Authors: Kortny Alexander
I can’t wait around allowing whoever it is to slither through the house unnoticed.
When the footsteps eased further down the hallway, she placed her hand on the doorknob, turned it, and stepped out behind the intruder. Squinting, she could vaguely make out the figure still moving down the hallway and heading away from her.
“Freeze!” she yelled.
The dark figure turned and revealed a ski-mask-covered face, roared low, and charged her.
It took only seconds but seemed like minutes as May aimed her gun, breathed out slow, and fired. The dark figure dropped to the floor with a loud thud and a howl.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
The threatening voice had come from behind.
Gasping deep and shaking, May swung around, but he was faster. The gun was knocked from her hand, and her hair was yanked, slamming her head against the wall.
She felt like things were happening in slow motion as she tumbled to the floor. The move stunned her. Blood trickled down her face. The excruciating pain collided with the tears that fell from her eyes. She now feared for her life and the life of her child.
As she blinked, enduring the pain and trying to stay conscious, the lights flickered on, and the horrifying face of Earl Timmons came into view. He hovered above her with a demented grin on his face, hand in the air, ready to strike.
“No!”
Just as she passed out, May heard the menacing yells of Remy and Kane as they came running toward her, tackling Timmons to the floor.
* * * *
Remy and Kane had captured and handcuffed the intruders and ordered them to sit on the floor in the kitchen. They were just about to do a sweep through the house when Trevor rushed through the splintered front door with a flashlight in hand.
“Orin will have the lights on in a minute,” Trevor said breathlessly.
There was an echoing gunshot that had come from the direction of where May had been left. All three men took off in the direction of the sound. The lights flickered on, and the first thing Remy saw was a man standing over May with his arm in the air like he was about to pummel her in the face.
Remy, Kane, and Trevor all screamed, “No” at the exact same time. Trevor held back when Remy and Kane tackled the man to the floor and began pounding him wherever their punches landed.
“Get over here and hold your woman!” Orin yelled as two men from his team wearing vests with “SWAT” stenciled on them pulled Remy and Kane off the man.
“Shit!” Remy said as he tried to catch his breath while scurrying over to May. Trevor had been holding her head in his lap. Remy switched places with Trevor as Kane slid over beside him.
“I don’t know if she has any other injuries besides the big gash on her head, but at least she’s breathing,” Trevor said as he patted both men on the shoulder.
“The ambulance will be here in two minutes. I called the sheriff and gave him the rundown when I was driving up here. He said he would bring the ambulance as a precaution,” Orin said as he leaned over the unconscious man.
Remy could hear the sirens in the distance.
Orin grunted as he spoke. “The unconscious bloke is Timmons, but the guy down there…” He pointed over his shoulder when Remy and Kane looked up. “He’s definitely dead. Must have bled out,” Orin surmised as he walked over to examine the body closer. He shrugged a shoulder and moved back over to where Remy and Kane sat.
“We told her to stay in the damned room,” Kane said as tears welled up in his eyes.
“I know. She must have heard them walk past the door. So damned hardheaded,” Remy said, choking back tears.
“She’s gonna be okay, guys,” Trevor said as the medics came rushing in with the stretcher. “Give them a little room so they can move her.”
Remy didn’t want to move, didn’t want to let go of her. It was obvious Kane felt the same way. With much reluctance, they both slid away from May and watched as the medics looked her over.
“She’s extremely important to us, and she’s pregnant, so be very careful with her,” Kane said just before he embraced his brother.
“We will, sir.”
Remy felt the moisture on his shirt and realized his brother was crying. He was still having difficulty holding back his tears as he watched the medics. Within minutes, the medics had loaded May into the back of the vehicle.
“Sir, I can’t allow either of you to ride in back, but I will wait while you get in your vehicle,” the medic said as he stood beside the door.
“You two go with your girl. We will finish things up here and meet you at the hospital.”
Kane nodded, but Remy spoke up. “Orin, can you get the sheriff for me?”
Orin trotted back inside the house and returned almost as fast with the sheriff in tow. The somber look on Sheriff Stallings’s face was understandable. He was married to one of Remy’s cousins, which made May family to him, as well.
“Hey Connor, do you mind calling the rest of the family and having them meet us at the hospital? I’ll call the sisters.” Remy didn’t care that he was crying in front of the men. All he could think about was May and the baby.
Sheriff Connor Stallings nodded. “Already done. Go watch over your woman.”
Without another sound, Remy and Kane ran to their truck.
Chapter 16
“She finally decides to open her eyes,” Kane said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he slapped his hand on his thigh. “You’re in so much trouble, May.”
May blinked, enduring the excruciating pain throbbing in her head. She didn’t expect that type of response from Kane and didn’t have a clue why he’d said that, so she avoided making eye contact with him. She took a look around, and it was obvious from the beeping sounds, tubes, and the strong smell of antiseptic she was in a hospital. Kane and Remy were steadily pacing back and forth, glaring at her.
“I specifically instructed you to stay in that room. Dammit, May!” Remy stormed up close to the side of her bed.
He narrowed his eyes, glaring at her, but May didn’t flinch. She was having a difficult time trying to understand the animosity that seemed to fill the room. Why was he hell-bent on aiming his anger at her?
“I was going to stay in the room, but I heard hesitant footsteps coming my way. When I heard you two fighting in the distance it was clear to me that someone had slipped by undetected. As it turns out, two men had slipped by. I couldn’t call out for you. That would have given my location away. I had to do something!”
It was as if she hadn’t opened her mouth.
“Thankfully, Timmons is behind bars. You’re safe now.” Remy clutched the bed rail until his knuckles turned white. “You just had to be defiant, didn’t you?”
If her head hadn’t been pounding, she would have screamed at him. Instead, May was left with frowning and staring right back at him. “Defiant? I’m not a child, Kane. You must have forgotten that.”
“No, you’re not, but you put your life and our baby’s life at risk by doing the exact opposite of what you were told to do,” Kane added as he came to stand on the opposite side of her.
May gasped, ignoring the pounding in her head. Her hands immediately went to her stomach. “What?”
“The baby is fine! You’re fine!” Kane said as he scowled at her. “Everybody is fucking fine!”
May’s hospital door swung open, and a petite, raven-haired woman with blue eyes, wearing a blue cotton shirt with black dress pants and a white lab coat, stormed into the room.
“What are you two boneheads doing? I can hear you out in the hallway.” She walked toward May with a gentle smile on her face. “Are you okay?”
It had taken her a moment, but May finally recognized Dr. Piper Stallings. She was Remy and Kane’s cousin and the sheriff’s wife.
“No, I’m not okay.” May looked to Remy and Kane before her eyes landed back on Piper. She felt her hands begin to tremble and tears burning at the back of her eyes. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take. The two men she loved were fuming and yelling at her. She just wished they’d have sense enough to leave the room. The glares they gave spoke volumes. May knew they weren’t budging.
“Tears aren’t going to work, princess. Piper’s going to put you on permanent bed rest.” Remy sounded almost cheerful when he spoke.
“Just so you know, we are getting married the minute we get you home!” Kane yelled.
May’s eyes went wild, but she was speechless. She could have sworn she’d landed in the twilight zone.
“Oh my goodness! You two idiots have truly lost your minds.” Remy and Kane had stepped away from the bed when Piper raised her voice. She followed, poking Remy in the chest. “Get out!” Piper stabbed her finger in the air at both of them. “Get out! You’re banned from May’s room. Don’t let me catch your butts in here again.”
May could tell they didn’t want to leave, but they moved, dodging Piper’s stabs and shoves. As Remy and Kane walked toward the door, the disappointed scowls on their faces disappeared. They must have realized their actions were over-the-top and hurtful. It didn’t matter. May didn’t utter a word. She just watched as they shuffled out of the room like scolded children.
Once the door closed, Piper turned around once more and smiled at May. “I’m not the doctor treating you, but we are family, so I thought I would come in and check on you myself. The entire family was running amok in the halls of the hospital until I sent them home.” Piper shook her head for a moment and then continued. “The bump on your head needed stitches, and they got you all patched up. You and the baby are doing great.” Piper sighed.
“I’ll be fine,” May said as she wiped the tears that seemed to escape. She moved her feet and patted the area beside her. “Have a seat.”
Piper sat down. “First of all, I’m not putting you on bed rest.” She tossed her thumb over her shoulder. “Those two clowns have totally lost their minds.” Piper rubbed her hands on her pants. “I’m not going to get deep in your business, and I don’t know what’s going to happen with you and my cousins, but I wanted to let you know that there’s a position open here at the hospital if you want it. I know you already have a job in Denver, but just think about it.” Piper stood and walked toward the door. “I will send your sisters in. They’ve been waiting to see you, too.”
With that Piper opened the door and left.
Tears poured down her face nonstop. The two men she loved had just acted like complete idiots and then had the audacity to turn sheepish when they were thrown out of her room. She had a lot of thinking to do and some life-changing decisions to make, and their actions just made it that much more difficult.
* * * *
“We blew it,” Remy said as he watched Piper come out of May’s room and her sisters go inside.
“I don’t know what in hell came over me. Why in the world were we yelling at her?” Kane looked at the ceiling, trying to gain some semblance of control. “I think I freaked out after seeing her on the floor like that.”
“If Trevor’s men hadn’t pulled us back, I think I would have beat Timmons into a coma. Seeing him standing over her did something to me. Hell, Kane, we just want to protect her. Why couldn’t we have just said that?”
After sitting back down, Kane shoved his fingers through his hair. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “I’m glad the rest of the family went home, because if Mom and the Dads had been here, they would have ripped us a new one.”
Remy grunted. “Don’t think Piper won’t tell on us. But we can’t worry about that now. We have to figure out a way to repair the damage we just caused with May.”
“I’m with you there. I know one thing, whether we’re banned from her room or not, I’m not leaving this hospital without her.” Kane stood as he took a few steps in the direction of her door before stopping.
Remy stood, moving to stand next to his brother, and placed his hand on his shoulder. “We’ll figure something out.”
Chapter 17
May looked around the reception area and felt her heart skip a few beats. The real-estate development company was Kane and Remy’s pride and joy. Business was bustling. It was obvious from the way Maci the receptionist kept taking calls that business was great. May had waited until Maci had finally left her post before she slipped inside the building.
May was nervous and jittery. She didn’t want to risk saying something odd to anyone. She was on a mission, and her main goal at the moment was to find the disgruntled Durden brothers.