Liberation Read online

  The moment he’d swept her up into his arms earlier had been the moment he knew she was the right woman for him and his brothers. From the way they were acting around her, he suspected Major and Ace felt the same as he did.

  However, it wasn’t just her beauty or sexy body that drew him, but nor was it because she had a disability. There was just something so sweet about her, and while he figured she was independent, there was an underlying vulnerability about her, too.

  “Do either of you know anything about her?” Major asked.

  Rocco gave him a look.

  Major sighed. “Yeah, I know dumb question since we’ve all just met her, but I was hoping you might have heard something other than what an amazing cook she is.”

  “You know as much as we do, bro,” Ace said.

  “What he said.” Rocco pointed at Ace. “We can’t leave her here all alone. Not if someone has plans to break in or something else. Did you ask her to come stay at our place?”

  “No, I didn’t get around to it,” Major answered. “I told her she couldn’t stay here and she got pissed.”

  “Fuck, Major. Saying something like that was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Even you would baulk at being told what to do by someone you don’t know.” Ace scrubbed a hand over his face.

  “He’d baulk at anyone telling him what to do even if he’d known them for years.” Rocco smirked.

  “We all would,” Ace said.

  “Let me try.” Rocco turned from his brothers and walked toward Delta.

  “Knock yourself out,” Major muttered.

  Rocco moved to stand on the other side of the food prep area and knew Delta could see him when her shoulders tensed, but she didn’t stop dicing the bell peppers until he reached toward her.

  She met his gaze, blinked and licked her lips before looking at his lips. He had a spontaneous urge to smile, but didn’t. He didn’t want Delta thinking he was laughing at her. “We’re worried about your safety since you live alone and someone’s damaged the locks on the front and rear door to the diner. We have a spare bedroom if you’d like to come and stay at our place for the night.”

  When she didn’t react other than continue frowning at him, Rocco wondered if he’d spoken too quickly for her to follow on. He cursed his inability to sign so she could understand him. Right now, he wished he’d learned to sign along with Major when he’d come across a deaf kid while on one of their missions. Since they’d never encountered anyone else that had been hearing impaired, Rocco hadn’t seen the point. Now he wished he could turn back time and learn right along with Major. From the wistful expression on Ace’s face, his younger brother was berating himself for his previous decision. Nonetheless, all that mattered right now was that they keep Delta safe. He would spend whatever free time he had learning to sign from Major whenever he could.

  Delta exhaled noisily, shook her head and mouthed, “Thank you.”

  Rocco wasn’t bothered by her negative answer. He’d already decided that if she refused then he and his brothers would be staying here with her, even if it meant he had to sleep in the truck.

  He met Ace’s and then Major’s gazes. “Looks like we’re staying here the night. Which one of you wants to go home and get a change of clothes?”

  “We won’t need any,” Major said. “We don’t all need to lose sleep. Why don’t you two go home. I’ll stay and keep her safe.”

  Rocco moved back over toward his brothers, just in case Delta looked up when he was speaking. He didn’t want her getting pissed at them when she realized they were talking about her. “We all want to spend time with her, Major.”

  “I know, but if we all stay here, she’s going to be more wary than she already is. We don’t want her to feel too crowded. She doesn’t know us from Adam. Rocco, you’re going to have slow down. You’re always rushing where women are concerned, but we need to go at Delta’s pace if we want to win her affection.”

  “You don’t need to fucking tell me how to handle a woman, Major. I wasn’t born yester-fucking-day.”

  “Calm the hell down, Rocco,” Ace stated calmly. “She’s looking over here and she’s frowning.”

  Rocco nodded and ground his teeth together. As much as he hated to admit it, Major was right. She’d already gone into a panic when he and his brothers had crowded around her earlier.

  “What time do you want us to pick you up?” Ace asked as he slapped Rocco on the shoulder, obviously seeing that he’d conceded.

  “Six should be early enough,” Major said.

  Rocco nodded and headed toward the door with Ace right behind him. He paused and looked back over his shoulder at Delta. She had her gaze down and she was chopping again. He met Major’s gaze. “Call if you need anything.”

  “Will do.”

  Rocco glanced at their woman one more time before leaving, and hoped like hell that Major didn’t do or say anything to her that would ruin their chances of wooing her.

  * * * *

  When Delta noticed the tension in the air was a little lighter, she glanced over her shoulder at Major to see him leaning back against the sink with his arms folded over his chest. Butterflies started fluttering in her belly, and her sex grew slick with moisture. Goosebumps raced over her skin, but she put that down to the soaked clothes she was still wearing. She hadn’t bothered to change since it was likely she would just end up with another lot of soiled clothes to wash. However, she’d taken the time to pull a full apron over her head and tie around her waist.

  Major was staring at her avidly and while her usual instinct was to lower her gaze and turn away, she didn’t. She put the knife she was holding down on the carving board and turned to face him. “What?”

  “Nothing,” he replied. “I was just wondering how long you were going to be.”

  She sucked in a breath when she glanced at the clock to see it was almost eleven. While the brothers had been talking behind her back, she’d used the last of the adrenaline and anger still flooding her system to prepare all the vegetables and salads for the next day. The meat and chicken were already marinating and defrosting in the fridge, so thankfully there wasn’t much left to do.

  Tomorrow morning was another story. She would have to be up at four to stew apples for her apple pies and make the pastry. She had also decided to make a few batches of muffins, and that all needed to be done before the delivery driver arrived at six. She covered the bowls of food with cling wrap and carried them toward one of the industrial sized fridges to refrigerate overnight. Once that was done, she gathered the tools she used and carried them to the sink to wash them. Major grabbed a clean dishtowel and dried the few things while she wiped the counter down.

  “I’m done,” she said. “Thanks again for all your help. I really appreciate it.”

  “You don’t have to keep thanking me or my brothers, honey. We like to help out.”

  She nodded. “We’ll I’m heading to bed. I’m sure you won’t mind seeing yourself out. Will you?”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Delta.”

  “What?”

  Major palmed her cheeks with his hands. “You don’t think I’m going to leave you here all alone when someone could be out to hurt you, do you?”

  She tried to keep the fear from her eyes but knew she’d failed when he frowned. She drew away from him, not because she was frightened of him, but because she liked having his skin, his warmth against her. “I don’t know anyone. Who’d want to hurt me?” She rubbed her arms trying to warm her chilled skin. “You’re probably overreacting. The lock screws might have worked their way out, since the door gets used so much during the day. Or maybe they were already missing and today was the day the latch decided to fail.”

  “Don’t lie to me, honey. I don’t like being lied to.”

  “What do you want from me?” Delta cried in her head as she signed quickly.

  “Everything,” Major replied instantly.

  She gulped when his gray-blue eyes heated before they eyed her body o
ver and then lifted up to hers again. Her breathing escalated and her heart pounded against her rib cage. When his tongue swept over his lower lip, she stared mesmerized and wondered if he tasted as good as he looked. But when he took a step closer, she shut her thoughts down and stepped back, shaking her head. “That’s not possible.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know you.”

  “You’re right. You don’t, but my brothers and I would like the chance to spend some time with you.

  “I can’t. I don’t have time. I have a diner to run. I’m hardly keeping my head above water as it is. You and your brothers will just complicate things.”

  “What are you so scared of, Delta?”

  She scoffed, or hoped she did. “I’m not scared of anything. All I want is to be left alone to run my business in peace.”

  There was a flash of something in his eyes, but it was gone so quickly she couldn’t discern what it was, but when he nodded and crossed his arms over his chest again, she sighed with relief. There was no way that sigh was of despondency. At least that’s what she told herself.

  “I’m still staying the night. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened. I’m going to call the sheriffs and get them out to take a look at the locks, maybe even dust for prints. Don’t worry, I won’t encroach on your privacy. Lock the stairway door and go and get some sleep.”

  From the implacable expression on Major’s face he wasn’t going to back down or change his mind no matter how much she argued, so she didn’t bother to try and sway his decision and headed out. “Thank you,” she signed and then left.

  * * * *

  “What’s going on?” Luke Sun-Walker, one of the Slick Rock sheriffs asked as he got out of his car. Damon Osborn, another sheriff got out of the passenger seat.

  Major shook both men’s hands. “The locks to the back and front door of the diner have been interfered with.”

  “Shit! Is Delta all right?” Damon asked.

  “Yeah, I think so. She’s gone upstairs.”

  “You stayed to keep her safe?” Luke asked.

  “I did. There was no way in hell I was leaving her alone while she was so vulnerable.”

  “What were you doing here so late anyway?” Damon asked from his squat position near the lock on the front door.

  “We were worried and curious,” he answered honestly.

  “Worried, why?” Luke asked.

  “Did you know she’s only got one waitress working for her?”

  “Yeah,” Luke replied angrily. “I’m going to the high school tomorrow morning. All the students have been called to an assembly and I’m going to read them the riot act.”

  “How can people be so narrow-minded?” Major asked.

  “From what I’ve gathered there are only a few prejudiced students,” Damon interjected as he stood.

  Major followed him and Luke through the diner toward the back door. “Then why hasn’t any applied for jobs here.”

  “Circumstances,” Luke said. “School’s just back from summer break. The kids are getting into the swing of things, and our new diner owner is very reclusive. She doesn’t even go out to the supermarket to get supplies. No one knows who she is, or what she even looks like. You know how small towns work.”

  “I think Luke’s right,” Damon said. “People want to know who they’re going to be working for. The people in this town are very liberated in the way they think. They’ve had to be after Clay and Johnny Morten stood up to them when they found their wife, Tara, when the first ménage was formed.”

  “Delta’s reclusive, and while she might have good reason to be so, that’s not going to help her find employees.” Luke scowled as he stood up straight. “Someone’s definitely fucked with these locks. Damon, can you dust them for prints?”

  “I can, but I don’t think it will help. A lot of people will have touched these locks.”

  Luke nodded. “I think we should call Giles, Remy, and Brandon Alcott. Get them to set up a state of the art security system with cameras, alarms, new deadlocks. The whole works.”

  Major wasn’t leaving Delta’s safety to chance. The moment he’d set his gaze on her when she came out the mop the diner floor was etched into his mind for all time.

  His heart had stopped beating when she’d first come into view before slamming hard against his sternum. He’d had trouble catching his breath and his cock had gone from flaccid to full attention within a few seconds, leaving him light headed. He’d never reacted so quickly to a woman in his life. She was so fucking beautiful he had to work at keeping his desire for her under wraps, especially when he and his brothers had raced inside to help her. Being close to her was so damned amazing. He’d wanted to pull her into his arms and never let go.

  He and his brothers were going to need to curb their excitement as well as their enthusiasm and lust. He didn’t want Delta turning away from them. Major’s aim was to wear her down little by little until she agreed to spend time with him and his brothers, and if that took months, then they’d just have to be patient.

  He loved seeing her blonde wavy hair streaming down around her shoulders and had nearly moaned out loud when she’d pulled her hair back up and out of her face. Her eyes were the most mesmerizing jade green and he would have been happy staring into their depths for the rest of his life. She wasn’t like other chefs he’d seen wearing the white uniform of their profession. She wore firm black cargo shorts with a white blouse and covered her clothes with an apron while she’d been working with the food.

  He’d nearly fallen to his knees when he’d seen the racy, red lace bra under her wet shirt and had to work at keeping his eyes locked with hers after his initial glimpse of those soft, luscious globes.

  Major frowned as he tried to figure out why she hadn’t gone upstairs to change out of her soaked clothes. Her gaze had skittered away from his and then she’d just ignored his suggestion. She had to have been damned cold and uncomfortable working in such a state. It took a few moments for the penny to drop. She wasn’t used to being around a lot of people, and if he hazarded a guess, men even less than women.

  Delta seemed to be rather reclusive and he had a feeling it had to do with her hearing impairment. Major tried to imagine what it would be like to go through life without being able to hear or speak like other people did. Other humans could be so damn cruel to someone a little different from the norm, and he hoped like hell she hadn’t been subjected to cruelty at others’ hands, but knew she had. If he’d been kept on the outside looking in because of a disability, he might have been reclusive, too.

  He mentally shook his head. No, that wasn’t him at all. Major and his brothers didn’t give a fuck about what other people thought. They would have continued on enjoying life and doing what they wanted no matter what.

  So, what had made Delta so introverted?

  That was a question he was determined to have the answer to.

  “Giles and Remy are on their way,” Damon said, bringing Major from his introspections.

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

  “Just doing our jobs.” Damon offered his hand to Major.

  He shook his hand and then Luke’s and walked them out to their vehicle.

  Damon held up the fingerprints he’d collected from the locks, which were now sealed in a plastic bag. “If I find anything, I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks, guys.”

  Once the sheriffs left, Major headed back inside to wait for Remy and Giles. He’d only met the Alcott men once and had liked them on sight. He just hoped they weren’t too pissed to be pulled out of their beds and away from their wife in the middle of the night, but suspected they wouldn’t.

  The men in Slick Rock were all about protecting the fairer sex and making sure they were safe, no matter what time of day or night it was.

  Major just hoped that Delta didn’t get pissed when she found out he’d upgraded her security system.

  Chapter Four

  It had been easy to f
ollow that deaf slut from Chicago to the small backward town of Slick Rock. His brother had died because of that bitch and he was going to do everything he could to make sure she paid. Larry had been Leo’s only living relative and now his brother was gone.

  He’d never forgotten the pain of finding out his brother’s life had been snuffed out in the blink of an eye. He’d heard it on the radio that fateful morning months ago, and had vowed then and there to extract retribution.

  Leo had even gone to the hospital to find out who the bitch was, but the fucking nurses had been closed up tighter than a nun in a chastity belt. Thankfully, the media had gotten hold of the information he’d wanted and reported the cunt’s name over the air just for him. However, since he’d been working on a construction site on the other side of town, he’d only had afterhours to case her joint. Somehow the cunt had been able to pack up and leave town before he could make his move. It hadn’t been hard to track her down since her name wasn’t common, and when he’d found she’d registered a new business in Slick Rock, Colorado, he’d followed.

  Getting work and an apartment to rent had been a breeze since the town was booming. He was now working for Trent and Tristan Woodall. They seemed like decent enough guys, and when Leo had found out they were also owners of the only bank in town with their older brother, Trick, he began to think that maybe he should follow in his brother’s footsteps.