The Good, the Bad, and the Naughty

by Jessica Frost

Flabbergasted, LaRue stuttered, “W–what?”

  “Mm-hmm, my brothers and I knocked him out and tied him up.” Belle nodded. “He’s the one who told us about your plans.”

  “How the hell did your brothers know where you were?” In apparent confusion, LaRue shook her head.

  Belle walked in closer to talk. Trevor opened his eyes wide in astonishment. Instead of shaking in her boots, she was as cool as a cucumber. The lady had spunk. Another reason why he loved her so.

  Staring her straight in the eye, she replied, “You had them tied up in the room with me. You see, they are deputies in Little Rock, and now they are outside armed and ready to attack when I give the signal. My other brother, the sheriff, is also with them.”

  She glanced behind her and added, “So if I was you, I’d give myself up.”

  LaRue laughed. “Give up. Do you think a sheriff and two deputies can stop me? Honey, I’ve had bigger posses after me and my gang.” She peered out the window, and when she noted the coast was clear, she signaled her henchmen. “You boys, go out there and kill ’em.” She pulled Belle in front of her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pointed the gun in Belle’s face with the other.

  “I’m gonna stay in here and make sure this here lady and her lovers stay put and don’t cause any more problems.”

  Her men nodded and crept outside with their guns held up ready to fire. Belle glanced at them, and Trevor’s heart skipped a beat with utter worry for her safety. When she winked at him without LaRue seeing, his heart pounded erratically, making breathing difficult. He knew she would do something crazy.

  She wasn’t trained for this. They were. Why didn’t she just leave everything to them and her brothers, the lawmen outside?

  Glancing to the floor, Belle said while slowly slipping her hand up her sleeve, “I don’t think it was a smart idea letting your boys out there.”

  “My boys are the best shooters in all of the West. Your brothers are no match for them, honey,” LaRue mumbled while scouting the perimeter through the windows when two shots were heard, one right after the other. She was too preoccupied to notice Belle took out a gun she had hidden in her sleeve.

  Readying her gun in one hand, Belle responded, “That’s where you’re wrong. You see, my brothers are the best marksmen in all of Arkansas.” And with the other hand, she pulled LaRue’s arm roughly, freeing herself, and then she shot LaRue square in the shoulder in one split second. “And I’m even faster than they are.”

  With an expression of shock, LaRue took two steps backward. Her gun fell to the floor. She never saw it coming. Trevor’s jaw fell at Belle’s speed. And when he glanced at James, he sported the same reaction. But an instant after that, James jumped forward to grab the gun LaRue dropped. He pointed it at her.

  Wild LaRue put a hand on her bleeding shoulder and simply gawked at Belle.

  Taking a deep breath, she replied, “Honey, I knew there was a reason why I liked you.” Then she forced a laugh as she saw the door open and three lawmen walked inside. “I would have never thought I’d be taken down by a woman.”

  Moving to sit on the chair on the side, she added, “Well, I guess it’s better to be taken down by a woman instead of a man.” Then she cackled. “Except if you’re talkin’ sex. Then anythin’ goes.” She glanced at Belle and Trevor and James with her address. “Ain’t that right?”

  Trevor saw Belle blush and wanted to run to her and hug her. But Belle looked at him for only a second and then diverted her gaze back to her brothers.

  “Are they dead?” she asked,

  The tallest brother answered with a frown, “Yes, they are.” He grabbed LaRue by her good arm and lifted her roughly. He spoke to his deputies. “You two, take her out of here and bring her to the doctor to mend her shoulder.” He then looked at Belle with serious eyes. “And you, I need to talk to outside.”

  “All right, but can you give me a minute?” She nodded.

  He looked at her and then at Trevor and James. “One minute.” Then, speaking to them, he said, “If you’ll come back to Little Rock with us, we’ll make arrangements for you to transport LaRue back to Texas.”

  “Thanks. We appreciate all you and your men have done,” James replied.

  The sheriff looked at his sister. “If I had been informed of my sister’s and brothers’ plan earlier, I would have been a better help.” He walked over to the door, pointed a finger as if to remind his sister he’d be waiting for her outside.

  Once he left, Trevor started to swoop in to hug and kiss her. James tailed him, saying, “Pretty lady, you put us through hell.” But Belle put up her arm to stop him.

  The look in her eyes bore a hole through his heart.

  * * *

  How the hell would she pull this off? She had played it over and over in her head while she and John rode to the train station. She promised herself she’d steel her emotions and not risk getting hurt anymore. What they had was over. They’d be heading back to Texas in a day or so, and she would stay here.

  There was no room in their lives for their complicated fling to continue. The only person who would continue to get hurt was her because she had fallen in love with them both. And she couldn’t endure any more of it.

  Taking a deep breath, she put her arm up to block Trevor’s advance. A lump formed in her throat, but she swallowed it.

  “Look, boys, I’m sorry, but we can’t do this anymore,” she said with inner determination,

  Trevor’s expression saddened while James asked, frowning, “Why not?”

  She glanced at the window. “Because what happened between us wasn’t real. I planned the whole thing so I could find out what you were up to in Fort Smith.” She moved farther away to avoid their intense stare.

  “You see, I came here incognito a few months back when the robberies started, to investigate them. My brothers John and Mat were in on it, but I didn’t tell my brother, the sheriff, Sam, because I knew he wouldn’t allow me to come.

  “And when my brothers told me you were hired as the new expressmen, I found it odd that out-of-towners would be hired instead of lawmen from here. I figured you were the ones responsible for the train robberies happening around these parts.”

  Trying to keep her emotions buried, and right now it pained her unbearably to do so, she stared at them purposely with a blank expression and added, “I decided to seduce you to try to find out the truth about why you came here.”

  “No, it was more than that.” James shook his head.

  “Belle.” Trevor tried to take her hand.

  She felt the tears brimming, and she wanted to jump into his arms, both their arms, but she couldn’t.

  Breaking free from Trevor’s hold, she ran out of there mumbling, “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

  Chapter 12

  Two weeks later

  She dragged her feet as she stepped into the office. John took one look at her and frowned. “Boy, did you wake up on the other side of the bed this morning or what?”

  “Don’t start with that again, John.” She knew she didn’t look great. Her hair was tied in a tight bun, she wore no rouge, and her extremely conservative dress looked more like a housecoat than a dress. Plain and baggy. But she could hardly care less. The past couple of weeks had taken their toll on her. She had no energy to enjoy life anymore.

  Now that her spying work had ended and Isabelle LaRue and her gang caught or killed, there was no reason for her to continue her charade of singing at the saloon. The fact was, she didn’t really enjoy it. She loved to sing and play piano, but to have horny, perverse men drooling at her night after night turned her stomach.

  There were only two men she wanted horny and gawking at her, and they were many, many miles away in Texas. They left the day after they captured LaRue. They tried to talk to her several times that day and the day before they left, but she refused. She hid out at John’s place and asked him and Mat to make excuses for her. She knew if she’d seen them, then her heart would shatter into a millio
n pieces and never mend again.

  But unfortunately, it still shattered in a thousand pieces, and so far, she still hadn’t put it back together. Hopefully, with time, she’d be able to move on. In the meantime, when Mat came to her room this morning telling her Sam wanted her to come to the office to talk to her and that it was important, her spirits lightened a bit.

  She hoped her eldest brother had finally come to his senses and realized what an asset she’d be as one of his deputies in Little Rock. She asked him time and again to let her try out for the job, but he refused.

  After both their parents died in an accidental fire when Belle was only thirteen, he took it upon himself to take care of his little sister. Even though, she grew up before his eyes, he obviously still saw her as his baby sister. The job would be too dangerous for a girl, he had told her over and over again.

  Mat and John disagreed with him and let him know their opinions, but unfortunately, their reasoning landed on deaf ears. He was the sheriff, and his decision was final.

  To prove her overprotective brother wrong, Belle came up with this whole complicated plan of going to Fort Smith. Mat and John refused to help her in the beginning, but once she explained her detailed scheme, they agreed with hesitations.

  She found out Eden’s Paradise looked for a singer, and she decided to try out for the job. She knew Eden’s Paradise was the most popular saloon in all of Arkansas and if the bandits responsible for the train robberies in these parts were still here, then that would be the place they’d frequent.

  She’d been right. Of course, she didn’t figure out Sally was really Wild Isabelle LaRue and that she and her gang had been responsible for all the heists. But when all the cards were played, she did end up catching the criminals responsible. So it had to count for something, right?

  Looking around in the office this morning, she asked, “Where’s Sam?”

  John pointed to the office in the back. “In there. He’s with someone.”

  “Okay, then I’ll wait.” She moved to sit next to him.

  But before she could sit, he added, “No, he told me he wanted you to go in. Whoever it is wanted to talk to you.”

  Creasing her forehead, she stood straight and mumbled, “Hmm,” as she headed for the door.

  Knocking, she heard her brother respond, “Come in.”

  When she opened the door, her eyes registered a tall, husky man stand to greet her. Her brother did the introductions as she closed the door behind her.

  “Belle, I’d like you to meet Captain Peak. He was the Texas Ranger captain in charge of the train robberies case you solved.”

  “Howdy, Miss Belle.” The captain’s smile widened as his hand stretched out before him. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet the lady who took down one of the most notorious outlaws in the West.”

  “Thank you, Captain Peck.” Her cheeks heated at the compliment as she shook his hand.

  He gestured with his hand. “Please, have a seat.”

  He glanced at Sam, then continued. “I came in a few hours ago and have been talking here with your brother. He has been filling me in on all the details of Isabelle LaRue and her gang’s capture and just how much you were involved in the takedown. And that is why I asked him to call you here.”

  “Oh?” Belle looked at her brother in confusion.

  The captain turned more to his side, toward her, and leaned his elbows on his knees as he continued. “Well, the Texas Rangers are in need of more Rangers, and from all I’ve heard about you and your quick draw and cunning, I believe you’d be the perfect Ranger. There is a particular case that’s been on my desk for the past few months, and we’ve been having one hell of a time solving it.”

  He took a deep breath. “Truth be told, we need a female Ranger spy on this particular case, and unfortunately we have no female Rangers at this time.” He paused a second and then asked, “So, Miss Belle, would you be interested in joining our team?”

  She could hardly believe her ears. Could this be happening? She stared at her brother, waiting for him to show his opposition to his offer.

  Instead, he nodded and said, “Belle, I think you’d be a great Ranger. You proved to me just how good a law woman you are.”

  Her jaw fell even though she tried to keep it closed. She wanted to pinch herself to see if this was all a dream, but figured she’d look pretty foolish if it wasn’t. What the hell, she’d play along with it, and if she woke up and it had been a dream, then it was fun while it lasted.

  Smiling broadly, she gazed at the captain. “I’d be honored to become a Texas Ranger. Thank you, Captain Peak, for offering me the job.”

  He stood up and reciprocated her wide smile. “Now that’s what I like to hear.” He put his hand into his jacket pocket and took out a ticket. “I was hoping you’d say yes and brought a train ticket for you for Austin, Texas. That’s where our division is situated. The departure date is in a couple of days. Will this be enough time for you to get your things together by then? If not, we can change the date for later, but I would prefer you get started on the new case as soon as possible.”

  Her eyes sprang open with her will to register the realness of everything happening so fast.

  “Oh, that’s fine. I can leave then. There’s no problem.”

  “I must be going now. I have further business to take care of in Fort Smith, but I’ll see you when you arrive back in Austin.” He looked at Sam and back at her. “I’ll have someone pick you up at the train station.” He extended his hand first to Sam. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Sheriff Samson.”

  “The same goes for me, Captain Peak.” Sam shook his hand vigorously, smiling back.

  The captain turned to her and grinned wide while he shook her hand. “Welcome to the team.” Then he walked over to the door and left, saying, “Bye,” right before he shut the door behind him.

  Belle slumped into the chair behind her, sighing and gazing at the ceiling. John walked in then and looked at Belle and Sam with wide eyes.

  “So who was that? And what did he want with Belle?” he asked.

  Sam replied for her since her giddiness made her slow to react. “That was Captain Peak, a Texas Ranger, and he offered our sister, here, a job as a Ranger. She leaves for Austin, Texas, in a few days.”

  “Austin, Texas?” A frown came over John’s face.

  Then it hit her. She’d be leaving her family behind. Suddenly, the high she had been riding on came crashing down and sadness began to choke her.

  Chapter 13

  Belle waited in Captain Peak’s office, fidgeting with her gloves. She was excited, terrified, and exhausted all at the same time.

  Throughout the long and tiring train trip, she had been thinking about her brothers and how hard it would be leaving Little Rock and them behind. But Sam convinced her it was an opportunity of a lifetime, and she shouldn’t throw it all away. It was time she stood on her two feet and forged her way in law enforcement. Only good things were on the horizon for her from now on.

  They promised they’d come visit her next month when she was settled in her job, and that helped reassure her in her decision.

  As she sat in the office waiting now, the sound of her heart pounding hammered in her ears, and her breath became shallow with anxiousness. One of the Rangers who picked her up at the train station said that the captain was busy on another case, but that her partners she would be working with on this case would be coming in soon to talk to her.

  Gosh, she was actually here and soon would be working on her very first official Texas Rangers case. She could hardly believe it. She wondered who her partners would be. She hoped they’d be easy to work with.

  Deep in her heart, she hoped that she would have seen Trevor and James when she arrived, but she figured they were probably away on another case. The odds of crossing paths with them would be slim. And the thought weighed heavily on her mind and heart.

  Although several weeks had passed since she last saw them, her feelings for them hadn’t cha
nged. If anything, they intensified, and she longed for them every night when she went to bed. She hoped this new job would keep her so preoccupied that thoughts of her loves would be buried and she could heal finally.

  And just as she reflected on that hope, the door to the office opened, and two of the handsomest faces she had ever seen peeked in. She lost her breath at the sight.

  When they walked in smiling, she barely whispered, “Oh, my God,” and ran to them as James closed the door. She jumped into Trevor’s arms, surprising him.

  He had to take a step back to keep from falling backward. “Oh, I like that reception!” was all he said.

  She twisted her head to look at James as he turned to face her, beaming.

  He opened his arms, asking, “Do I get a hug, too?”

  She laughed. “Yes, of course you do.” And she let go of Trevor to hug James.

  “We’ve missed you, Belle.” He lifted her in his arms and twirled her around,

  Tears had begun to trickle down her cheeks, and she sniffled. All her emotions flooded her at once. And she let them spill out into her words. She couldn’t keep them bottled any longer.

  “I’ve missed you both, too.”

  James gently put her down and wiped her tears. “Why didn’t you let us talk to you before we left? We wanted to explain everything to you.”

  Honesty was her only crutch today, and so she took a deep breath and drew on it for strength.

  “Because it hurt too much to be near you, to see you again knowing you’d be leaving for Texas the next day. I couldn’t bear it.”

  “Belle, it doesn’t matter anymore. You’re here now.” He bent down and kissed her gently and sweetly on her lips.

  “And we are never going let you go ever again.” Trevor hugged her from behind and kissed the top of her head.

  She laughed. “Well, that’ll be hard since I’m going to be meeting my new partners in a few minutes and heading out on my first…” She paused and stopped breathing. The smug look on James’s face revealed everything.