Shelter from the Storm (Finley Creek Book 2) Read online

  When Kevin was finished, Chance looked up. Standing in the dining room behind Barratt was Brynna. She looked at him for a moment. “I’m going to be at the table for the first meal with Mel back where she belongs. With my family.”

  Chance stood and grabbed the extra chair from the corner. He put it right next to his—between him and her father. “Sit, babe.”

  She did.

  Within moments some of the tension leaked out of him. It was hard for it not to. Kevin had made it very clear that the dinner table would not be filled with discussion of the threats over their heads.

  Chance understood that, now. They had to be reminded that this wasn’t their whole world. That family was.

  Tonight it dealt with the possibility of Luc purchasing Brynna’s program and how soon that would be. And what she was going to do with the money. Chance had a good idea what it was, but she wasn’t talking about that. Keeping it as a closely held dream, wasn’t she?

  He’d taken a look at the house himself when arranging security with Erickson. It was very much like the one she lived in now, but slightly bigger.

  She would be happy there, he didn’t doubt it.

  And eventually she’d find a man to share that house with her, to help her fill it with pretty redheaded children and make it into a real home for her. Much like this one.

  He frowned at that.

  He didn’t want to think of another man sharing that dream with her.

  Mel had filled a plate for Barratt and he was struck by the incongruity of it. She was serving dinner to her abductor.

  Apparently without a second thought.

  Chance studied the two of them again. They weren’t talking. She was barely looking at Barratt.

  He was looking at her, though. He ate with his left hand, the one Elliot had freed from the tape. Mel was on his left side, but he didn’t move to touch her. Yet he was close to her. Almost hovering, if possible. Strange to see in a man taped to a chair, but it was there.

  Protective? Possessive? Lust? Chance tried to identify what it was. He saw all three, and more.

  His attention shifted slightly to his brother and Gabby. His brother held his body almost exactly the same way Barratt did. Attuned to Gabby’s every movement. Every damned twitch she made, Elliot was aware of it. Chance would bet good money on that—because Chance was hyperaware of the carrot-topped woman on his own right.

  Elliot leaned closer to Gabby, murmured something just between the two of them. Something intimate. Light from the fixture winked through the ring his brother had given her. The ring on her left hand.

  Barratt leaned closer to Mel and said something with a smirk. But it was a knowing smirk, wasn’t it? She finally looked up at him and shook her head. She reached with her left hand for the salt and handed it to him.

  Barratt covered her hand with his own. Said something else. Startled eyes went straight to the set of rings on her finger that he was touching. Chance felt shock run through him.

  The rock she wore put the one on Gabby’s hand to shame, didn’t it?

  Mel paled and Chance watched her try to surreptitiously pull the rings from her finger, but they wouldn’t budge. She looked at the rest of the people at the table, then dropped her hand to her lap.

  What was she hiding?

  He looked at Barratt’s hand and there it was. Exactly what he suspected he’d find.

  “Wedding rings.” His voice was loud enough to cut over the top of the low conversation the rest of the table was having. Every head turned in his direction.

  “What?” Elliot asked.

  Chance stared first at Barratt and then Mel. She shook her head slightly, an almost pleading expression on her face. He ignored it. He’d already started it, might as well finish. “Wedding rings. They are both wearing them. Rings Mel didn’t have a week ago. I didn’t notice it earlier. Unless Barratt has a wife we don’t know about? Or...he does. And she’s right there.”

  She paled even more—which for a Beck was saying quite a lot—and turned toward her father. “Dad...it’s...I...”

  Her father reached beneath the table and pulled her hand up gently.

  The evidence was right there for everyone to see. And a hell of a rock it was. It would probably pay for the house Brynna wanted, easily.

  Barratt smiled a coldly taunting grin, right in Chance’s face. The challenge was clear. He and Barratt were going to tangle and soon, weren’t they? “Did we forget to mention something? Melody and I were married two days ago. At my home in Mexico.”

  Mel jerked to her feet as fast as she was capable. She wobbled and both her father and Barratt reached to support her. Barratt was caught up short by the duct tape restraints. “Damn it, Houghton! Shut up! Yes, I’m married to him. Yes! I knew him eighteen months ago. And yes, we’ve slept together, ok? That’s all I am saying about it now!”

  “Mel...” Chance felt like a total ass seeing the pain and confusion on her face.

  “Oh, just shut up, Chance!” She threw her bread roll at his head. He caught it before it could do any damage. Apparently Brynna wasn’t the only Beck who threw things.

  She stormed around the end of the table where her father sat and headed toward the hallway, toward the privacy of her bedroom.

  No one tried to stop her. No one spoke. Her door slammed behind her.

  Kevin’s fist shot out and connected with Barratt’s face, knocking the man’s chair over.

  Had Elliot not been in the way, Barratt would have hit the floor.

  “That was for whatever you’ve done to my daughter.”

  Well, dinner was pretty much over after that, wasn’t it?

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX.

  * * *

  BRYNNA stared at her father. She had never seen him hit another human being in her entire life. And he’d done it so calmly.

  Elliot caught the man’s chair and steadied him. There was blood on his mouth. Houghton Barratt reached up and felt his teeth. He grabbed a napkin and held it to his lip, while glaring...at Chance. Not her dad.

  Why was he mad at Chance?

  Because Mel was?

  Mel.

  Mel, who never walked off like that. Who always stood and fought. Brynna hadn’t missed the tears on her cheeks. She stood. Gabby did the same. Together they headed down the hall after her sister. Mel needed them, and that was where they were going to be.

  She knocked on Mel’s door, then pushed it open slowly. “Mel? Can we come in? It’s just me and Gabby.”

  Her sister was on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her cheeks were wet.

  She held the rings in her hand. She turned toward the door. “What was that noise?”

  “Dad. He punched that man in the face and knocked him into Elliot.”

  “He did what? Is Houghton...?” Mel sat up. She cut herself off. “You know what, I don’t want to know.”

  Brynna snagged the set of rings from her sister’s hand. “These are real.”

  “Yes. I think they are.”

  “You’re married to the billionaire.” Gabby gawked. Gabby was good at gawking. “How did it happen?”

  “How was it even possible? Isn’t there a waiting period in Mexico?” Mel hadn’t been missing long enough for a waiting period, had she?

  “He had the paperwork all ready. Even managed to get the blood test done on samples they’d taken while I was in the hospital after we were shot at. Money gets you everything you want, after all. He planned it. Said he started when he realized who I was. He’s been planning it since the day we did that news conference outside the hospital.”

  “Ok, you’re going to have to start way at the beginning. Let’s just assume he’s innocent of his father’s doings.” Gabby curled up on the foot of Mel’s bed. Brynna sank into the desk chair and rolled it closer to her sister.

  “How did you meet him?”

  Mel sighed. “There was a benefit. One Blankenbaker needed someone to attend with him. His wife had been ill and she’d suggested I go with him. He wanted som
eone to charm the donors, actually. I was happy to do it to help the TSP. I met Houghton in the elevator there. I’d just closed a murder case, you two. And it had been a bad one. The victim looked so much like Syd it made me sick to even think about. She’d been a runaway like Carrie and I just...couldn’t handle it. He was there, and he was charming, and he helped me forget. At least for a little while. It was the one and only time I’ve ever done anything like that. The next morning I panicked and I ran. I didn’t even give him my full name. He said he’s been looking for me ever since. But I wasn’t on the original guest list for the banquet and he never knew who I came with.”

  “So he realized who you were once he saw you on the TV and what?” Gabby leaned forward. “Decided he couldn’t live without you?”

  “Please. Nothing like that. He showed up here and drugged me, Gab. Not exactly romantic.” She sighed. “Houghton Barratt always gets what he wants, apparently. I’m his in to the search for his father. That’s all he wants from me.”

  “He didn’t have to marry you to get that, though.” Gabby made a valid point, didn’t she?

  “Did he hurt you? Force you?” Brynna asked. “Is it a legal marriage?”

  “It’s legal. And the marriage license has my name on it, damn him. Legal signature. I didn’t know what I was signing at the time. And the official didn’t speak English, nor a dialect that I am familiar with. I think Houghton arranged it that way on purpose. He’s canny and crafty and so damned sneaky I can’t get ahead of him for anything.”

  “It’s not legal until you sleep with him, though, right?” Gabby asked.

  “I think that requirement is a bit outdated, Gab. Marriage is a legal contract and there’s no way to prove if someone sleeps with someone or not. I think if the documents are signed, she’s married,” Brynna said. “You didn’t sleep with him again, did you?”

  Mel didn’t say a word. Gabby gasped. “You did!”

  Brynna couldn’t imagine what her sister was thinking. “So why did he marry you?”

  Mel’s cheeks went fiery red. When had Brynna last seen her sister embarrassed like this? “I don’t really know. But I can guarantee he has something else planned. He doesn’t do anything without a plan.”

  “You’re sure it’s a legal marriage license?”

  “I don’t know. He has it in his home in Mexico.”

  “We can request a copy from the Mexican government but that’ll take time,” Gabby said. “Elliot can do it. If you want.”

  “No. Whatever Houghton is planning, I want to play it out. I think...I need to. I need to do something to get him out of my head.” Mel’s mouth trembled. “It took me months to forget him last time. This...this is going to be so much worse. I think I need to finish this to the end first.”

  “Oh, Mel. I knew something had happened eighteen months ago to hurt you. Something with a man.” Gabby threw her arms around Mel and hugged her. Brynna reached for her sister’s hand. “You’ll get through this. We all will.”

  “I hope so. It took me months to get him out of my head last time. I’m…not sure I can go through that again.”

  Brynna thought of Chance and knew just exactly how Mel felt. She surprised the both of them when she threw her arms around her sister and hugged her as carefully as she could.

  They were more than just hurting physically, weren’t they?

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN.

  * * *

  LACY took charge of cleaning Barratt’s injury. She declared it needed stitches, so Jillian fetched the necessary supplies from the first aid kit in the bathroom.

  “It’s not the first time we’ve set stitches in this dining room,” she said, holding out the sterile package.

  Chance helped clear the table. Mel’s and Brynna’s plates were mostly uneaten. He gave them to the youngest sister and she covered them.

  “They’ll be hungry in a little bit,” the kid said. She was seventeen, wasn’t she? Chance hadn’t interacted with her much at all. How was she holding up under all of this? She’d had two sisters missing in less than a month—it was bound to scar a kid, wasn’t it?

  “They’ll be ok, Syd.” Her eyes were darker than Brynna’s, but they still had the soul-stealing super power that her sisters’ did. When she was a few years older she was going to be a real heartbreaker, just like the rest of the Beck sisters. “They’re tough.”

  “I hope so. Thank you for bringing Mel back. For taking care of Brynna, too. I don’t know what we’d do if you hadn’t.” She surprised him by hugging him quickly. “We’re all glad you’re here now.”

  He hugged her back. “I’m glad to be here, too.”

  And he meant that.

  There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to protect this family. He needed answers, and the first place he could get them was right there in the dining room.

  He walked back over to the table. Lacy was finishing setting a stitch in the man’s lip. Kevin had done a good job of making his point. Lacy stood and pulled off the disposable gloves. “Well, I have to say, here in Beckville things are always interesting.”

  “Thank you,” Baratt said.

  “Well, you’re welcome. I can’t say it’s nice to meet you. Not under these circumstances. Ironically, you’re not the first man I’ve stitched together who was restrained at the time.” She looked at the Ari. “You ready to take off?”

  “I think so. Jilly, call if you need us again.”

  Jillian hugged the both of them. “Thanks, Ari. For you and Lacy making dinner. For getting Luc to help. It’s appreciated by all of us.”

  “Anytime. I knew having an older brother would come in handy someday.”

  Chance waited until the two were gone and Syd was in her room before he nodded at his brother.

  Elliot and Kevin pulled out chairs at the dining room table. “Barratt, we have a few questions.” Elliot took the easy, businesslike tone.

  Kevin was still glowering. He’d gone down the hall a few minutes earlier to check on his daughter. His expression had been even darker when he’d returned.

  “I’m sure you do. Shouldn’t Melody be in here when you ask them?”

  Chance couldn’t figure out the guy’s tactic. What in the hell had he been thinking? “Why did you take Mel that way?”

  “Melody and I have things to deal with between us. They’ve been there a lot longer than a month.” His eyes narrowed. “I’d have married her eighteen months ago if she hadn’t gotten spooked and run away like she did. It has nothing to do with my father. That’s all any of you need to know about that subject. The rest is up to her to tell.”

  “So why did you abduct my daughter?”

  “I didn’t think she’d cooperate, with everything that’s happened.”

  “So why was it so important?” Chance asked. “Why did you marry her?”

  “Someone shot at her! You weren’t doing a good enough of job of protecting her!” Barratt’s expression hardened. “My father is missing. There are people trying to kill Melody’s sister. Someone shot at her. I can and will do the job so much better. Even if I have to hire a private army of my own to do it. I will protect her!”

  “You abducted her to protect her?” Kevin asked, incredulously. “Somehow that seems backwards.”

  “You think so? Let me just say this. If my father is involved in this, the last woman on earth he’d ever let get hurt would be my wife. He wouldn’t do that to me. And people will think twice about bothering her now. Because she is mine. Like I said, I would have married her months ago. If she hadn’t run away after the first night we spent together.”

  Chance had to hand it to the guy. He had balls. Chance still had difficulty meeting Kevin’s eyes when he thought of the things he’d done to one of Kevin’s daughters. To boldly look at the man and say it aloud, that was either damned manipulative or damned ballsy.

  Chance wasn’t sure which.

  “Have you heard from your father?” Kevin asked.

  “No. None of my contacts have, either. I�
�m not convinced he’s involved in this. At least not in the way you’ve implied. But I can’t find him to confirm that. It’s not like him not to have made contact for this long. We’re...close. I generally speak with him daily. It’s been almost three weeks.”

  “How do you think he’s involved?”

  “I think he’s stumbled into something. And is trying to fix it somehow. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Or he knows something about the key players. He’s out there trying to evade them.”

  “Seems like your time would have been better spent searching for him rather than kidnapping my daughter. If I find out you hurt her or forced her in any way, I’ll probably come close to beating you to death.”

  “I didn’t hurt her,” Barratt said, flatly. “I never would. I never will. She’s my wife. I don’t take that fact lightly. I meant the vows I said.”

  Chance thought he understood the man a bit better in that instant. Whatever was going on with his father was one thing; whatever was going on with Mel was an entirely different thing.

  And things had just gotten a bit more complicated for all of them.

  “Pull the tape off him,” Chance said. “He’s not going to go anywhere. Not as long we have his wife.”

  Elliot pulled his pocketknife free and sliced through the tape. Then pulled it off of the other man completely. Barratt stood.

  Stepped closer to Mel’s dad. “I’ll give you that one hit because of what happened. But...I’m going to be the one taking care of her from now on. You’d best get used to that. You’re not getting rid of me.”

  Barratt stalked down the hall, straight to Mel’s room. Where Brynna and Gabby still were.

  Chance and Elliot were steps after him.

  * * *

  MEL was still talking when the door swung open again. Brynna was expecting to see her father or Jilly or Syd.

  Not Houghton Barratt, followed by Chance and Elliot. She stood carefully. Now that some of the excitement was over, she was starting to feel the pain again. That, and it was time for more of the pain pills she’d been prescribed. Brynna stood, then stepped in front of her sister. She glared at Houghton Barratt. “What’s he doing in here? He should go away. He’s upsetting her.”