“Shit! You motherfucker, you broke my nose!” Garcia held his face as blood sprayed out between his fingers.
“I told you no one will touch her.”
Garcia’s men pulled their guns and I shook my head. “You think you’ll live long enough if you fire a shot? Don’t be stupid.”
“Cardosa, you’ll pay for this.” Garcia let his hands fall away, letting the blood run down his face. “Lily, you’re my blood. You’re a Ramirez. You belong with your family not this piece of shit.”
Lily took a step forward and my heart sank thinking she was going to leave. “Garcia, I may have your blood, but my family is here. And, I belong with Jacob.”
Holy shit, I loved that woman.
My stomach flipped. Loved? That wasn’t something I had thought much of, but damn, it had to be. My mother’s words came flooding back to me about how people fall in love and don’t even realize it.
“My granddaughter isn’t going anywhere,” Doc spoke up, his gun still aimed at a man.
Garcia scoffed. “Too bad you couldn’t protect your daughter as well as your granddaughter. Rachael would still be here.”
Doc dove at Garcia, landing another punch to his already broken nose. “You son of a bitch, you’re the reason Knox took her. She’s not here because of you.”
“Fuck you!” Garcia swung a fist, connecting with Doc’s face.
I knew Doc had years of pent up anger to let out, and I wasn’t about to stop him from pummeling Garcia, but when he drew his gun on him, I stepped forward.
“Doc, not in front of Lily.” Using her name was the only way to stop him. “Besides, it might be best if we work together to find the man actually at fault for all of this.”
Garcia spit blood into a tissue from his pocket. “Why in the hell would I work with you?”
“Because I’m guessing after hearing about your wife, we both want the same thing. And if we don’t work together, we’ll both be wondering if the other has a lead we need. Those moments could cost us precious time and you know it.” The result would be the same, except it will be my bullet to kill Knox.
“All I want is my daughter. Then we can make a deal.” He spit again. “Cardosa, when you have a woman you love taken from you only to find out she’s dead, then you can act like an asshole. Right now, I just want to bring my daughter home.”
There was no way I would allow this man to take Lily from me. “Except, if you take her, wouldn’t that be what you’re doing? I’m sorry Rachael’s dead, but I refuse to have the woman I love snatched from me. I don’t care if you’re her father. Besides, I have a feeling you’re behind their kidnapping. If you loved her so damn much, why’d you sell her to the lowest bidder?”
“You love me?” Lily’s question was quiet, meant for just me, but I wasn’t about to let her go unanswered.
“Lily, you’re like the air I breathe. I couldn’t live in a world without you. I know it’s sudden, and possibly too fast, but screw the world and its bullshit time frames. I love you.”
Her face lit up and a soft smile lifted her lips. “I love you too. I mean, it was weird because I thought it was just me, but I can’t deny what I feel.”
Holy shit, she loved me back. As soon as Garcia left, I was going to take this woman, my woman, back upstairs and show her how much I loved her.
“Enough,” Garcia scoffed. “For fuck’s sake, Cardosa. Your old man would be rolling in his grave if he knew you loved my daughter.”
I chuckled. “I thought you were friends. I’d think he would be pleased to have Ramirez blood in our family.”
“Hell no. Your father was a pain in my ass. He was always trying to tell me how to run my business.” He continued to hold his bleeding nose with a kerchief. “Hell, I guess I should have listened to some of what he said. Maybe Rachael would still be alive.”
Well, that was news. My father always told me they were friends. “My father didn’t have a lot of good advice, not sure you could have saved yourself any grief.”
“Fuck.” He wiped his nose and glared at me. “If I would have listened to him I wouldn’t have made a deal with Angel. In the end, I couldn’t come through on my end of the bargain and he wanted my wife and daughter in return. You see? I had to fucking hide them.”
I stepped forward, my arms flinging out. “So you gave them over to Knox? You let them be held like prisoners for years, enduring abuse all while your wife was being used as a sex slave. That was better than dealing with Angel?”
His eyes widened. “What? No!” He looked at Lily, his body shaking. “I didn’t. I couldn’t. You have to believe me. You were supposed to be far away from here, in some nice hotel or some shit. Knox was supposed to be taking care of you. I paid him every month more than enough for you to live like queens. I just told him I didn’t want to know where you were so Angel couldn’t get through me to find you.” Sweat broke out over his forehead. “I swear. Lily, I didn’t. I’m so sorry.”
I glared at him. “Yeah, well, your promises don’t mean much. You sold your family to a monster to hide them from a beast. Either way, you’re a fucking coward. First rule of family, you never sell them out. You protect family at all costs.”
The hatred Garcia had for Knox raged like fire in his eyes. “I thought I was protecting them!”
“So all those times Knox left, it was to get money from you?” Lily questioned.
“What do you mean, when he left?” I asked, intrigued.
Lily shrugged. “Well, he would leave for a day or two then come back. He said he was doing a job for you, but we know that was a lie. It had to be when he met with my dad.”
I faced Garcia. “How did you two meet every month?”
Garcia folded his arms and glared at me. “He would call me about once a month, letting me know where to meet, and then hang up. He stopped about six months ago. Haven’t heard a thing, until Knox called me last night to tell me you had Lily.”
“So, he had to have enough reception to call you. There wasn’t any, at least not around the cabin he’d been hiding in.” I just had to think. He obviously wouldn’t want to get close enough to me. Nash and Smokey knew about the codes for the inside security as well as the outside security, helping him sneak on and off the property, but after Lily was brought here, I had them changed and only myself and Diesel knew the new codes. That meant Knox had to still be here. “Shit. He’s still here.”
I pulled the map of the Cardosa property down from the wall and laid it on the desk, frame and all. “Diesel, help me mark all the places where reception is the best.”
He uncocked his gun but kept it in his hand. Using the barrel, he tapped on the glass. “Echo Mountain is pretty good, but you have to be on the third peak. And right here, if you’re on the high ridge, here and here.” He studied the map with me.
I grabbed a marker from the drawer and began marking all the places for us to check. Looking at the map, I couldn’t resist looking at the spot where the cabin was. It was the only place that wasn’t fully surveyed on the map. Damn it. I couldn’t help but think my father had a reason for having the cabin built. I hated thinking he could have used it to smuggle other women.
“Up there, towards Flank might be a good spot. Jax has gotten a few calls up through there. And here.” He pointed to the east of the cabin, about a day’s walk from there.
“Alright, come take a picture and we can saddle some horses and get out there. Garcia, you and your men can start here at Echo Mountain, and work your way up there to Flank. We’ll start here and work our way to you.”
Garcia stared at the map. “We can take a truck up here and walk the rest of the way. I ain’t riding some damn horse.”
Diesel chuckled. “There aren’t any roads and the terrain is thick with trees. It’s best if you ride. A truck will just get stuck then we’ll have to come rescue your ass.”
Garcia grumbled about not being a cowboy. “Fine. Get me a damn horse so I can go kill this motherfucker.”
Flapjack st
ill held his gun, ready to fire. “I’ll stay with Lily.”
“Like hell,” Garcia spit out. “We don’t know where this son of a bitch is, I’m not leaving her to just one guard. Max, Kennan, you two will stay too. Nothing happens to her.”
Well, at least we finally agreed on one thing. “Nothing will happen because she’s coming with me.”
“Cardosa, you can’t be serious. Don’t you think she’s been through enough?” Garcia cursed and wiped at his face.
“Yes, which is why I promised to protect her.” I sure as hell wasn’t going to leave her with raping mongrels as her security detail. I could protect her better if she were with me.
“I would go crazy waiting here. Carter can come with us. If it gets too bad, he can stay with me.” Lily had her own plea in her words, and for whatever reason, she and Flapjack had become good friends. I didn’t for one second doubt that he wouldn’t die for her.
“It’s settled. Lily goes.” I wasn’t going to debate this with Garcia. She was with me and what we chose to do had nothing to do with him. “Bear, go tell the boys to get saddled. Leave the second crew here to watch the place, but you, Jax, Diesel, Doc, and Flapjack can come with me.”
“Alright, boss. Give us fifteen minutes. We’ll have to grab some horses from the lower field for Ramirez’s men.” Bear headed out, leaving us to wrap up the details.
Lily grabbed my hand. “Thank you for letting me come.”
I pulled her in, wrapping my arms around her, and kissed the top of her head. “I told you, I won’t leave you.”
Garcia watched with disdain as I held his daughter. Well, he was going to have to get over it, because I wasn’t ever letting her go.
Chapter 23
Lily
The hillside was going from sagebrush to juniper trees, and each horse fell in a long line of cowboys as they followed us up. Sitting in front of Jacob on his horse was rousing. The way he held me as we rode kept me pressed up against him.
He leaned forward to whisper in my ear. “If we were alone, I’d be stripping off all your clothes right now. The way your ass is rubbing against me has me so hard for you.”
I could feel my cheeks warm as they turned bright red. It was amazing how his words could build such a fire inside of me.
“The next time we’re alone, I’m going to finish what we started this morning.”
My entire body reacted to his promise and I pushed back to be closer to him.
“Honey, you do that, and I’m gonna have to take you right here on the horse.” He pulled back on the reins, slowing the horse to hang in the back of the group. No one seemed to notice as we trailed behind them.
“Jacob, what are you doing?” I squeaked as he unbuttoned my jeans and pulled the zipper down. “The guys are right there.” True, they were now way ahead of us, but someone was bound to notice we weren’t with them.
“I already told Diesel to keep them moving if we fall behind.” His voice was deeper and he kissed my neck.
“So they’ll know we’re doing something.” I could feel the blush creeping back up my face.
“Honey, I don’t care who knows. I want you. Right here.” He slipped his hand down my jeans and his finger slid down farther, rubbing the sensitive part lightly. His groan mixed with mine. “You are so wet.”
In one motion, he picked me up and turned me around so I was straddling him. I winced slightly, my stomach was still sore, but I quickly forgot any sense of pain as I felt his manhood growing harder under his jeans.
The horse kept walking as Jacob’s hands left the reins to entangle them in my hair, pulling me down for a kiss. Sage and leather mixed with his fresh scent in a euphoric blend.
My heartbeat pounded wildly in my ears, drowning out everything but Jacob’s breathing and slight groans. His tongue darted into my mouth, the sweet taste of peppermint cooled my lips as he ran his tongue over them slowly.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and gently pulled myself closer, rubbing over his manhood in the process. His moan had me squirming to do it again. Bravely, I ran my hands down his chest, loving the way his muscles moved with the sway of the horse. He was so in tune that his body held pace with the animal.
I found the button of his jeans and popped it open, and tugged the zipper down. I remembered how he had felt in my hands before and needed to feel him again.
I looked over my shoulder to make sure the others were still ahead of us and froze when I didn’t see any of them. Jacob turned my head to face him. “All that matters is us. Don’t worry. Lady is mated with the stallion Doc is riding. She will follow him anywhere.”
“Kind of like how I’d follow you anywhere.” I slipped my hand in his jeans and found him hard. He leaned back, allowing me to pull him out of his jeans. I slid my hand up and down his shaft. It amazed me how silky it was, and how small drops spilled out of him as I squeezed just a little while I ran down his length.
I wanted to do it until he spilled out like the first time we touched. My body ached to do that to him. The more I wanted it, the faster I went. He groaned and lifted his hips slightly toward me.
“Don’t stop.”
I didn’t. I couldn’t. I wanted to make him feel like he made me feel. I needed him to know I was a woman capable of giving him pleasure.
His length pulsed and he spilled out. “Fuck,” he moaned. My hand was covered in his seed, but I didn’t care. I had made him feel good.
Being the one to do that had my panties soaked in excitement.
He picked me up and turned me back around, pressing me to his still throbbing manhood. His hand went down my jeans and began stroking me.
“You’re so fucking wet. Lily, come for me.”
Low in my belly, I could feel the need to explode grow, ready to erupt in passion. His finger caressed me one last time and I cried out. There was nothing that mattered at that moment except for Jacob. Not even air was important, I couldn’t breathe anyway.
Pulling out a rag from his saddlebag, he handed it to me to clean up.
The horse was still ambling along and didn’t seem to mind that her riders were completely lost in ecstasy. Jacob zipped up his jeans, so I did the same before he grabbed the reins. He wrapped his arm around me, kicking the horse to a canter, weaving our way through the trees. It didn’t take long before we caught up to the others.
It was hard not to blush when we rode to the front of the line again. No one looked at me differently, but it was embarrassing.
“Jacob, they know,” I whispered.
“Honey, all they’re thinking is what a lucky son of a bitch I am.” He took his hat and plopped it on my head. “Here, now they can’t see you. Besides, if anyone ever says something disrespectful to you, they have to deal with me.” He playfully groaned. “Except, seeing you in my hat makes me want to do it again.”
I laughed. “Jacob, stop teasing me.”
“I’m not teasing. You’re sexy as hell in that thing.”
Diesel rode up, saving me from Jacob’s teasing. “Boss, I saw a few tracks I want to check out.”
Jacob held me tighter and his playful attitude vanished. “You head up, we’ll tail you.”
Diesel took off and Jacob twisted in the saddle. “You know the routine. We’ll stay close behind him and wait for his signal. Stay sharp men.”
My mouth went dry, fearing the worst. “Jacob, what happens if we find Knox? I mean, what’s the plan? I don’t know the routine.”
“If we find him, you’ll ride with Flapjack until you’re a safe distance away. He’ll protect you until I can get to you.” He kissed the back of my head.
“What if…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. I hated how Knox brought out this kind of fear. “What if… What if you don’t find me?” It wasn’t what I meant, but I wasn’t going to say what I really wanted. Just saying the words aloud seemed to give them power and I wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Honey, I promise that I will find you, always.”
Tears filled my eyes, so I blinked them back, sucking in fresh air. “One of these days you might have to break a promise.”
He nestled into my neck. “When that day comes, I’ll let you know beforehand. But today isn’t that day.”
Up ahead, Diesel was coming back to us in a run. My heart dropped. This was it. Knox was here.
Chapter 24
Jacob
Damn it. Seeing Diesel riding hard, I braced myself to fling Lily over to Flapjack and start shooting.
Diesel rode up to us, handing over a piece of paper. “He was here, boss. And he left this for you.”
Taking the paper, I didn’t want Lily to read it, but there wasn’t any way around her seeing Knox’s scrawled writing.
Cardosa,
By now you know, you have Garcia’s daughter and I assume Garcia knows. It also means he knows about his wife. So let’s play a game. You have twenty-four hours to kill Garcia, if you fail, I’ll kill the girl. But not before I fuck her while she screams for you to save her. I bet she’s tighter than her whoring mother. I can’t wait. The clock is ticking.
-K
Lily gasped and turned her head away from the note. I crumpled it tightly in my fist. “That son of a bitch!”
Well, I had news for Knox. I didn’t play games. Especially when it came to Lily.
Diesel nodded over my shoulder. “His tracks lead back to the main houses. I’m gonna follow him.”
I nodded. “Just watch your back, and make sure you shoot first.”
“Hell yeah. I ain’t about to die by some pussy assed cocksucker.” He glanced at Lily. “Sorry, I shouldn’t talk like that in front of you. I can have a mouth worse than a fucking sailor. Shit. See?”
Lily laughed. “You’re right though. Knox is a pussy assed cocksucker and I hope you kill him.”
Diesel and I both laughed and I held her a little closer. “Don’t worry, honey. He’s gonna die soon.”
“Damn straight.” Diesel tipped his hat to Lily then spurred his horse into a run.
Branding & Saving Lily Box Set: Books 1 & 2 (Jacob and Lily's Duet) Page 11