Breaking Travis (The West Series Book 5) (19 page)

“I’m glad you came with me today.” He leaned closer to her and she held her breath as his lips touched hers. The kiss was different than before. It was slow and soft and spoke of promises that would come.

When he pulled her closer to him, she went willingly and wrapped her arms around his neck. She’d missed the feeling of him, his sweet taste, the smell of him next to her. As he pulled back, she looked up into his dark eyes and felt her heart melt.

“Holly…” He brushed a wild strand of her hair that had gotten caught in the night air. “There’s no guarantee that I won’t end up nuts like my mother.”

She shook her head and laughed. “Every family has a crazy person. My uncle thinks he’s the lost heir to the Hearst fortune.” She smiled.

She watched his lips curl into a smile. “I’ve finally decided what I’m going to do.” He leaned back and tucked her close to his shoulder. She rested her head there and watched the sun sink lower, casting hues of purple and bright pinks across the night sky.

“Oh?”

He nodded. “I’m going to go to school.”

She felt her heart sink. Here he was, holding her in his arms and talking about leaving again. She wanted to smack him, but instead she closed her eyes as tears threatened to escape.

“I figure I can earn my degree in less than two years, since I have most of my basic credits out of the way thanks to my dad’s persistence.” He chuckled. “Then I plan on using my inheritance to start my own construction company. I’ll do it all. Design, build, and sell. I think I’ll start with a small housing project.” He wrapped his arm tighter around her when she shivered. She didn’t want to tell him she wasn’t cold, but she just couldn’t bring herself to say anything just yet. “I know these are all just plans, but I was kind of hoping…” He pulled back and lifted her chin until she looked up into his eyes. “I was hoping you’d take a chance on me, anyway.”

She blinked a few times. His dark eyes searched hers. “Travis?” She licked her lips, unsure of what it was he was saying.

“I’d like to stay in Fairplay, take online classes, open a business, and live in my parents’ house with you. I’d like to get a dog—no—make it
two
dogs. We wouldn’t want them to get lonely.” He smiled and cupped her face. “I’d like to raise a couple kids as well.” He smiled. “If you’ll have me and my crazy past.”

She blinked and swallowed. “Of course I will.” She smiled.

“Holly, there’s just one more thing.” He pulled her closer and looked deep into her eyes. “I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Only you.” He waited.

“I love you, too. Only you.” She smiled and pulled his head down to hers and kissed him.

Travis stood outside of the store and helped cut the blue ribbon. Cheers rose up and he reached across and pulled Holly down into a deep kiss, only to hear more cheers.

When he pulled back, she was smiling up at him. “Shall we open up for business?”

He nodded and pulled her back upright. “Holly’s is now open for business,” he called out to the crowd.

They walked into the new store hand in hand, and he stopped at the threshold and kissed her again. “For luck,” he said to the crowd before they flooded the store. They all laughed.

He stood back, and Holly and her new employees busied themselves with taking orders and helping customers. There was a band playing softly on the stage near the back as people grabbed seats and enjoyed their desserts and drinks.

He’d grabbed a seat near the front so he could watch Holly as she worked. It still got to him how much energy she had.

“It looks like Holly’s is a success.” He looked up to see Alex and Grant standing in front of his table. He stood and nodded.

“Looks like it.” He looked at his shoes, something he had done around them since his return.

“We just wanted to tell you,” Alex said, reaching out and taking his hand, “that we don’t blame you.” He looked up quickly into both of their eyes. Alex smiled and he remembered all the good times they’d had together. Gone were all the bad memories, all the horrors he’d caused her.

“I have this,” Grant said, pulling out a letter and handing it to him. “It’s from your dad. He wanted me to give it to you on opening day.” He nodded around to the crowd.

When Travis reached out and took it, Grant held his hand out for him to shake. He hesitated for a second, then looked into his eyes and saw no hard feelings and shook the man’s hand without remorse.

“You found yourself a good man,” he said, looking over to Alex, who laughed.

“Yeah, go figure.” She smiled and held onto her husband. “You’ve got a pretty sweet treat.” She nodded towards Holly. “Don’t let that one get away from you.”

He smiled. “She’s mine for life, as soon as we can plan it.”

They smiled and nodded then walked over to where their family sat near the stage.

He sat down and looked at the envelope in his hands. Flipping it over, he opened it and pulled out the note.

Travis,

Thank you. You don’t know how much it means to me knowing that you’ve grown into the man I always knew you would be. There’s more than one reason I started this project and if everything has gone according to my dreams, you know the reason I chose the bookstore.

Healing takes place on so many different levels. Holly has and will always be the daughter we never had. When I started this project a few days ago, I got word from my doctor that I had a inoperable brain aneurysm. Son, I want you to know that I wouldn’t have changed a thing, except to have you by my side and hold you one last time.

You’ve made me the proudest man on Earth and in heaven.

p.s. Stop by and see your mother sometime. She may be off, but she loves you.

Never forget that I love you.

When he looked up from the letter, he felt tears slip down his face. Then Holly was there holding him and he knew that he was right where he belonged.

Prologue

Ryan jumped back as he watched a dozen dark figures flood out of the cemetery. He was tackled from behind and hit the ground with a groan as his hands were yanked behind his head. Shouts and screams could be heard over his head as he felt cold metal slap around his wrists.

“You’re in a lot of trouble, son.” Someone said over him. When he tried to turn his head to see who was talking, his face was shoved back into the dirt. “Don’t move until I say so.” He was quickly frisked, then pulled to his feet.

He shook the dirt from his face and looked around the old cemetery. He’d come out here to drink his problems away with a six pack of the cheapest beer he could get his hands on. He’d barely started the first beer and now he watched as his beer spilled out into the ground.

“I didn’t do anything,” he insisted the second he stood up.

The heavy police officer laughed. “The hell you didn’t.” He got in his face. “Where’s Roberts?”

“Who?” Ryan looked at the older man.

“Don’t play games with me, son. We know you set up a meeting tonight to meet him. So, where is he?”

“Listen, you’ve got the wrong guy,” Ryan started to say, only to be yanked back a foot by the cop holding him.

“You’d best think long and hard about your answer. It could mean the difference between life in prison and life in prison.” He laughed.

“Listen, I just came out here to drink and forget about my old man beating up on me.” He nodded to the broken bottles the police officer was now standing on.

The man looked down at his feet and shook his head. “I guess we’ll have to haul you in and see if we can get some answers out of you then.”

Ryan was shoved in the back of an unmarked police car and driven out of his small town. As he watched the lights disappear, he wondered if he’d been destined to always be in trouble.

Ten years later...

N
ikki applied another layer of red lipstick to her lips and made sure her breasts stuck out just far enough to get the attention she was hoping for. She looked across the room at her mark and took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

He was sexier than the last man she’d hunted down. If it wasn’t for his long dark hair, the rough beard he had on his face, and the flashy clothes he was wearing, he would have been her type.

He’d been harder to find than most. She’d been watching this one for almost three days and had lost him until she’d had a lead from one of her regular snitches.

The bar wasn’t her style. The music was too loud, the clothes too small, and the drugs that went in and out of the place scared most people away. She tucked her small clutch purse under her arm. She knew how to protect herself.

She pasted on her best slutty smile and walked across the floor towards her man. She saw the second his eyes zeroed in on her, the moment desire flashed in his green eyes, and she knew she’d found her mark.

“Well, hello,” she purred and waited until he asked her to sit. But instead of him motioning for her to take the empty spot, he glanced around and quickly said.

“Not now. Come back in ten minutes, okay babe.”

She pouted and sat down anyway. “Oh, what if I don’t want to wait? There are a lot of other fish in this bar.” She giggled and swung her arm over his shoulders and started to play with his long dark hair, wrapping it around her fingers playfully.

She felt him tense, but relax a little as she rubbed her breast against his shoulder. She knew how to work it, especially when so much was on the line.

“Listen, I’d love to…entertain you, but I have a meeting I’ve got to…” He stopped when three men dressed in nice suits walked over and stood by them.

“What’s this?” one of them said, looking at her.

“Ditch the ho,” the other said, sitting down across from them.

She pouted and looked towards her mark. “Come on baby, let’s get out of here.” She started to tug on his arm, but he stopped her.

“She just sat down and now she’s leaving.” He pushed her off of him. She stood up and put her hands on her hips and looked down at him.

“Jerk.” She turned on her heels and walked back to the bar, pretending to be hurt. She sat back along the side of the bar where they were unable to see her and watched the four men while thinking of her next move.

Several men approached her, asking if they could buy her drinks. She turned them all down and sipped her water with lime.

She watched the men arguing and when they all stood and walked towards the back exit, she saw her chance and followed. She wasn’t going to lose him again.

When she stepped out into the alley with her drink in hand, she wobbled a little and purposely fell into one of the men. Looking up, she froze when she realized what was happening.

Her mark stood across from her, held up by two of the other men. Fresh blood dripped down his face and she could see his lip and eyes swelling.

“Hey,” she said, putting a little drunken slur in. “Is this a robbery?” She leaned against the man who she’d bumped into. When she felt the gun in his inside pocket she tried not to show her irritation. Damn, this was going to get complicated.

“Bitch.” The man pushed her away. “Is this your ho?” He pulled her arm up and away from his jacket.

Her mark shook his head and grunted when he was hit in the ribs quickly and released by the two men.

“Get rid of them,” the leader said, pushing her across the small alley into her mark’s arms. The man turned and walked back into the nightclub.

When the two men started walking towards them, Nikki pulled her gun out from her purse and pointed it at the men.

“Freeze,” she said, holding the weapon at their chests. They both stopped, looked at the gun and, then at her and laughed.

“Look, the little lady has a little gun,” the men said, pulling bigger guns from their coats.

“Got anything bigger in that bag of yours?” her mark asked. When she shook her head, he whispered, “Looks like we’ll have to make a run for it.” He grabbed the gun from her fingers, released two shots in the direction of the men, grabbed her arm in a death grip, and took off running down the alley.

She tried to keep up, but the sexy heels she’d worn where slowing her down. She could hear the men gaining on them, and she pulled on her arm until the man stopped yanking her down the back streets.

“Here.” She pulled him down a side alley and yanked open the door to her planned get-a-way route. Then leaned against the doorway and closed her eyes, listening to see if they had escaped the chase.

“How did you know this was here?” he whispered after they heard the men run past their hiding spot.

“I’ve used this place a few times.” She reached down and removed her shoes. Her feet were killing her and would most likely be swollen for the next few days. She hated wearing heels. When she looked up, she smiled. “Can I have my gun back, sweetie?”

He looked at her and shook his head no. “Not until you tell me why you’ve been following me.” He held the weapon up and pointed it at her.