With the Colonel’s Help: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

Haddie had Raven by the hand as she hauled her down the sidewalk toward the house that was lit up like a stage.

Lights glowing from the windows and music thrumming from the walls.

People were scattered all over the front lawn and porch, and it was almost impossible to maneuver their way through the crush as they stepped through the front door.

Raven could feel Haddie’s excitement. The exhilaration that buzzed through her as they stepped into the bedlam of the party.

Haddie squeezed her hand as she tossed her a grin. “I’m about to get sloppy drunk tonight.”

Raven rolled her eyes though she couldn’t help but smile. Her best friend was a wild one. Eager to race into every experience.

Raven wished she could be more like her.

Bold and daring.

But it’d taken Haddie three hours to even convince Raven to come tonight and then another two to coerce her into putting on the slinky, short dress.

She felt out of sorts and out of place. Exposed and unprotected.

But she yearned to step out. Find herself. Embrace who she was hungry to become.

That felt almost impossible since her fears had been more intense lately. The nightmares coming more often and leaving her terrified where she’d wake thrashing in the night.

It was painful without Otto there to come to her. To comfort her and remind her that she was strong and brave.

A fighter.

Her spirit flailed as she thought of him. Behind bars. She missed him. God, she missed him so much that she ached.

Haddie dragged her directly to the kitchen. Booze covered the countertop, and Haddie grabbed them both red cups and poured them each a drink. She handed Raven one and tapped the plastic cup against hers. “To all the fun the night will bring.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Raven said as she tapped her cup back, though she smiled as she brought the rim to her lips and took a sip of the vodka Haddie had mixed with cranberry juice.

Haddie giggled over her cup. “You’re always so worried. Time to let go, Raven. Tonight is going to be a blast. I mean, how couldn’t it be when you’re with me?”

A rush of excitement rolled through Raven, and she tipped her cup back, making the choice to let herself get carried away on the vibe.

And she was having a blast. Dancing with Haddie in the living room with some of the girls that Haddie knew from her neighborhood. They were actually really cool and welcoming to her, so Raven let go of some of her insecurities and instead chased down the thrill.

Hours passed like that. Laughing and dancing and having the best time.

Until Raven’s stomach bottomed out when she saw who came striding through the front door.

Gideon and Dusty and the rest of their crew.

Dread crawled down Raven’s spine. She didn’t have all the details, but she was pretty sure from the rumblings she’d heard between River and the rest of the guys that these assholes were responsible for Otto being sent away.

She knew it way down deep the second Gideon’s gaze landed on Haddie and something wicked passed through his features.

She knew it. She knew it.

But Haddie didn’t seem to have a clue. That or she didn’t care.

Because she only pressed her back against him when he slinked up behind her and wound his arm around her stomach, and she begged Raven to keep it a secret when she left with him that night.

Five Months Later

Nerves rattled through her when she heard the clatter at the front door and a commotion of voices in the living room.

“You’re back.”

“Thank fuck, brother.”

“You made it out.”

Raven edged through the kitchen to the entryway so she could peer out.

All the guys were giving Otto hugs and clapping him on the back, welcoming him home.

Once they all finally pulled away, it left Otto standing in the middle of the room. In an instant, that blue gaze was on her. A sea where she could drown.

So viciously tall and wide where he stood like a fortress.

A pillar of strength and volatility.

Her being trembled. Shivered and shook at the impact of seeing him after all this time. That feeling swept through her like a firestorm, an awareness that flamed to life, scorching her in the truth of what she’d felt for so long.

He slowly came her way, his big boots thudding on the floor as he came.

Then he wrapped the strength of his arms around her and tugged her close.

She breathed out in release as she hugged him back, his scent all around her.

Patchouli and warm apple pie.

Home.

“I missed you so fuckin’ much,” he murmured.

“I missed you, too. So much. So much,” she whispered back.

Raven flailed before jerking upright to the darkness of her room. She might have been jolted awake, but the nightmare still tormented her mind.

A ravaging that thundered through her veins and pounded through her spirit.

The fear that held her hostage.

Shackles and chains.

The door creaked open, and a small gasp ripped from her, then it was relief that slammed her when she realized he was there.

Otto was there.

An imposing shadow that moved through her room.

In it, she’d never felt so safe.

He came to the side of her bed. “Another bad dream?”

She nodded against the pillow, and he started to slide down the wall to the floor the way he always had.

Only Raven got brave. She reached out and grabbed his hand, and she scooted into the middle of her mattress to make him room.

Otto hesitated, the energy he was emitting so thick she could taste it.

“What are you doin’, Raven?”

“Lay with me.” She didn’t care that it sounded like she was begging.

He warred with his reservations before he roughed a hand over the top of his head and carefully settled himself on her bed, though he was rigid, trying to keep a foot of space between them.

His hand was still in hers, and he was the one to shift and face her, moving so he was hooking his pinky with hers as he searched her face in the night.

“They’re still coming at you bad?” he asked, voice low and coarse.

“They were worse while you were gone,” she admitted around the thickness in her throat. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she wondered if he could hear it. If he could feel what whooshed and slicked through her veins.

Regret curled through his expression. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Blue flicked all over her face.

Studying.

Memorizing.

Maybe rewriting.

“It is, though, isn’t it?”

She got brave—brave in a way she’d never done before—and she unhooked her pinky from his and reached out to scratch her nails through his beard. “You do what you have to do.”

“And I’m beginning to wish I had a different choice.”

The bed creaked as he rolled, and he fumbled around on her nightstand and grabbed the mirror. He started to hold it out for her to see, and she wiggled closer to him, carving out a space at his side and resting her head on his shoulder.

His spine went rigid, and she could feel the shallowness of his breaths, before he gave and curled that arm around her and dragged her closer. With the other, he lifted the mirror. “Hope you were looking at this while I was gone. Hope you saw what I see. This brave, strong, beautiful woman.”

The last of his words were brand new.

Beautiful.

Woman.noveldrama

A buzz rolled through her, and she snuggled closer.

He came night after night. When she dreamed and when she didn’t. She’d begun to wait. Anticipating his arrival. The quiet thud of his boots across her floor and the creaking of her bed as he climbed in beside her.

When her stomach would churn, and her heart would race.

He held her close, and he whispered his belief into her ear. Filled her up with his praise. But he never touched her the way she craved for him to do.

She wanted him to push her onto her back and peel her out of her clothes.

Take her in a way she’d never been taken.

But Otto always maintained the distance. Kept an invisible barrier between them.

She wanted to push through it. Climb over it or under it. Whatever it took to get to him.

But there was an obstacle she had to face first. This guilt that soured in her conscience. The secret she’d been keeping that she wasn’t sure she could keep any longer.

She was worried about Haddie. About how reckless she was being.

But the betrayal locked on her tongue. Unable to form the words that she knew would drive a blade between her and her best friend.

She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t.

Haddie trusted her, and she couldn’t break the bond that they had formed.