Bad Boy Brody(54)

We stopped at the end of the second fence. There was still an entire field between us and them.

Two ambulances and dozens of cars—both police cruisers and regular vehicles—lined the driveway. Some tents had been put up on the front lawn, and there seemed to be people everywhere.

A chill went down my spine.

It was déjà vu. They were organizing a search party for us.

I fought back a wave of unwanted memories. I hadn’t wanted them here then, and it was the same today.

She left that day. No. My hands balled into fists. I pressed them down into my leg—she was taken from me that day.

And I had felt her earlier. Shivers went up my spine.

A shout rang out. Someone spotted us.

As one, all of their heads lifted, and they looked at us.

Brody glanced to me in concern.

This had happened before in my life. They would be upset with me, having to go through this work to pull their resources, and I was healthy and fine. Again. There’d been tears before. And lectures, so many lectures. Angry words. Biting words. It was the last thing I could take back then.

Seeing Matthew and Finn racing towards us, I braced myself for the same treatment.

A black car was pulling to a stop just behind the tents at the same time they opened the gate by the barn and sprinted down the field to us, stopping a few yards away. Matthew got to us first. His panic was clear in his eyes, which were still wild. “You’re okay?”

I didn’t respond.

I couldn’t tear my gaze away from that car.

Shiloh jerked backward. I reined her in, warning Finn and Matthew in a low voice, “Stay over there.” I still moved her back, just in case. Brody shifted, trying to put himself between Matthew and me. “She’s fine.”

Finn gave us a shaky smile. “Well.” He glanced over his shoulder to the whole scene spread out. Among the cops, ambulances, tents were the crew and actors for the movie. They were dressed as volunteers, wearing a bright red vest, so if they got lost in the woods they could be seen easier.

I was almost wistful of them at that moment.

They didn’t want to get lost. That implied they wanted to be found.

Getting lost and hiding have two different connotations, but the act is the same. If they disappeared into the woods, like I wanted to do right now.

I knew who was in that black car. That was a gravity weighing me down, and no one else seemed to be aware of him coming.

Finn added, laughing a bit, “My guess is that you’re unofficially part of the movie now. Welcome back, baby sister.”

Yeah.

Right.

I swallowed back the knot in my throat. I could handle whatever came with that, but not that car.

I gripped Shiloh’s mane tighter and leaned forward.

A driver got out, went to the back door, opened it, and . . .

My stepfather stepped out.

Peter Kellerman had arrived.





Brody



The blood drained from Morgan’s face and in the same instant, her body curled in. She seemed poised to flee.

Matthew, Finn, and I all turned to look at what had her spooked. It took a second for me to spot him.

The man was wearing a business suit. His hair was thick and silver, not quite white but not really gray. That was the only indication of his age. He kept himself trim.

Yeah. I recognized him.

Peter Kellerman was bigger than his two sons.

I skimmed a look over at Morgan. “Did you know he was coming?”

She started at my question, as if she had forgotten we were there. “No.”

Matthew was looking between the two, frowning. “Yeah. That’s my fault. I had to call him, Morgan. I’m sorry.”

Morgan’s head lowered, as if she wanted to curl into a ball.

Finn rolled his eyes, focused on his brother.

Matthew ignored Finn, saying, “You couldn’t breathe when you left. You were in the mountains. I didn’t know if Asher would bring back a body or if we’d have to go in and find two of you.”

“I told him to relax a little.” Finn was speaking to Morgan. “I thought maybe you’d be fine.” A look passed between the two.

I was watching the guy, who was being introduced to Shanna. I looked for Abby and Jen but didn’t see either before I turned to the two brothers. “Is he going to be a problem for Morgan?”

Peter Kellerman was my father without the boozing, whoring, and beatings being handed out. By all accounts, he was ruthless, sharp, and didn’t give one shit about Morgan. He would hurt her. That was what I knew, and I would stand in his way every time if I had to.

I knew all of that within two seconds of seeing him.

When neither answered, I narrowed my eyes at Matthew. “Maybe I should be asking if you’re going to be a problem for Morgan?”

We still hadn’t had our talk, and I really wanted to have that talk. What I did to Finn would be tame compared to what I still wanted to do to the elder brother.

Finn grunted. He knew exactly where I was going with this. He stood to the side, stepping away from his brother.

Matthew noticed, his frown deepening, and then he swung his gaze to me. “What?”

I gestured to where Kellerman Senior was. “Who are you loyal to? Him or her?”

“What?”

I leaned forward on my horse, making sure he could hear me clearly, though I wasn’t sure how much more frank I could put the question. “If a pissing match happens, if he’s here to hurt her and not help her, whose side are you on? Let’s get it fucking clear right now before we walk into something we can’t control. You on your pop’s side or her side?”