DEEP CUT (Men of the Woods Book 2) Read online

  “Daddy…”

  “Yes, baby.”

  “I want to taste you. I want you to teach me how to please you.” Her wide, blue eyes cut into me as cum jets up to the tip of my cock. “With my mouth.”

  Her hands are on my belt, then my zipper, and she’s got my erection free and straining to give her what she and I both want.

  “Open your mouth, baby, Daddy is happy to teach you…”

  With the scent of her pussy still on my lips, and the image of her taking my cock in her mouth, it’s harder than ever before to keep my mind off Melody, or the fact that I need to have a talk to my brother. I need to straighten things out with him and that means man to man. I’m aware that he might have a few things to say, but in the end I’m with Melody and there’s nothing he’s going to do to stop that. So I’ll let him say his piece, but I’m also going to explain how things are now.

  There are things that need to be put in place that should have already been taken care of, so after I drop her off at school I head straight to a jewelry store. But there’s no time to waste, so once I’m done I decide to deal with the logging company and get things moving on that end. I drop in with my accountant, then around to my lawyer to get the contracts drawn up. Then it’s straight over to see Harry, where we take care of business.

  He’s more than happy to sign, knowing that he gets to keep an equal, fifty percent share of the business while having a partner to take care of things in his absence and the cash he needs to help his family out. It’s win-win, and I like it that way—I don’t like anyone who cheats others to get what they want and I’d never be that person.

  Finally, with an hour to spare, I race over to the school and sit outside to watch for her. I don’t take my eyes off the doors, even though I see the lady from the office staring out at me. Time passes slowly as I’m waiting, and with every passing second, I’m getting more and more agitated until I hear the bell ring for end of class.

  Some younger kids come racing out of the doors first, and I grind my teeth that she’s not in front of them. Then I see seniors, but not Melody and not her friend Ginger either. My patience isn’t great, but I force myself not to do anything, not to make a scene. I’ll just break her teacher’s legs to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

  “Fuck this,” I mutter to myself after I see a few stragglers come wandering out of the doors. “Something’s wrong.”

  Climbing out of the truck, I near run to the front of the school and in through the doors, and finally I see Ginger there, and there are tears in her eyes. The lady from the office is shaking her head, telling her to just go home, but I’m not having it.

  “What the fuck’s going on? Where’s Melody?”

  Ginger looks over and I see relief in her eyes that I’m there, but there’s panic too. “I don’t know! She won’t tell me!”

  “I already have told you, Ginger Newman. And you, sir, can’t be in here. This is school grounds.”

  “I’m here to pick up Melody. So, I suggest you tell me where she is, unless you want me to tear this place to the ground looking for her.” I stride over and stand next to Ginger, staring down the lady from the office who rolls her eyes.

  “As I already told Miss Newman here—”

  I step closer and she squeaks as she retreats back. “Don’t take that tone with me. Or with her. Tell us where Melody is. Now.”

  She reaches out behind her for the handle to get back into her office, but her hand just fumbles and I take the moment to step closer.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” I say, drawing myself up to full height. “But I will start breaking shit, so it’s in everyone’s best interest for you to just answer the simple fucking question. Where. Is. Melody?”

  “All right. All right.” She clears her throat and glances behind me at Ginger, but her eyes snap back to mine in an instant. “Peter Vale had a video of you two together and—”

  “Who the fuck is Peter Vale?”

  “The boy you scared the shit out of at the party. The one that…” Ginger motions an upward smack with her hand down low.

  “That punk? The one that slapped her ass?”

  “That’s the one.”

  When I turn back to the receptionist, I don’t even have to say a word before she continues.

  “He had a video, he had taken a video of the two of you kissing. I’m sorry, but it was the right thing to do. We sent it off to her father. That was this morning.”

  “What the fuck?”

  She squeaks and cowers back. “Mr. Lane picked her up about fifteen minutes ago. He took Melody and left. She’s his daughter. She’s his responsibility.”

  “The fuck she is.”

  I turn on the spot, my heart racing. I have to find them both, I have to make sure Melody is safe.

  “You want me to come with you?” Ginger speeds her steps, following on behind me.

  “No. Go home. She might try to get to you there.”

  I slam through the school doors and break into a run as I head towards my truck. I need to find her. I need to find them both.

  “Melody! Phillip!” I call their names as I race in through the doors at my parents’ estate. Silence greets me. “Melody! Are you here?”

  I start opening doors, looking for any sign of them, but if they were here it doesn’t look like they are now. Deciding to check the garage to see if my brother’s car is in there, I grab the garage keys off the rack in the kitchen, then hear my cellphone starting to ring. Since I met Melody, I’ve been keeping it on me more, and right now I’m thanking God I have it with me because it must be her.

  Wrong.

  “The fuck?” I mutter to myself as I push to accept the call and put the phone to my ear. “What do you want, Bill?”

  “Actually, it’s Sheriff right now, Cain, I’m on duty.”

  I’ve known Sheriff Bill Watson since there was some trouble at one of the local bars when I was in my late teens. He happened to be in the area and when some drunks started getting out of control, he stepped in. Only he didn’t count on them being armed with knives and things got a bit nasty. If I hadn’t been there to have his back, could have ended up much worse for him. We’ve been friends ever since, I guess you’d say, though it’s more a kind of mutual respect than any desire to spend time together.

  I hear him take a breath, then he clears his throat before speaking. “I’ve got Melody here with me. She’s in a bit of a state, says she won’t talk to any of us without you there as well.”

  “What the fuck happened?”

  “That’s what I’d like to know, to tell the truth. Car accident, her father was driving. Don’t worry there’s no lasting damage, the doc says. She has some cuts, bruises, car went into a filthy ditch, so they put her on an antibiotic drip—”

  “Fuck, they didn’t give her penicillin, did they?”

  “No, she was wearing a medical alert bracelet. She was conscious but disoriented, so it’s a good thing.”

  I growl. No lasting damage is good news, but I don’t like that she was hurt. I should have been there to stop that happening, and Phillip is going to answer for not protecting his daughter the way he should have. “Where are you?”

  “Hospital.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  It sounds like he’s about to say more, but I cut him off. He can tell me anything else when I get there, but I need to get to Melody right now. I need to see her and know she’s all right.

  Chapter Eleven

  Melody

  “Over here!” I shout when I see uncle Cain walk right past the room I’m in with the police. He turns on the spot and storms right our way, and I feel my blood pressure lowering just at the sight of him.

  “I was so worried about you, baby. Why didn’t you call?” He barges right past the sheriff and grabs my hand, taking it between his as he sits on the seat beside the bed. “Are you all right? What happened?”

  “That’s what we’d all like to know.” The sheriff, a man who said to cal
l him Bill, is on his feet, and Cain shoots him a look of thunder.

  “How has he treated you?” He asks me over his shoulder, and I squeeze his hand.

  “He’s nice. But I didn’t want to talk to anyone without you here. And when the car went into the ditch, my phone went into the water.”

  “Is she in trouble, Bill?”

  The sheriff shakes his head. “Nothing like that. As I was trying to say to you on the phone before you cut me off, things are kind of complicated and I don’t know where to start. But first, we need to know what happened today, and that means Melody here is going to have to start talking.”

  “Cain.” I say, drawing his attention. I stare right into his eyes, letting him know that this is serious. “Dad knows about us.”

  He nods. “I know, baby. I’m sorry. I found out from the school. Ginger was there, she was worried about you too. But what happened? He picked you up? Why didn’t you wait for me? Call me. You had your phone then…”

  I shake my head. I can see the hurt in his eyes and I want to take it away. “I wanted to, but he wouldn’t let me. He dragged me out to the car and put me inside and told me he was taking me away from here. Cain, the things he said were so hurtful.”

  There is sadness in his eyes, and anger as well, but he nods and takes a deep breath through his nose, not saying a word. Instead he squeezes my hand, letting me know he’s here for me.

  “You want to press charges, miss? I don’t mind adding kidnapping to everything else on the list.”

  I shake my head. “I’m not going to press charges against my dad, I just want to go home.”

  “What do you mean, everything else on the list?” Cain turns his head to the sheriff. “What’s going on?”

  Sheriff Bill whistles through his teeth. “Where do I start? Well, it was lucky the crash wasn’t more serious. Just happened that there was a barrier on that stretch of road, and it managed to slow him, but your brother was doing twice the speed limit and under the influence of alcohol.”

  “He was drunk with Melody in the car?” Cain sounds furious, like he wants to break something, and I squeeze his hand.

  “I’m all right though,” I tell him.

  “They both are,” the sheriff goes on. “From the crash, at least. Your brother though, he’s going to be answering some serious questions and there’s nothing I can do to stop that. How much do either of you know about the reasons he left the country before?”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “He had work in London. That’s where he met my mother. That’s where we used to live.”

  He sighs. “Not exactly. He found work in London, but that wasn’t why he left.”

  “Then why?” Cain asks, and I can tell he’s getting impatient. I want to get out of here too, but I think the sight of me in a hospital bed is hurting him more.

  “He and a few other guys, they set up a kind of syndicate I suppose you’d call it. I’m not sure about the details. They did some consultancy work and were employed by a lot of companies. Some irregularities were found and an investigation was opened. One of your brother’s former partners went to prison for ten years for embezzlement. But Phillip was never tried because he was out of the country. The case wasn’t exactly closed, but it was decided it wasn’t in the state’s best interests to pursue him. I guess if he’d kept his nose clean, he probably would never have faced any consequences, but when they ran him through the system this came up and someone higher up the chain decided it was worth reopening the case.”

  “Fuck.” Cain shakes his head. “I had no idea. What does any of this have to do with Melody?”

  Sheriff Bill shrugs. “Nothing. She’s free to go. Doctors just came round and gave her the all clear and she has absolutely nothing to do with any of this, though I needed to know what happened today so I could write up my report. But her mother might have some knowledge that we don’t, and it would be helpful if she could get in touch.”

  The mention of my mom makes my stomach clench. How much does she know about me and uncle Cain? Does she know we’re together? How does she even feel about that? “Helpful for who?” I ask. “My dad or your case against him?”

  “Depends, miss. If he’s guilty, I wouldn’t have thought anything she can say will help his case. If he’s innocent, she might be able to though.” He stands and grabs his hat off the back of the chair. “Not my case though, I have nothing to do with it. I was just here to make sure you were all right, and now that I know that’s so I’ll get going. See you, Cain.”

  “Thanks for the call, Bill.”

  “Was surprised you answered, to be honest. I know you’re not much of one for phones.”

  “Things change.”

  With that, Cain looks down at me and the sheriff wanders out of the room, putting his hat on as he goes.

  “What are we going to do?” I ask.

  Cain licks his lips. “First, we’re going to get you out of here. I’m taking you to Ginger’s. And then I’m going to go talk to my brother.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Cain

  “I’ll pay your bail.” I tell Phillip, but he just stares right at me.

  After I dropped Melody at Ginger’s place, I came straight here to the station. The bail is a lot, despite the fact that the investigators don’t think he was a major player in the scam, just a beneficiary. But with Phillip being considered a major flight risk they’re not taking any chances. After all, he already fled once. He doesn’t have that kind of cash, nor does his girlfriend, and no matter what I might think of him right now he’s still my brother—and Melody’s dad. I don’t want him sitting in here any longer than he has to.

  “I don’t want your fucking help. You disgust me. Besides, I already called Marietta, she’ll bail me out.”

  Marietta is Melody’s mom, and I know for a fact that she has the money to bail him out. But whether she will, or even can from wherever she is, is another matter. Still, right now is probably not the time to point that out, so I nod. “Okay. I need to talk to you about Melody.”

  “You say a word about her and I’ll be going down for murder.”

  His speech is still slurred, eyes red, and it’s clear he hasn’t sobered up yet, but I don’t care. There are things that need to be said. “We’re together.”

  “You stay the fuck away from my daughter, you fucking…you make me fucking sick.”

  “I don’t care what you think, but I know Melody does. So, it would be nice for you to be a man about it. We’re together. That’s not going to change. But if you want a relationship with your daughter—”

  “I don’t want anything to do with you and I don’t want anything to do with that little slut either. Just like her fucking mo—”

  He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, because I have him hauled up by his collar and dangling against the wall of the cell. His voice is choked off by my hold, but I’m not letting him go. Not yet.

  “You don’t ever talk about Melody like that, or her mother for that matter. I know Marietta hurt you, running off like she did, and I don’t know what went on in your marriage to make that happen. I’m on your side, just like Mom and Dad would have wanted it, but if you ever—ever—say anything like that about Melody again, I’ll break every bone in your fucking body, do you hear me?”

  He nods, and I let him down as he takes a ragged breath.

  “Get the fuck out of here, Cain. Just go.”

  “You’re facing serious charges, Phillip. I can help.”

  “I don’t want you here. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a brother. Not a real one.”

  I breathe a sigh, because I don’t like leaving him here. But it’s clear there’s nothing more to say either. I nod and turn, calling for the guard to come and let me out, then turn back to Phillip one last time. “You know where I am if you change your mind.”

  Melody

  I wipe the back of my hand over my cheeks, a river of tears soaking both of them and turning my eyes red. “You didn’t hear the things he
was saying!”

  “I’m sure he didn’t mean them, Melody.” Ginger rubs her hand up and down my arm, subtly pushing the mug of cocoa closer to me, trying to get me to drink something.

  “He did though. He thinks I’m a…” The sob tears out of me before I can finish the sentence, but I grab the mug of cocoa and take a sip of the hot, chocolatey goodness inside.

  “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on with you and your uncle Cain? You know I would have been on your side, right? I mean, it’s not like he’s your real uncle.”

  I gulp back the tears, thinking about Ginger’s words. She’s right. Why didn’t I tell her? Was I embarrassed? Ashamed? Ashamed of the two of us being together? Maybe all this with my dad is a sign that it was never meant to be. Maybe I’m being selfish hoping for a happy ever after, taking Cain away from his brother, making it all about me. Maybe I should just give it all up.

  But I wasn’t ashamed though, was I? I mean, I felt like I was the most important girl in the world when I was with him. How can something that perfect be wrong? And like Ginger said, he’s not my real uncle, is he? He’s no blood relative at all.

  “I don’t know what to do,” I sob. “What would you do?”

  She shrugs. “It’s not for me to say, is it, honey? I mean, it’s not like I’ve ever even been with an older man. But I think you should do whatever is right for you, no matter what anyone else thinks.”

  “That doesn’t help,” I mutter, but deep down I know she’s right. I just don’t know whether all this with Cain is worth the heartache for us both.

  Just at that moment, my phone starts to ring, and despite everything I grab it quickly, hoping it might be Cain calling. It’s not though, it’s something much worse. Much, much worse.

  “Who is it?”

  I glance up from the phone screen at Ginger and bite into my lip. “It’s my mom.”

  “Well, aren’t you going to answer it?”