Cowboy's Chocolate Roses (10 page)

*****

Timothy stepped back and Bri stared up, sweat and tears blurring her eyesight. Her arms and legs felt like they had been set alight. Blood dripped down onto the floor. He played with her, stretching her torment out so he got the maximum amount of pleasure from her pain, before he finished her off.

The man smiled as if he could read her thoughts.

"Almost done, sweetheart. After all, I doubt you can take as much as last time, given your condition." He laughed menacingly.

God, she didn't want to think about being pregnant. She didn't want to think about losing her baby. Of Josh losing them both. It killed something inside her to know he might suffer so much. And her baby, her innocent baby. Bri sobbed harder and harder, finished with trying to hide fear and despair from Timothy.

“That’s more like it. Cry, scream, give me everything.” His laughter was loud, consuming in the small room. “So good, Brianna. You were always so good.”

Something inside her snapped. Nothing she ever did had been for him. She was sick of people wanting something from her, even if it was just for her to get better so they didn’t have to be so worried, so scared. The only person who had never asked her for anything was Josh. The only person she was prepared to give anything to was Josh.

“Fuck you,” she panted.

Timothy froze, his eyes pinning her where she sat tied. “What?”

“I said...fuck you,” she spat, lifting her head defiantly, her tears having stopped with her anger. “I never belonged to you. I never did anything for you. You are a sick fuck. I hate you. I despise you. I may be scared of dying, scared of leaving the people I love, but I refuse to be scared of you, you bastard.”

Pain sliced across her face as he backhanded her, but she only laughed, distantly thinking maybe more than anger had snapped inside of her. “Oh, what’s wrong? Poor little Timmy getting his feelings hurt because he realizes no one gives a rat's ass about him?”

“You care about me,” he sneered. “You care that I’m going to kill you and your baby.”

She shook her head. “You are pathetic. I care about your actions, the consequences. I couldn’t give a damn about you. And that’s the problem, isn’t it?”

Timothy glared, eyes sparking with fury, yet she noticed the more she talked, the less he physically attacked her.

“You were never good enough, were you? Not even for your family. That’s why you needed so desperately to insert yourself into mine.” She laughed. “You have daddy issues the size of fucking Texas.”

“Shut it, you little bitch.”

“Or you’ll what,” she scoffed. “Kill me? You already said you were going to do that. Thing is, Timothy, you did teach me one thing.”

“And what was that?” His tone was sarcastic, yet there was something in his eyes, genuine curiosity.

“That I’m a fighter,” she stated simply. “You taught me that I am a fighter. You should have broken me, and you nearly did. I’m furious with myself that it has taken me this long to realize that.”

He appraised her for a moment, as if studying a fine piece of art. “You know what? You are right, Bri. But you know what that means don’t you?”

Bri shivered at the pure joy she suddenly saw in his gaze as he stepped closer again, knife held out toward her. She raised her brow, but refused to answer him, though she thought she knew where he was going with this line of thought.

He chuckled manically, pulling out a gun in his other hand. He held them as though he were weighing them...or perhaps weighing his options. “It means that when I do finally break you, it will be that much sweeter. I wonder just how long it will take?”

The knife dug deeper than before, and Bri struggled to hold on, hold it in. But she couldn’t. Again, she screamed.

*****

Josh burst through the door, heedless of Noah's shouts for him to stop. He could hear Bri screaming from further in the abandoned bunkhouse. Heading toward the noise, he froze in horror as he rounded the corner, finding himself in the old dining room. Tied to a chair, Bri had blood dripping from wounds on her body and he wanted to roar in agony. Placing his finger on the trigger, he raised his gun and stared into the eyes of the first man he had ever wanted to kill.

"Please, just make one more move, asshole," Josh growled.

Noah and his deputy stepped in beside him, their weapons drawn, followed quickly by Caleb and Sin who were also armed. Timothy held a sidearm in his hand, and aimed it at Bri. Josh managed to maneuver himself between the gun and Bri as Timothy’s attention was drawn to the extra people filling the room.

The madman’s eyes darted around widely.

"Keep your hands where they are," Noah shouted. "Josh, I'll deal with this piece of shit, you go check on Bri."

Josh raced forward, untying her restraints. "Christ, lavender. Are you okay, honey?"

Bri sobbed. "I-I thought you w-wouldn't find me, but you did. You did," she repeated over and over. “Wouldn’t let him. Wouldn’t let him break me.”

Josh feared regardless of her words that something had snapped inside of her. He called out for help when a struggle ensued behind him and shots were fired. Clutching Bri tightly to his chest, Josh raised his gun, and nearly dropped it again at the sight before him. Every other man in the room stood there, their guns pointing at Timothy's bloody body where it lay lifeless on the ground.

"What the hell?"

"Stupid fool went to take a shot. Don't know what he was thinking." Noah shook his head in disbelief. "What was he gonna do? Shoot his way out."

Noah's radio went off, startling them. Josh focused on Bri, not listening to the other men until Noah grabbed his attention.

"A helicopter with medics from a hospital in Dallas has just arrived. Seems your soon-to-be father-in-law sent them. Her parents are meeting you there." Noah winced.

They both knew all hell would break loose once Brian Evans arrived. He better not start anything, because Josh had been through too much with Bri's disappearance not to take the man's head off if he did.

Josh paced up and down the halls of the hospital, waiting to hear about Bri. An hour later, the doctor stepped out of the room and informed Josh that she and baby were doing okay, but they had given Bri a sedative and they would be monitoring her overnight. Josh felt like he could finally breathe again. If they wanted to keep her for observation he could live with that, as long as they knew he would be sleeping in the chair by her bed. He refused to let his woman out of his sight again, but he'd have to soon. Noah needed Josh back to give a statement.
Christ, what a clusterfuck
.

"Josh!"

Turning, Josh found Brian Evans headed his way.

Just what I need
.

The livid man pointed a finger in Josh's face. "This is your fault," Brian shouted. "I should have known you couldn't protect her."

Josh snapped. He could have handled Brian being upset, even a little given what his daughter had been through, but to outright blame Josh? Without thinking, Josh cocked his elbow and threw it forward, his fist colliding with Brian's jaw.

Holding the side of his face, Brian stared wide-eyed. "You hit me!"

"No shit," he grunted.

He could have made it a nose shot and broken the damn thing, so the man should consider himself lucky.

Giving a nod to Bri's mother, Margaret, he added, "Ma'am. I'd say I'm sorry but I'm not. I do apologize for doing it in front of you though."

"Oh, no, my dear boy, don't apologize. I think my husband had that coming." She smirked, shaking her head. "You had no right, Brian."

"No right? I trusted this bastard to keep my daughter safe. What the hell did you think I was going to do?" he bellowed.

"Apparently make a scene," Margaret muttered, rolling her eyes. "I'm going in to see my daughter. You two sort this out."

She left Josh alone with Brian in the corridor. Folding his arms across his chest, Josh stared down at the smaller man. The silence between them stretched out.

Unable to stand the tension any longer, Josh said, "I'm not going anywhere, Brian. And this wasn't my fault."

"Maybe not, but that's my baby girl in there," he said, pointing to the door. "She's gone through too much in such a short space of time."

"I agree, but I am going to marry her and we are having a baby. That's something you're gonna have to deal with." Sighing, Josh swiped a hand roughly down his tired face. "Look, they said Bri is gonna be out for the night. I've gotta head back and sort some stuff out with the sheriff. I don't want to leave her, but I want the situation dealt with before she comes home. If she does wake up, can you please tell her I'll be back as soon as possible?"

"Sure," Brian replied begrudgingly.

Turning to leave, Josh added one more thing, "For the record, she means everything to me. And tonight, I would've died for her."

Without waiting for a response, Josh took off down the hall. The sooner he gave his statement to Noah, the sooner he could get back to Bri. He also decided to take a side trip home to get his mother's ring. He wanted Bri to know she meant the world to him. She would never doubt his love for her.

*****

"Bri, would you just wait a second." Charlotte sighed, completely exasperated.

Ignoring her sister's request, Bri tugged on the jacket Charlotte had brought for her, furious.

"Charlotte's right, maybe you should just stop for a second. You've been under a fair amount of stress," her brother-in-law, Ryan, suggested.

She knew the pair were concerned for her and the baby, but if they thought for one second she'd sit back and leave things be, they didn't know her very well. Bri had woken an hour ago still a little worse for wear, but surprisingly coping, only to find Josh gone.

"You can't tell me where Josh is, or even when he'll be back. The only thing you've told me is he and daddy got into it when I was brought in and no one has seen him since." Slipping on her shoes, she walked to the door. "If he isn't going to answer his phone, then I'm going to find him and get some answers."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "There is no need to go all gung-ho. Mom and dad should be back soon. They were here all night, and headed home to freshen up. If you just wait a little longer then you can ask them."

Bri knew her sister's suggestion was probably the more reasonable one, but she couldn't wait. She felt re-energized—she had faced her demons, and was still standing. Most importantly, Timothy wasn't.

"I need to find him, Charlotte."

"And I get that, but it was only last night that you had to be sedated. I'm not even sure if what happened last night has fully sunk in yet." Charlotte walked over and wrapped her arm around Bri. "But…if you really need to do this, then let's do it right. We'll see about a doctor discharging you, then if you can leave I'll help you find your wayward cowboy."

She smiled gratefully at her sister. "Thanks."

Briskly making her way down the hallway with Charlotte and Ryan by her side, Bri headed for the nurses' station eager to get things in motion. The elevators to the left whooshed open and Bri stumbled to a stop at the sight of Josh stepping out. A smile curved her lips when she saw he held a bunch of roses.

Chocolate roses.

He wouldn't just leave her.

Bolstered by a confidence she had never felt before, she called out, "Those better be for me, cowboy."

Bri watched in amusement as Josh's head shot up, his mouth doing a great impression of a fish. He snapped out of his daze when she cocked her eyebrow, waiting for him to speak.

Rushing over, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "What are you doing? You should still be in bed."

"Well, you see, I woke up to find my sister in my room and no one else. When I asked her where you were, she said mom told her you and daddy had gotten into a fight, literally, and you had left. And since neither you, nor my father, were answering your phones, I decided to come and find out what happened." Leaning back, she met his gaze. "So, wanna tell me what happened?"

Josh wore a deep frown on his face, clearly pissed. "What were you gonna do, drive all the way to Bricker in your condition?"

"No, don't be silly," she said, and watched him visibly relax. Then she added, "I was going to get Charlotte to drive."

His frown returned. "Damned ornery woman, you're supposed to be in bed."

Her eyes narrowed. "Yeah, but you're supposed to be there with me."

Looking a little chagrined, he grumbled, "I had to help Noah and talk to the state police. I thought you would still be out of it, but I did ask your father to tell you I would be back if you woke up before I returned."

"Was that before or after you punched him?" She smirked.

"After. But the man had it coming, just ask your mother," he muttered.

Shaking her head at his antics, Bri threw her arms around his neck, careful of her bandages. God, she loved the man. Pulling his head down, she brought their mouths together. Her lips moved over his, slow and sensual, almost like a promise.

All too soon, Josh raised his head, smiling down at her. "There's something I wanted to give you."

"I know, I saw the roses." She smiled back.

"N-no. I mean, yes, th-they are for you, but there w-was something else," he stuttered.

Fumbling around in his pockets, he found what he had been looking for, and a grin spread across his face. Bri gasped when he suddenly dropped to one knee, and held up a box with the most exquisite ring inside. A marquise-cut emerald sat in the middle, surrounded by small round diamonds set in white gold. She had seen this ring before, in old family photos hanging on the walls at home.

His mother's ring.

"Bri, I know I've already asked you, but this time I want to do it right," he started, clearing his throat. "Since the moment I spotted you in that bar, standing awkwardly behind your sister, you have owned a piece of me. Your eyes were the first thing that caught me, but your pure heart has kept me ensnared. You now own every bit of me. After all you have been through, you still have the ability to laugh and love and I will be forever grateful if you chose me to share it with. And now I ask, with my family's ring as a promise to always love you, will you marry me?"

Her face damp from tears, Bri lovingly cupped his cheek, her heart warmed with love. His words were the most beautiful thing she had ever heard.

"Yes. Of course I will."

Josh's smile shone brighter than the sun. He jumped up, reaching for her, and swept her up into his embrace. Cheers erupted from all around them, and Bri suddenly realized they'd drawn a crowd. She'd been so caught up with Josh, she hadn't even noticed. Her smile grew brighter when she saw her family in the group, standing alongside Caleb. Catching her father's gaze, she nodded to him, letting him know she had exactly what she wanted. She belonged right here, in the arms of her cowboy.