Accidental Obsession: Those Malcolm Boys Book 2 Read online

  Accidental Obsession

  Those Malcolm Boys Book 2

  KL Donn

  Contents

  Blurb

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by KL Donn

  Copyright © 2019 by KL Donn

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Blurb

  I am Cross Malcolm.

  And I get. What’s. Mine.

  Cattle are simple.

  You take care of them; they take care of you.

  Women, not so much.

  They’re fickle, stubborn and emotional.

  They’re time consuming and unapologetic.

  And yet, I can’t live without her.

  She’s passion and sin.

  Heartache and innocence.

  Isabella Sharp is every man’s weakness.

  She’ll bring me to my knees.

  And in return I’ll worship her with my dying breath.

  I am Cross Malcolm

  After the secrets and through the lies…

  Past the darkness and into the light…

  I get what’s mine.

  Dedication

  For anyone who needs a little light in the dark.

  Prologue

  * BREAKING NEWS * BREAKING NEWS * BREAKING NEWS *

  “Lindy Swartz here with Channel 44 News. Nearly one year after his younger brother’s exoneration, Cross Malcolm of the Malcolm dynasty has been accused of kidnapping Isabella Sharp by her uncle, Curtis Lindsay.

  Watch the footage now of what appears to be, Cross carrying the woman to the county courthouse in Gateston, Wyoming. A small farming town where he’s built his own empire through breeding the best bulls in the country.

  I’m getting reports from close sources to Cross Malcolm that the young rancher is doing everything in his power to protect Miss Sharp, and perhaps, there will be wedding bells in the near future.

  They’re also relaying to us live that Miss Sharp was nearly burned to death on the Malcolm Ranch just one week ago when her uncle set ablaze one of his barns while the ranch’s employees were at an auction.

  I suppose what we’re all wondering is… Will Cross Malcolm follow in little brother Crux Malcolm’s shoes and wind up behind bars? I’ll keep you up to date on all the happenings as they unfold in the coming days and weeks.

  Lindy Swartz of Channel 44 News signing off.”

  Chapter One

  Isabella

  “You can run, you can hide, but I’ll find you, Isa.” I slam my hands over my mouth to hide my whimper. I know he’ll find me; he always does.

  I keep running, though.

  Always running.

  “I’m getting angry, Isa.” I hear it in his tone. Anger means violence with Curtis Lindsay, always. A violence I can no longer handle.

  As I gaze at my nearly nude body, I know I have to stay silent for as long as possible. I have to keep hiding. Continue to move. If Curtis catches me, he’ll kill me for sure this time.

  “Isabella.” He sings my name. To the naked ear, it would sound loving. To me, it’s full of menace. “I’ll wait outside for you, dear. If you aren’t out here in five minutes, I’m burning this barn to the ground.” I shake violently in the loose bale of hay I’ve been hiding in for nearly an hour.

  He’ll do it; I know he will.

  Nothing scares Curtis. He’s an unstoppable force that I can no longer fight off. I’m tired of the daily beatings. The threats of rape. I know that just as soon as I’m healed, he’ll try to sell me on the streets like he did the girl before me.

  The girl who died in my arms.

  My sister.

  My best friend.

  I’m next in his sick game of God, and I can’t be.

  His steps retreat out the barn doors, and I can hear the horses beneath me as they pace, sensing the sinister force that just left here is up to no good.

  Once Curtis sets blaze to his barn, Cross Malcolm is going to hate me even more than he does now. They’re at an auction, presently, so when I chose to hide here, in the hopes that Curtis wouldn’t bother looking for me, I foolishly thought the horses would have gone with them.

  The Malcolm name in this county, hell, the country, is known for the best-bred bulls. His studs sell higher than any other rancher. Now, I’m about to ruin him.

  “Last chance!” Curtis yells from outside. I wince at the smell of gasoline. An inferno is set to ignite, so I must act quickly to free the horses.

  Climbing down the ladder quietly, I try not to make any noise as I hustle to the first stall and open it, moving on to the next, and the next, until I’m at the last one. Flames lick the barn entrance from the exterior, quickly spreading inside because of the dry hay, and I can only hope that the animals will run out the opposite side as I slowly open the door.

  “You’ll die in there, Isa.” I don’t care. Not anymore.

  The horses run.

  Smoke fills my lungs.

  Fire crackles around me.

  Curtis’ laughter as the structure comes apart around me is deafening as I search the fields behind the burning building. Trees are a good hundred feet from me, and I’m not certain I’ll make it, but I’m going to try. As the last horse races past me and out to freedom, I run with it.

  Black dots fill my vision, and I know it won’t be long before I pass out from lack of oxygen, fear, and overexertion. I hear the shouts from behind me, and I realize that Curtis has brought his enforcer, Sully. The large man enjoys hurting me almost as much as Curtis does.

  “Faster, Isa, you have to run faster.” My older sister’s words ring in my ears from the last time we tried to escape together. The day she died from a beating so brutal, she couldn’t function anymore. I dash into the tree line as I hear Curtis call for me again.

  I don’t stop when I feel rocks and sticks digging into my feet.

  I don’t stop when I fall into the creek and get covered in water.

  Nor when my legs feel like they’re going to fall off.

  I do stop from sheer exhaustion and my body’s inability to maneuver any longer.

  Dropping to the ground, I say a silent prayer of guidance and hope that come the light of day, someone other than Curtis or Sully finds my dead body.

  Chapter Two

  Cross

  “Fucking breathe, man,” Nick tells me as we all stand in front of the burned-out barn in the east pasture that housed all the ranch hands’ horses. Thankfully, someone set them free before burning the fucking building to the ground while we were at auction.

  “I’m going to commit fucking murder,” I hiss as I walk around the burning embers.

  “You don’t wanna be like your little brother, do you?” Wyatt laughs, knowing full-well that Crux is out and living a good life with his girl Farren. After the hell they went through, they deserve it.

  The sound of thundering hooves draws everyone’s attention to the woods about a hundred feet behind the torched structure, and I see Aaron and D
ale leading the escaped animals back toward us.

  “Well, thank fuck for that,” I mutter as I begin walking in their direction. As I reach the tree line, a smear of red on a tree trunk captures my attention, and I turn to check it out.

  “Is that blood?” Nick asks, walking up behind me.

  Rubbing it with my finger, it’s still damp. “I think so.” The metallic scent as I sniff the stain confirms the likelihood. “Any of the animals injured?” I gaze up at Dale, who has come over to see what we’re doing.

  “Not a one. Scared maybe, but nothing physical. Whoever released them, did so before the fire reached their stalls.” It’s a relief to know we won’t have to worry about medical care on the animals.

  But that leaves me with a burning question… “Whose blood is this?”

  “Hey, Cross, look at this!” Nick calls from further into the brush. Small, soaked footprints are embedded in the earth. Feminine looking.

  “You think it was a woman?” Dale mutters.

  “I don’t know who the fuck would do this.” None of it makes sense. I left one of my oldest hands to file reports with insurance and deal with the police while we inspected the building. Now, I’m incredibly glad Wyatt is a better people person than me because I have a burning desire to find out who is out here.

  “Hello!” Dale calls out as we trek further in. Nothing happens. “Think they’re still out here?”

  “I don’t know. They better be dead if they burned down my fucking barn.” It wasn’t one of my more high-tech ones. It’s where the horses were housed when the weather was shitty, or we were going to auction. Yesterday, we happened to be at the biggest fucking auction in the state.

  To the right, a flash of white catches my eye, and I head off in that direction, quietly, trying not to startle whoever is out here. “Hello?” I call. They won’t be able to get away. Not with those bloody and blistered feet. “Hey, were you the one to burn down my barn?”

  Still no response.

  Rounding the fallen tree trunk they’re hidden behind, I’m shocked by the dirty auburn and black hair, pale face, and blue-tinted lips. What sucker punches me, though, is the person’s identity.

  “Isabella?” Isabella Sharp has been a mystery to me since she moved in with her uncle a year ago. One I’ve been dying to figure out, but the man never lets her out alone. She’s barely seen about town, and she doesn’t attend the local high school or college.

  I don’t know how or when it happened, but after all my research, I became obsessed with getting a glimpse of her any chance I could. I’ve never been able to talk to her, though.

  “Bella, little sparrow, baby, answer me.” Dropping to my knees, I feel for a pulse, and her skin is like ice. “Nick!” I yell, and everyone comes running over.

  “Oh shit,” Dale hisses as I’m taking off my shirt.

  “Go get the truck, Dale. Crank the heat up and have Aaron run up to the main house and call for the doctor.” He doesn’t immediately move, shocked at the bruised and torn state Isabella’s in. “Now, Dale!” He nods and runs back.

  “What the fuck happened to her?” Nick wonders.

  It’s the middle of summer and warm as hell, but the nights cool down here with the open fields, and she’s in nothing but a ripped camisole and white panties. Nothing to keep her warm.

  “Help me lift her.” Gingerly, we get the shirt on her, but she doesn’t move, doesn’t make a sound as I pick her up in my arms. Nick leads the way out of the woods, clearing any branches that might trip me up. “Come on, Isabella, wake up for me,” I whisper in her ear. I don’t know what the fuck happened out here last night, but my barn is no longer where my anger is directed. I’m pissed someone did this to her.

  I’m fucking raging mad that she was left out here to die, and if I had to bet on it, she’s the reason the barn was torched. But more importantly, she got my animals out alive. Likely with risk to her own safety.

  “Here.” Dale opens the passenger side door of my truck as Nick climbs in the driver’s seat. Scooting in, I hold the delicate girl in my arms close to my chest.

  “Straight to the house.” I don’t have a good feeling about what’s happened while we were gone, and even though I avoid town at all costs, I know the rumors about her uncle, Curtis Lindsay, are none too pleasant. He’s been accused of prostituting underage girls and running a brothel between our small town, Gateston, and the big city.

  Curtis and his partner Sully are not good men. They’re violent, unpredictable, and likely murderous. Even growing up as the rich kid, I was never so spoiled that I didn’t know a shit storm when I saw one. Especially with my younger brother, Crux. Trouble didn’t just find him, he damn well sought it out and usually made everyone around him regret it.

  As big of a badass as he was, Crux always did the right thing. No matter the consequences. If not for luck being on his side this time and a dirty district attorney, he may not have finally received his penance in the form of Farren Hallewell.

  Which brings me back to the woman in my hold. In so many ways, Isabella reminds me of our own Farren. She’s small, fragile, needs protecting, so she can spread her wings and soar freely. Like a sparrow, she should be treated with a gentle touch.

  “You’re staring.” Nick laughs.

  “I know,” I respond. I can’t help it. Finding my sparrow was an accident I hadn’t expected and if not for all the crap Crux and Farren were going through last year, maybe I would have approached her sooner.

  “You’re going to scare her,” he points out as we drive past his small house a few hundred feet from mine and park in the driveway.

  “I can’t fucking stop, Nick. She’s in my blood.”

  * * *

  Isabella

  Warmth surrounds me as I feel fingers poking and prodding at my body. While the feeling is unpleasant, it’s not malicious, so I know it’s not Uncle Curtis or Sully.

  “Ouch,” I hiss when someone pours cool liquid over the scrapes on the bottom of my feet.

  “You’re awake,” a surprised masculine voice says from beside my head.

  Struggling to open my eyes, I block the light out with a hand covering the upper half of my face. “Where am I?” I dread the answer because what if I am with Curtis?

  “Isabella, look at me.” The prodding at my feet stops as the warmth of the voice wraps me in its worried embrace.

  This will be a cruel joke if I find out I’m with Curtis again. Lowering my hand, I stare up at the dark-haired man beside me. A man I’ve crushed on from the moment our eyes met briefly last summer. “Cross?” There’s no anger in his gaze as he watches me with equal intensity.

  “Yeah, sparrow.” Sparrow? “You’re okay now.” He looks down the bed to a man at my feet. Thankfully, a blanket is covering me. “This is Doctor Banner.”

  I nod as the man looks up at me. He recognizes me; I recognize him. I’m grateful when he doesn’t confirm this fact. Nobody needs to know how many times I’ve been in to see him for stitches or bandages. They don’t need to know how often my ribs have been wrapped or about the pain medication I have an ongoing prescription for.

  “Thank you,” I whisper. My throat is tight as I see the understanding and relief in his gaze.

  “What happened last night, sparrow?” Cross catches my attention with his compassionate words.

  Again, he calls me that nickname. I want to ask why, but there are too many people in here for me to feel comfortable about it. “I’m sorry about your barn,” I murmur instead. Pushing myself up the bed to lean against the wall, I wrap the blanket across my chest. “I’ll pay for it.” Though I have no idea how.

  “I’m not worried about the damn barn, Isabella.” For as harsh as his words are, they’re softened by the tone of his voice and the worry in his dark gaze.

  “It still shouldn’t have happened.” I look away. I don’t know how to give him the answers he’s looking for. Curtis did it in a fit of rage because I ran away. I held my sister in my arms as she died, and I fea
red that would be my fate if I didn’t escape. I couldn’t become her.

  For weeks, I’ve plotted and planned, and everything was thrown to hell when he dragged me out of bed last night screaming and punching me. He was like a toddler when they don’t get their way. Only instead of slamming his fists against the floor or wall, my body was his target.

  “How are your ribs?” Doctor Banner asks, and I feel all eyes on us as I think about my answer. I was in to see him a month ago with another cracked rib.

  I still have the bruising. “They hurt.” I imagine he examined me nearly everywhere before I woke up.

  “Cross.” Another man walks into the room. “The sheriff is here.” I freeze. Terror races down my spine.

  “I’ll be right there,” Cross tells him, and the man—I believe his name is Nick—gives me an encouraging smile as he leaves the room again. “I’ll be right back,” Cross states as he stands, and I can feel his eyes on me as he moves slowly towards the door, waiting for me to ask him to go, I think.

  With one last look back at me, Cross shakes his head, and he’s gone. Voices can be heard speaking moments later as fear vibrates my body.

  “The sheriff is a good man, Isabella,” Doctor Banner tells me as he wraps bandages around my feet. I can feel the bruising already. “You can trust him. And Cross.” He stares pointedly up at me.