Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Lara

Dr. Moore glances at me again from the driver's seat.

The whole drive to Michael's parents' cabin has been made in tense silence.

I don't know what to say. Could this be over? Is he going to jail . . . am I?

By the time we pull up to the house, I give up trying to quiet my tears.

"Well, at least they're still here." He smiles, commenting on the cars out front. "Stay, I'll go and fetch a Cromwell." His tone his soft, but his words are forceful.

This town's men are a different breed.

I do as I'm told, watching from the passenger seat of his Jag. He knocks once on the front door .

I wait with bated breath. What happens now? Do I tell them what happened? I don't want Michael to get into trouble, not because of me and not for Darrell.

That man deserved it. Maybe the others did, too.

My heart hammers at the thought of never seeing him again.

Suddenly, my door opens, startling me. Daniel's large frame looms over me. The man really is massive.

His hands are surprisingly gentle as they brush away my tears. A frown pulls at his brows.

"Your brother was concerned. I promised to bring her to you."

"She's in your car, crying why?" Daniel growls, stroking the back of his hand down my cheek as I hiccup. Kaleb stands close behind him, looking down at us.

"Easy," Dr. Moore warns. "I was just telling your father when you two rushed out to the car. Michael's been arrested for murder."

At that moment, Christopher exists the house like his ass is on fire. "You and the rest of your team better be at that station within the hour!" he hisses into his cell. "Boys, stay here with your mother and the girls."

Just as he says that, Helen and Charlie come out of the house as if he summoned them with his words.

Helen leads the charge, red-faced with a hand pressed against her chest. Her eyes quickly find Daniel and me. Charlie steps around her mother-in-law, heading toward us, but stops sharp. Her eyes search her husband's face. Whatever she sees makes her grow pale.

Daniel takes my elbow, helping me out of the car.

"Thanks, Dr. Moore," I whisper.

"Thanks, Leonard. We'll take care of her," Christopher promises the doctor.

The sound of a car shooting down the drive makes us all turn.

"Do you need me to stay?" the doctor offers.

"No, but I appreciate the thought. And thank you again for bringing Lara home." Christopher shakes his hand.

Daniel walks me over to Charlie and Helen, handling me as if I'm made of glass.

"Belle?" he asks, his eyes looking at the house.

"Getting a diaper change by Sam. They'll be a while," Helen reassures.

The two women quickly wrap me up in a hug. None of this feels real—like the man I've spent the past two nights with will be back any minute.

I wish we were getting ready to go to the clerk's office, that I hadn't given him trouble about it earlier. I wish that instead of feeling this pit of dread in my stomach, I felt Michael's stern gaze on me as he warned me to behave for the ceremony, just like he had at the signing of our marriage license.

Dr. Moore leaves, passing the police car as it screeches to a halt. The same FBI agent and sheriff from earlier climb out .

"You," Christopher snarls, pointing at the sheriff, who holds his hands palm up.

"It's out of my control."

Cooper smirks, strutting forward. "This would be my doing."

"I'm Agent Collins. Your son has been arrested for the murder of Darrell Cooper."

"With what evidence?" Helen demands, stroking my back.

"He was seen with the victim the night he went missing."

I frown. N o, he wasn't. Both Michael and Kaleb had been wearing masks at the party. Others including Darrell had been wearing the same one as Michael. There's no way someone recognized them. Even I hadn't.

"No, they didn't," I speak out angrily. "He was with me. All night." I alibi him without thinking but it's not a lie. He could well have been in my room the entire time I'd been asleep.

Agent Collins gives me a look that makes me shrink back.

"It's a serious crime to lie to a federal agent, miss."

Her words piss me off. Arresting a man for a crime they have no evidence of is serious.

"He was," I challenge, standing up straighter. "Maybe you should talk to his friend Paul, who was spiking drinks at the Halloween party. Darrell seemed real involved in that," I say, sharing Michael's suspicions .

McCallister makes a note of what I said. "You know Paul's surname?"

I shake my head. "But Cassie Charles might. She was Darrell's girlfriend."

"Was! See I told you; they did something," Cooper yells.

"You told us he's dead. Lara is purely going by your word," Christopher interjects. "Cooper was here harassing my family earlier today."

Agent Collins shares a look with the sheriff at the news.

"Enough, my family is done talking. I'm coming to see my son, and our family lawyers will be at the station soon. When is his arraignment?" their dad asks.

Agent Collins shifts on her feet, the first sign of nervousness she's given since climbing out of the car.

McCallister steps forward. "He's not being processed yet. Just held for questioning."

"That's not what she said before. You're holding him until you're forced to let him go. Jesus Christ, this is a fishing expedition?" Christopher cusses.

"You don't have shit." Kaleb smirks.

"Helen, take everyone inside. I'll go to the station and wait this out with Michael." He turns to his wife. "I'll bring our boy back. Keep everyone here until then."

Helen nods. "How long?"

Her husband pauses, unsure.

"Seventy-two hours," the sheriff informs them .

"After that, they'll have to charge him or let him go. And with no evidence, they won't charge him," Christopher finishes, looking at the Agent.

"I still have my witness," Collins snaps.

"Something tells me he's not credible."

Cooper looks on in disbelief. "He's getting charged, right?"

Agent Collins looks at her watch. "We'll go chat with this other kid. If he was spiking drinks, it would be a reason to run."

"Or motive for someone else," Kaleb chimes in.

"No!" Cooper explodes. "They did this! All of them killed my nephew, just like they killed those campers a few years ago."

Agent Collins looks at Cooper like she's just realized she's hitched her wagon to a loony horse.

"Three college kids killed at the Cromwell camp; I remember the case. It was around the time another serial killer was dropping bodies. That was a masked killer, though. They caught a glimpse of the killer on tape." Agent Collins closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opens them, she glares at Cooper. "When you called, you said you saw him. You never mentioned a mask."

"I . . . I . . ." Cooper stumbles.

"Did you see him or not?"

"He was in the girl's room," Cooper cries. "My nephew went in there. His friends saw him."

"Why was he in her bedroom if her boyfriend was in there?" Christopher questions. The man was a lawyer in a past life.

Cooper stumbles to find his words again. Everyone just stands around watching as their case falls apart on the Cromwell's driveway.

Agent Collins rubs at her right temple. Exhaling loudly, she shares a look with the sheriff who raises his brow and waves a hand at Cooper, clearly not impressed.

"Talk to Darrell's friends," he whines.

"I will," she snaps, "and for your sake, they better have seen something."

Cooper smirks. "At least Michael will have a fun night."

"The fuck's that supposed to mean?" Kaleb demands.

"Well, a handsome man like that in a cell full of rowdy bikers. I can only imagine what they'll do."

I don't know who cries louder at Cooper's words, me or Helen.

"That true?" Daniel demands.

McCallister nods. "We booked some bikers who were cutting through Ellis Road early this morning, still intoxicated from last night's partying. We only have one cell. It's pretty crowded, but my officer will be in the room most of the time," he rushes to add.

Daniel steps forward without another word. His fist lands on Cooper's face with a crack.

The man goes down like a plank of wood. Flying backward, he lands flat on his back with a loud thud that seems to echo through the surrounding woods. He's knocked out cold. Blood flows from his nose while he lies there, but no one moves to help him.

Stepping back, Daniel turns, holding his hands behind his back.

My mouth dropped the minute he struck Cooper, and it stays open the longer the man lies there. Holy shit .

Charlie stands next to me in complete shock. Glancing around, I see there's not one jaw closed.

"Oh, that felt good, and I didn't even do it," Kaleb cries out, hanging his head back. "You have all the fun," he moans.

"Daniel." Christopher sighs, disappointed.

"I have Michael," he tells his dad before turning to his wife. "You stay with Kaleb. He's in charge until Michael comes home."

Charlie nods, tears spilling out. Blinking rapidly, she mouths, "I love you."

I can't help but to feel guilty because while she's worried and sad, I'm relieved. Daniel will protect Michael. With his brother there, I know he'll be okay.

Daniel turns to Kaleb next. "With your life," he demands.

Kaleb seems to stand taller, broader. "With my life," he agrees. "I have his girl, too."

"Oh, Daniel," Helen murmurs, covering her mouth.

Cooper stirs on the ground, finally coming around. He coughs slightly, blood filling his mouth when he tries to speak. A blood bubble grows and pops in his left nostril, and I have to look away.

Agent Collins approaches Daniel with her cuffs out.

"I don't think they're going to fit." She cringes, closing one of the bracelets on his wrist.

She's right. His body is too wide for his arms to meet in the middle of his back.

"Do you have any zip ties in the car?"

"No," McCallister answers. "I wasn't anticipating arresting the hulk."

"I won't be any trouble," Daniel promises.

"You just knocked a man clean out," Collins points out.

Daniel just shrugs.

Having no other option, McCallister nods. "I'll vouch for him."

Satisfied, or at least enough to go along with it, she removes the cuff, then leads Daniel to the car before placing him in the back seat and closing the door.

Back on his feet, Cooper stumbles, "That's two brothers down."

"Get the fuck off my property," Christopher snarls.

But Cooper's not done. His face twists, his attention turning to Charlie.

"I told you I'd come after Michael. You should have done the right thing two years ago," Cooper sneers, stepping closer to her.

Kaleb blocks him, shouldering Cooper, which causes him to stumble back a few steps. At the same time, a loud cracking sound splits through the drive, drawing everyone's attention to the police cruiser.

Several long cracks shoot off from a big spiraled crack in the middle of the glass. The sheet of glass bends out slightly from the force of his fist.

Daniel points a finger at Cooper, mouthing the word, "Move," through the broken glass.

Facing the car, Collins demands, "What happened to behaving?" Her head tilts, waiting for Daniel to respond, but he doesn't even look at her.

Once Cooper backs away, Daniel sits back in his seat, staring ahead once more.

"He started it," Kaleb sneers, his lip curled.

Cooper looks like he's about to shit himself, and who can blame him? My face mirrors his terror. Thank God Daniel loves Michael, so that puts me permanently on his good side. Right?

I look around as if someone will answer my unasked question, but no one does.

"That was assault!" Cooper cries, pointing at Kaleb, calling him out for the shoulder check. Cooper's arm stays straight, pointing as he swivels his head wildly searching for Agent Collins. "Arrest him, too!"

Collins looks like she's at the end of her tether. "Let's get out of here," she tells the sheriff, climbing into the police car .

"Christopher—" the sheriff starts, only to get cut off.

"Enjoy your job while you have it," Christopher snaps. "Winning a re-election is going to be real hard without a budget."

"Please, you know what this job means to me. I keep this town orderly."

"You should have thought about that before you arrested one of my boys and then another." Christopher points at where Daniel still sits patiently in the back of the squad car.

"He just clocked someone in the jaw while I was standing right here." He waves at his feet.

Christopher sneers at Cooper. "Daniel's not the first person who's ever wanted to punch him out, just the first with balls big enough to actually do it."

"Shit," the sheriff curses, taking his hat off. "If he didn't do the murder, I can fix this. Just give me time."

"You have an hour, and then you're going to have an army of lawyers crawling up your ass."

The sheriff's shoulders sag, but he nods, acknowledging Christopher's words.

Seeing that the police are leaving and that he'd be left with us, Cooper seems to snap out of it.

Maybe Daniel knocked something loose.

"I'm coming to the station; I want to see him getting booked in," he says smugly.

Now, I want to hit him. Dick.

"Sure, but you have to get in the back with Daniel. "

I thought Daniel had been ignoring what was going on out here, but at Sheriff McCallister's words, Daniel's head turns to face us. Green eyes zero in on Cooper. Daniel's head tilts, his mouth splitting into a wide grin as his enormous chest shakes with a chuckle. I shiver. How is this the same man who greeted and comforted me just moments ago?

Like the coward he is, Cooper backtracks quickly. "I'll meet you there. I need to clear my head anyway. The walk will do me good."

The car horn blares.

That woman is super impatient. But I want her gone, too. The brothers need to be together. At least then I'll know Michael is safe.

We stand and watch mournfully as Daniel is driven away in the back of the police car. At least we get the sight of Cooper staggering down the drive.

"I hope he gets blisters," I whisper.

Kaleb's shoulders shake. "That's nicer than what I was wishing for, Fawn."

The name makes me tear up. I really do feel like someone's prey right now.

A hand on my back reminds me that I'm not alone. I give Charlie a regretful smile. She shouldn't have to comfort me. It was her husband who just got arrested.

"They'll be okay," I say, with more confidence than I have.

"It's this house." Christopher gestures. "Everything bad that's happened in the past few years has started here. Maybe we should sell it." He wraps his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"No point," Helen mumbles. "One of the boys would just buy it, and we'd still be here every weekend."

"True." He gives in, kissing the crown of her head.

"The boys . . ." She worries.

"Will be just fine. Nothing's happening to Michael with Daniel there, and I've called Edward to come sort this nonsense out."

Kaleb reaches out, taking Charlie's and my hands and drawing us into the house after his parents.

Helen nods, but all of us ladies seem to move a bit unsteady as we enter the house.

"You both hear that? The family lawyer and Dad are on the case. Your boys will be home before you know it," Kaleb repeats for us.

"Tonight?" Charlie asks, hopeful.

"Maybe not, sweet girl," Kaleb says gently, looking at the wall clock, "but soon. Why don't you and Mom go feed Belle? She's going to need a bottle any minute now, right?"

"I'll sort the bottle," Helen offers.

"No." Charlie shakes her head. "I'll breastfeed her. I need her close right now."

Kaleb strokes the back of her head. "I'm going to do a security sweep of the house. Do you want me to come up to you after?"

"No, it's okay." She smiles shakily, heading toward the stairs and pausing at the bottom. "Helen, you can still come if you want."

"Of course, baby, of course." Helen rushes, seeming happy to have something to keep her mind busy.

"Lara?" Charlie asks, extending me an invitation.

I want to, but I hesitate, unsure.

"It's okay." Charlie gestures for me to follow, too, "You won't be the first Cromwell other than my husband to see my boobs." She laughs, but it quickly trails off to a sob.

"Come on, let's go cuddle that precious baby girl," Helen encourages Charlie, guiding her up the stairs.

Christopher takes that as his cue to grab his keys and leave.

Kaleb locks the front door, peeking out of the lace curtains covering the window next to it. When he sees I'm still standing where he left me, he nods upstairs. "You go on up. I have a house to secure. No one's getting in, and no one's getting out." His words hold a second meaning, one that's not lost one me.

Michael might not have me in his sights, but Kaleb does. The sad part? Escaping hadn't even occurred to me.

"I'll call up when the food is ready later. I want all four of you down here."

I nod, leaving without another word.

The feel of his eyes on my back makes me shiver. He may seem playful, but Kaleb is just as dangerous as his brothers, maybe even more so. After all, Daniel and Michael scream danger. Their size is intimidating to most people. But Kaleb, he blends in. His charming smile, his playfulness, and those unassuming eyes hide what's right below the surface, just waiting for a chance to come out.

Freaked out at my own thoughts, I run up the last few steps onto the second floor and out of his view.