Twin Temptations (11 page)

“I thought maybe Bub and I would come into the Zone for dinner later. Check to make sure Jeff isn’t anywhere around.”

He’d said it so casually. Ryker knew Lilly wouldn’t think anything about it, but he could tell by the tick of his jaw that this thing with Jeff had been on his mind. Ryker’d heard Ranger talking to Rawley on the phone earlier in the day. He knew they hadn’t found any evidence to link Jeff with the vandalism, but Rawley had promised to have a Sheriff’s department vehicle out in the parking lot when Lilly got off shift.

“Oh, it’s a good night too. Kathy’s making pot roast.” Lilly gave Ryker a look, eyebrow raised.

“We’ll probably just stay for dinner and a couple beers before heading home.” He looked over at the back of Ranger’s head before giving Lilly a wink.

The clinic was a busy, but they’d promised to give the three of them a call the next day with their test results. “One more day,” Ryker sighed as he tilted the icy mug of beer to his lips.

“Yep,” Ranger said absently. His mood brightened when he spotted Garron and Sonny coming through the door. Ranger stood and waived them over. “Hey, guys, what brings you to the Zone?”

Sonny and Garron looked at each other and said at the same time, “Pot roast.”

Smiling, he sat back down. “Pull up a chair.” He saw Lilly making her way over to them. There didn’t seem to be as many drinkers here tonight as there were roast eaters.

Lilly kissed Sonny’s forehead. “It’s good to see you in here again. You two looking to eat the special?”

“You know it,” Garron said, rubbing his palms together in anticipation.

Lilly grinned and turned toward him and Ryker. “Another round of beer?”

Ranger nodded and finished off his mug. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

Lilly picked up the two empty glasses and raised her brows at Garron and Sonny. “Beer or whiskey?”

Garron spoke up, “Beer for me and a Coke for Sonny.”

As soon as Lilly walked off, Ranger turned to his brother. “You been having headaches again?” He knew Sonny didn’t drink when he was taking pain medication for his headaches.

“A few,” Sonny shrugged.

Ranger reached across the table and covered Sonny’s hand. “You call if you need anything.”

Sonny chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I think you’ve got your hands pretty full right now, but it’s nice to know.”

A picture of having his hands full of Ryker and Lilly flashed through Ranger’s mind. He immediately felt his cock harden behind the fly of his jeans as he pictured the three of them making love, only instead of them both inside Lilly he was buried deep inside Ryker. A beer being set in front of him snapped him back to the present. He felt his face heat at the thoughts that had swirled around his head all day.
What the hell was going on with him?
He shook his head in disgust.

And just like that his mood turned. Needing to get away, he drank his beer as fast as his throat would allow. When he set the empty mug on the scarred table top, he looked over at Lilly. “I’d like my food to-go.” Ranger said, his voice deep and rough.

“Sure, I’ll go tell Kathy to put it in a container.” Lilly looked at him for another second or two before turning and walking toward the kitchen.

“Something wrong?” Ryker asked.

“Need to leave.” He looked at Ryker, the image of being buried inside him still fresh in his mind. “You stay. Have Garron and Sonny drop you off on their way by.”

Without waiting for a reply he stood and walked toward the bar, Lilly was just coming out of the kitchen with his dinner. Digging in his pocket, he hoped Lilly wouldn’t notice his rock hard erection. He pulled out a twenty and handed it to her. “Good-bye.”

Turning on his heel, he left the bar and drove straight to the liquor store.

By the time he was dropped off, Ryker had worked himself up pretty good. He’d wanted to leave with Ranger earlier, but the stubborn ass hadn’t even given him a chance. He’d been forced to try and explain Ranger’s actions to not only Lilly but Sonny and Garron as well.

Needing time alone before he confronted Ranger, Ryker had Garron drop him at the end of the drive. Now, as he walked the long gravel drive, he started to feel strange. At first he thought maybe it was the beer and food combined with the worry that was upsetting him, but as the ache became more severe he knew it was more, it was Ranger. Something was wrong.

Despite the ache in his gut, Ryker took off running through the trees toward home. As soon as he broke through to the clearing he noticed Ranger’s truck wasn’t parked in its usual spot. “Fuck,” he screamed to the singing birds as he ran up the steps and into the house.

The first place he went was to the bedroom. Seeing the closet door ajar, Ryker swallowed the bile rising in his throat. He knew what he’d find before he even opened it. The ache in his gut telling him Ranger had gone.

After checking out the closet, Ryker picked up the phone in a daze.

“Dead Zone.”

“I need to talk to Lilly,” he managed to rasp out.

After a few long minutes, Lilly got on the phone. “Hello?”

“He’s gone.”

“What?”

“Ranger’s gone. I came home and most of his clothes are missing. He’s left me.” He felt the sting of tears seconds before they began to fall. “I’m gonna have Garron bring me back to the bar to pick up my truck. I gotta go find him.”

“No. I’ll be home as soon as I can. I love you,” she said before hanging up.

He fell back onto the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. “Where are you?” he whispered to the quiet room. Replaying the scene in the bar once again, Ryker tried to figure out what had set Ranger off. No matter how many times he went through the conversations, nothing odd stuck out in his mind.

The pillow under his head was Ranger’s and when he turned he could smell his familiar scent. As he buried his face in Ranger’s pillow, a thought occurred to him. “Shit,” he said picking up the phone. He hit speed-dial and waited for Ranger to answer. Why hadn’t he thought of it before? His hopes were soon dashed when Ranger’s voice mail answered telling him to leave a message.

“I need you. Why’d you leave me? You’ve never done that before and I don’t even know what I did wrong. Please, love, please call me.”

Fumbling with the phone, Ranger was barely able to figure out how to retrieve his message. Hearing Bub’s voice asking what he’d done wrong was like someone taking their finger out of the hole in the dam. A rush of regret and self loathing washed over him in a wave of pain. Throwing the phone down, he picked up his second bottle of Jack, sloshing a good amount down his chin as he drank.

Looking around, he sighed.
Sonny
, he thought.
Maybe I need to call Sonny.
Although he was the youngest of the Good boys, Sonny seemed to be the glue that kept them all together lately. Since his injury, Sonny had changed, and in Ranger’s opinion, for the better. He couldn’t just leave town without telling someone where he was going and he knew if he tried to tell Ryker, his Bub would say anything he thought he wanted to hear to make him stay.

Falling off the couch in his attempt to retrieve his phone, he shook his head. “Damn, who moved the couch on me?” Blinking his eyes several times, he studied the display on the tiny phone before remembering Sonny’s number.

“Hello?”

Ranger opened his mouth to talk and a sob erupted instead.

“Where are you? Ryker called here frantic. He’s got Lilly on the way to pick him up so they can look for you.”

“Don’t tell.” Ranger fell back to the floor and rubbed his eyes.

“Okay I won’t. Just tell me and we’ll figure this out together.”

“The apartment. I can’t go back there, Sonny. I can’t. I’m…there’s something wrong with me.”

“You just stay where you are and I’ll come over. Don’t you move.”

“Gotta throw up,” he said getting to his knees. He tried to stand and fell back again. He heaved what little contents his stomach held and fell back to the floor.

Chapter Twelve

Running toward Ryker’s truck, Lilly was so busy digging the keys out that she didn’t notice Jeff pull up. Opening the door, a hand reached out and grabbed her arm.

“I heard you was messing with them Good twins. I was right about you. You’re nothing but a filthy slut.” Jeff pressed her against the side of the truck flinging the door the rest of the way open. With a hand around her throat, he pushed her down onto the seat. With her legs still on the ground, Lilly’s back felt like it would break in her present position.

“I don’t have time for this,” she tried to get up, scratching at Jeff’s face, hoping to get free.

A jarring slap to the side of her face stopped her. “Listen to me, bitch, if you can spread your legs for those queer perverts, you can spread for me. Nobody teases me and gets away with it.” He started unfastening her jeans, the smell of his breath a testament to how much he’d already drank before coming to the bar.

Looking around, Lilly spotted the keys on the floorboard where Jeff had tossed them in his haste to get her into the truck. Taking a deep breath, she managed to get a hold on his hair with one hand. She pulled and kicked while stretching out to grab the keys. Another blow to her cheek came seconds before she swiped a key across his smarmy face.

“Fuck,” Jeff screamed, releasing her and bringing his hands to his face. Blood ran between his fingers as she kicked him out of the way. Jeff seemed to be so shocked that she’d hurt him he let his guard down long enough for her to scramble and get the door closed and locked.

As soon as he heard the snick of the lock, he charged the truck, his face red from both blood and fury. Lilly’s hands were shaking as she worked the key into the ignition. A loud crack sounded and she looked over just in time to see Jeff’s foot come flying once again toward the driver’s side window. Putting the truck in reverse, she hit the gas, not caring whether she ran him over or not.

Pulling out of the lot at a high rate of speed, she looked around the truck for her purse. “Dammit,” she screamed when she realised it must still be in the parking lot. Lilly didn’t know if Jeff would follow her or not, but she didn’t have time for this shit. She knew if she went to the Sheriff’s station they’d make her stay until they tracked Jeff down. Unwilling to waste the time, she decided to go straight to Rawley’s house.