8. Through Hell and Back
Sean hated watching as the real world crashed into Branna again. Their time in the truck had been a bit of an interlude. Even though they’d spoken a bit with Troy during the ride, for the most part, they’d spent time learning more about the adults they’d become.
For his part, he’d become increasingly attracted to her with every minute they spent together. She’d always been smart and strong. They’d always had a solid connection. When he’d left for the Army, he’d been attracted. When he’d come home for Charlie’s funeral, even through his grief, he’d realized that their connection had remained.
Now, the grief and the fear were back and there wasn’t much he could do about them. Except to make the fear go away as quickly as possible. Then, when she was safe, find out how far the attraction between them went. He felt like it could go pretty damn far.
They trooped into the farmhouse, and everyone kicked off their footwear.
Marcus looked down at the sneakers he and Branna had worn. “You’re going to need some winter stuff.” Then Arrow’s serious eyes locked on Sean’s. “You are going to be here for a while.”
It wasn’t a question, but Sean answered it anyway. “We are.”
Arrow nodded and put the duffel at the bottom of the stairs that led to the second floor.
The dogs moved inside, and Jabba loped off to check the surroundings with his little friend on his heels.
Troy gestured at the space. “I’ve got plans for this house.”
A quick glance told Sean the farmhouse’s bones were pretty good. No rot or obvious weaknesses so far. “I take it this is one of the projects you want me to help you with.”
Troy grinned. “Sure is. The other one’s in town and might interest Branna, but we’ll get to that later. For now, this farmhouse is a good place for you guys to hide out. It’s not in town proper, and while a few people know I’ve bought it, it’s not common knowledge. If you stay here, no one’s going to see you.”
Which meant no one would accidentally let Prince Hawley know their location.
“I bought it with a plan. There’s a barn out back and lots of fields. I’m thinking Oz can learn to grow hops, and the barn would make a great brewery. This farmhouse could be a home base for all of you.”
Sean’s eyebrows rose. “All of us?”
Troy’s grin reminded him of a kid with a secret treasure map. “Yep. I’m going to get Oz, Slick, and Scooby here as well. Haven’t told them any of this yet. I’ve also bought an old saloon in town that would make a perfect bar.” He turned his grin on Branna. “Or pub.”
Branna’s mouth dropped open, but she didn’t speak, which didn’t bother Troy at all.
“That’s the long-term goal. Obviously, I needed your help first to get it all started. But for now, this is the perfect place for you to rest and recover while we sort through the mess that asshole created for Branna.”
Marcus nodded. “You two will be the only ones here unless Epic has more plans up his sleeve that I don’t know about. For now, let’s have a seat in the kitchen and get caught up. Then you guys can crash for a few hours, and we’ll reconvene later.”
Piper nodded. “Troy’s cousin Ginny is the owner of the No Fail Diner. I’ve asked her to make dinner for us, so you won’t need to worry about food. We’ll bring that. We’ve stocked the kitchen with some basics as well. I’m not much of a cook, but Troy tells me Sean knows his way around a kitchen.”
“Thanks. That’s very helpful. We’re going to owe you guys a lot.”
The kitchen was a good one. Large and open, with a worn table that had probably served thousands of meals over the years. The appliances were likely from the seventies but appeared functional. They’d be fine.
Although Branna was shrinking into herself again. He pulled out a chair for her at the table and then pulled his up beside her.
Her voice shook when she spoke. “I’m grateful to you all and so thankful. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for what you’re doing for me.”
Troy waved that away. “You brought Falcon home. That’s payment in full.”
Which hit Sean directly in the heart. Their time in the military had changed him, and he hadn’t thought he was ready for a settled life. Maybe he was readier than he’d thought because when Troy said he was home, it felt exactly right. As long as that home included Branna.
Jabba came and put his head on Sean’s lap, unwilling to miss out on the conversation. Sean turned to Marcus. “What’s the news?”
Marcus nodded. “I’ve been in contact with FBI agent Shanice Williams over in the Bedford office. She obviously couldn’t tell me much, but she said that the FBI is interested in all the information we have on Prince Hawley.”
Good. That meant they had a file on the fucker.
Marcus continued. “Shanice hopes you’ll hold off on contacting anyone regarding insurance or banking until we know more. She wants to speak with someone in the Miami FBI office and get more information. She’ll want to interview you about everything that’s happened, but that can wait until tomorrow as well.”
Branna nodded but didn’t ask questions. He knew she had to be exhausted, and she needed sleep soon.
Marcus looked at Sean and nodded, proving he was just as observant as ever. The man knew Branna was overwhelmed but also knew she needed all the information she could get.
“Shanice will look into the reports around your father and the pub. Would you give me the name of the police officer who blew you off?”
Branna nodded. “Warren Lewis.”
“Thanks. We’ll add that to the file. Anything else you want to share before you guys crash?”
“Does she want the recordings?”
Marcus frowned at her, and Sean did the same. “What recordings?”
“The one of Prince demanding protection money and when he burned down the pub. Although I haven’t listened to those yet. I don’t know how much they caught. I used the camera app, but it’s probably only the audio that’s useful, if any of them are useful at all.”
There was stunned silence at the table for several seconds. Sean leaned down. “You have recordings?”
She nodded. “Didn’t I tell you? I was cleaning in the snug when Prince showed up one time to threaten my dad. That’s the one Warren Lewis heard. I took another when I was in the snug, and Hawley came in threatening me the other day. I uploaded it to the cloud in case something happened to my phone. Then I coded in a text to Sean to send at the last minute. When I was ready to run from the snug to the roof, I recorded again. I stopped at the top, sent you the text, and then turned my phone off.”
Sean grinned and kissed her. Pride for this strong and smart woman filled him. “You are amazing, Branna. I can’t believe you even thought of taping it. I’m sure there’s something on there that will help.”
She shrugged. “I wasn’t close to Hawley, so I don’t know if there’s anything usable on them. With everything happening so quickly, I forgot about even having the videos. I haven’t turned on my phone since I texted Sean. Prince has hackers in his herd, and I didn’t want to risk it.”
Piper snorted out a laugh. “Herd? That’s perfect.”
The others agreed. Sean hugged her shoulder. “Where’s your phone?”
“In your duffel bag, with everything else I own.”
Which was nothing. But they were going to get it all back.
* * *
Branna needed to get her full level of energy and brain power back soon. She felt like a drain on these amazing people who were trying to help her.
They’d been doing all the work while she’d been hiding in a car. And bringing danger their way. Had she made a big mistake coming here? Was there any way for Prince to follow her?
Sean returned and dropped into the chair. He handed her the phone and tucked her back under his arm.
“Is there any way for them to track me here if I turn it on? I don’t want to bring any trouble to Phail. If he followed me here, he wouldn’t care if he killed all of you.”
Troy leaned forward on the table. “Is there any chance he had access to your phone?”
She shook her head. “None.”
“Unless they have more sophisticated technology than the Army, it should be fine. If they were close, they could pick up signals, but no one knows where you are except the people in this room. Go ahead.”
Branna powered up the phone and pulled up her video roll. “Which one do you want to hear first?”
“I want to hear the one with the asshole trying to burn you in the pub.” Sean’s growl was harsh and when she looked at him, his eyes were hard as steel.
Marcus nodded. “I’d like you to send me all three files, and I’d like to record it on my phone if that’s okay with you.”
Branna nodded. Sean pulled out his phone and set it to record as well. When they were ready, she pressed play.
Did you hear me? It’s time to pay. Your old man was too stupid to pay, and you saw what happened to him. Didn’t even manage to cross the street on his own.
Hearing Prince threaten her again while he implied he’d had her dad killed had her body trembling. She clamped her hands together to try to control it.
The quality of the recording was weak, but Prince’s giant ego had him shouting, which helped. She hoped it would count as evidence against the man.
Beside her, Sean had gone still, and his eyes were deadly. A quick peek showed Marcus and Troy shared the look, while Piper had tears in her eyes.
When Prince threatened to rape her and let his herd have a turn, Sean growled and tucked her more tightly into his side. His strong arms held her, and she burrowed into his warmth while his other hand covered her clenched fist.
The video carried enough of Prince’s voice to hear his rantings, the gunshot, and his order to leave the man there. She wondered if the man had survived.
When the recording finished, Branna reached forward without a word and played the next one. The video portion shook as she raced through the pub. Smoke and flames obscured most of the video, but she caught recognizable glimpses of the pub burning. The audio caught the roar of the fire and her footsteps, along with her occasional cry of despair as she’d raced up the steps.
Finally, she played the first video. The one she’d shared with Warren Lewis. This was the most difficult one.
Her dad’s Irish brogue filled the air, and Branna ached. It still felt impossible that he was gone.
You’re no getting a single bob out of me, boyo. Take your punk self out of me pub and don’t come back. You’re not welcome.
Prince’s laugh was full of evil, and Branna shivered. Sean’s arm tightened around her.
You’ll pay up, old man, if you want this building to keep standing. And if you want to be the one standing behind the bar.
Don’t threaten me. You’re no getting a thing from me.
You’ll change your mind if you’re smart. That girl of yours is a pretty thing. Wouldn’t want that changing, would you?
Feck off, you bastard. This is private property and I’ll be calling the police on you if I see you in here again.
Try that and see how it works for you, old man. If I don’t have my money by tomorrow, you’ll not be seeing the sunset.
And he hadn’t.
Branna clamped her lips together to keep in the sobs.
Sean reached out and turned off his phone. Then he turned to wrap her completely in his arms and kissed her hair. “I’m sorry, Branna. So damn sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to listen to that again. I’m sorry.”
She nodded into his chest to show she’d heard, but words were beyond her. She needed to regain control before she could speak.
When Marcus spoke, his tone was full of anger. “This asshole needs to spend the rest of his life in a cell. And so do the cops he’s paying off. Sounds like you had the bad luck to run into one of those.”
Troy swore. “At the very least, that recording should have been more than enough to have the jerk picked up.”
Branna took another breath and then leaned back to look at the group. She hadn’t expected such complete support, but she should have. Sean was the best man she knew, and he wouldn’t be friends with anyone who wasn’t just as good. “Thank you.”
Marcus nodded. “It’s going to be a pleasure to take this guy down, and make the world a safer place. I’m sorry you had to go through this right now, but it’s better if I get these recordings off to the FBI and start coordinating the next steps with them. Shanice is going to be thrilled with this evidence.”
Piper stood. “We need to let you get some rest. Why don’t we go and let Marcus do his thing? We can come back tonight and let you in on what’s happening. And maybe talk about something that isn’t awful.”
That almost had Branna smiling. Piper moved around the table while the rest of them stood. Piper pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, and I’m glad you’ve got people on your side. We left a small bag for you upstairs. I wasn’t sure if you were allergic to anything, so there’s some hypoallergenic shampoo and stuff. Troy said you were having things shipped here, but I also left you a few of my clothes. They might be a little big, but they should hold you over until your things arrive. If you need anything, please ask.”
More tears threatened, so Branna nodded and hugged Piper tightly.
Troy hugged her as well. “This place is safe, and I’ve left some temporary alarm stuff you guys can set up when we leave. Once Sean agrees to do the major renovations, he can integrate the security system into the build.”
That helped to lighten the mood, and Branna waved them off without tears streaming down her face.
When Sean closed the door behind them, he flipped the deadbolt, set the temporary alarm, and opened his arms. She wrapped her own arms around him and felt the tears burning again.
Sean kissed her hair. “Let it out, honey. It’s just us. You haven’t had a chance to grieve. Just let it out.”
The dam burst and the sobs overtook her.