by Jane Jamison
Carnal Cowboys 1
Caught Between Two Cowboys
Amy Arlington’s hard life just got a lot harder. Her troubled brother traps her into running from his drug dealer and gang. When bullets start flying, she and Jesse hightail it out of town as fast as they can.
Jarrod and Seth Hill are rodeo cowboys out to make a name for themselves. When they discover the beautiful Amy and her brother secretly hitching a ride in the back of their pickup, they have two options. Either the dump the brother and sister on the side of the road and let the thugs have them, or risk their lives to help them.
Caught between her uncontrollable attraction to the Hill brothers and her need to save her brother, Amy’s not sure what to do. Her choices? Risk a lethal showdown to rival the OK Corral, or run and save her brother.
Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys
Length: 68,556 words
CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO COWBOYS
Carnal Cowboys 1
Jane Jamison
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO COWBOYS
Copyright © 2015 by Jane Jamison
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-908-8
First E-book Publication: January 2015
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
Dear Reader,
The idea for the Carnal Cowboys series came to me while watching a rodeo event. The cowboys were handsome, their horses perfectly trained animals, and the rodeo queen contestants sparkled in their rhinestone outfits. I remember attending many rodeos with my father and my brothers. Back then, I didn’t appreciate the sights, sounds, and yes, even the smells of a rodeo. But now that I’ve grown up, I realize I should’ve appreciated all of it more. If only I could go back in time!
Carnal Cowboys is my way of tipping my cowboy hat to all the sexy rodeo Romeos. May they ride long and hard. And I’m not just talking about their horses. (wink-wink)
Thanks for reading Caught Between Two Cowboys. Be sure to look for The Cowboy Way coming up next.
Jane Jamison
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
About the Author
CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO COWBOYS
Carnal Cowboys 1
JANE JAMISON
Copyright © 2015
Chapter One
“Sis, you’ve got to help me.”
Although she knew she couldn’t, Amy Arlington wanted to ignore her younger brother, Jesse. “What is it this time?”
Jesse always had a problem, some worse than others. Either he’d lost his job, had his car repo’ed, or lost money gambling and couldn’t pay his rent. At eighteen, Jesse had gotten into more trouble than she’d see in a lifetime.
“They’re after me.”
“Who’s after you? The IRS? Your landlord? Al Qaida?” She kept tidying up the kitchen and motioned for him empty out the dishwasher. The least he could do was help her while she listened to yet another hard-luck story.
“Naw, sis, it’s bad. Real bad.”
She had to face him then. How could she ignore the tremble in his voice? She’d seen him upset, angry, defiant, and worried, but never shaking-in-his-boots afraid. “What’d you do, Jesse?” If he was as worried as he looked, then she’d better brace herself.
He wore the slouchy jeans she had to resist pulling up, the same oversized T-shirt he wore at least five days out of the week, and a two-sizes-too-big hoodie. His head was shaven, but the roundness of his baby face contradicted the harshness of his severe haircut. Although their parents were still alive, they hadn’t had much to do with either one of them since Amy had turned twenty-one a year earlier. Instead of giving her a birthday cake, they’d turned over the raising of her then seventeen-year-old brother and had taken off for Vegas to indulge their gambling habit.
At the time, she’d considered it a blessing in disguise. Maybe he’d straighten up now that they were gone. But when Jesse started getting more deeply involved with sketchy people, ending up in the holding cell of the county jail, she wondered if her parents hadn’t shafted her.
She loved Jesse. She did. But when was her life supposed to start? She’d saved as much as she could since leaving home, hoping one day she’d be able to go to nursing school. Working nights as a waitress while she attended school during the day would be rough, but once she became a nurse, she’d land a good job at a hospital and things wo
uld slowly get better.
At least, that had been the plan. But saving when she could barely make ends meet had been hard enough. Then when she’d started having to bail Jesse out of his troubles, it had become impossible.
“I didn’t do nothing.” He glanced away then looked back as though checking to see if she bought his lie. “I mean it, sis. I didn’t—”
She silenced him with one sharp look. “Don’t bullshit me.” Leaning against the cracked countertop, she crossed her arms and waited for the truth. Why did he bother lying? Sooner or later, he’d spill it one way or another. It was the later part that usually bit her in the ass.
He paced back and forth in the small kitchen area of her studio apartment. The place was barely big enough for her, but Jesse often spent time crashed out on her floor. No way would she give up her worn-out sleeper sofa.
“Look, I don’t have time to fill you in. I need to get the hell out of town. And now. I need money, sis. Bad.”
Money again. Like she had cash growing on the half-dead plant in the windowsill. “Jesse, I don’t have a dollar to spare. I just paid my rent.”
“No, no, no.” He shook his head and quickened his pace. “Then the bank. We can get it at an ATM.”
She couldn’t resist laughing. “Oh, sure. I’ve got a ton of cash in my account. Enough to fly us first class to the French Riviera.”
He clutched her arm, tugging her toward him. “Amy, please, I’ve got to get out of town. If they find me, they’ll…” He turned her loose and stepped away, rubbing the back of his neck and muttering curses.
“They’ll what?” Damn it. This time was different, scarier. He must’ve gotten into major trouble.
He met her gaze and swallowed. “They’ll kill me.”
He had to be joking. She could believe he’d gotten into trouble again. But getting into so much trouble that his life was in danger? No. Not her little brother.
“Who will? What happened, Jesse? Tell me.”
“I don’t have time to explain.” He scurried over to the front window and peeked through the tattered blinds at the parking lot.
Her apartment was on the second floor of the dingy framed building with peeling paint and paper-thin walls. The noise from the street below drowned out her small television even late at night. People came and went at all hours. She was thankful she’d scored an apartment with a balcony next to the fire escape. Although the landlord didn’t like it, she often used the ladder to avoid the assortment of odd characters hanging out in front of the building. Because of all the lowlife individuals, she’d taken to parking in the small paved area in back so she could race from her apartment to the car whenever she left. Although she’d looked for a different place to live, she hadn’t found any that were better. Most were worse. Besides, her apartment was close to her work.
“I’m not doing anything until you tell me what’s going on.”
He’d just moved away from the window when the glass shattered, turning shards into tiny sharp spears. She screamed and dropped to the floor as the shots kept coming. Jesse crouched and hurried to her.
“It’s them.” Grabbing her arm, he pulled her toward the back door.
“Jesse!”
The world fell apart as more bullets pierced the walls and blasted the potted plant into extinction. Her treasured ceramic bunny, the only half-decent present her mother had ever given her, burst into pieces. Debris flew around them, chipping off paint and turning the air around her into a mine field. Her television screen cracked then splintered apart. She screamed again as the noise blasted her ears.
She snatched up her wallet and car keys off the small stand by the balcony door and unlocked it. But she’d only taken one step forward when Jesse tugged her back.
“Hold up.” He leaned around the edge, scanning the parking lot below. “Okay, let’s go.”
She didn’t question him. Instead, she slammed the door closed and locked it. They’d unlock it from the inside in a matter of seconds, but seconds could mean life or death.
She stayed behind him as he crawled over the rickety railing and onto the fire escape. He jerked it free and sent the rest of the ladder clanking to the ground. Even with gunshots and shouting coming from her apartment, the screech of the rusty ladder sounded painfully loud. She hurried down the ladder after him and dropped the last few feet to the pavement.
“Come on, sis.” He snatched the keys out of her hand and led the way to her old car. After tugging the driver’s side door open, he hurled his body behind the wheel.
“No way.” She shoved her shoulder against him. “I’m driving.”
He was about to argue when his gaze shifted back to her apartment. Four guys, all around Jesse’s age, shoved their guns into the waistbands of their jeans, scrambled over the railing, and began working their way down the fire escape to the parking lot.
Jesse scooted over to the passenger side, letting her take the wheel. Her hand shook as she shoved the key into the ignition. “Turn over, Marty. Turn over.” Marty, her car, grumbled and groaned, then died.
“Shit, sis. Get it going. They’re getting closer.”
She added a silent prayer to the mix. “Turn over, Marty. Please, God, let it start.” Perspiration dotted her forehead as the car’s engine finally kicked over.
She looked up just in time to see the third guy forgo the last three rungs of the ladder and drop to the ground. Shoving the gearshift into drive, she rammed her foot on the gas. Shots whizzed past them, taking away her breath but, thankfully, not her adrenaline. She whipped the car around the edge of the building, barreling it toward the busy road ahead.
“Oh, shit.”
Jesse was right, but she didn’t have any choice. She couldn’t stop at the stop sign and wait for a safe moment to enter traffic. Instead, she gritted her teeth, and made a hard right turn. Horns blared and the car to her left swerved, narrowly missing them. She was on the road, her foot easing up on the gas pedal before she could drag in a ragged breath.
She checked her rearview mirror. “Are they behind us?”
Jesse twisted around and checked it out. “No.” He laughed as he turned back around. “You were fucking awesome. Who knew you could drive like that?”
She slammed on her brakes at the stop light, throwing Jesse forward, and let him have it. “Are you fucking out of your mind? Those guys shot at us. At me. What the fuck did you do?”
He put on his I-don’t-want-to-talk face. Like she’d let him get away with that shit. “I swear. If you don’t tell me what’s going on right this second, I’m pulling off the road and shoving your ass out of the car.”
“Naw, you won’t. You love me.” His big blue eyes widened. He adopted the poor me face that never failed to soften her heart.
Damn it. That look had been her downfall many times before, but not this time. Not when she’d been driven out of her home by people shooting at her. The light changed and she sped across the intersection, laying down tracks. She kept checking behind her, fearful the gang would show up behind them. Who knew how close they might be?
After going another five miles and seeing no sign of them, she pulled off on the side of the road, once again setting up a round of honking.
“What are you doing, sis? We’ve got to keep moving. Those guys don’t give up easy.”
She clutched his hoodie and jerked him toward her. He was only a little taller than her five-foot-seven frame, but he was wiry and strong. “Spill it.”
He kept glancing over his shoulder toward the direction they’d come from. Not a good sign.
“Amy, I swear I’ll tell you later. They’re sure to follow us. Please, drive.”
She jerked him around again. “Fuck no. Tell me now.” She glanced behind them again. The safe thing would be to keep moving even if they’d already managed to lose them. But she had to know why they were running. “We’re not moving until I know what’s going on.”
“Okay, okay.” He peeled her fingers off him. “I’ll tell you. But ju
st keep driving, okay?”
“Fine.” She pulled the car back onto the road and shot him a meaningful look.
“I screwed up.”
What else is new? But she kept her slam to herself.
“That guy in the lead? The one with all the piercings in his ears? His name is Ruben Bandura, and he kind of deals in drugs.”
“Kind of? Like you kind of take drugs?” She’d done her best to stop him from doing everything from weed to meth, but so far, she hadn’t gotten through his thick skull. Not that he was an addict. He was a user, yes, but he could stop and had stopped before. But then he’d get bored or need money and he’d go back to the bad crowd he hung with. They were a rough group of gang members and prostitutes. Strangely, a part of her could understand. After trying to find a place to fit in, he’d finally found it. Problem was that it was the wrong place.
Still, addict or not, if she could’ve swung the hefty price of getting him to rehab, she would’ve. At least it would’ve given him a chance to break free of the others. Although, knowing Jesse, he’d have taken off before she’d made it out of the driveway.
She peered into the rearview mirror. “What kind of car do they drive?”
He turned around and checked out the cars behind them. “It’s a black Range Rover, but I don’t see it.”
Figures. They drive a Range Rover and I drive a fifteen-year-old Ford.
They needed to get off the highway and onto the side roads as soon as possible. Selena, Texas, wasn’t a big city, but it wasn’t a small town by any means. Still, if they could get to the outskirts, they’d have a better chance of hiding. At least for a while. They’d stay low for a few days, but what would they do then? She wasn’t about to return to her apartment. At least not without a small army of cops along with her.