by Elle James
JoJo grinned. “You’re right. I’m a grown woman.”
They descended the stairs, still holding hands, but when they got to the bottom, JoJo pulled hers free. He glanced her way.
She gave him a crooked smile. “The fewer questions asked the better.”
He nodded. “Good thinking.”
They joined Jake, Cage, Gunny and RJ in the dining room. A platter of eggs, a stack of pancakes and a plate full of bacon were set out on the table along with a carafe of coffee.
Max’s stomach rumbled.
RJ was on her way back to the kitchen. “Don’t wait on me. Dig in while it’s hot. And a big shoutout to Gunny and Jake for cooking breakfast this morning.”
Everyone took a seat at the table, and RJ joined them carrying a pitcher of orange juice.
Max looked around the dining room. All of the other tables were empty. “Did Stover and Curry go out for breakfast?”
RJ shook her head. “No, they decided to have breakfast here earlier than planned. They said they had some things to do in town and at the casino, so they wanted to get an early start.”
Max sat on one side of JoJo.
RJ sat on the other. She leaned close to JoJo and whispered.
Max strained to hear what she said but couldn’t quite catch her words.
JoJo turned to RJ. “He knows.”
JoJo looked across the table at Max and said quietly, “I told him.”
RJ shot a glance toward Max as well.
He dipped his head once in acknowledgement.
Jake and Gunny were in deep conversation and unaware of what was being spoken between RJ, JoJo and Max.
“Did she tell you that I contacted Hank?” RJ asked.
Again, Max dipped his head.
“He’s got his guy Swede working on it. From what I understand about Swede, if there’s anything in the system about the investigation, he’ll find it.”
“Good,” Max said.
RJ clapped her hands together. “So, what’s on the agenda today?”
Gunny glanced up from his conversation with Jake and Cage. “The campaign team will arrive sometime after noon. They’ll have a conference until about five and eat dinner at six. After that, I suggested an icebreaker of a hayride, and after that making s’mores by the fire pit.”
“I’ll hitch the tractor to the wagon,” JoJo said. “We could use some help piling hay onto the wagon.”
“I could help with that,” Max said.
“As can we,” Jake said.
Cage raised his hand in affirmation.
“I’ll make sure the firepit is stocked up with wood to burn and clean up the sticks we’ll use to roast marshmallows,” Gunny said.
“And I’ll tend to some of the horses’ hooves and grooming,” RJ said. “Then I’ve got some things I need to do inside the house to make sure all the bedrooms are ready, and the laundry is all caught up.”
“I’ll take care of the dishes,” JoJo said.
“And so will I,” Max offered.
While everyone left the lodge, JoJo and Max went to the kitchen with a tray of dishes. It seemed like every time JoJo turned around, she bumped into Max, which wasn’t a hardship by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, she might’ve been doing it on purpose.
Eventually, Max caught on, grabbed her around the waist, pulled her up against him and nuzzled her ear.
“I’d almost bet that in the bodyguard handbook, bodyguards aren’t supposed to be kissing on the bodies they’re guarding.” JoJo laughed. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Say the word, and I’ll stop,” he said.
She turned in his arms and poked his chest. “Don’t stop. I kind of like that you bother me.”
“Good, because you bother me, too, in a whole different way.” He pulled her close and let her feel the hard ridge of his cock pressing against his jeans into her belly.
After finishing the dishes, the two went out into the barn. Max performed as ground guide while JoJo backed the tractor into the hitch for the trailer. Once they had that secured, they went to work loading the trailer with bales of hay. Jake and Cage helped.
They loaded one layer of hay and a second one near the front. Guests would sit on the bales of hay as JoJo drove the tractor around the pasture. When the wagon was ready, they all joined Gunny around the firepit. He had unstacked the ring of stones and was one by one restacking them neatly. Jake bent to help him, getting it done quickly, while Cage, Max and JoJo gathered some of the split logs from the stack against the barn.
Stover and Curry remained gone all morning, giving the Lost Valley Ranch crew plenty of time to make sure everything was in place before the campaign staff arrived and Curry and Stover returned.
Just before noon, a small black SUV arrived. They’d all just settled on the porch with glasses of iced tea and lemonade. A woman got out of the SUV. She was a little bit taller than JoJo and as blond as JoJo was dark haired. She smiled and waved at RJ and JoJo. They stepped down off the porch and went to hug the woman. As they climbed the stairs, RJ smiled at the group on the porch.
“Jake, Cage, Max, this is Emily, a friend of ours. In fact, she used to live here for a while. Now, she has her own practice down in Colorado Springs, working at the veterans hospital.” RJ turned to Cage. “Emily, this is Cage Weaver.”
Cage shook hands with Emily. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
Emily laughed. “Please don’t call me ma’am. Makes me feel old.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Cage grimaced. “Yes, Emily.”
Emily laughed and shook her head. “Never mind.”
RJ waved toward Max. “Emily, this is Max.”
Max shook Emily’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Emily.”
“Pleasure’s mine,” she said.
“And this is Jake, the man I’ve been telling you about.”
Emily grinned and shook his hand. “I’m so glad to meet you, Jake. Every time I talk to RJ, all she has to say is Jake this and Jake that. Glad to finally meet the man behind the name. I can’t tell you how much happier RJ seems to be.”
RJ laughed. “Who would’ve thought I’d ever find someone to love?”
Emily lifted her chin. “I knew you’d find somebody someday. I’m glad it was sooner rather than later.”
“These three gentlemen are a part of that group I was telling you about,” RJ continued. “The Brotherhood Protectors. They’re the ones who are renovating the basement of the lodge to use as their headquarters here in Colorado. They’re based out of Montana with a branch office here in Colorado.”
Emily grinned. “I can’t wait to see what they’ve done with that old dusty basement.”
“If you want to come with me,” Jake said. “I’ll show you.”
Emily turned to JoJo. “JoJo?”
“Our session can wait,” JoJo said. “Go see the basement. They’ve done an amazing transformation down there.”
“Why don’t we all go down there?” Gunny said. “It’s been a couple days since I’ve been to check out the work that’s been done.”
“You guys go ahead,” JoJo said. “I’m going to gather up the glasses and get them into the dishwasher.”
Max hung back.
JoJo smiled. “I’ll be all right. I’m just going to the kitchen, and then I’ll join you.”
“I can wait,” Max said.
“No, really. I need to make a trip to the bathroom as well. Then I’ll join you downstairs.”
Max hesitated.
“Seriously,” JoJo said, “I’ll be fine.”
He reluctantly turned away and followed the group down to the basement. The workers had been there the day before finishing up some trim work. They were waiting to open the facility until some pieces of equipment were delivered. By the next week, they anticipated being fully up and running.
Emily exclaimed her approval of the transformation.
After several minutes, JoJo still hadn’t shown up. Max headed up the stairs. He didn’t like it when sh
e was out of his sight. Not that he thought anything would happen while they were in the lodge, but she could never be too careful.
He climbed the stairs and entered the kitchen. JoJo wasn’t there. Max went to the downstairs bathroom and knocked on the door. Nobody answered. He pushed open the door. She wasn’t in the bathroom. He climbed the stairs to her room and knocked on the door there. Again, she wasn’t in her room, and she wasn’t in the bathroom across the hall.
Starting to get worried, he went back out on to the porch to see if maybe she had forgotten some items of dishes that she had wanted to put in the dishwasher.
JoJo was nowhere to be seen.
His heart started pounding harder, and his pulse raced. Another vehicle was parked beside Emily’s that hadn’t been there when they’d gone into the basement. It was the one Stover and Curry had used, and they too were nowhere to be seen in the places Max had just checked.
Knowing JoJo couldn’t stay away from the barn for long, Max headed there next, praying she was there and that he found her alone.
Chapter 14
JoJo had had every intention of joining the others in the basement. As she had come out of the kitchen, she’d remembered that she’d left her cellphone in the barn. She hurried out to go find it. While she was there, she could perform one last check to make sure everything was in place for that evening’s activities.
She found her cellphone where she’d left it in the tack room on the desk. After tucking it into her back pocket, she turned to leave, only to find somebody standing in the doorway blocking her exit from the tack room.
“Ah, Ms. Ramirez,” Stover said. “I’m glad I caught you out here.”
JoJo stiffened and forced a smile to her face. “Mr. Stover, what can I do for you?”
His eyebrows rose. “I just wanted to make sure everything was in place for this evening’s events.”
JoJo didn’t like that he was blocking her way out of the tack room. She looked over his shoulder to see his aide Curry lurking in the shadows in the barn. Her pulse quickened. Maybe she was being overly sensitive, but she felt trapped. Cornered like a mouse in a cage. “Everything’s ready, Mr. Stover. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the lodge.”
“If everything’s ready, what’s your hurry?” He didn’t move out of the doorway. His body completely blocked her escape.
“RJ and Gunny are expecting me at the lodge,” she explained. “Then we’re going over to the Watering Hole to set up for the lunch crowd.”
“Well, then by all means, don’t let me keep you.” He turned sideways in the threshold, leaving barely enough room for anybody to get by.
It was enough for JoJo. She darted between Stover and the doorframe. She brushed against Stover as she squeezed passed him, only to come face to face with Curry. “Do you need something, Mr. Curry?” she asked, her tone a little abrupt.
His eyes narrowed. “There’s something very familiar about you,” he said. “Are you sure we didn’t serve together?”
“I don’t know,” she said, starting to get a little anxious. She needed to get outside into the fresh air with plenty of room to move. “There’s a lot of people in the Army. We may have served together somewhere. Now, please, excuse me. I need to be somewhere.” Anywhere besides there, with these two men.
His eyes narrowed even more, but he stepped aside.
JoJo made a dash for the barn door. She didn’t slow down until she was out in the glaring sunlight. Temporarily blinded, she ran into a wall. Strong arms wrapped around her.
“Hey there, beautiful,” his voice sounded in her ear, his voice absolutely identifiable.
Immediately, JoJo relaxed against Max.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Good, because I told Gunny we’d get started opening up the Watering Hole.”
“I’m ready, let’s go.” She took his hand and practically dragged him over to the bar.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Just a little creeped out by Stover and Curry,” she said as she unlocked the back door of the bar. “I ran into them in the barn.”
“That must be whose car was sitting next to Emily’s. Were they bothering you?” he asked.
“Only because I didn’t expect to turn around and see them in the barn.”
Max turned before he entered the Watering Hole and stared back at the barn. JoJo’s gaze followed his. Stover and Curry were standing outside the barn door talking.
“I don’t know what it is about those two,” he said. “I just don’t trust them.”
JoJo laughed. “Must be that they’re politicians.”
“No, I don’t think it’s that,” he said, his gaze still on the barn and the two men. “They weren’t always politicians. They served in the military, which usually I can relate with.”
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s get this lunch crowd fed and watered and get ready for the evening’s fun.”
While JoJo cranked up the grill, Max went through the dining room, unlocked the door and set the chairs on the floor. As he finished, the first patrons walked through the entrance.
For the next couple of hours JoJo, Max, RJ, Gunny, Cage and Jake were busy filling orders for drinks and food. Once the lunch crowd was gone, they had to hurry to clean up the bar and be ready for when the campaign staff would show up.
Stover’s team arrived shortly after the Lost Valley Ranch crew had just finished cleaning the bar.
The rest of the evening was a blur of activity, keeping the guests fed and entertained. After their dinner, JoJo drove the tractor around the pasture with the guests onboard, and Max rode in the wagon with the guests. The s’mores around the firepit were a big hit. By the time hot cocoa had been consumed and everybody was shown to their rooms, JoJo was tired.
Emily found her in the kitchen cleaning up after the hot cocoa bar. “We never did get around to our hypnosis session,” she said.
“Maybe there will be time in the morning,” JoJo said. “I’m too tired to do this tonight.”
“Actually, now might be a good time to do this. How about you come to RJ’s room, and we’ll give it a shot. If it doesn’t work tonight, then we’ll try again in the morning.”
JoJo nodded. Even though she was tired, she was ready to get the memory recollection done. JoJo rinsed the last dish, put it in the dishwasher and started it. She wiped her hands and followed Emily up the stairs to her room.
RJ’s room had an old-fashioned white iron bed with a quilted top. Near the window were two wing backed chairs in a floral print. JoJo sat in one, and Emily sat in the other. Emily kept her voice in a low monotone, unlike her usual melodious tones. She spoke barely above a whisper, easing JoJo into a trance.
As she was listening, JoJo thought this was all a bunch of baloney but, if it helped, the more power to her. She let herself relax and grow calm and just listen to the smooth cadence of Emily’s voice. She must have fallen asleep because she found herself in her nightmare again where a man was holding her down, hitting her.
“Look at his face,” a voice said into her dream.
JoJo wanted to keep her eyes squeezed shut.
“Open your eyes and look at his face,” the disembodied voice said.
JoJo forced her eyes open. She was lying in the dirt, and someone was hovering over her.
“Look at his eyes. What color are his eyes?”
She stared up at the man. It was too dark outside to determine exactly the color of his eyes. Starlight glinted off of them. “They’re a light color,” JoJo said as the man punched her in the face. She cried out in pain.
“His hair. What color is his hair?” the voice insisted.
The man’s hair wasn’t really dark or really light. In the veil of night, she couldn’t tell the exact color.
“Look for tattoos,” the voice urged.
JoJo took in his face, his neck, his arms. “None,” she whispered.
“Wha
t is he wearing?” the voice asked.
“Uniform,” she said.
“Can you see his name tag or his rank?”
She tried to focus on the front of his shirt. The man above her hit her in the face and hit her again. Pain shot through her. He hit her again and again, until she was weeping.
“It’s okay, JoJo. Wake up. It’s okay, JoJo. Wake up, JoJo,” the voice said.
She didn’t want to open her eyes. She didn’t want to see who it was that was hitting her.
“Open your eyes, JoJo. It’s okay. Wake up, it’s just a dream.”
She opened her eyes to find herself looking across into Emily’s face.
Emily reached out and touched her knee. “It’s okay, JoJo. You’re safe. You’re with me.”
“He was hitting me.”
“I’m so sorry.” Emily squeezed her knee. “Had you ever had him hitting you in your nightmares before?”
“Yes, but this time, I saw his hands swinging at me.”
“And did you see his face?”
JoJo closed her eyes for a moment trying to recall. “It was dark.”
“His face was dark?”
“No, it was dark outside. I couldn’t see his features, but in the starlight, the night sky glinted on his eyes. They were a light color.”
“Good,” Emily said. “What about his hair?”
“It was short. It wasn’t really dark, and it wasn’t really light. Again, it was dark outside. Couldn’t really tell what color it was.” A tear slipped from her eye and ran down her cheek. “He just kept hitting me.”
Emily took her hand and squeezed it. “We don’t have to do this.”
JoJo shook her head. “Yes, we do. The more I remember, the better chance I have of identifying him.”
Emily smiled. “Hey, well, you’re remembering some things.”
“Maybe we should keep going,” JoJo said.
Emily shook her head. “No, that’s enough for tonight. We don’t want to push too hard and make you shut down again.”
JoJo wanted to keep going, to learn who the man was who’d hurt her. But Emily was right. She couldn’t keep pushing if it meant she’d go back to no memories at all.
“Thank you, Emily,” JoJo said. “I feel like I’m one step closer to remembering.”