by Mayer, Dale
There was no sign of Swede.
Damn the man. Surely he hadn’t run into trouble – had he? She stopped and listened but outside of the occasional swish from one of the horses standing and snoozing in the sun, there was no movement from anywhere.
She knew something hadn’t gone as planned.
Instinct had her picking up her feet and racing to where she’d last seen him standing. And barreled around the corner of the barn only to come to a shuddering stop as she hit a wall.
*
“Whoa, slow down.” Swede picked up Eva and twirled her around to reduce the force of her impact. Then he stood her back on her feet. And grinned. She looked flustered. And worried.
His grin fell away, and he gave her a little shake. “What’s wrong?”
“You.” She glared at him. “I didn’t know where you’d gone to. All the women are inside having drinks.”
He relaxed. “Good. I was afraid something had happened.”
“No. Everything is fine.” But she didn’t look fine.
“What’s bothering you?”
“You. I wouldn’t be so worried, but it occurred to me that we’re a little short on males here now. Six left with the horse trailer. I think Isabella has two older ranch hands that live and work here, but if someone wanted to attack, well there are four women without counting Isabella and her staff…”
“I noticed. Don’t worry, the team is keeping watch.”
“Thank God,” she said with feeling. “I know I wasn’t happy to see you earlier, but I’m delighted now. It feels empty with the other people gone.”
“And it’s also too damn convenient. Who arranged for the people to come and leave in this pattern?”
“I don’t think it was a pattern but if it was arranged then it was Isabella.”
Swede kept silent. He’d do a little digging into Isabella’s background. He hated to be suspicious of everyone, but after his years in the military and seeing what people did to each other and often for little or no monetary gain, he knew better than to ignore something that was seriously obvious to him. Isabella had to know about the training going on behind her property.
She might or might not know something about the exercises going on here. And the women? Who’d know? Who’d care? The Mexican authorities weren’t going to care too much. A case would be opened and the rebels would be blamed. But not likely in time to rescue the women.
He shook his head, his gaze at the corner of the barn. He couldn’t let down his guard. As far as he was concerned, this ranch and all those who lived and worked here, could have ties to the rebels.
Having protection meant being left alone by the rebels, but that also meant they pretty well did what they wanted without any interference from her.
He pondered the problems of the other volunteers going missing in the back woods of Mexico and what the various governments would do. In this case with Eva being Hawk’s sister, there’d be a whole lot more done than normal, but chances were good no one here knew about her brother.
If she didn’t have that connection the volunteers would disappear and everyone would be warned again about the dangers of traveling in Mexico and that would be the end of it until they turned up again – if they turned up again.
Alive or dead.
A large bird flew overhead. Looked like a buzzard from the neck size and wing span. Not good. It was as if they knew there’d be bloodshed on the hacienda soon enough.
A long low bird call had Eva gasping and spinning around in his arms.
“That’s my brother,” she whispered, a huge smile on her face. “Wow, am I glad to hear that call.”
“I told you they were all here.”
“I know, but now I don’t have to listen to your reassurances, I know it inside.” She beamed.
“I have to meet them. Go back inside and give my excuses.” He walked down the fence to a clump of trees off in the distance.
“Wait,” she called out. “What excuse?”
“That you wore me out and left me to nap,” was his instant response.
He heard her shocked gasp and laughed. He turned, flashed her a wide grin and added, “You and me – it’s going to happen. And soon.”
At her growl of frustration he turned and kept on walking. It was going to happen. He didn’t know when or how but he knew it was. As he was starting to realize, his life wouldn’t be complete unless it did.
Now all he had to figure out was if that was a temporary fix or if there wasn’t going to be anything temporary about it.
He was starting to think the latter was the only option left.
Somehow she’d slipped under his guard a long time ago, and since then she’d been an irritant just waiting for him to deal with. To figure out what she was to him.
And what he wanted her to be.
Chapter 9
Back inside, flushed from her furious race back to the hacienda and the heat, she strode into the room with the others and plunked down on the chair she’d vacated.
“Did you find him?” Mary asked.
Heat rolled over her cheeks as she remembered the excuse Swede had suggested.
That brought a snicker from April. “Apparently she did if her high color is anything to go by.”
The others giggled and she blushed even hotter.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, that man is going to drive me crazy,” she muttered.
“In a good way apparently.” April reached over and patted her hand. “Glad to see you’ve taken him back. He adores you. We can all see that.”
“Unfortunately he does appear to,” Mary said in disgust.
She was at least five years younger than Eva and looked to be barely out of high school and still into full on man crushes. Eva didn’t think she’d ever gone through that stage. If she had, it had been short lived. Thankfully.
She smiled at the younger woman, seeing the dissatisfaction with life in that perpetual pout. She hadn’t noticed it before as the woman was like many others her age – horse crazy.
The young woman, Lena, who worked for Isabella, came with a large trolley of some kind laden with treats. Eva’s stomach growled. She checked her watch. There really wasn’t much else to do but enjoy the late afternoon and evening. Morning would be a repeat of today until they were on the road with the horses too.
Her mind flicked back to what Swede was saying. If they knew the men were gone today, then an attack would likely happen tonight.
Long shadows stretched across the interior of the open room. Overstuffed furniture covered with casual blankets made for several open seating arrangements. The kitchen was off to one side and down along the back of the hacienda on both sides were bedrooms. Isabella and her staff lived on the one side. Eva presumed that’s where family would be if she had any. And that brought a frown to her face. She’d thought that Isabella had sons. If so, where were they?
Good manners kept her from asking, but she couldn’t help wonder if everything was okay. That she was even worried about such a problem meant her instincts were truly aroused. Trying to shrug off her unease, she smiled at Lena and accepted a plate of some kind of mini cakes.
She didn’t have much of a sweet tooth but these looked delicious. Deep fried breadsticks? Listening to the conversation around her, she realized they were calling the treat churros.
They were delicious.
Too bad Swede wasn’t here. He’d love these.
The door opened suddenly. If she hadn’t been already looking in the right direction she’d not have seen the flash of fear that crossed Isabella’s face at the interruption. But the mask quickly smoothed over her face again.
Interesting.
Swede stopped just inside the entrance, his hard gaze sweeping the room until it landed on Eva. She could feel the force of that gaze searching, willing her to be there, and the relief when he found her. She smiled at him. “Hey, decided you’d had enough of that heat, did you?” she teased him gently.
The
air shifted with his arrival.
Feminine energy flared into light and instead of the calm passive relaxation of a few moments ago, there was now an atmosphere of sexual flirtation as Janice and her daughter instinctively primped. She looked over at April who thankfully was just smiling up at Swede as a normal male.
Swede strode toward Eva and took the seat beside her. It was too small for him, but he wasn’t going to move elsewhere, apparently, as he pressed close to her.
She opened her mouth to say something but slowly closed it, feeling tension vibrating through his huge body. She couldn’t believe how much larger he was than her now that he was sitting beside her. But given the muscle twitch flickering steadily in his jaw, something was up and she’d be very grateful for his size soon enough.
For the first time she wondered at the sense of staying here. Maybe they should leave for the rest of the day and night. It was a long drive to the next major town, but they could come back in the morning.
But how would she get the other three women to come with them? And she couldn’t leave if Isabella and Lena were in danger here.
She needed about eighteen hours to get the last of the horses loaded and to see the hacienda in her rearview mirror. Were they going to get those hours?
*
Swede reached over and picked up Eva’s hand.
He needed to talk to her in private and soon. He didn’t want to cause a panic but based on what Shadow had found, there were men on the ranch that had been deliberately staying out of the day’s proceedings. Why?
The volunteers could have used the men. Maybe none of them were equine vets, but they could handle those horses. Besides, why were there only women here now?
Maybe he’d been a SEAL for too long, but this was looking damn fishy. If all the horses had gone out today, that would have made the most sense. He couldn’t let go of the idea that something else was going on.
“Come for a walk with me,” he murmured, his voice husky, deep. He gazed into her eyes, willing her to take his lead.
One of the other women beside him sighed. He’d been around enough females to know the signs, but he didn’t want to walk with any of the others. Or for them to get any ideas. He wanted to walk with Eva. He needed to walk with her. To talk to her. Bring her up to date. Hell, he just wanted to get his hands on her.
She studied his face then smiled. “Sounds wonderful.”
And damn if her husky voice didn’t catch on the words.
He stood up, her hand in his and smiled at the others. “If you’ll excuse us, we’ll be outside for a few moments.”
The youngest woman sniggered. He caught the flush of color in Eva’s face but ignored it. The charade was important. He wished it wasn’t. That they weren’t playing parts. That this was real between them. He wanted her. He’d always wanted her but hadn’t had a chance to change her poor impression of him.
He knew he couldn’t deal with that here and now and it was killing him to be playing the game.
“Food will be served in just under two hours,” Isabella warned with a knowing smile.
Swede nodded, his mind already cataloging the various responses of the others and tucking them away in the back of his mind. He knew people. He knew animals, and his mind was similar to the damn computers he spent so much time on…and something here was off.
Chapter 10
Outside the heat hit them in waves.
“You know we could’ve gone someplace else,” Eva said, gasping and pulling her shirt away from her chest. “It’s not going to cool down for a few hours.”
“It’s what it is,” he said in a neutral tone, but his gaze never stopped moving as he motioned her to the horse barn.
Great, they could add horse flies to the sweltering heat. Why were they out here again? What had he found?
“Let’s go. We have a bit of a walk.” And he took the lead. But to where? And at the clip he was traveling, it wasn’t leaving her any room for asking questions.
They strode past the horse barn, and she was more than ready to duck in and deal with the annoying flies rather than the heat, but he kept on going. He half turned, caught the wistful look on her face as she considered the barn, and shook his head. He held out his hand.
Damn. Under the pretext of their cover she placed her hand in his. Except…if it was all a pretend situation, why did her fingers tingle at his touch and her body temperature rise? It was all for show, right? Then her body damn well better not get any ideas.
Too late her heart whispered, There are ideas aplenty here.
He walked with a determined step and dragged her with him whether she wanted to go or not. After a few hundred yards they came to the stand of trees. The fence line crossed just in front of it.
She let out a startled shriek as she was lifted and tossed gently over the fence. She had stiles on her acreage at home. Apparently they weren’t common here. She glanced along the long length of wooden rails. It went on for as far as she could see.
There was a lot of land here. Lucky for Isabella. Only the rough dry country was lacking in vegetation and water. It would take a lot of acreage to sustain one horse. Isabella had done well to keep the rescued horses as long as she had. At considerable cost.
She didn’t know what Isabella did for funding but presumed she’d married money or had inherited enough to sustain her. Then again, Eva imagined that many people wondered about her and her own ability to survive financially. She did fine but rarely shared in what way her income books balanced – if they balanced. She didn’t discuss it. Those who knew thought nothing of it and those who didn’t, never asked.
Such was the way of people.
Swede tugged her into the grove of trees.
She stood and looked around, her breathing slow and heavy in the heat. “Why are we here?”
“Not here – there?” He pointed at another grove farther down. “Come on. Just another few moments.”
Groaning she followed. Almost at the grove, she turned to look behind her. And thought she saw another man standing where she had stood.
Creeped out, she stayed close to Swede but couldn’t stop herself from glancing behind her.
“Don’t do that,” he said in a hoarse voice. “I know he’s there.”
Shit. He pivoted her into his arms, his mouth coming down on hers.
Blind heat washed through her as he kissed her, diving deep into the soul and draining her of the will to move. She was his to do with as he would. She should be upset at that but couldn’t let go of the thought she’d only be upset if he didn’t do more. If he didn’t show her all there was to see.
Suddenly she was free.
She gasped, her lungs filling with life giving oxygen even as her mind filled with grief for her loss.
She was turned and spun around until she found herself tucked up against a tree where she was hidden. The branches hid her face as she registered his harsh order, “Stay here.”
She couldn’t have moved if she’d tried. Her head lolled to the side as she watched him disappear from her sight.
What the hell had he done to her?
*
It was wrong of him to take such male satisfaction in the foggy gaze and parted lips, the little whimper she made as he withdrew. He hadn’t wanted to. Hell, he’d have thrown her to the ground and been inside her in a Philadelphia moment if they’d been anywhere but out in the deserted Mexican range land.
He adjusted his pants absentmindedly, his focus on the man skulking through the trees as if trying to reach where Eva was hidden. Like hell that was going to happen. The asshole was so intent on figuring out his pathway to Eva, he hadn’t realized he’d been tracked himself. Shadow was on his ass.
There. Shadow took him out in a heartbeat.
“He’s really good, isn’t he?” Eva said in a small voice. He looked down at her in surprise. She’d come up beside him and had watched the whole thing play out. He hadn’t even noticed. Shit.
“Shadow is deadly,” Swede adm
itted. “He’s a pro in so many areas it’s scary.”
“More dangerous than you?” she asked, studying his face intently.
He snorted. “We’re all lethal weapons, but there’s something about Shadow that just sets him apart.”
“No,” she said. “There’s something about each of you individually that makes you unique.”
He didn’t take his eyes off the scene in front of them as Shadow dragged the prone man deeper out of sight. “Do you know everyone that well?”
“Everyone no, there are what forty of you at base at any given time? That’s a lot of men. However, I have met over the last many years at least a dozen of you. And this team Hawk works with now is particularly easy to see and understand. You’re all protectors. All big dangerous men, but you, in particular are the massive one amongst them.”
He’d have snorted if he hadn’t been trying to stay so quiet. Instead, he crossed his massive arms and frowned. So what if he was big. It wasn’t like he could have changed it. Hell, his kid brother was bigger. Besides, the women seemed to like it.
Right? He’d seen the lost look in her eyes earlier, she was aware of him on a sexual level, but she didn’t seem pleased by her own reaction if he was reading this right. And that just pissed him off. Why the hell not? He was a good catch.
Shit, she was going to make him crazy.
“Are the others here?” She spun around as if to look. “And the man that Shadow took out?”
“Likely a scout.”
“Right.” But her tone of voice said she was as confused as ever.
“The rebels have had a man watching the hacienda for days now. They switched the man out earlier today when the horse trailers left.”
He didn’t mince words. “Chances are good he was reporting back to the camp on the remaining numbers.”
“Shit.”
He agreed.
“Are they really after us?” The tremor in her voice got to him. He reached out to her but she didn’t see it. He stroked her shoulder, his hand coming to rest on her arm as he tugged her closer. “It’s okay.”