Sexual Expression [Contemporary Cowboys 2] (Siren Publishing LoveEdge)

by Natalie Acres

  The agent with the fancy phone held up his cell again. “One of your friends, Kurt I believe, says he’s sorry but he won’t be able to make it. He’s tending to the pigs.”

  She gulped. The Jacksons smirked. Even a few of the agents laughed.

  The same agent said, “Let me guess. They don’t have pigs out at Blazier’s Farms?”

  Jax and Tyler stifled laughs.

  “Apparently not,” the agent grumbled.

  “Kane, may I talk to you privately?” Coco asked.

  He nodded at one of the agents who looked like he was old enough to have his own dedicated segment on The History Channel. The fellow said, “Five minutes.”

  Kane thanked him and followed Coco into the study. Before he could say something to piss her off, she said, “Geraldine was killed because of us. The boys, too. I don’t know if the Blaziers know it but I put it together last night at the club when I saw the man who looked like Handsome, the guy who attacked Brianna last year.”

  “He had a twin brother and the Feds are on to him. They are pretty certain he was behind most of what happened here last night.”

  “Did they catch him?” She was almost afraid to ask.

  Kane frowned and took a minute to answer. “There’s no way they’ll walk, not this group. There were too many witnesses.”

  At least he hadn’t lied to her. “Not this group” meant these guys, the hit men who had been at the club, the fellows who had killed innocent people. They would serve time and pay for their crimes. In the meantime, others would come to finish the job. When was the question. Would it be three or four months this time or two or three years? How long before more men would show up there in the little town of Erwin, hoping to make a big city impression?

  Coco focused on the present. “Anyway, I’m not sure what the Feds know or what they think they know but the truth is there’s really no reason for the Blaziers to be under investigation for anything, especially murder, if that’s why their home and farm are being searched.”

  “Cut the shit, Coco.”

  “What?” She gulped. Kane was brash at times, but he rarely cut her off or acted like he wasn’t interested in what she had to say.

  If Kane didn’t help her, where would she be? Without the Blaziers there, she wanted to run and hide. She longed to pull one of Brianna’s stunts and run as far as she could until the Feds found the men responsible for hurting the people she loved, the men who killed Momma Blazier, the twins, and Nate.

  “Coco, the Blaziers are going to prison and my guess is they’ll go away for a very long time.”

  “No. That can’t be. They haven’t done anything wrong.” She shook her head. How had this meeting turned into complete chaos? How could the Feds use what had happened at the club to push their way inside her home and then turn their form of questioning into something entirely different? “No. That can’t be.”

  “Yes. It can be. There’s been an ongoing investigation and apparently there’s widespread belief that they’ll have enough to hold several of the Blaziers. Now if you really want to help them or maybe even save yourself, you need to march out there and tell the truth. Do you understand me?”

  She nodded once, remembering one of the last serious conversations she’d had with Geraldine. She could still picture her on the back porch, rocking back and forth with a distant smile. “I made them do it, ya know,” she’d said. “That’s something for you to remember. After I die, someone will come in, someone you least expect to meet and that’s when you’ll tell your story. All of you could be separated at that time so remember this Coco, remember it always. The business? The contacts? Everything that has happened here at Blazier Farms was because I ran the business according to me, not according to the law or the limitations thereof but on my own terms.”

  “They want the truth, Coco,” Kane said, dragging her away from the Geraldine memory. “If you don’t give it to them, they’ll hold you as an accomplice or an accessory, and if one of those boys had something to do with the deaths over there then you could be an accessory to murder.”

  The tears—damn them—started falling. She couldn’t stop crying. This was what Geraldine had feared. Perhaps she’d known their business was under scrutiny or maybe she wanted her boys out of it and perhaps even arranged for the bust. She was a conniving old woman when she wanted to be. Even so, Coco needed to believe Geraldine didn’t want her boys involved in illegal activities. What mother would?

  Kane reentered the kitchen and stood there with his hands on his hips. Dressed in a long-sleeve flannel shirt, dark denim jeans, and well worn leather boots, he looked like a cowboy who had kicked a few asses and taken several names along the way. Still, his hands were clean and Coco could guess the reason why—he had friends in the right places.

  The room was quiet. Drina was sobbing softly and perhaps they’d already given her a few reasons to cry. Maybe they’d told her about the Blazier family business or perhaps they’d discussed the crimes for which they would soon be tried. Whatever they’d told her, whatever they’d shared, she’d evidently paid close enough attention to be clearly confused or worse—scared. Coco knew a little something about that.

  A tape recorder was placed in the center of the dining room table. The date, time, and place were given in a professional manner. The senior agent in charge said, “We’re with Coco Leanne Baldini, age twenty-seven. She’s approximately five foot six and one hundred and twenty pounds. She has long dark black hair and blue eyes.”

  And the questioning began. It was long, grueling, and endless. They asked about her past with Brandon, the people she’d met, and where she’d seen Geraldine Blazier conducting business. They asked if Coco was aware of the drug trafficking that had been the source of the Blazier income for more than twenty-two years. Had she seen pot plants? Did she realize that at one time over thirty-two acres of Blazier property had been dedicated to marijuana crops? Did she realize pot was illegal in the state of Tennessee? Had she ever suspected the Blaziers of running drugs or manufacturing methamphetamines? Did she know if any of the Blazier brothers had a pill problem or a drug connection based out of Florida? What connections did Geraldine have to Juan Jahno and did she know if he had fathered any of her sons?

  Then the first shoe dropped, the one that could ultimately destroy the family she loved, the men she adored.

  “Ms. Baldini, what business involvement does your father have with the Blazier family?”

  “What?” She felt as if she were sideways in the road, in the middle of an ice storm. No matter which way she turned, she couldn’t get straightened out, the weathered path made it impossible to gain any significant ground. “My…my father?” She shook her head. “The Blazier family members don’t know my father.”

  Even Kane looked lost. After they pressed her for information she clearly didn’t have, the other shoe dropped. “Ms. Baldini, have you ever seen guns or ammunition at the Blazier home?”

  “Only the ones Geraldine kept by her bedside.”

  The older detective leaned back and crossed his arms. He appeared more interested now than he’d been before.

  “Can you describe those guns?”

  Drina slammed her fist on the table. “This is ridiculous! Do you know who you’re talking to? We may be Alberto Baldini’s daughters but we don’t even own a gun! Outside of a water pistol, we’ve never even shot guns!”

  “But that isn’t true. Is it, Coco?” If the aging agent thought he could lower his voice, look at her with compassion and she’d just crumble, he’d pegged the wrong woman in the wrong family.

  “Do I need an attorney?” she asked Kane.

  “I’m beginning to think so,” Kane replied, glaring at the man he seemed to know best, the one he’d first greeted when the men had arrived.

  Coco tried to steal a quick peek at Jax Jackson. She and Jax hadn’t always agreed on everything but he was a good man, an honest man. She studied him for a minute and he gave a very discreet nod, as if he approved of her answeri
ng the question.

  “I’ve shot a gun before at the Blaziers,” Coco said. “Geraldine feared her enemies were closing in. I know where you’re going with all this. You want me to roll over on her boys. You want me to tell you some magnificent story about drug thugs and arms dealers, but the truth is, Geraldine ran the business. She ran the business with an iron fist and the only son who knew anything about this business is now in the grave next to her.”

  “You expect us to believe that?”

  “I don’t care what you believe.” She grabbed her sweater from the coat tree right inside the back door. “I told you the painful truth. I told you a truth I can’t even believe I was rotten enough to tell. I betrayed a woman who was like a mother to me and her son who was like a brother.” The resentment she felt welled inside her like a time bomb waiting to explode. “Now, agents, if you’ll excuse me. I need to go check on the Blaziers and find out if one of them will come over here and stand guard with Kane tonight. Obviously, you have your wires crossed up.

  “And to think I actually believed you were here to find out what happened last night and perhaps—well, I don’t know—maybe even wanted to provide some assurance or—gasp—how about protection?” She stared down the bridge of her nose at the man who had intercepted her text messages. “Please know I plan to text my friends again. I’ll let them know what I told you and while I’m at it I’ll also casually mention that I believe you are doing absolutely nothing to keep me and my sisters safe!”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Things went from bad to worse.

  Coco burst inside the crowded kitchen and all heads turned her way. She scanned the familiar faces and group of strangers, searching for Brandon or Kurt, desperate to find them. Turning up empty handed, she focused on the spot where Liam usually sat before turning to Dallas who was seated at the head of the table, expressionless.

  “Dallas, where are Brandon, Kurt, and Liam?”

  The slight wrinkles around his eyes twitched and he bowed his head at which time he mouthed, “Go.”

  It was then when she noticed the obvious—Dante, Dallas, Mason, and Hales were listless, still, and unusually quiet. They hadn’t greeted her as they normally might or ribbed her about her relationship which would’ve then been a topic worthy of conversation if they had been on their game.

  But that was the whole problem here. No one was on their game, especially her.

  A man in a silk suit stood up and extended his hand. “Ms. Baldini, I presume?”

  She took his hand only because it was thrust within inches of her own. She watched then as the Blazier brothers winced as if the idea of Coco shaking the man’s hand made them physically ill. “Can I see some credentials?”

  “Did you hear that, men? She wants to see some credentials!” He roared with laughter and that’s when she realized—albeit too late—a substantial difference in the men she’d spoken to at her home and the eight men there, at the Blazier family’s kitchen table.

  “You aren’t a federal agent. Are you?” She studied the one at the other end of the kitchen door. “Are you?” Her voice dipped in volume as she contemplated her best escape.

  The man in front of her snarled. “No, not today.” He then circled her like a predator might. “You are truly exquisite.” He leaned closer, studying her as if he were truly interested in storing everything about her to memory. “Is she the one?” He pivoted to the left, now facing the brothers. “I said is she the one?” He stomped over to the table and yanked Dante from his seat, gripping him by the collar as if he planned to soon use his chokehold for a fatal purpose.

  “No,” Dante lied.

  “He’s telling you the truth.” Hales stood up then too. “That’s not her.”

  “Are they lying to me?” the man asked, now groping her from behind.

  “No!” she wailed, only she quickly tried to rein in her fear, noting the danger she’d caused, the scene now unfolding in front of her.

  All the Blazier men tried to fight the criminals behind them, but their failed attempts were soon realized as one by one the thugs cocked guns and held them to their heads. Coco’s breath caught as the man behind her fondled her breast. She closed her eyes, already imagining the worst, certain that the agents at her home must’ve been somehow misinformed.

  The Blaziers had clearly been on lockdown all right, only the Feds weren’t there paying them a visit. Someone had relayed inaccurate information.

  And where were Zak, Liam, Brandon, and Kurt? Had they managed to escape or were they somewhere waiting in the shadows, anticipating the perfect time to strike?

  “We’re here for the truth, Miss Baldini so I’ll ask you one more time and for accuracy this time, please.” He shoved her forward and made her stand close to the picnic table. “If you’re lying to me and I discover it by looking in your handbag and checking your driver’s license, I will then kill one of the Blazier brothers, making absolutely certain you are close enough to be splattered with particles from his brain when the bullet rips through his skull and ends his life.”

  Her head jolted as he held her firmly at his side. He rummaged through her handbag and came up with her wallet. “Who are you? Which Baldini?”

  “Coco,” she hurriedly replied, having already come to terms that she would’ve told them the truth without her driver’s license.

  The man threw her purse on the table and one of his accomplices verified her name. He nodded then and Dallas, Dante, and Hales all dropped their heads as if they knew what fate she would soon face.

  “Let’s go, lovely,” the man said, pushing her toward the back door.

  “I’ll do it. Let me.” Mason was dragged to his feet by the man holding him at gunpoint.

  “He watches,” the clear boss said, turning to the others. “And if anyone else speaks out of turn, you won’t watch. You’ll be killed immediately.” He grinned. “That would seem such a shame, too, especially since I sense your faith, that electrifying energy you boys have always had…you know it is so much like your mother’s. I remember that about her.”

  “I know who you are,” Coco said, barely breathing.

  “Ah yes, but of course you would know.” The sixty-something-year-old man was in good health given his age.

  “You’re Juan Jahno, Jahn’s and Juan’s father.” There was no question. Everything made sense then. Geraldine had once told her about Juan Jahno and also expressed her fears. She was afraid he would show up after she died and demand a portion of her estate.

  “That’s me indeed—the mourning father.”

  “I know why you’re here,” she said, winging it as she went along. “I always knew I’d be the first one you’d kill but I have to admit, I thought you would at least take a look at what she left for you first.”

  “Left for me?” he asked, his thick accent even heavier than before.

  Geraldine had once told grand romantic stories about a man she easily loved. Her greatest fears were warranted. According to Geraldine, Juan Jahno was greed-ridden, but also a little naïve, something she couldn’t tolerate in a man. She wanted a strong man beside her, a tender but reckless lover, but she also found brilliance extremely sexy and Juan Jahno didn’t have the traits she admired most.

  “Do you honestly think I didn’t cover us after Geraldine died? I put it all together and went straight to the cops with the information I had. And I didn’t stop there. After what happened at the club last night, I met with the ATF, the DTF, the FBI, and every other initial-clad organization I could think of.” She paused long enough to consider Kane’s description of the Feds and then considered how Kane Cartwell himself might play this poor hand she’d been dealt.

  Standing a little taller, she continued. “I gave names and dates, things only Geraldine would’ve known and explained that if anyone else died in this family they would know where to look, they would know you were too fucking greedy and that a hundred million wasn’t good enough, you wanted it all!”

  “What is she talking about?
” Dallas asked, just about ruining her game.

  “The money,” Dante said, his eyes fixated on Coco as he tried to help her out of a deadly predicament. “Momma must’ve told her about the money.”

  “A hundred million?” Juan’s grip loosened. “Are you fucking around with me, senorita?”

  “Do I look like I fuck around?”

  * * * *

  Brandon was going out of his mind. Kurt had been the one to spot Juan Jahno and his men at the house. They’d had no other choice but to call in the Feds and since some of Kane Cartwell’s agent pals had already been in the area at the Baldini home, officers and agents had arrived on the scene in time to make some noise.

  To Brandon’s great disappointment, that’s about all they’d accomplished thus far. They hadn’t done anything at all to help his brothers and the woman he loved. So far, their biggest concern apparently had more to do with how Juan Jahno, a man on America’s Most Wanted List had somehow made it across the border more than six weeks ago.

  “Is there any chance your woman has a hundred million dollars in a bank vault in the middle of town?” Two agents stood at the back passenger door.

  Brandon and Liam studied one another briefly before they said, “No.”

  The doors slammed in the back and opened in the front. Zak and Kurt were then questioned. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive,” Kurt said.

  “I have to go along with what they say here, but I have no idea what she’s worth,” Zak said.

  The doors slammed again. Kurt and Zak immediately turned around.

  “Are you sure she wouldn’t have that kind of money somewhere?” Kurt asked, keeping his voice low. “Her father ripped off the mob, remember.”

  “She doesn’t have that much money,” Brandon said, filled with uncertainty. Why would the Feds ask such a question?

  “You’re not so sure,” Kurt said. “I’ve been reading your blank expressions all my life. Damn it, Brandon, if you know something—tell them. Information could save her life.”