Wild at Heart

by Jane Graves

  “Slow down, sweetheart.”

  She ignored him, continuing to ride him wildly, and he almost couldn’t breathe for trying to hold back. He tightened his hands against her thighs.

  “I’m close,” he said under his breath. “So close. If you don’t slow down—”

  “No … I’m coming … oh, God, Alex …”

  Yes.

  She clamped down hard around him, and that was all it took to push him right over the top with her. Release hit him like lightning, sending jagged trails of ecstasy shooting through him. He pulled her down and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her against his chest, meeting every one of her downward thrusts with an upward thrust of his own, wringing every bit of pleasure out of the moment that he possibly could.

  Val lay on top of him, glistening with sweat, breathing wildly. He loved holding on to her like this, her thighs surrounding his, her breasts pressed so tightly against his chest, the lean muscles of her back slowly relaxing beneath his hands. He’d wanted her for so long. Ages, it seemed. He’d deliberately tried to push her memory aside for five long years, but even when he’d been with other women, deep in the recesses of his mind, it was Val’s face he saw, her legs wrapped around him, her voice crying out his name.

  And he knew now why he’d never been able to forget her.

  Slowly her breathing returned to normal. She slipped off and curled up next to him. He swept her hair away from her face and coaxed her to lay her head against his chest, wishing he could hold her just like this for the rest of his life.

  Minutes ticked by. Val’s eyes dropped closed, and he knew if they lay here much longer, she’d be asleep. For a crazy moment, he thought about slipping out of bed, getting dressed, and leaving, because he couldn’t stand the thought of a lastminute confrontation as he was walking out the door. And it took him exactly three seconds to slap that thought right out of his head. He’d hurt her once by doing that, and he sure as hell didn’t intend to do it again.

  He took a deep breath, then moved away from her and sat up. He stretched to flip on the lamp. Sweeping the covers aside, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

  “Alex?”

  The mattress dipped behind him as she sat up and moved toward him. He put his elbows on his knees and dropped his head to his hands with a sigh of frustration.

  Val put her hand against his shoulder. “Alex? What’s the matter?”

  Now. You have to go now, or you never will.

  He rubbed his hand over his face, tension rising inside him. He stood up and walked to a chair in the corner of the room where he’d left his clothes.

  “Is it time for us to go to the ranch?” she asked.

  He put on his underwear, then slid into his jeans. Suddenly he felt as if the brutal heat outside the cabin had slithered inside, wrapping itself around him, putting him on edge all over again.

  He turned to face her. She was poised on the edge of the bed, her legs tucked beneath her, the sheet pulled to her waist. Her golden-brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, curling intimately around her breasts, her head tilted questioningly.

  “Alex?”

  God, sweetheart, don’t look at me like that.

  “I’m going to the ranch alone.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “It’s too dangerous for you to come with me.”

  “That’s nonsense.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  He pulled a T-shirt over his head, yanking it down over his chest. He had to keep moving. If he slowed down, he’d stop altogether and climb right back into that bed with her.

  “Wait a minute,” she said. “I don’t get this. Suddenly it’s too dangerous for me? When did you reach that conclusion?”

  “Last night when that bastard couldn’t keep his hands off you. That’s when.”

  “That’s not going to happen again.”

  He buckled his belt, then grabbed his boots and sat down on the edge of the bed. Val’s eyes narrowed. “Alex? What’s going on here?”

  “I told you. I’m going alone.”

  “So what do you expect me to do?” Val said. “Just sit here in this cabin twiddling my thumbs until you get back?”

  He turned to look at her, his throat suddenly tight, wishing to God that it hadn’t come to this.

  “I’m not coming back.”

  chapter twenty-five

  Val clutched the sheet to her chest, a sharp tingle of foreboding prickling all the way down her spine.

  “What do you mean, you’re not coming back?”

  “If you’re found with me, you could face a whole lot more than a breaking-and-entering charge.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Accessory to murder after the fact. Aiding and abetting a felon. If you’re charged with those, you could end up in prison.”

  “But that’s not going to happen,” she said. “Not if we’re careful. We’re going to get Reichert, and then nobody will give a damn about any of the rest of that.”

  He pulled on his boots. “Getting something on Reichert is a long shot. You know that. We both knew it when we came here. And the longer this goes on, the more chance we have of being arrested. I don’t want them to find you with me. I want you to go back to Tolosa.”

  Val blinked with surprise. For a moment she didn’t understand exactly what he was saying. “Are you … are you telling me you want me to turn myself in?”

  “Stanley didn’t talk, so nobody can prove you were ever with me. One small breaking-and-entering charge. That’s all they’ve got on you right now. Probation is the most you’ll face.”

  Val couldn’t believe this. He actually wanted her to return to Tolosa, as if everything between them had never been.

  “Don’t tell anyone that you were ever on the road with me,” Alex went on. “Tell them I was the one behind the break-in. Blame it on me, Val. It’ll help get you off the hook.”

  “No! I’m not going to say that! I’m the one who got you all tangled up in that break-in, not the other way around!”

  “I’ve got a murder accusation hanging over my head. A little breaking and entering isn’t going to matter. Blame me.”

  “No! I’m not saying anything, because I’m not going back!”

  “I can’t make you do it. I can only tell you that I’m leaving tonight. And I’m leaving alone.” He stood up. “I have to get some things together.”

  He grabbed the sack that contained his extra clothes, then left the bedroom. Val felt a tremor of panic. She climbed out of bed, sweeping the sheet along with her and wrapping herself in it. She found Alex in the kitchen, going through her backpack.

  “Look,” she said, “if it makes you feel any better, go to the ranch by yourself. I’ll wait here. If you find something—”

  “No. The longer you stay gone, the harder it will be for you to account for your whereabouts since the break-in. And every moment you stay away, you risk getting caught with me.”

  “But you need me,” she said, desperation creeping into her voice. “I’m good at surveillance. You know that. I can help.”

  Alex didn’t respond. He pulled her wallet out of the backpack and laid it on the table, along with the purse she’d carried last night.

  “Your van,” he said. “And your equipment. I may need them for a while. I’m sorry about taking them, but there’s no other way.”

  “God, Alex—do you think I give a damn about my van right now?”

  He opened the purse and took out the bugs and the flashlight, leaving her weapon behind. He stuffed them into the backpack and zipped it. Then he pulled the keys to the van off her key ring and put them into his pocket.

  “Stop it!” Val shouted. “Will you just stop it?”

  “Val—”

  “No, damn it! What gives you the right to decide everything? Did you even think about talking to me? Ask me how I feel? For the record, Alex, I don’t care about the risk. I care about …”

  She paused, tears springing to her
eyes.

  “I care about being with you.”

  He shook his head, letting out a breath of frustration. Several seconds ticked by. He wouldn’t look at her. Why wouldn’t he just look at her?

  “It’s my decision,” she said quietly.

  “No, sweetheart. This is one decision I’m making for both of us.”

  He swung the backpack onto his shoulder and headed for the living room. All at once Val remembered what it had felt like all those years ago. She remembered how it felt to wake up and find him gone, every last excruciating moment of it. And now it was happening all over again.

  She followed him, her desperation growing. She wasn’t going to be able to talk him out of this. He was going to walk right out that door. He was going to leave her again, and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop him.

  He paused at the front door. “I’ll get your van back to you soon, one way or the other.”

  “One way or the other?”

  He took a deep, silent breath. “If I’m successful, I’ll bring it back to you myself. If I’m not …”

  Val felt a stab of foreboding. “What?”

  “I’ll leave it somewhere and then get word to you so you can pick it up.”

  “And then what?”

  He didn’t reply. What wasn’t he saying?

  “Alex?”

  “They’re not locking me up again, Val. No matter what.”

  Val felt her stomach take a sickening drop, as if the ground had fallen away beneath her feet.

  “Are you telling me I may never see you again?”

  He merely closed his eyes, his jaw tight, as if he couldn’t bear to respond, and she had her answer.

  Val felt as if her world had jerked to a complete standstill. She stared at him through tear-filled eyes, her voice a choked whisper. “No. You can’t leave me again. Please. I can’t take it if you leave me again.”

  “I don’t want to leave you!” he said, frustration filling his voice. “Don’t you know that? The last thing I want to do is walk out this door!”

  “Then don’t!”

  He continued to stare at her, and for a moment it felt as if a chasm had suddenly opened up between them, one she’d never be able to cross. Then he held out his hand.

  “Come here,” he said softly.

  She stepped forward and took his hand. He pulled her against him and hugged her tightly, enveloping her in his big, powerful arms, then pressed his cheek against hers and whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry it has to be like this. I’m so sorry.”

  “Take me with you,” she said.

  “I can’t.”

  “We can go someplace where nobody will ever find us. People disappear all the time. How hard can it be?”

  She knew she was talking nonsense, but she just couldn’t seem to stop herself. She clung to him fiercely, trying not to cry, knowing all the while that it was a lost cause.

  He stroked her hair, then gathered a handful of it in his fist and pressed it against her shoulder as he hugged her, burying his face in her neck.

  “I’ll find a way. I’ll find a way to pin this on Reichert if it’s the last thing I do.”

  “You can’t promise that.”

  She felt his chest heave beneath her cheek in a silent breath of resignation.

  “You’re right. I can’t.”

  Slowly he eased away from her and took her by the shoulders. “Val, I want you to listen to me. If days go by, weeks … you’ll know, okay? You’ll know I’m not coming back.”

  “Don’t say that.”

  “Don’t throw your life away waiting for me. I couldn’t stand it if you did that.”

  She bowed her head, refusing to meet his eyes, refusing even to think about a future that didn’t have him in it.

  “Go back to Tolosa. Call Dave. He’ll help you through the system. Do whatever he tells you to do. You can trust him.”

  She swiped at a tear that had started down her cheek, knowing a thousand more were right behind it and she wouldn’t be able to stop any of them.

  “I hate leaving you without transportation,” Alex said.

  “That’s the least of my worries right now.”

  “And money.” He reached toward his pocket, but she put her hand against his arm.

  “No. You’ll need it more than I will. I’ll manage. I’m pretty resourceful, you know.”

  His mouth turned up in a brief smile. “I know.”

  “So you’re going to the ranch tonight?”

  “The sooner, the better.”

  “Be careful.”

  He nodded.

  Tears suddenly began cascading down her face. Sobs choked her throat, so much so that she could barely speak. “I never stopped wanting you. All these years. I never stopped. And then you came back into my life again.…”

  As her voice trailed off, he rested his palm against her cheek, then leaned in and pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.

  “I never stopped wanting you, either. And I never will.”

  He stared at her a moment more, his thumb stroking her cheek. Then he backed away, his hand falling away from her face. He turned and left the cabin, closing the door behind him with a gentle click.

  And Val thought she was going to die.

  She turned around and leaned against the door, tears streaming down her face. After a moment she heard the van’s engine, then the sound of it disappearing up the road.

  Then silence.

  She went back into the kitchen and collapsed into a dinette chair, still sobbing. She was aching for him already. Aching for his hard, strong body pressed against hers. Aching for the promise of a shared future that might never be. Aching for the gentle words she’d never believed he had in him, words that had mitigated a lifetime of pain.

  He’d told her that he’d wanted that night five years ago to be the beginning for them. She’d never imagined that this night might be the end.

  No. He’ll prove his innocence, and then he’ll come home. I know he will.

  But even as she told herself that, she had the most terrible feeling that Reichert was going to get away with murder, which meant she’d never see Alex again.

  * * *

  Alex drove down the highway toward the Reichert ranch, gripping the wheel with an intensity that just about ripped it out of the steering column. He felt a slow, seething anger, furious with Reichert for killing his own wife, furious that the crime had been pinned on him, and furious that he had to walk away from Val because of it. The memory of her tearstained face as he left her in that cabin made him want to take the bastard by the throat, bypass the Texas legal system, and send him straight to hell.

  He turned the van onto the dirt road that ran along the western perimeter of the ranch. Soon he reached the grove of trees where they’d hidden the van yesterday and buried it in the foliage again. He grabbed the backpack, then climbed the fence onto the Reichert ranch. He had no idea what he’d be able to accomplish tonight, but from here on out, every minute of his life was going to be spent pursuing one single-minded goal—to put Reichert behind bars and clear the way for him to go home again.

  Alex made his way along the now-familiar path through the trees toward the ranch house. Fifteen minutes later he’d reached the shallow valley where the ranch house stood, and he was encouraged by what he saw. At ten o’clock, all the cabins were dark. He could only conclude that the hunting party had already left.

  Good. Fewer people to get in the way.

  The floodlights outside the horse barn were shining brightly, but the house looked deserted, with not a single window illuminated. It was entirely possible that if the hunting party had left, Reichert and his girlfriend had gone home, as well.

  Then he scanned the driveway beside the house and was surprised to see no cars. Rick had said that he occupied the house even when Reichert didn’t, but could it be that even he wasn’t there?

  The only vehicle in sight was the truck still parked behind where the hay barn had once stood
, its driver’s window blown out courtesy of the rake handle he’d smacked through it the night before. Right now the barn was nothing more than a few blackened embers and a concrete slab. The acrid odor of burned wood still filled the air.

  One truck on the premises. Did it belong to Rick? He had no way of knowing.

  Alex pulled out his cell phone along with the brochure Val had taken from Reichert’s house in Tolosa. He called the ranch house. The phone rang six times before an answering machine came on. He dialed the number again and let it ring another six times, and still nobody answered.

  This was good and bad. Good, because if the house was indeed vacant, he could easily get inside to plant surveillance equipment. Bad, because it might be days or weeks before Reichert returned and he could record anything that might implicate the man in his wife’s murder.

  That was okay. He could be patient. Very patient. He intended to haunt these woods, waiting, listening, until he nailed the bastard. And God help the man the moment he did. This was a death-penalty state. Alex hadn’t always been able to ensure that the people he arrested for murder paid for it as completely as they should. Sometimes they pled to lesser charges; sometimes they walked. In this case, though, Reichert had made one mistake too many. He’d tried to kill Val. And that meant that Alex wasn’t going to stop until he brought the full force of the law right down on Reichert’s head.

  Alex rang the house for a third confirmation that it was indeed unoccupied. It rang twice, and then he lost the signal. Out here in the middle of nowhere, he wasn’t surprised. It didn’t matter. The first two calls had already told him what he needed to know.

  He tossed the cell phone into the backpack, slipped on a pair of gloves, then walked stealthily to the back of the house, surrounded by humid night air and the steady chirp of crickets. He eyed his surroundings vigilantly, but he saw no signs of life.

  He edged up to the patio door, hoping he’d be able to pry it open. If not, he’d shatter the glass. In any event, after he planted the surveillance equipment, he intended to tear things up a little inside the house to simulate a burglary as a cover-up for the broken door. He reached for the handle.