Beloved by Brothers [Doms of Destiny, Colorado 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  He missed her, missed how easy and wonderful it had been before with her. He even missed his brothers, but nothing would be the same. Not after all that had happened with Shane.

  “You drifted off, Mitchell,” Nancy said. “Where’d you go?”

  “Remembering the old days. We sure had lots of fun on the road together.”

  “Right now, you need a singer for the Denver gig. I can call the musician’s union for you. I’m the one who dropped the ball on you tonight. I wish I could’ve given you more notice.”

  “It’s fine, hun. I’ll take care of it in the morning.” He spotted Phoebe’s assistant over Nancy’s shoulder wearing a ladybug costume.

  “Is she here?” she said, turning around.

  “Is who here?”

  “Don’t even try that with me, Mitchell Wolfe. You know. Phoebe Blue. That’s who you keep scanning the room for and the one you were thinking about when you drifted off a moment ago. Old days, right? Don’t deny it.”

  “You should apply for an interrogator’s job when you get to Dallas. I’m sure they could use someone with your intuitive skills, kiddo.”

  “I don’t see Phoebe.” Nancy looked around the room.

  He shook his head. “She’s not here, but her assistant is.”

  “Ah. Ashley. I will never understand why you Wolfe brothers are so thickheaded.” Nancy sighed. “Go ask Ashley if Phoebe’s coming or not.”

  “Bossy, much?”

  She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Always.”

  “Is this you pushing me out of the nest?”

  “Something like that. Go. Now.”

  He walked to the buffet table where Ashley stood. Before he got to her, he heard the most amazing voice. He stopped in his tracks and turned to where the sound came from.

  Kaylyn Anderson, Betty’s daughter, was singing the last song of the band’s set and doing it beautifully. Loading her plate up with fruit and apparently unaware of his presence, she continued to belt out the melody better than he’d ever heard it. This must be the best-kept secret in Destiny. He closed his eyes, letting every note flood into his ears. The image of Phoebe Blue floated in his mind.

  I’ve found our sound, baby. This is it. This is really it.

  * * * *

  Lucas Wolfe stood by the window with the two Ryder brothers—Doc and Mick, both dressed as football players. “Not fair, guys. This is two years in a row you’ve put on your high school uniforms.”

  “So?” Mick said. “We still fit in them.”

  “So do I.” He shook his head, looking at his Grecian costume. “At least I put in some effort.”

  Doc laughed. “A fake beard, white sheet over jeans, and a pair of boots are hardly effort, Lucas. You might be ready for the toga party at Phase Four next week, but I’m certain you won’t be bringing home the top prize for the costume party. What are you supposed to be?”

  “Not what—who. I am Phidias.” He fluffed his gray beard. “One of the most important architects of all time. He oversaw the building of the Parthenon.”

  “You look great, Lucas.” Gretchen didn’t stop to add more, but passed by with a tray of delicious snacks. The dear woman was dressed as a character from one of the latest children’s animation movies, per usual. This year, she’d gone all out with a blonde wig, white smock, and every inch of her exposed skin was blue.

  The three of them gave her thumbs up.

  Mick smiled. “She’s going to win again this year.”

  “I think you’re right.” Doc nodded and then turned to Lucas. “Are you all set for the new clinic’s ground breaking?”

  “Yes. I finished the model this morning.” He loved being an architect. His career was the one thing in his life that made sense and gave him purpose. “It’s ready for the big reveal.”

  “Everyone is going to love it, I’m sure,” Doc said.

  “How’s the Boys Ranch coming along?” Mick asked. “Don’t Amber and the Stone brothers want to open it in December?”

  “By the number of orphan boys Amber’s sister, Belle, is already carting around town, I think it is open now.” Doc grinned. “Have you seen how Juan is big man on campus with those five other boys?”

  “He’s twelve now, going on thirty.” Ethel O’Leary walked up, wearing the regal gown of a queen. It suited her. “Juan is quite the paintball player, too.”

  Mick put his arm around the wonderful lady. “I bet by next year’s tourney, he’ll come home with a trophy.”

  “He might win the whole thing,” she added.

  “I wouldn’t doubt it.” Doc’s tone turned serious. “You are taking it easy?”

  She saluted him. “Yes. I’m taking it very easy.”

  Ethel had gotten a bullet in her leg less than a week ago when Mitrofanov’s men had come looking for Jena. The woman had bounced back beautifully.

  “I want you sitting more than standing, young lady,” Doc ordered.

  “Fine. I’m just glad we could have this party.” Ethel’s eyes welled up. “Everyone has been so sad about what happened to Shannon. The town needed this more than ever.”

  Lucas agreed. Shannon Day’s murder hung heavy on all their hearts. She was a wonderful, eccentric woman. Jason was taking it harder than most since the middle-aged lady had been his dispatcher and all-around go-to gal.

  “The first dormitory and barn will be completed December fifteenth,” Lucas told them, spotting Jason standing next to Dylan Strange.

  Those two were dead set on bringing back Niklaus Mitrofanov to face trial here in Destiny. They remained away from the bulk of the crowd in a corner of the room. Dylan was CIA, a man who got the job done, whatever it took. Jason, Lucas’s brother, was the lawman, the everything-by-the-book guy, and the very proud sheriff of Destiny.

  “That’s great.” Ethel smiled. “You should be very proud of all you’ve accomplished, Lucas.”

  “I will be when it’s completed. We still have a main house, another dormitory, a library, a school, and who knows what else Amber will come up with. The Stone Boys Ranch is going to be a wonderful addition to our town.”

  “You can say that again,” Mick said.

  Doc looked at his watch. “Isn’t it about time for Patrick’s story?”

  She nodded. “He’s added something that I think the kids are going to love.”

  “The kids and us,” Lucas said, noticing Mitchell by the buffet table.

  He wasn’t sure why his brother was standing behind Kaylyn with his eyes closed. Not surprising. Mitchell was the dreamer, the musician, the artist.

  Lucas didn’t understand either of his brothers much. He was more pragmatic, landing somewhere in between the two extremes of his siblings. He could never chase the wind like Mitchell, nor could he stand so rigid when the loss was so great like Jason had done.

  The memory of how the three of them had lost Phoebe, all because of the mistake they’d made when it came to her brother and because of Jason’s unbending will, colored everything in Lucas’s life.

  “Sweetheart, you can’t mean that,” Lucas said, feeling his heart rip apart. Phoebe was the love of his life. He couldn’t lose her. How would he survive?

  “But I do mean it.” She stood in front of him, Mitchell, and Jason. Her arms were folded over her chest.

  He could see she was shaking, which gave him a sliver of hope. “Talk to us, baby.”

  “We can work this out,” Mitchell added. “Give us a chance.”

  Jason didn’t say a word. After what had happened at the diner, what could he say?

  The doors to the courtroom opened. Shane was led out in handcuffs.

  Phoebe wept.

  “It’s going to be okay, sis,” Shane said. “Trust me. I’ll be fine.”

  After Shane and the officers went out the door, she turned to Lucas and his brothers. “We are done. This is over.”

  The closeness Lucas had once felt with Mitchell and Jason was gone. He and Mitchell had been able to heal some of the hurt, havin
g played the smallest of parts in Shane’s undoing and the gulf that had been created in Phoebe’s heart, but the bond only held on by a thin thread. The wound between him and Jason was just as deep and fresh as it had been three years ago.

  He could imagine leaving his brothers, his mom and dads, and even Destiny—something he never would’ve thought possible before.

  Mitchell started talking to Kaylyn, which surprised Lucas even more. There was something in his brother’s manner that didn’t quite gel with his demeanor since the breakup. Mitchell seemed almost…happy.

  * * * *

  “Mitrofanov surely doesn’t have the five million in cash.” Jason looked at Dylan, who was wearing his signature outfit—sunglasses and dark suit and tie.

  “Likely he’s exchanged it for something more portable, like diamonds or art, but it is certainly still transferable.” Dylan continued glancing at his and his brother’s lovely wife, Erica, who was standing by the stairs with Cam. She was dressed as Juliet and Cam was dressed as Romeo.

  “Nice costumes your brother and wife have,” Jason stated, trying to goad Dylan a bit. Of course, he had no room to talk, wearing his sheriff’s uniform tonight. Special dispensation by the O’Learys, thank God.

  Dylan didn’t take the bait. Jason liked the guy. Always had. They were similar in many ways, but Dylan could bend rules. Something he could never do.

  “The agent replacing Black should be here any minute,” Dylan told him. “In my book, no one can take Black’s place, but I will work with him just as hard as I worked with Black. I don’t know the man, but his name is Brown. Former FBI.”

  “Is that normal, going from FBI to CIA?”

  Dylan shrugged. “Apparently quite the climber. Has connections all the way to the top of the Agency.”

  Thinking about all the killings in Destiny of late made Jason’s jaw tighten. Black was only one of a very long list of victims.

  Jason wasn’t sure if he would ever get over losing Shannon, but he vowed to bring down the man responsible for her death—whatever it took. He wished he had someone to talk to about all of it. But he didn’t. Not anymore. Not since Phoebe. Like it or not, he was an island now. Still, Destiny needed him more than ever. He couldn’t let his guard down with anyone, not even the unflappable Dylan Strange. He would work with him but also keep one eye on the man. Spies didn’t give much credence to the law, like Jason did.

  “How are you, the Texans, and Jena going to deal with the new boss?” he asked.

  “You’re going to have to deal with him, too, Sheriff. You agreed to be on the team.”

  “More like the governor agreed for me, remember? That was Black’s doing.”

  The hint of a smile appeared on the stoic man’s face. “Yes, it was, but you are on the team.”

  “Dylan, we will make sure that Black’s killer pays.”

  “I’m glad we’re on the same page, Jason. I need you to bring that piece of shit down.”

  Mitrofanov. Definitely a piece of shit. “What about Kip Lunceford? Have they moved him to the new facility yet?”

  “Actually, I believe his ride just left his old prison.”

  A woman walked in through the door. She wore dark gray slacks and a blazer. Her straight, dark hair was cut short at chin length.

  “Either that’s the best CIA lady costume around or looks like the new boss isn’t a him at all, Dylan.”

  “I see that.”

  The woman headed straight to them but was intercepted by Megan Stone. Did they know each other?

  “The agent is nice looking,” he told Dylan.

  “You on the market again?”

  “Maybe,” he lied. He wasn’t ready for a relationship with anyone. A tumble in the hay might do him some good, though.

  A few steps behind the female CIA agent, Phoebe entered the room. Her long, brunette locks with hints of gold flowed around her shoulders, just exactly how he’d always liked. Still did, though he rarely saw her that way since their breakup. God, why can’t I get past her?

  Jason gazed at Phoebe next to his special tree. She looked more beautiful than ever.

  “I can’t believe summer is almost over,” she said. “Back to school. I’m glad we’re all going to be in high school together.”

  “Me, too, baby.”

  “You’ll be a senior. I bet you get chosen as homecoming king.” She grabbed his hand. “And if you do, I better be your homecoming queen whether I’m a freshman or not. This is Destiny. The queen doesn’t have to be a senior, don’t you agree?”

  “I think you’re getting ahead of yourself. School hasn’t even started. Who knows who will be elected king?”

  “I know. Everyone loves you. You will win.”

  He loved her fire. “I’ll be sure to campaign my heart out for you, honey, to get you the votes you need.”

  “Lucas and Mitchell better do the same if they know what’s good for them,” she said with that smile that always made him so happy. “One more year together before you leave.” He saw tears well up in her eyes.

  He’d been waiting for the perfect moment to tell her how he felt about her, though he was certain she already knew. She was his world. She was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Tonight was the time to open his mouth and tell her everything.

  He took his senior ring off his finger. “Phoebe Blue, I love you. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. I want you to have this. I want everyone at school and in town to know that you are mine. You are my girlfriend.”

  Her face brightened as he pulled out a gold chain from his other pocket. “I love you, too, Jason Wolfe. Yes, I will wear your ring.”

  He pulled the chain through the ring and then put it around her neck. “I will always love you, baby. Always and forever.”

  He kissed her, the girl of his dreams.

  Jason wished he could go back to that very night one more time. But he couldn’t. The innocence of the past was gone. The world had turned dark and hopeless.

  Now that her deadbeat, criminal brother Shane was back in town, things were about to get even worse. Shane would be reporting to him on a weekly basis as part of his parole. Fuck.

  Megan nodded and led the new CIA boss to them.

  “Agent Strange, I’m Brown.” The woman held out her hand to Dylan.

  He took it. “Agent Brown.”

  The replacement for Black turned and offered her hand to Jason. “Sheriff Wolfe.”

  He shook her hand. “Nice meet you, Ms. Brown. How do you and Megan know each other?”

  “Jo and I go back a few years,” Megan informed. “She’s the one who arrested Kip.”

  “So that’s how you know her.” Jason was more impressed by Black’s replacement, knowing how slippery Lunceford could be.

  Megan nodded. “We’ve kept in touch ever since. She might be hard as nails on the outside, but Jo is actually quite a good friend.”

  “Joanne Brown, gentlemen. We can get to the expanded introductions later.” Brown’s face darkened. “Megan, do you mind giving us a moment. Agency business.”

  “Not at all, but you promised to have lunch with me tomorrow. I’m holding you to it.”

  “Of course,” Jo said in a typical law enforcement tone. As Megan said her good-byes and returned to her husbands, the agent turned to Dylan. “We have a major problem, guys.”

  Chapter Two

  Moving through the crowd of vampires, ghosts, and other Halloween attendees, Phoebe put on a smile though her insides were still quaking. She wanted to shake her fears that the call from her invisible stalker had ignited, but couldn’t.

  Ashley ran up to her, carrying her synced iPad. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine. Thanks.”

  “What did the asshole say?”

  “Same thing he always says.” She took a deep breath and handed Ashley her cell. “You know what to do.”

  “Yes, but I don’t understand how he keeps getting your new cell’s information. We are only publishing the offi
ce phone number. We’ve gotten you new phones so many times, but it doesn’t work. You need to talk to Jason, Phoebe. We need his help.”

  “I think you’re right. Where is he?”

  Ashley pointed. “Over there with Dylan Strange and some woman I don’t recognize.”

  Before she could take a single step to them, the trio left the room. “Whatever they’re talking about looks serious. My stalker issue can wait.”

  “No. It can’t.” Ashley didn’t lower her eyes one inch. The fire in the girl from Nevada had always been something Phoebe admired. They were alike in many ways. “If not Jason, then Mitchell or Lucas. You have to talk to one of them. Now.”

  Whenever Ashley spoke like this, so categorically emphatic about the Wolfe brothers, Phoebe’s heart broke a little bit more.

  “Ash, you’ve got to stop trying to build a bridge back to my past love life.” She loved Ashley’s never-give-up attitude on everything but this topic. “It’s never going to happen.”

  “I see how you look at the Wolfe men. You haven’t stopped thinking about them, no matter what you say.”

  “Please. Don’t. I can’t argue this again with you. You, my dear Ash, are a hopeless romantic. Perhaps you should work on your own love life.”

  Ashley blinked and this time did lower her eyes, which made Phoebe feel like a total bitch. She wished she could take back what she’d said. Her assistant had told her just enough—though very little—about three guys from her hometown. The picture was crystal clear. Things were different there. Very different from Destiny. A woman was supposed to love one man. Only one.

  God, that would be simpler, wouldn’t it? But that wasn’t what had happened to Phoebe. She was still in love with the Wolfe brothers. All three of them. Even Jason. But it could never be. After what he’d done to Shane, how could she ever forgive him? She couldn’t. A woman’s heart and her head didn’t always agree, which was definitely her case. She might not be able to get the Wolfe brothers out of her head, but she wasn’t about to let them back into her life.

  She took another deep breath. “We need to get back to work on the Steele case. That’s our focus, not some damn crackpot stalker. We’ve got to be in Chicago to depose Harrison Rutledge, Braxton’s lead vet.”