by Em Petrova
“You have a lot.” She checked herself as if she hadn’t meant to say that at all. “Stop grinning, Roshannon.” She emphasized his last name, separating business from pleasure.
“Just remember—we have an hour in the truck together to get to that slaughterhouse. We’ll be all alone.”
“Shut up.”
The path the ATV had taken was evident, the underbrush compressed under tires. Well, now they knew how the rustler had made away with the beef.
“Latchaw’s got patrol on that grocery store. They didn’t see anything last night or this morning?” he asked Amaryllis.
She’d been on the phone with the sheriff for half an hour during the drive. All her knowledge of the topic of the law had been like foreplay, had driven him crazy. He wanted her then—and now more than ever.
She shook her head. “Not a thing. They didn’t butcher it there. Has to be another place. I wonder…”
“What are you thinkin’?” he asked.
“Owens’ neighbor. Jack Mitchell.”
He studied her eyes. “We’ve agreed we believe there’s two crimes taking place here—those stealing and selling the live cattle. And those selling the meat they steal.”
She nodded.
“We need to visit the local slaughterhouse, see if anybody’s brought in meat in the last six hours.” They’d been checking daily.
“Right. Then it’s easy enough to get a search warrant for Mitchell’s place.”
“Guess your plans to ravish me in the truck on the way to the slaughterhouse are on hold, Roshannon. We’re making a trip over to Mitchell’s first.”
“Plenty of places to pull off.” His voice came out gritty.
She cocked a brow at him. “Keep it in your pants for now, lawman. We’ve got work to do.”
* * * * *
After Aiden’s comment about her starting to mean something to him, Amaryllis had hardly listened to the rest of the conversation. Other than he wanted to fuck her. That was one thing her body had heard loud and clear.
She felt off-balance. And she was never off-balance.
He didn’t know nearly enough about her to feel something besides lust and, she knew, disapproval at her tactics when it came to getting her rustler. Hell, they were practically strangers.
Strangers who know how to make each other feel amazing.
Spending long days with the man made her feel they’d worked together much longer. She had to admit, he was growing on her. Even the sight of his stupid little book made her feel a warm wave of affection. Though she didn’t know nearly enough about Aiden Roshannon, she knew he was a good man and was driven by his work ethic, same as her.
She’d had partners in the past, but none of them lasted long. Technically, he wouldn’t either. As soon as they solved the case, she’d return to Texas.
The whole way to Mitchell’s, her thoughts ran between Aiden and the case. There were a lot more missing pieces than she wanted. They needed to work harder, longer hours. Forego sleep and… other things… if they had to. Getting the criminals was most important.
She dragged in a deep breath. Aiden’s fresh piney scent filled the truck cab and even clung to her.
He switched on the radio. “Do you mind?”
She shook her head.
“Helps me think. Takes my mind off the obvious parts of the case and sometimes things come to me.”
She nodded. “We need to get one of these guys to talk. Give us names.”
“Sheriff Mead’s good at putting the pressure on a man. He’ll have Fitz singing in no time.”
The dulcet tones of a country music singer projected through the speakers, and Aiden sang along. She stared at him, unable to stop the chills that ran up and down her body at the beauty of his deep voice.
She couldn’t stop hearing his commands either. Take off your clothes. Open your mouth. Arch your back. Don’t come until I say so.
Giving him control in the bedroom was something she’d never expected could be such a turn-on. She wanted more of it. All those promised spankings. And the rope. She was a cowgirl at heart, after all.
He stopped singing, staring out the windshield, deep in thought. She didn’t interrupt the silence in case he was working over some good tidbit of the crime, though how he was doing it without scribbling in his book was anybody’s guess.
After a spell, he shot her a smile. “Hope my singin’ wasn’t too terrible.”
“The opposite. You’re very good. I didn’t know you can sing.”
The corner of his lips tipped up. “Doesn’t say that in my file? I know you went through it.”
“Williams told you.”
“That deputy only keeps quiet about cases. But when it comes to office gossip, he sings like a canary.”
She laughed. “So while we’re on the subject of what your file didn’t reveal, can I ask you a few questions?”
His eyes were the darkest gray. “Guess it’s only fair that you get to know me, since we work so closely.”
She tried to form her words in a way that wouldn’t put him on instant defensive. But she knew what she wanted to ask would do that anyway.
“Out with it, Amaryllis. You’re not one to hold your tongue.”
“Thanks.”
“You don’t need to sound so cheerful about that. It wasn’t exactly a compliment.”
“Is to me. I pride myself in saying what I mean.”
He chuckled. “Lay it on me, then.” His low tone suggested he meant something besides her questions.
“I wondered about your time in the military.”
He sobered, and she noted the change in his posture, shoulders tense as if someone had tightened the muscle stretching between them. “What about it?” His tone wasn’t angry, but it was guarded.
“I read something that pointed to the fact that you didn’t follow a command. That surprises me.”
“Yeah, well, I’m by the book now.”
“Is that why?”
He swung his stare to her. Warmth bloomed in her stomach, and it had nothing to do with sex. It had to do with affection for this man.
“There’s times to follow the rules and times to break ’em.”
“They gave you a command you couldn’t execute, didn’t they?”
“It’s all classified information, so I can’t tell you any specifics. But let’s say their command went against the grain. For that, I was shipped back to the States and spent several days being questioned. Almost court marshalled. Didn’t think I’d get a place in the law like I did, but people around here know me and they gave me a chance.”
“I can tell you’re an important part of the sheriff’s department. And all these ranchers rely on you.”
“On you too.” He met her stare.
“Glad to do my part,” she said. “Although, I must admit, this case is taking a bit longer than usual. It’s pretty involved.”
“Lots of people we need to speak to. I’ve been thinking we should haul in all of Mitchell’s and Fitz’s friends and family members. Interrogate them in one spot.”
“That could work, but your office’s mighty small for that.”
He chuckled. “That it is. I was thinking we need to hook up with Judd. Find out what he’s heard. Rumors have a way of spreading across counties.”
“Would we go to him?”
“I was thinkin’ halfway. Eagle Crest.”
He’d take her to his family home—to meet his twin, his parents? Amaryllis gripped the seat. What did that mean? Somehow, Aiden’s tone didn’t make her think it was only business on his mind.
“What do you say?” he asked.
“Anything for the case.”
He nodded thoughtfully and turned back to the windshield.
In minutes, they reached Mitchell’s place. A truck was parked in the driveway and the dogs were milling around. When the animals saw them pull in, they rushed the truck.
“Let me handle this.” Aiden gave her a steely look.
“I’ll
take care of the dogs. You talk to Nicky. And Mitchell if he’s here.”
“Here’s here, all right. It’s just a matter of finding the man.” He got out of the truck.
Amaryllis soothed the dogs, who seemed to remember her. They let her scratch their ears and pet their heads as they circled both her and Aiden all the way to the front door, their barks deafening.
This time Aiden opened the door.
She stared at him. “Are you serious? You can’t just open the door,” she mocked.
He arched a brow at her and called into the house, “Hello!”
Nicky rushed into the front room, hands wet as if she’d been washing dishes or scrubbing something.
Amaryllis stared at her hands. At a bloody little finger.
“How dare you walk into my home again?” Nicky shot out.
“The deputy will be arriving any second with the search warrant.” He cocked his head at the crunch of gravel outside. “There he is now. We’d like to have a look around. If you fight us, you’ll be taken into custody.”
Nicky paled. Amaryllis kept her gaze trained on that pinky finger. It was blood, but it wasn’t bleeding. Not a cut.
She took a step toward the woman. Aiden made a noise in his chest, and she knew his protective instincts were rising up again, but he’d have to choke on them for the time being. She had a job to do.
“You’ve got some blood,” she said to the woman.
She looked down at her hands as if wondering how they were even attached to her arms. “I… cut myself. I was chopping vegetables for soup.”
Amaryllis made a sympathetic sound in her throat. “Let’s see if we can find you a Band-Aid.” She took Nicky by the arm and led her into the kitchen while the deputy entered with the warrant and he and Aiden started sweeping the house.
When Amaryllis got Nicky into the kitchen, there wasn’t a vegetable in sight. Not surprising. There was, however, a nice-sized cut of beef on the counter.
She turned to Nicky. “Don’t lie to me and things’ll go easier for you. We know your man’s involved in some illegal activity, and if you tell us all about it, the charges against you will be lighter or even dropped altogether. Especially if he’s forcing you to help him. By hurting you?”
She looked into Nicky’s eyes.
The woman shifted her gaze away.
“You realize Special Investigator Roshannon and I are looking into some cattle slaughters in this area. Some of your neighbor’s beef’s gone missing too.”
“Heard he got those back.”
“Not all of them. And just this morning we were down at the bottom of the county looking at a cow that was killed, butchered where it lay. Even the heart was taken. You know anything about that?” Amaryllis leaned against the counter. The slab of beef lay there inches away.
“Interesting, this cut. Doesn’t look as if it was cut with a meat saw. Looks more ragged, like someone used a big knife. Don’t you think?”
Nicky went to the kitchen sink and washed her hands quickly and then dried them on a dishtowel. “I wouldn’t know about that.”
“Did you purchase this beef? Maybe at Willy’s?”
She knew damn well Willy’s was the grocery that was out of business, where she and Aiden had made a discovery… and more.
“Willy’s ain’t been open for a while now.”
“Then where’d you get it?”
“The only other place to get a good cut of beef is up at Siverly’s.”
“Oh, they deal in cuts of beef like this?” Amaryllis’s tone had Nicky hesitating. As if the woman knew what she asked, or at least the implication of it.
“It’s a simple question, Nicky.”
She nodded.
“I’ll let you get back to cutting so you can get this beef in the freezer. Can’t let it spoil.” She pulled away from the counter and walked into the other room. Deputy Williams stood at the door, watching something that was taking place on the porch. A dog snarled.
Amaryllis stepped up next to Williams, and the deputy looked down at her with a slow, crooked smile. “Looks as if Mitchell finally showed his face.”
“Yeah, to the wrong man.”
Mitchell was in cuffs, clothes stained in blood as if something big, maybe a cow, had bled all over him, while Aiden read him his Miranda rights.
Chapter Eleven
By the time Aiden and Amaryllis finished questioning Mitchell, they had the law from several counties involved in the case. Amaryllis had spent an hour on the phone with a constable near Laramie who’d heard of some tainted beef coming into a local grocery and a case had been opened because so many people were getting sick.
In trying to slide the attention from himself and his involvement in the butchering, Mitchell had told them something about a guy with a suspicious cattle brand that had Amaryllis on the phone again, this time with a brand investigator in Cheyenne.
She appeared in the door of the interrogation room again, eyes bright. “False brand not affiliated with any ranch in Wyoming or the neighboring states. Several cows sold off last week, calves too. We found out who bought the cows and the Cheyenne sheriff’s office is sending someone down there now to investigate.”
Mitchell looked up with hope on his face. “I can tell you more.”
“You will tell us more—everything you know,” Aiden said slowly, with deadly calm in his voice. “Starting with how you got involved in this. A family man like you, working hard to support his family as a mechanic.”
He was playing to the man’s morals to get him to discuss the crimes.
Mitchell nodded. Amaryllis came to sit next to Aiden, her thigh so close he could feel the warmth off it. The urge to let his knee fall to the side and brush his leg against hers was strong, but he resisted.
As soon as he got her alone, though, he wasn’t playing around. No holding back. He had a length of rope in his truck that would serve well.
They wrung a bit more from Mitchel, but half an hour later, the man had clammed up.
Aiden stood and motioned to Williams to come into the room. “Show him to his new home.”
Williams nodded and went to hook a hand around Mitchell’s biceps. “Come with me. I’ll show you what a cell looks like.”
As soon as the man was out of the room, Aiden looked into Amaryllis’s eyes. She shook her head. “He didn’t tell us much. Protecting someone. Or he’s scared.”
“I’d say scared. Did you see how sweat broke out on his forehead when we started really asking questions?”
She nodded.
“What’s on your mind? I see you’re thinkin’ on somethin’.”
“I was thinking we need to start asking the local businesses who’s coming in and making unusual purchases. Electronics store. Off-roading vehicles.”
Damn, she was one smart little cookie. “You’re right. If someone’s suddenly got money, he’s going to spend it. C’mon. Let’s grab a little lunch and talk to some people.”
“A bit late for lunch, isn’t it?”
“Too early for supper. Besides, I plan on having more than one meal today.” He gave her a long look that had pink blooming in her cheeks. He ducked his head to cover his smile.
Fifteen minutes later, with a pot of steaming coffee between them and two big meals on order, he and Amaryllis had a brainstorming session about the case. Mitchell had given them a few leads, but now they knew the rustling ring was bigger than they’d believed. It involved several counties and the thieves would be serving real jail time.
Aiden wrote more details in his book but put it away when their food arrived. Amaryllis lifted her fork and tucked into her home fries with onions and green peppers as if she’d been on the trail for days without a hot meal. When she glanced up to find him staring, that pink blush rose to her cheeks once more.
“You’re mighty pretty when you blush.”
“Shut up, Roshannon.”
“I’d like to make you blush all over.” He pitched his voice low.
She dar
ted her tongue out and wet her lower lip. “Not here.”
“Back at my place then. I think we horrified the owners of the B&B where you’re staying enough for one week.”
She gulped down her bite in her mouth, looking nervous. Aiden sat back in his seat and studied her. He’d never seen her anything less than perfectly in control of her emotions. But right now, she didn’t seem to be able to keep the blush from her face or the excitement from her glances.
He ate his meal with a tight chest and a tighter pair of Wranglers. He wanted her so bad that he couldn’t guarantee he’d get her home. The rope was in his truck, after all.
After she’d polished off her home fries and a country fried steak, the waitress asked if she could get them slices of fresh banana cream pie. Amaryllis shook her head and Aiden asked for the check. He’d have his pie, all right, but they needed to be alone.
With a hand on her lower back, he guided her out of the restaurant and to the truck. He made a move to reach for her door, but she grabbed the handle first. Throwing a look over her shoulder, she said, “I got this.”
He inched closer, trapping her against the steel and his body. Looking down into her eyes, he said, “I love how independent you are, doll. But remember that when I take control, you’re going to be begging for more.”
Her eyes grew hazy and she opened her mouth to say something. He brushed his lips across hers in a brief kiss and then pushed away from the truck. He got in before she did, and he figured she must be standing there dazed.
Smiling to himself, he headed out on the road, back to the job. They needed to hit the slaughterhouse before the second shift came on and cattle were loaded into the building.
“Aiden.” Her voice came hesitantly.
He fixed her in his gaze. “Yeah, doll.”
She locked her fingers together and a flush crept over her throat. “I think we should talk about what we’re going to do. Later, I mean. With you dominating me.”
His cock stretched to full hardness in one word—dominating.
He slowed the truck to a speed he felt more comfortable keeping while talking about how he was going to pleasure her and with a raging hard-on. “What do you know about domination?”
A shiver ran through her. “Not much. Just things you hear.”