CHAPTER 19
Fleur
Less than an hour later, I was in my truck, nervous as to what my brother would say. Maybe admitting what he was really doing in his life and why he was so urgent. I’d been the one assuming everything about his work life from corporate espionage to the New York mob. At this point the latter seemed more appropriate.
Maybe that was due to the Montgomery influence.
I was now questioning everything and everyone around me. Their motives. Their reactions.
Including the man who’d sparked the darkest, filthiest part of me.
I’d driven by the Mountain Motel dozens of times on my way to work. It was one of those typical quaint two-story motels, roadside architecture with fading neon signs. Cozy and intimate, I envisioned nostalgic décor allowing visitors to take a step back in time. When the tourist season was in full swing, every parkingspace was usually taken. However, given the recent snowstorm and with another on the way, maybe twenty cars were in the lot.
As I pulled in, I realized I was nervous, more so than I should be for simply meeting with my brother. Our relationship was so strained that I knew if the meeting was confrontational, the chances he would heed my request and disappear from my life were significant.
Is that what I really wanted? The answer wasn’t easy to come by. I loved him dearly. I longed for the old days when I’d protected him.
After he’d grown taller than me, he’d been the one to keep the bullies from hassling me. No matter our difficulties, he’d been there for me. Then I’d all but turned on him.
As I climbed from the passenger seat, the guilt was a heavy weight to bear. A part of me wanted to apologize, but he’d made his bed in his life of crime, and I knew better than to try to change his mind.
I found the stairs, taking my time to head to the second floor. As suspected, the room was in the back facing several acres of woods. Before approaching, I took a deep breath. This had to be done. As soon as I moved closer, I noticed the door was ajar.
A moment of fear trickled down my spine.
“Danny.” My feet were like lead, but I found myself standing directly in front of the door. I called out, biting my lower lip to keep from sobbing. Something was wrong.
With a single finger, I pushed open the door.
The drapes were drawn, the darkness overwhelming, but I could see clearly inside.
Danny was on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding his head.
No. This wasn’t possible. This couldn’t be…
“Danny.” The silence was unnerving and I was suddenly spinning.
My stomach lurched, my breath stolen as terror turned into panic.
Without warning, a strangled scream erupted from my throat. I spun around, gasping for air as I tumbled forward blindly.
And directly against something solid.
“Whoa. Fleur.”
The resonant softness of his deep baritone had once driven me wild. Now I was horrified at the sound. With his hands gripping my forearms, I slowly lifted my head, staring into Montgomery’s deep green eyes.
A jaw cut in sharp lines beneath dark scruff.
A mouth pursed, soft as I remembered.
As usual when seeing Montgomery Prince, my body betrayed me, explosive heat washing over every inch.
I was in a hypnotized state, mesmerized by his beauty while my heart thudded against my chest.
He was devastation wrapped in a package of steel.
A temptation for more than just my body, the lingering effects of our intense tethering already wrapped around a small portion of my heart. “I can’t breathe.”
