North

by Vanessa Vale

I finished my shower and went about getting ready for work. By the time I was dressed in another crisp dress and matching heels, I’d pushed away thoughts of why Jed wanted to be with me, because I was afraid of the truth. I’d survived Macon. I wasn’t sure if I would survive Jed.

  I found my brothers in the kitchen, clearly waiting for me. East and West were sitting on stools at the far end of the island drinking coffee. West had on a ratty t-shirt and East was bare chested. They looked hungover. Maybe they were.

  South was dressed. Jeans and a white snap shirt. He held two travel mugs and handed one to me.

  I stopped in my tracks, but Eddie went over to East and nudged him for a pet.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “We need to talk,” South said. His hair was damp as if he’d just gotten out of the shower. I didn’t know if he’d come from his place or if he’d stayed in the guest house, which was more than big enough for him and East. I figured the latter.

  “We want to talk to you, too,” East began, then gave West a miserable glance. “But we feel like shit. South’s going first. We’ll hit you up later.” He stood, West followed as they went into the great room and flopped down on the couches. West flung his arm over his eyes and groaned.

  “I have to go to work,” I told South. “With the bad weather, Paul grounded the helicopter.” Paul was the pilot, who’d sent me an early morning text, as usual, if it was a no-go.

  He shoved a to-go cup at me. “I’ll drive.”

  Eddie was at my heels. He seemed to know the days I drove and always wanted to tag along. Everyone in the office loved him.

  South headed for the garage, and I had no choice but to follow. He was mad at me. I didn’t blame him, but nothing was going to change. I opened the back door of the car and Eddie jumped in. He did a circle, then sat down and stared at me, his tongue hanging out.

  South didn’t say much for the first few minutes of the ride, letting me sip my coffee in peace. The wipers were hypnotic, and the sound of the rain drowned out the radio.

  “What’s up with Jed Barnett?” he asked finally. “Do we need to beat the shit out of him?”

  Slowly, I turned to face him, leaned against the door of the SUV. It was the car he’d chosen from the three I rotated driving, depending on mood and weather.

  “Out of everything from last night, you want to know about Jed?”

  “You didn’t tell us much,” he countered, giving me a death glare. Yeah, he wasn’t happy. “Why the fuck did you save us?”

  So much for talking about Jed.

  “Because I had the power to do so.”

  He chewed on that for a bit. I watched as he strangled the steering wheel and ground his back molars. “There’s so much to unpack in that sentence, I don’t know where to start. So I won’t. Right now,” he added, making sure he knew we weren’t done. “Jed Barnett.”

  “Yeah, Jed Barnett,” I repeated.

  “He seems to be able to handle you.”

  I returned his death glare. “Handle me?”

  “You’re too fucking strong.”

  “You make me out to be a bitch, which is totally sexist, by the way.”

  He gave me a look. “Don’t put words in my mouth. You need a big guy to shoulder some of that load for you and spank your ass for what you did.”

  I looked out the side window because I could feel my cheeks heat. No way was I telling him that had already happened. “Have you heard yourself talk before? No wonder you’re single.”

  “You’re the fucking CEO of a billion-dollar company. You eat nails for breakfast. You put up with Macon, solo, for over a decade. I’m not sure if I’m ever going to forgive you for that.”

  He paused and I turned to look at him. Bad idea, because the steering wheel was going to have finger dents in it. He looked back at the road, put the blinker on to make a turn just outside of town for the road to the highway.

  “We’re not going over this again, are we?” I asked.

  “Again? We never went over it. It’s not like you ever ran it by any of us. You’ve always been so uptight.”

  I bristled at that and my spine went straight.

  “So serious. Now I know why. You got three brothers out of that fucking house. All by yourself. Me wanting a man for you who’s got big enough balls to understand all that and still wants to wrap his arms around you isn’t being a chauvinistic asshole. It’s our turn to protect you.”

  “Fine, but why Jed?”

  “Because the short amount I’ve met the guy, he can hold his own with you. You need a guy who’s stronger than you.”

  That definitely was Jed.

  “Maybe he’ll take you bowling or something.”

  I laughed at that. “Bowling?”

  He looked me over. “Yeah, the shoes might be a problem for you.”

  I pursed my lips because I didn’t have a response to that one. He was right. About the stupid bowling shoes and Jed. Jed had done nothing to stifle me. In fact, in a way, he’d liberated me. Set me free from—

  The front window shattered. I jumped in surprise. South swore and tugged on the wheel, which had the SUV doing a one-eighty, tires squealing on the wet pavement. Even though I wore my seat belt, my head smacked the side window.

  With the windshield being tempered, only a small amount of shards fell on us, but rain came through a hole in the center.

  The SUV came to a shuddering stop, then South gunned the engine, speeding off in the opposite direction. A thump hit the back of the vehicle.

  “Get down!” South shouted, reaching out and shoving my head down between my legs.

  “What’s going on?” I cried, looking up at my brother. I thought he’d been pissed before, but I’d never seen him look like this.

  “Someone’s shooting at us,” he snapped as the back window shattered.

  11

  JED

  * * *

  The one thing I’d learned about North Wainright was that she could only be pushed so far. And I’d been doing some serious pushing. She’d fallen asleep in my arms, naked and sated. What we’d done… fuck, what she’d done, given over her control like she had, should have made me strut and preen like a prized bull in a field full of cows in heat.

  It only made me lie awake beside her, stare up at the ceiling and listen to the weather roll in.

  The things I’d pulled out of her made me want to kill her father with my bare hands. Too bad the fucker was already dead. He’d gotten off easy with a heart attack. Then there was the Texas oilman who’d been ready and willing to fuck his crony’s daughter as part of a deal. I was going to find out who it was and finish him.

  Everyone thought Billionaire Ranch was the place to live. Like royalty or some shit. The house was enormous. It had a fucking telephone room. The Wainrights lived in luxury. People to take care of every whim. I had to wonder if North even knew where the grocery store was or how to use a washing machine. She rode in a fucking helicopter to work.

  But I’d bet my left nut she’d give it all up, every penny, for a normal and happy childhood. Her mother to have stayed alive. A father who protected and cherished his little girl instead of pimping her out. Money didn’t buy happiness.

  Even as I slipped from her bed and put on my clothes, I knew North was mine. After what she’d shared with me, how she’d gotten on her knees for me… there was no going back.

  But like a skittish mare, I’d break her in slowly.

  And while I was patient, I’d make Marshall happy and the FBI director satisfied that North had no involvement in her father’s shady dealings. That the investigation into Wainright Holdings and North herself were finished.

  That I was no longer undercover. That I was the man who held her while she slept. Who kept her safe from her past, and anything that happened for the rest of her life.

  I drove home in the dark, showered and was about to call in to the office in DC, two hours ahead, when my cell rang. I saw the name and I smiled.

  North was going t
o either rip a strip of hide off my ass for sneaking out or ask me to come back and fuck her some more.

  My dick got hard for both, because I loved that sharp tongue of hers. She was learning how I took care of her sass. She liked it… eventually.

  “Princess, I was just thinking—”

  “Jed.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I hopped out of my desk chair at the tone. Stared out the window as if I could see her through the rain. The view wasn’t as spectacular as at Billionaire Ranch, but I had three hundred acres of prime grazing land with a creek running through it. Not too shabby.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Tell him we’re coming to his house.” It was one of her brothers on speaker, but I couldn’t tell which one. Not yet.

  “We’re—”

  “I heard,” I said, cutting her off. “What the fuck is going on?”

  I could hear the sound of an engine revving, the squeal of tires.

  “Someone shot at us.”

  Shot?

  “At the edge of town at the turn for the highway,” her brother finished.

  I knew the location. Everyone on the west side of the Wainright property took the same route to the interstate. There was a cluster of businesses there. A gas station, a small, local motel, and a restaurant.

  “Anyone hurt?” I asked, going to my kitchen and retrieving my gun. While I knew it was loaded, I checked the cartridge anyway. Once satisfied, I went to the gun safe in my father’s old den. Since there were no children in the house and my neighbors were a half a mile away, I kept the door closed, but unlocked.

  “I’ve been hit but—”

  “South? What the fuck!” North swore.

  So she was with South. All three brothers had level heads, even after what they’d learned what North had done for them. Or what Macon had planned to do.

  It had been clear they loved their sister, even though the relationship had been strained because of their father.

  “I’m fine. It’s a scratch,” South said. “Eddie okay?”

  “Your arm’s bleeding!”

  “Eddie?” South asked again. The dog was in the car with them.

  “He’s fine, you idiot. He’s lying on the floor.”

  “Princess, you hurt?” I asked. I had to know.

  “No. No, I’m fine.”

  My blood pressure dropped out of stroke level, but until I had her in my arms, I wasn’t going to be calm.

  “Jed, I have no idea who the fuck that was, or why,” South said. His voice was rough, but he was calm. “It wasn’t a fucking hunter’s stray bullet. Not in July and not three shots.”

  South’s words told me everything I needed to know. This was intentional and my woman was the target.

  “I don’t think we’re being followed, but I’m not heading back to the ranch. Not sure if it’s some kind of ambush or what the fuck. I need directions to your place. We’re heading west on the county road.”

  I told him the way, which was fairly simple. There weren’t that many roads out here.

  “Princess, I’ll be waiting.”

  Even though South had been the one talking, and shot, North was my top priority.

  By the time I saw the fancy SUV fly down the dirt drive, I had shit pulled together and was ready.

  South pulled up out front and I went to the passenger door and tugged it open. I was instantly wet from the rain, but I didn’t give a shit. Reaching in, I unclipped North’s seatbelt and pulled her from the car. She opened the back door and Eddie hopped out. With my gun in one hand and holding hers with the other, I pulled her inside, Eddie following. No way a shooter could know where South headed, follow and get into position to shoot again.

  South slammed the front door shut behind him, leaned against it. His breathing was ragged. I scanned him and saw the blood oozing down his arm. If he said it was a scratch, I believed him.

  My dog, Boozer, came in and checked everyone out. He and Eddie circled each other and wagged their tails. Instant friends.

  I ignored them and looked at North, then ran my hands over her. She was in sky high stilts and another one of her dresses that probably cost more than my pickup truck. It was sexy as fuck and reminded me of how feminine she was. While she might be able to shoot like Annie Oakley, she needed to be treated like a precious piece of glass. Deserved it.

  “You okay?” I asked when I was finally satisfied she had no bullet holes. I cupped her cheeks, leaned down and met her gaze.

  Her pupils were blown, but she was calm. Her hair was damp, her skin dotted with rain drops. Her nipples poked against the dark silk.

  She winced when my fingers pressed into her scalp.

  “I whacked my head on the window,” she admitted.

  I felt a little goose egg with my fingertips.

  “Got a first aid kit?” South asked.

  “Kitchen table,” I replied, not looking away.

  I heard South cut across the living room, the dogs following.

  “Time to go, princess.”

  She frowned. “Go?”

  I nodded. “Gotta get you somewhere safe until we know what the fuck is going on.”

  I had a cabin up in the hills no one knew about. She’d be safe there.

  She shook her head, stepped back. I let her go. She turned and went into the kitchen. I followed.

  South was shrugging out of his shirt. I saw the thin slice a bullet made across his deltoid. It must hurt like a bitch and would ooze blood unless bandaged. He’d probably need a few stitches and a course of antibiotics, but he’d be fine, and have a nice scar to remember the event.

  “Oh my God,” North said, digging her shaky hands into the kit to look for something. I had a feeling she didn’t even know what.

  I grabbed a kitchen towel that was draped over the oven door handle, gave it to South. He pressed it to his wound.

  “You need to get her out of here. Away,” South said, his eyes meeting mine. They were deadly serious. Angry.

  I nodded. “Already on it. I’ve got a place.”

  North gave up on her search and spun on her high heel. Her wide eyes met mine, then South’s. “Away?”

  “They sure as shit weren’t shooting at me,” South said, holding the towel to his arm. “Jed’s going to protect you while we figure out what’s going on.”

  “We?” North asked, clearly confused.

  “Your brothers,” South countered. “The three guys you saved. It’s time to save you right back.”

  “But—”

  “You’re going with Jed,” South commanded.

  I’d kidnap North from her own brother if he’d said anything else. Thank fuck I didn’t have to cold cock a guy who’d been shot and do so.

  “We should call the police,” North replied. While she appeared calm, I couldn’t miss the way her hands shook. She was probably used to working well under pressure, but there was a big difference between a cutthroat business deal and being shot at.

  This was where I excelled. It was my job to save people from the bad guys. I’d been trained to do so. I’d left in the middle of the night to give her space and time. That was fucking gone now. The schedule had been moved up. The second I saw her at that wake, I knew I was fucked. That I didn’t give a shit if she were guilty or not. She was my woman.

  I’d remained undercover, kept that a secret even after what we’d done. Until now.

  North Wainright was more important than my job. More important than anything else in the world.

  So I told her the truth. Even if she hated me, I was the best one to keep her alive. Then I could grovel and do whatever it took. People said make-up sex was the best. I hoped I’d find out.

  “I am the police,” I said.

  South stilled, narrowed his eyes.

  North shook her head. “Yeah, I know you got fired from the FBI, but that doesn’t do us any good. We need law enforcement now.”

  I went over to North, took the tube of antibiotic ointment I hadn’t
even realized she’d been holding, dropped it on the kitchen table.

  “South, there’s a burner phone on the table for you. I programmed in my number. You can reach us on it.”

  “Got it,” he replied.

  Her blue eyes were wild, but she was calm. Relatively. Her car had been shot up and her brother had a bullet graze on his arm. I was calm too. Relatively.

  “South’s going to call your brothers to pick him up while we get the fuck out of here.” I glanced at him, who nodded.

  “We need the police!” she repeated.

  “Princess, I didn’t get fired from the FBI. I’m back in Montana undercover. None of that matters.”

  She stared at me wide eyed. “Undercover? None of that matters?” she practically screeched.

  “You’re my woman, that’s what matters. I sure as shit am going to protect you.”

  I wouldn’t shame her kink in front of her brother by reminding her who was in charge. Me being in control might get her off, but it also kept her safe.

  “Say goodbye to your brother, grab a rifle, get your perfect ass out to my garage and climb in my truck.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “If I have to toss you over my shoulder, I will.”

  South laughed.

  North whipped her head around to get help from her brother. “You can’t expect me to go off with him!”

  “If he doesn’t carry you to his truck, I will. I love you, North. Go with your man.”

  North sputtered, turned a pretty shade of pink, then did what she was told. Thankfully, she didn’t shoot me with the gun before we sped off into the hills, Eddie and Boozer in the back seat.

  12

  NORTH

  * * *

  I didn’t say a word as Jed drove us deep into the mountains. We skirted Wainright land most of the way, but then turned south. I’d never been in this area before and since we hadn’t passed another car in ten minutes, it seemed not many did. But Jed knew where he was going, taking lefts and rights so I wasn’t sure if I could drive my way back out.

  The rain had let up and only drips from overhanging pines splashed on the windshield. Jed slowed the truck and turned down a single lane road, the entry narrow and between two lodgepole pines. We meandered through the forest, a tire catching a deep rut here and there, before we drove into a clearing. There, settled in a field of Montana wildflowers was a small cabin. The walls were log. On the front side, two windows flanked the front door. I pegged it as one room with a porch that went around three sides. It was rustic, but well kept. It was the view though, that made this place.