Broken Beginnings: A High Heat Small Town Romance Suspense (Citrus Cove Book 1)

HUNTER, Colt, Haley, Sammy, Emma via a video calling app, and I all stood around my kitchen table with papers spread out. I’d done my best to cover any gruesome photos with sticky notes, but it hadn’t been as thorough as I would have liked.

“Alexa is breaking laws by doing this,” Hunter said tightly. “If this ever leaves this house, I’m burying all of you except Haley. She’s been through enough.”

“Can’t bury me,” Emma quipped through the mic. She was just a blank screen, set up on Sammy’s laptop. Her camera was turned off because she’d claimed she “hadn’t slept a wink since her dear best friend abandoned her.” I was torn between being amused and annoyed, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she was the person I had to win over in Haley’s life.

Hunter snorted. “A corrupt cop for justice. You know Bud isn’t going to do shit. And Alexa can’t really do anything. So it’s up to us to try and figure this out.”

I shot him a wary look but didn’t disagree. It made me wonder just how often Hunter got involved in things like this. He kept a lot of secrets.

“We won’t tell anyone,” Colt said for the thousandth time, raking his hands through his hair. He was furious.

We all were.

When I’d called the three of them, it wasn’t five minutes later that two trucks and a Jeep barreled down my road. Haley called Emma and filled her in, and Emma demanded to be part of the team.

“I still need to meet Sarah later,” Haley reminded me. “At the cafe.”

I glanced at the clock. It was 5:00 p.m. The hours had already flown by.

“I know, sunshine,” I said gently. “We’ll meet her.”

“I can go alone,” she said. “I’m not helpless.” I could hear the frustration in her voice, but it was Emma who spoke up.

“Haley. This is how girls die in the movies, babe. You’re going to let Harlow go with you, unless you want me to fly my ass down with Donnie.”

“Who’s Donnie?” Hunter asked.

Haley fought off a smile. “Her dog.”

“He’s a ten-year-old Chinese crested,” Emma explained.

The four of us guys exchanged glances.

“Is that one of those hairless dogs?” Sammy asked.

“Yes. He wears sunscreen.”

Hunter made a face. “Can we get back to business?”

“You’re an older child, aren’t you?” Emma asked. “I can hear it in your voice.”

Hunter glowered at the laptop. “And you must be the youngest.”

“Hey,” Sammy quipped.

“Children,” Colt groaned. “For fuck’s sake.”

Haley leaned into me as our group argued. I snaked my arm around her, pulling her tight against me. I pressed my face against her curls, breathing in her scent. Jasmine and honeysuckle and a hint of my soap. It made me happy in a way that shot straight to my core.

I was so fucking angry. The photo of us sitting in the cafe had shaken me in a way I never had been before. Someone was stalking us, watching us. Watching her.

It scared me. I’d already shopped online and bought cameras for the property and was planning on making an entire system around Honey’s house and mine. The moment they arrived, I’d be installing them. But I wasn’t sure what else I could do.

Thunder rolled in the distance, and I raised a brow. Everyone paused. Maybe it was a Texan thing, but getting rain was a good thing. A great thing. Unless it was going to be a flash flood and potentially hurt the farm.

“Check the radar,” Sammy told Hunter.

“Already on it,” he grumbled.

“What the hell is happening?” Emma asked.

“Just some thunder,” Haley snorted. “Probably a storm rolling through.” She turned and went to the front door, opening and shutting the screen. The sky was dark, a heavy lull before the rain.

“Not bad,” Hunter said. “Farm will be fine. Mom will text us if needed.”

Sammy glanced at our brother, giving him the same curious but wary expression that I’d given him before. We’d both noticed he hadn’t mentioned Dad.

I gathered that it had to do with who was taking over the Harlow farm. Out of the three of us, I was the only one that ever enjoyed the work our family did, but even I had branched out and created a winery.

“Awesome, so can we get back to finding this maniac?” Emma asked.

“We don’t have much,” Colton muttered, leaning over the table.

Even with an officer breaking the law and handing over all the info, it didn’t look good. They hadn’t been able to narrow down who the killer was. Didn’t have a name. He hadn’t left fingerprints or hair or anything that could be traced back to him.

Hunter had reached out to another friend of his who tracked missing people, but we hadn’t been able to trace the phone number. So there was also that.

Haley moved toward me, and I pulled her close. Over the last few days, anytime she wasn’t at my side, I found myself feeling like I was missing part of my heart.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“So, I think the best thing that can be done for now is that Haley never be left alone,” Hunter finally said. “And maybe keep your gun on you, Cam.”

“Do you just carry a gun around?” Emma’s voice echoed.

All of us snorted.

“You never know,” Hunter said, his jaw set. He clearly wasn’t a fan of Emma.

We spent the next hour talking through everything and finally ended the call as the rain began to pour. Hunter and Sammy gave me a hug before leaving, Colt not far behind.

Ultimately, we’d all decided that our only plan at the moment was to be on the lookout. None of it sat right with me, but there wasn’t much else we could do.

We stepped out on the front porch as their cars disappeared down the drive. Thunder rumbled, a flash of lightning streaking across the sky. I pulled her close to me, listening to the rain. The scent of it was calming.

“We can sit out if you want,” I said. “We still have some time before we go to meet Sarah. No one will find us here.” It felt fucked-up that I even had to say that.

“Let’s do that,” she said.

“Let’s go to the porch swing.” I offered my hand, and she took it.

I led her around my porch. It wrapped around the entire house, taking us to the back. There was a wooden porch swing waiting for us. I sat down in the center and pulled her against me, my hands settling on her hips.

She let out a sultry laugh, cupping my face. “You’re insatiable.”

“I haven’t been able to take you today,” I said, my cock already hardening in my pants. “We’ve been busy.”

She was wearing a long dress. She hiked up the skirt and straddled my lap, her hands bracing my shoulders.

“You’re so hard already,” she breathed out.

I reached up and undid her bun, watching as her golden curls fell free. Her eyes lit up like the sky behind her, thunder rolling the same way she did her hips. Need struck me fast and hard.

“Haley,” I whispered hoarsely.

“I want you,” she said.

I would never get tired of giving her what she wanted.