Bitter Truths (The Denton Family Legacy 3)

“What are you going to do? Lock her in your basement?” Gideon asked.

“No, I’m going to lock her in my bedroom. A few chains should keep her stable.” Oliver picked her up. “Any better ideas?”

No one responded.

“Then we’re all out of options.”

“She should come home with me,” Charlotte said.

“With all due respect, honey, you’re no match for her,” Maddox said. “You nor any of the others have any training to deal with a rogue woman. She’s deadly.”

“How do you know?” Oliver asked. “You weren’t there.”

“Son, she took you by surprise. Believe me, I know how good you are to know that catching you by surprise takes a hell of a lot of force to do. This woman, she’s deadly. Not necessarily strong, but she’s after revenge. That’s not a good combination in a woman.” Maddox looked at Charlotte, who was blushing.

“Know a lot about that, do you, Dad?” Jacob asked, smirking.

“I do actually. Your mother on one of her many bad days, decided her foot and my balls should become acquainted. I’ve come to see her foot as deadly.”

“I was a lot younger then. Stupid.”

“You were right to do what you did, and don’t ever forget it. We’ve come a long way since then.” Maddox wrapped his arms around her. “We’re going to need to work on proof to prove to her that we had nothing to do with her family’s death.”

“That mixed with the Colton problem, it’s going to be tough.”

Oliver sighed. “I’ll focus on her. You may have to give Landon some work when he gets home.”

“He’s eighteen, just graduated school, and according to Rick, he wants to stay in England,” Charlotte said.

“He’s still a Denton. He must pay his way just like we all had to,” Gideon said.

“College could be in his future,” Charlotte said. “I’d like at least one of you to go to college.”

“Then let Tamsin do it,” Jacob said. “She’s a girl. It’s not like she’s going to be part of us, part of this world. It’s too dangerous.”

“Be careful there. Tamsin is a deadly force. She’s young, but she’ll still kick your ass,” Abel said. “She wants to join the family business.”

Charlotte sighed. “You boys encourage her too much, and we all know none of you are going to be able to focus while you worry about your sister. I worry about you boys all the time.”

“So sorry you didn’t have a princess,” Jacob said. “Wait, we can force Landon to wear a dress, and ta-da, your princess.”

“Stop being cruel. I’ve already spoken to your father about Landon, and you’ll support your brother if he wants to go away to college.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. Of course they’d support their brother, and of course they’d tease the fucking hell out of him. The next couple of days were going to be pretty interesting.

****

Ouch!

Everything hurt.

Ruby opened her eyes, and then closed them as it was too bright. What the hell? What happened?”

She rubbed at her eyes, and the sound of clinking metal filled the air, echoing through the room. Opening her eyes, she held up her hand to find a metal cuff secured around her wrist. What the fuck!

All of the memories for the past twenty-four hours rushed through her mind.

“It looks pretty, doesn’t it?” Oliver asked.