Read Colters' Lady: Colters’ Legacy, Book 2 Online
Authors: Maya Banks
Colters’ Lady
He started at her wrist where the tattered cuff of her sweater all but swallowed her hand. He worked methodically upward until the sleeve fell apart in two distinct pieces. She sucked in her breath when she saw the blood seeping down the inside of her arm.
“Do you have anything on underneath the sweater?” he asked gently.
“A T-shirt,” she said huskily.
“Okay, good. I’m going to cut away the sweater. It’s not salvageable anyway.” In a few more seconds, he had the sweater completely peeled away and she chanced another look at her arm. Blood was smeared over the entire upper portion. She blinked, trying to see what was wrong, what had happened, but the world seemed woozier than it had a moment ago.
“Take deep breaths,” Michael said. “And look away. Focus on something else.” Something else. What? He touched her arm, and she flinched even though it didn’t hurt.
“Sorry,” he murmured “I need to get this cleaned up. What happened out there, Lily? Can you tell me?”
“I don’t know. It was all so crazy. Everyone was shouting and running. There was so much gunfire. I didn’t know where to go so I just ran.”
“Looks like you may have taken a stray bullet,” he said grimly.
Her head swung back to stare at him in shock. “Shot? I was shot? But I don’t remember. I mean I didn’t feel anything. My arm didn’t start hurting until I hid in the alley, but…”
“Adrenaline will do that to you sometimes. You were in fight-or-flight mode. The pain didn’t hit you until you came off that rush.”
“Is it…is it bad?”
He brushed his finger down the line of her jaw and lingered at the dip in her chin. “It’s not too bad.
Looks like a graze. I really think I should take you to the hospital. If it’s money you’re worried about” She shook her head before he could continue. “It’s not that. I mean no, I don’t have insurance or a way to pay, but I hate hospitals. I won’t go back there.” She shivered and looked away, causing his hand to fall. “Never.”
He blew out his breath. “I can’t make you go, Lily, even if it’s what I think you should do. I can stop the bleeding—the wound isn’t very deep—but infection is my primary concern. I’ll give you some topical ointment but I’d really rather you have a shot. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since your last tetanus?”
She almost laughed. It was such an ordinary conversation. One she might have with her family doctor.
Things hadn’t felt normal in so long.
“I’ll be fine.”
The front door burst open and Seth flew inside, his gaze immediately lighting on Lily. His brow furrowed, and a mixture of concern and confusion crossed his face.
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Maya Banks
“What the hell is going on?” He rushed over and crouched down beside Michael. “What happened?
Are you okay?”
She stared at the two brothers, bewildered by their concern and their caring. She was nobody to them and yet they’d have her believe she wasn’t.
“She took a bullet,” Michael said.
“What?”
Seth stared at the blood on her arm and then back at Michael. “Are you crazy? She should be in the hospital. Why haven’t you taken her?”
Lily stiffened and started to sit forward, her objection poised on her lips. Michael gently pushed her back.
“She’s not going to the hospital. She’s fine. I can take care of it.”
“You’re out of your mind,” Seth bit out. “She’s still bleeding, for God’s sake.” He sounded so worried that she put her hand out to touch his to reassure him.
“She doesn’t want to go, Seth. I tried. Now let me clean this up and get it bandaged so the bleeding stops. It’s not serious.”
Seth ran a hand through his hair and backed off. He got up and stood for a moment, looming over her and Michael, and then he moved to sit beside her on the couch, watching as Michael continued his careful treatment of her wound.
“You must have been scared out of your mind,” Seth said. “Why did you run, Lily? You could have been here, not downtown in the middle of some turf war.” The frustration—and sincerity—in his voice startled her. There was a possessive tone that intrigued and frightened her all at the same time.
“I just thought I should go,” she said, not knowing what else to say. She wanted to appease him, but at the same time, it frustrated her that this entire situation confused her.
Michael paused as he placed a bandage over her wound. “Did my showing up frighten you?” Frighten? That was probably the wrong word. Unsettled. His appearance had effectively popped the fantasy bubble that she’d existed in for the previous night.
“No, not frightened,” she said.
“I don’t want you back on the streets, Lily,” Seth said fiercely.
She cocked her head and stared up at him. “Where do you want me then?” His blue eyes focused intently on her. There was no guard, no hesitation, no hint that he was speaking anywhere but from the heart. He brushed his fingers over her face, gentle and perhaps a bit shaky.
“Here. With me.”
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Chapter Six
Despite her resolve not to allow herself the luxury of the fantasy Seth offered, she couldn’t stop the yearning, the desire for human contact. Affection. Casual conversation. She’d sentenced herself to a life alone, but she didn’t
want
to be alone. She wasn’t meant to be alone.
Her brain knew that it was time to stop punishing herself, that it was time to forgive herself and move on, but her heart was utterly broken. And how did she repair something like that? How could she ever break free of something so terrible—something she could have prevented?
It was stupid and melodramatic at its core. She knew this. But it didn’t stop the flood of grief, sometimes so strong that she wondered if living wasn’t the worst punishment of all.
She waited—every day she waited for the pain to stop. Everyone said that time soothed all hurts—
forgave all sins.
“Lily?” Michael asked in a soft voice.
She blinked and looked down. He was finished bandaging her arm. The gauze was thick and bulky and prevented her arm from lying fully against her side. It ached fiercely but she welcomed it. Somehow it was better than the numbness that seemed to take over more with each passing day.
“I’ll need to make you a sling. I’d rather you not move that arm around much until the wound heals.”
“How long will I have to wear it?”
“A few days. Not too long.”
He turned to Seth. “Do you have any ibuprofen?”
“She needs something stronger than that,” Seth growled.
“I’m fine,” she said quickly. “Really.”
Seth shot her a disbelieving look but left to get the medicine.
“He’s right, you know,” Michael said after Seth was gone. “You don’t need to be out on the streets.
Not before. Not now. Not ever.”
She looked away, discomfited by the intensity in his gaze. “I don’t have anyplace else to go.”
“Look at me, Lily.”
Reluctantly, she turned to face him again.
“You do have a place. We’re offering you one.”
“We?”
Maya Banks
Michael’s lips tightened for a moment. “Yes, we. I don’t know what’s happening here, Lily. I can’t explain it, but we’ll work it out.”
Her lips parted as her mouth fell open. Seth returned then and took her hand. He dropped the tiny pills into her palm and then held out a glass of water. She swallowed them down and then leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes.
Firm lips pressed against her brow, and she opened her eyes to see Seth bending over, his kiss warm and sweet on her skin.
“Do you want to be down here or in the bed you slept in last night?” The thought of having to move was excruciating. “Here.” Seth straightened. “I’ll get a blanket and some pillows so you’ll be comfortable.” As she watched him walk away, it seemed to her that she hadn’t even considered leaving. Not yet.
The idea of going back to her world scared her to death. She could stay here. Just for a little while.
Seth glanced over at Lily who had fallen into a fitful sleep. She stirred frequently, a frown marring the delicate lines of her face. Then he looked over at his brother who watched Lily with absolute fascination.
This was crazy. He didn’t even know how to broach the subject. And what would he say anyway?
Back the fuck off? She’s mine? Or, how do you feel about sharing?
As if sensing his turmoil, Michael turned and caught Seth’s gaze.
“I think we should bring her home.”
Seth frowned and motioned for Michael to follow him into the kitchen. “Home?” he asked after they were out of earshot. “I live
here
.”
“It isn’t home,” Michael argued. “We should take her to the mountain. She’s uneasy here, and you’d have to worry at every turn that she was going to take off again. There…there she could rest. Eat good food and have a roof over her head.”
“Are you suggesting we take her to Mom’s?” Seth asked incredulously.
Michael hesitated. “No. My place.”
Seth’s eyes narrowed. “You’re serious about her. You’re not going to let this go.”
“Would you?” Michael asked.
“Hell no.”
“She needs us. She needs a home, a place she feels safe. You’re needed at home, Seth. Callie needs you. Mom and the dads want you there. It just makes sense that we take Lily back to Clyde.” Seth ran a hand through his hair. He’d forgotten all about Callie. Forgotten everything once Lily had disappeared.
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Colters’ Lady
“What are we doing here, Michael? Are we really considering the kind of relationship the dads have with Mom?”
“I don’t see we have a choice,” Michael said quietly.
“Christ. What about Dillon? Are we going to have to go throw Lily in front of him to see if he loses his mind too?”
Michael smiled faintly. “Are you asking me if I think it’s possible he’ll react as we have?” Seth nodded.
Michael sighed. “Yeah, I’m thinking it’s possible. Am I going to go shove Lily under his nose and say hey do you like her? Uh, no. But you can be damn certain I’m going to be watching to see how he reacts when he meets her.”
“Jesus, this is weird. Beyond weird. I’ve witnessed this sort of thing all my life, but I never thought for a minute that I’d share a woman with my brothers.”
“You aren’t the only one struggling, Seth. This isn’t exactly how I envisioned my life either.”
“Yeah, I get it.” He glanced in the direction of the living room again. “So how are we going to convince her to go home with us?”
“We could always kidnap her,” Michael said with a shrug.
Seth looked at him like he was deranged. Maybe he was.
“I’m a cop, remember?”
“I’m merely suggesting that we bundle her up and go for a ride. A long ride. And if we end up in Clyde, all the better. If she truly freaks out, we can always drive her back, but I don’t believe for a minute that either of us is going to idly stand by and watch her walk back onto those streets.”
“Hell no.”
“So we take her to Clyde—to my house. I don’t want to overwhelm her with Mom and the dads right away or she’ll feel ambushed. I think we should ease her into things there—namely our family.”
“You assume a lot, Michael. What if she doesn’t want anything to do with us? She’s running from something or somebody. She could be in a lot of trouble.”
“To quote one of the dads, when they laid eyes on Mom, her walking away simply wasn’t an option.
They were willing to do whatever they had to in order to make her stay. As I recall, there was a lot of cooking, pampering and worshiping.”
Seth rolled his eyes. “Depends on who you ask. Of course Mom is going to spout that nonsense.” Michael shook his head. “No, that came straight from Ryan’s mouth. Hell, Seth, you see the way they still are around her over thirty years later.”
“That’s the way it should be,” Seth murmured.
“But will it be that way for us?”
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Maya Banks
“I don’t know,” Seth said in frustration. “Do you realize how stupid this conversation is? We can’t make her return our attraction.”
“No, but we can damn sure show her our caring—and eventually our love.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, so we pull off the kidnapping. Christ, I can’t even believe I’m going along with this.”
Michael chuckled. “It’s not like it’s a real kidnapping, and look at it this way. She’ll be the most pampered captive in existence.”
“I need to pack a bag. We should probably head out before it gets dark. Weather’s already nasty.”
“Go then. I’ll watch over Lily while you get your stuff together.” 38
Chapter Seven
Lily awoke to light stroking on the curve of her cheek. She opened her eyes to see Seth kneeling in front of the couch, his face close to hers. She tried to sit up, but he gently pushed her back down.
“Is something wrong? How long did I sleep?”
Instead of answering he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. Just a simple, delicate whisper over her mouth, gone almost before he was there.
“Nothing’s wrong. We were going to kidnap you. I’d rather you tell me you want to go with us.” There was light humor to his words that made her wonder if he was serious at all. She cocked her head to the side and then looked beyond him to see Michael standing in the doorway to the living room shaking his head.
“Where are we going?” she asked. Then she realized how ridiculous the question was. She flushed, but Seth only smiled.
“You’re going home with us,” Michael said from the doorway.
Before she could express her confusion over that statement, Seth spoke up.
“Home to Clyde. I don’t want you on the streets, Lily, but I won’t take you there against your will, either. I want you to come with us. I need you to come with us.” He traced the line of her lips, and fire gleamed in his eyes. “Let’s see where this takes us, honey. Let us take care of you.” Her mind blanked for a moment, and she stared between the two brothers. Pain was a dull throb in her arm, forgotten in breathless anticipation. Seth was close, so close, and she realized she wanted him to kiss her. Worse, the same odd longing filled her at the idea of Michael doing the same. Of touching her and letting his warm, tender voice flow over her.