Cowboy Boots and Unadulterated Pleasures [Cowboy Boots 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Natalie Acres

Chapter Nine

  Colt placed a conference call on his way back to the Las Vegas Strip. “There’s a problem. Daniel hasn’t been upfront with us. He’s hiding something.”

  “I could’ve told you that,” Crue said. “Since when have the Underground Unit leaders told the teams everything they need to know?”

  “Since Kelly is involved, I assumed—”

  “Assumed makes an ass out of me and you,” Crue told him, reminding him of an old adage they used to quote a lot when they were kids.

  “What’s he hiding?” Colt asked, thinking aloud more than asking the others.

  “I could guess, but it would probably lead to a list of possibilities, none of which we have time to explore before your big game tonight,” Crue said. “By the way, Lorenzo wants to play early. You’re on at seven.”

  “Yeah I heard,” Colt said. “Daniel told me when I met him in the desert. I can’t put my finger on it, but I don’t trust Daniel as far as I can see him.”

  “You’re walking on hot rocks, Colt,” Brand warned him. Typically the quiet type, Brand rarely went against Colt, except when it came to Daniel.

  Brand and Daniel had shared an unwavering friendship. When Brand had wanted a career change, Daniel had taken a chance on him and offered him an opportunity the average stripper wouldn’t have earned.

  In some ways, Brand did owe Daniel. In others, he’d repaid him ten-fold. He’d been the one to help Daniel with his wife. He’d been the one person Daniel relied upon. When his wife, Kelly’s mother, had been strung out, it had been Brand who’d found her. He’d used old connections and pulled her off the streets.

  “Brand, I knew you were on the line. I’m the one who connected the conference call. I’m also aware of your position and where your loyalties lie. However, this is serious and you should know. There is something wrong with Daniel. He’s off. I don’t know if he’s been bought off or—”

  “What the fuck, man?” Kemper interrupted. “Have you lost your mind? An Underground Unit leader paid to stand down? Yeah right.”

  “Kelly says Lorenzo knows about the ranch.”

  “What?” Brand asked, raising his voice.

  “And you left her there?” Crue asked.

  “I didn’t feel good about it, but Daniel is out there. He won’t abandon her right now. He knows he’d answer to me if he even thought about leaving her unprotected. Still, I need you to know why I have doubts about Daniel. He let one of the Underground Unit’s enemies know about our base here in the West. That’s a big security breach. If the guys back East knew about this, they’d call for Daniel’s termination.”

  “Any chance Kelly told Lorenzo?” Brand asked, always prepared to make excuses for Daniel.

  “No. Daniel gave away the location.” The Las Vegas Strip was straight ahead. As the casinos towered ahead of him, Colt couldn’t help but think of the possible dangers he’d left behind. This didn’t feel right. “After I play tonight, I’ll return to the ranch. What time are you guys heading out there?”

  “Brand, I’m ready when you are,” Gabe said.

  “We can leave right away,” Brand offered.

  “Hang on a second, I need to grab this other line,” Crue said, leaving the conversation.

  “Colt, do you want us to stay out there for the duration?” Brand asked.

  “Might be a good idea to plan for an extended stay. I don’t know how long we can trust Daniel to sit tight. He broke protocol and that bothers me. The more I think about it, the more I don’t trust him to look out for Kelly’s best interest.”

  “You nailed that one, Colt,” Crue said, rejoining the conversation. “That was the poker room manager. He said, ‘Mr. Martin will be joining the poker game tonight.’ As it turns out, Daniel had no intentions of staying in the desert with Kelly.”

  “What was he thinking?” Gabe asked. “Kelly told Lorenzo she was going on a business trip with her father.”

  “How will Daniel explain this?” Kemper asked.

  “Our fearless leader will show up with his best poker face,” Crue suggested.

  “I don’t like this,” Colt said. “Crue, change of plans. You, Kemper, and Brand get out to the ranch. Gabe, you’ve got my back tonight. And damn it, you’d better not let me down if I need a shooter. If you aim, by God, you better be ready to pull the trigger and fire.”

  “I got ya,” Gabe assured him.

  “Colt, I’m with you now. Daniel and Lorenzo are sending out signals and playing a mind game they assume we can’t win. There’s something way off here. I can feel it,” Crue said.

  “Agreed,” Colt said. “My mind is working overtime. If my gut is right, Kelly has been placed in the line of fire. Get out there to Red Rock as quickly as you can. I’ll call her now and tell her to make her way to one of the caves or tunnels. If I can convince her to go underground, she’ll be safe until you reach her.” He took a labored breath. Praying he was wrong, he added, “Crue, leave soon. I have a really bad feeling about this. Kemper, Brand, you still there?”

  “Yeah, man,” they chimed in together.

  “You guard her with your lives. Do you hear me? Now that I—”

  “Now that you’ve what, Colt?” Gabe asked, probing.

  Covering his ass, he bit out, “Now that I know Daniel hasn’t been on the up-and-up, I’m afraid Kelly is in more danger than we first realized.”

  * * * *

  “What’d I tell ya?” Gabe asked, following Crue around their suite as he hurriedly packed an overnight bag. “He fucked her. And now that he has, he can’t think straight. He was always like that over her. I’ve never understood it.”

  Crue stopped in his tracks and faced Gabe. He narrowed his gaze and said, “I can’t believe it.”

  “What?” Gabe asked, more jittery than normal.

  “I can’t believe I’m just now seeing this for the first time.”

  “What are you babbling about?” Gabe asked, returning to the table to watch the monitors.

  Crue eyed him curiously, watching as he fiddled with one setting and then another. His skin was ashen. He kept raising his wrist to his forehead, hurriedly wiping away another bead of sweat. “You’re in love with her.”

  “Who? Me? Naw,” Gabe said, adamantly denying the accusation. He stopped typing and his fingers hovered over the keyboard. “I care about her, sure, but love? You know what they say about careers like ours. There’s little room for shadows in the moonlight. Love and leave ’em. That’s what we’re taught.”

  Crue laughed. “I don’t give a damn about what we’re taught. The Underground Unit may own our bodies, but the damn organization will never have control over an operative’s heart. If you don’t believe me, talk to the Donovan brothers. According to Riley, Brock disappeared from their lives when he was a young man. He only returned when he was afraid Sydney would hook up with the rest of the Donovan brothers and forget the love she’d previously shared with him.”

  “Such a romantic story,” Gabe drawled.

  “It’s a truthful story. And from where I’m standing now, I can see a similar one beginning to unfold for you, too. I guess history really does have a way of repeating itself.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Hello?” Kelly snatched her phone as soon as the caller ID lit up with Colt’s name.

  “Is that any way to answer when you know who’s on the other end of the line?”

  Thank God. He was in a playful mood. The last thing she wanted was for Colt to worry about her. He needed to think about his upcoming poker game.

  “How would you prefer that I answer?”

  “Maybe tell me something sexy.”

  “Like?”

  “How much you enjoyed having my cock inside your pussy,” Colt suggested. “How much you’ve missed riding me, fucking me.”

  “Colt,” she snapped, her gaze wandering to the outside patio where her father was conducting a business meeting with a few men she’d never seen before.

  “What? You don’t like phone se
x anymore?”

  “Dad is fifteen feet away,” she said dryly.

  “I thought he was heading back to the city.”

  “He is in a few minutes. A couple of new guys showed up to start work tonight. He’s going over a few details about the security system.”

  “What?” Colt practically screamed in the phone. “This goes against protocol, Kelly. Who are the guys?”

  “How would I know? Dad doesn’t discuss anything with me, especially security.”

  “Damn it,” Colt bit out. “Kelly, I need you to head back to the city. Choose a casino where you feel safe and I’ll have Crue meet you there.”

  “I’m safe here,” she objected. “This is my home. Dad won’t put me in any unnecessary danger.”

  The line went silent.

  “Colt? Are you there?”

  When she raised her voice and said his name, her father turned and looked at her. A peculiar expression marked its place on his face and his eyes were chilling, a cooler blue than she’d ever noticed before.

  “Something wrong, honey?” her father asked, standing. His question seemed to slip between gritted teeth. There wasn’t any compassion in his voice, no real sense of concern. He was curious and nothing more.

  Without realizing it, she gasped.

  Immediately, Colt said, “Kelly, hurry. Play this off. Say the call was dropped. Make up something. Don’t act afraid or suspicious. Call me back in ten.”

  Kelly held the phone out and glared at the facing, ready to play the game as instructed. She stared at her father and shook the phone at him. “You!”

  “Me?” Daniel asked, cautiously approaching her, acting guiltier by the second. “What about me?”

  “You are the reason I am connected to that asinine, egotistical asshole of a man you call an operative!”

  Her father’s shoulders visibly relaxed. He took a deep breath and exhaled. “What did he do this time?”

  Behind him, his three new employees remained stoic, keeping a watchful eye on her as she paced back and forth in front of her father, waving the phone around for show. “What did he do? You have the audacity to ask me?” Her voice carried. “What hasn’t he done? He vanishes from my life for over a year and reenters when you demand it and he just expects to pick up where we left off.” She grunted. “What the hell is that?”

  Daniel chuckled, but his deceptive laughter was fraudulent to its core. “Lorenzo will take care of Colt. Don’t worry, Kelly. After tonight’s poker game, I don’t think Colt will be nearly as arrogant as he’s been in the past.”

  Talk about playing two sides against the middle. Her father had clearly mastered the concept.

  The guy standing at her father’s right quickly agreed. “You’re right about that, Mr. Martin. Lorenzo will handle Mr. Candy.”

  How odd, she mused. The man referred to her father and Colt by their surnames, but Lorenzo’s name flipped off his tongue with great familiarity.

  “Absolutely,” her dad said, slapping the man between the shoulders and smiling.

  Stunned by her father’s statement and his new security employee’s comment, she forced herself to keep moving. There wasn’t time to regroup. Unwilling to show her hand, she continued marching back and forth over the burgundy floor runner. “I’ll take care of Colt Candy. I’ll do it. I swear, one of these days, I’m going to kick him where the sun doesn’t shine and explain to him once and for all. I am marrying…” A monster.

  The sudden truth hit her like a ton of bricks. Suddenly, she couldn’t say Lorenzo’s name. She couldn’t finish the sentence. Job or no job, she wouldn’t walk down that aisle with Lorenzo.

  As her father returned to his business meeting as if she hadn’t spoken at all—because he had long since become accustomed to her rants about Colt—her father’s deceptive practices nearly wrestled her to the floor.

  Colt had been right. He’d called to warn her. Now, she needed to figure out how to get out of there. She had to find a way back to the Strip, and there was only one vehicle in the driveway that belonged to her family. She’d bet a year of casino profits the keys were in her father’s pocket.

  Daniel held up his hand and stopped midsentence as if he feared she might be eavesdropping. “Did you need something else, Kelly?”

  “No,” she replied, tapping the cell phone under her chin. “I’m going for a ride. If Colt calls you, tell him I turned off my phone. I want to be left alone.”

  Daniel seemed pleased with her declaration. “Be careful, honey.”

  Kelly walked in the kitchen and reached in the refrigerator. Grabbing a water bottle, she stood in the doorway and watched as the three men hovered over her father’s back. “Dad, I love you.”

  “I love you, too, honey,” he called out, never turning around.

  Maybe Colt was wrong. Perhaps she’d been mistaken, too. This was a high-stress business. Tensions were on overload and the operatives were always running on adrenaline. Her father had warned her of this type of behavior when he’d trained her. Apparently, when delirium set in, operatives were noted for their erratic behavior. Sometimes they turned on one another.

  Wasn’t it possible that Colt had lost a lot of sleep? Could she have read too much into her father’s meeting and actions, too?

  There was only one way to find out. She had to exit the house and then sneak back inside. Once she returned, she would listen to his conversation and find out why he trusted these men and how they knew Lorenzo.

  First, she would call Colt. Once she eased his mind, she’d go inside and ease her own.

  * * * *

  “Ease your mind, hell!” Colt bellowed into the phone. “Kelly, listen to me. I want you to leave now. There’s a motorcycle in the garage. It’s mine. It’s behind your dad’s workshop propped up next to the grill. The key is under the seat. I’ve taught you how to ride. Now ride, damn it. I need you out of there.”

  “Colt, you’re overreacting. I’ll sneak back inside and listen to the conversation. Then, I’ll call you back and tell you everything is fine. We’ll all feel better if we know Dad hasn’t gone rogue on us. Right?”

  “No, Kelly. No. You’re wrong. He has gone rogue, as you say. I don’t know when or how it happened, but damn it, woman, you have to trust me. I want you out of there now.”

  “Surely you don’t think my own father would kill me.”

  “Kill? No.” He knew he didn’t sound convincing enough. “Kelly, I think he is capable of hurting you.” He shuddered as he shuffled through some photographs Gabe had shown him when he’d entered the suite the shadows had used since they’d arrived in Las Vegas. Without thinking, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me he’d done this to her?”

  “What are you talking about?” Kelly asked. “Is someone there?”

  “Gabe,” he said, still rummaging through the pictures, growing angrier and angrier as he shuffled through the images.

  “Gabe, are you listening?” she asked.

  “I’m here, Kelly.”

  “Good. Talk some sense into him,” she said. “Oh, and by the way, I’ve known you were watching me since the day you checked in. The little show in the bathroom three weeks ago? That was for you and Crue. Hope you enjoyed it.”

  Colt glanced up, and Gabe shrugged. “I figured Crue told you.”

  Only Kelly could manage to sidetrack him when there were more important issues at hand. “Remind me to spank her ass when we see her again. This is not the time or the place to mention a private showing.”

  “Oh, it wasn’t private,” she quickly assured him, devilment in her voice. “Like I said, I knew Crue and Gabe were watching. That’s the only reason I was able to get through the hell Lorenzo put me through.”

  “What are you talking about?” Colt asked, gripping the phone tighter. He glared at Gabe. “What is she talking about?”

  “There’s no time,” Gabe said. “Get Kelly out of there.”

  His imagination ran wild for about a minute. Then, he said, “Kelly, I told you what
I want you to do. Crue, Brand, and Kemper should be there in ten minutes. I’d feel better if they could pick you up along the way or meet you in the city.”

  “I’m sure you would,” she said. “And I’ll feel better once I’m sure my father isn’t as guilty as the next criminal. Ciao.”

  His fury shot straight off the mad-o-meter as she disconnected the call. “Damn it!” he screamed.

  Gabe was already on his cell dialing her back. “It went straight to voice mail.”

  Colt slammed his hands against his head. “Why the hell didn’t I go back for her?”

  “Your poker game starts in ten minutes,” Gabe reminded him. “If you’d known she was in this kind of danger, you would’ve gone back.”

  “Ten minutes,” Colt muttered, processing. “Fuck.”

  “What is it?”

  He hadn’t paid attention to the logistics. “This whole thing has been orchestrated down to the wire. Our guys won’t reach Kelly for at least another ten minutes. The game starts in ten minutes.” He stalked to the window and looked down on the Strip. He’d never felt so helpless in his life. “There’s bad karma in the air, Gabe. There’s trouble, and I’m afraid it’s headed straight for Kelly.”

  About that time, the hotel phone rang. Gabe and Colt stared at one another before Gabe answered. “Yes?” He clutched the phone. “I’ll tell him.”

  Returning the receiver to the cradle, he said, “Better get Crue on the line. See if they can step on it. Your poker game has been cancelled. Mr. Molinelli said to let you know he had a previous engagement he’d forgotten about.”

  “Is that all?” Colt asked, stalking him.

  Gabe’s fingers moved across the keyboard. He was locking down the system.

  “Was that all?” Colt demanded.

  “No,” Gabe said, staring straight ahead as the screens in front of him cleared. “He said he had to take a ride out to Red Rock. He’d give you a call upon his return.”

  “Damn him!” Colt bellowed, grabbing his wallet from the end table and shoving the leather billfold in his pocket.