Unforgiven--Includes a bonus novella Page 21

  “What’s going on?” I scrambled around the bar and hurried toward him. I didn’t like the expression on his face.

  Shot barked a few more orders into the phone and grabbed my elbow in an almost painful grip. “Your dad’s house is on fire. The guys in the club were headed back to the ranch when they saw smoke coming up over the hill. They went to check it out and found the place burning.” He quirked an eyebrow. “They wanted to make sure they should call the fire department. Top thought maybe you’d had enough of the bullshit and decided to torch the place.”

  My stomach felt like it dropped into my shoes. I hated that house, hated the childhood I’d had there, but it was also the last place I’d seen my mother. The last place she’d hugged me, kissed me good night. It was the final place she’d told me she loved me and promised me I was good enough, where she’d whispered I would find someone to love me exactly the way I was. God, how I wished I could tell her I’d been lucky enough to find more than one.

  “I have to go. I need to get to the house.” I wasn’t thinking clearly, wasn’t processing that the house was probably gone already. All I could think about was the few good memories of my family going up in smoke.

  I shook my arm, trying to get Shot to let me go, but he held on tight. “You’re not rushing off into a dangerous situation like an idiot. You know better, and I’m not about to have your Ranger all up my ass if something happens to you. Call him and tell him what’s going on. Let him know the club is looking for anyone on the property and I’m taking you to the site. He’s going to want you to go with the cop out front, but tell him you need a friend right now.”

  I nodded absently, like a broken bobblehead doll. I dug my phone out of my pocket and pressed the number to call Hill.

  He sounded like I’d woken him up when he answered. “Hey. How did everything go?”

  “Hill, Dad’s house is on fire! It’s going to burn to the ground before the fire department can get out there.” The hill country was great for isolation and keeping family secrets buried. It was terrible for any kind of quick emergency response. “I’m losing it. Shot’s taking me out to the property, and the boys in the club are looking for Presley’s crazy friend.” I was surprised when a sob snuck out. “I don’t know what to do. I need you.”

  No questions asked. None of the interrogation Shot had anticipated. Hill simply gave me the support I needed and kept me breathing with a few easy words when I felt like I was going to suffocate. “You’ve got me. Put Caldwell on the phone.”

  I wordlessly passed the phone over to Shot, memories of watching my brothers grow up in that house swirling like a kaleidoscope in my mind.

  “Let’s roll. Hill’s going to let your brothers know what’s going on, and he’ll be out at the house before you know it.” The biker pulled me out the door. “I told him I would take care of you until he showed up, so get it together and don’t make me look bad, Trouble.”

  I nodded mutely, following him to his big black-and-chrome monstrosity of a bike. He handed me a helmet, which I must’ve stared at for too long, because he ended up plopping it on my head and snapping the chin strap.

  “Try to look a little less like I’m kidnapping you. Hill said he’d take care of the unit watching you, but if we pass another cop on the way out to the ranch, we don’t have time to get pulled over.” His hands landed on my shoulders, and he gave me a little shake. “The building might burn to the ground, but everything important that happened inside of it is still right here.” He tapped his finger on the rim of the helmet, and then on the center of my chest. “And in here. You aren’t going to fall apart on me over a pile of old wood.”

  I sniffed and forced myself to breathe out slow and steady. “Let’s go.”

  I followed Shot’s lead, throwing a leg over the bike and settling in as he gunned it out of the parking lot. One of the deputy cars followed behind us, turning the sirens on as we hit the highway and flew down the road toward hill country.

  It didn’t take long to see the smoke billowing over the rolling hills. It was thick, black, and ominous-looking. It was an omen foretelling the sight waiting for me when we finally hit the backcountry roads that wound their way to the property.

  The house wasn’t just on fire.

  It was a blazing, roaring inferno.

  It looked like something out of a movie. The colors of the flames were so intense, so vivid as they ate up century-old wood and plaster. I couldn’t stop the pained whimper, or the way I automatically squeezed Shot so tightly he had to tap my hands to get me to loosen my grip.

  The house had an avid audience as it popped and whooshed its way through its last few standing supports. The heat was intense, blistering even from a distance. The air smelled acrid and bitter.

  Neighbors—who never once showed up to help us when they knew good and well what kind of man Conrad was—stood by with almost satisfied looks. Conrad Lawton hadn’t been any better a neighbor than he had been a father or sheriff. Several of Shot’s boys were gathered around in a semicircle. They all had their arms crossed and were watching the spectacle with somber expressions. It was interesting that they appeared to have more sympathy and compassion than the people I’d lived next to growing up.

  As soon as the bike rolled to a stop, I hopped off the back, ripped the helmet from my head, and started running toward the blaze. I didn’t have a coherent thought. All I knew was that I wanted to be closer, as if I could save something, do something to prevent all the damage.

  A strong arm locked around my waist, and I was immediately pulled backward. Shot’s low voice rumbled in my ear. “Not going to happen, Trouble. Behave until your man gets here.”

  I shook him off. Slapped his hands away as he reached for me again. “Leave me alone.”

  It was impossible to explain to anyone what it was doing to me to watch my entire painful past go up in flames. I’d barely had time to process the very complicated emotions that went along with losing my father in such a violent and tragic way. Now the only thing left that tied me to him was turning into ash. It made things feel so final.

  Sirens screamed in the distance, but they were too late.

  Without being aware of it, I sank to my knees in the dirt. I was pretty sure I was crying, but the heat coming from the fire was intense, drying the tears as soon as they hit my cheeks.

  I had no idea how much time went by. It could’ve been a minute or an hour, but between one smoky breath and the next, I was suddenly wrapped up in an embrace that felt like home. I would know the way Hill held me in a dark room filled with a thousand other people. There was something healing in his touch.

  I let him pull me to my feet and buried my head in his chest as he stroked my hair and muttered words that were nonsense in my ear. It made no sense, but now that he was here, I knew everything was going to be okay.

  “I can’t tell you how many times I imagined burning the damn place down when we were growing up.” Case’s raspy words brought my head up as he suddenly appeared next to us. I was shocked he’d admitted it. Crew was the one who was outright defiant when we were growing up. Case was the one who did his best to hold us all together. “Shouldn’t hurt to see the place go, but it does.”

  I nodded, the top of my head bumping Hill’s chin as he pulled me closer. “It really does.”

  Hill cupped the back of my head and moved his head down until his lips were right next to my ear.

  “At least you got to send your mom off. I know you didn’t get a chance to tell your old man goodbye. You never got to say what you had to say to him before he was taken out of your life. There was no closure, he remains forever unforgiven. But no matter how you felt about him, he was still your dad. This house is the last thing casting Conrad’s shadow in your life. Maybe it’s time to put the past to rest.” He set me away from him and shot a look at Case, and at Crew, who was now lingering behind our older brother. “Go together. After the house is gone, you’re done being nothing more than Conrad Lawton’s kids. This place
wasn’t your home. Your homes are the places you all went out and found for yourselves. It’s in the love you found despite Conrad trying to take it from you over and over again.”

  Case released a shuddery breath and reached out to clasp Hill’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  So was I. I wrapped my arms around his waist for a quick hug before letting go so I could reach for my brothers’ hands. The fire department was now on the scene, along with what looked like half of Case’s deputies. Everyone was giving us a respectful amount of space, but Hill took the initiative to ask everyone to move even farther back. He managed to be imposing and authoritative even though he was using a crutch to keep him upright and off his bad knee, still looking like a boxer who’d lost his last fight.

  Case threw his arms around my and Crew’s shoulders. He yanked us in until we were huddled together, similar to when we were kids trying to comfort each other.

  “It’s just a house. A stupid house. A place that housed generations of mean and ugly.” Case’s voice cracked. “We don’t need it. None of us wanted it.”

  “We’ve got each other.” Crew’s voice also sounded shaky. “No matter what, we’ve always had each other. We got the only thing that mattered out of that shithole.”

  “We aren’t going to forget Mom. Never. We don’t need the house to remind us of how much she loved us. We don’t need those walls to keep her memory here with us.” I closed my eyes as I felt tears catch on my eyelashes. “Who we were when we lived in that house doesn’t have to define who we are now.” That was a lesson I’d learned from Hill long ago. I should’ve put it into action before we got to this point.

  Case pulled me closer until our foreheads knocked together. “This is the end. This is the last time we’re going to let this place make us sad. This is the last time we’re crying over what happened here. This is some kind of goddamn purification. We’re all moving forward. We’re taking every lesson we learned the hard way and we’re going to do the Lawton name proud. When people think about Dad, we’re going to make them say, ‘Look how well those Lawton kids did for themselves.’ We’re going to do right by us, despite him.”

  We took a minute to hold each other and silently say goodbye to the kids we used to be and the parents we no longer had. It was emotional. It was tragic. It was healing.

  There were a loud crack and a few shouts from the firemen as the last of the structure collapsed in on itself. The house was now nothing more than a memory and a pile of embers. It was as if the Band-Aid we had slapped over all the wounds left from our childhood had been ripped away in one swift move. Now there was air and room for the injuries we’d always kept covered up to mend.

  I made my way back over to Hill, who was staring at his phone with furrowed brows and a fierce frown. He looked in my direction when I called his name over the commotion happening behind me.

  His expression didn’t soften at all when I approached.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He looked at the wreckage of the house and over to where Shot and his boys were gathered.

  “You, Case, and Crew are going to have to be extra careful until we get a handle on this woman.” He sounded angry and very serious.

  “This lunatic can’t believe she’s going to get away with putting the blame on Presley still.” It was absurd.

  Hill shook his head. “No. I don’t think she’s trying to frame Dr. Baskin anymore. Since it didn’t work, she’s just making her suffer. Now she’s demanding to know where Baskin is. She says if we don’t disclose the doctor’s location she’s not going to stop coming after her new family.”

  I blinked and felt my jaw drop. “What?”

  “She called the local law asking to be put in touch with the Ranger in charge of the Lawton investigation. They put her in touch with Hearst. She made the threat directly to him. Told him the fire was just the start.” His jaw clenched, and a muscle twitched furiously in his cheek. I could feel the heat of his anger radiating off him. “Her plan to put Presley away didn’t work, and now she’s gone off the deep end.”

  I jolted and reached out to grab a handful of his shirt. “My bar!” If my childhood home was a target, there was no way my bar wouldn’t be next.

  Hill held up the hand he didn’t have wrapped around the crutch under his arm. “Hearst took care of it. He sent some of our guys to your bar, to Aspen’s office, and out to Crew’s place to keep an eye on Della. We’re going to take every precaution needed until she’s caught. We’re about to launch a statewide manhunt.”

  I nearly collapsed against him. “What’s the point to all of this? She’s got to be plain crazy.”

  He kissed the top of my head. “I agree, something isn’t quite right with her wiring. I’ll figure out her motivation, though. I won’t stop until we have answers.”

  I believed he would, but not before all of us, and mostly our new sister, were put through the emotional wringer by her former friend’s vengefulness.

  Chapter 20

  Hill

  I was back to being so tired it was a battle to keep my eyes open.

  When the Texas Rangers launched a manhunt, it was all hands on deck, even if those hands weren’t in the best shape. Between chasing down leads, all of which turned out to be busts, and doing my part at the road checkpoints we’d set up to stop Ashby Grant from leaving Texas, I was exhausted. If there was anything worse than a killer, it was a smart killer. I had no idea what Ashby Grant’s story was, but there was no arguing the woman was cunning and elusive. So far no one knew where she was, even with local law enforcement, the Texas Rangers, and a special FBI task force involved in the search. She was outsmarting all of us, remaining one step ahead.

  It was frustrating as hell, and not just because she’d made threats toward the people I loved and wanted to protect. It was long hours, tedious police work, and I hadn’t been able to get back to Loveless or to Kody in almost two weeks. I spoke to her every day when I got a free minute, but it wasn’t the same. This relationship, while feeling solid and secure at its foundation, was still brand-new. We were skipping right over the honeymoon period where everything was supposed to be easy, and were jumping into the harsh reality of how things were going to be between us when I was working a case that took me wherever I was needed. There were going to be times when I would be gone for weeks, maybe even months, which was hard on any relationship, but especially hard on one as shiny and new as ours. Luckily, Kody had thrown herself into work and helping Della plan her wedding. She kept herself occupied, but every time we talked she wanted to know about Ashby Grant. She had as many questions as I did, and I really believed it was that curiosity that drew her to reach out to Presley. She was the only one who had any insight into the woman who had turned the Lawtons’ lives upside down. Kody wasn’t one to sit idly by while others got their hands dirty. She would find her own answers…if only Presley was willing to cooperate. So far the family reunion had gone less than smoothly. The doctor was in protective custody and refusing any kind of contact with anyone from the outside world who wasn’t a vetted member of law enforcement. She was scared to death, and I couldn’t say I blamed her. Her former friend was proving to be a formidable foe.

  After weeks on the road, I was thrilled to finally be headed back to Loveless. The town I was always trying to get out of was now the only place I wanted to be…because Kody was there. I would walk through the flames of hell if it meant I got to see her, got to spend time with her. I missed her while I was on the job, but it was the best feeling in the world to finally have someone waiting for my return. I’d finally found a place that felt like home. The thought warmed the center of my chest and made me smile from ear to ear regardless of the exhaustion weighing down my steps.

  She had no idea I was coming into town today, because I didn’t want to get her hopes up. I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be back, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to get called away again before getting a chance to see her. Ashby Grant was unpredictable and elusiv
e.

  Covering a loud yawn with my hand, I pushed through the front doors of the bar, only to be brought up short by a burly-looking man with a red beard and arms the size of tree trunks. He gave me a thorough once-over as he pushed the bill of his ball cap up with his index finger. His gaze lingered on the badge and the gun clipped to my belt. A frown formed between bushy, rust-colored eyebrows.

  “The cops are supposed to stay out in the lot. I’ve got everything under control in here.” He crossed his arms over his barrel chest and narrowed his eyes. “Don’t need any help making people act right.”

  The Barn was busy. Much busier than it usually was on a Thursday night. I noticed that at some point while I’d been gone, Kody had had a stage built toward the back of the bar. There were all kinds of musical equipment set up on the platform, and a couple of young guys scrambling around with cords and wires as they set up. The increase in the crowd was probably tied directly to the addition of live music, and the easygoing atmosphere was more than likely tied to the giant guarding the door. Kody hadn’t mentioned she’d finally hired security, but I was glad she had.

  All the Lawtons still had a protective detail following them around since Ashby Grant was still unaccounted for, so like the giant mentioned, Kody was dealing with a patrol car parked in front of her bar. Help wasn’t too far away if something dangerous happened inside, but this behemoth at the door lowered the risk of someone getting inside and getting close enough to Kody to do any damage.

  “Not here to make anyone act right. Just here to see my girl.” I was too tired to do much beyond that.

  The big man’s eyes swept over me once again, and his eyes widened when he took a closer look at my badge. “Holy shit. You’re Kody’s Ranger? I thought she made you up so she had an excuse to turn all those thirsty creeps who ask her out down without hurting their feelings. You’re actually real.”