Colters' Gift (5 page)

Seth frowned and looked back at Lauren. “What does that mean?”

Lauren’s face went red and her eyes gleamed with a murderous light.

“Don’t think you’re getting off scot-free,” Noah warned. “Max has to know. Seth sure as hell needs to know. He’s the sheriff here and he has responsibility for far too many lives to be kept in the dark.”

Seth scowled. “Somebody mind telling me what the hell is going on here?”

Lauren glanced behind her through the still-open door, and when she turned back, her lips were pulled down into an expression of unhappiness

“You may as well hold off on any explanation,” she said, displeasure evident in her tone. “Max is here, and he’s going to want to hear everything.”

CHAPTER 5

H
OW
had everything so quickly spiraled out of control? Lauren wanted to do nothing more than order everyone out of her apartment and bar the door. But she knew that wasn’t going to solve anything.

It was bad enough she was going to have to explain to her brother that she’d lied to him. But now Noah and Liam were here. In the flesh. In her tiny living room. And she was going to have to confess everything in front of Seth, and while he was family, she was uncomfortable with so many people knowing just how badly she’d screwed up.

“Lauren? Seth?” Max called.

She could hear the anxiety in his voice, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“It’s okay, Max. Come on up,” Seth called down. “Lauren is fine.”

A few moments later, Max burst into the room, his gaze immediately seeking Lauren out. He went to her and pulled her into his arms. She sighed and absorbed the hug, resting her head against his chest. She was just waiting for the bubble to burst and for reality—and her past—to rudely intrude.

Max pulled her away, palming her shoulders. Then he glanced beyond her to where Noah and Liam now stood just a few feet away.

“What’s going on? Why are you two here? Is Lauren in danger?”

Liam shot her a look of sympathy. Noah had less mercy, however.

“Lauren lied to us about who hurt her,” Noah said bluntly. “When we found out, we came here immediately to question her.”

Max frowned, and Lauren could see the wheels turning in his head as he grappled with what Noah had just thrown at him. His jaw went tight, a sure sign of anger, and he started forward, but she put her hand on his arm.

“Don’t, Max,” she said in a low voice. “I did lie.”

He jerked his gaze from Noah and Liam, his eyes wide with astonishment. “Why on earth would you lie? I don’t understand. I saw what you looked like, Lauren. You can’t tell me that son of a bitch didn’t put those bruises on you.”

Her lips turned down again, and she glanced away, tears stinging the lids of her eyes. But she gulped them back. She wasn’t going to use a dirty trick to get out of this. It was time to own up to what she’d done.

“She made up a name and description of someone else,” Liam said.

He took a step toward Lauren until he was close enough that she could feel the warmth emanating from him. His hand slid up her back and remained between her shoulder blades. No one could see where his hand rested, but she appreciated the show of support more than she could possibly verbalize.

“Why?” Max demanded.

Seth frowned and leaned against the doorway that separated the living room from the small kitchen area. “I’m lost.”

“She was afraid,” Liam said quietly. “Joel Knight is the asshole’s name and he’s involved in prostitution. According to Lauren, he has quite a few people on his payroll, including several members of law enforcement.” He sighed hard and glanced sideways at Lauren. “She was trying to protect you . . . and us.”

Max stared at Liam for a long moment as if he thought Liam had lost his mind. Then he turned his gaze to Lauren. “Is this true?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“What else did you lie about?” Max asked bluntly. “What did he do to you, Lauren? You said he hit you. That he slapped and punched you. What else did that son of a bitch do to you? What else haven’t you told me?”

The blood drained out of her face, and she could no longer meet her brother’s gaze. Liam slid his arm around her, uncaring that Max was mere feet away, and Liam squeezed her shoulders, pulling her underneath his arm until she was flat against him, one shoulder lodged solidly underneath his.

“There’s no need to have this discussion in front of so many people,” Liam said in a low voice. “Lauren’s embarrassed and scared enough as it is.”

She wanted to hug him and never let go. But at the same time, she was ashamed of the fact she was still hiding, only this time she was hiding behind Liam.

Max blew out a deep breath and then scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I just want to know what the hell is going on. First question. Is Lauren in any immediate danger? Is this asshole coming after her?”

Noah held up his hand. “We have no reason to believe he has any idea where she is. We sure as hell haven’t told anyone. We came because we needed to confirm what our source told us so that we can do some more digging on this guy.”

Max’s lips tightened. “You should have contacted me first. You work for me.”

Liam nodded. “Yeah, we do. But we weren’t going to you with the possibility that Lauren had held back information unless we knew that to be true. And the only way to find that out was to ask her.”

Max looked long and hard at Lauren, and then his gaze softened. “Are you all right? I wish to hell I knew what you were thinking or why you just wouldn’t tell me the truth.”

“I’m fine,” she croaked, and cringed at how easily she lied to her brother now. The truth was she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. But she couldn’t very well
say
that.

“What do we need to do?” Max directed at Noah and Liam. “Are there any precautions that Lauren needs to take? How likely is this guy to come after her?”

“It’s hard to say,” Noah said grimly. “We need to find out everything we can about him.”

Lauren trembled against Liam and his grip tightened on her.

“We aren’t going to let anything happen to you, Lauren,” Liam murmured.

“I don’t want her left alone,” Max said sharply. “Is this the sort of thing you can have others do for you?” Then he shook his head. “I think you should move back in with me and Callie, Lauren.”

“Max, no,” Lauren pleaded. “I like it here. I just got moved in. My job’s just across the street. Clyde is a world away from New York City. You heard Noah. They haven’t told anyone where I am. How on earth would he find me, and who says he even cares what I’m doing now?”

Max looked torn. Seth was frowning.

“I hate to upset you, Lauren, but I’m in agreement with Max on this one,” Seth said. “You shouldn’t be alone. Especially until we’ve had time to investigate this guy. I’m assuming from your tone that you have no desire to press charges?”

She shook her head emphatically. “He’d be out of jail in an hour. He’d never do time. I just want to forget he ever existed. I don’t want to give him any reason to care about me one way or another.”

Seth didn’t look happy, but he didn’t try to talk her into it.

“She won’t be alone,” Noah said. “Liam and I would stick to her until we are absolutely certain this guy poses no threat.”

“What do you want to do, Lauren?” Max asked.

He was staring hard at Liam’s arm wrapped protectively around her. His gaze swept up and down the bigger man as if trying to figure out what it was he was missing in the big picture.

Lauren sucked in a breath and then glanced at each of the occupants of the room.

If she swore off any protection, A) she’d be the world’s biggest dumbass; and B) Max would have her moved back in with him and Callie in an hour flat. So much for asserting any sort of independence.

“I want to stay here. In my apartment,” she finally said.

“And you’re okay with Noah and Liam shadowing you twenty-four hours a day?” Max asked.

She snuck a quick glance at Noah. Liam, she was relatively sure of. His hold on her spoke volumes. Noah . . . well, she didn’t know if he was still pissed or if he would be even more so once he got stuck babysitting her on a full-time basis again.

“Why are you looking at me that way?” Noah asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Because I’m not sure it’s fair to ask you to take on the job of babysitting me again,” she said bluntly. “I lied to you. I made your job more difficult. I wouldn’t blame you if you couldn’t wait to see the back of me.”

“How about you let me worry about what I consider difficult,” Noah said softly. “Whether you move in with your brother or you stay here in this apartment, you’re stuck with me.”

“And me,” Liam interjected.

“And Liam,” Noah agreed. “So you better just get used to it. Until we know exactly who and what we’re dealing with, you’re going to be tripping over us on a daily basis.”

“I don’t want any trouble,” Seth said, straightening his stance. “I need to be kept in the loop on everything. If there’s a problem in my town, it’s my problem. Plus, Lauren is family. My entire family looks out for her. I need to know whatever threat there is because you can damn well bet my wife, mother and sister will be in the thick of it.”

“Understood,” Liam said, his hold never loosening on Lauren. “We’ll give you whatever information we uncover as soon as we get it. We’ll get some of our people digging immediately and we’ll let everybody know what we come up with.”

Max looked reluctantly toward the door and then back at Lauren. “Are you sure you don’t want to come home with me?”

She broke loose from Liam and went to her brother. She hugged him tightly and then leaned up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Thank you for worrying about me, and I’m sorry I lied to you, Max. I didn’t know what else to do at the time. I was just scared. But I’m fine now. Promise.”

He didn’t look a hundred percent certain, but he nodded anyway. “Okay. I’ll go back home.” Then to Noah and Liam, he said, “I expect a report the minute you find out anything further.”

“I’ll get on out of here too,” Seth said. “Keep me posted. Holler if you sense anything out of the ordinary. Things stay pretty much the same around here. People pay attention when they see new faces in town. Get me a description of Knight. A photo. Any pertinent information on people who work close with him. I’ll distribute it to my deputies so we can all be on the lookout.”

Liam extended his hand to shake Seth’s. “Thanks. We’ll definitely keep you posted.”

Seth shook Liam’s hand and then nodded at Lauren. “Take care, Lauren.”

“Thank you,” she managed to get out.

Max leaned forward, kissed Lauren on the forehead and then trailed behind Seth out her front door.

She damn near wilted on the spot as soon as the door closed behind Max. But the look in Noah’s eyes halted her in her tracks.

Her brow furrowed, she glanced at him in question.

“Now that they’re gone, we have a hell of a lot else to discuss,” Noah said in a determined voice. “Starting with me. You. And Liam.”

CHAPTER 6

N
OAH
stared at Lauren’s pale face and for a moment considered backing off. Giving her time and space to deal with the fallout of their arrival. It was obvious she was on shaky ground.

But fuck it all. This whole situation was burning a hole in his brain. Liam had already made his move. And if Noah didn’t do some serious catching up, he was going to get left in the dust.

Liam had said for Noah to come back and see Lauren and then make up his mind. Hell. As soon as he’d laid eyes on her again and saw the shame and vulnerability in her gaze, he knew there was no goddamn way he was walking away from her. And Liam, the bastard, probably knew it.

“I don’t understand,” Lauren said in a faltering tone.

When Noah looked at Liam, his friend’s gaze was mocking. Challenging. It made Noah want to wipe the smug smile right off his face.

“Come sit down,” Liam said, gently herding Lauren to the love seat.

He settled her down beside him and then glanced expectantly back up at Noah. Noah had no choice but to take the armchair Lauren had sat in earlier.

Once he was settled and staring at Lauren, who was looking at him, expecting him to say what was on his mind, he struggled to find the words. How the hell was he going to explain this one when he didn’t fully understand it himself?

Son of a bitch, but he hated this uncertainty. He was a decisive person. He didn’t second-guess himself or his decisions, but he was paralyzed by the enormity of the situation. He and Liam hadn’t even fully come to terms with this . . . whatever the hell it was. How could he be expected to make Lauren understand what he wanted? What Liam obviously wanted.

“Lauren, will you excuse us for a moment?” Noah said bluntly.

Liam’s brows drew together, and then Lauren’s brow furrowed in confusion.

Noah stood and motioned for Liam. “We’re just going to go across the street.”

“And leave her?” Liam demanded.

Noah blew out his breath in frustration. “Come on, Lauren. You’re going with us. We’ll take her into the sheriff’s station.”

“What on earth is going on?” Lauren asked in bewilderment.

Her brown eyes were cloudy with confusion, and her mouth opened and shut as she glanced between the two men.

Liam put his hand over hers. “Noah and I need to work out a few things . . . privately. It won’t take long.”

“But why do I need to leave?”

Liam touched her cheek. “Remember everything that was just said when your brother was here? That wasn’t just talk, Lauren. For the next while, where we go, you go, and vice versa.”

She looked as though she wanted to argue, but then she closed her mouth and gave a resigned sigh. “Okay. Let’s go then. Let me get my book so I’ll have something to do. I’m going to feel pretty stupid just sitting in the sheriff’s station.”

As she walked to her bedroom, Noah leveled a stare at Liam. He was itching to say something. To break the building tension. He was ready to explode, but he didn’t want to have this conversation in front of Lauren. Not until he and Liam hashed this out between them. There were so many ways to fuck this up before they even had a chance with her. And that was assuming that Lauren wouldn’t run screaming in the opposite direction as soon as they leveled with her.

When Lauren returned, Noah abruptly got up and strode for her front door. Liam brought up the rear, placing Lauren in between the both of them. But then wasn’t this what it was all about? Lauren in between them?

He was going to need something stronger than the diner served for this occasion.

Traffic had increased on Main Street. Old pickups making stops at the feed store. Cars pulling into the grocery store at the corner.

Most noticeably was the crowd at the diner.

There was no way in hell he was going to have a conversation about Lauren in the middle of a crowded diner.

He glanced back at Liam and then headed for the sheriff’s station. When he pushed in, there was a woman manning the front desk with the phone surgically attached to her ear. She held up one finger and mouthed
I’ll be with you in a second.

Noah waited patiently for her to finish her call, and then she looked up, a bright smile on her face.

“How can I help you?”

“I need to see Seth Colter,” Noah said.

He reached behind him, took Lauren’s hand and pulled her up to stand beside him.

“I need to leave her with the sheriff.”

The woman blinked, and then her eyes widened. “What’s she done, sir?”

Noah stared at her in confusion. “She hasn’t done anything. Can you get the sheriff for me?”

When he glanced sideways at Lauren, he saw her face was beet red, and she looked as though she wanted the floor to swallow her up.

Hell.

The awkward moment was saved from growing even more awkward when Seth walked out of his office. He frowned when he saw them and came to a full stop.

“Is something wrong?” Seth asked. “Noah, isn’t it?”

Noah nodded and then shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong. We need to leave Lauren with you until we get a few things straightened out.”

Seth blinked. “Here?”

Lauren made a strangled sound. “This is so ridiculous. Let me go to Lily’s. You can drop me off there. I’ll spend the afternoon with her.”

Seth frowned. “No, it’s fine. Just caught me off guard. You can sit in my office if you like. If I’m called out, there will be plenty of other people here to keep an eye on you.”

“I feel like a damn criminal,” Lauren muttered.

Liam leaned over, kissed her temple and then pushed her in Seth’s direction. “We’ll be back for you in just a bit. Sit tight, okay?”

She sent an unhappy look in Liam and Noah’s direction before she walked toward Seth. Seth put his hand on her shoulder and guided her back toward his office.

“Come on,” Noah muttered, heading back out the door.

Instead of walking toward the diner, he crossed the street back to Lauren’s apartment, leaving Liam to follow. He jogged up the steps and went in, pacing around the living room while Liam closed the door and went to sit on the love seat.

“I’m guessing you’ve made your decision,” Liam drawled.

Noah stopped pacing and spun around, pinning his friend with a glare. “No, the hell I haven’t. How am I supposed to make that kind of decision in a split second? Have you even considered the difficulties in what you’re proposing? Have you thought past the fact that you want her?”

“Why are you so pissed off?” Liam asked mildly. “You didn’t want to talk about it when we could have in New York, when Lauren wasn’t anywhere around. You wanted to wait. Well here we are. So talk.”

Noah gripped the back of his neck and took in several deep breaths. Then he hunched down in the armchair, shaking his head.

“This is some kind of goddamn joke to you, isn’t it?”

At that, Liam surged forward, his eyes darkening with anger. His jaw bulged and Noah realized he’d gone too far. His friend was close to ripping Noah’s head off.

“Lauren isn’t a
joke
to me,” Liam said through tightly clenched teeth. “You’re the one with your head up your ass. I was trying to do the right thing. I knew you had feelings for her and you’re my friend. I also know that we can protect and take care of Lauren. Together. I don’t want her to come between us. We’ve been through too much and we have history. Your friendship means a lot, but I’m not going to let you fuck things up for me with Lauren. With or without you, I’m here for the long haul. What you decide is up to you. I shot you straight. I leveled with you. I gave you time to think it over.”

Noah stared at him in astonishment. “All bullshit aside, you really think this can work? You really think that just because people she knows are in a nontraditional relationship that she’ll be all okay with it for herself?”

“If we can’t decide between us that it’ll work, we’ll never convince her that it will,” Liam said quietly. “Maybe it won’t. But how will we know unless we try? She does it for me, man. I can’t explain it. I’ve heard all kinds of stories about how when a man sees a woman he just knows she’s it. But I’ve never experienced it until now. I’ve met plenty of women that I was interested in. That I was attracted to. Women I enjoyed spending time with and having sex with. But I’ve never met a woman who I’ve had a more powerful reaction to than Lauren. I can’t even describe to you what I felt when I saw her the first time. I wanted to go find the asshole who hurt her and take him apart. And then I wanted to take her in my arms and swear to her that nothing bad would ever touch her again, and that I’d spend the rest of my life making sure she was happy. Now if that sounds stupid to you, so be it, but it was like that for me.”

“It’s not stupid,” Noah murmured. “It’s not stupid because it’s the same way I felt. Even when I told myself I was being ridiculous.”

Liam nodded. “Now you tell me this. With you having that strong of a reaction, are you really contemplating stepping aside?” Then his eyes narrowed and he stared hard at Noah. “Unless you’re expecting me to.”

He leaned forward on the couch, his expression suddenly dark and formidable.

“Not this one, Noah,” he said tersely. “I’ve stepped aside before when I knew you were interested in the same woman I had my eye on. But I didn’t feel this way about them. I’ve never felt so strongly about a woman that I’d risk our friendship over, but I’m telling you right now, I’m not bowing out, and if you can’t or won’t accept what I’m proposing, that’s fine. But don’t expect me to sit back and watch you and Lauren together.”

Noah knew he had to find a way to defuse a potentially explosive situation. Liam was getting worked up, and if he wasn’t careful, the entire thing would blow up in Noah’s face.

“Just tell me this, Liam. Do you really think this can work? Forget the bullshit about not wanting to step aside. Put away your emotional reaction and think about this logically. Do you honestly think we can share the same woman without getting jealous or too demanding or getting pissed when things don’t go our way?”

Liam pursed his lips and then slowly nodded. “Yeah, I do. I can only speak for me, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it work. Can you say the same? I’m not going into this with a hidden agenda. I’ve put my cards on the table. I can’t be any more blunt than I’ve been. But so far I’ve been the one doing all the talking.”

If anyone else were questioning him the way Liam was, the fight would already be on. But Liam knew him. Liam was the closest thing Noah had to a family. Hell, Liam’s family had all but adopted Noah when he was just a teenager.

He’d spent more time in the Prescott household than he had his own, and by the time he was sixteen, he’d moved in and the Prescotts had pursued legal custody through the courts. Noah’s mother hadn’t even bothered to show up.

The two boys had graduated from high school together. They’d joined the military together, and even though the Army had taken them in separate directions, they’d always stayed in touch. Noah had spent his leave time with the Prescotts, and one Christmas, he’d spent with them when Liam hadn’t gotten leave.

“What about your folks?” Noah asked grimly. “How are they going to take this?”

Liam shrugged. “I’m sure they’ll wonder if we’ve lost our minds. But they’ll love Lauren. Mom will love her and so will Dad. I think, as with anything, they’ll just need time to adjust. When the time comes, we’ll take her to meet them and we’ll explain the situation. They aren’t going to disown us over it, Noah. You know them better than that.”

“I just don’t want to hurt them,” Noah said. “They’ve done too much for me.”

“I understand that. But you’re not giving them enough credit. They just want us to be happy. If Lauren makes us happy and you and I are at peace with it, then everything else will fall into place.”

Noah shook his head. “You’re disgustingly levelheaded about this whole thing. I’m usually the one having to talk you around on things.”

Liam shrugged. “I know what I want, and I’m willing to do whatever is necessary to get it.”

“Okay then we give it a try. I don’t even know where the hell to start.”

Liam laid his forearms across his knees and stared intently at Noah. “We start by being honest with Lauren about what we want, and then we ask her what
she
wants.”