Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
“I wanted her to be mine,” Caleb whispered, looking at the door again. He realized now why he called Tex. Only Tex could relate, on some level, to a desire like that. But Tex didn’t have the same darkness in him that Caleb had. It would never be evil for Tex to own a woman.
“Is she?” Tex asked calmly.
Another surge of emotion rose up but Caleb fought it down. “She was in Prior’s bed.”
Tex’s eyebrows shot up. “Preacher Prior? How the fuck did that happen?”
Caleb shook his head. “She just ended up there. She says nothing happened with him.”
“Do you believe her?”
Caleb looked at Tex and nodded. “I do. But she was in his bed, and tonight he had a knife to her throat and…” He couldn’t finish the sentence.
“And you needed a reminder that she was yours.”
Caleb’s eyes flashed at his brother. “She’s not mine!” he hissed. “She can never be mine!”
“Does she want to be?”
Caleb gaped at him. “You know it can never happen! You know I can’t—”
Tex held up a hand. “I don’t know any such thing, Caleb. You’re the one who seems determined to be alone. I disagree. I always have.”
“Mark—”
“It’s normal to want to stake your claim on a woman you’re interested in, Caleb. It’s normal to get upset when she’s in trouble and want reassurance that she’s okay. It’s normal to feel jealous when you hear some other guy’s been sniffing around.”
“I held her down!” Caleb said a little too loudly and winced thinking he might have woken her up.
“Then she wanted to be held down.”
Caleb stared at him.
“I don’t know Izzy that well, but from what I’ve seen, if she wanted to fight you, she would have. And you’d be a lot worse for the wear right now if she had.”
Caleb snorted. “Like she could stop me.”
“Probably not,” Tex admitted. “Not unless she got a lucky shot in. But I can guarantee you if she was upset about what happened, she wouldn’t be sleeping in your bed right now. She’d be wide awake and thinking of ways to slice the skin off your dick.”
“Maybe,” Caleb replied, though he didn’t buy it. “Or maybe she’s scared. Or maybe she doesn’t want to involve the police. It doesn’t matter. I’m turning myself in,” he declared.
Tex shook his head. “Like hell you are.”
Caleb’s eyebrows shot up. “What the fuck, Mark? We can’t just ignore it!”
“I’m not suggesting that,” the man countered. “But you’re going to sit your ass down and let me get a lay of the land first.”
“Mark—”
“You’re not going to self-destruct on my watch, Caleb. Not unless there’s an actual reason. Trust me. I’m taking this very, very seriously and if Izzy feels the same way, that you violated her, then we’ll call Shooter and we’ll take you downtown.”
Caleb blew out a harsh breath. “What kind of shape would I be in?” he asked. He could imagine the damage that two ex-Army Rangers could dish out, and he deserved every bit of it.
“Believe me, if you were anyone else I’d kick your ass just for having a doubt that it wasn’t consensual.”
“So, I get a free pass for being your brother.” It was wrong, yet it still felt good to know he had their support.
Tex shook his head. “No. You get a free pass because it’s you, Caleb. You’ve never been able to see clearly when it comes to women in jeopardy. And this time the asshole might be you? Well, no offense, but I’m pretty sure all your circuits are fried right now. Let me talk to her. Let me see how she is before we do anything else.”
Tex pushed off the counter and headed out of the kitchen. He stopped at the table. “Do I need to take that with me?” he asked, indicating the gun.
Caleb shook his head. “No. I’ll stand up.”
Tex nodded and left.
Chapter 27
Izzy stirred. She remembered going to sleep in the dark, but the light was on now. She opened her eyes and saw a large man, not Caleb, standing by the closed bedroom door. She blinked and it took her a moment to place him. “Mark,” she said out loud, remembering. Her eyes flitted to the door. “Where’s Caleb?” she asked cautiously.
“In the next room.”
She sat up and tugged the sheet up over her.
“I need to talk to you,” Mark told her.
“Right now?”
He nodded once.
“Can I get dressed?” she asked. “Can I get a minute?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“What’s so pressing that it can’t wait?” Izzy asked.
Mark leveled his gaze at her. “Rape.”
Izzy let a moment of silence hang between them. He was watching her closely, gaging her reaction. She sighed and sat up straighter on the bed. “I might have pushed him a little hard last night,” she replied. “But I didn’t rape him.”
The large, blond biker wasn’t amused. “This isn’t a joke.”