by Jana Leigh
Arden frowned and said, “Wait, why can’t I go?”
West shook his head, “Cause Sassy is coming to take you to the range. I need you to be in perfect shape in case we do need to shoot our way out. Vince is going with you to make sure you are safe. Right now, I need to see if there are any surprises out there before we leave. If there are, we may be better off waiting until someone can come to us.”
Finally, a man who answered her honestly and didn’t pat her on the head and tell her to be a good girl and let the big boys talk. She loved that in a man, “Oh…okay thanks. Um…I need coffee.”
“On the way. Sassy is stopping and grabbing a cup for you.” West winked and went into the bathroom. Damn it, he was perfect and here she was mooning over another man. She was so screwed.
One hour to the next town with a large enough store to have what he needed. He had left out the part, where Jabo was taking him to a gun shop. When he left his truck, he had only grabbed the gun on the seat, the others left in the back were toast, and they may need the firepower to get the hell out of Louisiana. They were going to load up and grab the electronics and get the back. West didn’t like the thought of leaving her alone for too long. Even though Jabo assured him that everyone in the town was on their toes. Thank goodness, they had stopped laughing long enough at dinner to chat with the locals and feel them out.
It was easy to see how the locals watched after themselves. The stories they told about tourist coming into town and shooting anything that moved. Unfortunately none of them were trained, and either the locals took them out, or the idiots did it on their own. The locals learned after a child was shot by his father that they couldn’t let them out in the swamp alone. Thank goodness, they had reached the boy in time.
Finally they had everything secured and West had a phone. Nodding at Jabo to get them back ASAP, he leaned back and punched in the familiar number.
Mason answered on the first ring, “This better be you, pecker head.” He knew that his friend was referring to him, because this was how he answered when he called him on his regular phone. It meant he had been waiting for West’s call. That was a good sign.
“Hey, what the fuck have I gotten myself into here?” West asked.
“Same old shit, different day. Bad guys wanna kill us but this time they found our families. We need to get your mom, my mom, and Arden back to the ranch where they can be protected. These guys are nothing to fuck around with. They have more resources than you would ever know,” Mason said.
“Okay,” West said slowly, he trusted Mason with his life, their rivalry had been a kid's thing, but it had developed into a different relationship, one that West needed to talk to him about sooner or later, but now was not the time with Jabo in the truck with him.
“Where is she?” Mason demanded.
“Back at the hotel, we are on our way, I needed supplies. Let me give you directions,” West said and proceeded to tell him exactly where to meet them. When he hung up, he called his mother and told her to be ready to leave in a few hours. She protested but by the hard tone in his voice, she finally realized there was something going on and assured him she would be ready, and she would not answer the door to anyone but him. After taking down the phone number to call if there was an issue, he hung up the phone.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know he was in some deep shit when he found Arden, the gunfire proved that. But he really thought he could take her to safety and stay with her until it cleared. Now it looked as if he was going to be joining Team TEN for this mission. He wouldn’t let his friends face this alone, nor would he let Arden out of his sight for more than a second when he returned. Shit, he started making a list of things he had to do. First on the list—his commander. He was going to have to reassign him until this was over.
Picking up the phone, he began the necessary steps to have it taken care of before he arrived back to the hotel. If things went according to plan—Mason and LC would be there at the same time. He could only hope it would be that easy.
Chapter Seven
Arden stared down the handguns barrel and aimed. She knew the basics, follow her line of site with the weapon, then she looked straight down her arm for an accurate shot. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the trigger and once again hit the cans that were on the railing.
Sassy clapped and cheered as she pulled her shotgun out and took out the last cans. Damn, these guys were serious about their weapons. Vince and Sassy explained their weapons and what they were capable of to her. Even Dagwood had never gone into that much detail, he had been more worried about safety. These people wanted to make sure she hit everything she shot at. It was crazy to think like that. But she knew in the situation she was in, this was the best information she could have gotten.
Vince said she needed to think about a person who was trying to hurt her as a monster not a person. They were the things that went bump in the night, the things people were terrified that they were real. Because they were, she had smiled and when she began shooting, she had done just that. He probably didn’t mean she should imagine them as the sock monster she always imagined lived in her dryer. Her thoughts made him hideous over the years and it was the first thing that popped into her head. Of course, she kept that quiet, and didn’t broadcast what she was thinking. Hell, Sassy the vicious, bloodthirsty, pregnant woman was picturing shooting her husband in the nuts because he had gotten her pregnant and she was bloated.
“Okay, ladies,” Vince clapped. “Jabo texted, he is about fifteen minutes away, time to get back.”
“That sorry ass is texting and driving again. I am gonna kill him. I told him it was dangerous. Bastard thinks if he gets into an accident I will take care of him. Right, dumb shit will be packed off to his momma’s for her to take care of him. I don’t have the time nor the fuckin' patience to deal with a hurt man,” Sassy snarled and gripped her gun.
Arden smiled and nodded in agreement. There was no way she was disagreeing with this woman when she had a gun. Maybe she should warn Jabo about her fury, then she shrugged. Every person for themselves at this point. She had too many things to think about already, she couldn’t worry about him too.
They walked slowly back to the hotel, talking about the weather, and swollen ankles, it was entertaining and took her mind off the thoughts running through it. When they hit the parking lot and she saw Mason standing there pounding on her door, she felt relief. Finally he was here, she could see him. It seemed like forever since she had been close to him. Then she heard what he was yelling.
“God damn, Arden, open the fucking door and quit being so stubborn. I screwed up, but now is not the time to deal with that. We need to get you to safety!” Mason yelled.
She paused, then thought about the last twenty-four hours. Did he really think she was sitting in there scared, crying her eyes out over him? What the fuck, his ego was huge!
Finally, she had listened enough to him ranting. Arden could have remained silent and waited for the dipshit to turn around. How dare he pound on her door like that. She finally noticed the other people with Mason, and older woman, who she could only assume was his mother, was standing there shaking her head. While LC was leaning against the truck they were driving, trying to keep his laughter in. Finally having enough of this shit, she stormed over to where he was still yelling at the door.
“Damn it, I know I hurt you, but this is getting ridiculous, open the fucking door, Arden!” Mason roared, and she hit him in the back of the head and stepped back. Mason paused and looked over his shoulder, apparently thinking it was his mother.
“Ma…” Mason yelled.
“Do I look like your mama? What the fuck are you doing pounding on my door like a fucking idiot? Really? Like I would be in there still crying over your sorry ass. No. I was out shooting cans, making sure my aim was right on in case I had to shoot someone. Which by the way, at this point, it is surely you,” Arden snapped and pushed by him to try to walk into the room.
“Arden,” Mason said with a
stunned voice.
“Yeah, it's me, and no I am not pining for you like you think. You weren’t that good in bed that I would be still crying after all these months.” Arden laughed.
Mason frowned. Where was the soft, sweet girl he knew? The one who professed her love the last night he saw her. “Hey, listen here.”
“No you listen. I waited for a few months thinking you were going to call or write. Hell, I even thought about learning Morse code so I could figure out if the taps I was hearing on my window in the middle of the night was you, staring longingly at my window and just afraid to come in because of your mangled body. Because there was no way you would have just dissed me like that unless you were fuckin' crippled. I guess that is just the optimist in me. But don’t worry, those days are gone. I am not gonna cramp your style or anything. Now why don’t you run along. West is coming back to our room and we will be leaving. He can help me—I don’t need you coming to my rescue anymore,” Arden said and slammed into the room and closed the door, locking it before she could think about it. When she had seen him, her first instinct was to run to him and kiss his lights out. Ha, well no more of that shit.
“Arden!” Mason yelled, pounding on the door.
“I am showering now, so stop pounding on the door and making yourself look like an idiot. I will be out when I am done, hopefully West will be back, and we can move!” she yelled cheerfully, when all she wanted was to crawl into the bed and hug her pillow, which smelled like West. What the fuck was wrong with her? She didn’t know what was going on—her emotions were a jumble.
Taking her own advice, she gathered her least dirty clothes and grimaced—no underwear. Well, she would have to make a stop right when they got on the road. There was no way she could go commando all day long. She shivered thinking of the chaffing.
Arden turned on the shower, even as she heard LC and Mason arguing over the noise and pulled back the curtain. Well, at least she would be fresh and clean when she saw him next. She sighed when the hot water hit her sore muscles. Damn, who knew firing a gun would use so many of those hard to reach muscles. Tomorrow she would be paying for this. But that was then and this was now, she needed to figure out how she was going to deal with the overgrown ape who was still outside yelling. She could hear the muffled voices over the water still.
She grabbed the small bottle of shampoo and lathered her hair, when she heard the door open. Thank goodness, West was back. “I will be out in a minute,” she called.
“No, you will get that sweet little ass out here right now. What the fuck is up with the attitude, Arden,” Mason growled as he whipped the curtain back. The suds began dripping in her eyes when her head snapped up and she saw a pissed-off man standing in the bathroom with her.
“Eeep,” she said and grabbed for the curtain. “Get the fuck out of here, Mason!” she screamed.
“Hey, you picked the time and the place, all you had to do was talk to me out there calmly,” he said in his dead calm voice, she hated that. John and all of his friends had the same tone. It was when they were in their serious GI Joe voice and no one was supposed to mess with them. Well, he didn’t scare her.
Deciding she was just too pissed to talk, she turned to rinse off her hair, ignoring the fact that she could feel his eyes taking in every inch of her body, she felt her nipples tighten at the thought of him watching her. Damn her treacherous body for giving him the satisfaction of knowing she still wanted him.
When she was done she held out a hand for a towel, and silently dared him with her eyes to make her wait. With a smirk, he turned and grabbed a towel, then held it with a firm grip so he could wrap her in it.
Arden rolled her eyes, and then stepped out into the large fluffy towel and wrapped it around herself then turned and looked at Mason.
“Now, what do you need?” she said sweetly.
Mason growled and pulled her flush with his body and kissed her. Not the slow seductive kisses she had received the night before and this morning from West, no these were commanding. She felt like he was staking a claim on her body, and damned if it didn’t accept it. But she felt something missing, damn she had turned into a perv, she missed West.
When she heard someone clearing their throat behind them, Mason took his time and pulled back. With a stunned expression she looked over her shoulder and suddenly wished they lived in California, at least there she had a chance the earth would open up and swallow her whole. An earthquake had never been here that she knew about—damn Mother Nature.
West was grinning, a point she was missing because she was mortified to be caught kissing one man, hours after being in bed with the other.
“Voodoo,” West said and held out his hand.
“North,” Mason said, reached and pulled the other man into a one-armed man hug.
Arden just looked back and forth between the two, threw up her arms, and walked out of the room mumbling something along the lines of ‘men are fucking assholes'.
Chapter Eight
Tulu Patrick stood outside the room with a delighted smile on her face. She had never seen her son so flustered. It was amusing. Thane stood next to her shaking his head because his friend had made an ass out of himself. She wished she could be a fly on the wall when West walked in. But since no screaming came from the room, she figured they were safe.
Now she was engaged in a conversation with the most delightful people. Vince, the handsome widower who ran the hotel was smiling at her. Yep, she still had it. Her late husband called it the voodoo magic, which drew the attention of males, she called it a set of double Ds. Either way it was helpful, although when you have to be her age, the sagging didn’t help the cause, a real good bra did however, those infomercials come in handy—the Wonder Bra was amazing. Her dyed black hair didn’t hurt either.
Dagwood walked up next to her and said, “I need your help.”
She paused and looked up at the tall handsome ghost and frowned. “What?”
Vince cocked his head, and she wondered if he was gonna ask who she was talking to. It was like second nature to her to see the apparitions that she sometimes forgot other would think she was a bit crazy when it looked like she talked to herself.
“Nice to meet you,” Vince smiled and waited.
Dagwood turned to the other man and said, “You can see me?”
“Course I can, you are standing right there ain’t ya. My wife, God rest her, was a priestess, she was strong enough that when her guides came to her, I could see them too. Scared the shit out of me the first time. After she passed, I got used to tourists who had no clue their power wandered in and they would have spirits tailing after them. I met some real nice people, once they knew I could see them they would stay and chat for a while until the lingering power dissipated. Now Tula must be a strong one as well, 'cause I see you and a bunch of others, including the amused looking female over there who is peaking in the door trying to spy on what is going on.” At Vince's comment, Tulu and Dagwood turned and laughed.
“Oh…well…okay then. John, what do you need?” Tulu asked, though she still stared at Vince, looking him over and thinking he may have a bit of a chance. This little town was only a hop, skip, and a jump for where she lived.
“I gotta talk to her. The letter is back at the ranch and she needs to hear what I had to say to her now. I need her to open up to Mason and West,” John said frustrated.
“Awww…aren’t you the cute little ghost matchmaker,” Tulu said and then nodded. “Let’s go, the sooner we get this done with, the sooner I can join this lovely man for a cup of coffee.”
Vince grinned and nodded then looked at Thane. “You need a few rooms for the night.”
Thane pushed himself away from the bumper and nodded. “Yeah, we aren’t going anywhere today, maybe even a few days. Seems we are a bit protected here.”
Vince nodded and motioned with his head where some of the boys were sitting in their trucks watching out for any nonsense. “Yep.”
“Okay then, two more room
s, and you probably should make them singles. I figure we may not see them until morning.” Thane laughed.
“No, honey,” Tulu said and pulled the SEAL behind her. “John needs to have a group therapy session, then you are free to go and lay down. He wants you there as well.”
Thane stopped making her almost trip, “Damn it, we don’t have the letter.”
“Don’t need it, I can hear him,” Tulu said forcefully and pulled him harder until he moved.
“Not sure I am ready for this,” Thane said.
“Not sure I care. This is about John, not you, so move it,” Tulu said and then pounded on the door for them to open.
Arden went about her business and got her clothes before going back into the now deserted bathroom to change. Mason and West were talking about the situation, and didn’t seem to care they had a partially naked woman wandering around. Figures, men.
She heard the knock at the door when she was brushing her teeth. Looks like the gang is all here, she thought when she heard the noise in the other room. Mason was arguing with a woman, must be his mother, she thought and opened the door.
Mason and West both turned and looked at her, the fire in their eyes let her know they were not as immune as she previously thought. Arden felt the burn of heat flood into her cheeks.
“Isn’t she just a sight,” the older woman said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “My name is Tulu, you can call me, momma. However, now we need to talk, and I need you to have an open mind.”
Arden frowned in confusion and Mason made a noise, threw up his hands, stalked to the other side of the room, and leaned against the wall. Something weird was going on here.
“Okay, and by the way my name is Arden,” she said and held out her hand.
“Oh, please,” the older woman said and held out her arms and waited for Arden to walk into them. When was the last time an older woman gave her a hug? she thought and hesitated but for the life of her, she didn’t know why, when she stepped forward and Tulu embraced her, she felt a sense of calm come over her. Like everything would be all right.