The Battlefield Series 2: Scars Run Deep (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  She didn’t know who it was from, and as she flipped the pictures over, her heart caught in her chest.

  They were close-ups of Gino and Fox with the blonde. They were both holding her, her mouth on Gino’s, kissing and hugging him, and Gino holding her close. There was no mistaking what was going on in the pictures or that they were outside of a bar. She felt sick, used once again, and she dropped the photos onto the rug and ran to the bathroom. She threw up, gagging, dry heaving until there was nothing left, and then she cried. They were using her. These pictures were real, the woman coming to see her today was real, and she didn’t know what to do.

  Then she got angry, and she stood up, hurried to her bedroom, and pulled out an overnight bag. Just enough stuff to disappear for a few days while she thought about things and had a chance to talk to Brooklyn.

  She heard her phone go off again and then saw the text. She glanced at it. It was Carina. She was coming over so they could hang out and go to the dojo. The doorbell rang. She panicked a moment, wondering, hoping that it wasn’t one of the men. But she knew they all had busy schedules today. They were meeting tonight. Late.

  She opened the door and stumbled back.

  “Hello, princess.” She covered her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “Don’t run. I’m not going to hurt you. If I was going to, I would have done that weeks ago.” He closed the door, and Antonia shook her head.

  “Leave. You don’t belong here. I don’t want you here.”

  “That’s not true. I’m the only man who really loves you. I’ve been patient, princess. I let you have your fling, even though I knew those men were no good. They used you, baby. No other man but me will ever want you, even those you did those things with. I’m not going to lie. I’m angry, I’m jealous, but I haven’t stopped loving you. I never will.”

  “How do you know about…”

  She looked toward the floor where the pictures were and remembered the note. Because he cared. Oh, God.

  He stalked toward her quickly. She was no match for his size and capabilities, never mind the fear she always had around him. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “They don’t deserve you. I didn’t want to have to tell you. I didn’t think you would believe me if I just called you and said this is what those men are doing behind your back.”

  “So you what? Hired a photographer to take their pictures?”

  “It was the only way to prove their indiscretions. To show you they were, they still are, having an affair with that woman. It’s like clockwork, baby. Every Wednesday they meet at that bar, and then they head to a local motel for hours.”

  He rubbed her back, and she cried. She was so confused, and her head was pounding.

  He pulled back.

  “I know I hurt you, by wanting to share you with my partners. I thought you wanted to please me and do anything I asked of you. We’ll work it all out. I’ll learn to forgive you for cheating on me.”

  She pulled away from him and scrunched her eyes at him in anger. “You cheated on me. Multiple times before I even realized how unfaithful you were.”

  He reached out, snagged her around the waist, and cupped her breast tight. “I marked you as my woman because you are mine. No other man will ever really, truly love you, Antonia. They’ll tell you lies, say that the scar doesn’t bother them, that they’ll make you forget about me, but the truth is, you won’t. You can’t. I own you. In every sense of the word, you are mine, Antonia, and I will go to great measures to keep you. Come with me now. This life here is over.”

  “No. No, I don’t want to go with you.”

  He gripped her neck and squeezed. “You don’t want to fight me on this, Antonia. Let’s go.” He gripped her hand and pulled her toward the door.

  “No, I’m not going. My friends are coming by, and I don’t want to leave with you.”

  “Oh, you mean Carina?”

  She widened her eyes, and his lip curled and then he looked fierce.

  “Pretty young woman. Hopefully she won’t get into a car accident on her way here. But that’s up to you.” He reached his hand out, waiting for her to take it. He was threatening her. Threatening to hurt Carina.

  “Stop them. Please don’t hurt her. She isn’t involved with this.”

  “Then come with me, and once we’re in the car, I’ll make the call.”

  With a shaking hand, she reached out, and he took her hand then pulled her close.

  “We have a short ride to the hotel, and then we leave first thing in the morning. Come on.”

  He walked her out of her front door and to the waiting SUV. A man got out and opened the door for them, and she cried as she got inside. Her life was falling apart around her. The men she loved were cheating on her, and the man she’d run away from knew all about it and had come to take her back. Her heart felt broken, and she realized she never should have come here to Repose. It was all a waste of time.

  “Here, dry your eyes and have a sip of water. I’ll text my associate. Carina will be okay.”

  He passed her a tissue and a water bottle, and she dried her eyes with a tissue and then took a slug from the water. Her throat ached, even on the outside where he had gripped her neck. She felt sick to her stomach again. Ray was going to punish her for leaving him, for defying his orders back in New York, for sleeping with four other men, and for betraying his trust. She felt so numb that none of it mattered. Her heart was broken, and life as she knew it was officially over.

  * * * *

  Carina was driving down the long farm road that led to the development where Antonia lived. She heard the rev of an engine, and then a big black SUV approached quickly. She wondered why he was speeding and slowed down a little so he would pass her by. He started to do just that and cut her off. She jerked the wheel, lost control, and slammed the car into an embankment. Her cheek hit the steering wheel, and she screamed.

  She saw the SUV take off, and she wondered what the hell that was all about. Who would run her off the road? Immediately she thought about Steven and Collin. Had they found her? No way. There was no way they could have.

  She saw the smoke coming from her engine, and she pulled out her purse that had fallen on the passenger floor. Her seatbelt was stuck and she reached it, stretching as far as she could and grabbed her cell phone. She called 911.

  “There’s been an accident.”

  Carina couldn’t open the driver side door, nor could she get the seat belt off. At least the car was only smoking a little bit. She didn’t smell fuel or anything, but she still wanted out of this car. She was shaking so much. She could have been seriously injured or killed. She heard the sirens and then tires skidding to a stop. There were multiple police cruisers.

  “Carina! Are you okay? Sit still. We’ll get you out of there.” She looked up and saw Jack Cortland first. Her heart pounded inside of her chest, and the tears filled her eyes. Why seeing him made her feel emotional, she didn’t know. Zeke was there, along with Cesar, and they were trying to get the door open while other officers used a fire extinguisher to put out the smoke and any potential flames.

  “Cover your head and face. We need to break the glass,” Jack told her. She did and jerked at the sound of them banging against the glass and then cleaning off the frame.

  “Be careful, Jack. There may be more glass,” Zeke said to him as he climbed into the window.

  Jack was next to her quickly, looking her over. “What hurts?”

  He caressed her neck as he flipped open a knife and cut the seatbelt off of her. “Just my cheek. I’m okay. I was lucky,” she said to him as his bold green eyes bore into hers.

  “I’m going to get you out of here. Can you move okay?” he asked.

  “I’ll be fine. I just want out, Jack,” she whispered.

  He gave her a wink. “I’ve got you. I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry.”

  His words hit her harder than she could handle at the moment. He eased out of the door with Cesar’s help, and then she r
eached up to climb out, and he lifted her up into his arms. Instead of placing her feet down on the rough terrain on the side of the road, Jack carried her to the police cruiser.

  “Do we need an ambulance?” Zeke asked with the radio in

  “No. No ambulance. I’m fine,” she said, knowing that she couldn’t go to a hospital. If anything was documented on a computer, then Steven and Collin could find out where she was.

  “Baby, you should go to be sure you didn’t hit your head.” Jack caressed the hair form her face and looked her over, running his hands along her thighs and her arms.

  “No, Jack. No hospital.”

  Cesar approached. “Then to the doctor’s office at least to be sure.”

  She nodded. Nevin she could handle.

  “What happened?” Cesar asked as Zeke and the others gathered around her. She told them about the SUV and how the driver had purposely driven her off the road.

  “Did you get a license plate number? Anything?”

  She thought about it a moment. She wasn’t positive, but she thought she saw letters. “I think just three letters. It happened so fast, and I’m really not even sure about the license plate. If it was, they were the letters TRZ.”

  Jack caressed her back. “It’s okay. We’ll try to figure things out.”

  “Were you heading to see Antonia?” Cesar asked her.

  “Oh, God, yes, shoot, she’s going to wonder where I am.”

  “I’ll call her now.” Cesar pulled out his phone, and Jack caressed her good cheek.

  “I’m glad that you’re okay,” he said, and she was still shaking from the accident.

  She stretched out her hands. “I can’t stop shaking.”

  “It’s normal.” He covered her hands with his, and she stared at him, absorbing his good looks, all those muscles, and of course, green eyes. He’d been a soldier before he became a cop. Dominick had told her.

  She looked away but he caught her staring at him and he smiled.

  “Let’s get you to the doctor.”

  She slid down off the car and felt the aches and pains to her body. Jack grabbed her around the waist and held her against his chest.

  “Easy, darling. This is why you’re going to see my brother and get a full examination.”

  “A full examination?” she asked as he guided her to the front seat of his cruiser.

  “Yup, and I’ll be right there, making sure you’re safe and secure.”

  Her cheeks felt as if they’d turned a nice shade of red, and she didn’t even know what to say in response. He reached for the seatbelt, his arm brushing over her very sensitive breasts, and he secured her in.

  “Let’s get you taken care of.”

  He closed the door, and she exhaled then looked at the car on the side of the road. It was banged up good and stuck in the ditch. The car wasn’t registered or licensed legitimately. How the hell was she going to explain this one?

  * * * *

  Cesar was getting concerned when Antonia didn’t answer her phone. He decided since they were close enough to her house that he would drive by to check things out. This accident was bothering him, and he couldn’t help but to wonder what the SUV had been after. Zeke followed him, mimicking his concern and knowing that Antonia had run from some trouble in New York. Although Cesar couldn’t help but wonder if this had to do with Carina, who’d shared none of her past with anyone and was always declining offers by men for dates, Jack and his brothers included. Seeing Jack respond to her accident and the call, never mind how he’d sprung into action to get to her, there was no questioning his attraction to her. Cesar hoped that Carina would loosen up and maybe give the guy and his brothers a chance.

  As they approached the house with both cars, Cesar immediately noticed the front door. It wasn’t closed all the way.

  He got out quickly and pointed the door out to Zeke. They drew their guns and approached with caution. He pressed the door open and immediately saw some things on the floor. Pictures, a note, a packed travel bag.

  “What the hell is going on, Cesar?” Zeke asked.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t like this.” He walked over to see what was on the floor, and he paused and cursed. “What the fuck is this?”

  Zeke was right behind him. His first instinct was to hide the photos and to call Fox and Gino and tear them new ones.

  “What the fuck is right. Did you know about this woman? Who the fuck is she? They’re cheating on Antonia?” Zeke asked.

  Cesar pulled out his cell phone. It rang and rang, and then Fox answered. “Where the fuck are you? Well, you stop whatever you two are doing and get to Antonia’s house. There’s pictures of you two with a blonde. She’s all over Gino. Is there something you want to fucking tell me?” he demanded to know and looked at Zeke, who appeared as angry as Cesar with his arms crossed in front of his chest and a scowl on his face.

  Cesar could hear Fox cursing and yelling, carrying on about some woman coming onto them the other night when they were out. That was how Gino had gotten the scratch on his neck.

  “Well, Antonia is gone. There was a bag packed and these pictures on the floor in the living room with a note. The front door was not secured so she may have left in a hurry.”

  “Her car is still here and her keys,” Zeke said to him.

  “Her car and keys are here,” Cesar stated as Zeke looked around the room and into the bedroom and the rest of the house.

  “We came here because someone drove Carina off the road. She’s okay, going to Nevin’s to get checked out. Something isn’t right here, Fox.”

  His brothers said they were on their way.

  He closed up his phone and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked at the pictures, knowing that if Antonia saw these she would believe the worse. Hell, he even thought the worse, but Fox said they hadn’t done anything with the woman and that she basically came onto them and attacked them.

  “Cesar, look at this.” Zeke passed him a letter that was with the pictures. He read the words. A person who cared and she could trust.

  “Her ex? Could this be from him? Could he have set this up to get her back? She said he was manipulative, a businessman who always got what he wanted,” Cesar said aloud.

  “Her ex? She told you all about him?” Zeke asked.

  “Enough for me to want to kill the bastard.”

  “Could he have taken her? Convinced her that Fox and Gino were cheating on her with this woman?”

  “Holy shit, Zeke. She’ll be heartbroken, vulnerable, and so confused. She won’t know what to believe. But still, she wouldn’t go with him willingly. Not after all he did.”

  “Unless he threatened her? Forced her out of here,” Zeke added.

  Cesar paced a few steps and then looked at Zeke. “Or threatened someone she loves.”

  Zeke widened his eyes. “Carina.”

  “Get on the horn with Jack and the guys. Make sure Jack does not leave Carina alone. Not until we find out what the hell is going on.”

  “You want more cops here, too, casing the neighborhood seeing if anyone saw anything?” Zeke asked.

  “The Corporals. They live across the way. Antonia said they’re like the neighborhood watch and see everything.”

  Cesar gathered all the photos and held them facing him. He and Zeke were walking out the door when they heard the diesel engine of a truck. It pulled up and skidded in front of the house. Fox and Gino jumped out, both red faced and looking ready to kill.

  Cesar handed Gino the photos. “Stay here. We’re going to see the Corporals.”

  Fox and Gino looked at the pictures and cursed aloud. Cesar and Zeke walked down the road to the neighbors’ house. As they reached the front door, it opened.

  “So now you want to talk to us? We called nearly an hour ago,” Mr. Corporal said with his binoculars hung around his neck like it was the most natural thing.

  “What do you mean? No one called me.”

  “I told you that you got the wrong number. The poli
ce department always identifies themselves when you call, Herman,” his wife reprimanded him.

  Cesar was trying to keep his cool. “Just tell me why you called. Did you see something at Antonia Hopewell’s house earlier?”

  “You mean the guy in the SUV who dropped off a yellow envelope?” Herman asked.

  “No, Herman, he means the guy she left with in the other SUV. The one who was holding her. I can’t believe she’s not being faithful to you and your brothers. You’ve been over there constantly.” Mrs. Corporal gave his body the once-over. Her cheeks turned red, and she pulled her blouse tighter as she eyed him over.

  “Wait, there were two different black SUVs or the same ones?” he asked. Now his brothers were there, too.

  “They were different. Different license plates and different drivers. I wrote them down. Write down anything I see that’s out of the ordinary. Can tell you just about anything you want to know about this neighborhood,” Herman told him as he walked into his house to retrieve the papers. They all followed them inside, and Mrs. Corporal started offering them sweet tea and cookies.

  They declined and thanked her for her hospitality, but Cesar was more focused on the license plates and what exactly Herman and his wife had seen.

  “So explain to me what and who you saw first going to Antonia’s front door.”

  Herman picked up the paper. “At 2:52 the first guy in the SUV delivered the yellow envelope. He was dressed nicely, wore sunglasses, a suit jacket, and dress pants. This is the license plate.”

  Cesar immediately noticed the number and the letters TKZ. Carina said she thought she’d seen TRZ, but trying to remember that during such a scary experience could screw up letters. It was close enough as far as he was concerned. He pointed the letters out to Zeke, and Zeke widened his eyes.

  “Antonia got home a few minutes later than usual, 3:35. She seemed upset when she got home. She grabbed the envelope and then headed inside. Then, at exactly 3:52, this other SUV pulled up. There was a driver and a passenger. A tall, big man, like your size, Cesar. Clean shaven, looked well off as he fixed his tie before he went to the front door,” Herman said to him.