Yours to Savor (56 page)

“Alright.” He turned the engine off. This was the third place they’d stopped. The first had been an abandoned shell of an old restaurant, the second a tall warehouse. This was an old farm nestled between tall evergreens and standing before a long, narrow field of weeds. “I’m going to go in. Sandra, I want you to stay here—”

“No.”

“It’s the safest place for you.”

“I don’t think I’m going to be very inconspicuous in a yellow Ferrari,” Sandra commented.

Brandon grunted. “It’s not that. It’s just… things might get dangerous inside. I don’t want you frightened.”

“I’m a big girl,” she said firmly. “I can handle myself.”

“You’re not listening again,
dammit
!” Brandon surprised her by slamming both fists against the wheel. “If anything—and I mean
anything
—happened to you tonight, I could never live with myself.”

Careful
, a small voice in the back of her mind cautioned.
He didn’t lie outright, but he didn’t tell the whole truth, either
,
she thought.
Josh
was the one who had lied to her.

Brandon, in his particular way, had given her just the amount of truth she could handle, piece by piece. She’d been too dense to see it before, but she had to admit now, that if Brandon had told her earlier of his profession—or of her sister—it
would
have scared her away.

Maybe she’d been too quick to judge. Her heart still beat for him. So, she dared a small smile. “Then you’d better make sure nothing does.”

A growl came from his throat, the virile sound she’d associated with him when he was displeased. But the corner of his lips twitched up in a smile. “You’re not going to let me leave you here alone, are you?”

“No,” she said quietly but firmly.

“Then we’re losing time,” Brandon said, heading toward the farm house.

Sandra stayed low as she made her way around the coupe to meet Brandon on the other side. He was fiddling with something at his ankle, and Sandra was surprised once again when she saw him pull out a 9 mm semi-automatic from a hidden holster.

“It pays to be prepared,” he said when he noticed her staring at the gun. “When we get inside, no matter what you see—no matter
what
!—you need to stay behind me.”

“I—”

“No arguments this time, Sandra.”

“I wasn’t about to argue,” she said in her most dignified voice, tossing her hair back. Brandon grunted, but didn’t say anything else.

Together, they crept toward the farm house, crouched low to avoid unwanted attention. When they got to the outside wall, Brandon led the way around. At the next corner he stopped, grunted again. “This is definitely the place.” Sandra saw two black cars parked ahead of them. “Come on.”

He led her farther around the barn. Sandra kept her eyes peeled for anything in the dark. A thin stream of light shone from under the crack of one of the main doors. Brandon stopped again, and pointed up.

“There,” he whispered. There were stairs leading up to the second level on the outside of the building. A window was cracked open at the top. Together, they sneaked up the old steps. Sandra cringed every time they creaked under her weight.

Thankfully, they didn’t draw any attention. Brandon crept to the window, crouching low, and jimmied it open with his hands. Then, he carefully lifted it up, and put his head in to look both ways. After a moment, he emerged.

“It’s safe.” He held it open for her. “You first. Be quiet, and quick!”

Sandra slipped over the windowsill. Brandon scrambled in after her. Sandra found herself on an inside terrace that ran around the perimeter of the building. It was littered with old crates and stacks of hay, as well as farming tools covered with rust. Some of the crates stood right in front of her, obstructing the view below.

Sandra heard someone cry out in pain. Instantly, she recognized Josh’s voice. Her heart froze in her chest.

Brandon put a finger to his lips.
Silence.
He crept to the edge of the balcony, motioning for Sandra to stay back. He peeked around a crate, then turned back to her. “There are two of them,” he whispered, “but there might be more. Josh is strapped to a chair.”

“What are they doing to him?”

“Making sure he learns his lesson.”

Sandra was unsure what to make of that. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see. Come on.”

Brandon led the way to an interior ladder. As they descended, the voices from the ground floor became clearer.

“You think you can just intrude on my territory?
You think I’d allow some disrespectful brat to fuck me in the ass?
” Sandra heard a slap, followed by a whimper. “
No!
I own this land. You’re nothing but a pest—and we get rid of pests.”

Brandon motioned again for her to stay quiet. He crept to another wooden crate, then waved for Sandra to follow. She moved carefully, never making a sound, and reached him. He took hold of her shoulders and quietly drew her to one side, so she could see around the crate.

When she saw Josh, it was all she could do to suppress a horrified gasp. One side of his face was swollen to twice its size and so heavily bruised that his eye was completely shut. Sweat drenched his skin, and his nose leaked blood into his split upper lip.

There were two men with him. One was standing by the chair—a brute of a man who looked like he took pleasure in seeing Josh hurt. The other man was pacing back and forth a few feet away from them, hands clasped behind his back. His long ponytail hung loose. He was the owner of the voice Sandra heard before. “Well?” the man with the ponytail demanded of Josh. “What do you have to say for yourself? Hold him up!”

That last was a command for his burly companion. He gave a sickening smile, and put a hand in Josh’s hair to jerk his head up cruelly. Josh whimpered in pain. But he spoke. “You… you tricked me! I came here because I trusted you! You said you’d include me if I proved my worth!”

“No,” the man with the ponytail replied, “I never said I’d include you. I said I’d
consider
it.”

Sandra turned back to Brandon. “Who is that?”

“Mark’s the one talking. The other guy—I’ve never seen him before. He could be a problem.”

“A problem? What do you mean?”

Brandon ignored the question. “Stay here. And remember: Don’t expose yourself.”

“What are you doing—”

She cut off as Brandon stood up, and walked out into the open. “Mark.”

Sandra noticed a tiny gap in the crate that allowed her to see what was going on. She pressed one eye to it. The man with the ponytail whirled around upon hearing his name. He had a trimmed beard, pale white skin, and darting eyes that widened as they took Brandon in. “Brandon! What… what are you doing here?”

“I came to get Josh.”

“This punk? What do you want with him?”

“I told you I’d deal with him.” Sandra noticed Brandon had tucked his gun into the back of his pants, where it was invisible to Mark and his crony. “Yet you decided to take matters into your own hands.” Brandon’s tone was as cold as ice.

“That’s
bullshit
! You didn’t deal with him!” Mark shouted.

“That’s not your decision to make, Mark,” Brandon said levelly.

The bulky man scowled, and looked at Mark, awaiting orders. Brandon didn’t spare him a glance. He ignored the heavyset man as he would a fly. Sandra could see how it infuriated the burly man. Mark waved a hand at his companion to stand down. The big man obeyed reluctantly.

Meanwhile, Josh was quivering in his seat. With his hands bound behind him, he couldn’t stop the blood from trailing down his chin. He was completely helpless. He looked terrified. “What are you going to do with me?” he asked, his eyes darting from Mark to Brandon and back again.

Brandon strolled over to Josh, and leaned down beside him. “I warned you this might happen.” Brandon’s words were soft but impactful, like the first touch of frostbite. “I warned you where you’d end up if you kept dealing.”

“You know them!” Josh begged. “Tell them to let me go!”

Brandon regarded Josh for a long moment without saying anything. Then, he turned back to Mark. “Well? You heard his request. Will you comply?”

“Like hell I will.”

Brandon nodded, a small smile gracing his lips.
He’s too calm,
Sandra thought.
Too collected
. She would have been shaking if she were in his shoes. He’d walked straight into the lion’s den, and hadn’t even broken a sweat.

Mark continued. “Don’t interfere with what I’m doing here, Brandon. This isn’t your problem anymore. It became mine when you failed to smooth things over.”

“I
failed
?” Brandon growled. “Did you forget how we run our operation?”

“About that,” Mark began carelessly. “I always thought we were limiting ourselves by adhering to
your
rules.” His hand started to creep for his pocket. “Imagine how much more money we could make if we weren’t crippled by your limitations.”

Mark’s hand dove into the pocket, and Sandra realized he held a weapon there. But Brandon reacted faster.

He whipped his gun out and fired.

The blast echoed through the barn. A cry of pain ripped from Mark’s throat as he fell down. Brandon whirled and went to his knee, aiming right at the chest of the burly man.

“One wrong move,” Brandon warned, “and you’ll end up like your boss.”

Wretched cries of pain started from the floor. Sandra looked, and saw Mark clutching his upper arm where the bullet hit. Blood poured from the wound. The man curled into a ball, like a small child and shrieked pathetically.

“Give me your weapon,” Brandon demanded of Mark’s associate. The big man regarded Mark on the floor, then his eyes went back to Brandon. For a second, Sandra thought he’d try to be a hero. Then he slowly reached to his hip, and pulled his gun out by the barrel
,
tossing it to the floor.

“The other one, too.” Brandon smiled. “I’m not an idiot.”

The man frowned, but he reached down, rolling the fabric of his jeans up. He took a second gun from there, and dropped it to the floor. With a kick, he slid it toward Brandon.

“Good. Now, get Mark to a hospital before the coward bleeds to death.”

Finally, reality seemed to hit the man, and he nodded, then scrambled over to Mark. Brandon kept his gun on him the entire time.

“Don’t do anything stupid, now,” Brandon told Mark, “and I might forget this little incident. But if you do… Clarisse and I will cut you off.”

Sandra didn’t think it was possible for Mark’s face to get any paler, but on those words she was proven wrong. What little blood remained in his head drained out completely, and his eyes rolled back as he fainted. The bigger man looked just as shaken by the threat. Hastily, he pulled Mark up with by the shoulders and dragged him out.

Only when they were gone did Brandon stand up and turn to Josh. Sandra decided then it was finally safe to appear.

When Josh saw her, his eyes widened with hope. “Sandra!” he exclaimed.

She ignored him, running straight to Brandon. She was overwhelmed by emotion: fear for Brandon; worry about his wellbeing; anger at Josh for deceiving her. But, above everything, she was staggered by the amount of
pride
she felt for Brandon.

He really
was
the person he showed himself to be in their relationship. He really
did
care what happened to other people. What happened to
her
.

“How did you do all that?” she sputtered out. “That was amazing! I can’t believe you shot Mark! Have you ever shot anyone before? How did you know he wouldn’t fire back? How did you—”

Brandon smiled, an easy smile, as he looked at her. “One question at a time, miss.”

Sandra had to compose herself. My, but she felt flustered! And she’d been hiding the entire time! “Weren’t you frightened?” she asked.

“Terrified.” That intense gaze was on her again. “But only for you. If anything had happened to you tonight…” Brandon’s eyes turned to white-hot fire, completely devoted passion. That look…
the
look… sparked something in her that she’d been suppressing with all her might. The love she still felt for Brandon. Suddenly, her feelings burst into full bloom again, chasing away the darkness. She
loved
this man, she knew now, unconditionally and completely. She forgave him for everything.

“How did you know he wouldn’t retaliate?”

“I took a chance. Mark’s prone to lapses in judgment, but he’s not a complete fool. He’s smart enough to realize our business is the most lucrative one for him. If he did anything wrong, he’d lose out on the income that’s kept him fat for years. Nobody can come close to matching what we pay.”