Now that he was back, he needed to shower off the sweat and stink of investigating a disembowled bear and hiking up hills, through creeks and the woods. Only after he was clean would he crawl back into bed with Fee. He’d be there to wake her up and ease her into the wonders of morning sex.
There’d be no more waiting to make her his. When she’d stripped down to some of the sexiest lingerie he’d ever seen, he understood that salient fact. When Fee had gotten into his hot tub, naked, he took her actions as a silent invitation for sex.
They would’ve had sex if his little doc hadn’t fallen asleep.
Poor little doc. Too much stress plus too much wine at this altitude and she’d drifted off as soon as the hot water added to the alcohol’s effects.
Sleeping with her in his arms had felt right—and as frustrating as hell.
Ren had been lucky the intrusion alert had uncovered a real problem, or Trey would’ve kicked his brother’s ass clear into Canada.
Trey toed off his boots and left them in the mud room off the laundry. He moved into the kitchen, started the coffee maker, and snagged a bottle of water to hydrate after all the hiking and climbing he and Ren had done. He stood at the kitchen island and drank the bottle of water. Other than the noises of his refrigerator and the gurgling of the coffee maker, the house was quiet. Too quiet.
Every muscle in his body stiffened. His sixth sense went on alert. The place was empty. Rage and fear roiled in his gut. Had someone managed to get into his house and snatch Fee without triggering Keely and Tweeter’s security system?
It would be difficult, but it could be done.
“Fee!” he shouted.
No answer.
He ran to the bedroom and found it empty. There was no sign of a struggle. She’d left on her own.
Relief calmed his rage, but fear still swam in his gut.
Fee was out there, unprotected and ignorant of the lingering danger from her kidnapping by the cartel. Yet another reason he wanted her living on Sanctuary, preferably in his house.
Chavez had escaped Madera immediately after he, Price, and Levi had blown up El Hacha’s drug operations. Chavez and a recovering El Hacha then had gone into hiding. The cartel had placed a bounty on Fee’s and the Lopez’s heads plus on any others who’d had a part in blowing up the Madera drug operation.
Drug money bought a lot of cooperation on both sides of the border.
Several times since Fee’s rescue, Trey and an SSI team had gone back into Mexico on joint drug enforcement missions to track the bastards down and eliminate the danger. But the cartel fuckwits were well-hidden … for now.
Eventually, they’d crawl out of their lair, and Trey would lead the SSI team that would take both Chavez and his boss down for threatening Fee.
What twisted his gut into a guilty knot was he and Price had agreed not to tell her about the reward for her capture. They’d thought they could protect her.
Trey cursed, then stalked to the bed and touched the sheet. Her sweet musk still lingered on the air, but the sheet was cool. She’d been gone for a while.
Fuming, he pulled his satphone phone from his pocket and hit number three on his speed dial.
“Yo,” Tweeter answered. “What do you need, Trey?”
“Where’s Fee’s tracker?” The tracker had been injected under Fee’s skin when she’d gotten a flu shot upon arriving in Idaho. Lacey Jones, a nurse and the wife of Quinn, SSI’s third in command, hadn’t liked doing it without Fee’s permission, but Trey and Price with Keely chiming in had convinced the nurse. He’d figured on telling Fee about it after she lived with him for three or four years.
“You lost your woman already?”
Trey heard the amusement in his friend’s voice. He didn’t appreciate it … at all. He took one breath, than another, until he could respond without swearing. “Just tell me where she is, Tweeter,” he snarled.
“She’s with Keely and the others. They’re on the way to the outlet mall.” Tweeter’s voice held no amusement now. “DJ is with them. So between her and my sis, Fee is safe.”
Tweeter had zeroed in on Trey’s concern.
Trey blew out a frustrated breath. “Okay, thanks, buddy. Did DJ say how long they’d be gone?”
Tweeter snorted. “Her response was when they were done. Can’t come between a woman and her outlet mall shopping. Even my kick-ass Army helicopter pilot loves the outlet mall. Hey, maybe they’ll hit the lingerie outlet, and we’ll both get lucky.”
Trey muttered under his breath, “I could only be so lucky.”
Tweeter inhaled sharply. “You mean you haven’t bedded her yet? What’s wrong with you, man?”
“She wasn’t ready, asshat.” Trey gritted his teeth and throttled back his anger. This wasn’t Tweeter’s fault, nor was it Fee’s. Fuck, it wasn’t even his fault. It was bad timing yet again.
Good news was, Fee was ready to take the next step with him—naked hot tub time had clinched that. When she returned to Sanctuary later today, he’d make it clear that tonight she’d be in his arms, in his bed, and he’d make love to her until she fell asleep. Then he’d wake her up tomorrow morning and treat her to Sunday morning marathon sex until it was time for one of Sanctuary Chef Scotty’s famous brunches.
After he’d ticked off those boxes, he’d explain her safety and well-being were his top priorities and the only way they could be guaranteed would be if she slept in his arms every night until the day they died.
CHAPTER 16
Later that day
Ma’s Bar and Grill, Grangeville
“Fee,” Keely said. “Grab the large corner booth. I’ll go find Nick and let him know we’re here. Looks like the booth still needs to be cleaned off from the lunch crowd.”
Fee looked around the mostly empty restaurant. It was too late for a late lunch and too early for an early supper. Through the connecting door, the bar, however, was hopping. College basketball tourney games played on three large flat screens and the locals had gathered and were vocally cheering their favorites on.
“There’s a lot of empty…”
“Don’t question it,” Elana told Fee as Keely moved past them and into the bar in her search for the owner Nick. “Keely—for that matter, all of the SSI operatives—like to sit in that one booth. They can protect their backs while having a view of all the entrances.”
Fee recalled she’d sat with Keely in that booth the first time she’d come to Idaho.
“Has there been much need to protect their backs?” Pia leaned around Fee to ask.
“Oh, hell, yeah,” Elana said. “The most recent incident was just over a month ago. There was a shoot-out with some hired guns who were after Keely and Riley.”
Deja vu. Mercenaries had tried to kill Keely the day Fee had delivered Riley.
“DJ arrived and helped Keely save the day, along with Callie, Risto Smith’s wife.” Elana patted her tummy. “This pregnant lady, DJ’s mom, and some other civilians piled into Ma’s safe room with Nick and his gun protecting us.”
“Safe room?” Pia turned to her mother. “Mamá, we’ll need to have such a safe place also. Sounds like we didn’t get away from all the violence by coming here.”
Carmela nodded. “It is a good thing I brought my gun.”
Fee cringed at the thought of Pia’s mother shooting anybody, but merely said, “You’ll need to make sure you can carry it here.”
DJ overheard the end of the conversation. “We’ll get Ren to make sure you’re legal to carry concealed, Señora. As for your diner’s security, he’ll most likely put in the same defensive measures he added for Nick and Ma. Ren likes the places his people eat to be defensible since SSI’s enemies don’t care who they hurt to get to the operatives or their families.”
Tweeter’s new bride looked over toward the bar. “Looks like Keely found Nick, but they got stopped by some of the locals. Let’s just bus the table ourselves.”
The group moved to the booth and quickly cleaned off the dishes, utensil
s, and the glasses. Pia found the bucket with soapy water and a cloth and wiped down the table. By the time, Keely and the burly owner-cook Nick reached them, Elana had even placed rolled up silverware at the table for everyone.
Nick chuckled, taking in the table. “Y’all want jobs? I need some help.”
A chorus of “nos” and “no thanks” came from the table’s inhabitants.
Nick turned to Carmela and held out his hand. “I hear you’ll be opening up a diner between here and Sanctuary. Welcome to the community. Always room for one more diner for the locals to hang out at.”
Carmela smiled and placed her tiny hand in Nick’s huge one. “I am sure we can share the business. My place will be Tex-Mex. I won’t be competing with your dinner and late night bar crowd. I’ll only be open for breakfast and lunch, Monday through Saturday.”
Nick grinned. “Sounds good. I may cut back my breakfast hours then and offer a brunch on Sundays. With you taking the early birds, I’ll get more rest. I ain’t getting any younger and need my beauty sleep.”
Fee and the others laughed as Nick rubbed a beefy hand over his balding head. Nick and Carmela shook hands once more. A deal had been struck, and Fee wondered if Ren had anything to do with it. She looked over at Keely who winked and nodded.
Was Ren a silent partner in Ma’s also? It made sense.
Moving to Idaho had been the right decision for Fee—and for Pia and her mother. The SSI family took care of their own and those special to them. Too bad, the only person in her family who had the same philosophy was Price. Her father had always been a hard ass; he’d figured providing a roof, food, and clothing was all he needed to do. No matter how hard she tried, she could never please him. Her older sisters were a lot older than her and Price, and had gotten the hell out of the house as soon as they could. She and Price had relied on one another for mental and emotional support.
After everyone gave their orders, Pia turned to Fee. “Okay, what happened with the date last night? Why are you with us and not Trey?”
Fee’s face burned with embarrassment. “Geez Louise, Pia, just trot my private life out for everyone and their brother to hear.”
Pia looked around. “It’s just our table,” she waved a hand in the general direction of the lunch counter, “and that woman over there, and she doesn’t look like she’s interested in our discussion.”
Everyone looked toward the counter.
“Hey, Tara.” Keely waved at the tall, lanky brunette wearing a Park Ranger uniform shirt and well-worn skinny jeans. “Come join us.”
The brunette smiled and came over. “Hey, Keely. Are you sure your friends don’t mind?” She looked around the table and nodded. “Hello, ladies.”
“Gals, this is Tara Nightwalker. She moved to the area not long ago.” Keely introduced everyone at the table, ending with Fee. “Fee, are you okay with Tara joining us? I’m getting the sense from Pia’s question that you might need some girl talk and maybe some intel about my brother-in-law.”
Fee glanced around the table. Each of her shopping companions looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and sympathy. She was comfortable with these women, who hadn’t been shy about sharing their own stories about how they hooked up with their SSI men. Some of the stories had been amusing; all of the stories had involved danger. The SSI women were strong and had definite opinions on how to deal with an alpha-male. Fee was more than interested in getting their advice about how to deal with Trey. In fact, after last night and this morning, she was damn sure she needed as much help as she could get.
“Hey, Fee. I can leave,” Tara offered with a commiserating smile. “Keely has sort of put you on the spot.”
Tara’s offer showed a particular sensitivity for Fee’s feelings. She immediately sensed that Tara was cut from the same cloth as the other women at this table and would become another good friend.
Fee had never really had a lot of close female friends before Pia, and was discovering she liked the camaraderie she’d found with the SSI women in the short time she’d been in Idaho.
After a few moments of consideration, Fee said, “What the hell … stay. The more, the merrier.”
Tara grinned and pulled up another chair to the table.
Pia gestured hurry up with her hand. “So, fess up. Did you take my advice?”
“Yes, I did.”
Pia high-fived her. “Way to go, my shy, retiring friend. So? What happened? Why aren’t you still with him? God, don’t tell me the sex was bad. Was he mean?”
As she pondered which of the many questions she’d address first—
“Whoa, hold the phone.” Keely frowned at Pia. “Trey isn’t mean. Plus, the sex couldn’t be bad. From what I’ve overheard from the locals he’s dated, his reputation is that of a frick-fracking sex god…”
Fee groaned. That was not what she needed to hear, especially since she’d already observed he was hung like a stallion. In that instant, she hated every woman he’d ever fucked … local or not.
Jealous much?
Keely continued talking, “…a lot like his brother. So tell all. I have experience with the Maddox-protect-the-little-woman-from-herself, macho mind-set. That’s what happened, right?”
“Maybe.” Fee bit her lip.
Not maybe.
She obviously misunderstood the over-protective, dominant breed of male since she’d always kept her distance from men of that ilk. But she didn’t want to stay away from Trey. So—“We went back to his place.”
“And?” Keely leaned over the table.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Keely echoed. The other women looked almost as shocked as Keely sounded. Well except for Pia who knew just what a coward Fee really was.
“Okay,” Fee sighed. “See … it’s this way. Ever since I first met Trey, he’s told me over and over that the next move in our … whatever this is between us …would be up to me.”
Keely nodded. “Just what I thought—he’s protecting you even from himself.”
“Yeah.” Fee swallowed. She coughed, her throat and mouth dry from tension. She really needed that Diet Pepsi she’d ordered. The ladies remained silent, allowing her to gather her thoughts. Clearing her throat, she continued, “My past experiences with men have been … well, let’s just say, less than stellar.”
“And then there was the stalking-rapist son of a bitch,” Pia added.
“May he burn in hell,” Carmela said, crossing herself.
Keely muttered “frick-fracking Stall.” Fee had almost forgotten she’d told Keely about Stall last June, in fact, in this very booth.
Elana, DJ, and Tara’s expressions ran the gamut from sympathy to anger. Tara, in particular, had tensed when Pia had mentioned “stalker-rapist.”
“Yeah … and him.” A Diet Pepsi appeared in front of Fee. She grabbed it and drank a healthy swallow. “So … for many reasons, I didn’t feel I could take the lead or even the next step with Trey. Truth be told, I don’t want to take the lead. It’s not … me.”
Mostly because in the past you’ve picked losers to have sex with.
Elana patted Fee’s hand which she’d fisted on the table. “Not all women want or can take the lead. I know I wasn’t able to when I first met Vanko.”
“Really?” Fee turned to face Elana.
“I wouldn’t lie about that,” Elana said. “So what was Pia’s suggestion?”
“She said a man like Trey…
“A man’s man,” Pia put in as if the ladies at the table hadn’t already known that. Tara raised an elegant raven-colored brow, her lips twisting into a slight smile.
Fee shot a glare at Pia, then said, “…a man like Trey would get the message I was ready for sex if I took off my clothes as I headed toward his bedroom.”
The women laughed.
“So … did it work?” Pia asked, bouncing in her seat.
“I thought it had.” Fee frowned. “Well, let me back up. Before I took off my clothes, I sort of improvised.”
A
t Pia’s groan and muttered “mierda,” Fee hurried to add, “He has a hot tub. I commented on it. He asked me if I wanted to sit in the hot tub and look at the stars. I said yes and asked what we’d wear. He said nothing.”
The ladies hooted.
Fee waved them off. “But then he immediately backed off and offered me some of his draw-string shorts and a T-shirt.”
A chorus of boos went around the table.
“So? Keep going. What happened next?” Keely wiggled her fingers in a gimme-more.
“I stripped down to my underwear.” Fee took another sip of her drink. Talking about her sex life was thirsty work.
“Good move, Fee.” Keely gave her a thumb’s up.
“That’s my girl,” Pia said.
“What kind of underwear?” Carmela asked. “Sexy or granny panties?”
“Mamá!” Pia looked shocked at her mother’s question.
“Mi hija. Men like sexy underwear.” Carmela smiled. “My Manny likes red lace.”
“Mamá!” Pia blushed. “I don’t want to know that—ever.”
Fee giggled at the look of horror on Pia’s face and found for the first time that day she felt lighter, happier. “Carmela, it was very sexy underwear. Sheer green bra and a matching bikini panty edged in lace. FYI, I don’t own granny panties.”
Carmela gave her two thumbs up.
“Oooh, I know those undies. Good choice.” Pia grinned. “So, come on. What happened next? No red-blooded male could resist you in that underwear.”
“He kissed me.” Fee sighed. “His kisses are the best sex I’ve ever had.”
“That can’t be true.” Elana frowned.
“Sadly, it is.” Fee took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “After the kisses is when it all went wrong.”
An Ill Wind Page 18