by Aden Lowe
Mind reeling with horror, Rita listened in silence to the rest of their story. They'd bounced from place to place, stealing to eat when they couldn't find a little work, even turning to prostitution as a last resort. Falon shook with anger long after they'd stopped talking.
"Look, I know you have no reason to take my word, but I'd like to help you both." Falon placed his hands evenly on the table and looked from one to the other. "I have a friend about an hour away. His church has a sort of half-way house for runaway teens. It's a haven and they don't report to the system. I've seen it, it's a good place. They help with medical, GED, job training, or whatever you need to help you get on your feet. If it's okay with you, I'd like to call him and see if they have a couple of spaces for you."
Mason and Daphne looked at each other, the sudden hope in their faces painful to see. Mason turned back with a broad smile. "I think we'd like that."
Falon made a call and spoke briefly about the situation to whoever answered. After a moment he hung and smiled. "He'll be here to get you in about an hour. We'll wait with you if it's okay? I haven't seen him and his wife for a couple years."
The pair paused in the midst of wolfing down more pizza and nodded. To Rita's surprise, Falon went on to explain that he'd known the man in the Army and even told a couple of stories about him. The hour passed quickly, and they handed the kids over to Falon's buddy.
Watching closely, Rita decided she approved. The man had the kindest eyes, and an easy, natural way with the kids. They seemed to take an immediate liking to him. When the minivan with the church logo pulled out of the parking lot, relief swept through her, weakening her knees for a moment. She cleaned up their trash while Falon went back inside to get them a couple bottles of water.
When he dropped onto the bench beside her, a frown furrowed his forehead. "God, I hope that works out for those kids."
"Yeah, me too. They deserve a little something good for a change." She took a sip of her water. "We ready to head out soon?"
"Think so. I want to try again to get hold of Barger. He should have got back with me by now." Worry gave his voice an unfamiliar tone. He must have been close with this Jakob Barger.
Thoughts focused on how to solve the problem, Rita reached to take his hand. "Maybe we could try a web search and see if alternative contact is out there somewhere for him."
He grinned and leaned in to kiss her. "You're a genius, you know that? I saw a sign inside about wi-fi. Let's go see if we can use it." Without waiting, he grabbed her hand and dragged her for the door, his excitement palpable.
The pretty dark-skinned girl behind the counter allowed Falon to use her laptop for his searches. She seemed to have developed an odd sort of liking for him, but Rita didn't question it.
Leaning over Falon's shoulder, Rita spotted a search result for an obituary for well-known hunter, Frank Barger. He clicked it and they read together, spotting the mention of a nephew Jakob Barger. A little more digging produced a phone listing for Frank Barger in the same town. Falon tried the number, but it only rang endlessly.
Some vital bit of info hovered just out of reach, but Rita couldn't quite put her finger on it. She went back over every detail they knew about the plot heading for Falon's old friend. Suddenly, it hit. "The woman!"
Startled, Falon just raised one brow and looked at her.
"The name of the woman Kellen is supposed to get. We have it. We might be able to reach her."
He laughed aloud. "You're a genius again." He immediately searched the name he'd heard with the help of the listening device he'd planted at the meeting when Kellen got his orders. The search returned several listings for Kate Holt, mostly horse related. Apparently, she was a highly sought-after horse trainer. A little more digging produced a phone number and location and Falon lost no time trying to reach her.
"Nothing. Still."
"So we keep going."
They thanked the clerk and returned her laptop, and moments later, they were on their way again.
Chapter Six: Jakob
A faint noise drew Jakob from the twilight that precedes waking, straight into full alert. Unsure what disturbed him, he lay still and allowed his eyes to open a bare slit. A sledgehammer pounded inside his skull. What the hell? He closed his eyes again and forced himself to think. Surely he'd been injured, but how?
Examining his memories, he found nothing that seemed likely to account for that sledgehammer. The last thing he remembered was…No, that couldn't be right. A woman like that wouldn't have anything to do with a guy like him. For a second there, he could have almost sworn her taste lingered on his tongue. Annoyed with himself, he pushed the sentimental bullshit dreams away. Time to focus on getting his sorry ass out of whatever enemy camp he'd been dumped in.
He forced his eyes open just the slightest crack, wary of alerting a guard that he'd regained consciousness. They must have worked him over pretty damn good, judging by the aching bruises that kept making themselves known.
A horse blew, not far away, in stark contrast with his surroundings. Other sounds crept into his awareness. Water trickled nearby, making him suddenly and painfully aware of his full bladder. Over his head, leaves rustled. The horse stamped and switched his tail, and something about it triggered a memory.
Uncle Frank had died. Grief consumed him for half a minute, but more memories came flooding in. Coming home. The mountain lion. Kate Holt. The details were jumbled but relief flooded in. At least he wasn't lying in some hellhole awaiting torture. Now all he had to do was figure out where the fuck he was and what had happened. Then he could set about getting his ass out of whatever trouble he'd fallen into.
Relieved there were no Jihadists waiting for him to wake up so they could torture him, he opened his eyes, no longer concerned with revealing his return to awareness. Not like there was anyone around to see, anyway. Still careful, he looked around as much as possible without moving his head. Finally, he gave up on that and turned it to his right. Grass and more grass. And trees a little further away. Lot of help that was.
Gathering his resolve against the pain about to crash into him, he turned the other way, the worst of the pounding above his left ear almost touching the ground. A few feet away, a series of tightly packed stones surrounded a small campfire. Beyond, near his feet, a saddle stood on end, balanced on the horn. Someone had used it hard and took care to allow the underside to dry thoroughly and preserve the structural integrity. But who?
Unable to spot anything really out of place, he pushed himself up onto his elbows, careful not to move too quickly and get that head injury doing something worse. A dozen yards away, Ajax watched him with pricked ears. Unexpected relief filled him at the sight of the big horse. The beast had heart to spare and with him, Jakob knew he could get through.
Splashing, louder than the stream flowing over the rocks, drew his attention. Fascination froze him in place for an instant, forcing him to just watch. At a small creek, a woman straightened and squeezed water from her hair, then flipped it back to swing down her naked back. Water droplets clung to her pale skin like crystals, refracting the light and mesmerizing him.
Memory of the past few days with Kate swamped his mind, and the accompanying emotions stunned him. He loved that woman.
She half-turned to retrieve something from the ground, revealing the curve of one breast. The sound of Jakob’s agonized groan must have carried, because she straightened and turned to face him, moving too quickly, and lost her balance.
Head wound forgotten, he leaped up and dove across the distance between them in an attempt to catch her before she could fall into the water. She recovered just as he reached her, and stood facing him, breathing hard. Something in her face had changed to reflect a variety of feelings he couldn't identify.
He didn’t wait to analyze. Another step brought him close, and when he reached for her, she didn’t resist. Kate came into his arms with a willingness that left him breathless. The chill of her damp skin cooled the fevered heat of his chest,
and at the same time shot his temperature a few thousand degrees higher.
No further encouragement needed, he lowered his head to claim the full lips that suddenly seemed necessary to continue his existence on earth. God she tasted even sweeter than he remembered and those warm silky lips molding to his in soft submission would fuel a thousand fantasies.
A low groan of need escaped before he could control it and he drew her closer, forcing her to arch her back and bring her hips tight against him. His gentle nip parted her lips to allow him to sweep his tongue along the tender flesh just inside. The little whimper she tried to contain spurred him on.
The way he held her crushed her luscious breasts against his chest, hardened nipples begging his touch. A fistful of the thick wet silk of her hair applied just the right leverage to bring the line of her jaw into perfect range and led his mouth down the elegant column of her neck. Holy fuck, she was delicious. And the ever increasing heat against his bare chest threatened to drive him over the edge despite the pain in his head.
Wet hair slipped through his loosening grip and his hand dropped to her waist, then skimmed back up along the edge of her ribs until he found the underside of her breast. He cupped the full globe then let his fingers find her nipple.
Her sudden hiss of surprise accompanied a hard shove against his chest that nearly sent them both sprawling. "Your head! You can't be up on your feet, Jakob." She stood there, breasts heaving, tempting him beyond reason.
"Probably not but here I am. And I want you." He started to take her into his arms again.
"We can't."
He caught her hand and drew her into his arms. "Yeah, we can." Emotion threatened to choke him. "Kate, when I first woke up over there, I'd forgotten…I'd forgotten us. I thought I was back in the hot zone, taken prisoner and waiting for interrogation. I need you now, need to push those nightmares further away."
Rather than reply, she stepped away from him, and his heart sank. The rebuff hurt and he had to swallow hard to keep from saying something more. When she tugged his hand, directing him back toward the bedroll, he complied. A protest died on his lips as her jeans started a slow slide down over her hips.
She turned to face him when they reached the blankets and held his gaze with deliberate boldness while she stepped out of the jeans. "Here I am."
Jakob stilled, frenzied need blasting through him. How could he be so fucking lucky? A man could live ten lives and never meet a woman like Kate. Feeling as if he were in another universe, he moved forward and into her arms.
She reached for him, eager, and raised onto her toes, seeking his mouth with hers. Jakob devoured her, as if it were the first time. Driven to possess her as quickly as possible, just in case it was all some terrible mistake, he lowered them to the blankets. His clothing was already gone, apparently removed while he lay unconscious. Only his underwear remained and he took care of getting them out of the way fast.
Kate's nails dug into his ass cheeks when the head of his cock slid along her slit. She arched, trying to position him at her opening, but he resisted and stroked her clit. "Holy fuck, that feels good, baby." He wanted to make it last, but already tension built to unbearable levels at the base of his spine.
Her hiss of need did it. He pulled back to gain access and slid into her, torturing himself and her with a slow glide. Silken heat rippled around him, pulling him deeper. Her heels joined her nails to put delicious pressure on his ass, demanding he give what she wanted. He sank into her over and over, driving them both to the edge.
A sudden deep breath and short moan signaled her impending orgasm and he thrust his hand between them to flick her clit. Kate cried out and writhed under him and he was lost. The blast devastated him, left him weak and breathless.
His breathing started to slow a little but the pounding in his head increased exponentially. Fuck. He had to say something, just in case. "Kate, I love you." Nothing but shocked silence in reply. Despair tried to sink in but he pushed it back.
"You don't have to say that Jakob. And I don't want you to say it and regret it. We just don't know each other well enough."
Then why the heartbreak and sorrow in her voice?
Fuck. His head hurt.
Chapter Seven: Rita
The road felt endless to Rita. Mile markers and exits they didn't take were the only way to mark the passage of miles. That, and Falon stopped every so often to try to reach Barger again. They called and called, trying every number they'd found connected to either Jakob Barger or Kate Holt, all to no avail.
Darkness started to settle gently and gave the air a slight chill. Falon pulled into the next rest area so they could stretch and try to call again. Rita took a moment to dig out her heavier jacket. The old worn denim one with no sleeves she'd put over her corset that morning did nearly nothing to help. She should have taken a moment to put on a more suitable shirt before they left, but hadn't wanted to sacrifice the time. Her luck, Falon would have left without her. And she simply could not allow that. She needed more time with him.
Marginally warmer, she started dialing while Falon checked the bike over. The last number on her list, another one for Holt Cutting Horses rang several times before a harsh noise made her draw the phone away from her ear.
"Sorry, dropped. Holt Cutting Horses. Can I help you?" The male voice on the other end sounded a bit annoyed.
Heart pounding, Rita stammered a moment. Why hadn't she planned what to say if someone answered? "Uh… I'm looking for Kate Holt?"
"Miss Kate ain't around right now, ma'am. Can I take a message?"
She turned to Falon for help but he was nowhere in sight. Deep Breath. "Okay, let me start over." The story didn't lend itself to shortening, so she ended up giving him all the details they had.
The man was silent for so long she started to think he'd hung up on her. "Ma'am, any other day, I'd think you was some loony and hang up. But yesterday morning, Miss Kate rode out with Jakob to check one of the herds. Her horse came back a few minutes ago. Alone and still saddled."
"So you do know Jakob Barger?"
"I do a little. Can't say I trust him but I knew his Uncle Frank and he was a good man." The man coughed a little. "With Miss Kate's horse coming home like that, I know something happened. I have men gearing up right now to search for her."
To her relief, Falon approached, and it only took a moment's explanation to get him on the phone with the man. Fifteen minutes later, he ended the call and gave Rita's phone back.
"Well, at least now the guy isn't so certain Jakob did away with his 'Miss Kate'." Falon's derisive laugh drew the attention of a couple with a young child as they walked by. "Apparently Miss Kate is quite impressed with my old buddy and her foreman isn't all that happy about it. Anyway, we're still six or so hours from Jakob's place and another three from where he is at Holt's."
Rita let her head drop back to stretch her neck. "Do we have a plan?"
"Since it's that far, as much as I'd like to just push on through the night, I guess we should lay over. The tourist info thing says there's a town at the next exit with several motels. We can grab something to eat and get some rest, then start fresh in the morning. Sound okay?"
"Yeah it does. I could do with a hot shower, too." No doubt her relief came through in her voice, but at the moment, she didn't care.
Falon smiled. "Me, too. And I can't wait to get that sexy thing you're wearing opened up."
She drew a blank for a second. "Oh, my corset? I should have changed but didn't figure I had time. I put it on trying to be sexy for you."
He drew her close to trace one finger along the upper curves of her breasts. "I've wanted to do this all day."
"Well, you can't now. We're in a public place."
He drew back with a pained sigh. "I guess that means you won't let me taste right now, huh?"
Her nipples hardened at the suggestion and denying him wasn't easy. "You'll just have to wait." She leaned for a quick kiss. "Now, stop teasing me and get me to that motel."
"Yes, ma'am." He laughed and delivered a light smack on her ass.
Chapter Eight: Falon
As soon as the motel door closed behind them, Rita shed her jacket and loosened her hair to fall in tangled waves around her shoulders, then dropped a handful of condoms on the bed. When she started to pull off the denim vest, Falon caught her hand.
"Uh-uh. I'm doing this." The ride from the rest area had been sheer torture, imagining undressing her. His half-hard cock had been caught in a fold of his jeans and incredibly uncomfortable.
She stood and waited as he gave in to the temptation to taste her mouth again. The tender skin just inside her lips intrigued him to no end. And then the edges of her teeth. Each kiss became a journey of discovery with her tongue as the treasure waiting to be won. He took his time, savoring every rasp of her tongue against his. All while his fingers skimmed up her arms, across the delicate ridges of her collar bones and down to the top of her breasts.
He would have been content for that kiss to go on forever, but the silken skin under his fingers beckoned, and he needed to taste it, too. Her lips clung to his in protest when he started to draw back and work his way down, but he persevered to trace her jawbone with his tongue. The smooth skin there proved especially sensitive and she moaned as her head dropped back to give him better access.
The satiny column of her neck arched to lead him to the delicate hollow at the base, and the contours of her upper chest. And then the swell of her breasts captivated him. He caught her ass cheeks to pull her close and rub his confined erection against her belly. Damn, if he wasn't careful, he'd come before he even got it out of his jeans.