Take the Money and Run: #1 Malone Brothers Read online

  His head snapped in her direction at the sharp tone of her voice, and he found her staring at him with an odd look on her face. She seemed almost . . . well, scared. “I’m just getting some wood to start a fire. I thought it would be nice to sit down here for a bit. Is there a problem?”

  Maura shook her head. “Oh, no. I . . . um . . . I just didn’t notice there were logs under there.” She paused, and then added, “You might want to be careful, though, I saw a snake near there the other day.”

  “Really?” His brow furrowed in bewilderment as he stood. “That’s odd. You rarely see them this close to the beach.”

  “Well, maybe he got lost.”

  “Maybe.” KC thought he saw a flash of relief in her expression, and it bothered him. He propped his hands on his hips. “What did you want?”

  “Huh?”

  “When you came out, you started to ask me a question.”

  She gave him a small wave of her hand. “Oh . . . um . . . yeah. I just wanted to know how you take your coffee. Cream or sugar?”

  “Black is fine.”

  Maura hesitated a moment, still staring at him standing next to the corner of the house before she pivoted and walked back through the door without another word.

  “What the fuck was that all about?” KC muttered to himself. He bent down, inspecting the pile of wood and the surrounding area, but nothing looked amiss. Maybe she had seen a snake earlier—while it was rare, it wasn’t exactly unheard of. But then he thought back to the filed off serial number on the gun she had, and a myriad of thoughts went through his brain. None of them good. Shit. What the hell had Uncle Dan gotten him involved in?

  By the time Maura came back outside with two large mugs of coffee, she no longer appeared to be troubled, and KC had a brilliant fire roaring in the round pit. He added another log and then took a seat on one of three small curved couches surrounding the blaze. She handed him one of the mugs, then sat down on the couch to his left, curling her legs and feet up underneath her body. The evening air had cooled dramatically once the sun had set, but the flames from the fireplace were warm, casting a soft, cozy glow over the patio. The sky was filled with countless glimmering stars, and a slender crescent moon sat high on its throne in the east. Thundering waves pounded the shoreline, their roar muffled by the sand dunes, which separated the beach from the cottage. The only other noises were the crackling of the fire and the occasional cry of a seagull. KC knew it didn’t get much more relaxing than this.

  He took a sip of his coffee. “So, we’ve talked about me, let’s talk about you.”

  “What about me?” Maura asked, her expression wary.

  “I don’t know. Tell me what you did before you ended up in North Carolina.”

  She shrugged and then gazed at the stars above her. At first, he didn’t think she was going to answer him, but after a few moments, she sighed. “I had a part-time job at a local pharmacy. It wasn’t much, but it was all I could do while going to school to get my teaching degree. I’m one semester shy of finishing, but now . . . it’s sort of been put on hold. Maybe someday I’ll be able to finish it.”

  “What do you want to teach?”

  Maura smiled, however, he noticed it didn’t reach her eyes. “I adore children, especially the younger, more impressionable ones. I would love to teach third or fourth grade. At that level, they’re really excited about learning new things. Their brains are like sponges. They absorb everything and haven’t really started to notice the opposite sex yet.”

  KC laughed. “What difference does that make?”

  She blushed and lowered her gaze to the fire. “Well, it’s one less thing on their minds, and they can still concentrate on school. Tell me . . . did you care much about school after you started noticing girls?”

  Grinning, he toasted her with his mug of coffee, his eyes dancing in amusement. “Good point.” He took another sip of the dark brew. “It sounds as if you are very passionate about teaching. You should return to school if you’re so close to finishing your degree. There are a few local colleges within driving distance from here. Just have your transcripts transferred to one of them.”

  “Maybe.”

  KC thought she wasn’t too enthused about the idea and wondered why. He decided not to press the issue for now. “How about your family? Parents? Siblings?”

  His gut clenched when sadness fell over her face.

  * * *

  Moriah knew she was wading into dangerous territory with all his questions and should head back to her room, but for some reason, she couldn’t force herself to stand. Even worse, she found herself answering him. “I never really knew my dad. He was in and out of our lives a lot until he finally left for good when I was fourteen. As for my mom, sister, and nephew, they died in an accident a few months ago.” If you called being murdered an accident. She shook the morbid thought from her mind.

  “I’m sorry, Maura. That must have been awful for you.”

  The sympathy in his voice ripped through her, and she fought the tears she felt welling up in her eyes. “If you don’t mind, I'd rather not talk about it.”

  “I understand.” He waited a few moments before continuing. “Both my folks were killed in a plane crash when I was seventeen. They were taking a vacation, without us kids, for their twentieth wedding anniversary. 142 others were on board. There were no survivors.”

  Horrified, Moriah gasped and brought her hand to her lips. “Oh, how awful. I’m so sorry.”

  KC took another sip of coffee and stared at the fire. “Thanks. Anyway, I know how it feels to lose people who are close to you. Uncle Dan took legal custody of my brothers and me until we finished high school. Sean was the youngest, at fourteen, and Brian was sixteen. After graduating high school, we each enlisted into different branches of the military, Sean to the Army and Brian to the Air Force. Thank God for my uncle. It took a lot of courage for a bachelor to take in three recently orphaned teenagers. Dan is my father’s brother and, at the time, he was the best thing that could happen to us. He became our rock at the worst time of our lives and made sure we lived up to our parent’s expectations. We rarely gave him any trouble, but when we did, he straightened us out really quick. Dan served in the military, just as my father did, and neither of them took any crap from us as we were growing up. But they also made sure we always knew we were loved. All in all, I think we turned out pretty darn good.”

  They sat in silence for a few minutes, alone in their own thoughts. Moriah’s heart rate and anxiety were still elevated after seeing KC squatting down near the wood pile. She’d panicked, thinking he would find the duffel bag and blurted out the first thing she could think of. While he’d seemed skeptical at first, she’d been relieved when he changed the subject to something safe. Huh . . . safe . . . would she ever feel safe again? She doubted it.

  KC shifted in his seat, drawing her attention back to him. After he had taken a sip of his coffee, he brought up the one subject she wished he hadn’t. “So, tell me about this ex-boyfriend. What was the fucking asshole’s name?”

  Caught off guard by the question, she gave the first fucking asshole name that popped into her head. “Leo Simmons.” Oh, my God! She couldn’t believe she just gave KC the name of her sister’s drug-dealing boyfriend. How could she be so stupid? She had to end this conversation before she said something that would get her in trouble. “I’m getting tired. I think I’ll head up to bed and read for a while.”

  When she stood, ready to run upstairs, KC also got to his feet. “I’m sorry, Maura. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Moriah held up her hand to keep him from saying anything more. “It’s okay. I would just rather not talk about the past. Thanks again for dinner. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  He watched as she turned and headed for the stairs. “Hey, Maura?”

  Pausing, she glanced over her shoulder at him but remained silent.

  Sympathy filled his eyes. “I just wanted you to know that I think you’re doing fine. You’
re a strong woman. I’m sure everything will work out for you.”

  She couldn’t tell him how wrong he was, so instead she nodded. “Thanks, KC. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.”

  * * *

  Blood. Oh God, so much blood. Splattered across the room. On the floor, the walls, the furniture. Crimson red blood everywhere. The raw stench of death hung in the air, surrounding her like a thick, suffocating blanket. What happened? Momma? Susan? Nicholas? No! Oh God, no! They can’t be dead! This can’t be happening! Why? Oh God, why? It's my fault, all my fault. I killed my family. They didn’t deserve to die this way. They’re all dead because of me. Run! Hurry! Run before it is too late!

  Moriah woke up, terrified, covered in sweat, and gasping for air. She fumbled for the lamp next to her bed, turned it on, her gaze darting around the room. The beach cottage. She was at the beach cottage in North Carolina—not her family’s Chicago apartment—and the walls here were pale blue, and the carpet was ivory. Not dark red. Not covered in her family’s blood. There was no lingering metallic odor, just clean, salty ocean air. Momma, Susan, and Nicholas weren’t tied to kitchen chairs, sitting there with dead stares, riddled with bullet holes, the souls already drained from their mortal bodies.

  Sitting up, she wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks. Her grief was just as strong now as it had been the exact moment she’d found her family in the apartment and then fled. Would she ever be able to think of them again and not picture how they died? It was all her fault. Well, mostly her fault. She could never forgive herself for the part she played in their deaths. If there was an afterlife, she hoped her family forgave her. However, she would always blame herself.

  Focusing on the small alarm clock on the nightstand, she sighed with frustration. It was five thirty in the morning. She would never fall back to sleep at this hour, not with the gruesome images of her family occupying her thoughts. Slipping out from under the covers, she stood, pulled on a clean pair of jeans and fastened them under the navy-blue T-shirt she had slept in. Stepping into the attached bathroom, she made use of the toilet, flushed, then washed her hands and face at the sink. As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she noticed her face was thinner and paler than usual. With the dark circles under her eyes, she could pass as one of those “before” advertisements for some amazing new beauty cream. She hadn’t slept more than five hours a night in months, and it was taking its toll on her body. She refused to try an over-the-counter sleeping pill because she didn’t want to be groggy if she suddenly had to run again. They had managed to find her twice, and both times she had been able to escape—barely. Learning from her mistakes, she had adapted as best she could.

  Walking barefoot, she exited the bedroom and made her way down the hallway into the kitchen. She moved on tip-toes so she wouldn’t wake KC. A little coffee and some fresh air would help vanquish the terror that always accompanied the nightmare. She just wished she could find something that would erase the ghastly visions from her mind permanently.

  A few minutes later, with a coffee mug and granola bar in hand, she headed for the back deck. Closing the door behind her with a soft click, she turned and jumped in surprise. KC was climbing the stairs in a pair of cotton shorts, T-shirt, and sneakers. Despite the chilly morning air, his body was drenched in sweat. And what a body it was. His T-shirt clung to him, and she longed to run her hands across the taut plains of his torso and down to his muscular thighs. A flush of arousal hit her, and she felt a pang of desire low in her belly. She tried to keep the huskiness out of her voice but she wasn’t too successful, and she prayed he didn’t notice. “Hi, where were you?”

  Halting at the top of the stairs, he grabbed the towel he must have left on the railing earlier, and wiped his face and neck. “I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to take my morning run a little early.”

  She was unable to tear her hungry gaze away as he dragged the towel up both of his strong arms. Her mouth watered. “You . . .” Clearing her throat, she tried again to speak. “You look like you just ran a marathon.”

  Hanging the towel around his neck, he shrugged. “Nope, only ten miles. Five out, five back.”

  Moriah’s mouth hung open as she gaped at him. Had the man actually just run ten miles? Holy shit! Well, at least now she knew how he kept his perfect male physique and squeezable ass.

  KC shrugged his shoulders again and chuckled. “That’s a short hike in the military.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “If you say so. I’d hate to think what you would call a long hike. I’d have a heart attack before I finished the first mile.”

  “Nah, not if you did some training.” He grabbed a bottle of water he’d also left on the railing and drank most of the fluid before removing it from his lips.

  Her eyes flared as his throat worked to swallow every drop. How the hell did the man make drinking look so damn erotic? She dropped her gaze to the wooden deck. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. I have enough training to do between the range and the self-defense lessons you promised me.”

  “Which we will start right after breakfast if you want.” He tilted his head and eyed her curiously. “What about you? What are you doing up so early?”

  She averted her eyes from him, instead, glancing out toward the ocean. “I had a nightmare.”

  “Oh? About what?”

  Moriah refused to look at him as she told him a blatant lie. “I really don’t remember.”

  He took a step toward her and her eyes shifted back to his face. “Maura, I meant what I said yesterday. I’m an excellent listener if you want to talk about it.”

  A small, sad smile spread across her face. The man was really nice, and she wished she’d met him under different circumstances. “Thanks, KC. But this is something I have to work out alone.”

  Sighing in evident frustration, he bent his elbows and flashed his palms at shoulder height as he backed off. “Okay, but if you ever do want to talk, I’m here. I also have some pretty big shoulders to cry on if you hadn’t noticed.”

  His light teasing at the end was probably an attempt to lighten her mood. She nodded her thanks and shuffled past him toward the stairs. As she descended, she felt his eyes on her, and silently cursed the universe for introducing her to a man she could never have.

  C

  HAPTER 9

  K C reluctantly allowed her to walk away before heading inside the house to take a shower, shutting the door behind him with a click. He was grateful Maura hadn’t asked him why he hadn’t been able to sleep. He would have lied because there was no way he could tell her that every time he closed his eyes, he dreamed of her naked in his bed. Their legs twined together, their skin slick with perspiration, and his hands and mouth touching every place on her body he could reach. He wanted to bind her hands to the headboard and bury his face in her pussy. She would have no choice but to enjoy as he licked, nibbled, and tormented her to an orgasm over and over again. And when she was sated beyond her wildest dreams, he would finally thrust his shaft deep inside her. Not only inside her pussy but her mouth and ass as well. He wanted to take her every way he possibly could and then start all over again.

  He’d been surprised to see her awake at this hour. When he found her standing on the deck, he had to force his eyes to remain on her face after he noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra under her T-shirt. The fleshy orbs had called for him to take them in his hands, and tease them until she begged for more. He’d felt his cock twitch and reached for the bottle of water he’d left out, hoping the cool water would keep him from embarrassing himself with a woody in his sweats. If that happened, she wouldn’t be able to miss it under the cotton material. But as she walked past him on the way to the stairs, her unique scent went straight to his groin, and he hadn’t been able to stop the lengthening of his cock.

  But by the time he reached his bathroom, he’d worked himself into a frenzy thinking of what she looked like under her clothes and was harder than he could ever remember being. Turning on the water, he stripped o
ff his clothing and stepped into the shower stall. He needed some relief if he was to face her again without a hard-on. Grabbing a bottle of body soap, he squirted some in his hand, then wrapped his palm and fingers around his aching cock. He tightened his fist and dragged it up and down while he closed his eyes and replaced his hand with her mouth in his mind. She’d be kneeling before him, her fingers digging into his ass as she clutched his hips. He’d grasp her hair in his hand and tighten his grip until she felt a sting of pain, and her juices flowed from her sweet pussy. Her mouth would open, and she would take him inside, her plump, pink lips closing around him and her tongue licking him.

  His hand pumped faster, as in his mind, she moaned around his flesh, and the fantasy vibrations did him in. With a gasp and groan emanating from him, his cum erupted from his body in waves until he was finally depleted. Leaning against the shower wall on his other hand, he slowed the motion of the one still wrapped around his ebbing erection. When his breathing returned to normal, he moved under the spray of water to begin cleaning himself off.

  Fuck! It was going to be a long four weeks. And that was becoming an unwanted mantra.

  * * *

  The next three days flew by with a comfortable companionship developing between the pair. In the mornings, they would head down to the beach where KC proceeded to show his trainee some simple self-defense moves. He adjusted them to take into account her small stature but made sure she could do some damage and give herself time to escape if she ever needed to. The sand was soft and the perfect place to spar because if she ended up on the ground, she wouldn’t get injured. Moriah proved to be a fast learner and continued to impress him. With repeated practice, she was able to perform a few of the techniques with almost flawless precision after such a short time.

  Their afternoons were spent at the firing range where he began to increase the distance to the target. He also showed her how to shoot from a kneeling position and from behind cover, drilling into her the importance of showing as little of her body as possible to be a smaller mark. After she had practiced with her right hand, he had her switch the weapon to her weaker, left one, teaching her how to compensate in case her dominant hand became incapacitated.