Free Criminal: A Bad-Boy Stepbrother Romance by Alexis Abbott, Alex Abbott Page A

his thick, muscular arm draped over
his battered side as he sits there beside me in pain. He’d
taken a brutal beating from four big, strong guys and still has it in
him to turn things around and save us both. This is a miracle, all
things considered, and judging by the fact that I heard a crack or
two, he has at least one broken rib beneath his bloodstained shirt.
    I stare ahead, desperate to keep my mind off of just
how damn attracted I am to him right now. We’ve spent so many
years running from one another, running from our desires and God only
knows what else.
    And look at all the good that’s done us?
    He’s facing prison time, and we’re both
on the run from a killer.
    “We can head back, go home,” I say
distantly, but he shakes his head with a groan.
    “No need.”
    I look at him, my brows furrowed.
    “I knew what I was getting into, Princess, and
that I likely wouldn’t be coming back. I transferred all the
money I had saved over the years into a safety deposit box in your
name.”
    “My name?” I ask, drawing in my lower
lip, and he nods.
    It’s not just the pain of the beating getting
to him.
    “I’ve done some stupid things in my life,
Abby, but I saved every penny. I couldn’t tell anyone about it,
I couldn’t pay my bail with it because I didn’t get it
legally. So mom and dad went broke, and I was just sittin’ on
money I couldn’t spend. So a few months ago, I set up some
safety deposit boxes in your name.”
    I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
    There’s a part of me that’s so mad, so
outraged that maybe there was a way mom and dad didn’t have to
sell out my future to bail him out. But it’s tempered with
gratitude.
    “How much?”
    He swallows with a wince and his breathing is a bit
off, but he looks at me and rests his hand on top of mine.
    “When I transferred it, there was $1.5
million.”
    I must have heard that wrong.
    I slow down for a second before I remember we’re
on the run and speed up once more.
    “Over one million dollars?”
    He smirks, proud of my surprise, but he looks like a
scolded pup at the same time. He won’t meet my eyes, and he
nods more seriously.
    “Kaiden, what the fuck? How did you get over
one million dollars?”
    “Working for Ryder, doing odd jobs on the
side... taking the fall for him. He wasn’t happy about that
last one and I knew he’d try something eventually. Then I
invested it in some other projects a guy I know out of state was
involved in, before taking everything out and putting it in your
name, Princess.”
    I don’t know what he expected my reaction to
be, but I’m dizzy and disoriented, and have to blink to clear
my eyes.
    “You’ll have to be careful with what you
do with it, I mean… no matter how this all goes down, it’s
still suspicious money. You gotta be smart. But hey, I know I can
count on you to be smart. Always could,” he says, smiling just
a little at memories past, even as he sits there in such obvious
pain.
    He’d taken down all those thugs, nearly killed
Ryder too, though once that was done, it was as if I watched the
steam come out of him. He had deflated before my eyes, and staggered,
nearly falling over before I could get to him and help him into my
car.
    I’m in shock, and I nearly miss a familiar
sight. It’s a little motel, recessed into the trees, but the
neon lights are still on. I remember the name vaguely, and I point to
it as I start slowing down.
    “Kaiden, I remember this place. When the house
was being fumigated that time, we stayed here a few nights,
remember?”
    Kaiden looks where I point, his thick, strong neck no
longer supporting his head so sturdily thanks to the beating.
    “Of course I do,” he rasps to me, so damn
tired and weary. “Mom and dad left us to our own devices most
of the time there, and we broke into the manager’s office.
Found all those porn mags and liquor stashed in his desk,” he
remarks with a dry, brief laugh. “We could be such little
shits. But hey, we