Tangled by Temptation [Doms of Destiny, Colorado 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Chloe Lang

Shane turned around and his eyes locked in on hers.

  No, Desirae, you haven’t because I’ve been avoiding facing Shane and Corey alone. “I’m not here to eat. I’m meeting Alice, Eddie, and Curtis about the Boys Ranch Opening.”

  “They’re due in any minute. I think Alice is having difficulty getting Eddie and Curtis to leave their garage.”

  Shane’s hot gaze never left her, making her squirm.

  Desirae continued, “Did you hear about the 1970 Plymouth Barracuda they restored?

  Despite her best effort, Belle hadn’t succeeded in getting Shane and Corey together so she could break things off with them. Even though Amber had recommended she lead with her heart, Belle understood that being in a serious relationship with them wouldn’t work, couldn’t work.

  “Belle, they got an offer from a rich dude in Australia. Can you believe it? Australia.”

  Belle watched Shane excuse himself from Jason and Dylan and head her way.

  “The guy offered them a ton of money, but they aren’t ready to part with it.”

  Shane stepped in front of her and Desirae, though his eyes remained only on her. “I can’t blame my dads, Desirae, can you? It’s their passion. They should keep the ones they love. Nothing should get in the way of passion.”

  Belle felt her knees weaken. He obviously wasn’t just talking about his dads’ love of classic cars.

  Desirae smiled. “If you two want the booth by the window, it’s yours.”

  “We’ll take it.” Shane was clearly done with the runaround she’d been giving him and Corey.

  “I’m here to talk to your mom and dads, Shane. I can’t stay long. I’ve got to head back to help Amber with all the planning.”

  I can’t tell him alone. It wouldn’t be fair to Corey. She must tell them together.

  “My parents aren’t here, Belle. You will have a cup of coffee with me.” He grabbed her hand, and she felt something deep inside her respond to his demand.

  “Fine. One cup.” Anxiety grabbed hold of her.

  They sat down in the booth and, instead of sitting opposite her, Shane sat right next to her. The heat of his muscled body radiated into her like a roaring fire.

  “Shane, when your mom and dads show, I must talk to them. I really am busy.”

  His face stormed with frustration and anger. “You need to talk to me first, Belle. Why have you refused to go out with either Corey or me? You can’t tell me things weren’t going well between us.”

  “It’s not that.” They were going too well. “You both are so busy with protecting Lunceford’s sister. I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

  “Don’t try to bullshit me. I’ve asked you to lunch several times. Corey has asked you to dinner. Each time, your answer has been no. What’s really going on?”

  She took a deep breath. “I need to talk to you both together, Shane. Not alone. Not one at a time. Together.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Why together?”

  “Please, Shane.” Her heart was breaking. “Not here. Not without Corey.”

  Alice came out from the back. “Belle, I’m so sorry for being late.”

  Shane shook his head. “Mom, your timing couldn’t be worse.”

  “What’s the matter, Son?”

  “You’re wrong, Shane. Her timing couldn’t be better.” Belle sighed. “If you’ll let me out, I need to talk to your parents.”

  He slipped out of the booth, standing by his mother. “Tomorrow we talk.”

  “That’s the Boys Ranch opening, Shane.”

  “Right. Okay, but we are not done, Belle.” He walked away without another word.

  She was quaking inside. She’d dodged a bullet, but how many more times would she be so lucky?

  “Belle, I didn’t mean to interrupt. We can talk later.” Alice loved her children very much. The woman was an amazing mother.

  “I don’t have time, Alice.” No time at all. “I must get back to the ranch as soon as possible.”

  She told her about the two boys who needed the special meals.

  “No problem, Belle. We didn’t use peanuts in anything. Everything is going to be just fine.”

  If only that were true, but I know better.

  * * * *

  Shane stood by the new bus that the Stones had purchased for the Boys Ranch. The all-day event was just now getting underway.

  All the boys stood in front of the new dormitory that Lucas Wolfe had designed getting their picture taken. Juan was in the middle of the group. All the little cowboys were wearing the Boys Ranch uniform of Stetson hats, plaid shirts of various colors, Levi’s, boots and specially made leather belts sporting buckles with the Stone’s brand and their individual names.

  The entire town had showed up for the grand opening to welcome the young men. It was clear by the smiles on the boys’ faces and the looks in their eyes they felt important and accepted.

  Belle held the microphone to introduce each boy. She looked stunning, as always. He loved the way her jeans fit her so perfectly.

  She had her arm around Juan and was leaning down talking to one of the new boys who looked to be about five. She was wonderful with children.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present to you our newest residents to the Boys Ranch and to Destiny.” Belle put her arm around the littlest of the boys, who had coal black hair and big brown eyes. She got down to his level. “This is Jake. Can you tell them how old you are?”

  He held up his hand, spreading out his fingers. “This many.”

  “That’s right. You are five years old.”

  The crowd applauded.

  Jake smiled broadly. “I like my hat and boots, Miss Belle. Does that mean I’m a real cowboy now?”

  Cheers shot up from everyone.

  Belle kissed him on the cheek. “Yes it does, Jake. You are a real cowboy for sure.”

  Shane wasn’t about to lose the most wonderful woman he’d ever met. She was everything he’d dreamed of and more.

  She’s mine.

  Late last night, he’d told Corey about what she’d said to him at the diner yesterday. Despite their plan, Belle had been sidestepping their requests for one on one dates because she was determined to talk to them together. They had to devise a new plan.

  Dylan and Easton walked over to him.

  His boss held out his hand. “Nice party, Blue, don’t you think?”

  Shane took it. “It is.”

  “Your lady has put on quite a show for the town.”

  “Belle has been so busy getting this event off the ground we haven’t had any time together. She’s already helping with the O’Learys Christmas party planning. Hey, Dylan. I bet you and Cameron are excited to see Celeste and Caitlin. I heard they are going to be there.”

  “They are. My sisters can be a handful.” A rare smile spread across the superagent’s face. “The whole family is looking forward to their arrival. They didn’t make it to the wedding, so Erica is excited to see them, too. Mom and Dads are ecstatic.”

  I’ve never heard Dylan talk so much in my life. The guy was usually quite precise and to the point. Married life was having a positive impact on him.

  Shane turned his attention back to Belle, who stood next to Juan. “And of course, this last young man you already know.” She handed him the microphone, pride showing on her face.

  Shane felt it, too. He cared for Juan deeply.

  “Thank you, Mom.” Juan stood up straight. “It’s my pleasure to introduce the founders of Destiny’s Boys Ranch—Amber, Emmett, Bryant, and Cody Stone.”

  More applause erupted from those gathered around as the Stones moved to center stage.

  Emmett took the microphone from Juan. “Let’s have another round of applause for this young man, our very first resident of the Boys Ranch.”

  Shane couldn’t help but smile for the boy who had won his heart.

  “Before our young cowboys take you on tours of our new dormitory and barn, we would like to thank all of you for coming
today to welcome these young men to our community. This was my sweet wife’s dream and now it is a reality. We’re going to teach these boys everything we know about ranching. Our boys will also be working with Kaylyn Anderson, learning how to train guide dogs.”

  Kaylyn came up followed by Jaris and Chance with their two guide dogs, Sugar and Annie.

  Shane respected Jaris, as did everyone in Destiny. The man had taken a bullet for Nicole and had lost his sight. Chance, an African-American, had been blind since birth. He’d been coming to Destiny for years, getting dogs from Kaylyn for his students. Now both men were going to be living here and working with her.

  Kaylyn definitely had eyes for Chance, as everyone in town knew. But today, it looked like she also had eyes for Jaris. Was something brewing between those three? “We’re going to be giving a demonstration with the help of some of these fine boys over by the new bus.”

  “Thank you, Kaylyn.” Emmett put his arm around Amber. “Our goal is to not just turn these kids into cowboys but to see them grow into good men. Did I forget anything, baby?”

  Amber smiled. “We’ve set up picnic tables out back for lunch, which is being provided by…”

  As the Stones continued giving instructions about how the day was going to unfold, Shane turned to Black and Dylan. “Thanks for meeting me here.”

  “Not a problem,” Black said. “Nothing new to report unfortunately.”

  Communication between the team was difficult, since their ROC devices were still offline. Jena, Sean, and Matt were still working on securing Shannon Elite’s systems from Lunceford. They were getting closer but so far hadn’t nailed it down.

  “Our tech trio is fairly certain that Lunceford is in the Northwest. They identified another Lunceford command center from the equipment that was retrieved from Aberdeen.”

  “Where?” he asked.

  “Montana this time, but still no Kip. The leads we’ve gotten from Cindy’s letter have been the best to date. I’m not sure where we’d be without her.”

  The whole team seemed to be on board with Cindy now, believing her innocence. He remained a bit uneasy about Lunceford’s sister, though everything about her story seemed to check out.

  “It’s been two weeks now since Trollinger came to town.” The frustration in his boss’s voice mirrored his own. “Something has to break soon.”

  “I need to ask a favor, sir. Corey and I need to be on the same shift.”

  Although they had planned on seeing Belle separately to keep her from bolting, it was time for him and Corey to change tactics.

  “Done. I’ll make sure that happens. Give me a day or two to work out the logistics.”

  “Thank you, boss.” If Belle refused to see him and Corey individually, then so be it. She was about to come face to face with them together, like she’d asked.

  He grinned. She’s going to be surprised by what is going to happen.

  * * * *

  “It’s ten.” Corey looked over at Jo. “Time to log into our ROCs.” So far, none of the earlier tests had succeeded. Lunceford might be a psychopath but he was also quite brilliant.

  She nodded and began running through the security hurdles on the device.

  When he finished, his ROC opened up to a screen with a message from Jena telling them how the test would be conducted. It only took a few minutes, and another message popped up from her saying the test was a success.

  “They did it, Jo.”

  She turned to him. “Lunceford shouldn’t be able to get through the new security measures, but if he does, he won’t get anything useful. This is quite impressive.”

  “Our tech trio is definitely up to whatever that fucker throws at us.”

  “I agree. The failsafe Jena built is pure genius.”

  “Yes, it is.” If Lunceford or anyone somehow found a way to crack the new code, Jena’s safeguard would warn the ROC’s user by causing a red light to flash on the screen. Black’s instructions were clear what to do when that happened. The agent was to shut down all communications and digital files immediately and report back to HQ.

  After the test was done, Belle walked up to them carrying a box of donuts from Lana’s Bakery Palace. “Thought you two bodyguards might be hungry.”

  Jo smiled. “After yesterday’s meal at the grand opening, I shouldn’t eat for a week.”

  “Me either, but you know we will.” Belle handed Corey the box.

  “Let me get us some coffee to go with these donuts, Corey. I could use a break to stretch my legs.”

  He knew Jo was only giving him and Belle a chance to talk privately. “Coffee would be good.”

  “How about you, Belle?”

  “No thanks. I’m going to check on Paris’s patient and then I’ve got to run some errands for the Boys Ranch.”

  “I’ll be back shortly.” Jo headed down the hallway.

  He placed the box on his chair and pulled Belle in close. “I’m glad you’re here, sweetheart. I’ve missed you.”

  She smiled. “I have missed you, too. I’ve been busy, you know.”

  Smile or not, he could see by her demeanor something was still troubling her. He and Shane knew what they had to do. Once Black rearranged the shifts, they were ready to do it.

  He bent down and kissed her. She melted into him just like she was supposed to.

  You are mine, Belle. I will make sure you know that.

  He pressed his tongue against her lips, demanding entrance. She parted them and he devoured her.

  He felt her delicate hands come up to his chest. She pushed gently against him.

  Reluctantly, he released her sweet mouth. “Thank you for the donuts, baby.”

  “When can I talk to you and Shane together?” Her lips trembled, crushing him.

  “I’m done at two and Shane takes the next shift.”

  She nodded. “If I come at two, maybe we can go to the side and let the other bodyguard handle things until I tell you what I need to tell you.”

  “That won’t work.” No way was he letting her take the reins. “Did you forget about Cody’s dragon hunting ride with Juan and the other boys today? You promised. We can’t let them down.”

  She sighed. “You’re right. We can’t. When does Shane’s shift end?”

  “Ten tonight.”

  “What about we grab a late meal at the diner. It should be pretty empty and we can talk.”

  Corey knew exactly what she meant to talk about. She was ready to break things off with him and Shane for good.

  Whatever pain Belle was dealing with had to be killing her. He wanted to lift her burden and lighten her load. She deserved his very best, and he swore that was exactly what he would give her.

  We are not over, Belle. You’ll see. We will never be over. I love you, baby, and I know you love me, too.

  “Dinner is a great idea, but not at the diner. I’ll cook for us.”

  She shook her head. “That’s too much trouble, Corey. You’ve been here since six and you and I will be helping Cody on the dragon hunting ride with the boys this afternoon. You’ll be too tired to cook.”

  He gave her his best don’t-question-me stare. “Dinner at mine and Shane’s house.” That way Shane and I can be in control, not you. He knew that was what she needed more than anything.

  “There’s no point in arguing with you, is there?”

  “Sweetheart, now you’re learning.”

  He touched her cheek.

  She smiled.

  God, you are so beautiful.

  “Fine. Dinner at your house at ten. I’ll be there.”

  “Why don’t I just bring you after the hunting expedition, baby? We’ll already be together.”

  She shook her head. “I’m going to have to clean up after riding with you and the boys.”

  “Okay, sweetheart. Bring an appetite.”

  She looked up at him and came to her toes. Then she kissed him, increasing his need to hold her, to have her, to possess her.

  “Corey, I’m going
to check on the patient.”

  She went into Trollinger’s room.

  He and Shane had agreed that Belle needed to open up to them, to be honest about what was really holding her back. Tonight, they would make sure she did.

  * * * *

  “How did you sleep?” Belle put the blood pressure cuff around Cindy’s arm.

  “I had things on my mind that kept me awake.”

  She knew the feeling. “Anything I can help you with. Is it about your brother?”

  Cindy shook her head. “I try not to think about him. Besides, I’ve got all these wonderful people protecting me. I was just plagued about something that happened to me recently.”

  Belle couldn’t imagine how difficult it was for Cindy, knowing she was related to such a monster. Having Amber as a sister was the exact opposite.

  Amber is my rock.

  “Your blood pressure is fine. If you’d like, we can talk.”

  “That would be nice. It’s very lonely in here, you know.” Cindy’s eyes were welling up. “I’m grateful for having bodyguards, but they all look at me as if I’m the criminal instead of my brother.” She turned her head away, hiding her eyes. “I’ve said too much. I’m sorry, Belle. This is just so hard.”

  She still had that odd feeling that there was more to Cindy than she was sharing. But was that her heart or her head talking? She was so mixed up with everything that was going on with Corey and Shane that she wasn’t sure.

  Wouldn’t talking with Cindy help clear up any doubt about the woman’s story? If there was more to learn, now was as good a time as any to discover it. Destiny was Belle’s home now. If she could find out anything that might bring the town’s most wanted monster to justice, she wanted to try.

  “Cindy, I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”

  “You’re a wonderful person, Belle.” Cindy grabbed her hands and squeezed. A single tear fell from one of her eyes. “I lost a child a few months ago. A miscarriage.”

  Belle couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to lose a baby. With all her heart, she felt for the woman. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you. I wanted the baby more than you can imagine. The father isn’t in the picture and I knew it would be difficult raising a child on my own. But I wanted to. Can you understand that?”