Last of the Red-Hot Heroes

by Tina Leonard

  Of course that hadn’t happened. Harper and her team were far apart, maybe farther apart than ever. Declan didn’t figure anybody ever really got close to those three—they were a family and a law unto themselves.

  “So back to the list of suspects,” Trace prompted, and Saint grabbed another cookie.

  “I agree,” Saint said. “Let’s focus on the important stuff. Who used our buddy for target practice? It’s not turkey season, is it?”

  Saint and Trace laughed so hard Declan thought they’d probably get a stitch in their sides.

  “He was naked when he got nailed,” Trace said, “possibly someone thought he was some kind of creek monster rather than a trophy turkey.”

  “Haha.” Declan noted Harper’s discomfort with a frown. He really had to get his brothers off this laugh track they were on.

  “It’s not funny,” Harper said. “Someone tried to kill him!” She glared at both of them, and the smiles slipped from their faces.

  “Sorry,” Saint said, “we tend to deal with stress by making unfunny jokes.” He reached over and rubbed Harper’s shoulders briefly. “You know us well enough not to take us too seriously.”

  “Let’s stick to the list.”

  “Well, there was a lot of skinny dipping going on all over town that night,” Trace said. “Rumor has it, Harper’s team took a dip sans clothing that night, too. That may exonerate them.”

  “My team wouldn’t do this,” Harper insisted.

  “Was your team skinny dipping?” Steel asked. “Wasn’t that past curfew?”

  “Yes.” Harper looked worried. “To be fair, I didn’t see them at the creek. Or anywhere.”

  “So how do we know they weren’t in their rooms observing the new curfew?” Steel asked.

  Declan’s heart sank just a bit further, sliding close to his rib cage. “They were swimming.”

  Steel eyed him. “Did you see them that night?”

  “Yes.” Declan sighed. “They were at the creek with the Horsemen. And Dark Demon.”

  “Dark Demon?” Steel wrote in his notebook. “What were they doing?”

  “I was pretty far back,” Declan said reluctantly, his gaze on Harper’s worried one. Damn, she was never going to forgive him after today.

  “I need to know,” Steel said. “Someone made an attempt on your life. Someone else could be in danger. Don’t withhold information.”

  Declan shifted in the bed. “They were skinny dipping and partying, damn it.”

  “Anything else?” Steel asked.

  “I may have smelled pot. There were definitely firecrackers,” Declan said, watching Harper’s gaze grow distant. The last thing he needed was distance between him and Harper. He’d just gotten past her walls—just barely.

  “So Ivy, the Horsemen, and Dark Demon.” Steel considered his notes. “Can’t leave out Harper’s riders—“

  “No,” Harper said. “I vouch for my team. I don’t care what anybody says, they wouldn’t have done this.”

  Steel nodded. “Eli has to be on the short list. He’s a veteran, has knowledge of weapons,” he said, ignoring Harper’s protest.

  “I don’t think Eli would do anything,” Declan said. “He’s got toys in the attic, sure, but he’s harmless.”

  “Probably.” Steel nodded. “But he stays on the list until I find him. He’s been missing since that night.”

  “Look, Steel,” Declan said, “I think we’re barking up the wrong tree with all those names. Most of them, anyway. My brother’s a jackass, but he wouldn’t hurt me. Eli wouldn’t harm a fly. Harper’s team is too damn selfish to think about anyone except themselves. They certainly aren’t interested in mapping a plot and carrying it out. Besides, they like me.” Declan wanted everyone in the room to disappear, except Harper.

  He wanted to kiss her until she forgave him.

  “So what does that get us?” Trace asked.

  “Ivy, Fallon, Rebel Wright, Jake the Snake Masters, Buck, Dark Demon, Eli, and Cassidy, Winter, and Micaela, for starters,” Steel said.

  “And Judy,” Fallon said, walking in to the room. “If you’re honestly going to name suspects, you can’t leave out our big-haired beauty queen of a mayor who isn’t above lots of underhanded manipulations to get what she wants. And she’s made no secret of her desire to get her team back. Taking out Declan would be a wise way to do it. It’s too obvious to peg Harper with an arrow,” he said, taking a seat and tossing a bottle of whiskey to Declan. “But give Harper something to fear, and she just might give up her team.”

  Declan stared at his twin. “I don’t recall inviting you.”

  “Yet here I am.” Fallon looked around the room. “Greetings, fellow Hell inhabitants. The Horsemen send their regards.”

  “Why don’t I just take you in for questioning?” Steel asked. “Knowing that the perp often returns to the scene of the crime?”

  “Because I wouldn’t shoot my brother.” Fallon pushed his hat back, sent Declan a long, meaningful look. “I’m trying to get into his good graces. And I’m trying to get him home to see the folks. No way would I shoot him.”

  “Yeah, what’s with all the sudden love and family crap you’re spouting?” Declan demanded.

  “It’s at our parents’ request.” Fallon sighed. “In fact, they wanted you home so badly after you refused to come back when I mentioned it to you before, that they decided to change their will.”

  “How does that matter to me?” Declan asked. “I don’t give a damn about them or their will. In fact, that gives me further incentive not to ever darken their door, because I don’t want any of their shit, and I don’t want them pretending that they care about me.” He saw Harper’s eyes widen, sighed. “If you didn’t know that my brother and I might as well have come from two different tribes, you know it now.”

  “The problem is, they’ve tied us together in the will. The ranch, everything, goes to both of us—but only if you come out and visit them. They want you and I to take over the family ranch, together.”

  “Or?” Declan growled.

  “Or they’re leaving it to a long-lost cousin I never heard of.”

  “Well, scratch Fallon off the list of suspects,” Saint said. “You’re too damn greedy to destroy your own golden egg.”

  Declan didn’t care. Wasn’t inclined to help his brother, either. This was going to take some thought, though. Screwing Fallon out of his livelihood and inheritance felt like revenge, and Declan wasn’t looking for revenge. He just wanted to be left the hell alone by his family. By everyone, actually—except Harper and Michael.

  “Where’s Michael?” he demanded.

  Harper looked at him. “With Cameron and Ava. They decided today they were taking him shopping for new school clothes.”

  This was depressing news, because here he lay, useless. “I should be buying him new boots. Tell them not to buy him his cowboy boots. I want to do it.”

  She smiled at him. “Thank you. That’s sweet. He’ll think he’s such a big boy when you take him for boots.”

  “Yeah, well.” He got a bit more morose under her bright smile. Damn, if he didn’t have all these buzzards in his room, he could spend some time with Harper, talk to her, maybe convince her that Hell was her home—

  “I don’t know if I’ll exactly remove you from the short list, Fallon,” Steel said. “You were at the creek skinny dipping with Harper’s team?”

  He looked at Harper. “It was a lot of fun. Anyway, Harper knows I was there. I talked to her that night.”

  “It doesn’t mean you didn’t leave and go across to the other creek,” Trace said.

  “How would I have known where Harper and Declan were going? When I talked to her, she was pretty upset with the team, with me, with everybody. I wouldn’t have known that ten minutes later she’d be taking a midnight dip with my brother.” He grinned at Declan, who gave him his most sour expression. “Not saying I wouldn’t have wanted to be part of that—“

  “Hey,” Declan said, “don�
�t make me kick your ass, Fallon.”

  “But I had my own festivities to attend. We got pretty loaded, pretty fast.” Fallon grinned at the memory. “And no one left the creek until around six that morning. We partied it up until the sun started coming up.”

  “Because that’s when clothes are necessary,” Saint said.

  Fallon nodded. “And the horses and animals needed to be fed. We all took off then.”

  “That does trim the list pretty extensively, not that I know whether your word should be enough to exonerate the Horsemen. For the moment, it’s good enough.”

  “Come out to the ranch,” Fallon told Declan. “Otherwise, I’m going to move in with you. I’ll need a roof over my head.”

  “You can move in with Buck and Jake and the rest of your buddies. I’ve already got too many people in my house. I moved out here to be alone. Yet here you all are,” he said sourly.

  Harper stood up. “I’m going.”

  She was the last person he wanted to leave. She was the only one in the room who didn’t have their own personal agenda, something they wanted from him. He needed her to stay, because she was upset with him, and she had every right to be.

  “No. Everybody else get out,” he said, “go roost in my kitchen or my tv room, or better yet, go see your own families. I need to talk to Harper alone. She can play bodyguard.”

  She looked at him. “I can only stay an hour. I promised Michael we’d go to Redfeather's.”

  “I’ll take you.” He swung his legs over the bed, and everyone yelled, “No!”

  “It’s my shoulder that’s hurt, not my legs,” he groused, disgusted at the sudden searing pain in his shoulder. He went a little lightheaded, let Trace and Saint gently force him back against the pillows.

  “The doctor said you could only sit up a few hours. It’s time for you to take a nap. You can’t heal if you aggravate the damn thing all the time.” Steel stood. “I’m heading out to grab dinner with Judy. I’ll be back. Who wants the next shift?”

  “Shift?” Declan asked weakly. “I’m not an invalid or a baby!”

  “I’ll take midnight to four,” Trace said. “We’re usually up at some point with the little one or the pregnancy, anyway.”

  “I’ll take four until eight.” Saint rose, grabbed one last cookie. “My bride leaves early for a ridealong with Frick and Frack, I think.”

  They all looked at Harper.

  “Can you handle him for an hour?” Steel asked. “He’s been really grumpy today. Hate to leave you with a moody, ornery sonofabitch.”

  “I’ll read him a book.” Harper said. “Maybe a romance would sweeten him up.”

  They thought that was funny and went off making comments to themselves, enjoying the whole situation at his expense. “I’m not moody,” Declan said. “I’m not used to being babied to death. I’ve been on my own since I was sixteen, damn it.”

  Gypsy followed the men out, and Toad followed Gypsy, and that left Harper completely alone with him, which was just what he’d wanted so he could try to clear the air. “Look, Harper, I didn’t tell you about the girls being in reform school because it was none of my business. I didn’t want to get involved. It wasn’t my place. I’m hardly the one to throw a stone, after all. I was no angel growing up.”

  “Neither was I. I left home when I was sixteen.” Harper sat on the edge of the bed, wearing a frown. She smelled sweet like peaches and looked like the only medicine he wanted to take, but Declan didn’t reach out. He didn’t think he was halfway to forgiveness just yet. “My family was pretty well-off. They didn’t agree with my riding, didn’t like my boyfriend. Michael’s father.”

  He grunted. “Probably I wouldn’t have, either.”

  She peered at his shoulder. “Does it hurt?”

  “No,” he lied.

  “Who do you think was out there that night?” Harper studied him, her green eyes so clear and enticing he felt like he could see forever in them. All he wanted to do was make her feel safe, make her smile.

  “I don’t care. I don’t think about stuff like that.” Declan shrugged. “I don’t do Steel’s job, and he doesn’t do mine.”

  “Were you surprised by your brother’s visit?”

  “No. He’s pretty self-motivated, not that I can blame him in this case. But I don’t care about that, either.” He wanted to touch her hair so badly, wanted to run his hand down the smooth skin of her arm. She wore a soft blue top that gaped open just barely above her breasts, and that fitted her body right into her jeans. He sighed as the peach scent wafted to him again. “I care about you and Michael. And my ranch. My buddies. That’s about it.” With his good hand, he ran a finger slowly down her bare arm. “You have every right to be mad at me, but I honestly didn’t feel it was my place to get between you and your team. To be fair, it felt slimy. I didn’t know if you already knew, but I figured you wouldn’t want anyone else to know. So I kept my mouth shut.”

  “I know.” She leaned over, her lips against his. “I know. And I appreciate it. You’re one of the few people in this town who’s tried to stay out of my business.”

  “Yeah, well.” He ached for her to put those sweet lips against his, kiss him. Still, he waited for her to make the move. “I’m a loner, what can I say. I try to stay out of everyone’s business.”

  She kissed him, her lips sinking against his like moist red velvet cake. Declan felt himself dying and then being reborn, his heart flying with hope that she cared about him, that she cared about them. Maybe even enough not to leave Hell, which he was beginning to think was a real possibility.

  “Do you find it ironic that when we’re finally in a bed together, you’re incapacitated?” Harper smiled against his mouth, and the erection that had been growing suddenly went rock-hard.

  “I’m not that incapacitated.”

  “The surgeon said you are to do nothing.” Harper pulled away. “He said your healing depends on you not disturbing your shoulder in any way for at least two weeks.”

  “Damn the surgeon. Kiss me, Harper.”

  She did, pressing her lips to his softly, then with deliberate intent. He looked up at her when she broke away. “Come on, baby girl,” he said softly. “I can’t get enough of you.”

  She looked at him. “I promised your friends I’d put you to bed, make sure you rested. Where’s your library?”

  If she brought a book in here, he was going to toss it out the window. “I don’t want a bedtime story, unless you’re reading it to me naked.” He cheered up. “That’s the kind of rest I need.”

  “A plain old vanilla nap is more what the surgeon would recommend. I can’t bear the thought that someone hurt you!” Distress wrinkled her forehead. “I was so frightened, Declan.”

  “Hey,” he said, surprised. “It wasn’t the first time I’ve been shot, babe. Maybe won’t be the last. It sucks, but I heal fast, I promise.”

  “You staggered like … you staggered, Declan. You fell over, just like they do in the movies. I didn’t think I’d be able to find you in the water!”

  Oh, hell, she was upset. Seriously upset. The damage went way beyond just simple worry—she was panicked. Nightmarishly so. He watched her start to tremble, damned his shoulder for not being able to comfort her the way he wanted. “Hey, let’s not think about it, okay? Bring me that dragon book I was reading Michael. It’s in the other room.”

  Suddenly he was tired, worn out from his injury and the pain he ignored, and worst of all, the pain of pretending he wasn’t in love with Harper when he was, every inch of him feeling her pain. It crushed him. And there wasn’t a whole lot he could do about it right now.

  She shocked him when she pulled off her boots and jeans, revealing sweet pink panties covering a tight vee between her legs. She tugged off his jeans, never taking her gaze from his. He tried his best to help her, but damn his bound shoulder, he couldn’t get out of his jeans nearly fast enough. She got in the bed beside him, and kissed him hard, like she was afraid he was going to disappear a
nd she needed to hold on to him. The erection that had gone dormant in the face of her panic sprang to life, straining for her. Her lips tugged urgently against his, drawing him as close to her as she could get him. He pressed her close, finally allowing himself to stroke her mouth with his tongue in velvety sweeps. He wanted to comfort her, let her know everything was going to be all right. Her kisses became more urgent, and he wanted to be part of her, become one with her, protect her. He searched her mouth, wishing they could be closer, wanting to hold her tighter.

  She pulled away slightly, looked up at him.

  “Am I hurting you?” she asked, so sweetly, so innocently, drawing a groan from him.

  “This is the best medicine I could have.”

  She gave him a long look, then pulled his mouth back down to hers, kissing him slowly, tasting him, tracing his cheek and jawline with her fingertips. He’d never been so hard in his life, felt like he was going to blow just from the pleasure and sweetness of her kisses.

  “You have to stay very still,” she told him.

  “Part of me is already disrespecting that order, babe.”

  She glanced down at the sheet, which wasn’t doing a whole lot to disguise his erection. “That may be the only part of your body allowed to move.” She slid on top of him, straddled him just above his erection. He hooked a finger in each side of her panties, groaning, dying to tear them off of her.

  “Be still,” she told him. “That’s an order.”

  “I’m only so human, beautiful.” Her lips sank against his, and he became just a little less human. “Suddenly disobeying doctor’s orders sounds like a hell of a good idea.”

  “It’s not.” For one horrible second, he thought she might leave. Then she tugged off his boxers, her gaze on his erection. He unbuttoned her shirt, slowly, reverently, revealing a dainty pink bra that matched the panties. Heat flared through him as he made short work of the pretty bra, his gaze hypnotized by her beautiful breasts. “My God, I had no idea what I was missing. I may never do you in the dark again.”

  She kissed him and he could feel hot, moist heat though the tiny panties she wore. Everything inside him strained with raging desire to be inside her. He took a nipple into his mouth, sinking his hands against her hips, trapping her close. A moan escaped her as she braced her hands on the wall.