The ground was cold and hard. Colin's shoulder took the brunt of the fall,and that was going to hurt later. Right now, Colin's adrenaline pumped and all he could think about was stopping Richard.
With a couple seconds of a head start , Richard was retreating down the hill by the time Colin got to his feet. There was no use trying to use his backup weapon. There were too many trees in the way to get off a clean shot. So, he started down after Richard .
There could be a trap set up, so Colin needed to stop Richard. Now!
Anger and rage fueled Colin's movements.
Pouring on the speed,Colin dove down the hill , aiming at Richard,who was running at a decent clip. He couldn't outrun Colin. Richard was shot to find that out as Colin made contact just below the men's knees.
Richard fell backwards and on top of Colin. The two,connected by momentum,r
Richard made to knock Colin off him. Colin fisted his hand and belted Richard. His jaw snapped right and he spit blood. Colin could hear footsteps thundering from behind and voices that he recongnized as his brothers'. He listened for the sweet sounds of Melissa's voice and tensed when he didn't hear it. He refused to give Rancic the satisfaction of seeing his fear."You're about to be arrested and face your crimes. Know this. If you or anyone you know ever messes with my family again from either side of the bare that you're about to send a very long time getting to know,there won't be place in Earth you can hide from me". Colin said through clenched teeth. Richard sneered. "We'll see about that".It took pretty much everything Colin had inside him at that moment not to out his hands around that my men's neck a d choke the life out of him for what he'd done to Melissa. He
"He's asking for you", Philip said, motioning for her to follow him. She glanced at his brothers as she hurried behind Philip. It had to be a good sign that he was talking. She'd take what she could get. Melissa had expected to feel differently as he watched the cruiser pull away with Richard in the back. She'd thought she'd feel lighter somehow. Except that she didn't. Not while Colin lay on a stretcher being worked on by two EMTs. Her life had blown up before her eyes. She knew that Colin could never truely trust her again, but she loved him with all her heart and had to be okay. "You were so cold", she said, her chest squeezing at seeing him on that stretcher,wrapped in thick blankets. "I'll be warmer if you'll slip under the covers with me", he said with that wry grin that was so charming. His gaze fixed on a spot behind her. &nbs
"I didn't approve her. I would never do that. She shouldn't be here". Cynthia Stoker,the cattleman Crime club's event coordinator,paced in the kitchen. Her fingers were a braided knot. She was responsible for the guest list at the spring fling, the annual end-of-spring fund-raiser hosted by the O'Brien family. "I know". Colin O'Brien folded his arms,hiding just how much the thought of seeing Melissa Roark__correction, Melissa Rancic__again twisted his gut. Being the fourth son of the wealthy O'Brien family and with good looks and charm to spare,he hadn't seen a lot of rejection in his life. Until her. And she'd ripped his heart out. "How'd her name get past security?' "She asked to come as Carolina Jordan's plus one,and since she wasn't listed as a threat they approved her", Cynthia said,throwing her hands in the air, worry lines bracketing her mouth. She'd worked at the ra
A sob escaped before she could suppress it. Her eyes blurred as she navigated onto the main road into town. At least she had their daughter. She'd have to hold onto that piece of Colin for the rest of her life and let it be enough. Angelina touched a piece of Melissa's heart that could belong to no one else. She thought about how unfair it was that her daughter had never met her father,would never meet him. But then,this was the way it had to be,she reminded herself. Melissa's father was old and sick. He'd made him mistakes and they were both paying for them. If Richard had followed through on his threats,her father would live out the rest of his life in jail. She couldn't allow that to happen no matter how angry she'd become at him for his unethical business practices. And then there were the threats Richard had made about Colin and his family. The man could destroy the O'Briens if their secret was revealed. The bedrock of the family had been their parents' unw
The feds had said that Richard should be somewhere near the Canadian border by now. Melissa had been under so much duress especially in the past months since talking with the agents,that she could barely think straight. She told herself that was the reason she'd been misguided enough to think seeing Colin one more time would somehow fill the ache in her chest. Everything had spun out of control. Her relationship with the feds hadn't exactly been a friendly alliance . The only reason she'd collected evidence against Richard was because they threatened to take Angelina away from her. Ever since they'd approached her while she picked up the mail that cold January morning. She'd been walking a tightrope. Richard had been good at covering his tracks ,so culling evidence against him had been difficult. She'd eventually gathered the proof needed for the feds to get an arrest warrant. She'd risked her life,not to mention her daughte
Melissa opened her eyes , slowly,and it was like the sun cresting in the horizon. Those violet streaks like rays,bathing darkness with light. His heart clenched and his muscles corded as her hands came up to his chest. He expected a jab or for her to push him away,but instead she double fisted his shirt and tugged him toward her. All rationale flew out of the window as Colin's pulse kicked up a few notches. He shouldn't want to dip deep and claim her heart-shaped pink lips again. He shouldn't want to pull her body flush with his. He shouldn't want to get lost inside her. And that's where he stopped. Because he could never trust her enough to close his eyes again. He pulled back,a little stunned at how easy it was to get trapped in old habits. How many times had they been in a similar position? Eager top rip off each other's clothes off and let the feelings they had for eac
The only things keeping Melissa upright and on her feet were sheer determination and will power. The second she'd heard the news about Colin's parents she'd almost buckled. Had her worst fear been realized? Had Richard gotten to them because of some sick need to punish her? So many other questions swirled. If Mr. O'Brien was having an affair,could that be connected to the muders? Melissa quieted her internal thoughts. It was dangerous to give away her reaction to the news. She couldn't risk Colin having any suspicion about Richard. The news would spread soon enough that he was a criminal on the run ,and Melissa would be long gone. Her handler , Marshal Davis,had been keeping the situation out of the news until Melissa could disappear. Speaking of which,it was almost time to meet him. If she didn't show at their rendezvous point,he'd start looking for her and she didn't need him asking around or giving more cause for concern. There was enough red flags in the a
"He did. All he has so far is the poison. He doesn't know how it got in their systems or what the motive for murder could be", Colin Said. "There's a slight chance that they ingested the poison accidentally". "Except what are the chances they both ingested the same thing at the same time?" She said out loud,not meaning to. She shouldn't add fuel to fire. Colin might find out the truth about his father and that would crush him. She still could scarcely believe that the man would have an affair. She'd argued with Richard, putting up more of a fight than she knew better to,refusing to accept his accusation at first. And that had led to an even bigger fight between them when he's accused her of defending the O'Briens because she still loved Colin. In order to survive,she'd had to swallow her emotions and convince Richard that she loved him. Only him. If someone had told her that she'd be able to sell that lie a year ago she would've la