Free Van, Becca - Coming Home (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Becca van Page A

reached up to touch Adam’s face with her hand, but didn’t quite make it. Adam grasped her wrist and turned her hand over, palm face-up. He roared with fury at the sight of her burned palm and saw her flinch in response.
    “Don’t be afraid of me, Bella. I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at that fucking bastard. You wouldn’t be hurt if it wasn’t for him,” Adam said through clenched teeth. He nudged his horse over to Marcus and passed her over to his brother, knowing Marcus and Clint would want to hold her, to feel her safe in their arms. Adam saw Clint move closer to Marcus, handed him Star’s reins, and kicked his horse into a gallop, heading for the house.
    Adam smiled when Bella snuggled up against Marcus’s chest, but the smile left his face when he heard her whimper. The excitement of the last half hour must have been wearing off. She held her hand up, making sure she wasn’t touching anything, and she buried her head in Marcus’s chest once more. He rode close to her and watched her the whole time. Her eyelids began to droop, and even though he knew she was in pain, she couldn’t seem to keep her eyes open. He knew she was suffering from exhaustion. She tried to keep them open, but exhaustion won out. She slumped against Marcus and fell asleep.

    * * * *
     
    Bella came awake when she was passed over to another set of arms. She looked up to see Clint looking down at her. His expression was hard and full of fury. She whimpered and buried her face against his shoulder. He didn’t say a word, just carried her into the house. He sat down with her on his lap at the large timber table. Adam had a few large-looking, thick green sprigs of a plant in his hand, and Bella realized it was aloe vera. She was in too much pain to speak, so she put her burned hand on the table, palm up. She watched as Adam ran the plant over her palm, hissing as the cool gel contacted with her sore, burned skin. Adam growled, and she looked up to see fury in his eyes, the muscle in his jaw ticking as he ground his teeth together. She wondered what he and Clint had done to David but waited until Adam had finished administering the aloe to her hand before she spoke.
    “What did you do to him?”
    “Nothin’. The fucking bastard was gone by the time we got back,” Adam replied, his voice as hard as steel.
    Bella had never heard him use that tone of voice before. It frightened her a little, but it also had her creaming her panties. Then the words Adam spoke registered. She hadn’t killed David. He’d been able to leave by his own accord. She slumped in relief. Knowing she hadn’t killed a man eased the knot of dread in her stomach. Then it clenched into a tight knot again. He could come back for her. Shit. What the hell was she going to do? She couldn’t expect the three brothers to stay with her all the time. They had a ranch to run. She was going to have to practice her shooting every day, and she would need a gun of her own.
    Bella looked up when Marcus entered the kitchen–dining room. He looked just as furious as his brothers. She shivered as she saw the gleam of determination in his eye and knew he had something planned. She jumped off Clint’s lap, went to Marcus, and gave him a hug, being careful not to touch anything with her sore palm.
    “Please, don’t do it. I don’t want you getting in trouble with the law. He won’t come back here. He wouldn’t be that stupid,” Bella pleaded.
    “You want him to get away with what he said and tried to do to you?” Marcus asked incredulously. He wrapped his large hands around her upper arms and moved Bella away from him. “You got hurt because of that fucking asshole. Don’t you think he deserves what he’s got comin’?”
    “Yes, I do, but I don’t want you taking the law into your own hands. You could hang for killing a man, Marcus. I don’t want that to happen to you. I couldn’t bear it. I love you, God damn it. Don’t you get that? I love all of you and