Hear No Evil: Brotherhood Trilogy, #3

By Jordan Ford

Riley is haunted by a past he can't remember. Something happened in the isolated cabin he now calls home. Something deadly. And he can't rest until he finds out what it is.

 

Not wanting to burden anyone with his nonsensical nightmares, he keeps to himself until his contact in town, an intelligent girl he's desperately trying not to fall for, reveals some long-buried evidence that will destroy everything he thought he knew about his deceased parents.

Caitlin is cursed with an overpowering curiosity. So when a gorgeous stranger shows up in her small town of Legacy, she is compelled to figure out his story. Something about his quiet way and shy smile works like a magnet to draw her in, and she soon finds herself caught up in a mystery from long ago. A mystery people in Legacy refuse to talk about.

Unearthing the truth is a scary business and the young couple soon find themselves caught in a game of life and death as enemies from the past come back to finish what they started a decade before...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jordan Ford
• Release date: Mar 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781991150035

Jordan Ford

Jordan Ford is a teen and young-adult romance author. She loves to write romance novels filled with angst, mystery, danger and first love. If you're looking for heartfelt romance, loyal friendships, thrilling drama and characters you can fall in love with, then you're in the right place. "Writing romance brings me the greatest joy. My heart bubbles, my insides zing, and I am at my happiest when immersed in a great scene with characters who have become real to me."   Jordan Ford is a Forever Love Publishing author. You can download their Starter Library (3 books for FREE) here: http://bit.ly/FLP_Library CONTACT INFORMATION: Website: www.jordanfordbooks.com Email: [e-mail]

Book preview

1

UNTIL RYAN

CAITLIN

I turn up the heat on Dad’s truck and rub my hands together. I usually start feeling the cold as soon as October hits. We’re only a week or so away from November and I’m already decked out in my jacket and beanie. I’ve never liked the cold. Even as a kid I’d always be getting out my winter gear before anyone else. The temperatures in these mountains can be frigid. I so need to move to Arizona or something. Stupid winter. It slices right through the fall, bringing early snow and biting chills. I glance at my stepmother in the driver’s seat. She doesn’t even have a jacket on. Crazy woman. She’ll argue that we haven’t had our first snowfall yet. She always holds out until that first coating of white powder. It’ll be soon. I can feel it.

Tia shifts down a gear and we grind up the hill. Dad’s truck is starting to act its age. He’s been talking about upgrading for over a year now but never gets around to it. If he knew where his eldest daughter and wife were sneaking off to all the time, he probably would have upgraded a couple of months ago.

But it’s still our secret.

Something I love and she hates.

Telling little white lies to her husband doesn’t sit well with Tia, but she’s doing it for me. Because I’m her stepdaughter. Because after nine years of knowing each other I’m finally starting to treat her like someone other than the chick Dad fell for.

She’s becoming a friend…sort of…and I kind of like it.

I take another look at my stepmother. Her dark hair is pulled into a messy bun, with only a few tendrils spilling free. She’s thirty-eight, with this young, fresh face. People always think she’s younger than she is. I’ll never be as pretty as her. Not that it’s a competition or anything, but I understand why Dad fell for her so fast. She’s stunning, sweet, friendly, smart. Everything my mother isn’t.

My nose wrinkles as I turn back to stare out the window. The mountains are breathtaking today. The sun’s reflecting off the white peaks, their definition so clear against the seamless blue sky.

As much as I resent living up here sometimes, it is a beautiful place. Moving from Chicago to the middle of nowhere was one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through. I’m still not sure I’m completely over it. I haven’t seen my mother since before we moved to Legacy. The second she found out Dad was remarrying, she cut us both off.

I blamed Tia at first.

But now I wonder if it was the excuse Mom had been looking for all along.

She never wanted to be a wife and mother.

Weird how, nearly a decade later, it still stings.

I look up the road ahead, forcing my mind to better things. Like the fact I’m about to see Ryan.

Warm bubbles filled my chest the second Tia came into my room this morning and mentioned she’d like to check on baby Ellen. The bubbles have turned to butterflies since then. They’re growing more manic the closer we get to the cabin.

I press my hand into my stomach and try not to smile.

I shouldn’t really be falling for a guy like Ryan. I’m pretty sure I know who he is. I haven’t had the guts to tell him yet, but I’ve been doing my own research and I’m ninety percent sure that the people living in the haunted cabin on the hill are the Eton Prep runaways.

There’s a really strong chance that Ryan is actually Riley Duncan—the sweet, intelligent, gorgeous guy I’m falling for.

The sweet, intelligent, gorgeous guy who I should be staying away from.

But I can’t!

He’s too…

I love his slow smile and how his eyes change color when he’s worried. They’re usually this dusky blue, but strong emotion makes them gray. My head tips to the side, a dreamy smile tugging at my lips as a clear picture of him forms in my mind. His short, sandy blond beard. His rectangular glasses. The way his hair sometimes flops over his face when he leans forward. He swoops it back into place, flashing his strong bicep. Yet another reason to hate winter. I’m going to miss checking out his fitted T-shirts and subtly studying the shape his muscles take when he carries stuff out to his car.

He’s just a little taller than me and really strong. Working on the cabin has made him buff. He’s the shortest of the three, but his chest is broad and I bet those pecs of his are solid rock.

I’d love to see them one day. Touch them.

My cheeks start burning. I shuffle in my seat so Tia can’t see how red I am. My skin goes freaking neon if I’m not careful.

I ease my mind away from Ryan’s naked chest and go back to listing the things I like about him, building my case for why not falling for him is completely unrealistic.

Nothing ruffles him. He’s always calm. He sees a problem and solves it. He’s thoughtful, analytical, easy to talk to. I’d spend every day up at that cabin if I were allowed to. And his little makeshift family…I just… I love them.

Too bad the only time I get to see them is when Tia wants to check on the baby.

Since delivering that little angel two months ago, Tia’s been studying up on everything to do with baby health. She’s a trained nurse but gave up her career when she and Dad decided to start their lives anew in Legacy. They bought the general store and returned it to its former glory. It’s the hub of Legacy now. People love Dad and Tia. I can’t imagine them ever leaving.

I swallow. A mixture of excitement and worry skitters through me.

I’ve just started my last year of high school. I’ve been doing online school since we moved here so I’m used to it, but Dad’s starting to talk college applications and I’m both thrilled and freaking out. I’ve been this isolated little nobody for so long. When we left Chicago I tried to keep in touch with my friends, but messaging faded pretty fast as they got busy living their lives without me, and now the only friends I have are my online buddies. Apart from the runaways hiding in the cabin, the only other teenager in Legacy is Dwight Mathews—a gangly fourteen-year-old with buck teeth and no sense of humor. I swear the guy’s afraid of his own shadow. I’m sure he’d strain a cheek muscle if he was forced to smile, and trying to have a conversation with him is like squeezing blood from a stone. He talks in grunts and one-syllable sentences mostly. Needless to say, dinners at the Mathews’ home are always painful.

I’m desperate to get out into the big, exciting world—meet people my own age, hang out, go to parties and concerts, touch, kiss, experience life! But a little part of me is afraid as well.

Living in a town with a population of like three hundred hasn’t exactly trained me for college. And although summer gets busy with tourists and campers, it’s pretty impossible to make lasting connections with people who are only around for a couple of weeks a year.

I blame Dad for dragging me up here. He cut off any chance of teenage normalcy. You know, high school, friends, a prom. If he weren’t so damn lovable, I’d probably hate him.

Tia shifts down another gear, clearing her throat as she grips the wheel and navigates the last steep part of gravel road.

Middle of nowhere, she mutters.

I snicker. Everywhere around here is the middle of nowhere.

Legacy may be a small town but it has a store, a diner, a doctor, a sheriff. These kids are miles from Main Street. They’re so isolated up here. It worries me.

Come on, you know they can’t move down.

No, actually, I don’t, she clips and starts blinking. She does that when she’s annoyed. Blinks. It’s a weird tick that somehow keeps her in control.

Yes, you do. They can’t be seen. They’re in hiding.

From what? Tia glances at me. That’s what I’d like to know. Five teenagers and a brand new baby hiding away in an isolated cabin. It’s not normal, Caity.

I bite my lips together and force a nod. I don’t really want to fight with her. It’s a miracle she hasn’t gone to her brother about it. He’s the town sheriff. Unless there’s a crisis, he pretty much stays on his lazy fat ass.

Legacy doesn’t have many crises so his ass is getting bigger and lazier every year.

But Tia can’t seem to let this go, and I’m worried she’ll eventually snap and blab to Dad…and then march into her brother’s office.

I don’t know if he’ll do anything about it, but what if she insists he makes a call or something?

She’s just worried about the baby. But Jules is a great mom and the guys are so sweet with her. They’re not just kids anyway. Ryan’s already nineteen. At least he is if he’s actually Riley, not Ryan. If I’m right about the whole Eton Prep runaways thing, then all three of the guys are nineteen by now.

"They’re practically adults, Tia. They’ve just been forced into growing up a little faster than some. It’s not that weird."

It’s unusual. If any of them were mine and I didn’t know where they were, I’d be going out of my mind. There are five poor mothers out there somewhere wondering what’s happened to their precious kids.

I scoff and shake my head. Not all mothers are created equal.

Her snappy voice ducks behind a compassionate smile. Reaching across, she pats my hand. Well, if you or the twins went missing, I’d be beside myself.

Thanks, I mumble, then return her smile.

The engine grumbles as we reach the steepest part.

I gaze through the trees, my mind flitting back to the summers I used to sneak up here. I’d hitch a ride with Harry Dunlop. He was a fisherman who visited every year to camp and fall asleep by the lake. Tia’s family knew him from way back. He’d come up June 1st and stay until the end of July. Tia trusted him, so I was allowed to tag along in his bright red pickup. We’d ride into the hills and he’d find himself a lake or pond, letting me go off to explore on my own.

I found the cabin when I was thirteen. It was a complete wreck—a treasure trove of mystery and intrigue.

It became my summer palace—a haven to fix up and turn into my own.

A place for my imagination to run wild.

Harry died two years ago.

After that, I left the cabin alone…until Ryan.

2

SNAKE BITES

RILEY

The rumbling engine alerts me to the fact someone’s coming. There’s always a flash of fear, brief and debilitating, before my senses kick in.

But then I recognize the grinding nuance of the Powell’s pickup and know it’s Tia. I race back to my room and grab Uncle Rafe’s glasses. Sliding them in place, I smooth back my hair and check the mirror to make sure I look more Ryan than Riley. I definitely look different. Staring at my reflection, I notice the smudges under my eyes, a telltale sign that I’m being haunted by nightmares I can’t escape or understand.

Riley, Jules calls from her bedroom. Sounds like we’ve got company.

Turning away from my reflection, I hide my unrest behind a neutral expression and head out to the porch. Trey and Kade are out hunting, so it’s on me to look after the girls. Not that they’ll need me around if it’s Tia. Jules adores the woman.

Tia parks her truck next to the old tree stump. It’s a massive thing with a prime spot on the edge of the property. It looks out over the mountain vista and I swear some days I can visualize Uncle Rafe sitting on it, staring at the view while whittling wood and thinking about…who knows what.

Perfect love drives out fear is carved into the top of the seat, the deep grooves indicating that someone went over those letters multiple times.

I don’t remember those words from when I was a kid, but I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere deep in my memory banks there’s an image of me using Uncle Rafe’s hunting knife to go over the letters.

It’s true, buddy. His voice is a whisper in the back of my brain. Perfect love defies all.

A shiver runs down my spine and I can’t even explain why. I make a conscious effort to shake the ghostlike voice out of my head. Since moving into this cabin, I can’t be sure what’s memory or imagination. Did I dream it? Or did Uncle Rafe actually say that to me?

Rubbing my aching temples, I clomp down the stairs and head for the Powell’s truck. As soon as I spot Caitlin in the passenger seat my heart does this double kick. I try to ignore it, but the fact it acts like that every time I see her is really disconcerting. She shouldn’t be growing prettier as the months roll by. I shouldn’t be thinking about her at random times throughout the day. Watching Trey and Kade make out with their respective girlfriends should not have me imagining what Caitlin’s lips would feel like on mine.

I shove my hands into my jeans pockets and walk across the front yard.

Hey. I smile at Caitlin, then glance at Tia.

She greets me with a demure nod, her standard hello. She doesn’t like me and I get why. I’m the guy who dragged her into this mess. It doesn’t matter how many times I thank her for saving the day and delivering Julienne’s baby; in her eyes I’ll always be a liar.

And she’s right.

For now, my life is one big lie. And until we feel safe enough to leave this mountain, it’s going to remain that way.

Which is why I can’t do anything about my feelings for the gorgeous blonde walking towards me.

Long time no see. She flicks her long ponytail over her shoulder and studies me. She has the bluest eyes. Not like Kade’s, which match the sky today. Hers are more like the ocean with hints of green. I wish I could gaze into them and study each fleck.

I clear my throat and shrug. It’s been two weeks.

Feels like longer. She lets out this breathy laugh, then looks to the ground.

Her cheeks are turning red.

I love the way they do that.

It’s hard to hide my smile when she glances at me again.

I look away, into the forest to my left. The trees are denser on that side of the cabin, dark with shadows and mystery. It’s enough to chill me, to remind me why I’ll never be Caitlin’s boyfriend.

Clearing my throat, I walk over to the truck. Did you bring any supplies with you?

The laundry soap Jules needs, and I found some more diapers online. They should be small enough. She pulls the cover off the back of the truck and I grab the box of detergent and bag of cloth diapers. Jules is worried about the environment. It’s harder to dispose of garbage up here, so she’s been doing the whole cloth diaper thing. The washing is a nightmare but she just hums her way through it. Because that’s Jules.

Caitlin grabs a brown paper bag filled with fresh milk and two loaves of bread.

How much do I owe you? We walk towards the cabin together.

She shakes her head. This one’s on Tia and me.

I look to the sky and huff. You’ve got to stop doing that, Caitlin. I have money. I want to pay you. It’s only fair.

Yeah, but how long until your supply runs out?

I jerk to a stop and look at her.

Come on, it’s not like you can use an ATM or Visa. They track that kind of stuff, right? If you’re hiding from… She swallows, then looks down at her gray hiking boots. Whoever…Big Brother can… She sighs. In this digital age, it’s pretty hard to hide. I figure you’re smart enough to know that.

I am, I croak. Which is why I know exactly how much money we have and exactly how much we can afford to spend.

Of course you do. Her blue gaze hits me in the heart when she looks up and smiles. Her admiration is so open, so sweet.

I turn for the cabin before I’m sucked in by it. Damn, I’d love to kiss those full lips of hers. They’re so pink and perfect. I love the shape they make when she smiles.

So, I guess that’s why I throw in a few freebies every now and again. You might stay a little longer. Her voice peters out and I stop at the top of the stairs to glance back and give her a slightly pained smile.

I can’t say anything because I don’t want to promise something I can’t.

I have no idea how much longer we’ll be here.

We’ve been in hiding for ten months. I don’t know what we’re waiting for, really. Kade’s run-in with Agent Rybeck happened six months ago now. Is he still hunting us? Does he still want to question Ana until she gives up something that will secure her uncle’s life imprisonment?

The Sorrentinos will never let that happen.

If Ana’s uncle finds out she’s alive…he’ll kill her.

So we stay.

But we can’t stay forever.

At some point, something is going to have to give.

I don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. I want to live, travel, breathe free air. I want to go to college.

I want Jules to be able to officially name her daughter. I want us all to have a life.

But that can’t happen until we stop the people who are out to hurt us.

And I don’t know how to do that without putting us all in danger.

So we stay.

We wait.

And hope the snakes never find us.

And hope that if they ever do, their bites won’t kill us.

3

LITTLE MISS SUPPLY AND DEMAND

CAITLIN

She has got to be the cutest baby ever born. I rock Ellie in my arms, running my finger down her ski-jump nose and smiling.

What about your sisters? Tia laughs. They were pretty darn cute.

I roll my eyes. Pretty darn loud. Between the two of them they could have triggered an avalanche.

Tia snorts and shakes her head.

I brush my nose across Ellie’s cheek. She smells so good. So innocent. It’s impossible not to love her.

Jules smiles up at me from the couch. My little Ellie girl’s the opposite. She’s so quiet sometimes I have to triple-check her to make sure she’s still breathing.

Tia rubs her shoulder. That’s a mother’s love. I’m sorry to tell you this but you’ll spend the rest of your life worrying about her. No matter how old she gets.

Jules groans and rubs a hand over her face before letting out a soft, wistful sigh. I just want her to be happy and healthy.

Well, at the moment, she’s both. I’ve never met such a contented baby. Tia stands and crosses her arms, ready to put her stern voice on. Let’s just hope she can stay that way for as long as possible.

Ana steps into the room, catching Tia’s low tone and reading it like a pro.

She clenches her jaw and forces a smile. Hi, Tia. Nice to see you.

Ana. Her nod is short, her smile unconvincing.

She’s still wary of the girl, and I guess I can understand that. As far as we know, Ana isn’t even her real name. Tia’s positive they’re all lying to