Easton's Claim (Colebrook Siblings Trilogy Book 3) (13 page)

“So where is it then?” Brandon demanded. He’d had to bring his own men here to check things out, to make sure Greg wasn’t lying. Because he was one of the best liars around.

“I don’t know.” Greg hunched over and winced, put a hand to his ribs. “I’ve already looked everywhere.”

This whole protective thing he had going on for his ex-wife was working to Brandon’s advantage. “Then we’ll get Piper and make her show us.”

In the bright beam of the flashlight one of his men had aimed at him, Greg paled. “No. There’s one more place we can check without involving her.”

“Where?”

“She said she’d stored some stuff at a friend’s place.”

“Who?”

He hesitated a moment before answering. “The Colebrook place.”

No way. Brandon bit back a laugh. This was too good. Might be the perfect opportunity to get everything he wanted. “She’s staying there with him. Easton.”

Greg’s eyes snapped to his, disbelief and pain clouding them.

“For a few days now, at least.” Brandon let that verbal blade sink deep. “You didn’t know?”

“They’re friends,” he said in a defensive tone.

“Oh, they’re more than friends. I’ve got pictures to prove it. Wanna see them?”

Greg looked away, jaw flexing. “No.”

Brandon would make sure to show him when they got back to the house and locked Greg back up in his prison. The son of a bitch deserved some psychological torture after the way he’d betrayed him.

“I’ve had the place scoped out and my men have been watching her closely, following her movements.” Up until someone had discovered the tracking device, anyway. He was betting Easton. “So far there hasn’t been an opportunity to take her because she’s never alone. Easton’s taking advantage of the opportunity because he’s keeping her close to him.
Real
close, according to what I’ve seen.”

Greg’s nostrils flared. He glared at Brandon, unmoving.

“That property they’ve got out there is something else,” he continued. “Nice old house, matching cabin. Apparently over a hundred-and-fifty-years old. Probably worth a lot. Shame to see it all destroyed because you can’t return what you stole from me.”

Greg’s gaze snapped back to his, the blue eyes bright as lasers. “If you’re thinking about attacking the Colebrooks, you’re fucking insane.”

He smiled slowly. “Am I?” It would send a message. Hurting Piper would hurt Greg. And killing Easton would satisfy Brandon immensely.

“Easton is DEA. Another brother is with the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, and the oldest is a Marine combat vet.”

“With a prosthetic leg and artificial eye, yeah, I heard.”

“Both his gun hands still work just fine.”

“He isn’t even living there anymore. He’s shacked up with his girlfriend in town. By the time word got out about the attack, it would be too late for him to get there.”

“The sister is DEA too. She and the old man might not be as much of a threat as the others, but they’re still deadly shots and if you attack, they’ll shoot to kill.”

Brandon’s expression hardened. “I don’t fucking care. I don’t care who they are or how fucking many of them are there or not. I want my shit back, and I want it
now
.”

If he couldn’t get his goods back the easy way, then he’d do it the messy way. The time was coming where he’d have to get reckless and stage an attack on the property no matter the threat the Colebrooks posed. There was no way to get into the house without a direct assault and risk attack from the family.

“Let me see if I can find the cabinet there first,” Greg said.

Brandon pulled his hands from his pockets and folded his arms across his chest. “I’m listening.”

“The outbuildings are easier to search, but it’s gonna be tricky because of the constant movement of people around there. Farmhands and other workers, as well as the family. It’ll have to be in the middle of the night, and it’ll have to be totally covert.”

He snorted. “If you mean you want to go in alone, think again, asshole.”

“I’m trained. Better trained than they are,” Greg said, disdain dripping from his voice as he jerked his chin at the two men Gallant had brought with them. “If they screw up and alert anyone that we’re there, the Colebrooks will shoot first and ask questions later. They know I’m missing, and after you trashed Piper’s place they’ll think she’s in danger too. They’ll be on alert. That’s why she’s staying there. For protection.”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself to help you sleep better,” Brandon mocked. “But I’m not worried. It’s not my neck on the line, it’s yours. And Piper’s,” he added, letting the threat hit home. “Either you deliver, or she dies. It’s as simple as that.”

Greg fell silent, his hate-filled stare burning through Brandon.

I hate you more, you piece of shit.
He turned away, walked off into the darkness. “Burn it,” he ordered his men, and headed for the car while they doused the storage unit with gasoline. It was time to make a move.

****

When the bedroom door down the hall opened in the middle of the night, Easton opened his eyes and stared up at the darkened ceiling of the cabin’s living room where he was bunking on the couch. He’d put Jamie in the house and moved Piper in here with him so he could watch out for her personally, but also because he wanted privacy with her.

He hadn’t touched her intimately or tried to kiss her again since the picnic, and she’d been carefully keeping her distance from him too.

It was driving him nuts, but at least he wasn’t the only one suffering because apparently Piper couldn’t sleep either.

He sat up and pulled on his jeans before stepping out into the hallway. “Hey. You okay?”

She stopped and turned to face him, her curvy silhouette outlined by the weak moonlight filtering in through the windows in the kitchen. She had on stretchy black pants that hugged every curve of her lower body, and a baggy sweater that came to the top of her hips.

He wanted to mold his hands to the curve of her ass, squeeze it and then slide them up beneath that loose sweater to feel the smooth skin of her back beneath his palms.

“Yeah. Just can’t sleep. Did I wake you?”

“No.” He couldn’t sleep when he was tormented by the memory of how she’d felt and tasted today. He wanted her so badly it tied him in knots to stay in his own bed when he’d rather be in hers. Even just so he could hold her in the darkness.

“I was going to sit out on the porch swing for a bit.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Want to join me?”

At this point he’d take any excuse to spend time alone with her and erase the distance between them. “Sure.”

She stopped in the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water then walked through the living room and out into the screen porch where the swing sat off to one end. He’d swept the front of the property and secured the cabin earlier before turning in, so he felt okay with letting her sit out here.

Easton lowered himself next to her onto the wide, deep seat and grabbed a throw blanket from a basket on the floor. The nights were already crisp and cool and a chilly breeze blew through the screens.

He shook it out and draped the folds over them both. She gave him a soft smile of thanks and tucked her feet under her, cuddling up beneath the blanket. He’d rather she cuddled up beneath him instead.

Crickets and frogs sang in the background, mixing with the gentle breeze that carried the scent of damp grass. “I feel so guilty, sitting here all safe and warm while he’s either being held hostage or worse. Even though he brought it on himself, I hate knowing he’s going through that.”

Piper had a huge heart. It was what Easton loved most about her, and why he hated Greg’s guts for stomping all over it. “I understand.”

Needing to at least touch her, he draped his arm across her shoulders and let his fingers play with the ends of her soft hair. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was, sitting next to her like this in the moonlight.

For months he’d devised a plan to make her his, but now he felt like he was treading on eggshells. One wrong move and he’d ruin everything. His heart thudded in his chest, about to burst with his feelings for her.

Piper stared down at the folds of the blanket rather than look at him. “What you said before, about us.” Her gaze lifted to his. “When you said long term, what did you mean, exactly?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to know the answer to that?”

“Yes.”

“I want it all.”

She stared at him in silence, a frown puckering her brow.

She wanted him to spell it out? He hated putting himself out there like this and making himself totally vulnerable when he didn’t know what her response would be, but he couldn’t hold back anymore. So he just said it. “I love you. I’ve loved you forever.”

She went dead still and stared at him with shocked hazel eyes. “You love me?”

“I’m
in
love with you.” There was a big difference.

She looked away, didn’t respond for a long moment and a lick of panic flared inside him. “I…I didn’t know.”

No, because he’d held it back for fear of scaring her away. If he thought for one second that she didn’t want him the same way he wanted her, he’d drop it.

But she did.

Maybe she wasn’t ready to admit the full extent of her feelings for him, but she wanted him, physically at least, and she loved him at least a little, he was sure of it.

She looked over at him again. “All these years, you never did or said anything to let me know.”

“You were married.”

“You came to the wedding.”

“Hated every second of it, but yeah.”

“Why? Why would you come and watch me marry another man if you loved me?”

Because I’m a masochist.
“Because I didn’t want to let you down.”

Her eyes filled with sadness, regret. “I’m sorry, that must have been awful. I never meant to hurt you.”

“I know. But I freely admit that was the second-worst day of my life, after my mom died.” And a few years after Piper had married that asshole, Wyatt was wounded and their dad had the stroke.

A sad smile quirked her mouth. “You hid it well. You came up and hugged me and kissed my cheek after the ceremony.” She swallowed. “Then you wished me the best and told me to be happy.”

He nodded. He’d been dying inside, knowing she legally belonged to another man, thinking he’d lost her forever. “I’ve always wanted you to be happy. Even if it wasn’t with me.”

“But I wasn’t.” She studied him with haunted eyes. “And you knew I wouldn’t be, didn’t you?”

“It doesn’t matter what I thought.”

She shook her head, her eyes shimmering with tears and the sight gutted him. He curved a hand around the side of her face, rubbed his thumb over the silky softness of her cheek. “Don’t cry,” he whispered, aching.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” She wiped impatiently at her eyes.

“Would you have left him if I had?”

“No, and I wouldn’t have believed you back then anyway,” she admitted, sounding miserable as she lowered her gaze and drew in a shaky breath. She didn’t pull away from him though. “God, I was so stupid.”

Easton didn’t blame her for saying she wouldn’t have believed him back then. He’d been hell on wheels when he’d come out of the Marine Corps. Fast women, faster cars. Since joining the DEA he’d grown up a lot, matured so much since then. “He fooled a lot of people for a long time. Even his own parents.”

She was quiet a moment. “I knew he had problems. He dazzled me, I guess is the right way to describe it. Swept me off my feet and I thought when he hit a rocky patch that things would get better, because we loved each other. That he would be able to cut back on the drinking and the meds. I had reservations going in, I saw the signs, and yet I ignored that little voice in the back of my head that told me not to go through with it. I made a huge mistake, and I’m still paying for it.” Raising her head, she met his eyes and the haunted look in them made his heart squeeze. “I didn’t see the truth until it was too late.”

Was she talking about him as well? His pulse beat faster, hope and anticipation ballooning inside him. “Me neither. I didn’t know how bad things had gotten until I was home last time. I hate that you went through all that.”

“It doesn’t matter now.” She shook her head, her expression full of amazement. “All this time, I never saw you.”

He didn’t say anything, just held her gaze and waited as a long, loaded silence pressed between them.
I’m right here in front of you now. I’ve been here all along.

Slowly she turned her body toward him, pulled an arm from beneath the blanket and reached up to cup the side of his face. “But I see you now,” she murmured. “I can’t
not
see
you, no matter how hard I try. And I don’t know what the hell to do about that.”

Every muscle in his body tightened. He felt that innocent touch everywhere, and her words exploded through him in a heated rush that made him dizzy. There was no time now for the romantic, seductive plan he’d envisioned for them these past few months. Not with her still set on leaving and the threat to her safety hanging over their heads.

“Maybe you should just trust your heart then, and let go of everything else.”

She gave a rueful snort and shook her head. “I don’t trust my heart anymore.”

“Yes you do. You’re just afraid to follow it.”

“Yeah, I’m terrified. I don’t want to mess up what we have.”

He leaned closer, unwilling to let this go. Not when he was so close to winning her. “I won’t hurt you. I’m not him.”

“I know. But I’m afraid of losing you if we go through with this.”

“You won’t lose me. Not ever.”

“It could wreck our friendship if things don’t work out. It could wreck my relationship with your entire family.”

“We’re adults, Piper. All of us. We’d figure it out.”

She blew out a breath, looking tortured and completely unconvinced. “What if I can’t give you what you’re asking for?” she said, repeating almost the same words from down by the creek.

“What if you can?”

She closed her eyes, shook her head. So afraid to follow her instincts and take what she wanted. What they both needed.