“Eight hundred grand to bring him in alive. Half a million if he's dead.”
Holy shit!
That kind of money...Daddy never pulled more than fifty thousand profit in his best year. And for me, my very first year running the place alone, I'd be lucky to manage half that.
Good thing the ranch allowed me to be mostly self-sufficient. Secure, but cash poor.
I saw him then, or rather, the shadows hanging around him. It was the ghostly outline of every adventurer, explorer, warrior, and treasure seeker who'd ever put their ass on the line for personal gain.
He spread his hands, reached to his cheeks, and smoothed them. He hadn't shaved that morning.
The steady growth of stubble made him look more rugged, hotter than before. Against all sense, a familiar pulse fired between my legs.
I walked closer to him and sat down, throwing my legs over the back of the nearest kitchen chair.
“It's going to be okay. You're going to get this man sooner or later. I'm still with you.” I reached out and gave him the firmest handshake I could.
He looked up. “I know you are. And that's what frightens me.”
“Declan, listen to me. You need to go after the real guy behind everything – this criminal, Anderson. He probably wants you to go after Wiloch, using him as bait. Even if he's in on it, we can deal with him later. I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job, but Daddy taught me enough to know you gotta go after the head of the snake.”
He smiled, soft and low, but at least it was a smile. I ran my fingers through the small strip of hair above his ear, scraping the brim of his hat, circling it at the same pace as my slow, smothering kiss.
Let me take away all your woes. We're going to have a long, beautiful future together, cowboy. And you'll see it soon, just as I did upstairs this morning...
“Have a seat. Do you want some coffee to warm up?” I turned, ready to grab him a mug.
But I needed time to collect my wits too. There was no sense in hiding it any longer.
The sooner I gave up my secret, the better he'd feel – or so I hoped. He muttered a “yes, please,” and I poured the steaming cup of shadows into a big ceramic mug Daddy brought back years ago from a trip to the North Shore.
Smiling, I trotted over to him and sat down, carefully pushing the mug in front of him. His face seemed to harden as he looked at the lighthouse engraved on the cup.
“I know things aren't going right. Not out in the badlands, where you're trying so to hard to keep us safe, to do everyone a favor by snagging your villain.” I reached his hands, wondering why stating the obvious was so comforting.
“You can say that again. With my luck, the asshole won't even be in the Dakotas much longer.” He paused, breathing in very slowly. “And I don't know if I can follow him all the way to Minnesota, up into Canada...God knows where he'll end up next. Slippery as an eel.”
He raised his mug and drank deep. I watched the skin on his cheeks redden beneath the stubble.
The coffee warmed him, taking away the crisp bite out in the open spaces.
Come on. Out with it.
“I have something to tell you,” I began, giving him a few seconds to meet my eyes with focus, not distance, in his. “You might not have your treasure yet by hunting down this criminal, but you're getting another prize...in about nine months.”
I smiled. My cheeks burned like twin suns.
Declan's face slowly changed as the revelation sank in. He lifted his eyebrows.
For the first time since he came inside, he looked human again, the happy and protective cowboy I remembered.
Jesus, no matter how bad things get with this Anderson...don't ever let him take that away from me. I'll kill the bastard myself if this wonderful man is taken.
He turned, throwing his powerful arms around me. My chair's legs screeched on the kitchen tile, coronet notes heralding something wonderful.
I went with the motion, rounding the table's corner, sinking deep in his embrace.
“How long have you known?” He said at last, stopping to kiss my forehead.
“Just since morning. I was going to tell you over dinner, but when I saw the way you pulled in...”
“I never would've done it if I'd known. And you know what? I'm not gonna let anything ruin this. A man only learns about his first born once in this life. Nobody's gonna ruin that for me – for us.”
Laughing, I stopped with him. We rose, letting the stray sunlight dance on our backs as we cuddled and rocked in the warm light, giddy with the greater warmth purring up from our flesh.
“I wish it wasn't so complicated,” I said. “If only we didn't have something breathing down our necks, then we could just enjoy this. Enjoy each other.”
“Nonsense.” He pulled away, holding me tight by the shoulders and staring into my eyes. “Don't let any of that cast a cloud over this baby. Bounty hunting is my profession, little lady. You, you, and the son or daughter beginning inside you – that's my life.”
I came forward and we kissed. His lips ran the spectrum, hard and soft, warm and tingly as sweet forbidden fruits I wanted to savor, to drink, to bite into.
Maybe he was right. No matter what happened, no matter how dark it seemed, we'd find a way through it. Just as long as he held me like this once a day, and never let go.
“You're still awake, cowboy?” I padded into the kitchen and sitting alone, bare breasted and staring out the open door. A handgun rested on the table next to him.
I didn't like waking up alone. It was the middle of the night, just a couple hours before dawn, and the bed was ice cold without him next to me.
My heart pulsed. Sharp, fearful tremors started in my head. I had to follow my senses downstairs, cursing myself for assuming the worst the whole time.
Seeing the gun on the table, next to my unflinching cowboy, unsettled me. But not as much as a thousand other possibilities. My lungs swelled with relief, and I drank in several large breaths to replenish my missing oxygen.
“Declan? Are you alright?” I walked toward him slowly, touching his shoulder.
Slowly, he turned, and smiled up at me. He reached out, clasped his fingers around my forearm, and squeezed.
“Go back to bed, beautiful. You shouldn't be down here. Everything you do is for two now, and that means sleep too.”
I crossed my arms. “Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm helpless. Or oblivious to everything else that's going on around here...”
Puzzled, I looked at the gun again. I realized I had no clue what actually was happening here.
I pointed. Declan followed my eyes to the handgun. His expression stiffened.
“Purely for personal protection. I figured we needed something.”
“Do we really need you down here at all hours keeping watch? I haven't let go of the gun you gave me, you know. It's right on my nightstand, ready at a moment's notice if anyone comes into the bedroom.”
“Good,” he said sharply. “Keep it that way.”
My face tightened. I studied him closely, wishing he would tell me all the details about the danger we were in.
“Has it really gotten this bad?” I stroked his shoulder.
I wasn't sure what I expected. I hoped to hear him laugh, call my question absurd, tell me there was nothing to worry about.
But he simply looked at me, severe and caring. Declan reached for my hand and clenched it in his, just a few notches away from being painful.
“Are we really going to be okay tonight?” My heartbeat rose as soon as I asked the question.
“Absolutely. No one's getting in here. In the morning, I'll have more answers for you. I promise. Please, Misty, go back to bed. You deserve to rest more than I do.”
I squeezed his hand one last time. Going upstairs generated more unease, but not as much as I would've felt sitting there with him, in the quiet of night, like soldiers at our posts awaiting an unknown enemy.
Maybe he was right. In bed, I felt like I belonged. I wasn't ready to take a
full stride into his eerie world.
I pulled the shades on the window next to the bed. It didn't help.
The bed was ice cold and empty. I lay, one hand on my small belly, envisioning a brighter future with him. It was all I could do to keep myself sane until the dawn's first light rose beyond the blinds, cold and pale as the night had been.
“Wake up,” a low voice said softly. I rolled over and saw Declan standing in the hall.
He must have brought a spare shirt and jacket downstairs with him. Now, he was fully dressed, boots and all, ready to start another day in danger's grasp.
“What's going on?” I asked. His morning kiss only made me feel a little warmer when he sat next to me on the bed.
“I've made a decision. Misty, you have to go.” He held up his hands before I could respond, taking mine in his. “It'll only be for a few days. Hopefully no more than one. Just enough time to deal with Anderson and his goons.”
“I don't know...”
“Please, do this for me. I've been thinking about it all night. I wracked my brain, mined my thoughts until my head hurt. If there was a way – any way – I could keep things going here without putting you in real danger, I'd take it in an instant. But there isn't. Not anymore.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” I ran my tongue across my teeth, sharp and irritated.
I lowered my hand to my belly. The new life inside me glowed warm.
A sudden calm surrounded me like gentle light. There was no point in being irritated. I couldn't stomach the guilt of the losing this baby if something horrible happened, which meant giving him what he wanted.
I closed my eyes. “Okay, cowboy. I'll go. But if you want me to, then you're going to be totally honest with me. I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me exactly what's going on here.”
We stared at each other. Then Declan's eyes flicked down my body, to my abdomen, no doubt thinking about the baby too.
“It isn't just about you and I anymore. There's another life involved, and you know it.” He withdrew one hand and slipped it over my belly.
I winced at his touch. I wanted to fight him, give into my stubborn country girl instincts, but I couldn't deny his logic. I couldn't deny his love either, strong and growing, so deep it hurt.
“He threatened you directly,” he said coldly.
I looked up. My chin trembled in shock.
Hot blood poured into my temples. If he weren't there next to me, I might've given into the panic quickly building in my bloodstream.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“He tricked me, Misty. That fucking criminal...I thought I was closing in, but he used the repairman. I thought he was throwing me a lead to snag the bastard, but I just ended up unearthing a threatening note instead.”
The room spun. It was all beginning to sink in, overwhelming in its horrid weight.
There's no escaping this. Sure, you want to face it with him, but that isn't an option. Not with a baby on the way.
Thinking about deadly thugs coming for my child instantly froze my most stubborn instincts. I slumped in his arms, overcome with goosebumps every time his big hands trailed my spine.
“It's gonna be okay. You've got to have somebody you can stay with, just for a couple days. You can even keep your guys around to work. If there's any sign of trouble, they'll be out of here the second I snap my fingers. I promise.”
“Well, I do have an Aunt up north. Right across the border, a little ways into North Dakota.” I sniffed, holding my tears in.
Declan nodded. He hugged me tightly one last time, gently encouraging me to pack.
I got to work right away. It wasn't easy admitting defeat, but I knew I had to.
If we were going to have the future I imagined all night, I had to give in. It wasn't about egos or even domination-submission anymore. It was about family and love.
I was loading my car when Jimmy came up to me. He looked surprised.
I hadn't done a good job of hiding my frenzied packing from the men. They saw me forgetting the daily orders, busily running back and forth between the house and my car, slowly filling the trunk with as much as I could manage.
“What is it?” I snapped, feeling a ping of guilt as I spun around to face him. “I'm sorry, Jimmy. But I'm really busy right now. What's so important?”
“We've had a hell of a cave in out back. Tom smacked that old support column on the side of the barn as he was pulling out on his tractor. Couple stables are completely buried.”
I bit my lip. Balling my fists, I raised them to the sky.
Why? Why now?
This farm had always seen good and bad fortune come in waves, but never a whole toxic avalanche like this. And never anything so dire.
Resigned, I sighed and raised one hand, signaling him to show me. I let my tense hand fall to my thigh with a heavy slap.
All I wanted to do was see the damage, find a repairman, and be on my way.
“Where's all this damage?” I asked, stepping inside.
“Toward the back,” he mumbled, turning away from me.
My anger dissipated, replaced by confusion. Everything looked completely normal.
If a tractor had really driven through here and knocked out a pillar, there should've been wood everywhere, crushed and sticking up like broken logs.
I wheeled around, just as the big barn doors slammed shut.
A man I'd never seen stood next to Jimmy. He was stocky and bald, wearing a plain expression with a wink of cruelty in his eyes.
“Go on out back,” he said. It didn't sound like a request. “There's an SUV waiting. Get inside as soon as the door opens for you.”
I looked at Jimmy, my eyes heavy and pleading. His face tightened in a terrible grimace.
He mouthed a dozen apologies in the span of just a few seconds. Horrified, I stepped backward, my mind reeling.
It took too long. The bald man walked toward me, moving the long nose of the hard object concealed in the right pocket of his coat. The knife, gun, or whatever he had protruded menacingly through the fabric.
“I said move it, bitch.” He cocked his head. “Do you understand me?”
Don't do anything stupid. You can't fight them off.
I swallowed hard. Even if my handgun wasn't carefully packed away in the trunk with the rest of my things, I doubted I would've found the courage to use it.
Even so, I cursed myself.
Now, I saw what Declan meant about these evil traps. He'd walked into one, and I'd done the same.
The man reached out and touched my back. Angrily, I brushed him off, moving toward the back exit where he wanted me.
I wanted him away from me, even if it meant going straight into the mouth of new horrors.
The big black vehicle was waiting just outside the small cement dock where we loaded feed and animals. I saw several more men through the dark tinted windows.
No, no, no!
Drowning in horror, my brain pulsed. Its resistant energy shot through all my muscles. I couldn't take another step forward, but I'd already come too far.
“Door's open. Get in and scoot over.”
When I didn't move, the bald man shoved me from behind. I toppled forward, felt for the seat with my hands, and pushed myself up. I struggled to sit.
I looked over and noticed I was next to an older man with cold eyes. The bad man immediately followed. New invisible ice sprang up between two dangerous strangers.
I instantly had the feeling that the other men were waiting for the silent man's words, ready to drive us wherever he wanted. But he didn't speak, not for almost a full minute, quietly circulating his mouth, as if deep in thought.
I realized he was chewing gum when he finally cracked his lips. Blueberry, by the smell of it – and not a very good substitute for the real fruit.
“Do it,” he whispered.
The bald man hopped out, along with a heavy man sitting in the front seat. I held my fists tight. The vehicle shook lightly as the
y opened the trunk, grabbed something, and closed it.
As they stepped away from the vehicle, I saw what they were carrying.
They had big red canisters in their hands, swinging them at their sides. I lost it.
I let out an earsplitting scream when the two men unscrewed the caps and began throwing gasoline on my barn's walls.
Jimmy, who had just opened the doors at the other end, saw what they were doing and ran forward. The big man knocked him flat, but not before he grabbed the red canister out of his hand.
Through the windows, I heard the commotion. Men were yelling and cursing at one another.
Jimmy dove in, fighting them both – or rather, trying to. He was no match for the two brutes. But he ruckus big enough to make them drop the gasoline cans.
“You can't do this!” I turned, screaming at the cold eyed man next to me. He didn't flinch.
“You have me. Let him go and leave my place alone!”
He just stared at me. He looked bored, as if kidnapping women and razing entire farms happened everyday.
The door popped. The bald man clambered back inside, pushed me deeper inside, toward the statuesque don I hated.
“Sorry, boss. We tried. That fucker yelled pretty loud before we could light it up. Don't know how many other guys she's got around. We better get the hell out of here while we still can.”
I shrieked as Jimmy pounded his bruises wrists on the window. The big man pulled out a silver gun, threw the door open, and fired.
Jimmy toppled onto his side and rolled. His face became a mask of painful fire as he held his stomach.
The fat thug was still outside. The driver waved impatiently and kept doing it until he got in the passenger seat. Later, I was surprised that nobody told me to stop, to shut up.
These men didn't care, and they wouldn't be distracted. They were experts in horror from hell's deepest levels.
Their non-existent reaction frightened me more than anything else.
I sobbed, feeling my stomach twist in knots as the SUV took off. We left the land I knew best, driving straight into the dusty badlands.
The SUV rumbled over uneven ground. I clasped my stomach tight, trying my best not to let the motion sickness get the best of me. I didn't want to find out what they'd do to me if I made a mess all over the leather seats – or worse – the silent don's trousers.
The Alpha's Touch Boxed Set (14 Book Bundle) Page 85