“Shit,” Seth swore.
“She took Suki’s death very hard,” Noah continued.
“Suki?” Michael asked.
“She’s the woman Liam and I talked to and who was beaten to death the day after,” Noah replied. “Lauren blames herself. Said that if she’d gone to the police when she left Joel instead of running here to hide that Suki would be alive.”
“That’s crazy,” Dillon bit out. “She’d probably be dead herself. He would have gotten to her before Max ever got there.”
“Exactly,” Liam said. “But she has it in her head that she’s to blame and she wants to rectify the situation by going to New York and handing over the disk to the authorities.”
Seth rubbed a hand over his hair. “Does Max know about any of this?”
Noah shook his head. “We came straight here. I wanted to see what was on the disk before I made any decisions with regard to Lauren.”
“He’s going to flip out,” Michael said.
Liam leveled a stare at Seth. “What do you think, Seth? What are our options here? We have to be careful who we trust. We can’t just ignore the issue. It’s not going to go away. And the minute we relax our guard, that’s when that bastard will show up. For all we know he has someone looking for Lauren now. It’s obvious by looking at his records that he doesn’t take kindly to women leaving the fold. I can only imagine how personally he took it that a woman he considered his possession walked out on him.”
Seth nodded his lips drawn into a grim line. “I agree. From everything you’ve told me about him and from what Max has said, I’m inclined to agree that he’s not going to just forget about Lauren and move on. Which means you’ll always have to be looking over your shoulder unless something is done to stop him.”
“I think we should contact the district attorney and set up a meeting,” Noah said. “On our terms. We name the place and we prepare for the worst-case scenario, which is that the D.A. is dirty and the meeting is a setup to take Lauren out. We make damn sure she’s protected and that he’s on the up-and-up before we let him talk to her. And at no time do we give him any details about where Lauren is now or give him any of her family’s names.”
“Max wouldn’t be hard to track down,” Dillon pointed out. “If someone does any digging, they’ll discover Max and they’ll come here looking for her.”
Seth shook his head. “No, that’s not true. Max is a cagey bastard. I did some checking up on him when all that shit was going down between him and Callie. All I was able to discover about him was his connection to the business he owned. Apparently he’s always been big on privacy, because the only link was to the corporation, and the headquarters lists an address in New York City. I highly doubt that changed after he hooked up with Callie. He’s very protective of her, and he’s a wealthy son of a bitch. He wouldn’t want any risk to her whatsoever and she’s a free spirit, so putting her under lock and key wouldn’t exactly work.”
“Okay, well, that’s a good thing,” Liam said. “No one but Max and your family knows that she’s here or that she came from New York. I assume the locals only know she’s Max’s sister and not much else.”
Seth nodded. “Exactly. I don’t think you should take her anywhere near New York.”
Noah frowned. “Hell no. If the D.A.’s interested in talking to her, he’ll have to meet us someplace that isn’t connected to here or New York.”
“I’m sure Max would fly you out on his jet,” Seth said. “No paper trail that way. No IDs. No way to trace you back here. Have Lauren either dye her hair or wear a wig. Alter her appearance as much as possible for the meeting.”
“I like the way you think,” Liam said.
“And I don’t think you should go alone,” Seth added quietly.
Noah lifted his brow again. “Meaning what?”
“I think some of us should go with you as backup.”
Liam sent Noah a worried glance. The last thing they wanted was to involve the Colters. But he also recognized that he and Noah were only two people, and while they’d risk their lives to protect Lauren, if they went down, who would be left to protect her?
“I don’t know . . .” Noah hedged.
“Seth and I can go,” Dillon said firmly. “Michael can stay with Lily. We can talk to the dads. Max is going to have to know. We really need to let everyone in on what’s going on so we can plan Lauren’s meeting with the D.A. but also make sure that mom, Callie and Lily aren’t left unprotected here.”
“This is going to devastate Lauren even more,” Liam said. “She looks at you and your parents as her family. She loves all of you and she feels like she’s let you down and that she’s not worthy of the unconditional support you’ve offered her. She’s going to hate that it’s all going to come out this way.”
“Mom will nip that in the bud,” Michael said confidently. “The important thing is that we get the family together and decide what’s best for Lauren.”
Seth nodded his agreement. “Lauren is family. There’s no way in hell we’re just going to stand by on this. No offense to you and Noah. I’m sure you’re damn good at your job, and it’s obvious you care a lot about her.”
“No offense taken. We could use the help,” Noah said bluntly. “We need people we can trust, and I feel like we can trust you and your family absolutely.”
Seth checked his watch. “It’s late and I hate to drag everybody out tonight for a family meeting. But I think we should do it first thing in the morning so we can get rolling on what needs to be done. You take Lauren back home and try to get her to rest. Michael, can you call Doc Burton and ask him to call in something for Lauren to take to help her sleep tonight?”
Noah shook his head. “Don’t worry about Lauren. Liam and I will handle things with her. Just tell us when and where to meet you tomorrow. I’ll make sure she calls into work. There are things we need to get worked out between us before we bring in the rest of her family.”
Seth nodded his understanding. “We’ll meet at Mom and the dads’ place first thing in the morning at eight. I’ll go into work early and see what I can find out on those women on the printout. I’ll call Dad and let him know we’re coming. And then I’ll call Max.”
Noah rose from the chair he was seated in and extended his hand in Seth’s direction. “Appreciate the help. I know Lauren will too once she’s gotten over her fear and upset.”
Seth took his hand, shaking it. “You just watch out for our girl. She’s one of us even if her last name isn’t Colter.”
“What about Lily?” Michael said in a low voice. “For that matter, what about Mom and Callie? This is going to upset them.”
“Lauren is going to need their support,” Dillon said. “Lily would be pissed if we tried to keep this from her. Mom would kick all our asses. We’ve been through tough times before. Our women can handle it. We can’t protect them from everything. Besides, they need to know what we’re dealing with so they aren’t blindsided. They need to know to be on the lookout and to be careful until things are resolved.”
“I agree,” Seth said. “We can’t not tell them. They need to stick together and make sure they don’t go anywhere alone.”
“Okay then. We’ll take Lauren home and we’ll meet you at your parents’ place tomorrow at eight,” Noah said.
“Let’s go get our girl,” Liam said gruffly.
Chapter 20
LAUREN was doing her best to do justice to the wonderful-tasting pasta Lily had plated for her, but every bite felt like a rock in her stomach.
In the other room, the guys were talking. Deciding her fate. As if she had absolutely no control over her own choices.
But then could she blame them when she’d done nothing but make bad decisions? Over and over, at every turn, she’d chosen wrong.
This time she knew what she needed to do. It was clear in her mind and heart. Yes, it scared the holy hell out of her. She wasn’t so stupid that she thought it would be a simple matter of turning over the evidence to the police, and then Joel would spend many years behind bars and cease to be a threat to her.
Doing the right thing wasn’t easy. It wasn’t supposed to be easy. If it were, then everyone would always go that route and the world would be a much better place.
But it wasn’t, because men like Joel Knight continued to grow and prosper at the expense of the women he owned and controlled, threatened and intimidated.
That was no longer going to be her, and if she could help it, it would no longer be the women he peddled to men willing to pay Joel’s price to use their bodies.
“Is everything all right, Lauren?”
Lily’s anxious voice cut through Lauren’s thoughts. Her smile was automatic as she stared back at the other woman. But the longer she stared at Lily, the more she knew she couldn’t lie to her friend’s face.
There’d been too many lies as it was.
“I don’t know yet,” Lauren said in a low voice. “Liam and Noah are talking to Seth about it.”
Lily put her hand over Lauren’s and squeezed. “You know that we’re here for you. All of us.”
This time Lauren’s smile was genuine. “I do know that and thank you. You can’t possibly know what your support means to me.”
“Oh but I do know,” Lily said. “It wasn’t so long ago that I was in a terrible situation. The Colters were wonderful to me. I’ll never forget what that felt like after living with so much pain and regret. You’ll get there, Lauren. You just have to give yourself time to heal.”
They were interrupted when the group of men walked into the kitchen. Lauren immediately pushed her plate away, relieved to have an excuse to be done with it.
Liam came to stand beside her and slipped his hand over her shoulder. “You ready to go? It’s getting late.”
She nodded, examining each of the men’s faces in turn, looking for some sign of . . . condemnation. But all she saw was steady resolve. Determination.
She slid from her chair and rubbed her hands down her pants in a nervous gesture. Noah reached for one of her hands and laced his fingers through hers. His hold was comforting and strong. He tucked her into his side and ushered her toward the door amid good-byes from the Colters.
The cool night air was a much-needed balm for her senses. She breathed it in deeply, savoring the crispness. For a moment she hesitated, staring up to the blue-black sky. Stars cascaded across the expanse, like glitter tossed carelessly from the hand of a child.
The mountain loomed over them, silhouetted against the sky, and the moon was just visible between two peaks. Around her, the pines, furs and aspens swayed with the gentle breeze, bringing to her the spicy scent of pine.
What was most remarkable was the quiet. Silence had settled over the land with the blanket of night. Only the occasional rustle wrought by the wind stirred any sound.
It was a peaceful place. The most beautiful place Lauren had ever experienced. She wanted it to be her home. Her haven.
A lifetime away from the hustle and bustle of her former life in the city. The shopping, lattes, delis, busy streets, honking horns, every other business a different restaurant, cell phones, traffic lights, constantly going, going, going and never pausing to simply breathe.
Here she could walk down the sidewalk in Clyde and never bump into another person. There wasn’t a single traffic light in the town, and only one stop sign, at the intersection of Main and Maplewood.
People smiled when she made eye contact. The citizens here were always willing to lend a helping hand.
On the day she’d moved into her apartment, though she’d had the help of Max and the entire Colter clan, they’d had no less than a half a dozen offers from passersby to get her furniture up the stairs.
And Margery, one of the regulars at the diner, had fried chicken and made potato salad and homemade rolls along with a pitcher of fresh-squeezed lemonade, and she’d brought it all to Lauren’s apartment so everyone could eat.
She felt . . . relevant . . . here. Like she mattered. She wasn’t just another number in a massive population. Here, she was one in a small crowd.
“Lauren?”
Liam’s voice drifted to her and she realized that she was still staring up at the sky, a dreamy expression on her face. And maybe she was dreaming. Or wishing on the scattering of stars glowing brightly in the distance.
“You ready, baby? We need to get you home.”
Reluctantly she tore herself away from the beauty surrounding her and climbed into the SUV.
“What did they say?” she asked softly as they drove back toward town. “And did you look at the disk?”
“We did,” Noah said grimly. “You’re right. There’s definitely enough information to put him—and several others—away for a long time.”