Furious (Nomad Outlaws Trilogy Book 3)

by Tory Richards

  Moody ignored me and reached for something in his back pocket. I half expected him to pull out a gun or knife, but thankfully, it was only his phone. He hit a button and brought it to his ear, not taking his eyes off me. It didn't take long for someone to pick up at the other end.

  "Why the fuck is my office not locked up?" he snarled at the person at the other end. I had a feeling it was Tommy. "How do I know? Because a little redhead snooped around and found my fucking address." There was a slight pause. "Yes, she's fucking here!" Moody reached forward and grabbed me by the sleeve of my summer blouse, pulling me away from the wall. "Lock up my office. I'm on my way."

  I tried to pull away from him. "Where are you—?"

  "Shut up," he snapped, not caring that I was having a hard time keeping up with his long strides.

  I decided to save my breath until we got to wherever it was that he was dragging me. Before long, I found myself practically being thrown into a room. Moody released me as if touching me were poison. "Look--I realize I've made a terrible mistake. I should never have gone through your things to find your address, but I was desperate to talk to you about getting my job back. I'm sorry. I don't even want it now. Just let me go, and I'll never bother you again. Deal?" Since my dimples weren't working, I held my trembling hand out instead.

  Moody's gaze shot from my eyes to my hand, then back to my eyes again.

  "Who the hell are you?" he scowled.

  I lowered my hand with a sick feeling. His reaction wasn't due to my getting his address by snooping around his office. This was something else. Had he guessed that I was there looking for the SD card? "You know who I am."

  He shook his head. "Yeah," he snarled with disgust. "Forget it." He turned to leave.

  "Wait a minute! You can't mean to keep me here!" I began to run after him.

  He shut the door in my face, and then I heard a sound that revealed that he'd locked it. I stood in stunned shock, staring at the door in disbelief. Was I a prisoner? I tried the doorknob, and it turned but didn't open. This was insane! I glanced around the room. There was a small cot-like bed against the wall with nothing but a mattress on it. A square table with two chairs was in the corner. Nothing else. No rugs, no decorations, no other doors. Just a small square room, the only light coming from a series of small, rectangular windows placed at the top of the walls, close to the ceiling. Too high to reach, and too narrow to crawl through if I could.

  Oh, my God, what had I gotten myself into? I went over to one of the chairs to sit down. There was literally nothing I could do until Moody returned. My purse was in my car, along with my phone. I couldn't even call anyone.

  I thought about Holly and began to cry.

  I'd already failed her.

  Chapter 7

  Moody

  Son-of-a-bitch! Someone's head was going to roll for leaving my office door open, and that someone would be Tommy, because he was the only one besides me with a fucking key. He'd acted totally surprised when I'd asked him why the door was unlocked. He'd said that he didn't know that it was, that he hadn't been in there all day.

  I revved my bike, speeding down the long stretch of road leading into Boulder. I didn't trust Bailey, even if she had admitted that she'd found my address on my desk. That might have been her way of trying to appear less guilty. If I found the SD card missing, which was the only object I had that I knew someone else might want, she was going to regret it, and no amount of flashing those sexy dimples was going to save her. I wasn't sure what I would do to her, but it wouldn't be pleasant.

  I reached the Naked Lady in record time, parking my bike close to the door. Tommy was still working behind the bar when I opened the door, glancing up when I came inside. I sent him a tight-lipped glare and went directly to my office. The fucking door was still open! What the hell?

  "I couldn't lock it, boss!" Tommy said, coming up behind me. "Someone jimmied the lock and ruined it in the process. I've already called a locksmith."

  I'd already taken in the splintered wood and guessed that something like that had happened. Fucking hell! That lying, little bitch! "Did you see anyone else come back this way?" I snarled, heading straight to my desk.

  "Fuck, I didn’t even see Bailey come back this way," he began. "Well, I mean, she said she was going to use the restroom."

  "Anyone else come back to use the fucking restroom?"

  "Sure, a couple of guys came back this way, but I didn't know the door had been tampered with until you called." He moved up to my desk, but remained on the other side. "Sorry, boss. I wouldn't have thought Bailey was capable of something like this."

  I grumbled as I yanked open the top drawer and reached inside where I'd taped the SD card, and knew within seconds that it was gone. "Fuck!" Maybe it had fallen. I began to shift through the contents of the drawer, but I already knew that it wasn't there. Seething inside, I slammed the drawer shut so fucking hard that my whole desk shook.

  "Yeah, she's a real innocent," I snapped, realizing that I'd underestimated her. She'd certainly had me fooled. "What do you know about her?"

  "Only what's on her application and that she's a good worker. She was pretty upset when I fired her, and you know how hard she's been trying to get her job back." He shook his head. "I liked her, boss. I still like her. The customers liked her. I don't think she jimmied the lock."

  "Oh, yeah? How the fuck did she get in here, then?" I lost patience with his defending her. She had him fooled, too.

  Tommy shrugged. "I don't know."

  "What time did she show up?"

  He thought for a minute. "Right after we opened up. She was here for about half an hour, I think."

  "And when was the last time you noticed the door was shut?"

  He thought again, looking down at the floor. I could tell by his fallen expression that he didn't want to say what he was about to say. "It was shut when I went back to the stock room for a case of beer at twelve-thirty."

  "And she's the only one who admitted to coming inside my office."

  There was a brief hesitation before Tommy said, "Shit. It doesn't look good for her."

  No, it didn't. Tommy didn't know what Bailey had stolen, and he wouldn't ask because he knew better. My business was my business, and he worked for me. I thought about what I wanted to do to Bailey once I got my hands on her. I didn't like liars or snoopers, and I wanted to find out who she was working for.

  All of a sudden Tommy's face lit up. "Wait a minute, boss, why would Bailey admit to coming into your office if she took something? It doesn't make sense!"

  "Are you fucking her?" I snapped, wondering why he was so ready to defend her.

  His eyes grew even bigger. "What? No! We're just friends! I wouldn't cheat on Emily." He looked disgusted with me for even implying that he'd fucked Bailey. "I'm just thinking that if she was guilty of breaking into your office and taking something, why would she admit to being in your office in the first place?" He shrugged.

  I snorted. Tommy was a good guy, but he was naive when it came to women. His little girlfriend, Emily, was proof of that. She had him right by the balls and he couldn't even see it. She didn't hesitate to use her sex appeal to keep him on a short leash. I'd seen her in action the few times that she'd come here. She used his attraction to her to get whatever she wanted from him. I smirked and shook my head.

  "What?"

  "You have a lot to learn about women," I said with disgust. "They're sneaky, manipulative, lying little cheats, and they learn early on how to use their sex appeal to wrap unsuspecting men around their fucking finger." Did I really believe that? Fuck yes, I did.

  "Wow, boss, you don't paint a very good picture."

  I rubbed the bottom half of my jaw, making a conscious effort to relax it after having clenched it so hard for the last ten minutes. It was a good thing Bailey wasn't within my grasp, because with the way I was feeling right then, I would have killed her. I still might, but after I found out who she was working for, and got that SD card back.

&
nbsp; A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Has Martin been around?" There was something about the fucker that I didn't like, the way that he'd just appeared out of nowhere one day, how he seemed to always be hanging around, watching and listening while being overly friendly. He wasn't the law, I could spot one of them a mile away, but he was involved in something. I hadn't been able to get his last name because he always paid in cash, so I'd had Tommy take a picture of him when he hadn't been looking, and had sent it off to Jace, a friend of mine who owned a security business. He was having his people look into it.

  Now I wondered if he and Bailey were involved together in something other than fucking. Shit.

  "Well?" I'd waited long enough. "Was he here?"

  Tommy slowly nodded. "Yep. I was trying to recall what time. Think it was about the same time Bailey was here. Maybe a little earlier."

  "Great. Just fucking great."

  "You think they're into something together?"

  I just stared at Tommy. I'd reached my boiling point. Too much was unanswered right then, and I needed to get back to Bailey. "I think it's time you get back to work." I had a phone call to make, and then I was going to go home. As soon as Tommy was gone, I took out my phone and hit Jace's number.

  He picked up right away. "Yeah, brother?" Jace and I were nomads. We'd been friends for years and sometimes did jobs together. He lived in Florida with his old lady, Luna.

  "Have a little situation here. Heard anything from your office about that picture I sent?"

  He laughed. "You got a hard-on for this guy?"

  "Fuck you, brother. Something of mine turned up missing and I think he may be involved. Need to know before I kill the wrong person."

  "Fuck," his tone turned serious, "Anything I can do to help?"

  "Just find out who Martin is. Add Bailey O'Brian to the list, I think they may be working together. I'll have her information faxed over."

  "Sure thing, brother. I'll get on the phone to my uncle and tell him to make this a priority."

  "Thanks."

  I got up to leave, anxious to get home to Bailey. My fingers were itching to get around her pretty little neck. I was an expert at making people talk. Hopefully she'd show some common sense when I got started and would tell me what I wanted to know. It would save her from getting hurt.

  I stopped to see Tommy on the way out. "I want a security camera placed facing my door. Should have done it a long fucking time ago. And I want you to fax over the application we have on Bailey to Crawford Security, the number is in my file cabinet."

  He nodded, continuing to wipe down the bar. "Don't hurt her, boss."

  "Then she better give me what I want."

  I turned and headed out.

  ****

  Bailey

  The more time that went by, the more furious I became. Moody had no right locking me in and then leaving me. What happened if the place caught fire and I was trapped inside? Or if he was involved in an accident and hospitalized in a coma? What if he was killed? I could starve to death. Die and rot before anyone discovered me, and Holly would be killed for sure. Damn! I was scaring myself with these thoughts, but pacing a hole in the floor wasn't helping, either.

  I was hot, thirsty, and I had to pee.

  I'd already tried to get out the windows. I was tall enough to reach them when I stood on a chair, but not tall enough or strong enough to pull myself up and out. At least opening them allowed a little fresh air to come into the room. The sun was beginning to go down. I watched the sky grow increasingly darker, and fought down the panic that I'd soon be in the dark. I didn't do well in the dark.

  Okay, I was afraid of the dark, thanks to the fact that I’d fallen into an old, abandoned well when I was a kid. The well had been deep, dark, and cold and I hadn't been found for two days. I'd been playing hide and seek with some cousins on their farm in Idaho, and there hadn't been a cover over the hole. The only thing that could have made the situation worse is if there had been water in the well.

  I went to the door and tried the knob for the umpteenth time, giving it a good rattle. Damn him! I cried out in sheer frustration, and then I heard the distinct sound of a motorcycle, and I knew that Moody was finally returning. I gave him a few minutes and then began screaming at him to let me out.

  "Let me out!" It occurred to me that the approaching biker may not be Moody, but someone else who could save me. "Help! Help me! Somebody help me!" I listened for a minute, hearing nothing. "Help! I'm being held against my will by a lunatic!" This time when I stopped, I heard the sound of heavy footfalls coming toward the door.

  I stepped away from the door, and held my breath when I heard the sound of the lock being turned, and then the knob. The door opened to reveal a stone-faced Moody. Our eyes met and clung.

  "Scream all you want, my closest neighbor is thirty miles away."

  "Screw you, Moody!"

  "Where is it?"

  I began doing a little jig to keep from peeing on myself. "You've been gone for hours and I have to pee!"

  He watched me dance for a minute before grabbing my sleeve and pulling me with him. I didn't protest because I was praying that he was taking me to the bathroom. "Fine. You pee first and then you talk."

  "What if you'd had an accident or gotten killed on the road or something?" I asked angrily. “Did you even consider that? No one knows where I am." Except maybe Martin, and I doubted that I would get any help from him. Shit, telling Moody that no one knew where I was probably hadn’t been my smartest move, considering the circumstances.

  He remained silent, took me to the bathroom, pushed me inside, and shut the door. I quickly took care of business and was washing my hands when he opened the door again. I gave him a glare and dried my hands.

  "Do I get to leave now?" I don't know where I found the courage to meet his eyes. The man appeared to be in a perpetual rage.

  "No." That's all he said.

  We stood looking at each other for a minute while I wondered what it would mean for me and Holly if I couldn’t get out of this mess. "Why?" I finally asked, confused more than ever.

  "You have something of mine."

  My mouth opened. I…What?" I crossed my arms. Was he testing me? "I swear I didn't take anything from your DAMN office." That, at least, was the truth. "I asked Tommy for your number, and he said no. So I got the brainy idea that if I got your address I could come here and beg you to hire me again."

  Moody crossed his arms, clearly not believing me. "A convenient story that's getting old. And if I hadn't been here to find you inside my house?"

  I closed my eyes and groaned. This whole thing was blowing up before I even got started. "I know how this looks, but I'm not a crook." Not yet, anyway. I felt as if I were drowning, overwhelmed by what was expected of me by Martin, and this was just the beginning. I wanted to cry thinking about Holly. Were they treating her right? Were they feeding her and letting her move around, or was she tied up and at the bottom of a dark closet?

  How was I going to search for that damned SD card with Moody here? Something Martin had said to me came to mind, but I remembered what a failure flashing my dimples at Moody had been. I continued to stare him down. Well, actually it was more like he was staring me down, and I wondered if I could win him over with a little feminine seduction. Against my better judgment, I found the insufferable man intriguing, and after that steamy kiss that we'd shared, maybe he felt the same way about me.

  No, the look that he was giving me made it clear that the only thing he felt about me at the moment was anger and suspicion. Besides, Moody didn't look like the kind of man that would fall victim to a woman's wiles. He looked more like the kind of man who would chew up a woman and spit her out, and enjoy it the whole time. His glaring at me like I was about to become his next meal was beginning to piss me off. I hadn't done anything wrong, and I'd admitted to snooping around in his office for his address. So what was his problem?

  "I'm not afraid of you," I said in my best, I’m not afraid of you to
ne, which was really pathetic. I stupidly backed it up with, "Do you get off frightening women with your mean, bad ass glare?"

  "You'll be the first to know what gets me off," he growled, grabbing me by the sleeve.

  Once again I found myself being led through his house."That's right, I forgot I saw you getting off on your lady friend," I said sarcastically.

  I heard the seams rip. It had been a matter of time, what with his rough handling of me, and my blouse was thin and delicate. It occurred to me that I was just going with him willy-nilly, as if I didn't have a choice. I wasn't usually so subdued. I was a fighter by nature, especially when it came to fairness, but right then I was just thankful that Moody wasn't leading me back to the room he'd locked me in before. And there was always the fear of what would happen to Holly if I didn't get that SD card for Martin.

  Moody opened a door and I glanced down into the black hole at the end of the stairs. Oh, hell, no! I pulled away from him, not caring that my sleeve ripped half off, and sprinted away from him. There was no fucking way I was going down there! I didn't get far, crying out when he caught up to me and shoved me hard against the wall. He used brute strength to subdue me, and the weight of his body to pin me to the wall.

  "I'm not going down there!" I told him, straining to get away. "You'll have to kill me first." I was more frightened of the dark than that, and I hated myself for that one childish weakness that had such a tight hold on me.

  He grunted. "Don't fucking tempt me."

  He thrust his hips against mine to hold me still. I struggled for a minute before realizing that he was getting a hard-on. I stopped abruptly and hissed, "I hate you!"

  "Yeah? The feeling is mutual."

  Why did he have to be so strong? And so fucking sexy? "I didn't take anything out of your office, I swear!" I hated the desperation in my voice. "The door was open when I got there, and—"

  "Good try, but I saw the damage you did to the lock when you broke in." His cock was throbbing strongly against my belly, but he chose to ignore it while I, on the other hand, was burning up inside with thoughts of what it would feel like sliding inside me. He easily forced me back the way we'd come. "When you return what you took from my office, I'll consider letting you go."