No Fear (Bomar Boys Book 3) Page 4

  Because she was still good. Her shadows hadn’t swallowed her whole. They hadn’t eaten her alive. She had survived whatever had been done to her, to damage her, and she was still whole. She was still good and sweet and that needed to be protected at all costs.

  That had been his first instinct with this girl from the moment he met her. Protect. Not seduce. Not bed. He’d wanted to protect her and that same part of him was screaming to grab her and get her the hell out of here right now.

  He stamped down on his raging lust and looked at her again, more closely, looked at more than just her incredible body and beautiful face and he hated what he saw. Behind the makeup and the sexy outfit, he saw fear lurking in the depths of her eyes and it gutted him.

  Something was wrong. He knew it. Why else would she be here? In a barn, at a cage fight, surrounded by hundreds of men that would rip her apart and destroy her goodness given even half a chance? Something was wrong and he had to find out what it was and fix it for her but first things first, he had to get her out of here.

  Remy stepped towards her before he even told his feet to move. One step, two… and then a big, solid arm jutted out in front of his chest. It stopped him in his tracks.

  “Where you think you’re goin?”

  “Move, Ford.”

  He’d forgotten his cousin was even standing there, “Not a chance.”

  Ford shook his head and then glanced over his shoulder, directly at Rachel. Shit. How long had he been standing there, staring at her? Too damn long if Ford had figured out who he was looking at and where he was headed. Remy had an insane urge to tell his cousin not to look at her but he swallowed the threats that coated his tongue and tried to appear calmer than he was feeling.

  “Let me go, Ford.”

  “No can do. Link’s introducin’ ya now. You said you were ready to do this.”

  “I only need a minute.”

  He needed way more than a minute but he’d settle for one. He could grab Rachel and get her out of here in a minute. At the very least he could figure out a way to keep her safe while he was in the cage. Because as much as he wanted to walk out of the barn with her right now and never look back, he couldn’t. He’d made a promise to the family to fight tonight. If it was only Lincoln, he might have blown it off but he wasn’t doing this for Lincoln. He was doing it for Colt and for Cash.

  “It’s one fuckin’ minute, Ford.” He growled when his cousin only shook his head.

  “You can’t wait until later to get a piece of ass? Really? You don’t need the distraction right now.”

  “Don’t call her that.” He grit his teeth.

  “What? A distraction?”

  “A… never mind. I need to talk to her. Now.”

  “Yeah, yeah, line your prize up for after the fight but make it quick, okay?”

  That hit him like a sucker punch. His prize. His brain screamed that thinking about Rachel like that was a bad idea. She wasn’t some groupie. She was good. But his body burned at the very idea of claiming her. She was his but he’d promised himself he wouldn’t push her since she was so skittish, that he wouldn’t rush things or force her into anything she wasn’t ready for, that he wouldn’t put her in danger by claiming her publicly but she was here, now, and it was the only way he could think of to protect her.

  Fuck it.

  He crooked his finger and watched as Rachel’s eyes widened in response. She looked to her left and right as if he might be motioning to someone else. When she looked back at him confusion clouded her face and in another situation he might have laughed.

  Did she really have no idea? No idea that she was the only woman he ever saw, even in a room full of them. No idea the things he dreamed of doing to her every time he shut his eyes. No idea how much he wanted to drag her into his arms, right here and right now, in front of half his family and a hundred strangers and claim her not just as his prize but as his woman.

  Slowly, her steps unsure, Rachel moved through the crowd towards him. Lincoln was still talking but from the cadence of his voice Remy could tell he was wrapping up. He didn’t have long.

  “She looks scared of you. Maybe you should pick another one.”

  Remy scowled when Ford spoke but bit his tongue. If he said anything right now, he’d tell Ford to fuck off and he couldn’t do that. He needed his cousin’s help. He looked back at Rachel and hated that Ford was at least half right. She did look scared but he didn’t think it was of him. At least he hoped it wasn’t.

  As soon as she got close enough, he reached for her. His fingers latched around her wrist and he tugged her into his personal space. Her eyes widened again and her mouth fell open with a surprised little, “oh.” He didn’t know if that was because he’d shocked her or if she felt that same flare of heat that sizzled through him at the contact. And right now, unfortunately, he didn’t have time to find out.

  “Rachel, look at me.”

  Her eyes had dropped to the floor as if she expected him to chastise her or yell at her. And God, he definitely wanted to but he didn’t have the time for that either. When she didn’t immediately raise her gaze, he used his other hand to tip her chin up. When she finally looked at him with those big, stormy eyes, he had to fight the urge to kiss the wariness right out of her.

  Not the time or the place, he reminded himself. She was scared. She was trembling and even if he wasn’t a good man, he would never even think of taking advantage of her. He wasn’t going to touch so much as one hair on her head so long as she was scared of him. Not one.

  Behind him he heard the crowd roar at something Lincoln said and as the music started up again he knew what he was supposed to do. Lincoln had pumped everyone up. It was time. Remy was supposed to make his way out of the shadows and through the crowd to the cage. His opponent would do the same. They’d meet in the middle, shake and then the door would shut behind them, locking them in. Then he was supposed to fight.

  At the moment he was having a tough time remembering who his opponent even was. It wasn’t important. The only important thing was making sure Rachel was safe.

  “I don’t know what you’re doing here.” He told her softly, “I don’t know what the hell you were thinking dressing like this and coming down here but the second I step out of that cage, I’m getting you out of here. If you don’t want that, if you want me to leave you alone and let you do whatever it is that you came here to do, you need to say it right now, Rachel.”

  “I-I-I…” She trembled harder and dropped her gaze to his chest, “I c-came for you.”

  Something inside of him warmed at that. Him. She was here because of him. The logical, rational side of him wanted to know why. Why him? Why here? Why now? But the other side, the testosterone fueled caveman side, just wanted to beat his chest.

  “I’m glad.” He caressed her chin softly as he tilted it back up, “I’m glad you came to me but this isn’t…”

  “Okay loverboy. Time’s up.” Ford interrupted with a huff, “Move your ass or I’ll move it for you.”

  Remy fought the urge to turn and deck his cousin. He didn’t even look at him. He couldn’t manage to tear his gaze off Rachel. He took a deep, calming breath and then did the only thing that he could.

  “Rachel, this is Ford.” He said evenly, “He’s my cousin and I trust him with my life. I’m trusting him with you. Stay close to him and he’ll make sure nobody messes with you until I come back.”

  “What?” Rachel and Ford both balked and he groaned.

  “He’s going to keep you safe.”

  “Damn it Remy. I’m not a goddamned babysitter. I’m supposed to be…”

  “I don’t care what you’re supposed to be doing.” He snapped, turning to face his cousin finally, “This is more important. You are going to protect her and keep her safe until I come back for her or so help me God I will walk out of that cage and bring the fight to you. Understand?”

  Ford bristled, “You’d really break your word to the family for a piece of ass?”

&nbs
p; “I told you not to call her that.” Remy snarled, “Her name is Rachel and you will be polite and respectful. If you so much as raise your voice to her, I will tear your arms off and beat you to death with them. Got me?”

  Ford looked like he wanted to say something else but his jaw only clenched. His shoulders heaved as he took a deep breath. He looked between them for a long second, no doubt sizing up Remy’s threat versus leaving the girl to her own devices. In the end he didn’t soften but he did give in.

  “Yeah, sure thing Romeo. Just get your ass in the cage. They’re waitin’ on ya.”

  Remy glanced around and groaned. Sure enough, everyone was staring at them, waiting for him to take his place in the cage. They had a captive audience and he felt Rachel cringe next to him as she realized the same thing.

  Damn it, he’d wanted her hidden from these bastards not put on display. There was only one thing to do now that every man in the barn was looking at her. And damn if the beast inside him didn’t relish the very thought.

  “She’s mine!” He saw Rachel’s eyes widen again as the possessive words reverberated through the big space but he wasn’t done yet, he had to make his point to keep the bastards away while he was in that cage, “Nobody touches her. Nobody messes with her. Try it and you deal with me.”

  He turned back to Ford and lowered his voice, “Stay close. Please.”

  His cousin scowled but nodded. He didn’t like it but he would do as Remy asked. He had no choice now. Remy had just thrown down the gauntlet, so to speak, and any man that dared approach Rachel now, knowing she belonged to a Bomar, would face Bomar justice. With Remy in the cage, that would fall to the rest of the family and since Ford was the closest, it was now his responsibility until Remy returned.

  He faced Rachel again and cupped her cheek softly, “I’ll be back for you as soon as I can. Don’t go anywhere, okay?”

  She nodded and he pulled away before he could do something stupid. Before he could do anything stupider than what he’d just done anyway. Because drawing attention to Rachel had been dumb but kissing her right now would be crazy.

  “Get your head in the game Remy.” Ford all but shoved him towards the cage.

  “Keep her…”

  “No distractions.” Ford shoved him again, hard, “Fight first. Family first. Pussy second.”

  Remy’s fists clenched. He hated Ford talking about Rachel like that. She deserved better. But when he turned around his cousin was already walking away and his opponent was standing there waiting for him.

  Shit. His opponent. He had to fight this guy. He was supposed to win and distracted or not, that would be easy. The tough part was going to be not doing it fast because he was fairly certain Lincoln had told him to drag it out, to play with the guy, so they’d have time to scout the crowd for the traitor.

  And damn, he’d all but forgotten about that too.

  Remy shot one last glance towards Rachel and forced himself to focus. The sooner he handled this guy the sooner he could get back to her. Fight first, family first, Ford’s words rang in his ears. Everything else was secondary. Always. Even her.

  Chapter Three

  Coming here had been a bad decision. One of her worst. Just ahead of letting her older brother live with her and right behind eavesdropping on his conversation earlier. This, choosing to come here, to this place, had been a terrible idea but it was the only one she’d been able to come up with after what she’d overheard.

  Rachel looked up at the angry, bearded Bomar boy next to her and shivered with fear. He wasn’t looking back at her. He was glaring out into the crowd. The crowd that, even now, with their champion climbing into the cage was staring at her.

  All her life, she’d been the kind of girl that was invisible. As a quiet, painfully shy and awkward child, nobody had ever paid much attention to her. Even when her body had changed with adulthood, she’d learned how to conceal it and keep people from looking at her. All her years of hiding from Craig and his friends, praying for invisibility, it had disappeared in one amazing, life-changing, terrifying moment.

  The spotlight was on her now. She could feel it. She could feel the eyes of dozens and dozens of men on her, leering at her, and it made her skin crawl. She wanted to disappear, wanted to go back in time to when nobody had noticed she was here because she had a feeling her brother was somewhere out there, amid all of those hard, staring faces, plotting her death.

  The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she scanned the crowd. She didn’t see him but she was certain Craig was out there. She’d been hoping to lay low and stay invisible until she could talk to Remy, gauge his mood and figure out how much she would have to tell him to earn his protection. The scene he had made was the opposite of laying low and she cringed thinking about what her brother must be thinking right now, not just having seen her here but having seen her at the side of the Bomars.

  Instinctively, she moved closer to the Bomar standing beside her. He was one of the scariest men she’d ever laid eyes on but he was her only defense right now. If he walked away from her, she’d be on her own with no way to defend herself.

  And Craig wouldn’t waste any time hurting her if she was alone.

  Her shoulders automatically hunched in an attempt to make herself smaller. Trying to be less of a target came naturally to her but she fought the urge. She pushed her shoulders back, straightened her spine and tried to keep her chin up even though her teeth were chattering. If nothing else, she had a fairly well honed survival instinct and it told her that any outward signs of weakness here would be a mistake.

  She had to be strong. Fierce. She had to be like Skylar. Someone worthy of standing next to a Bomar boy.

  Oh God… she put a hand to her mouth to contain a small whimper as she watched Remy walk into the cage, his back to her now but the tension in his shoulders clear even at a distance. He’d claimed her. He’d said she was his. Publicly. And she might be young but she wasn’t nearly as innocent as she looked. She knew exactly what something like that meant in this crowd.

  Remy had claimed her as his woman. She was as good as considered a Bomar now. Just like Skylar. Just like Jemma. She was one of them now. And if you messed with a Bomar, you dealt with all of the Bomars. Everyone knew that.

  She hadn’t come here to choose a side but Remy’s claim had done it for her.

  If she was with Remy, she was with all of the Bomars. And if she was with the Bomars, she was against Craig. Her brother. The only family she had left. For a split second, she almost felt bad going against him but it passed quickly. If coming here had signed one of their death warrants, it was better his than hers.

  It took her a minute, through the fog of her fear and terror, through the rationalizations and the reasonings, to truly put together what Remy had just done. He’d claimed her. To these people, she was someone important to him, someone to be protected, a girlfriend possibly or a lover. But she and Remy both knew that wasn’t the case.

  She wasn’t really his… was she?

  Remy glanced up, looking right at her. Their eyes connected across the distance, through the bars of the cage, and she forgot to breathe. The heat in his dark eyes set the blood in her veins on fire and she shivered involuntarily.

  Who was she kidding? Of course she was his. She’d been his from the moment she first looked up into his ridiculously gorgeous face and felt alive for the first time in her life. He’d seen her that day, really seen her in a way that nobody else ever had.

  He looked at her like he wanted to claim her. Wanted to own her. Wanted everything from her. And for some reason, the thought of giving herself to him, giving him every part of her, didn’t scare her.

  She wanted things with him that she’d never wanted from a man. And from the way he was looking at her, she had zero doubts he could, and would, give it to her. She had a sudden, panicked feeling that everything about their relationship had just changed.

  “You’re gonna get him killed.” A hard, angry voice snarled from nearby an
d she almost jumped out of her boots.

  She looked up into the equally hard and angry face of the bearded Bomar boy that Remy had said would protect her until he returned. Which one was he? There were so many of them it was hard to keep track. Add to that how much they all resembled, the fact that so many of them were twins and… Ford, she remembered finally.

  As if the Bomar family tree wasn’t confusing enough, one entire branch was named after cars. The Auto branch, naturally, as if that wasn’t weird at all. Auto Bomar ran the sole garage in Old Settlers, the one his sons used to tear down and sell off parts of stolen vehicles on the black market. At least that was what the rumors claimed. Auto had two sets of twin sons. She couldn’t remember all four of their names at that moment but she knew enough to know that Ford was part of the older set of twins… which meant his twin was Lincoln.

  Lincoln. Their leader. She shivered as she looked up at the twin glaring down at her. She’d always thought Lincoln was the scariest of the Bomars but this one was giving him a run for his money in a completely different way. Lincoln came off polite and charming at first glance but she’d never bought it. There was something about him, something that hid just beneath his ever-present smile that scared the holy hell out of her. This man was his twin, and he did resemble, but there was no veneer of false pleasantness. He was as rough as his twin was smooth and she wasn’t sure if that made him more or less terrifying.

  “Wh-what?”

  “You’re gonna get him killed.” He snarled at her again, “He needs to focus and instead he’s makin’ goddamned googly eyes at you.”

  Rachel bit her lip and dropped her gaze. Was she distracting Remy? She hadn’t meant to. She thought about the things she’d overheard Craig and his buddies say about these fights over the years and winced.

  Bomar fight nights were brutal. Bare-knuckle, cage-fighting with little to no rules. Fights that went on until someone was unconscious or tapped out. She’d known when she came here that she’d have to witness some vicious blood sport but she hadn’t realized until she arrived that Remy would be the one climbing into the cage. The kind, gentle, sweet man that she’d gotten to know a little over the past few weeks was going to beat someone half to death. Or he was going to be the one beaten. She felt sick to her stomach all over again.