Page 54 of Christmas with Three Cowboys

Melissa shakes her head. “Nobody is going to listen to what I have to say. Public exposure aside, and the risks it would entail… the court didn’t believe me. The tabloids won’t either. It’ll only take one statement from the DA’s office to shoot my claims down before I even make it into an appeals court.” She frowns. “Besides, I could never forgive myself if Jake were killed. He might be a piece of shit, but I can’t have that on my conscious.”

“Melissa, you took the rap for a man who now expects you to cough up two million bucks so he can cover his ass,” Colton harshly reminds her. “This is not the time for you to take the higher road or be the nice girl. Being the nice girl is what got you into this mess.”

“I don’t want the cartel to find me here.” She starts crying. “I don’t want them to know about you all, to hurt any of you because of me. I’m fucking radioactive, can’t you see? I’m radioactive and anybody who gets close to me could end up dead.”

It’s tearing me up on the inside to see her like this. I lean in and wipe some of the tears from her warm face with my bare knuckles, wishing I could find the right words to soothe her frayed nerves. But I don’t have the right words because I have yet to figure out a solution to this particular hot mess.

Melissa has every reason to be afraid.

We should be worried as well. If that piece of shit Jake Miller is right, then we’re going to be dealing with the Esparza cartel soon enough. I’ll be damned if I’ll let any of them get anywhere near Melissa. And I know Colton and Ethan are on the same page.

“There’s only one way I’ll be able to survive this,” Melissa adds after a long, heavy moment of silence. “I need to disappear for good.”

Colton thinks about it. “There has to be another way. We’ll figure something out.”

16

Melissa

“Tonight’s no good for making any kinds of decisions,” Colt decrees.

“I can’t stay here,” I insist, though I’m gradually melting into the armchair. I can’t even use alcohol to numb my feelings. A baby is growing in my womb, and one of these men is the father. I should have a heart filled with joy right now, not spine-crushing dread. “They’ll come after me.”

“Nobody’s coming after you yet,” Colton says. “And until we do a little bit of digging, talk to the cops, get the lay of the land, so to speak, you’re not going anywhere, Melissa. Your only destination is your room upstairs, which is still yours if you want it.”

“Of course I want it.”

“Then go upstairs and unpack that duffel bag.”

“I’m sorry,” I reply.

“Stop saying that,” Ethan sighs. “We’ll talk later.”

“For now, the three of us need to talk,” Mitch says.

Darla frowns and pours herself another scotch. “You’re lucky I came downstairs for a midnight snack. Otherwise, we would’ve found you out there, frozen to death, you foolish girl.”

I’m about to say I’m sorry again, but I swallow the words and get up instead. With my head down, I grab the duffel bag and make my way upstairs.

They wait until they hear the door to my room close, then get to talking. Their voices are muffled, but I can tell they’re angry and rightly concerned. I’ve brought trouble to the ranch, and I’ve got a feeling they’re debating what to do with me. Sending me back to Ridgeboro is still an option, whether they want to admit it or not, and it hangs over my head like a dark cloud.

“I don’t want to disappoint them,” I tell my reflection in the bathroom mirror as I take my clothes off and jump into the hot shower. The freezing cold has penetrated my bones, and I can’t stop shaking, even as the heaters rage in my room.

An hour passes in dark warmth. I’m tucked in, but I can’t sleep.

A subtle knock on my door pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Melissa,” Colton’s low voice breaches the night.

Outside, it’s still snowing with a vengeance, the roof shuddering under the weight of it all. I get out of bed and open the door to find Colton, Ethan, and Mitch standing in the hallway, a wall sconce shines some light on their handsome, pensive faces.

Ethan is the first to come closer, cupping my face as he pulls me into a hard, possessive kiss. It’s a different flavor, and it sends chills down my spine—the good kind that sets my core on fire. “Do you still want us?””

I nod. “Yes, I do.”

“Good. Then undress for us,” Ethan says, his voice low.

“Okay.”

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