Chapter Eight
Ryan grasped Holly’s wrist and shoved her behind him. His face darkened into a thundercloud, and Adam stepped forward in an effort to defuse a potentially explosive situation. He knew Ryan didn’t like Lacey at all, and if she posed a threat to Holly, Adam wasn’t sure what Ryan would do.
“What the hell are you doing here, and what do you want?” Adam demanded.
Lacey raised a brow in surprise at his vehemence.
“The question is what is she doing here?” Lacey said with a nod in Holly’s direction. “Unless I’m mistaken, she bears an uncanny resemblance to the woman on a missing person’s report lying on my desk. ”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why did Lacey have to show up now of all times?
“Her husband claims she was abducted,” Lacey continued. “What does the lady have to say about that?”
“I wasn’t kidnapped,” Holly said hotly.
Ryan shoved her back
behind him and glared harder at Lacey.
“As you can see, she’s perfectly fine,” Ryan said icily. “I’m sure your services are required elsewhere. They aren’t here. ”
Lacey flinched. “You never did like me. ” She shook her head. “But that’s not the point. The point is I have a worried husband searching for his missing wife. Now if she’s here of her own free will, that’s her business, but I need her to come to the station with me and give me a statement. Away from any undue influence,” she said looking pointedly at the three brothers.
“Over my dead body,” Adam growled.
“She’s not going anywhere near her bastard husband,” Ethan spoke up.
Lacey sighed and moved her hand to rest on her hip, mere inches from her gun. “You guys aren’t going to make this easy I see. ”
“I’ll go,” Holly said softly, moving in front of Ryan.
Adam’s chest clenched at the blatant fear in her eyes.
“No, baby. You’re not going. ”
She turned troubled eyes on him. “I won’t cause you any trouble. I’ll go. ”
“Fuck that,” Ryan said. “Lacey can take your damn statement here. ”
“Look, I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but I need to hear Mrs. Bardwell’s version. One that isn’t colored by three huge-ass men glowering over her shoulder. She’ll need to come with me. Don’t make me force the issue, Adam. You know I don’t want to have to do that. ”
“What the fuck is your problem, Lacey?” Ethan interjected, surprising Adam with the anger in his voice.
“I’m doing my job,” she said in an even voice. “You lied to me when I asked if you’d seen her. I have a very important man raising all sorts of hell in my town looking for his missing wife. His new wife I might add. Now I find her here. She looks frightened out of her mind, so you’ll have to excuse me if I want to hear from her own mouth what the hell is going on. ”
“It’s not us she’s frightened of,” Ryan pointed out.
“Fine, then she can come with me and explain,” Lacey said.
Holly sucked in her breath, trying valiantly not to panic. She couldn’t allow the brothers to get into trouble because they were protecting her. And it was time she stood up for herself. Adam had said his friend could handle her divorce. She would have to go with this Lacey person and explain as much as she dared. Otherwise all hell might break loose.
She moved toward the tall woman, determined not to be intimidated. Ryan caught at her arm and tried to drag her back.
She turned to him, trying to keep the fear from her eyes. “I have to do this,” she said.
“We’ll go with you,” Ryan said.
She shook her head. “No, you can’t. This is something I have to do. ”
Uncertainty flashed in Ryan’s eyes, and for a brief moment, she could swear she saw fear. Then his expression hardened into an impenetrable mask.
“I’ll come back,” she said softly.
“I don’t like it,” Ethan broke in.
“Her husband goes nowhere near her,” Adam bit out. “You hear me, Lacey? You get your damn statement, but you keep that bastard away from her. I’m charging you with her safety. ”
Holly shivered at the hardness in his voice. Lacey blanched but nodded.
Hand on her holster, Lacey dipped her head toward the door. “After you, ma’am. ”
Holly turned to look at the three brothers, a sudden surge of uncertainty gripping her. She didn’t want to leave the safe haven she’d found here.
Before she could follow Lacey, Adam stepped forward and hauled her against him. His lips found hers, pressing hungrily against her as if infusing his strength into her.
Lacey cleared her throat by the door, and Holly turned to leave. She stepped into the cold and shivered. She hadn’t thought to get her coat.
She trekked to the Jeep Cherokee, her boots crunching in the snow. Lacey gestured toward the passenger seat before stalking around to the driver’s side.
Holly slid into the warm interior, grateful Lacey had left the engine running. She glanced out the window as Lacey backed out of the drive, a knot swelling in her throat as they drifted further away from the cabin.
* * *
“We can’t just let her go!” Ethan said.
Ryan stood where Holly had left him, staring broodingly at the door.
Adam scrubbed a hand through his hair and wondered what the hell they had done. “I don’t trust that bastard as far as I could throw him. I vote we ride into town and keep an eye on things. If she needs us, we’ll be a lot more use than if we sit here on our fucking hands. ”
Ethan nodded his agreement.
Adam looked at Ryan who still hadn’t moved. “You coming, bro?”
“She left,” he said in a strained voice. “How do we know she’ll want to come back?”
Even as the statement angered Adam, he knew Ryan was voicing his fears.
“She left to protect us,” Ethan snarled. “It’s our job to protect her. ”
“Let’s go, we’re wasting time,” Adam said. He had no desire to mediate a fight between his younger siblings.