Oak, Sophie - Found in Bliss [Nights in Bliss, Colorado 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (14 page)

“Once a criminal, always a criminal.”

“He saved Holly. Doesn’t he deserve a second chance? He’s trying to change the course of his life. I think he deserves a little slack. Have you read the transcripts of the trials he testified in? Have you read the workup the justice department did on him? He might have done some bad shit, but it was all to other criminals and a lot of it was in self-defense.”

“He wrote to me.” It was the first time Caleb had admitted it. “While he was in witness protection, he wrote to me.”

“Really? What did he say?”

“He just talked about stuff. I just glanced through them.” It was a lie. He’d read them all. He’d been curious about the first one. It had been an earnest letter that asked for forgiveness and thanked Caleb for saving his life. Caleb wasn’t a forgiving man. The rest had talked about everything from his motel rooms to the television he watched to his relationship with his brother. So why hadn’t Caleb trashed them? They were still sitting in his desk drawer in a neat stack.

Why hadn’t he gotten rid of them?

Wolf sighed. “I don’t think it’s going to do you any good to stay here and watch Holly settle down with another man. Why don’t you think about coming to Dallas with me? There would be any number of places to work in Dallas. And then maybe I wouldn’t need to room with my zentastic brother.”

And leave Holly? Never see Holly again? And Bliss? He couldn’t imagine living anywhere but Bliss. Sure, he complained. A lot. It was his thing. He bitched, but he loved the town. He loved the mountains and the snow. He loved the summers in high country. He’d been to a lot of the world’s great places, and not a one of them held a candle to Bliss. He could remember the moment he’d turned off the highway and he’d seen the valley for the first time. He’d stopped the truck because it was so serene and beautiful. The sun had just been going down and the whole world had been gauzy and slightly unreal, like someone had painted it. He’d thought this might be a place where he could find some peace—and he had.

“I can’t leave. This place needs a doctor.”

Wolf slid him a long look. “You’re not going to give an inch, are you?”

“What’s that up ahead? Is that a person?” He was grateful for the distraction. Someone was walking up the road. It was a dangerous thing to do. The mountain road had curves and sometimes people drove far too fast. It was a very bad idea to walk along the road. The woman, he was sure it was a woman now, trudged up the road, clutching her purse against her side. She needed a stern talking-to. He thought about calling Nate on Wolf’s radio.

“Is that Holly?” Wolf’s head craned forward.

“Stop the truck.” He was definitely having an infarction. His torso felt too tight. His breath sawed in and out of his chest. That was Holly. Her hair had come out of its ponytail, and her skin was pale.

The truck stopped, and Caleb threw the door open. His boots hit the pavement, and he ran.

“Caleb?” Holly stopped and put a hand over her eyes as though trying to figure out who was coming toward her.

He didn’t bother to answer. He simply got to her as fast as he could. “What happened?”

Her gorgeous green eyes went wide. It took everything he had not to take her in his arms. “Caleb, I am so sorry.”

“The truck?” He reached out and took her hand, turning it over, checking her.

Tears filled her eyes. “Something was wrong with the brakes. I had to use the truck escape ramp. Oh, Caleb, I probably ruined your transmission. I had to shove it into a low gear when the speed got to almost a hundred. I am so sorry.”

The brakes had gone out? On this road? He’d just had that truck serviced. How the hell had they missed that? He didn’t stop his instinct now. He pulled her close, crushing her against him. “Are you all right?”

“Sort of.”

He heard her sniffle, and then she softened against him. He held her while she cried. No. He couldn’t leave Bliss. But he was starting to think he couldn’t let her go, either.

Chapter Six

Alexei stared down at the beer in front of him. It was almost empty. Pretty much like his job prospects. Who the hell would want to hire a man who’d spent the majority of his adult life in the mob? He had exactly twenty thousand dollars in an American account. It wouldn’t last long. Caleb hated him. He didn’t have a job. Had he made a terrible mistake in coming back to Bliss? The last thing he wanted was to end up on Holly’s couch with her supporting his lazy ass.

He looked around the small tavern. People were just starting to drift in. His Marshals were sitting in a booth. They hadn’t tried to talk to him, merely nodded his way, though Jessie’s eyes strayed to him every now and then. He almost felt uncomfortable under her stare. He hoped they would give up soon and leave.

The door to the tavern opened and a large figure stood there, blocking out the late-evening sun. He wore a khaki uniform and had a Stetson on his head.

“You doing all right, Zane?” Deputy Logan Green asked, his eyes going straight to Alexei.

Logan had changed. Alexei felt his gut turn at the metamorphosis the deputy had undergone. Gone was the lanky, funny kid, and in his place was a big, dangerous man. Logan had filled out, his boyish body gone in favor of broad muscles and a chiseled look. But more than that was the look in his eyes. Logan had reached out to Alexei even though he was in jail at the time. Logan had been funny and kind. There was no kindness in his eyes now.

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be? It’s not even the dinner rush yet.” Zane rubbed down glasses, making sure they were perfectly clean. “Lucy and I have everything covered.”

Lucy was a sweet-looking brunette with big, sad eyes and a petite frame. Her whole face changed when she smiled. From what Alexei had managed to hear, she was fairly new, brought in to replace Callie. Lucy walked by giving Logan a wave, which he ignored in favor of giving Alexei an intimidating stare.

“Well, we have some unsavory elements in town right now.” Logan stalked close to the bar leaving no mistake who he was talking about.

“Deputy Green, I am not here to cause troubles.” Of all the people he’d hurt, Logan was the one he’d worried about the most. Caleb had been damaged long before Alexei had come into town, but Logan was his responsibility. “I am so sorry about what happened to you.”

The deputy’s eyes flared briefly, revealing the pain that hadn’t gone away, but he shut it down, his face going blank. “I’m not here to ask for apologies, Markov. I’m here to make sure you didn’t happen to bring any friends along with you. Your friends like to tear up my town.”

Zane set down the glass he’d been cleaning. “Stand down, Logan. You didn’t come in here to give Alexei a talk. I happen to know that Nate told you to stay away from him. You came in here for a drink, and I won’t serve you while you’re wearing that uniform. Do I need to call your boss?”

Logan’s lips curled up in a grin that didn’t even begin to hold an ounce of humor. “No need. I’m off the clock. Having Briggs around has really freed me up. And I won’t bother to drink here anymore. I’m afraid I don’t like your clientele, Hollister.”

The deputy turned and walked out the door.

Alexei’s heart sank. One more crappy thing in a crappy day. Was he doing more harm than good?

“Something troubling you?”

He looked up at Zane Hollister, who put another mug of beer in front of him. “Many things be troubling me.”

Zane Hollister was a big man with a face full of scars. Alexei felt comfortable with him. Probably more comfortable than he did with anyone else. Zane Hollister had seen the dark side, and he’d still found a way to make a happy marriage. His wife, Callie, was due to have their first child any day now.

“Don’t let Logan get to you too much. He’s pretty much like that with everyone these days. He won’t listen to anyone, and trust me, we’ve all tried to talk to him. He prefers to listen to Jack Daniel’s now. If he can’t find it here, he’ll go down the mountain to a bar there. I hate the fact that he’s going to go to Hell on Wheels, but I can’t have him causing trouble in here.”

Alexei glanced around the tavern. Trio was a cozy little place. There were big windows that looked out over Main Street. Alexei could see people walking by. He wondered if he would ever be a part of this place or if he should just pack it in. Caleb didn’t want him here. Logan Green definitely wanted him gone. Holly was working at Stella’s next door. In thirty minutes she would be off, and he would have to find a way to tell her he didn’t have a job and there weren’t a lot of prospects for one.

“Jobs are hard to come by here.” Alexei had to come to grips with that little truth.

“Yes,” Zane agreed. “It’s a small community. Where did you try?”

“Long-Haired Roger.”

Zane snorted a little and wiped down the bar. “The bald guy? You don’t want to work there. Once a year, he and Patty of Cut and Curl fame get into a knock-down drag-out over the neon lips she flashes twenty-four-seven. It can get ugly. Liz Two sides with her husband, but Liz One is a beautician and the things she can do with hairspray will curdle your blood. No. It’s best you stay out of that. You could probably get on at the ski resort, but that’s seasonal. And you would more than likely have to live up there. I don’t suppose you want to live on the mountain on the other side of town for five months out of the year?”

That would defeat the purpose of being in Bliss. He’d come here to be in Holly’s bed every night, to form his handpicked family. “No. But I need job.”

“Well, I’ll ask around. You never know what might come up.”

His cock. His cock was coming up because the door opened again, and Holly walked inside. She was stunning. She’d changed out of her uniform and wore a form-fitting black dress with a
V
that should have been outlawed. Her breasts swelled, the tops round and tempting. She’d curled her hair and put on makeup. She was gorgeous—his wet dream.

“It looks like someone in town is happy to see you,” Zane said with a chuckle. “Hey, Holly, you look mighty nice tonight.”

She flushed, a smile blooming across her lips. “Thanks, Zane. I have a date.”

She did have a date. With a man who couldn’t seem to breathe much less speak. “You don’t look nice. You are so beautiful,
dushka
. You are sexy and gorgeous, and I do not deserve. I meant to pick you up.”

“I got off a little early. I got dressed in the bathroom at Stella’s. I hope I don’t still smell like the deep fryer.”

He leaned in and took a whiff. She smelled like a woman, just a hint of perfume and her own sweet smell. “You smell good enough to eat. Like a muffin. Sweet.”

All thoughts of leaving fled as he got close to her. Anticipation thrummed through his veins. Caleb had called the motel earlier, leaving a message with Gene. Alexei was perfectly healthy. He would have her tonight. He would try to take it slow, but he would be in her bed. Perhaps if he had been a better man, he would have backed off, but he couldn’t. He needed her. She was his reward for turning his life around. All during the long trials and the attempts on his life, he’d thought about one thing. Holly.

“Let me buy you drink,
dushka
.”

“I would like that. I would also like to know what
dushka
means.”

He led her to a small booth. He preferred its privacy to the open bar. “It means ‘sweetheart.’”

“I like that.” She glanced up at Zane. “I’ll take a white wine.”

Alexei stared at her, unable to take his eyes off her for a moment. Zane left to get the wine. He gave in to his urge to touch her, grasping her hand. “How was your day,
dushka
?”

 
She smiled brightly. “Good. No trouble at all.”

He wasn’t sure he believed that. “I would want you to tell me your troubles.”

“Nothing at all. It was a completely unremarkable day. How about yours?”