Chapter 47
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Leonard
My phone chimes for the second time, pulling my eyes from the road down to the cup holder where it sits.
Without even looking, I already know who it is.
Helen Cromwell.
I asked her to keep a close eye on Riley while I ran an errand before Shelby woke up. I’ve had six photos and three videos of Riley and Samantha eating far too much cake already.
Banging in the trunk brings my eyes back to the road. Flipping the turn signal to the right, I turn into the private road leading to the Cromwells’ lakeside cabin.
I eye the wooden house. I’d kill to have a house on this lake. It’s a shame the Cromwells own it all, but at least Riley will get to enjoy it at summer camp next year.
Throwing the car into Park, I grab my phone. The image that greets me pulls a booming laugh from my chest. Riley is wide-eyed, mouth and cheeks covered in chocolate, my little troublemaker.
I quickly make it my screen saver.
Back to business. Climbing out, I head to the trunk. Releasing the latch, I raise a brow at the man inside.
“Was all that noise necessary?”
Cooper’s sweaty face looks up at me, the gag preventing a reply.
Movement from the corner of my eye turns my head. I close the trunk quickly without looking back.
“Doc.” Michael nods, stepping off the porch.
Closing the distance, I shake his offered hand.
“How’s Shelby?”
I take a deep breath before turning to the youngest Cromwell brother. Kaleb lounges against the porch railing, but his casual slouch doesn’t fool me. I know who he is. I have to remind myself that he has his own woman, and his interest in mine is purely a matter of friendship and brotherly love.
Still, irrational or not, the sight of the blond irks me.
“Good. She’s resting.” I glance at my wristwatch. “I need to get back before she wakes up.”
“Is there a reason we weren’t invited to the party?” Kaleb asks, straightening. Daniel steps out of the front door, and the wood beneath him groans. Shit, he’s huge.
I smirk at Kaleb holding up a finger.
Retreating to the car, I open the trunk again. Reaching in, I grab Cooper by the front of his once blue shirt. Now blood-stained and covered in dirt, it looks like he’s been exactly where he was . . . held hostage and tortured for a week.
Cooper stumbles, barely getting his feet beneath him before I’m dragging him toward the house.
The brothers’ reaction is instant.
Slapping the wood railing, Kaleb laughs.
Daniel crosses his arms and leans against the front door.
Frowning, Michael joins his brothers on the porch.
Seeing who we’re approaching, Cooper digs his feet in and struggles to break free. His eyes scan the yard in pure panic.
My fingers dig into his arms as I tug him up the porch stairs.
“Well, well, well. Would you look at that?” Kaleb grins.
Shoving Cooper in front of me, I kick the back of his right knee, forcing him to his knees. The man grunts as he lands heavily. I snatch the back of his top to stop him from face-planting into the wood since the hands bound behind him are useless to break his fall.
Michael Cromwell steps forward first, assessing Cooper’s injured form. “Is he dying?”
“Not yet,” I state with a raised brow.
“And what was the point of this?”
“I told your brother that what happened to Shelby was your fault. The three of you should have taken care of him before.”
I wait for him to raise his gaze from the man bleeding on his parents’ property.
“Shelby is considered your family. She’s also my family. Consider this a peace offering. I don’t see why we can’t co-exist within Cromwell. I’d hate to have to take Shelby away from the only home she’s ever known.”
Michael purses his lips. Taking a few steps back, he sits in the wicker chair.
“Sam can’t lose another best friend,” Kaleb tells his brothers.
Michael sighs. “It’s no wonder we couldn’t find him.” He gestures to Cooper. “You had him this whole time?”
I give a casual shrug and tilt my head.
A cell phone chimes. Reaching into his back pocket, Kaleb pulls out his cell. “Jesus.” He rolls his eyes.
Daniel grunts, looking at the younger Cromwell.
“Mom sent a picture of Sam. Looks like she’s eaten her weight in chocolate. Like that woman needs more sugar.”
Daniel smiles, his wide shoulders relaxing.
Michael chuckles from his seat.
Guess I’m not the only one Helen is sending updates to. I glance at my watch again.
“You got somewhere to be?”
I meet Daniel’s intrusive stare. “I promised Shelby I’d be there when she wakes up.”
Cooper mumbles, the words muffled by his gag.
Stepping around him, I tug the cloth out of his mouth. The knot at the back of his head is tight. He cringes when I pull it over his red and swollen lip to below his chin.
“You want to add something?”
Cooper laughs, but the split lip and blood-soaked temple take any humor out of it. “You really think you can get away with this? You’re going to jail, all of you.”
Kaleb looks around. “Do you not see where you are, asshole?”
Cooper sobers quickly. “Fuck you!” he hisses. “Do they know that you’re screwing their little sister?”
Kaleb reacts immediately, rushing forward, but he’s not quick enough. Within three large strides, Daniel crosses the porch.
“You talk too much.”
The sound of the sole of his boot connecting with Cooper’s chest is something I’ll hold dear forever. A crunch that says something is definitely broken.
The bound man flies through the air, his body going over the porch steps and landing in the dirt with a thud.
He coughs, and blood splatters his face.
Michael sighs from his seat.
“No!” Kaleb points at the seated man. “I told you we were done waiting.”
Raising his brow, Michael stands. “You’re forgetting a witness.” He gestures to me.
I place a hand on my chest. “My phone is in my car. If anyone ever finds out, my location will show I was also here. I’m assuming the three of you talked after Kaleb and I did?”
Michael nods.
“I’ll stay out of your business if you stay out of mine,” I offer. “And just this once, we’ll . . . work together.”
“And what was your contribution?”
“Other than bringing him here?” I snark. “A broken clavicle, broken wrist, and a reoccurring concussion. It’s the least I could do.”
“Fair,” Daniel acknowledges, tilting his head to me but keeping his body facing Cooper from where he stands at the top of the stairs. “You can go.”
When I only blink back at him, the oldest Cromwell expands, “You made a promise. Keeping your word means everything.” Meeting my gaze, he gives his own promise. “He’ll be dead within an hour.”
“Spoilsport,” Kaleb whispers from the right of his brother.
Daniel smirks. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulls out a folded knife and holds it out for Kaleb to take.
“See how well he sings without his tongue.”
My heart races at Michael’s words.
Knowing and seeing are two separate things. The Cromwells and I are two kinds of killers.
“Leave,” Daniel’s deep tone orders. Stepping back from the stairs, he makes room for Kaleb to pass. The man wastes no time, and neither do I.
I have a family to get back to.
Pained screams and cries follow me to my car, the sound music to my ears in a way I never thought possible.
I’m not this kind of man. I kill quietly, peacefully. But Cooper earned this.
Climbing into my car, I check my cell to see if I missed a call. No. Good, that means my wife-to-be is still sleeping.
Daniel’s right. You’re only as good as your word.
The Cromwells will keep theirs.
Reversing to the right, I turn the steering wheel to the left, ready to head back the way I came, but I can’t and don’t stop myself from taking one last look.
The three brothers stand over a bleeding, crying Kyle Cooper while he lies helplessly on the cold ground.
Satisfaction seeps deeply.
He deserves this.
Pressing the gas, I turn the car away, driving to the end of the private road without looking in the rearview mirror.
Turning left, I pull out of the Cromwell drive and head home, where my two girls wait for me. Shelby changed everything for us.
My future wife, the woman who will be the mother of my children, my neighbor.
Who’d have thought we’d find such happiness in the little town of Cromwell?