Predators MC: Stand Off Part 25

She didn't take her gaze off the Predators at her brother's soft question, unaware whimpers of fear were escaping her lips.

"I was showing them my sh.e.l.ls." Cole was surrounded on the blanket by the sh.e.l.ls he had collected. "They like my starfish."

Max's gaze went soft as he edged to the side slowly. He dropped to his knee on the blanket. "I like this one."

Casey half turned, watching Max distrustfully as she kept the Predators within sight.

"That's one of my favorites," Cole said excitedly, picking it up to hand it to Max. "You can have it." As soon as he offered the sh.e.l.l to Max, his beautiful smile slipped.

"That's okay. I'll find some myself. Maybe I can find one like it." Once Max refused Cole's offer, he saw the sunny smile return.

"I'll help. I like looking for sh.e.l.ls. I have forty-two or forty-five." He looked up in confusion at his sister.

"Forty-six," Casey answered gently.

"Forty-six." Cole nodded.

Casey lowered the piece of driftwood as Cole began showing Max his favorite sh.e.l.ls. Ice, Jackal, and Fade all took a seat on the blanket as he showed off his collection.

Casey stared down at her brother's blond head. He was wearing a swimsuit, his skin tanned and slick. Staring at him, she thought he was one of the most handsome men Casey had ever seen. Surrounded by the Predators, she saw he was as muscular and fit as any of the bikers. There was only one difference between Cole and them.

He had the mind and capability of a child.

"Cole, your lunch is ready. Go inside, and I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay, Casey," Cole said happily, unaware of the tension coming from the group. Cole picked up his red bucket, putting his sh.e.l.ls away. Then he stood up, taking his bucket with him.

"Can they have lunch with us? I can help him find his sh.e.l.ls when we get done eating."

Casey started to shake her head.

"We'd like that, Cole. We'll be inside in a little while."

Cole grinned, carrying his pail to the house.

"Please don't hurt him. If you want to... I can take him next door to the neighbor he likes to play with." Casey blinked back tears. "I'll do what you want, just please don't hurt him." Casey sobbed.

Max stood. "Shut up, Casey. Just shut the f.u.c.k up." He jerked her to him, lifting her off her feet then kissing her as if he were starving for her.

Casey pulled back, gasping for breath.

"I don't understand..."

Ice and the others stood.

The president of the Predators brushed the sand from his jeans. "You two need to talk. We'll give you some privacy and keep Cole company." Casey frowned worriedly. "You have my word, Casey. You and Cole are under the protection of the Predators. No one will touch you again."

Casey relaxed in Max's arms, feeling them tighten around her as the men left them alone.

"Why are you here, Max?"

His hand went to her hair, tilting her face up to his. "Because you're mine. You're coming back to Queen City with me."

"No, we're happy here, and I can't go back to Queen City." Casey tore herself away from Max.

He didn't try to grab her back; instead, he shoved his hands into his jeans. "Because of Renee? Or me?"

"Max... I can't go back."

"Yes, you can, and you will. I'm not leaving you behind, Casey. From now on, we're going to be together. You and Cole can move into my house."

"I'm not going to move in with you!" Casey agitatedly paced back and forth. "You gave me to the Predators!" she cried in pain. "You never cared about me. You just wanted revenge for the club." Brokenheartedly, she began crying. "You gave me away."

"No, I didn't. You can d.a.m.n me for the intention, not the deed. Casey-I admit it-the mistake I made was not telling the brothers I had changed my mind. I was never going to let them have you. I meant to talk with Ice and set him straight, but I put it off. I kept reminding myself that you had used me."

Max gave a bark of laughter. "After you were robbed, I didn't even care about that. I was going to talk to you when I came back to the club that night and ask you to move in with me and then talk to Ice. I shouldn't have let you leave after the brothers acted that way, but I was so mad. I needed to make sure the club understood that you are mine. When I tried to find you to explain, you were gone. You didn't even tell me goodbye or give me a chance to explain."

Casey guiltily lowered her eyes to the sand, digging her toes deeper.

"It was better I left, Max. I only had a few months left with you before you would have broken up with me, anyway. You may not have been the one who always broke up with your women, but I watched each time as you gradually cut them out of your life until you left them no choice except to move on."

"You never gave me a chance, Casey. You never gave anyone a chance to help you, not me, Mugg, or your friends."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Casey turned to face the ocean, but Max turned her around so she couldn't avoid his searching eyes.

"An old friend of Renee's told me about Cole getting hurt when Mason and Renee were married. Some things she knew, others she guessed at from what little Renee told her. Did Mason hurt you?"

"No, Cole always protected me. He never let anyone hurt me." Casey sank to the sand, crossing her arms over her knees.

Max crouched down next to her, his hand going to her jaw and lifting her face to his. "Roni told me that after Cole graduated and left Queen City, he got a job and was coming back for you as soon as he could get enough money for a place for you two. Then you two had the only lucky break in your f.u.c.king lives: your father was killed on a job on an oil rig, and his insurance policy went to you and Cole."

"We were so excited. He drove down that weekend after the lawyer contacted us. I had my bags packed when Renee started yelling at me, trying to make me feel guilty for not giving her any money. I told her I would give her ten thousand, but she wasn't happy with that. Mason wasn't, either. He kept pressuring Mom not to let me go and Renee still had legal custody over me. Cole had already gotten a lawyer, stopping her from getting control of my money by proving Mason was violent with some pictures he had taken of Renee one time when she threatened to divorce Mason for beating her up. Cole hid the pictures so Mason couldn't find them. He left me behind, but he managed to get a judge to sign guardians.h.i.+p over to him, and as soon as the judge signed the order, he drove back to Queen City for me." Tears slid slowly down her cheeks as she remembered that day that had changed her and Cole's lives forever. All their dreams and plans had been destroyed in an instant. Her mind went back to that day, reliving that time in her life more for herself than Max.

"Cole told me to get my suitcases. I only left him for a minute... when I came back, Mason had a steel pipe and had knocked Cole out. He kept hitting Cole's head, and blood was everywhere."

Max put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to his side, sensing Casey wanted no holes left in the information Roni had given him.

"I called nine one one, but it was too late. He almost killed Cole. He hit me with the pipe several times before the police arrived and arrested him. Then he lied and told the police that it was us who had attacked him, that he had only defended himself. Renee lied and backed him up. I hate her, Max. I really hate her."

"I don't blame you." Max cleared his throat.

"Because Cole was so badly hurt, Renee was made his legal guardian as his next of kin. She thought that she could get all of his money, but Cole knew Renee too well. When he found out we had inherited the money, he placed his money into a closed account that gave me power of attorney in case something happened to him. When Renee found out, she wasn't happy, and to make matters worse, the doctors wanted to turn Cole's machines off. She was going to donate his organs."

"f.u.c.k!" Renee hadn't told Roni that part, but Renee wouldn't have wanted her friend to know she was a monster. The parts that showed her true colors had been carefully left out.

"I told her if she left the machines on, I wouldn't say anything about Mason, and she could have my money, all of it. I didn't care. All I wanted was Cole to keep breathing. She was satisfied with that for a while, but she and Mason managed to spend the money my father had left me in less than a year. Then Mason caught her cheating and left her a month later. The day he left was the second-best day in my life. The first was when Cole finally came out of his coma.

"I knew he would come out of it. He wouldn't leave me. By then, I was eighteen and going to college. I found a nice rehabilitation home where he stayed. He had to relearn talking, walking, even feeding himself.

"She kept complaining about being broke, threatening to move him to a cheaper place even though she wasn't paying for any of it. I paid for it out of the money he inherited, but she blackmailed me to leave him there until I started giving her money."

Casey licked her dry lips. "When Mugg left, she became more demanding, threatening to move Cole in with her, so I went to her house without calling."

"You found out that her and Mason were together again, didn't you?"

"Yes; I'm so sorry, Max. When Mugg came back a few weeks later, I knew he didn't know Renee had cheated on him, that she was still cheating on him. I wanted to say something-I really like Mugg-but my hands were tied. Renee's money demands were becoming worse. She said that if Mugg left her again she would move Cole in with her and she would take Mason back. I even received a letter that Renee had given the rehabilitation home notice that Cole would be leaving, but I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let Mason near Cole. Cole's frightened of him."

Max remained silent, not giving Casey any clue as to what he was thinking. She felt guilty that she had hidden Renee's ugly schemes from Mugg.

"That's when I called Fisk and offered to find evidence on the Predators. He had tried months before to get my help, but I refused until Renee went to visit Cole and let Mason go with her after I told her I wouldn't give them any more money. I wrote her a check the next day and called Fisk."

"How did you come up with the money for Mugg's bike?"

"I took out a short term loan then paid it off when you gave me the money back. I thought about asking Mugg for help but the Predators would never betray one of their own. I didn't know where to turn, but I had to protect Cole, so ultimately, I had to stick with my plan. I had to keep Mason away, and the only way to do that was put him in prison by showing his involvement with the Predators, because Fisk agreed to put us in witness protection if I did."

"What made you change your mind? I found out you have a photographic memory, so why didn't you just give Fisk the information he wanted?"

"I was going to... but I couldn't."

"Why?" Max tightened his arm around her shoulders, not letting her evade his question.

"Because of you," Casey admitted.

Max kissed her, his hand going to her neck and holding her in place.

"I didn't want to love you," she admitted. "I broke up with Jayce because I swore to myself I would never cheat like my mother, but when you didn't seem interested, I told myself I could go through with my plan and use Stump. I was getting ready to go home when you broke us apart."

"I wanted to f.u.c.k you and punch him for touching you."

"How did you find us?"

Max rubbed his cheek against hers. "Jackal. He remembered the necklace you were wearing, and after searching through thousands of starfish necklaces, he finally found one on eBay that was the exact necklace. He contacted the seller and asked where the necklace had been purchased, and they pointed us at a boutique here, so we flew down and asked if they recognized a picture of you. The manager recognized you, she said you and Cole come in a couple of times a week."

Casey's fingers touched the delicate necklace. "Cole bought it for me. The rehabilitation home provides jobs for special needs, and he saved his money for our vacation and then bought it for me while we were here. Marta buys some of the sh.e.l.ls Cole finds, those he can bear part with."

"I can see why you ran here. It's very peaceful. We'll bring my kids down here when I take my vacation."

"I can't go back, Max. Renee's probably already brought charges against me for kidnapping."

"No, she hasn't. Ice talked her into signing Cole's guardians.h.i.+p over to me. She's going to move in with her sister in South Texas. Mugg kicked her out and is divorcing her a.s.s. You won't be seeing that b.i.t.c.h again."

Casey arched away. She didn't care about where Renee went; her concern was for Cole. Before she could voice her worries, however, Max continued.

"Settle down. I'll leave all the decisions to you. Do you think Renee will f.u.c.k with you when Cole's guardians.h.i.+p is in my name?"

"No, she's not that stupid," Casey agreed, settling back against him.

"Mason won't be bothering you, either."

"He's not a Predator anymore?"

"Mason betrayed Mugg, so he was dealt with. After we found out about Cole... Let's just say Mason is the one in a rehabilitation center now. He's never going to come hurt you or Cole again. h.e.l.l, he can't even wipe his own a.s.s."

Casey could tell Max had been careful about his words, and she felt as though a huge weight was taken off her. "I had to protect him, Max. He always protected me. He was the type of person who couldn't let someone weaker than him be hurt. He's really special."

"He's a lot like his sister." With that, Max was done talking. He kissed her as the waves began lapping at their feet.

"I love you, Casey. I'm going to take care of you and Cole." He pressed her down on the sand, and her arms circled his broad shoulders. "I missed that." Max buried his face in the curve of her neck.

"What?" Casey murmured.

"You, in my arms."

"I missed it, too," she confessed. "But I missed something more."

"What?"

"Your smile. I missed you smiling at me."

"Casey? Whatcha doing?"

Casey looked up to see Cole standing over them with the Predators watching from the porch.

"We're kissing."

"It doesn't look like much fun."

Casey laughed lightheartedly as Max got to his feet then reached down to give her his hand which she took.

"I know something you would like more. How about we find some more sh.e.l.ls that we can take home with us?"

"Home?"

"Max wants us to move in with him, if that's okay with you?"

Cole studied Max, a worried frown on his face.

"I'll teach you to ride a motorcycle," Max blatantly tried to bribe him.

"No, you won't." But it was too late. Cole's face was filled with excitement.

"Come on, Cole, you can help me find a big sh.e.l.l."

Casey let it go for now. She would put a stop to it before Max actually tried to teach him.

They searched the beach for all the sh.e.l.ls they could find, and even the other Predators joined in. She watched as the bada.s.s bikers took off their leather jackets and showed their finds to Cole, looking at his in return. Casey felt a lump in her throat from observing their gentleness with him.

Her dreams with Cole had been destroyed all those years ago. It was time for them to begin a new one... with Max.