Colters' Woman (Colters' Legacy #1)(68)

She swallowed the knot in her throat. How long would she be separated from Adam, Ethan and Ryan, and would they even want her back by the time it was all over with? As much as she hated the idea of being separated from them, she knew what she had to do. For her parents, for the men she loved, and most importantly, for herself.

“Let’s do it,” she whispered. “Make the arrangements.”

He leaned forward and folded her hand in his. “Thank you, Holly. You’re doing a very brave thing.”

Brave? Or stupid? She wasn’t sure which. She knew she’d have three very angry men. Men she loved more than anything else in her life. And here she was doing the one thing she wanted to do the least. Leaving.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Adam sat in brooding silence, his feet perched on the windowsill of the hospital room. After the district attorney had come out of Holly’s room, she’d fallen asleep, clearly exhausted by the encounter.

The floor had gone into a flurry of activity, directed by the two Colorado state troopers. Even now, a police guard had been posted at the door, and no one but hospital staff and the Colter brothers were allowed in.

Adam could feel the clock ticking, and he didn’t like it a damn bit. He glanced over at Holly’s pale face. She was too damn weak, not nearly recovered enough to take on her bastard husband. She needed rest, to recuperate.

“What do you think’s going on?” Ethan muttered as he sat down beside Adam.

“Don’t be talking in low voices, thinking I won’t hear,” Ryan said sourly. “If there’s something to be said, I want to hear it.”

“We’re trying not to wake Holly up,” Adam said pointedly. He turned back to Ethan. “I wish the f**k I knew what was going on in her head. She blames herself for what happened to Ryan, and she’s acted on that.”

Ryan swore a streak that would have their mother washing his mouth out with soap.

“So what do we do?” Ethan asked.

Adam shook his head. He felt so damn helpless. “I don’t know. It has to be her decision. We can’t make it for her.”

“I don’t want to lose her,” Ryan said in a tight voice.

“Do you think we do?” Ethan asked. Anger and frustration simmered in his eyes.

Adam rubbed his face tiredly. They were all on pins and needles. Tired. Frustrated beyond belief. And scared to death of losing the one woman who meant everything to them.

“How can we just let her walk away?” Ryan demanded. “Who’s going to make sure that bastard husband of hers isn’t going to hurt her again?”

Adam turned his head to the bed when he heard Holly shift and sigh softly. Her eyes fluttered open, and he leaned forward in his seat.

“How’re you feeling, baby?”

“Tired,” she whispered.

He felt guilty for what he was about to do, but he wasn’t going to let go without a fight. She didn’t need to be pushed, but that was exactly what he was going to do.

“What’s going on, baby? Why did you call the D.A.? I don’t like what that implies.”

She stared at him with her beautiful eyes. Eyes that were awash in sadness. And fear. Almost as if she was afraid of how he’d react when she answered his questions.

His gut tightened uncomfortably.

“It had to be done,” she said.

“No, it didn’t,” Ryan refuted.

Tears welled in her eyes. “You almost died, Ryan. Because of me. Do you have any idea what that did to me? How badly it hurt? I can’t stand the thought of any of you gone. I love you too much.”

Adam glanced over at Ryan. His brother looked to be near losing all control. Rage and grief festered like a gangrenous sore.

“I’m the one who let you down,” Ryan said in a near shout. “Don’t you get it? I let that bastard into our home. I let him take you away from us. I let him nearly kill you. I let you down just like I let those prisoners down in Iraq.”

Tears streamed down Holly’s face. “Ryan…”

“I won’t let you do this, Holly. I won’t let you sacrifice yourself for us,” Ryan said fiercely.

She struggled to sit up, and Adam leaned further into her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to help.

“I made a bargain with the district attorney,” she said. “A bargain I won’t back out of. It’s something I have to do. For all of us.”

Nausea welled in Adam’s stomach, and he and Ethan exchanged panicked looks.

“What kind of bargain?” Ethan asked dully.

“I’m going to testify against Mason.”

Adam shook his head. “No. No, no, no! It’s too dangerous. He’ll go after you with everything he has.”

“I’m going away,” Holly added softly. “Until the trial. I’ll be in protective custody.”

Adam surged to his feet. He clenched his fingers into tight balls. God, he wanted to hit something. Put his fist through the wall.

“Why? Why are you doing this?” he demanded. He no longer cared that he sounded so angry. He couldn’t bring himself to treat her so gently when she was tearing him apart on the inside.

“I’m doing it for you.”

The statement was firm. Accentuated by a sharp lift to her chin. Fire blazed in eyes that had been so fatigued just moments ago.