Through the Storm (The Montclair Brothers) (11 page)

As Robert got closer to the trailer, he thought about going to the stupid cabin instead. Screw that. He figured it was far enough from view that he didn't have to worry about any nosey neighbors. He carefully parked the Olds around back, and then let himself into his new home. He'd have to make a list of the things he'd need in order to make a nice life for himself.

Beer.

Cheese corn.

Robert couldn't think of anything else he needed at the moment. He took the glasses out of his shirt pocket, and flung them down onto the counter.
Who the hell can see out of those things
?
Buck has Fly Eyes.
While he lifted the dirty phone from its cradle on the kitchen wall, Robert smiled at the thought of Money Bags having to wire him money.

"Ron my man…" began Robert.

"What the hell, Rob. Everyone's looking for you. Stop calling me, okay? You're going to make me lose my job." Ron the Cop had guts.

"You'll lose your job faster, and end up in prison with all those thugs
you've locked up over the years, if you don't listen to me." Like Robert was really going to back down from someone he had such good info on.

"What do you want?"

"Money, and for you to tell me what the cops know. Where's my dumb wife hiding? She has to be out of the hospital by now." Robert wished he could poke Ron the Cop's eyes out.

"I don't have extra money right now. As far as your wife is concerned, I can check with Terrance and see what he knows."

"Have that info for me tomorrow when I call Ron, while you're wiring me a grand." Robert was getting ready to bust a gut.

"I
don't
have that lying around." Robert could hear the panic in his squeaky voice.

"Looks like you'll need to dip into the evidence stash again, you loser.
Noon tomorrow. I'll call you with a location. If you don't do it, I'll send your nice wifey and your lieutenant some little letters concerning prostitutes and corruption." It was getting harder for Robert to restrain himself

"Okay, fine! I'll send the money, but then we're done!" Ron the Cop was all hot and bothered.

"You stop when I say so." With that, Robert hung up the phone and doubled over while his loud laughter filled the shabby walls of the trailer.

This was going to be easy.
Easy Peasy
!

Jacob turned his full attention to Emma. He was done talking about Robert and how their lives would continue to be turned upside down. As far as he was concerned, every moment could be their last. He looked over at the woman with the beautiful red hair and ivory skin. Her green eyes were penetrating, making him feel emotions he'd never experienced before. Being able to resist her was becoming more and more difficult. Taking her hand, he led her away from the group. The way Emma walked, her caring soul, and her selflessness made him long for her. Jacob was overcome with an irresistible need to be with her. At least if he died, he'd pass with a smile on his face, knowing he'd made love to the woman of his dreams.

But maybe she'd slap him. He'd kissed her a few times, held her in his arms, and received forgiveness, but crossing the line to become one, could ruin everything they were building. Emma was a wreck and Jacob was more than aware of that fact, but everyone was deeply bothered by the situation. Life was about risks, and he couldn't be afraid of alienating her. She'd taken his mouth with a desire of her own, and Jacob had felt every single shiver
she'd exhibited. If she said no, he'd back off.

When they reached his room, towards the end of the hall, Jacob gently pulled her inside and closed the door behind them. There wasn't a lock on the door, and he could only hope that the staff, or his brothers, wouldn't need anything. It certainly wasn't the best place for them to be intimate, but he didn't have much of a choice. Having Emma this close to him all the time had definitely awakened his desires for her. He'd been with his share of women, but this one lifted him up like no other.

"…Jacob," she whispered when he walked her over to his bed. She backed up and stood a few feet away from him.

He knew he couldn't hide the want in his eyes. "Emma, let me make love to you." There was no reason to waste any time. He was more than aware that they were living inside of an hourglass. He turned around and brought her closer to him.

"Wait. I've never been with anyone before." Emma looked at the floor.

"Don't be embarrassed because of that. It's a beautiful thing. Do you want me to stop?"

Emma lifted her eyes and looked at him. "No, but I don't want you to re-injure your stomach. I don't think you're ready to--."

"Does this seem like I'm not ready?" Jacob asked softly as he slid
her hand down his blue scrubs, and onto his throbbing erection.

Emma gasped when he pushed his hips forward, put his hand on top of hers, and tightened her fingers around him.

He lifted her scrub top over her head, watching her face carefully. When he saw the nervous smile, he searched her eyes for acceptance.

She slid her fingers through his hair when he began to kiss her neck, moving his lips to the soft but firm breasts that filled her peach, lacy bra. With one hand on her lower back, he caressed her nipples through the thin fabric, causing her to bow and grab his forearms. With both hands, he unclasped her bra and let it fall slowly to the floor, so as not to
startle her. The heat of the moment mixed with the cool air of the room, made her abundant breasts call out to him. He took her nipples, one at time, into his mouth and slowly suckled, while her chest heaved.

Jacob had never wanted to be with anyone more in his life. He untied her scrub bottoms, letting those fall next to her bra. She stepped out of them; her matching panties were making him grow harder.

He held her hand within his own, sliding them underneath the peach lace, and moved their fingers inside of the moistness that he could almost taste.

Emma moaned as he pushed their fingers deeper inside of her.
She was tight, and Jacob hoped he wouldn't hurt her.
Gentle
, he reminded himself. 

Guiding her to the bed to lie down, Jacob removed his scrubs, and then slid her legs apart to accept him. As he lay on top of her, a sharp pain darted through his body.

"Oh God!" He rolled onto his side next to her, and held his abdomen. "Give me a second. I don't want this to end."

"
Shhh, it's okay," Emma whispered with a wild look in her eyes, long red hair falling into her face, and obvious hunger for him. "I'll do the work, but…teach me."

Jacob moved over towards the middle of the bed and held onto Emma's hips to help her straddle
him. He slowly began to slide himself into her, and instantly felt the muscles from her thighs on up, tighten around him. He thought he'd explode, but he took slow deep breaths, and pushed upwards a little more.

"Wait," she said softly.

"Do you want me to stop?" He hoped like hell she wouldn't say yes, but if she did, he'd respect her wishes.

"You're just big, and—"

"Relax, Baby." Jacob gently put his hands on her hips, and slid her slowly up and down on him, watching her face to make sure he wasn't hurting her.

"Jacob…Oh God…" Emma began to slide all the way down on
him. He took her fingers and guided them to her wet, glossy folds, and moved them to her rhythm. It didn't take long for her to start moving faster.

He could hardly stop himself from filling her. The pain in his abdomen had paled in comparison to the beauty of this moment. As Emma began to shudder, he held her hips and helped her move faster. With his eyes on her face, sweat beading across her beautiful skin, he filled Emma with a love he'd never given to anyone.

Jacob knew then that there'd be no more living inside of an hourglass. Now was the time to hunt, rather than be hunted. He ran the back of his hand across Emma's smooth cheek and stared at her.

"I probably wasn't very—" her face blushed again.

"You're absolute
perfection
," whispered Jacob, as he pulled her down to meet his mouth.

∞  ∞  ∞  ∞

Emma held onto Jacob's hand as they boarded the small bus. The windows were tinted and Castle Lake High School was printed on the side. Two black SUV's were escorting them the four hundred miles to their new apartment in Lyons. After three weeks on the sixth floor, the hospital administrator informed the doctors and the detectives that they'd have to leave. Emma was glad to be leaving, but nervous about becoming an easy target on the road. Just because the driver was a cop, and two others were nearby, didn't mean they were safe. All Robert had to do was pick them off; he'd had plenty of practice at shooting moving vehicles.

She watched Brian look around, knowing he'd probably never stepped foot on a school bus before. She wondered when he'd been yanked out of school. Tyler sat next to him. He'd rarely let the boy leave his sight since the night of the fire. Renee sat in front of them, and Tyler would often lovingly tug on her hair. Brian would yank her hair a little harder, and then quickly look out the window so Tyler would get blamed.
It never worked, though. Sean sat next to Renee, and Vincent sat up near the driver, with legal papers spread out beside him. Emma wondered what the papers were for. Were they for Brian's parents' upcoming trial? Adoption papers? Tyler had been granted temporary custody, mostly because Brian refused to be without him. Because of their situation, no one had to actually go to court for the custody hearing. Vincent was a miracle worker.

Emma felt Jacob wrap his arm around her, so she let her head rest on his shoulder. For a brief second she thought maybe she'd get a few minutes of sleep, but that wasn't about to happen. She found herself
constantly searching the woods, and everything else they passed, for signs of Robert. Everyone else's eyes were searching as well.

Renee looked at her and smiled, but Emma could read her eyes. Guilt was consuming her again. Here they were, still in hiding, all because of her husband. She wanted to go over and hug Renee, but thought better of it. All that would do was cause her friend to start crying, making things worse. Their entire lives weren't theirs to lead anymore.

Besides Renee and Brian, the Montclair men were also worrying her. They'd been having private meetings, halting all conversations whenever someone else entered the room. As she got closer to Jacob, he was becoming even more protective, and when she added everything up, she'd become frightened. They were brave, strong men, and certainly not dumb, but anyone who went up against the lunatic would get shot. Emma felt like that's exactly what they were planning. Jacob wouldn't discuss those meetings with her, but after every single one of them, he'd come up and hug her tighter than usual.

Robert still hadn't been spotted. The detectives said he was definitely laying low, but assured everyone that he'd have to come up for air at some point, and they'd be ready to nab him.
Yeah, right
, thought Emma. Maybe he'd died out in the woods or something, which would be even worse. They'd spend the rest of their lives afraid to leave confinement. She sighed, and Jacob kissed the top of her head. No one knew what their future would hold, or how long it was going to last, but at least they were in it together. Emma couldn't imagine being in Renee's shoes or Brian's. Being a direct target was unfathomable to her.

"There're two coolers in the back. One has sandwiches and the other has cans of soda," the bus driver called out loudly, practically making everyone jump.

"I'll get em'," offered Brian as he slid out of his seat.

Emma said thank you when she was handed her lunch. She opened the orange soda and took a sip, but
sat the submarine sandwich down on the seat.

"Eat," whispered Jacob.

"I'm really not hungry. Do you want it?" Emma held the sub out to him.

"I adore you, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make you eat, even if I have to hold it in front of your lips for the rest of the trip." Jacob began to
unwrap the sandwich for her.

"I'm kind of sick to my stomach, Jacob." Emma turned her face away.

"There was a breakfast tray sitting in front of you this morning when I hopped in the shower. Did you eat it?"

"Um, well—"

"Did you eat it?" asked Jacob more firmly.

"No," Emma kept her face turned.

"Hey, Tyler!" yelled Jacob over the sound of the bus engine.

"Yeah.
What's up?" Tyler responded just as loudly.

"Your assistant, the lovely Miss Emma Ward, hasn't been eating!" Jacob grinned.

Emma glared back at him. "Are you kidding me? Really?"

"Hey, Emma!" yelled Tyler with an angry expression. "You're going to eat, even if I have to feed you each meal!" he threatened.

"I'll help!" added Brian.

The others were making similar threats.

"Okay, okay!" Emma took a small bite of the sandwich and slowly began to chew. The food, all food lately, tasted like cardboard. She let the sandwich rest on her lap.

All of a sudden, Tyler appeared next to her and knelt down on one knee. He put his hands on her face, forcing her to look at him.

"This is hard, Em." He spoke softly to her. "I never thought you'd be caught up in something like this when I brought you from Miami to Southfield. Now that we know what we're dealing with, we're not going to let anything happen to you, or anyone else. The only way we can protect us all, is to have each person stay as strong as they can be. You have to eat to accomplish that, Emma." He took her into his arms and she let out a sob.

"Okay," she mumbled as Tyler lifted her sandwich and brought it to her lips. She took another bite and forced herself to continue eating.

Tyler stood up and clenched his fists at his sides. "It's on," he said to Jacob.

"Like
Donkey Kong
." Jacob nodded and kissed Emma's damp cheek.

Emma knew, in the pit of her gut, that the
Montclairs were plotting something. She'd seen that look in Tyler's eyes when he couldn't find Renee, and every time he talked about Brian's parents. The tide was about to turn, and she knew it.

∞  ∞  ∞  ∞

Robert counted his cash again. Nine hundred dollars left. He was happy that Ron the Cop came through, but he was pissed off about having to drive thirty minutes to pick his grand up.
Useless town
. He'd asked Drunken Ron about the location of his Stupid wife, and he said Terrance informed him the group, seven of them in total, had finally been relocated to Lyons. Robert wanted an exact address. Ron the Cop began to stutter, but after threats of sending out the cute little letters to his wife and boss, he recited the location; Taylor Plaza, on Industrial Drive, apartment number 1204.

He reached inside of the pocket of his sweatpants and pulled out a
receipt he'd written the information down on. He laughed at how ignorant they all were. Seven people wasn't exactly what he'd been expecting, but he knew that one of those jackasses had hit him in the back of the head and ran him over. Robert looked at his arm and seethed. First, he'd shoot the bastard in the arm.
See how he likes it
. It'd taken him a good hour, to drink enough beer, and to painlessly remove the stitches from his surgery. The surgeon had to be part girl to sew like that. He kept the remnants in the ashtray to remind himself of his strength and courage.