The Guardian (The Wolfe Series)

by Donna Oltrogge

  “Is there something you wanted, Luzaro? I’m busy here,” Enrique said rudely as he slipped another clip into his 9mm. He was sick to death of the other man’s snide remarks and innuendos.

  “I take it you didn’t find her?” Luzaro couldn’t seem to help the hopeful note that had entered his voice.

  “Not yet, it’s only a matter of time, though. She could already be dead and lying somewhere out in the desert, the vultures feeding on that beautiful alabaster skin and those exotic, bright green eyes you loved so much,” Enrique said, twisting the knife with relish.

  Luzaro ignored the other man’s taunt, but couldn’t keep his stomach from turning over at such a thought. Changing the subject he said, “There’s a little matter that I want you to take care of for me this afternoon. Something I’m sure you will enjoy.”

  “Oh, and what would that be, pray tell?”

  Luzaro glanced at his wrist watch. “There’s a rancher whose stirring up trouble along the border and I want him eliminated. Take whatever men you’ll need with you. I want his interference stopped today. And see that the blame doesn’t fall on us. Some hapless illegal immigrant should do.”

  “And this man’s name?” Enrique asked.

  Theft, robbery, vandalism and drug smuggling had always been a part of illegal immigration but murder was not something the cattle ranchers along the Arizona-Mexico border expected to happen.

  “Joseph Kruz,” Luzaro said, effectively signing the man’s death warrant.

  Enrique had heard of the man. The Kruz family owned a large cattle ranch and the elder Kruz was known as a good Samaritan who often brought water and helped injured illegal immigrants who tried to cross the desert in an area where summer temperatures could hit 120 degrees.

  Enrique smiled and his anger cooled at the thought of how people would think that Kruz had been killed by those he was trying to help. Enrique looked forward to the kill as he always did but there was still that nagging little matter of Laurie Kincaid to be dealt with. He wouldn’t rest until he knew the woman was dead and that meant finding her, dead or alive.

  The desert was a harsh taskmaster and he held out little hope that she had survived so he could deal with her personally and in a very sadistic way. She had fooled him into underestimating her once and he wasn’t about to allow that to happen again.

  He would find Luzaro’s paramour one way or the other, of that he was sure.

  The living room was huge with sixteen foot ceilings and walls of glass looking out across rolling grassland. Laurie snuggled against Jake’s chest as he carried her through the living room and toward the kitchen on the far side of the house. She appreciated the room’s grand proportions after living in an efficiency apartment for the last year and the fact that it had been decorated in masculine earth tones. The room boasted several leather couches and a large round mesquite table and chairs that would seat ten comfortably. A built-in bar and wine cooler, a massive stone fireplace and a sixty-inch flat screen television took up one entire wall. Boys and their toys. Laurie smiled, feeling comfortable in Jake’s home. Despite its massive proportions, the house exuded warmth and charm, reflecting the character of the man who owned it.

  Laurie’s eyes grew wide when Jake carried her into the spacious gourmet kitchen. It wasn’t the kitchen’s sixty-inch Wolf gas range or the forty-eight inch Sub Zero refrigerator, or the granite countertops and mesquite cabinetry that caught Laurie’s eye. It was the six-foot two-inch hunk lounging so indolently at the breakfast table set before a panoramic view of the rolling countryside that held her attention.

  Jake felt Laurie stiffen in his arms the moment she saw Taggert. Women flocked to Taggert like bees to honey. Jake had always envied his brother that talent even as unreasoning jealousy coursed through his veins. Jake struggled to tamp down the need to bury his fists in his brother’s grinning face.

  “My brother, Taggert,” Jake said as he deposited Laurie in a chair as far away from his brother as possible. “In case you hadn’t recognized the family resemblance.”

  Taggert got to his feet and took Laurie’s hand into his, smiling that wolfish smile that had melted so many women’s hearts. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better. We’ve been worried about you,” he said smoothly as he brushed a kiss across Laurie’s knuckles before returning to his seat. He loved the idea of having a sister-in-law. He could see that there was an attraction between Jake and the woman and he planned to do whatever he could to help things along. The scowl he could see on Jake’s face didn’t bode well, though. Wolves were extremely protective and jealous of their mates and Jake was showing all of the signs of being just that.

  Laurie looked at Jake and raised her eyebrows in question. “Then I have Taggert to thank for my rescue also?” She’d thought that Jake had been alone in that. She looked back at Taggert Wolfe, knowing he was every woman’s dream, an adorable hunk to be sure, and yet she found she wasn’t attracted to him in the least. Not to his muscular build, or his chestnut hair and mustache or even to his amazing amber eyes that were flecked with green.

  Jake ruthlessly smothered his feelings of jealousy as he filled two plates with eggs, bacon and toast from a sideboard near the table and set one of the plates on the table in front of Laurie. When her eyebrows raised at the amount of food on the plate, he said, “You need to eat to build up your strength.” He returned to the sideboard and filled a mug with coffee for himself. “Do you want coffee or tea?”

  “I’ll have tea.” Laurie looked around the enormous kitchen and asked, “Who fixed all this food? Do you have someone come in or do you have a full time cook?”

  “I have day help that comes in but Tag did the honors this morning. He wanted to meet you. You were unconscious when we brought you in. He and my other brother, Rand, have their own places on other parts of the ranch, just like my old man used to.”

  Laurie saw frown lines etch Jake’s forehead at the mention of his father and wondered at their relationship. She had more pressing concerns, however, such as how she’d gotten here and where she was going to go when she left here because leave here she would, she had to in order to keep these men safe.

  Thoughts of Aragon suddenly filled Laurie with regret at having had to leave her horse at Luzaro’s estancia. Freeing Aragon was one of the first things she would have to take care of even though she had no idea how she would accomplish such an impossible feat. She couldn’t leave Aragon to Enrique’s tender mercies, because he had none. As soon as her leg was well enough she’d borrow a horse and go after Aragon. That’s just great! You don’t even know where you are.

  “We’re glad you’re here, Laurie and you can stay as long as you like,” Jake said as he sat down and began eating his breakfast. He knew something bad had happened to Laurie, he just didn’t know how to get her to trust him enough to tell him about it.

  Distracted from her dismal thoughts Laurie said, “Thanks for everything you’ve both done. I’ll get out of your hair as soon as I’m able to walk.”

  “Nonsense,” Taggert said. “It’s no bother having you here. I get tired of looking at Jake’s ugly ole mug day after day. Like Jake said, you can stay here as long as you want to.”

  Laurie only wished that were true. Enrique would have half of the countryside looking for her so she would have to leave the Wolfe brother’s ranch as soon as possible. The thought of leaving the safety she’d found with Jake felt like a knife to Laurie’s heart and she inhaled sharply at the sudden pain. There had been very few times in her life when Laurie had felt completely safe. Being here with Jake Wolfe was one of those times and she intended to savor that feeling for as long as she could. His presence pulled her to him. She wanted to sink into his arms, kiss him and so much more.

  “Doc will be here this afternoon to check on your wound. I don’t think he’ll have to put stitches in as it appears to be healing nicely.” There was no way he was letting Laurie go, not now, not ever. She just didn’t understand that fact yet, but she soon would. It was up to
him to convince her that this was where she needed to be and to keep her safe from whoever was hunting her.

  “I don’t need a doctor, Jake,” Laurie said in alarm, rising from the table. She couldn’t stand the thought of another person’s life hanging in the balance because of her. And what about the other people here on the ranch. There had to be dozens of men needed to run a ranch the size of this one.

  Jake grabbed her arm and gently forced her back to her seat. “It’s okay, Laurie. Doc is the sole of discretion. No one will know you’re here if that’s what you want.” He wasn’t about to try and drag the truth out of her in front of Taggert. He was afraid that she might try to run away and that would be disastrous in her condition.

  Taggert glanced at his older brother, his eyebrows raised. Jake shook his head slightly letting his brother know they would talk later.

  “Where are we?” Laurie sought to change the subject, waving her hand to encompass the rolling countryside she could see outside the kitchen window. “This doesn’t look anything like the desert area where my car stalled.”

  There was no way she could go back for her car. Enrique would have disposed of the car by now, anyway. Her options were definitely limited. The bus? Enrique would have someone watching all of the bus stations. Hitch hiking? She’d most likely end up waving down one of Enrique’s minions of which there were many.

  Laurie looked at the two handsome men sitting at the table with her and sighed deeply. It seemed she had no other choice but to stay with Jake. If she stayed on the ranch and out of sight as much as possible, perhaps she wouldn’t be found here? But staying here posed another problem. There was a definite attraction between her and Jake. If she stayed with him for any length of time, that attraction could boil over into something she wasn’t prepared to deal with. Or was she? She’d always longed for someone to love, for a family of her own. The desire she felt melting her bones every time she looked at Jake had amazed her. She felt like she’d come home when she was with Jake. She longed to take him into her bed and into her body and hold him there forever. Her body ignited at the thought of Jake making love to her.

  Jake smiled the wolfish grin that suited him so well, his eyes trained on Laurie’s face as though reading her thoughts.

  Laurie’s feminine core went liquid at the look on Jake’s face and she felt herself getting damp just looking at him.

  Taggert cleared his throat effectively breaking the eye contact between the two. He chuckled to himself when he saw Laurie’s face flush pink clear to the roots of her hair and when he saw the look that Jake was giving her, Taggert figured Jake was already at half mast. “Time for me to leave.” He stood and turned toward Jake, then nodded, letting his brother know that they still had much to discuss about their visitor. “Later, bro.”

  Jake watched Taggert leave and then shifted uncomfortably in his chair, trying to ease the discomfort of the erection that was straining against his denim jeans. “In answer to your question, you’re on Kingdom Ranch. The ranch has been in my family for several generations. My brothers and I run the ranch and each of us has our own place on different parts of the property.”

  Jake had always been proud of what his family had created out of their own sweat and blood. The ranch was magnificently situated in the high Sonoran Desert’s rolling grasslands and cienegas. It took up most of a wide valley and was surrounded by mountains with oak and pine forest. They could expect snowfall at their 4,900 foot elevation and the many arroyos found across the cienegas occasionally experienced flash floods during the monsoon season, much like the one that had killed their mother.

  “Are we still in Arizona?” Laurie hoped so and that they were not too far away from the Mexican border.

  “Yes, southeast corner, not too far from Nogales,” Jake answered. “You said your car stalled? That’s how you got lost in the desert?” Why hadn’t she stayed with the car until someone came along to help her?

  Laurie realized she’d made a mistake telling Jake about her stalled car. “I’m feeling really tired, Jake. I’d like to lie down.”

  Jake jumped to his feet and scooped Laurie up into his arms, holding her close against his chest. “I hope you’ll tell me what’s wrong, Laurie. Whatever it is, you know I’ll help you, right?”

  Laurie could hear Jake’s heart beating a rapid tattoo in his chest. She pressed her face against that hard chest, listening to the reassuring sound of his heart beat. “We barely know each other, Jake. I don’t trust easily. I’m sorry.” Her eyes swam with tears that she refused to shed.

  “I can wait,” Jake said as he kissed the top of her head, the smell of jasmine filling his nostrils and giving him an instant hard on when he thought of the two of them in the shower. “You’ll learn to trust me, Laurie. Everything will be all right, I promise.”

  Laurie sighed and felt her eyes closing as soon as Jake placed her gently in bed and covered her with a quilt. How could everything be all right when Enrique had an army at his disposal and the tenacity to not give up the search until she was found?

  “Rest now, Doc will be here soon.” Jake placed a feather-light kiss on Laurie’s forehead, glad that she permitted him the small intimacy. He sat on the bed holding Laurie’s hand, his thoughts in turmoil, his stomach roiling at the thought of anyone mistreating her.

  When Jake heard Laurie’s even breathing and knew she was asleep he said realizing he meant every word, “I’ll keep you safe, my love, always. I promise.”

  The night gown was sheer, a diaphanous slip of material that hugged Laurie’s breasts, generously outlining the soft curves of her delicious body. She looked like a wanton goddess, blonde hair, bare arms, nipples pushing against the luscious fabric of the gown. She looked like every man’s dream as she walked slowly toward Jake.

  “Jake,” she breathed and reached out her arms as though a supplicant.

  Jake held her at arms length. “I want to look at you,” he growled. He could smell her arousal, a powerful aphrodisiac, as he looked his fill.

  Laurie met his gaze boldly, feeling as though she had finally come home. She didn’t resist when Jake picked her up in his arms and carried her over to his bed, placing her carefully in the center of the bed before joining her there.

  Laurie felt wonderful and the feeling built as Jake worked his magic on her body.

  Jake enjoyed the sweetness of Laurie’s mouth, the way she teased him with her tongue with the lightest of kisses. The scent of her arousal filled him with raging desire and her fingers skimmed his skin setting him on fire. Her touch was so enticing he felt mesmerized. She aroused something primal and dark in him, the joining of his soul with hers.

  Slowly he entered her and pressed deeper as she tightened her legs around him. She arched her body, wanting him to go faster, harder, deeper. She shuddered, her body trembling as a long drawn out sigh escaped her lips.

  A siren song was building that would send Laurie sailing up into the heavens where she wouldn’t be able to tell where she ended and where Jake began.

  Laurie felt Jake stiffen and tremble before he called out her name. She felt his muscles relax when her own body quivered with her release. Tears filled her eyes and she sighed as he rolled onto his back taking her with him. Laurie rested her head on his chest, her leg entwined with his and felt . . .

  Devastated that it had only been a dream.

  ChapterSeventeen

  Enrique stood beside the corral fence and watched one of the vaqueros working Aragon. He’d been trying to think of a way to use the animal to get back at the Kincaid woman, but Luzaro wouldn’t allow the animal to be used or abused. Enrique guessed Luzaro still harbored some misguided affection for Laurie Kincaid and an even more misguided notion that she would come back to him willingly, or not.

  Aragon’s head was held proudly, his tail flying out behind him like a banner as he circled the round pen, his nostrils flaring, his eyes white-rimmed as he watched the whip the vaquero held in his left hand. It had taken Luzaro’s best trainer, a
horse whisperer it was said, to handle the animal. The Andalusian was a one woman horse and hadn’t allowed himself to be ridden.

  Enrique had to admit the animal was magnificent but that’s as far as his feelings went. He would have liked to watch one of the crueler vaqueros use spurs on the animal until it was bloodied and obedient but that was not to be with Luzaro watching the animal so closely.

  “Like rubbing salt into one’s wound, eh?” Luzaro said as he approached the fence where Enrique stood. “Same for me, but for a different reason I suspect.” Try as he might he hadn’t been able to harden his heart against Laurie. He still found himself making excuses for her running away. He would take he back in a heart beat if they found her alive. The problem with doing that would be Enrique, and his thirst for vengeance against the one woman who had bested him. Luzaro had some of his best men watching his second-in-command. He would not allow Laurie to be harmed by anyone, other than himself, that is, if she refused him a second time.

  “I’ve put a bounty on her head,” Enrique said sourly. “Don’t worry yourself, I’ll find her, and then she’ll pay for what she’s done.” Enrique absently rubbed at the bandage on the left side of his face not realizing that it was becoming a habit, a habit that he would continue long after the bandage was gone.

  Luzaro held his temper with great effort as he turned back toward the mansion. It was better not to confront Enrique on issues like this one when his blood was so high. Luzaro would only allow the insubordination to go so far, though, before he would take the steps to crush it.

  “What of the rancher?” he snarled the words over his shoulder. “Has that particular problem been eliminated?”

  The rancher had been out mending fences and had presented very little challenge for a man of Enrique’s unique talents. Enrique knew he’d been sent on that little mission, one any of Luzaro’s underlings could have handled, in the hope Enrique’s temper would cool toward the Kincaid woman. Luzaro should have known better. Nothing would suffice, nothing but the woman’s painful death at Enrique’s hands.