by Becca Van
“I can’t wait, honey. I ache for you.”
“I need you, too.” Niki held her arms out to him.
Hes shoved up onto his knees, lifted her legs over his shoulders, aligned his dick with her soaked pussy, and shoved in deep.
“Hess!” she cried.
“Fuck! Was I too rough, honey? Did I hurt you?”
“No! Move! Please?”
Hes swallowed and nodded as he gripped her hips and lifted her pelvis from the bed, and then he pounded her rhythmically. The fire blazing between them built quickly as he glided his cock into her pussy before retreating, and then he did it again and again. The heated friction along her walls had her speeding up the slope toward the peak. He cupped her breasts, kneading them before plucking and tweaking her hard, sensitive nipples. She caressed her hands over his arms, his chest, and his toned abs.
He pistoned in and out of her hard, fast and deep as he leaned over and kissed her voraciously. When he lifted his lips from hers, he sat back up on his knees.
“You’ve got me there, honey. I’m going to come. I’m going to fill that sexy pussy with my seed.”
“Do it, Hes,” she commanded.
“You’re going with me.” Hes rubbed her clit and then he squeezed it between his finger and thumb.
Niki screamed as she climaxed. Hes’s roar of completion joined her cry of ecstasy.
She jolted and quivered as nirvana swept her up to the clouds. Her pussy clenched and released on his dick again, again. Cream leaked from her pussy each time her inner muscles convulsed.
She didn’t notice that Hes had blanketed her body with his until she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Occasional aftershocks shook her frame, causing her pussy to clamp around Hes’s softening dick, and he moaned.
He raised his face from her neck and met her gaze. “I love you, Niki.”
“I love you, too, Hes.” She leaned up and kissed him.
She sighed with repletion and turned to look at the clock. “As much as I want to stay here with you and cuddle, I need to get up.”
“I know.” He kissed her on the tip of her nose and pulled his cock out of her body. “I’ll help you after we’ve had a shower.”
“I think it would be better if we showered separately,” Niki said. When he frowned at her, she continued, “Lunch is likely to be late if we get all wet and slippery together.”
“Shit! You’re right.” Hes gathered up his clothes, gave her naked body a lingering look, and then hurried toward his own bedroom.
Niki raced into the bathroom to clean up.
She hoped she got to spend some one-on-one time with Brent and Rig, too.
As soon as Brent entered the house could tell by the satisfied smiles on Niki’s and Hes’s faces that they’d made love this morning while he, his brothers, and his friends had been out working. He wasn’t jealous, but he hoped that he’d get time alone with her, too.
Just as they’d finished the delicious lunch and chocolate cake for dessert, someone knocked on the front door. He got to his feet and hurried from the kitchen.
When he opened the door and saw that both the sheriffs were on his doorstep and they looked worried, his gut churned. He stepped back to let them in and then closed the door.
After they’d taken a seat in the living room, Brent walked over and sat on the coffee table in front of them. “What’s wrong?” he asked quietly.
“The raids to all the Russo businesses were successful,” Sheriff Damon Osborn said.
“But?”
“Everyone’s been arrested except for three men,” Luke Sun-Walker said as he glanced toward the kitchen. Niki was looking toward them with a worried expression, but there was no way she could hear what they were discussing since they all spoke softly. “Vinnie Ramos, Thaddeus Simmonds, and Darren Carter are still missing.”
“Fuck!” Brent stood and began to pace. “We need to tell Niki. I don’t want her thinking she’s safe when she isn’t.”
“That’s what we thought, too,” Damon said as he rose. “Do you want to tell her or do you want one of us to spill the beans?”
“I think it’ll be easier on her if I tell her.” Brent glanced at Niki and beckoned her by curling his finger.
Her face was too damn pale, and he was worried that she was going to pass out when he told her what was going on. She stumbled, but thankfully, Hes and Rig were watching her and each of them grasped an elbow to steady her. Then they guided her to the living room.
Luke and Damon moved from the sofa, and after Niki was settled with his brothers on either side of her, Brent sat on the coffee table again and enfolded her hands in his.
“The feds and Chicago police raided your childhood home and all of your father’s businesses this morning, baby. They’ve commandeered all the computers, paperwork, and weapons. They also arrested a lot of men.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” she asked.
“Vinnie Ramos, Thaddeus Simmonds, and Darren Carter escaped the net.”
“When is this going to end?” Niki asked.
“We’d like to be able to answer that, Nikita, but we can’t,” Luke said.
“Don’t call me that!” Niki snapped. She drew in a deep breath and gazed at Luke. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just hate being called Nikita.”
“Sorry, Niki,” Luke said. “The chief in Chicago has put out an APB on Ramos, Simmonds, and Carter. The first two are also now on the FBI’s most wanted list.”
Niki nodded.
“Do you know who Darren Carter is?” Damon asked.
“No, but my father had a lot of men working for him, and since I was locked up most of the time, I only ever saw a few of his henchmen. I know Vinnie and Thaddeus. Those two were as thick as thieves. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they were the men who poisoned and killed my father. Vinnie Ramos had his eye on the ultimate prize, but I think my father was clueless.”
“The ultimate prize?” Luke asked.
“He wanted to be the boss,” Niki explained. “Do you think the three missing men have fled the country?”
Brent glanced at the two sheriffs. Luke shook his head. “From what you told us about Ramos, I don’t think so. I think he isn’t going to give up searching for you.”
“There was a leak to the media, and the press exposed that there was an informant who’d passed on information that led to the raids,” Damon said.
“Oh god.” Niki paled.
“Look at me, sugar,” Rig demanded and when she met his gaze, he said, “We won’t let them get you, Niki. We’ll do everything within our power to keep you safe.”
“How?” Niki cried. “How are you going to do that? He has so many men in his pocket we won’t even see them coming. He has to know it was us, Kat and me, who sent those files to the authorities. None of the men under my father would have been game to do something like that because they knew they would have been killed. It doesn’t matter that my father is dead. There’s always someone else ready and willing to take the lead role. I wouldn’t put it past Vinnie to have poisoned my father so he could take the top position.” Tears welled and rolled down her face.
Brent cursed under his breath and was just about to pull her into his arms, but Rig got to her first. His brother lifted her from the cushion and into his lap, wrapped his arms around her, and held her tight.
“I’ve already spread the word,” Luke said. “If Ramos shows up in town, we’ll know about it minutes later.”
“Do you even know what he looks like?” Niki asked. “Do the FBI or the Chicago PD have mug shots of him?”
Damon scrubbed a hand down his face. “Ramos has never been arrested, Niki. There are no pictures of him in the system. All we have to go on is his name. We’re waiting for information and hopefully a photo from the DMV, but it’ll take time for our request to get through all the red tape.”
“And he’s not going to be stupid enough to use his name. He’s probably got some of his men looking
for me. I think he was undercutting my father and swaying the men over to his side, but I don’t know for sure.”
“Why do you think that?” Luke asked.
“Because when he was trying to rape me,” she spat out, “he told me that I wouldn’t be able to hide behind my father or Rosita for much longer.”
“Fuck!” Hes sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
Brent wanted to hit something, he was that pissed, but he didn’t want to upset Niki more than she already was.
She was his whole world and he would do anything for her. He’d give his last breath if it meant she lived.
He wanted to get in his truck and find the men threatening the love of his life, but since he didn’t know what the fuckers looked like, he’d be wasting his time. Plus, he didn’t want Niki out of his or his brothers’ sight.
All they could do was remain alert, and when the time came—and deep down in his gut he knew it would—he, his brothers, and the Sonny men would be ready.
They would have to carry their guns with them wherever they were just in case danger came to the ranch.
Maybe it was time to teach Niki how to ride and shoot. That way she could go out with them while they worked.
He wasn’t sure having just one of them with her in the house for protection was enough.
He’d hire a whole fucking platoon if he had to.
Chapter Sixteen
Niki wanted to run and hide, but she wasn’t the type of person to bury her head in the sand and she knew there was nowhere she could go that would be safe.
Vinnie and his goonies wouldn’t stop looking for her until they’d found her. After the sheriffs left and the kitchen was cleaned with the dishwasher running, she turned to see Brent waiting for her.
“Do you know how to use a gun?”
“No.”
“I think it would be a good idea if you learned, baby.”
Niki didn’t like guns but she knew Brent was right, so she nodded.
“Let me just go and get the rifle and a pistol, and we’ll go out behind the barn.” Brent walked from the room.
Her father and his men had always carried weapons, and she’d been scared that one of them was going to aim at her and shoot her. Thankfully, none of the men had, and her father had just used his fists instead.
Brent was back moments later with a long-barreled gun resting on his shoulder and a smaller one in his other hand. “Are you ready, Niki?”
“As I’ll ever be, I guess.”
“Guns aren’t anything to be afraid of, baby. As long as you treat them with respect and know how to use them, there’s nothing to be frightened of.”
She nodded even though she wasn’t sure she’d ever be comfortable around them.
Brent led the way out and across the yard. When they were behind the barn, he set up a row of empty tin cans along the fence. Niki glanced about to make sure there were no cattle, horses, or people within the vicinity. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt or kill someone or something by accident.
Brent came and stood beside her after placing the smaller gun in the waistband of his jeans at his lower back. He held the gun in his hands and tilted it onto its side. “This is a GSG AK-47. This is the safety switch. Always keep the safety on unless you intend on shooting.” He flicked the safety off and then on again. “If you look along the top of the barrel, you’ll see a small metal V. That V is a scope to help you line up whatever you want to shoot at.” He moved around behind her and then lowered the rifle to her shoulder. “Always press the butt of the rifle firmly against your shoulder. Rifles have the tendency to kick and you could hurt yourself or even break something from the backlash if you don’t have the gun against you.”
Brent held the end of the gun against her shoulder and with his free hand, grasped hers and brought it up to the gun. He showed her how to hold it, how to aim, and how to load and unload.
“Right, you’re ready to shoot.” Brent stepped back from her.
Niki missed the comfort of his warmth and support. She wanted to call him back, but she needed to do this on her own. She was determined to shoot at least one of the cans from the fence because she wanted to be able to defend herself and her men if necessary.
She flicked the safety off, sighted down the length of the barrel, took a breath, and held it. Then she squeezed the trigger. The kick was far stronger than she’d expected, and the butt slammed against her flesh so hard she was sure she was going to end up with a bruise. None of the cans flew off the fence.
“You need to keep your eyes open, baby,” Brent said as he moved back behind her. He’d been standing off to the side. She hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes but wasn’t really surprised that she had. Her heart was racing and sweat was trickling down between her breasts.
When she felt the heat of his body closer to hers, some of her tension eased. She silently talked herself through the steps again, lined up with the first can on the fence, and fired the gun. The can flew from the fence as a pinging sound reached her ears. “I did it!” She smiled at Brent over her shoulder, making sure to keep the barrel of the gun pointing toward the ground.
“I’m so proud of you, Niki. I know how hard that was for you.”
“Yeah, it was, but I’ll do anything to stop that asshole from hurting Kat, me or you, Rig, and Hes,” she stated emphatically.
“I think you’re ready for the Glock.” Brent placed the rifle aside and then pulled the handgun out from the back of his jeans. “This is a Glock 19 and it uses 9mm bullets. It’s has fixed steel sights and a 9mm cartridge.”
He moved in behind her and held the gun up in front of her.
Niki took the gun from him, feeling the weight and looking it over to familiarize herself with it.
“This Glock has three safety features.” Brent pointed to a button on the trigger. “The gun will only fire when the trigger is squeezed. It won’t go off if dropped, and there’s another safety feature on the firing pin. There is no safety switch, however, so you need to be careful while handling this weapon.”
Niki didn’t like that there was no safety button or switch, but at least the gun wouldn’t go off accidentally if she dropped it or pulled the trigger without activating the extra security notch on the lower part of the trigger.
“Line up one of the cans in the sight,” Brent said softly from behind her. “Don’t tug on the trigger too hard when you’re ready, because you won’t hit anything. Take a breath, hold it, and squeeze the trigger gently. Make sure you’re touching the small protrusion on the lower half of the trigger or nothing will happen, and be ready for a kickback.”
Niki felt his breath on the back of her neck, and the hair on her nape stood on end. She was so hot and needy she wanted to turn around and jump his bones, but she also wanted, needed, to learn how to protect herself.
“Bend your elbow slightly, baby. You could end up hurting yourself or breaking a bone if you hold it out so straight and tense. Relax your shoulders.” He grasped her shoulders and started massaging the tense muscles. She groaned and closed her eyes, but when he released her, she opened her eyes again. “Whenever you’re ready, Niki.”
Niki inhaled deeply and as she held the air in her lungs, she sighted the can in the middle and squeezed the trigger. This time she hit it first go. She laughed with elation, lowered the gun to her side, and turned to face Brent. He was smiling but it was the lust in his eyes that made her shiver.
“Great job, baby.” Brent stepped closer, caressed his hand down her arm, and relieved her of the Glock. “From now on, I want you to have this gun with you all the time.”
“I can’t carry it with me wherever I go, Brent. For one, I don’t have a license and two, it’s not practical to take it with me when I use the bathroom.”
Brent shook his head. “If you carry it with you, you’ll get used to having it. You don’t have to carry it on your person all the time, because that wouldn’t be safe, but at least have it close so that if you need it,
you can get to it.”
“Okay, but why would I need it if I have one of you guys with me?” Niki asked.
“We work on a ranch, baby. Sometimes there are emergencies that may need all of us to deal with. Some of our heifers may have trouble birthing their calves. Shit happens, Niki, but I’ll feel better if I know you can protect yourself if we’re not around.”
“I’ll try,” she said.
“That’s all I can ask. Let me take you into the barn and introduce you to some of the horses.” Brent laced his fingers with hers and guided her to the barn.
The interior was dim after being out in the bright sunshine, but her vision quickly adjusted. The sweet smell of fresh hay permeated the building, as did the aromas of horse and leather.
He led her to the first stall, where a large brown horse was sheltered. As soon as the horse saw Brent, it walked closer, hanging its head over the stall door. “This is Rusty,” he said as he caressed up and down the horse’s face between its eyes and down its nose. “She’s a sorrel Quarter Horse. She’s great for herding the cattle, and she’s gentle and reliable. Nor does she spook easily. She’s approximately fifteen hands high and eight years old.” Brent lifted her hand to the horse’s nose. She giggled when the horse nibbled her skin with its velvety soft lips.
“She’s beautiful,” Niki said as she continued to pet the horse.
“If you want to learn to ride, then Rusty is the horse you’ll learn on. Down on the other end of the barn is Spright.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her into the rear of the barn. “Spright is another word for evil spirit or devil. He’s feisty and harder to handle. We plan to breed him with one of the mares in a few months. He’s a bit wild and spooks easily, but he’s also well trained. If he sees one of the herd break off, he’s after it before I have time to direct him.”
“His coat is so dark he probably looks blue under the sun.” Niki stared at the big horse. He tossed his head, flicked his ears back and forth, and snorted. She jumped, then giggled nervously. “How tall is he?”
“He’s eighteen hands high.” Brent gave the horse a pat on the neck before turning her toward an open door she hadn’t seen. He flicked on a light so they could see properly. There was a desk against the right-hand side wall. The rest of the walls had bridles and other things hanging on them. He pointed out and named each piece of equipment to her. Although Niki heard him, she was distracted by how his muscles rippled under his shirt and how his biceps strained his sleeves.
