he asked me.

  “How the hell would I know? I was too busy running to worry about grammar,” I hissed.

  “Uh…no mafia people coming to town,” Joe shouted. “So, your lawns are safe.”

  “Why are you here instead of Josh?” a woman behind the counter asked.

  “He’s looking for a job to support his family,” Joe responded.

  “I heard they weren’t together.”

  “Yeah, does this mean that Josh is looking for a new wife?”

  “Josh is not looking for a wife,” Joe said calmly. “He and Carly are…” His brows furrowed and he looked at me. “What are you two?”

  I looked around the bakery at all the expectant faces and fumbled for something to say. “We’re…we’re working on it.”

  “Anyway,” Joe continued after an awkward silence. “Just thought you’d all want to meet the new fam!”

  They all came rushing at me, big smiles and arms reaching out to touch me. It was weird and reminded me a little too much of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. By the time I pried myself out of their grasp and made my way to the counter, coffee was definitely in order.

  “Hi, honey. What can I get you?”

  “Black coffee. Large. Very, very large.”

  She smiled and held out her hand. “I’m Mary Anne. I own this bakery, and the coffee is on the house today.”

  “Oh, that’s sweet.”

  “That’s not sweet, honey. Every time one of these Cortell brothers come in here, my sales go through the roof. Do you think next time you could bring in Josh? I bet that would go over better on the town page.”

  “The town page?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know.

  “Oh, you know how small towns are. Everyone needs to know everyone’s business. So, we have the town page, and everyone shares information and keeps things up to date on local happenings.”

  “So…gossip. It’s a gossip page.”

  “If you want to call it that. Oh, and don’t forget to check out Mrs. Cranston’s page. She has one dedicated just to hot pictures of Eric. But it’s a private page, so you have to make nice with her.”

  “Um…why would I want to see hot pictures of my boyfriend’s brother?”

  She looked at me like I was insane. “Why wouldn’t you? Have you seen him work?”

  “No.”

  “Then you don’t know what you’re missing. I hear that Mrs. Cranston is even thinking about starting a page dedicated to Robert.”

  “Why Robert? Isn’t he a lawyer?”

  “Yes,” she sighed dreamily. “And you should see the way he wears a suit. Of course, now that he gave up his career in the city to move down here for Anna, he only wears a suit on court days. Now, he’s mostly jeans and dress shirts, but damn does his ass look fine in those jeans.”

  I watched her as she drifted off in space, obviously daydreaming about Robert in his tight jeans. “Um…coffee?”

  “Right,” she smiled. “I’ll get right on that.”

  I nodded and turned away from the counter, watching Joe as he took Alessa around the room and showed her off. He was a natural uncle, very loving and affectionate. It was sweet.

  “Carly, it’s good to see you alive and well.”

  I smiled at the sheriff. “Thank you. It’s good to see you too. I hope we didn’t cause too much trouble in your town.”

  He snorted. “Are you kidding? When the Cortell brothers are involved, there’s always trouble.”

  I smiled at him. I really liked Jack. He seemed like a great guy, very likable. A woman sidled up next to him and he
grinned, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “Carly, this is my wife, Natalie.”

  “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”

  “You too. Jack has told me quite a bit about you.”

  “Really?”

  “Well, it’s not every day that we have something so exciting happen in our town. We’re all really glad that Josh is okay. Jack didn’t stop searching for him over the years.”

  “Josh said you were good friends.”

  He nodded. “You could say that. In fact, I introduced him to Natalie the morning he went missing.”

  “Really? So, you’ve been together a long time.”

  “We got married three years ago,” Natalie said, smiling up at Jack.

  “That’s great. And…I’m really sorry about Josh. I never meant-“

  Jack waved me off. “All water under the bridge. We’re just glad that he’s back. Although, I get the feeling he’s not quite the same man as he was when he left.”

  My smile dimmed slightly knowing that I had done that to him. “Well, it was really great to meet both of you officially.”

  “Yeah, and tell Josh to come see me. That bastard hasn’t even called. I’m beginning to get offended.”

  “I’ll let him know.”

  I grabbed my coffee and motioned for Joe that I was ready to go. He didn’t fight me, which meant that he could probably tell that I was a little stressed out. After getting Alessa back in the truck, Joe started driving again.

  “So, what else do you want to see?”

  “Nothing. I just want to go home.”

  “Did someone say something in there? I mean, I know they’re nosy, but most of them mean well.”

  “No, it’s not them.”

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  “It’s just hitting me how much I pulled Josh away from his life.”

  Josh

  “Hey,” I said to Carly as I walked into the bedroom that night. “I hear Joe took you into town today. I hope they didn’t attack you with questions.”

  “Joe took care of most of it. But I did see Jack and his wife today.”

  “You met his wife?” I grinned.

  “Yeah, a woman named Natalie. She said she met you the day you disappeared.”

  I scratched my head, remembering that morning like the back of my hand. I had gone over all the details in my head practically every day that first year I was gone. I hadn’t wanted to forget anything. “Yeah, I remember that.”