Chapter Eighteen—Swayze

She watched him from the kitchen window at the ranch. She was sure he hadn’t gone back to sleep after her nightmare, and it sat heavily in her stomach. He’d been lost looking at her, or maybe it was pity she’d noticed on his face.

The smell of bacon frying reminded her that she was hungry, and Mont probably was too.

Clearing her throat, she turned to look at Abigail, who hummed along to the cartoons playing on the living room TV.

“What’s the matter?” she asked over her shoulder.

Swayze watched her flip over the bacon and transfer it to a paper towel to drain the grease. “I—It happened.”

Abigail dropped the fork and turned to face her. Her pretty hazel eyes were large but didn’t compare to the smile on her face. “Why are you frowning?” she asked. “Was it not any good?”

Swayze sighed, resting her hip against the counter behind her. “It was amazing. I fell asleep afterward and woke up screaming. I have nightmares from time to time.”

Abigail held up her index finger, finished the bacon, and turned off the stove. “Did it scare him?”

She shook her head. “It’s not the first nightmare he’s witnessed, but he seemed curious, and it scares me,” she whispered.

Abigail walked over and pulled Swayze into a hug. She felt herself slip a bit, wanting to cry to her, but she bit her tongue. “Thank you,” Swayze said. “Do you mind if I take a plate out to Mont?”

“Not at all.”

Swayze helped Abigail fix his plate on a sturdy, plastic one and made him a glass of orange juice. “Are you okay?”

Swayze nodded. “I’m fine. I’ve read that it’s normal to have nightmares, but I don’t want to scare him away.”

Abigail pushed Swayze’s hair behind her ear. “Sweetie, he really likes you; I can tell. Just go talk to him. Have you already?”

Swayze had ridden in silence to work with him that morning, memories of the night before playing like a record. She had opened her mouth to speak so many times but didn’t know what to say. She’d had an amazing day with him and wanted him to know how much she loved it, but her nightmare had clamped her mouth shut and ruined her self-confidence.

“Not really.”

Abigail gestured toward the door. “What are you waiting on?”

Swayze sighed, grabbed their plates, and walked out toward the arena. Montgomery stood against the arena gate, his back to her as she approached. She didn’t see Kaden anywhere, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t pop up at any time.

“Hungry?’ she asked.

Mont turned to look at her, a distant look in his eyes, but he smiled. “Starving. Want to eat on my truck bed?”

Swayze nodded.

Montgomery walked them over toward his truck that sat inside of the large fence and pulled the tailgate down, helping Swayze with the plates and onto the platform.

“Smells good.”

Swayze nodded, slowly taking a bite of bacon.

After a few moments of silence, Montgomery groaned, sat down his plate, and turned to face Swayze, lifting her chin and forcing her to look at him. Those green eyes set her soul on fire. “Demi,” he whispered, his tone serious. “What are those nightmares about?”

She knew he’d ask. “Last night it was about Ryker—”

He scoffed. “Yeah, I know you were looking for Ryker, but why? Do all mothers wake up with nightmares, scared someone would take their baby? Did your husband hurt you or him?”

Swayze dropped her gaze and shook her head. “No.”

Mont cupped the nape of her neck and ran his thumb against her bottom lip. “Tell me, baby, so I can help you.”

What did she have to lose anymore? She’d finally taken another step with him. She trusted him. She liked him.

“Mont, my brother killed my husband.”

Mont’s face went blank. She’d dreaded telling anyone because she didn’t want pity and didn’t want anyone to let it slip.

She knew he wouldn’t.

“Your brother? Why? Did you not call the police?”

Swayze let a stray tear fall down her face. “I knew he was coming after us, and if I waited around for the police to catch him, it would be too late. When I found my husband dead outside the restaurant where we had been, I ran. I grabbed Ryker, our things, and called a cab. He’s been after me ever since, finding me everywhere except here, so far. Kaden is right. It could be my brother cutting the fence. I don’t know.”

Montgomery furrowed his brow and swallowed. His Adam’s apple bobbed deep in his throat. “Baby, why didn’t you go to the police?”

Swayze closed her eyes. “Would you call the cops on your brother? If he had raised you?”

Mont pulled back and ran a palm over his face. “I don’t know. You can’t run forever. Tell me you know that?”

Swayze did know that.

“I don’t know how to get out of this. That’s why I’ve been so guarded and scared. I don’t want to bring this on your family.”

Mont shushed her underneath his breath, bringing her closer with his arm. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure something out. Everything is gonna be okay.”

Swayze wanted to believe him, but knew he had no idea what her brother would do. She had no idea what he’d do.

Mont hopped down from the tailgate and offered her his hand. “Come on. I’ve got tons to do before lunch.”

Swayze took his hand and started toward the house.

“Hey,” he hollered.

She turned to face him.

“Y’all are safe with me.”

Swayze wanted to believe him with his green eyes intense, not their usual playfulness hiding in the corners. His tight shirt showed the muscles she’d clung to the night before. He was a sight to see in the early morning sun, dark hair dishelmed beneath his backward baseball cap.

“I know.”

***

The day turned to evening and cast a beautiful pink glow over the fields. Swayze had spent most of the day in the office, only leaving to run a few errands. Ryker clung to her back as they walked onto the porch around six o’clock.

Montgomery’s truck was still parked inside of the first fence, but she could see him pulling the gates closed and locking them in the distance.

Swayze had thought about her situation most of the day and Mont’s promise to keep them safe.

He’d try, she knew it, but it wasn’t fair for her to take the Kings down with her.

Swayze sat on the porch swing, listening to the sounds of the crickets in the distance, and it turned into the sound of Mont’s tires against the gravel. “Y’all ready?”

Swayze snapped out of it, shaking her head, and gathering a sleeping Ryker against her chest. He must have fallen asleep during their swinging, and she hadn’t realized.

The calm, safe look on his face made her smile.

Montgomery got out to help her into the front seat with Ryker lying across their laps.

“Thanks for taking us home,” she said.

Mont reached over and ran his fingers against her leg. “You want to come home with me?”

“I don’t want to become a bother.”

He scoffed. “Please, it’ll make me feel better knowing you’re with me.”

She felt he was scared for them. That fun-loving man was scared, and it was her fault.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” she whispered.

“I’m not scared for me, but I am for you. Come home with me.”

Swayze looked at the seriousness on his face. “Okay.”

Deep down, she wanted to stay with him because she was afraid.

Mont pulled up into his driveway and killed the engine. They walked up the steps and into his house, turning on lights along the way.

“Here,” Mont said, taking Ryker. She watched him walk him down the hallway to his bedroom and come out a few moments later.

Leaning against the hallway doorframe, he stopped to look at her. He was still dirty from his day at the ranch, jeans torn at the knees, but his ankles crossed.

She squirmed in her cutoffs and worn T-shirt.

Kicking from the door, he walked past her, locking the doors and setting the alarm system. “Come on,” he said with a gravelly voice.

She took his hand, letting him lead her toward the bathroom. He left the door open and started the shower.

He turned to look at her, cupping her face in his big hands. “Come on,” he said, kissing her lips. “Strip.”

She grinned, pulling her shirt over her head while watching him do the same. Once they were both shed of clothes, the hot water had steamed the mirror.

Montgomery pulled back the shower curtain, gesturing her inside.

He stepped in behind her, entrapping her against the shower wall, water pouring down their bodies.

“I meant what I said earlier, Demetria,” he said. “I don’t know how, but I will keep you safe and end this. Then nothing will be between us. I want this, us, you, Ryker—please believe me,” he said. “You’re safe.”

She was happy he couldn’t see the tears falling down her face from the stream of water. He didn’t give her a chance to answer before kissing her. Kissing her like he was hungry.

Kissing her until their lips were bruised and the water turned cold.

***

Someone hammered against Mont’s front door and startled Swayze awake.

Mont sat up beside her, his messy hair in his eyes, but he quickly wiped away the sleep and walked shirtless to his front door. Swayze grabbed a whining Ryker and put him on her hip.

When she rounded the corner, there stood a hysterical Abigail with a sleepy Kathryn in her arms.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

Montgomery looked over his shoulder at Swayze, and she immediately noticed the anger. Sighing, he closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. “Someone cut the fence, and the cows are out in the yard and down the road. I need to head over and wrangle them up. You want to come or stay here?”

Swayze felt cemented to the floor. Her mouth wouldn’t open.

“Did you already call Kaden?”

Abigail slowly nodded. “Well, yeah, he’s my husband.”

Mont frowned and slid his palm down his face. “Okay, get dressed,” he said to Swayze.

Swayze swallowed the lump in her throat and hurriedly got Ryker and herself dressed. Nerves slithered up and down her spine. Had he finally found them?

Had he been watching Mont and her together?

Why was he harming the ranch?

“Swayze.”

She looked up to the bathroom door where he stood. “Now I’m scared,” she said.

Mont offered her his hand. “Don’t be. Come on now, I’ve got tons of stuff to do before Kaden gets here.”

Swayze grabbed Ryker’s hand and followed them out the front door. Abigail and Kathryn pulled onto the road in an old pickup as they loaded into his truck.

Montgomery cleared his throat. “If this is your brother, I’m gonna need to know more about him. What’s wrong with him?”

Swayze closed her eyes. “I wish I knew.”

Montgomery didn’t pry anything out of her the rest of the way to the ranch. He got out and stormed toward the fence that had been cut in three different places. “I think you need to check the tracking on those cameras you ordered,” Mont hollered.

Swayze knew they would need more than cameras to keep her brother away.

She found Abigail sitting in the living room gnawing on her fingernail. “You okay?” she asked.

Abigail pulled her robe tight and walked over toward the kitchen. “I need to cook—”

“I can do it,” Swayze said. “I’ll check the tracking on the cameras, and I’ll cook for us. You look rattled.”

Abigail sighed, pushing her fingers through her ratted blond hair. “It’s creepy knowing we were here by ourselves when someone was outside the house.”

She knew that feeling all too well.

“I know. Go sit down, and I’ll get started.”

Swayze checked the tracking on the cameras, finishing up things that needed to be done, and started cooking biscuits and gravy. Once everything was ready, she got the kids up to their seats and fixed Montgomery a plate.

She walked toward the fence, noticing he’d taken down the wire and had most of it back up for two of the places where it’d been cut.

Sweat soaked his T-shirt, and dirt covered his jeans. As she neared, she could see he’d sliced his hand and had a piece of cloth wrapped tightly around it.

“Hungry?”

He looked over at her, never stopping working, and nodded. “Yeah, give me a few minutes, and I’ll eat.”

She watched him work, his strong hands pulling and tugging until all of the fence was fixed, besides one spot. She hated that she’d missed him wrangle in all the cattle, but seeing him work with his hands was prize enough.

Once he finished, he pulled off his cap and wiped his forehead.

He plopped down beside her, leaning against the post of the fence.

They began to eat in silence. Mont opened his mouth to speak when the sound of tires spinning down the gravel road rung loud.

“Ah, here we go,” Mont said, standing up.

Swayze stood up beside him, seeing Kaden’s dually pulling into the drive, a trailer with a few horses lugged behind him.

He got out quickly, slamming the door and stalked toward them.

“Don’t come over here with an attitude,” Mont said.

Kaden pointed his finger at him. “Who the hell did this?” He turned his dark eyes toward Swayze. “Who did this? Tell me!”

Swayze felt threatened at the tone of his voice.

“Yell at her again, and I’ll beat your ass right here in front of God and everybody. This is not—”

“It is her fault!” Kaden yelled. “There were no problems here until you hired her. Who do you think did this? It’s whatever she is running from!”

Montgomery took a step, coming nose to nose with Kaden. “Back off, or you’ll regret it.”

“I’ll leave,” Swayze said.

Mont turned to look at her with a bored look. “Drop it,” he said. “You’re not leaving.”

“If she wants to leave, she can. You can’t stop her.”

Mont shoved Kaden’s chest, and he stumbled backward.

“You’ve always been a pain in the ass,” Kaden said, taking off his cowboy hat. “You need a good ass whopping.”

“Who is gonna give me one, you?” he asked.

“No,” Swayze said. “I’ll leave—”

“You’re not leaving,” Abigail yelled from the porch where she’d been eavesdropping.

“You stay out of this,” Kaden yelled.

“Give it up,” Abigail yelled. “She’s not leaving.”

Montgomery braced his fist against his forehead and let out a humorless chuckle. “I’ve almost got the fence back up—it didn’t take long—”

“I’ll do the rest. Go home. I don’t want to look at y’all—”

“Screw you,” Mont spat, grabbing Swayze’s hand and pulling her along toward the house.

Abigail stopped them on the porch with a worried look on her face. “I’ll watch Ryker if y’all want to talk. Plus, it’ll give me a distraction from the Grinch that just got home.”

Mont nodded. “We will be back after lunch to get him. We have stuff to talk about.”

Montgomery spun tires on the way home, never looking over at Swayze. Was he secretly mad at her? She wouldn’t doubt it. She’d be mad at her too.

He got out once they parked and slammed the door. He stalked toward the porch. Swayze took a deep breath and found herself taking her time walking into the house, heading toward the kitchen to get a bottle of water.

She grabbed it from the bottom drawer of the refrigerator and went to unscrew the top to quench her parched throat when Montgomery grabbed her hips and placed her on the kitchen island. “What’s your brother’s name, and what the hell is wrong with him?”

Swayze cringed at the harsh tone to his voice. She knew it had to do with Kaden pushing his buttons, but she didn’t like the look on his face. Stern and serious. “He went crazy after our mom died.”

Mont nodded. “How so?”

Swayze felt trouble bubbling in her gut.

“He started stalking me,” she whispered, her bottom lip trembling. “He tried to get me to leave my husband and go away with him.” She lifted her gaze. “He is obsessed with me.”

Montgomery furrowed his dark brows and shook his head. “In a sexual way?”

She shrugged.

“Was he like this growing up?”

“No,” she said. “He slept with me and stuff, but he was more of a parent then because my mom worked two jobs to provide for us. He was protective and odd, but never like this.”

Mont pressed his tongue against the inside of his mouth. “What’s his name?”

“Why?”

“Because I need to find him,” he whispered. “To protect us. I have a lawyer friend a couple of towns over—”

“No, no, no,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t get pulled into that. If he is here, watching us, he’ll kill me before we can get a case—”

“Baby,” he whispered. “I’ll protect you, tell me—”

“No,” she whimpered. “Please.”

“He is going to kill someone you love if you don’t.”

“I have to leave. I can’t do this.”

“Running away is not gonna fix this,” he said.

“Please don’t—”

Mont slammed his fists down against the island counter and cursed. “Dammit, Swayze, tell me his name before I have to dig around and find it myself.”

Swayze hopped down from the counter and started toward the door, but he grabbed her elbow and spun her around. “Swayze, I want this to stop for you. No more running. You have to trust me. Your brother sounds sick; he needs help.”

“He will find a way to get us before we can even find where he is or get a case together. He is manipulative and angry. I left, Montgomery.”

He gripped the nape of her neck and forced her to look at him. There was a pleading in his eyes that broke her heart. “God as my witness, Swayze, I’ll find him, and I’ll hurt him. He has no right to do this to you. He kills your husband, and you’re gonna run from him the rest of your life? Sounds like a load of shit to me.”

Swayze felt angry and shoved against Mont’s chest. “It’s not that easy. He is my brother!”

“Yeah?” Mont asked, bringing her closer to him. “Well, I’m the man that’s going to marry you one day. So, you’re going to trust me. You’re going to be mine, and so is Ryker. I won’t live in fear of having what I want because of some psychotic asshole who has a fetish for his sister.” He leaned in closer to her, brushing his mouth against hers. “You don’t like me, Swayze? You don’t want that?”

She whimpered, shoving his chest again, but this time he caught her wrist and guided her against the door, enclosing her in a small space. “I care about you and Ryker. Now you’re going to let me help. If you don’t give me the information I need, I’ll find it, baby.”

Montgomery lowered his mouth to hers, causing a curse to leave her throat as he pried her mouth open and kissed her. It was full of rage and want, longing and fear. She clutched his shirt and pulled him closer; letting him take control, pick her up to his hips.

He broke free, kissing a path down her throat and biting her after each soft touch. She felt the love in his grip and the tightness of his muscles. He wanted to take it out on her, and she could feel the strength in each gentle touch.

“Baby,” he whispered, tugging his shirt over his head. “I’ve never wanted to hurt someone so badly. I want to hurt him for hurting you.”

Swayze tried to get off of his hips, but he shook his head, kissing her with force, carrying her toward his bed where he wasted no time climbing on top.

It felt like a whirlwind of kisses and tugs on clothes until he was inside of her.

Each thrust felt like a promise. A promise to free her from all her burdens and sins.

“Baby,” he whispered. “Tell me his name.”

Swayze cried out as he plunged deeper into her, twisting her hair into his fists and giving her what he told her he had wanted the first time.

Rough hands against her smooth skin and bites along her swollen lips had a dizzy, red haze over her brain. “I can’t tell you,” she whispered.

He tightened his fist into her hair and buried himself deep into her. The angry thrust of his hips, filling her over and over again made her head swim. Montgomery pulled her into his lap, never removing himself, and leaned back against his palms, bucking his hips as she rode him like a bull.

He leaned forward and forced her to look at him. “I’m so mad,” he whispered. “I could do this all day.”

She felt the anger in each touch, and she felt the same way. She’d had this anger since she’d found her husband on the ground. If he had been anyone else, she would have killed her brother, or turned him in, but he wasn’t sane.

He needed mental help.

“Stop thinking about him,” he whispered, kissing her deeply. “I’m gonna make this all go away,” he said, going harder, making her scream and clutch his shoulders.

He turned them around, tossing them onto the bed, never pulling away. Montgomery rode her until her body jolted in an orgasm she needed so badly. Montgomery gripped her hips and pressed every inch of himself deeper inside, pulling out and slamming back in until she cried out for a second time, sending him over the edge with her.

He leaned down again and whispered into her ear, “I love you, Demi. You’re safe with me.”