by Maya Banks
Mia stirred against him, and he put a finger to her lips.
“I’ll check it out,” he murmured. “Stay here until I call for you.”
He gripped his gun and climbed up the incline. A truck drove toward them, headlights off. Smart thinking on their part; otherwise, Jack wouldn’t have been able to see anything in the glare.
But still, he wasn’t taking any chances. He waited until the truck was almost on him, then he sprinted to the middle of the road, drew his gun and stood pointing his weapon at the driver’s side of the truck.
The truck slammed to a halt, and in two seconds, Jack found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. Mexican standoff. Only neither of them was Mexican.
Another man got out of the passenger seat, ignoring Jack’s presence completely. Biker Boy.
“Mia?” Biker Boy called out. “Where are you, little girl?”
Jack had to hand it to him. At least Biker Boy sounded concerned. The other guy—Mac, presumably—hadn’t said a damn thing. Just continued to point his weapon at Jack.
Then Mac spoke.
“I don’t particularly like being drawn on, especially by someone who I left a warm bed in the middle of the night to help.”
Jack relaxed his grip on his gun and tucked it into the waist of his pants. He hurried over to where Mia still hid and leaned down to give her his hand.
“It’s safe. You can come on up now.”
He pulled her to stand beside him, and she went immediately to Biker Boy.
Mac walked around to where they all stood, though his gun was still gripped in his hand.
“I suggest we don’t stand around exchanging pleasantries. Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Mac said.
“You’re hurt, little girl,” Biker Boy said to Mia as he hugged her up tight.
“I’m fine, Ryder. Let’s go, please.”
Jack curled a possessive arm around her waist and helped her into the extended cab of the truck. Ryder slid into the front, and Mac hurried around to the driver’s side.
As they drove off, Mac looked into the rearview mirror at Jack. “Suppose you tell me what the hell is going on.”
Jack put an arm around Mia, pulling her over to lie against him. “My name is Jack Kincaid. I’m a Texas Ranger. Earlier tonight, Mia was kidnapped and was going to be forced onto the auction block to be sold as a sex slave.”
Ryder sucked in his breath. “Son of a bitch!”
“How do the local police play into this?” Mac asked. “Ryder said Mia told him they couldn’t be trusted.”
“They can’t,” Mia spoke up quietly.
They drove for several minutes, turning out from the gravel road onto a paved highway.
“Get down,” Mac ordered grimly. “There’s a roadblock up ahead. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I hope you’re telling me the truth, because I’m about to lie through my front teeth.”
Jack immediately shoved Mia to the floorboard then lay over her. Ryder threw a couple of gym bags from the front on top of Jack. What the hell was in those things? Bricks?
The truck slowed, and Jack held his breath. He heard Mac say something, presumably as he flashed his badge. Then he listened to one of the cops rattle off a spiel about some crazed psycho on the loose and a woman wanted for drug possession.
In a few seconds, they drove away, and Jack relaxed again.
“Y’all can get up now,” Mac called back. “Coast is clear.” Jack crawled back onto the seat and helped Mia up beside him. “Did I hurt you?” he asked in a low voice.
She shook her head and nestled into his side.
“We’re not far from my house,” Mac said.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of a small frame-house. Mac and Ryder piled out, and Jack slid out of the back seat. He held his arms out for Mia, and she crawled out beside him. She stood, trying to straighten and pull down her shirt to an acceptable length.
They entered the house, and Jack saw a small woman hurl herself toward Mac. But what surprised him more was that after she laid one hell of a scorching kiss on Mac, she turned and did the same to Biker Boy.
Then she turned her stare on Mia, and her eyes narrowed. Jack fixed her with his most ferocious scowl. He didn’t need some snot-nosed woman looking down at Mia.
Mac responded by stepping in front of Kit and folding his arms across his chest. He glared at Jack.
“Look, guys,” Mia broke in tiredly. “Can we dispense with all the testosterone? I promise Kit and I aren’t going to pull each others’ hair out.”
Ryder looked over at Mia in concern. “Why don’t you go take a shower and clean up, little girl. I’ll get you some fresh clothes.”
“We both could do with a shower,” Jack said, letting the others make what they wanted of the statement.
Ryder raised a brow. “No problem. I’ll show you to the bathroom, and I’ll get something for you both to put on.”
Jack put a hand to Mia’s back and guided her ahead of him as they followed Ryder into a large bedroom. Ryder gestured toward the bathroom.
“I’ll leave some clothes out on the bed for you.”
“Thanks, Ryder,” Mia said.
“Anytime, little girl.”
As soon as Ryder left the room, Jack ushered Mia into the bathroom.
“What the hell was all that about? I feel like I entered the twilight zone.”
Mia laughed. “Mac, Ryder and Kit have a unique relationship, I guess you could say.”
Jack raised a brow. “You mean they’re together? Biker Boy swings both ways?”
“No! Oh good grief, no.” She broke off choking with laughter. “Oh Lord, if Mac or Ryder heard you say that, they’d probably kill you. They, uhm, well, they share Kit.”
Jack shot her a look of disbelief. “That is fucked up. No way I’d share my woman with another man.”
She looked at him for a long moment, her eyes sparking with heat. “No, I don’t guess you would.”
He turned the shower on then slipped out of his torn jeans. He reached for the hem of Mia’s shirt and slowly pulled it over her head. He watched carefully, examining her body language for signs that he was pushing her too hard. All he found was answering desire.
He stepped under the warm spray and pulled her inside with him. As the water poured down over them, he placed both hands at her head and lowered his lips to kiss her.
Water beaded and rolled over the tips of her breasts. Her nipples puckered and became hard points. He couldn’t resist touching them, cupping the soft mounds and tweaking the nipples with his fingertips.
He poured shampoo into his hand and lathered her hair. He soaped the rest of her body, taking care not to hurt the scrapes and scratches. He cleaned the dirt and blood from her legs, and took special care to wash the large gash on her calf.
Then he soaped his own body, hurriedly rinsing so he could turn his attention back to Mia. He held her under the spray, washing the soap and grime from her body. His hands rubbed and caressed, trying to banish every touch except his.
She moaned against him, such a sweet sound of surrender. He had to have her. Right here, right now.
“I want you,” he whispered in her ear. It wasn’t a request. Rather it was a demand, said as gently as he could, considering his raging need.
He picked her up easily, hoisting her up his body. His cock strained and bulged outward. Holding her with one arm, he reached for his penis, positioning it at her pussy. Then he slid her down onto it.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles together.He cupped her ass with both hands, pushing her up and down as his cock slid easily to her depths.
He fucked her with urgency. They didn’t have time for a slow round of lovemaking, not that he could promise her one anyway. They came together in an explosion of need and adrenaline. The sound of her ass slapping against his thighs rose over the rushing water.
As he felt his balls tighten, he bent his head and sank his teeth into the soft s
kin of her neck. She gasped in his ear and clutched him harder with her hands.
He came in a rush, filling her with his hot release. He knew she hadn’t yet reached her peak. He slammed against her twice more, draining himself completely.
He reached up and turned the water off then hauled her out of the shower. Not wanting her to ease down from her impending orgasm, he set her on the counter and spread her legs wide.
Her pussy, dark pink from his thrusts, spread open to him, soft and inviting. Her damp curls, dark against her pale flesh, glistened with her moisture and his seed.
He plunged two fingers into her, using his thumb to roll over her clit. He positioned his other hand between her ass cheeks. Using one finger, he gently brushed against her tight anal opening.
Continuing his thrusts with one hand, he inserted one finger into her anus. She clenched her muscles against the invasion and let out a soft moan.
Her body writhed restlessly on the counter. She squirmed with unfulfilled need.
“How close are you?” he growled in a low voice.
“Oh God,” she panted. “Please don’t stop.”
“I have no intention of stopping, sugar. I want you to come all over my hand.”
He slid a second finger into her ass, and she went wild. She bucked against him as he drove her to higher pleasure. Her pussy sucked at his fingers and flooded with moisture.
“That’s it,” he purred. “Let yourself go.”
He pinched at her clit, and her body spasmed and went limp. He carefully withdrew his fingers and gathered her in his arms as the last of her shudders wracked her body.
“Let’s get dressed and see about getting out of this mess.”
CHAPTER 13
Mia walked on shaky legs into the bedroom where Ryder had laid out clothing for her and Jack. She was running on empty. Somehow she managed to pull on the shirt and sweats before her legs gave out and she slumped onto the bed.
In front of her, Jack pulled on a T-shirt and a pair of pants that were a bit too large for him. He moved closer to her and cupped her chin in his hand.
“I know you’re tired. Let’s go talk to your friends. I need to call Kenny and see how far out he is. He should be rolling in soon. I promise when this is over, you can sleep for a week.”
She tried to smile but couldn’t quite muster the energy. Emitting a long sigh, she stood up and walked toward the door.
Mac, Ryder and Kit all stood in the living room and looked up when she and Jack walked out. Mac eyed them impatiently, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Which one of you is going to tell me what the hell is going on?” Mac demanded.
Jack slipped his hand over Mia’s. “The asshole who owns the strip club in the next county tried to auction Mia off earlier tonight. If I hadn’t shown up, and if we hadn’t shot our way out of there, Mia would be well on her way to some jerk who’d keep her as a sex slave.”
Mac’s expression darkened. Beside him, Ryder swore softly.
“And you didn’t go to the local police why?” Mac asked.
“Because they’re in on it,” Mia spoke up softly.
Jack looked sideways at her, his eyes probing.
Mac looked kindly at her. “Maybe you should sit down before you fall down and explain what you mean.”
Kit still looked guardedly at her, but her eyes had softened some. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked.
Mia shook her head and sat down on the couch. Jack remained standing.
“I think the judge is in league with them too,” Mia said. She took a deep breath, knowing she’d have to come clean with the entire story.
“Six months ago, I drove into town. Wasn’t planning to stay long. I stopped at a local burger joint and when I came back out, my car wouldn’t start. One of the local cops said he had a brother-in-law who owned a repair shop. Had it towed over there, found out it was going to cost me several hundred dollars to fix. Money I didn’t have,” she added lamely.
She kept her gaze down, not wanting to meet Jack’s stare. “The garage owner said he had a little job he needed done, and if I’d help him out, he’d wave the costs of the repairs. I jumped at it. He wanted me to deliver a duffel bag across town to an address, so I did it.”
She heard a groan but wasn’t sure who it came from. She didn’t look up to see. She twisted her hands in her lap, and continued on.
“Halfway across town I got pulled over. By the same cop who’d arranged for my tow to the garage. He searched the car and found drugs in the duffel bag. He arrested me and took me into jail.”
“Son of a bitch,” Jack spat out. “Classic setup.”
“Before they booked me, fingerprinted me, did anything, Martin showed up.”
“Who’s Martin?” Mac interrupted.
“He’s the guy who owns the strip club,” Mia replied. “Anyway, he showed up and made this big deal out of bailing me out, said if I’d come to work for him, he’d make sure things got straightened out. I found out later he expected me to strip for him. At first I refused, but he made it clear, as did the asshole cop, that I’d promptly be arrested and put away for drug possession if I didn’t do what I was told. They hinted strongly that the judge was a ‘close friend’ and would render a rather harsh sentence.”
“Goddamn,” Jack said, slapping his fist into his hand. “I’m going to kill those sons of bitches.”
Mia looked up at him for the first time. She swallowed heavily. “Jack, I knew what was in that duffel bag. I knew what he was asking me to do. I did it anyway. I’m guilty. If this all blows up, I’ll be going to jail on drug-possession charges.”
Jack stared back at her for a long time, his eyes glittering with anger.
“And I’m telling you, if I had made sure you were taken care of, none of this would have ever happened.”
“So he’s the asshole who hurt you,” Ryder said, realization reflected in his voice. “I always wondered who put those shadows in your eyes.”
“Ryder, please,” she said.
Jack jerked his head in Ryder’s direction. “Yeah, I’m that asshole. The same asshole who isn’t going to stand by and let her be hurt again.”
“Can we keep to the matter at hand?” Mac asked, holding his hands up. “We’ve got problems. If old Judge Allen is in cahoots with this Martin and at least one of the cops, you can bet that the sheriff is involved as well. They go way back.”
He turned to Jack. “You might want to get your Ranger buddies in here. The problem is, we have no hard evidence, and we can’t go around arresting law enforcement personnel, not to mention judges who’ve been around longer than dirt, without proof.”
“We need Martin and Drake, the asshole who was going to auction Mia off,” Jack muttered. “If we can get those two, chances are they’ll sing.”
“I don’t want to go to jail,” Mia whispered, shutting her eyes tightly as the nightmare of the last six months hovered like a cement block over her head.
Jack got down on his knees in front of her. He gathered her hands in his and stared into her eyes. “You won’t go to jail, Mia. You were set up from the beginning. I won’t let you go. Do you understand that? I know I’ve let you down, but I need you to trust me now. Can you do that?”
She slowly nodded, and savage satisfaction rolled across Jack’s face. He hauled her up against him and kissed her long and hard. When he finally let her go, her lips were hot and swollen.
He stood up and looked over at Mac. “I’ll call Kenny, but I need to go after Martin and Drake. If we can get to them, we’ll have what we need to go after the rest. Who can you trust in your force?”
“Let me make a few calls myself,” Mac said. “We may not do this by the books, but we’ll get it done nonetheless.”
Jack grinned. “You’re my kind of guy.”
The next hour blurred by in a flash of phone calls and the arrival of more cops. Mia watched in a daze from the couch. She
