Jermy, Marie - Together Forever [The Andersons 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) (9 page)

Ross snorted. “As if I’m gonna tell you.”

“Afraid I’ll give you some tips on how to make it even better?”

Ross again snorted. “I’ll bet I know more things than you do on how to drive a woman wild in bed.”

“I don’t doubt it, but I think Dad knows more. He could probably write a book and bang out a couple of sequels.”

“Bang out? What, quite literally?”

Matt laughed. “Yeah. And I bet Mom could teach Jessica a few tricks on driving a man wild in bed.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Ross drawled, recalling the lip service Jessica had given his cock the night before. “I think Jess already knows.”

“Ah, gotcha!” Matt pointed a triumphant finger at Ross. “C’mon, spill. I mean, what exactly did she do to make you propose to her?”

“Even if I knew, I still wouldn’t tell you. Let’s change the subject. How’s the house-sharing going with our two adorable sisters? Mona still leaving caps off bottles, wet towels on the bathroom floor? Sammy still—”

“Let’s not change the subject,” Matt interrupted. “I wanna know all about Jessica.” He gave Ross a serious look. “You really do love her, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do. I can’t explain it, but whenever I’m with her, or even when I think about her, something in here”—Ross patted his chest—“goes haywire. Don’t laugh!” he chided at Matt’s mocking grin. “Just you wait. I guarantee when the right woman comes for you, you’ll feel—”

A piercing scream from within the forest silenced Ross.

Chapter 5

The scream sounded very familiar.

As realization dawned on why, Matt looked at Ross and then took off running toward an area in the forest where there were a couple of picnic benches. Ross wasn’t too far behind him. Upon reaching the clearing, they saw Mark Raven holding their sister, Samantha, down on one of the tables, struggling to remove her jeans. She screamed again, this time more muffled as Raven had one hand over her mouth.

“You bastard!” Matt yelled. And with a flying leap, he tackled Raven to the ground, and they started fighting.

Ross immediately went to Samantha, who collapsed in his arms, shuddering and crying inconsolably. He swore and had removed his cell phone to call the town’s police station when he saw Matt quite literally beating the crap out of Raven. Chief Peter Connors answered on the first ring. “Sir, it’s Ross Anderson Junior,” he said, for once using his full name so Connors wouldn’t mistake him for his father. “You’d better come to the clearing at the lake. Mark Raven’s just tried to rape Samantha. And Matt is kicking the life out of him.”

“On my way.”

The dial tone sounded in Ross’s ear, and he returned the phone to his pocket. Matt was now kicking Raven in the stomach. Knowing he had to stop his brother from going too far, he went to stand up, but Samantha clung on to him and wouldn’t let go. “Sammy, listen. I’ve got to go to Matt.”

“No!” she wailed. “Don’t leave me.”

“I’m not leaving you. I’ll just be over there.” He nodded toward where Matt and Raven were.

“No!” she again wailed, clinging tighter to him.

Ross looked over his shoulder when he heard running footsteps. It was his parents. He again swore when he saw the intense rage on his father’s face. “Mom, take her!” he advised when his mother wrenched Samantha out of his arms. He stood up and grabbed hold of his father’s arm. “Dad, don’t be an idiot! Stay here. I’ll deal with it.” He then paced over to Matt and dragged him away. “Stop it, Matt! You’re killing him!”

“It’s nothing the prick doesn’t deserve.”

“I know, but you’re a police officer, for Christ’s sake! Let justice give the prick what he deserves.” Ross glanced over at his parents, who were comforting Samantha. This time, his mother looked as if she was about to erupt. “Go and calm Mom down before she starts spitting lava. I’ll arrest Raven.”

Ross walked over to Raven, who was sitting on a bench, clutching his stomach and bleeding heavily from his nose and mouth. “Mark Raven, you are under arrest for the attempted rape of Samantha Anderson. You have the right to remain silent. You—”

“Fuck, wait!” Raven interrupted. “You’re arresting me for what!”

“The attempted rape of Samantha Anderson,” Ross repeated matter-of-factly.

“She damn well wanted to have sex with me! Practically begged for it. But as soon as I started kissing her, the little bitch kneed me in the balls.”

“Then you should have backed off.” Ross growled, his anger mounting at what Raven had called his sister.

“Sam’s nothing but a cock-tease.”

That did it. His usual evenhandedness momentarily abandoning him, Ross curled his right hand into a fist and smacked Raven straight in the mouth, knocking him backwards off the bench.

Once Raven had collected his senses, he spat out a loose tooth and blood on the ground and glared up at Ross. “I’ll have you and that bastard brother of yours for assault!”

“Try it, prick!” Ross raised his fist again and took another step toward Raven, but somebody pulled him back. It was Chief Connors.

“That’s enough, Ross. I’ll take it from here.”

“I haven’t finished his rights yet.”

“I said, I’ll take it from here,” Connors reiterated curtly.

“Sir.” For one moment, Ross thought Connors was about to say something else, but he then turned back to Raven. He went over to his family. Matt had managed to calm their mother down. His father looked tense as he held a still-crying Samantha. “Let’s go home.”

Easing Samantha out of his father’s arms, Ross picked her up and carried her back to their house, whispering comforting words the whole way. By the time he’d laid her on the sofa, her crying had subsided into low, teary whimpers. He ran his eyes over her, noting the emergence of purplish-black bruises on her upper arms and around her neck. “We need to photograph these injuries.”

“I’ll get the camera,” his mother said, going over to a sideboard.

Just then, Ramona came rushing in. She looked just as upset as Samantha, which wasn’t surprising since, as twins, each felt everything the other was feeling. “I’ll kill him!” she cried, knocking Ross out of the way and putting her arms around her sister and hugging her fiercely.

“Get in line,” Matt muttered. “I thought you were delivering a foal.”

“I was. But halfway through, I felt something was wrong with Sammy. I phoned Rex to come and take over.”

“I bet he didn’t like that,” Matt said.

“Like I care.”

“Who’s Rex?” Ross asked, taking the camera from his mother.

“My new partner at the practice,” Ramona explained. “Smug SOB, too.”

Ross couldn’t help but laugh. “A vet called Rex? What’s his surname? Rover?”

Ramona grinned. “Yeah, it should be, but no, it’s Latimer. Hey, you’re not taking the photos, are you?”

Ross nodded. “Yep. It’s for evidence.”

“All very well and good, but you’re a man. Mom and I will do it. Upstairs,” Ramona added meaningfully.

Without hesitation and without argument, Ross handed Ramona the camera, and she, Samantha, and his mother disappeared upstairs.

“I need a drink,” Matt decided. He glanced at his watch. “Rustlers is still open. Dad, Ross, you coming with me?”

“Sure thing,” Ross Senior replied.

Ross gave his brother and father a stern look. “Any drinks you two will be having will be here at home. And don’t look so innocent. With Rustlers being within spitting distance of the station, I know exactly what you two are thinking of doing. Raven’s not worth it. And I’ve had my fill of him tonight.”

“Gee, you have got it bad,” Matt muttered as he entered the kitchen.

Ross followed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“One blow job from Jessica Ferris and you forget you’ve got balls.”

“You leave her out of this.”

“Why?”

“’Cause I said so.”

Matt snorted. “Oh, I’m shaking.” Taking a bottle of whiskey from the wine rack, he poured an ample quantity into a glass and downed it. He poured another good measure for his father when he joined them. “No doubt who’s gonna wear the pants in your marriage. That’s if you ever get that far.”

“Didn’t I just tell you to leave Jess out of this?”

“Give it a rest,” Ross Senior told them. “Samantha’s upset enough without hearing you two arguing.” He went and answered a knock at the front door.

It was Chief Peter Connors.

“I thought I’d come and inform you that I’ve assigned this case to Detective Dave Tyrell from Butte. He’ll be round in the morning to take all your statements. However, when I was processing Mark at the station, I had a little chat with him about the incident.”

“And what did he have to say for himself?” Ross Senior asked, taking a sip of his whiskey.

“He says it was consensual,” Connors replied.

“Consensual, my ass!” Matt snapped. “She’s got bruises. The bastard was holding Sammy down and ripping her panties off.”

“You know that’s not true. When I arrived she was still fully clothed,” Connors said to Matt. Then to Ross, “He says he told you it was consensual.”

“Did he?” Ross shrugged his shoulders. “He might have done. I don’t remember. What I do remember, though, is he called Sammy a bitch and a cock-tease. But I don’t suppose for one minute he told you that.”

“I know she’s your sister,” Connors said. “And I know you care about her and want to protect her, but don’t let that cloud your judgment. If the defense catches the slightest whiff that you two have concocted evidence, then you can kiss a conviction good-bye.”

“I only said I don’t remember if he said it was consensual.” Ross smiled a tight-lipped smile. “But if he says it again, I’ll make a point of listening.”

Connors drew an exasperated breath. “Look, Mark’s told me he’s not going to press charges of assault against you two. I don’t think the same will be said for Jack. He’s going to be baying for your blood and your jobs. I’d hate to see that happen, so don’t give him that ammunition and stay well clear. The same goes for you,” he added, turning to Ross Senior.

“I’ll do my best.”

“For your daughter’s sake, make sure you do. I’ll see myself out.”

“Man’s on his fourth marriage, and he still comes on to my wife,” Ross Senior grumbled when he heard Connors openly flirting with Jess by the front door.

Matt glanced meaningfully at Ross. “Some men just think with their dicks.”

“I’m gonna feed you yours in a minute!” Ross warned him.

Both then jumped when Ross Senior slammed his glass down on the table and gave them both a clip around the ear. They stared at him, stunned. Their father had never once raised a hand to any of his children.

“I said, give it a rest! Now, apologize to each other.”

“Sorry, big bro,” Matt mumbled.

“Sorry, little bro,” Ross mumbled.

“That’s better.” Ross Senior picked his glass up again and gave Ross a long look. “Raven told you it was consensual, didn’t he?”

“Of course he did.”

“Be careful, son. I want him sent down for what he’s done, and I don’t want anything stopping that from happening.”

“Don’t worry. Being a hot-shot detective, I’m a bit more subtle when it comes to investigative talents. Raven won’t know what’s hit him.” Ross grinned at his father and playfully punched Matt on the shoulder. “No, seriously, Raven’s gonna pay in the right way. In the good ol’-fashioned truth-and-justice way.”