Holly stopped her pacing long enough to stare down at her only child.
“Dad told me to get a hobby.” Micky sat back in his chair with a shrug. He had a cup of coffee in his hand and looked distinctly uncomfortable to be sitting in the Bliss County Sheriff’s Office.
They occupied the main room, all of them. It was getting crowded. The US marshals Alexei had neglected to mention to her sat together watching the scene play out. They leaned against the back wall, talking to each other in low tones. Alexei looked as uncomfortable as Micky did, though Holly was sure it was for different reasons. The last time Alexei had been in this room, he’d nearly died. He’d been shot in the gut, and only Caleb’s sure hands had saved him. She remembered how it had felt to clutch him and know she couldn’t hold him together. It had been horrible, and she hadn’t even been in love with the man then.
Now she wasn’t sure she would be able to survive it. She tried to give him a reassuring smile before she turned back to her baby boy. She didn’t smile at him. “Please explain to me how blackmailing your father is a good hobby. I think he was talking about something like stamp collecting or reading. I doubt he meant for you to dabble in crime.”
Micky leaned forward. “It was photography. It seemed like a good idea. And Dad made an excellent subject. I mean, he didn’t know at the time that he was the subject, but he was good.”
She put her head in her hand. He was so stubborn. “Please tell me you didn’t do what I think you did.”
“I think the boy catches father with many womens.” Alexei sat back in his chair and gave Micky a look of deep respect. “This could ruin career. How much did you get?”
“Don’t encourage him,” she said Alexei’s way. The last thing Micky needed was a partner in crime. He seemed to be doing quite well on his own.
Caleb leaned forward, joining the other two men. “It wasn’t money, was it? You wanted out. You wanted to be free of the whole ‘political family’ thing. I can understand that. It’s hard. Everyone’s always looking at you. You can’t be yourself. You have to live up to the family name.”
Micky pointed to Caleb. “He gets it. I did it to get away from my dad, but I also took a lot of money. Hey, I wanted to be free, not dirt poor.”
“Holly, I know you want to throttle the boy, but how about we hear him out?” Nate asked, sitting on Hope’s desk.
Micky seemed to suddenly remember they weren’t alone. “Crap. Is that really a crime? Am I going to be arrested? I don’t look good in orange.”
Oh, she hadn’t even thought about that. “You can’t arrest him.”
Nate waved her off. “If what I’ve heard about your ex is true, then I should give the boy a medal. But this is a serious situation. Someone blew up your car. If the congressman is involved, I want to know.”
Marshal Michael Novack shook his head. “If this is about Ms. Lang, the US marshals would leave this completely in your hands, Sheriff.”
Jessie gave Micky a thumbs-up. “Give ’em hell, kid. I never did like politicians.”
At least Micky had the law on his side on this one. It didn’t look like anyone would be hauling her baby boy off.
“I think it probably be me. Not Holly,” Alexei said. “Many peoples wish to be killing me. I should not have come to town. I should have stayed and been Howard.”
Michael crossed his arms over his chest. “You wouldn’t have been happy. We knew that.”
Nate sighed. “Okay, so it could be Holly or Alexei.”
Caleb’s hand came up slowly. “It wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to kill me.”
That was news to her. “Who would want to kill you?”
Caleb’s face went oddly blank. “Have you met me?”
Every damn man in her life was made of sarcasm.
She turned to the marshals. “Do you guys think this is about Alexei?”
“I would bet on it,” Michael said. “He put a lot of dangerous men in jail. Two of those men are trying to wrangle their way out of convictions. If they get their cases overturned on appeal, well, it would be better for them if Alexei couldn’t testify again.”
“But just so you know, we haven’t received any specific threats,” Jessie continued. “We’re playing the odds here.”
“Marshal Wilson gave a detailed description of the subject to Hope. Turns out she’s a hell of an artist. We should know something soon. Zane is coming in because he got a bad feeling about a guy who hung out at Trio the other day. I’ve learned to trust his instincts. We’ll see if the two match up,” Nate said. “Although I wouldn’t bet on it. She says the guy was short and very pale. I don’t think they’re going to match. The man Zane talked about looked Italian American to him.”
“Scott is the only person who might want to hurt me. But I don’t get it. I didn’t even know about Micky’s side business, which is going to stop now.” She couldn’t have her son blackmailing his father. The three men in chairs all started talking at once.
“Holly, you need to listen to the kid. Do you have any idea how hard this could have been on him?” Caleb’s face was earnest, his hands tight on his thighs.
“Boy is tough. Boy does what he needs to do.” Alexei went on praising her son.
“Mom, I can’t go back. I won’t.”
She held a hand out to silence them. To her great surprise, they all fell in line. Maybe she was missing something here. She got to one knee in front of her son. “What happened? Have you been thinking about this for a while?”
Her son’s face flushed with emotion. “I thought about it all the time growing up. Don’t get me wrong. There was a lot I loved…still love…about being incredibly wealthy. And Dad isn’t the world’s worst dad. He’s a terrifically horrible human being. Seriously, don’t vote for him. But he loved me.”
“He didn’t kick you out.” She took an odd comfort from that. Guilt had been gnawing at her ever since Micky had shown up. When she’d been thrown out of his life, she’d at least thought that Scott loved him. For all his douchebag ways, he’d genuinely cared for their son. Just not for her.
Micky sighed, putting the coffee down. “No, Dad didn’t throw me out. And when I threatened to leave, he threw a fit. He told me if I stepped one foot out of his house before college, he would make sure I didn’t touch my trust fund.”
That sounded like Scott. “Baby, what did he do that made you want to leave?”
“I met a boy.”
Her heart ached. She knew where this story was going, but he needed to tell it.
“His dad worked for mine,” Micky said. “Not as anything big. He was on security detail, but they lived in the guesthouse. His name was Tristan. Mom, I think I loved him. I know I never felt that way before. I know I joke about how hot guys are, but it was different with him. I could talk to him. I could tell him everything. He was my first kiss. My only kiss.”
She reached up and wiped the tears at his eyes. She didn’t bother with her own. “Baby, I’m so sorry. Did your dad fire his?”
Micky shook his head. “No. It was worse. Dad gave him a promotion, but only if Tristan never contacts me again. They moved to DC two months ago. Tristan is a good boy, at least. He won’t return my calls or my e-mails. I guess he’s enjoying his dad’s newfound wealth.”
Caleb’s face had gone red. “You can’t let that get you down. You have to push those types of people out of your life. They’ll just use you.”
“Well, he didn’t seem that way before my dad bribed his family.” Micky took a deep breath and shook it off. “Anyway, I realized I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get out. I’m not stupid. I know all about Dad’s penchant for sleeping with his aides. All I had to do was follow him for a day or two and I had everything I needed. I presented it all to him in a beautifully polished PowerPoint presentation. I even made a graphic representing how his dick was going to cost him voters.”
Scott must have been livid. For the first time, she had to consider that he might have been mad enough to come after her. He might have suspected she was the one behind the scheme. After all, he’d done the same thing to her once.
A steely look came into her son’s eyes. “Mom, I won’t take it back. I can’t go back to being that person. I need to be me. I need to be whoever I turn out to be. I can’t play the game anymore. Not one more second. I love you. I want to spend time with you. I want to find a nice liberal arts college and get a degree that wouldn’t get me a job at a fast food restaurant. I’m thinking creative writing. I want to do stupid shit because I think I’ll figure out who I am. Not Mick Lang, the congressman’s son. And not your little Micky. But me. Just me. I hope you’ll let me do that with you. But I’ll do it without you, Mom.”
God, he wasn’t a kid anymore. He’d made a decision it had taken her most of her adult life to make, and he hadn’t needed two lovers to do it. She nodded. “Blackmail the son of a bitch until he can’t see straight.”
Caleb slapped his hands together. “Yes!”
Alexei sat back, crossing one foot over his knee and looking very much the dangerous mobster. “We need to make sure your master negatives are in safe place. We will talk.”
Micky’s eyes went wide. “I love my new daddies.”
“Okay, that made me terribly uncomfortable.” Caleb went back to staring at the floor.
“He has a very bent sense of humor,” she acknowledged. She turned to Nate. “Is there any way you can manage to get my son-of-a-bitch ex to come in for questioning?”
“I’m working on it,” Nate replied.
The double doors to the station house opened, and Logan and Cam walked in. Cam had a big grin on his face, but Logan merely stared at Alexei. Scott Lang walked in between them. He wore his thousand-dollar suit with casual grace, and his eyes almost immediately found hers.
“He came in quietly once we told him his son was involved,” Cam explained. “We were lucky. He was at a political rally in Pagosa Springs about thirty minutes away.”
“Son, what happened? Are you safe?” Scott hadn’t changed in years. He still looked every inch the immaculate politician. He was perfectly groomed, perfectly dressed. Not a single hair dared to stray from his chosen style. His features had been built for TV.
Alexei was too dark, too brooding. He was gorgeous, but he’d had a hard life and it showed in his eyes. Caleb’s hair was twelve kinds of out of place. And his T-shirt was never tucked in. It was only a miracle it wasn’t wrinkled.
Scott was perfect, and now she wondered what she’d ever seen in him. Her men were the perfect ones.
“I’m fine, Dad. Not a singe on me, thanks to Mom’s boyfriend.” Micky seemed to take particular delight in pointing to Caleb.
Scott turned to Caleb. “You look incredibly familiar. If you saved my son, I thank you.”
Caleb got up and mumbled as he turned away. “No problem.”
“Logan, Cam, we need to run a 703. This could get messy.” Nate hopped off the desk. “Cam, you know what to do. Logan, behave.”
The deputies walked around the back of the group.
Nate faced off with Scott. “Congressman, I don’t know what my deputies told you, but someone blew up your ex-wife’s car today. And yesterday she nearly died in an accident that seems mighty planned to me.”
Scott’s hands dropped. “Are you serious? I thought this was something Micky had come up with. He’s a devious one. Is this a joke? Did someone actually try to kill Holly?”
If he was acting, he was spectacular.
Micky stood up and faced his father. “Yes, Dad. I was there. Someone blew up Mom’s piece-of-shit car. She needs a new one. I think you should buy it.”
Scott shook his head. “Don’t try my patience, son.” He turned to Holly, his voice going deep. It was the same tone he used to let voters know he felt their pain. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
And just like that his sympathy evaporated. “What have you gotten yourself into? Who is this boyfriend? What’s he into? If he’s dangerous, I don’t want him near my son. Micky, our deal is off. You can get your ass in the car. You’re coming home. And don’t throw those pictures in my face. You want to ruin my career, go ahead. I won’t save my fucking career in exchange for my son. Holly, you get in the car, too. We’re leaving. You can stay in the guesthouse.”
Both of her men started toward Scott, and Holly finally understood what a 703 was. It was code for “keep the douchebag alive.” Cam put a hand on Alexei, and Logan stood in front of Caleb.
“You are not taking our woman anywhere, dolbo yeb. Zhopa!” Alexei went off in a litany of Russian, most of which sounded like curses.
“You touch her and I will find a horrible way for the Russian to kill you,” Caleb promised. “I took the Hippocratic oath. He didn’t.”
Scott looked between the two men. “I thought the ginger was your boyfriend. Oh, god, Holly. Not you, too. This town is just wrong.”
Holly stood her ground. It was long past time to make a stand. “It isn’t wrong, and I’m not leaving. And yes, they are both my boyfriends. And Micky knows.”
Micky grinned. “Total thumbs-up, Mom. They are hot! Dad’s still doing the political equivalent of the pancake waitress.”
“Micky!” Holly and Scott managed to say it at the same time.
And she realized something.
“You love him.”
Scott’s face went softer than she could remember seeing it in decades. “Of course, I do. He’s my boy.”
“He’s gay, Scott.” There were still people who could have a problem with their son’s sexuality. It could cost him votes.
“Yeah, I figured that out when he was six and asked for Cher to sing at his birthday party. I’ve always known,” Scott admitted. “He thinks I got rid of Tristan because he was a boy. I would have gotten rid of a girl at this age, too. He’s too young. He’s way too young to even think about settling down. Damn it, he’s my son. He can’t know what he wants at this age. He thinks he’s in love, but in the end, he’ll love his career more and he’ll end up wrecking someone’s life. Someone he loved. Just…just not enough. Is it wrong that I wanted to spare him that? To spare Tristan that pain?”
She shook her head. She would never forgive him for what he’d done to her. But she didn’t need to brood over it anymore. “Scott, he’s not you. And he’s not me.”
Scott took a step toward her. “Babe, you know you’re the only woman I ever loved.”
Cam got into a defensive position. Alexei went off in Russian again. Caleb simply stared at Scott.
Holly held out a hand, trying to let her men know that she had this one handled. “Oh, Scott, your love wasn’t worth much, was it?”
He didn’t even look offended. “No. Which is why Connie and I work and you and I didn’t. She doesn’t give a crap as long as I keep her in Prada. But you, oh, you needed more. I hope these assholes are giving it to you. Our son is the best thing I ever did.”
“He blackmailed you.” Holly was a little surprised at the way Scott talked.
Scott smiled, a fierce turn of his lips. “That’s my boy. He’s ruthless. I’ve never been more proud than I was the day he took down the old man. My other two kids are bleating sheep. They’re tax deductions. Nothing more. But our Micky, he can be anything because he won’t accept less. I’m proud to be his dad.”
“Yeah, that’s going to go over so well with your little old lady supporters and the church groups,” Micky pointed out.
Scott sighed. “Well, I wasn’t going public with my support. Son, fuck whoever you want. Just do it in private. And for god’s sake, don’t do it like your mother. She has it all wrong. It’s two girls and one man. Though I will admit, your mother is certainly pretty enough for two men.”
“She’s not going to sleep with you, Dad,” Micky said, groaning a little.
“Ewww! I am not.” Holly wouldn’t touch Scott with a ten-foot pole.
Scott shrugged. “You can’t blame a guy for trying. You look good, Holly.”
“Yob tuvoyiu mat!” Alexei pressed against Cam.
“Uh, Sheriff, he’s really strong.” Cam looked like he was one of those tackle dummies football players used.
“Alexei, down!” Caleb snapped. “Holly made her choice. She chose us. She isn’t going anywhere. He’s doing nothing but making an ass of himself. And, unfortunately, I don’t think he tried to kill her.”
“Kill Holly?” Scott turned to the sheriff. “Sheriff, I’m an asshole. I’ll sign the paperwork proclaiming it, but I would never physically harm Holly. I love her. As much as I’m capable of love, I love her.”
She looked at her men, who appeared ready to do everything they had promised. “He’s not capable of much. But I’m pretty sure he didn’t try to kill me.”
Nate frowned. “He was in Denver yesterday?”
“Yeah. He was in Denver at a rally and then Pagosa Springs today,” Cam replied, eyeing Alexei like a tiger who was about ready to pounce. “But he probably wouldn’t do this himself. I ran his financials on the way out to pick him up. If he paid someone, he did it from a secret account.”
Scott’s foot tapped impatiently against the floor. “I didn’t try to kill my wife. Ex-wife. I wouldn’t do that.”
Nate’s eyes rolled. “Fine. You can go. I sincerely suggest you get the hell out of my town before the Russian decides to take your head off. I think Doc there will let you get by, but the Russian has gone a while without killing someone. I’m worried about him.”
“Doctor?” Scott looked at Caleb, his mouth dropping. “Holy shit. You’re Caleb Sommerville.”
“Damn it.” Micky frowned at his father. “She didn’t know that.”
Caleb flushed, his skin turning a dark red.
“What?” Holly asked. “You’re wrong. His last name is Burke.”
Jessie put her hands up. “Alexei, you can’t blame me for this one. I didn’t let the cat out of the bag.”
“What are you talking about? Alexei?” She turned to Alexei, who seemed to know something she didn’t.
Alexei’s rage seemed to flee in favor of a deep guilt. It was written in the lines that creased his face. Cam stepped back as though realizing the threat had passed.
“Dushka, everyone in Bliss hide something,” Alexei said. “Caleb does not like his original name. That is all.”
Oh, but it wasn’t. Alexei might be an excellent liar, but he didn’t seem capable when it came to her. There was something else going on, but she let it go. She turned to Caleb. She still wasn’t sure what was such a big deal. Alexei was right. A lot of people came to Bliss because they wanted to forget something. “Sommerville is a little stuffy, babe. I like Burke better.”
“You’re okay with it?” Caleb asked. Every muscle seemed tense.
She shrugged. “Why would I care? Lots of people change their name. Laura changed hers. Rachel did, too. Nell went through a phase where she called herself Moonbeam Laughingstick. I should have changed my name, but I’m way too lazy.”
Micky slapped his hands together. “Good, excellent. Then we’re all happy. Dad, you should ship out. Don’t you have voters to defraud?”
Scott’s eyes narrowed, speculation plain in the blue orbs. “She doesn’t know.”
“Dad.” The word sounded like a warning coming out of Micky’s mouth.
Holly got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Micky knew something, too. Everyone knew except her. She looked at Caleb. “What are they talking about?”
He seemed to find the floor behind her endlessly fascinating. “Nothing that matters. I’m Caleb Burke.”
Scott rubbed his hands together as though something pleased him greatly. “No, you’re Caleb Burke Sommerville of the Chicago Sommervilles. Holly, darling, if you think you couldn’t handle the Langs, you really should meet the Sommervilles. Talk about old money and power. They invented the terms. That family came over on the Mayflower, didn’t they? Well, it didn’t take them long to become one of the premiere families in American politics, and they’ve kept it that way for a couple of hundred years.”
“You’re an asswipe, Dad.” Micky’s fists were clenched.
Holly looked around the room. “Micky, you knew who he was?”
Micky’s eyes turned down. “Yes, Mom. I lived in DC long enough to know who the power players are. I knew who he was the minute I laid eyes on him. And I knew he was different. He wouldn’t be in this town if he wasn’t.”
Scott laughed. “If you think my mother is a monster, you should meet his brother, Eli. He’s in the Senate. There’s talk of a run for the presidency. How is that going to look? The heat’s going to be on, Holly. The great Elijah Sommerville isn’t going to like the fact that his sainted brother is involved with a waitress, and apparently a foreigner. This little ménage of Caleb’s might be exactly what my party needs to bring him down.”
“Dushka, calm down. Caleb has his reasons.” Alexei’s eyes fairly pleaded with her.
“He managed to tell you.” An icy stubbornness was settling over her.
Alexei shook his head. “No, I discover on my own. I discover what an amazing man he is. Yes, his family is wealthy and powerful, but he choose to be doctor to poor people in Africa. He choose to save peoples. And he choose to come here. He choose you. He might be too stubborn to admit to this, but he loves you.”
Not enough. Never enough. “He didn’t even tell me his real name.”
Caleb’s eyes were flinty stones staring at her. “This is my real name. This is who I am.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
His jaw hardened, and he looked back at the floor. “Because it doesn’t matter.”
“If it doesn’t matter, why didn’t you tell me?”
His eyes came up, and they were cold. So damn cold. “Because I’ve had too many women who were interested in my family and not me.”
She felt her hands shaking. She was right back where she’d begun. She was twenty and in love and under fire. “You thought I was a gold digger. Just like my ex-mother-in-law.”
Scott laughed, a smug, satisfied sound. “If he doesn’t, I assure you his brother will. Caleb Sommerville is worth about fifty million dollars. That’s what your trust is worth, right? And Eli is worth probably a billion. Believe me, Holly, you don’t marry into that family without some heavy vetting. His first wife was a socialite. Caroline Hanover. Good stock. My mother would have approved.”
“Congressman, I think we’ve had about enough of you. Please feel free to go.” Nate gestured toward the door. “My deputies can show you out.”
She’d heard enough. “I think I’ll go, too, Sheriff. We can all agree this is probably not about me. I’ll be at my cabin if you need me.”
Caleb reached out and grabbed her arm. He pulled her close. So close. She could feel the heat of his skin. “I’m not through.”
She wasn’t about to let him manhandle her. “But I am. I’ve played out this scene before. I won’t put myself through it again. I thought the reason you wouldn’t commit was because you hadn’t gotten over your first wife. I can see now that you would never commit to someone like me. Scott told me once that I was excellent mistress material for a man like him. He’s a bastard, but at least he was honest with me.”
Caleb wouldn’t let go. His face tightened. “You pulled me into this. I wanted to stay away. I wanted to be alone, damn it. You made me care about you. Don’t you dare walk away from me now. You sit down and talk this out.”
She pulled away from him. “I think I’ll pass, Dr. Sommerville. You can find some other cheap lay.”
“Dushka, don’t go.” Alexei didn’t touch her, but she could feel his will.
She turned away from him, too. “You knew, and you didn’t bother to tell me. I don’t want to talk to you, either.”
She strode out of the sheriff’s department, Micky hot on her heels.
“Mom,” he called out.
He was the one man she was mad at who she absolutely couldn’t get rid of. “Could you please drive me home, son?”
His face fell. “Sure. But you’re making a huge mistake. He’s not like Dad.”
“I don’t want to talk about this with you. I want to go home. You can’t understand what it’s like. You belonged. You had Lang blood. I can’t do it again. I can’t be the person everyone looks down on. Caleb can talk all he likes, but in the end, he’ll want to be with someone his family will approve of. You heard your father. His wife was a socialite. She fit into that world. When he chose a woman, he chose one who fit into his social network. He’s told me for a year he wasn’t good for me. I should have listened.”
Micky followed her across to Stella’s parking lot where his car was parked.
She was so stupid. Micky was driving a hundred-thousand-dollar sports car, and she’d bought his whole “Dad kicked me out” routine. She also bought Alexei’s sad puppy eyes. He hadn’t even bothered to mention that he had two US marshals tailing him. No one told her anything. That was how much she meant to these men.
Her son she could forgive, but Alexei and Caleb? She wasn’t sure. She’d been an idiot thinking this would work out.
She’d barely opened the door to the Benz when Nell came rushing up. She was still in her mime face paint, but her mouth was moving a hundred miles a minute.
“Oh, my god, Holly! I just heard that Sasquatches blew up your car. I mean, I know it was a person. Even Mel knows that now, but are you okay? How did it happen? What went wrong? Do you know who I should protest against?”
Nell’s hands fluttered as she spoke. Holly caught them in her own. Nell immediately calmed.
“I’m fine. Everyone’s fine except my car. My car is now evidence. Don’t worry about it. I think I’m out of the line of fire.” But Alexei wasn’t. Caleb wasn’t. Someone was still trying to hurt one of them. Indecision bit at her. She looked back at the station house. Was she making a mistake?
What the hell was she doing walking away when they were in trouble? But how could she trust them when they’d lied to her?
“Do you need anything?” Nell asked.
Time. She needed some time. “No.”
“She needs a friend with a good head on her shoulders to kick her in the ass,” Micky said, frowning. “She just dumped both of her boyfriends. Can you kick her ass?”
Nell shook her head. “No. I am bad at that. I can hold her hand and pat her back and agree with everything she says. But I think I know just who she needs.”
Before Holly could protest, Nell was in the backseat of the car. She sighed and got in, wondering all the while if Micky wasn’t right.
* * * *
The door to the station slammed shut, and Holly was gone. Alexei wasn’t sure how everything had gone so wrong in such a short period of time. A few hours before, he’d been perfectly happy. Holly had been in his arms. He’d laid her in bed, and she’d immediately fallen asleep. He’d listened to her breathing, and that was when he’d caught sight of Caleb’s closet. It had been left slightly open and there was a pillow and sleeping bag inside. He’d stared at it, a sadness in his heart.
He’d figured out Caleb’s sleeping problem and come up with a plan to fix it. He knew what he wanted to try. He’d crawled back into bed with Holly, utterly content. Everything had been falling into place.
And now it had all blown up as surely as Holly’s car had.
Scott stared at Caleb, a decidedly satisfied look on his face. “Dr. Sommerville, it’s been a pleasure to meet you. I assure you my party is going to be interested in what I learned on this trip. You know, I always thought that one day I would get back together with Holly. I really did care for her. Oh, not in an official capacity, of course. She isn’t political wife material. But I thought I would have her again. I suppose not. You seem to have hurt her as much as I did. I don’t think she’ll give either of us another chance, so I’ll take what I can. Yes, I think outing you will make up for losing Holly.”
He turned and walked out the door.
And Caleb stood there. Alexei checked his need to punch something. There would be time enough for that. For now, he had to deal with his partner and fast.
“Go after her.”
Caleb seemed frozen. Only his lips moved. “She made her choice.”
“It was wrong choice. You need to fight for her. Can’t you see that’s what she needs? It would have been different, very different, if you had been one to tell your story—your name. But it came from the man who broke her once before. Can’t you see? She needs you to fight.”
“She walked away,” Caleb’s voice was hollow. “She walked away when I asked her to stay. She didn’t really ask me anything. She heard my name, and she judged me. She doesn’t want me. I was right to have stayed away in the first place. And now I have to leave town. I can’t blow my brother’s career up over a failed romance.”
“It only fail if you allow. And do not worry about your brother. I take care of this. Stay. Think.” He turned, hoping Caleb would still be there when he got back, but he had to take care of something first.
“Alexei!”
Alexei turned at Nate Wright’s sharp bark.
“Don’t you kill that man in my parking lot.”
“I will not kill. But he might wish I do.” Alexei turned and strode out the double doors. Rage churned in his gut, but he checked it. Beating the shit out of Scott Lang wouldn’t solve anything. It would make things worse. In this case, the threat was worth far more than the act.
Scott Lang stood by his Audi, his keys in hand.
Alexei stopped in front of the man. He was pleased when Scott let the hand holding the keys fall to his side.
“What the hell do you want?”
“You know who Caleb is, but my question now is do you know who I am?” It was time to introduce himself.
Lang gave him a once-over. “You don’t look familiar.”
“Do you know the name Alexei Markov?”
His eyes widened slightly. Alexei was pleased to see fear begin to creep onto Scott Lang’s face. “You’re the Russian who turned on the mob.”
“And several politicians,” he admitted. “I do not discriminate.”
Scott’s hand went to the door of his car. “I’ll ask again, what do you want?”
He wanted many things. He wouldn’t get most of them, but there were a few that were truly worth fighting for. “I want to turn back clock and make sure you never open that mouth of yours. I cannot be doing that. But I can explain a few things to you. I really am everything the press says. I really did everything they say. I did it for my brother. For revenge. I spend years pursuing this revenge. I give up life for it.”
“Yes, I read that.” Scott swallowed as he spoke.
“I do not give up revenge until I meet one woman. Holly.” He leaned against the Audi. “I am only alive because of Caleb Burke. You should understand that I consider these two people my family.”
“Are you threatening me?”
He smiled, though he knew it was the smile of a hungry wolf. “I am explaining the truth of the world to you. You think your wealth will protect you. You think you can hire enough guards to be buffer between you and my revenge. This is not true. If you tell world about Caleb, Holly, and myself, you will never be spending another night in restful peace. You can put walls between us. You can put men between us. It will not stop me. I will come for you. I will be there one night even if it is long in the future. I will be the last face you see before blood leaves your body. I vow this. If I have my way, Caleb will marry Holly. I will be happy to be the secret. I will be happy to be anything they allow me to be. I will not be the reason they are taken down. If anyone be finding out, I will hold you accountable.”
Scott’s face had gone a pleasing shade of stark white. “I can’t promise that. I can keep my mouth shut, but it could still get out.”
“No. If it does, I will come for you.”
“Damn it, man,” the politician practically whined. “You can’t hold me accountable.”
“I will come for you.” He stepped away from the car. His point seemed to have been made. “Remember this. You can tell whole world, and I will come for you. You can tell single friend who tells someone else, and I will come for you.”
Scott straightened his shoulders, but his voice was still whiny and small. “Don’t you think you scare me.”
“You will make decision. If wrong decision, then I will come for you. I will come for you because I will have nothing left. I will watch you, Congressman. I will always be watching you.”
He turned away to see Caleb standing there, his hands on his hips. Alexei felt himself flush. Damn it. He hadn’t wanted Caleb to see that part of him. He’d been careful to always be the smiling Alexei around Caleb. He knew Caleb had read the stories, but he hadn’t seen the truth of him.
The Audi peeled out of the parking lot like the devil was chasing it.
“I think the congressman might have peed himself.” Caleb said the words, but Alexei didn’t see any humor in them. His friend stood there, grim-faced and hopeless. “You didn’t have to do that. My brother is a big boy. Trust me, he can handle himself. It wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to use a scandal to bring down a Sommerville campaign.”
It would be the first time Alexei had been used in such a way. He wouldn’t stand for it. “It is my problem to handle. Not his.”
Caleb ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t understand you. Why the fuck would you think that? I don’t get anything about you. Why the hell are you here?”
How could he make Caleb understand? This didn’t work if they didn’t watch out for each other. “I love Holly. She is better part of me.”
“Then why the fuck didn’t you go after her?” Caleb asked, his eyes straying down the road where Holly had taken off.
Alexei took a long breath. This was a gamble, but he’d never been known for playing it safe. “Because you are part of me, too.”
Caleb shook his head, his eyes returning to Alexei. “God, you’re confusing.”
He sighed. Caleb couldn’t seem to see the truth. “I am not. You are simply not as smart as you think.”
Caleb stopped and stared, and then a smile crossed his face. He laughed from deep in his belly. He laughed, doubling over. “I’m definitely not as smart as I think. I’m stupid. So fucking stupid.”
Caleb’s laugh turned into something sad. Alexei felt it in his heart.
“I don’t know what to do,” Caleb admitted. “I know what my instinct is. I should leave.”
“Your instinct is stupid.”
“She doesn’t want me.”
“She is scared,” Alexei explained, though he thought it should be evident. “She need you. And you need her. Please to be thinking about this. She thinks you loved your wife.”
“I didn’t,” Caleb replied, his voice hard with guilt. “And I hate myself for that. I did what was expected of me. I did what I’d been taught to do. I married Caroline, and then one day I knew I needed something more.”
“Will you need more than Holly?” Alexei knew the answer, but he wanted to hear Caleb say it.
Caleb didn’t even hesitate. “No. I love her. Fuck. I said it. I love her. I don’t think I deserve her though. My brother is capable of giving me hell. I don’t think he will. I think as long as I stay out of the spotlight, he won’t care what I do as long as I’m happy. He’s not a monster, but he could say something. He could make her feel bad. I can’t promise that some pushy reporter won’t find out. I knew she would feel this way, and I took her anyway. I need to leave. I need to let her be happy with you.”
They really did need him. He’d worried about his place, but it was obvious now. Caleb was a brilliant man, a kind man. He was the type of man the world needed, but he’d been broken in a way that left him incapable of trusting himself. He needed someone who didn’t mind kicking a little ass—even his.
The good news was he was great at kicking ass. “You not go. You will stay. You will stop with the aching belly and begin to grow back your balls. This is not worthy of you. Our woman is out there. She is alone, and yet you stand here worried that she will not forgive. Make her forgive. Give her something. Give her your story. Tell her why you are afraid. Tell her why you don’t sleep with her.”
Caleb’s eyes came up.
“Yes,” Alexei explained. “I see closet. I am man with curious nose.”
“You’re nosy,” Caleb corrected. “You’re a nosy bastard. And I’m not bellyaching. I can’t change who I am.”
“So stubborn. You already change. You change when you agree to be with her. And don’t be telling me you were only there for the sex. You were in love, simply not man enough to say. Be man, Caleb. Be man you were when you decide to walk away from wealth to help people. Be man you are in your soul, not the one who is too scared to reach out for what he needs.”
“I sleep in a fucking closet because I can’t stand to be in the open.” His hands went to his hair, shoving it back even though there wasn’t enough of it to fall in his face.
Alexei shrugged. “This we can handle. We make nice closet for you. We tuck you in and close door.”
“Damn it. You don’t get it. You make this sound easy, but it isn’t.” Caleb practically growled his frustration.
He found himself oddly calm. He understood Caleb far better than his friend could know. “No, you make hard because it easier to live with than to let go. You cling to pain because you know it. It is familiar. It is blanket. You think I do not understand? When I close eyes, I see my brother. I do not see him as he was. I see him dead. I see the blood as though that was only thing that mattered about him. Blood. Everywhere. One bullet reduces him to a mess on the floor that someone had to clean up. I see this when I close eyes at night. And I force myself to think one thought of him. I think about day he teach me to skate. I replay that day in my mind. The air is crisp and cold around me, but my brother’s smile is warm. He is patient. He teach me what he knows. That was my brother. That was his life. He was taken from me. I take him back. You had something taken from you. Are you strong enough to take back?”
“You’re a fucking bastard.” Caleb’s eyes closed, and when they opened again, there was a suspicious moisture there. “I love her. I don’t want to let her go. I don’t want to let this go.”
Alexei reached out and gripped his friend’s shoulder, something deep inside falling into place. “Then don’t let go.”
“You know you’re using me as a substitute for your brother. You have to see that.”
Maybe he was, but it couldn’t hurt anything. He saw Caleb for what he was. Caleb was nothing like Mikhail with the exception of the fact that Alexei cared for both. “It is more than that, but even if it was, I am good brother. I would be good brother to you. I would not be letting you down.”
A gleam of hope entered Caleb’s green eyes. “I can’t ask for more than that. Alexei, I sometimes walk in my sleep. I hit the walls. I kick at the furniture. It’s more complicated than sleeping in the closet.”
He’d wondered if a lot of Caleb’s problems didn’t stem from this. This was an easy thing to fix. “No, it is simple. When you get out of bed, I will wake you and put you back in. Your body will learn.”
“And if I hurt Holly?”
There it was. He could see it now. This was Caleb’s greatest fear.
“I will not allow it. You have to trust me or this will not work. You have to know that I will protect her, even from your demons.”
Caleb finally nodded. “Yes. Yes, I want this. I’m pissed at her right now, though.”
“I am angry myself. She walk away. She is not allowed to do such a thing. I believe a spanking is in order.” His little dushka didn’t know what she’d done. He’d practically begged her not to walk away. He’d been willing to grovel, but it appeared she needed something more.
“I think she does deserve a spanking. And a good one,” Caleb agreed.
Alexei turned and saw Logan Green staring at him.
“You really believe that shit you just spit?” The deputy’s voice was tight.
This was the chance he’d been praying for. “Yes, I believe. And it apply to you, too. Something bad happen to you. You are the one allowing it to change you. You are the one allowing it to beat you. I let this darkness inside beat me for years and years. I let it take my youth. You are on same path. You can hate me all you like, but this I know.”
“You don’t know shit, man.” Logan stalked past him and pulled the door open and slammed into his Bronco, gunning the engine. He backed out without bothering to look behind him, the wheels peeling away.
“You tried.” Caleb’s hand was on his back.
“We’ve all tried.” Nate Wright and the marshals stood on the steps of the station house. It was obvious they had heard more than Alexei would have liked. The whole town had a curious nose.
“Alexei, I think you should come with us.” Jessie frowned down at him. “This isn’t about the doctor. This is about you.”
His stomach twisted. “I cannot leave. This is home.”
“Yes, and you’re endangering everyone in this town,” Jessie pointed out.
The sheriff snorted. “I wouldn’t count us out yet, Marshal.”
“He needs to be in witness protection.” Jessie’s face was set in mulish lines.
“Jessie, you know why he’s here. He’s in love with the woman.” Michael turned to his partner, his lover, his voice going low. “I thought we talked about this.”
Her head shook. “I changed my mind. He needs to come with us. He’s too valuable to risk.”
“I can’t go. I can’t to be leaving.” If he left, Holly and Caleb would fall apart. He would fall apart. He knew it was selfish, but he couldn’t leave.
Nate stood tall, settling his hat on his head. “Stand down, Marshal. I already put out a call. Every person in this town is going to be looking out for Alexei. He’s one of ours now. We protect our own. Now, unless you’re willing to take him into protective custody, I think you should let him go. I got a call from Callie a couple of minutes ago. The women of Bliss are currently descending on Holly’s cabin.”
Caleb went a little white. “Are you serious?”
“Why are they going to Holly’s?” Alexei asked.
Nate frowned. “It’s called ‘Break Up Patrol.’ Every woman who can will rush to the recent dumpee’s house to offer support. It’s an estrogen fest of the highest order. No man who wants to keep his balls on will go in there, but I think you two are going to have to. Unless you want to end up groveling for the next year or so. And I would appreciate it if you would break that shit up. Callie insisted on going. She needs to be in bed. I have some riot gear if you need it.”
Alexei shook his head. “I can handle these womens.”
Caleb pointed to him. “He can handle the women. I’m going to hide behind him.”
“Good thinking.” Nate tipped his hat. “Alexei, you carrying?”
“I carry much.” He could carry many things. He was very strong.
Caleb’s head shook. “He wants to know about the gun you stuff down your ass.”
“I do not stuff gun in ass. I have it in small of back. You need to reread anatomy book.” He realized what he’d revealed and winced. “Sheriff, I need gun.”
“You also need a permit to carry concealed. Congratulations, I just certified you as a training instructor for Bliss County’s safe gun program. Cam will get all the paperwork done. Until then, don’t conceal the fucker. And Caleb, it might be a good idea for you to carry that tranq gun. I know you don’t want to kill anyone, but if you don’t have a problem shooting Mel on a regular basis, I don’t see why you can’t tranq an assassin.” Nate tossed Caleb a radio. “And keep this on at all times. You see anything shady, you call.”
“I think I can handle that.” Caleb put the radio in his pocket.
And they could handle Holly. If she thought they would let her walk away, she was in for a surprise.