Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Amy
“God, I hate him!” Reagan snapped, standing beside her truck while we waited for Rhys to come outside.
When I heard the screen door slap shut, my head snapped over, my eyes flying to the man coming out of the house.
Just Rhys.
“Did you get my keys?” Reagan demanded.
He tossed them toward her. Reagan caught them.
“Thank you.” Her tone didn’t have a lot of sincerity, but I could tell she was grateful. “Damn it.”
“You need to leave for good this time,” Rhys told her.
I felt him move closer to my side and I welcomed his presence. I wasn’t sure when I'd gotten so comfortable with him, but I was.
“Trust me, I’m done.”
“Good.”
Reagan grabbed her suitcase and hefted it into the bed of the truck.
“Where’re you gonna stay?” Rhys asked his sister.
Reagan shrugged. “No clue.”
“You can stay in my guest room,” he offered.
I noticed the way her nose scrunched up. “Although I appreciate the offer, Sheriff, I think I’ll pass.” Her blue eyes reflected more humor than frustration. “I love you and all, but I damn sure don’t wanna live with you.”
“You could always go stay with Mom and Pawpaw. I’m sure they could use the help.”
“Yeah. And listen to Pawpaw tell me every day that I’ve fucked up my life. No thank you.”
I looked at Rhys, then Reagan. “I’ve … uh … got an extra bedroom.”
Reagan’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
I nodded.
The next thing I knew, Reagan was throwing her arms around me, hugging me tight. “Thank you. Oh, my God. Thank you!”
She jumped back, practically skipping to her truck.
“Where’re you goin’?” Rhys asked.
“Work.” As though that made perfect sense. Reagan’s attention turned to me. “It’ll be late when I show up. You don’t mind, do you?”
I shook my head. “Of course not. Do you … uh … know where I live?”
“McKenzie Catlay’s old place, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I know where it is. I’ll shut the bar down a little early tonight.” Reagan’s smile was bright. “You’re a lifesaver, Amy. Thank you.”
Feeling as though I'd been hit by a tornado, I didn’t say anything more as Reagan backed out of the driveway, then tore out onto the road, leaving rubber on the asphalt behind her.
Rhys chuckled. “I hope you know what you’re in for.”
I seriously didn’t. But that was okay.
At least this way, I didn’t have to stay in my house alone.
An hour later, I was walking into my house, Rhys and Wolfe directly behind me.
Rhys and I had driven back to Reagan’s bar so I could get my car.
When we arrived, it looked as though half the town had shown up to see what had happened.
I'd realized then just how quickly the news spread in a small town. Before we’d pulled out of the lot, Wolfe was pulling in, his truck blocking both of our vehicles.
This time, when I offered to cook dinner, he didn’t hesitate to agree. Of course, I'd made the offer to both of them.
The problem was, I really didn’t know what I could cook. I had very little in my fridge and even less in the pantry. It only took a second to get a full menu of options and they consisted of… “I don’t suppose y’all like grilled ham and cheese?”
Wolfe was the first to grin, followed quickly by Rhys.
“It’s our favorite,” they both lied in unison.
“Whatever.” I sighed.
Wolfe moved over, his hands curling over my shoulders as he pulled me into him. I went willingly, resting my head against his chest.
As he brushed his hand over my hair, he said, “How ’bout we let Rhys make grilled ham and cheese and we’ll supervise?”
“Me?” Rhys sounded appalled. “Have you ever known me to cook?”
“There’s a first time for everything,” Wolfe noted.
I laughed, pulling back. “I can cook, it’s just—”
Before I could finish the sentence, Rhys moved past me, swatting me on the butt and chuckling. “I’ve got this, girl. Never underestimate the power of law enforcement.”
“Trust me, I won’t make that mistake ever again.” Although I'd said the words under my breath, I hadn’t meant for them to come out. And I especially hadn’t meant for Rhys and Wolfe to hear them.
“What?” Wolfe’s emerald gaze slammed into mine, his tone hard, his concern apparent.
As I stared at them, I felt heat creep into my cheeks. What had I done?
“Amy? What do you mean by that?” Rhys’s tone was more pained than angry, but I saw the worry on his handsome features just the same.
“Nothing. Oh, God.” I covered my face and tore out of the room, going straight for the guest bedroom.
I needed to get it ready for Reagan.
Yes. That was what I needed to do.
How could I be so stupid? I'd managed to keep my mouth shut for a solid year, and suddenly I'd let out my greatest secret. Not to mention, my biggest fear.
It had to be because of what Reagan was going through. The mere thought of her boyfriend hitting her had been a fear I had wrestled with all day.
Staring at the empty guest room, I tried to think what I should do first. Anything to keep my mind off the past and to keep the men in my kitchen from asking questions.
I didn’t have anything except for a futon for Reagan to sleep on, but I was sure Reagan and I could figure that out.
I had never anticipated actually having guests.
“Amy?”
Wolfe.
Unable to move, I stood facing away from the gruff voice behind me. I figured there were two imposing men standing there, wanting some answers. Answers I wasn’t ready to give because I didn’t want to relive the past. It was bad enough that I continued to have nightmares.
I didn’t want those memories imposing during the day.
Hell, I didn’t want the memories at all.
Wolfe
I wanted Amy to turn around and spill her guts, to tell me what the hell was going on. Why she’d say something like that.
No, I needed Amy to talk to me. It was no longer a mere want.
And I knew that Rhys would demand it. The man couldn’t possibly sit back and allow a statement like that to slide. It was clear something had happened to her and it was obvious it had to do with law enforcement.
Glancing over at Rhys, I nodded toward Amy, signaling for him to address the situation.
He moved past me into the room, coming to stand behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. “Talk to me, Amy. Please.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“You need to.”
“No. I don’t. Please, just let it go.”
Rhys turned her around, tilting her head back to force her to look at him. I moved in beside him.
“What happened?”
She shook her head again and this time there were tears in her eyes.
“Please don’t make me talk about it. Can’t we just…?” A sob tore out of her. “Please, Rhys. I can’t. I really can’t.”
My heart ripped to shreds as her tears began to fall. This wasn’t a woman prone to dramatics, and it was clear she did not want to talk about this. As much as we needed to know what was going on, I also knew forcing her wouldn’t help the situation.
Putting one hand on Rhys’s shoulder, the other on Amy’s, I urged them back toward the doorway. “Come on. I’ll cook and we can … talk about somethin’ else.”
Rhys clearly wasn’t happy about that, but he gave a jerky nod, wrapping his arm around Amy and steering her back into the kitchen. I pulled out a chair, but she refused to sit.
“I’ll cook,” Amy insisted. “I need something to do. Why don’t y’all … I don’t know. Go outside or something.”
Outside?
I hoped like hell she wasn’t trying to get rid of us because it would take a hell of a lot more than that to make me leave right now.
“I just need a minute,” she pleaded.
Nodding my understanding, I grabbed Rhys’s arm and tugged him back through the living room and out the front door.
As soon as the door was between Amy and us, Rhys let loose a string of curse words that would’ve made my father blush. And that was saying something.
“What the fuck did he do to her?”
“He?” I was lost.
“Oh, come on.” Rhys stomped across the porch, his voice low, probably so Amy couldn’t hear. “Someone hurt her and I’m inclined to believe it was a man. A police officer.”
Yeah, that was the conclusion I had come to as well. Although at this point, I had no fucking clue.
“Why won’t she let us help her?” Rhys turned to look directly at me.
“Give her time.”
“You know, she asked me if Billy hit Reagan,” Rhys informed me.
I nodded, waiting to see where he was going with this.
“I told her no. Told her Reagan would never put up with that shit. I think it was the wrong thing to say.”
“But it’s true,” I agreed.
I knew Reagan’s relationship with Billy wasn’t healthy by any means, but I did know that the little shit didn’t hit her.
“It is. But you should’ve seen the look on her face. It was as though I’d personally offended her.”
Interesting. “So, you think…?”
Rhys shrugged. “I don’t know what to think, but yeah, I think it’s safe to assume someone abused her.”
I nodded, considering this. It made sense. It certainly explained how tense she was, always looking over her shoulder.
“I can’t fucking sit here and do nothin’, Wolfe. It’s not who I am.”
I knew that. It wasn’t easy for me, either. “We don’t have a choice.”
Rhys gripped the railing and bent over, bowing his back as his knuckles turned white around the old wood, his entire body tight with his anger.
I didn’t know why I did it, but I moved over and put my hand on his’s back. “We’ll figure this out.”
Rhys stood, pivoting to face me.
I found myself face-to-face with a very pissed-off sheriff.
“You’re right. We will.” He didn’t sound convinced. “Which is why I need to go. I need—”
In an effort to distract him, I grabbed Rhys and slammed my mouth over his. Jerking the man against me, I released all the pent-up frustration through that kiss.
“Fuck,” Rhys moaned, his fingers digging into my waist, our mouths separating only briefly. “God, I need you.”
I knew exactly how he felt. This thing between the three of us, it was building. I knew I had to be careful with Amy, but I didn’t have to do the same with Rhys. I could be as rough, as passionate as I wanted to be.
And boy did I want to be.