For the Love of Anna (The Town of Pearl 1)

“Where to, miss?” he asked, never looking at her.

“The airport, please,” she stated in a quivering voice before sinking into the smelly leather seat and closing her eyes.

Chapter 2

“Get over here, honey. I want a good morning kiss just like you gave Eric,” Max stated as he chased Stacy around the bedroom.

She screamed in delight as her man caught her around the waist.

Before she could protest, his lips covered hers, and his arms wrapped around her body, pulling her against his solid chest.

He was breathtaking. Both brothers, Max and Eric, took her breath away. A relationship with two men was the furthest thing from her mind when she arrived in Pearl. It was an amazing town filled with so many different types of people and families. She loved it instantly.

Everyone was friendly and outgoing. They had town barbeques, carnivals, concerts, and celebrations all year round.

Max released her lips and held her close. His gun holster rubbed against her hip bone, making her feel horny and aroused. She pressed her cheek against his chest and squeezed him.

Stacy yawned against his chest, unable to control its release, and Max laughed.

“You were tossing and turning a bunch last night. Something on your mind, doll?” he asked, showing off his adorable dimples.

Stacy avoided eye contact, especially with him standing there in his deputy’s uniform.

He was so intimidating with it on. He wouldn’t understand the bad feeling she’d had the last few days. She couldn’t stop thinking about Anna. Something was wrong.

“Stacy,” he whispered, gently caressing her chin with his thumb.

“It’s silly,” she whispered back, but he wouldn’t let her turn away.

“Come on, baby. I’m not falling for that ‘nothing’ stuff, and neither is Eric. If he didn’t have to be up at dawn, he would be here right now, just as concerned as I am.”

“I feel foolish is all.”

“Talk to me.”

He pulled her across the room, sat on the bed, and held her between his legs. Gently, he rubbed the palms of his hands over her backside.

Stacy placed her hands on his shoulders and locked gazes with him now that he was sitting down.

“You’ll think it’s silly.”

He raised one eyebrow and looked at her in a way that said “spill the beans or I’m gonna get mad.” A mad Cantrell was a bad thing, especially when it came to Max and Eric’s cousins Charlie, Wyatt, and Ben. They were forces to reckon with.

“You know that Anna and I are very close? We’ve always had a strong bond with one another?” She hesitated.

“Stacy. Come out with it.”

“I think something happened. I think she’s in some kind of trouble.”

He immediately squeezed her and scrunched his eyes up.

“What can I do to help? You want me to call some friends back in New York? Wyatt knows a bunch of people.”

“I…I don’t know. Maybe I’m being foolish. If something happened, I’m down as the first person to call besides her dad.”

“Yeah, like that asshole would even care,” he responded, and she smiled.

“Thanks.”