by Elle James
Sassy danced around the interior, tossing her head, excited, probably thinking she was going for a ride.
With everything seeming to crowd in around her, Aurelia could think only of escape. She had to get to a place she could actually breathe.
With the urgency of one starving for air, she flung a saddle over Sassy’s back, cinched the girth and slipped a bridle over her head. Then she placed her satin clad food in the stirrup and swung up onto the horse’s back.
At that moment, someone opened the big barn door. “Aurelia?” a voice called out.
Gavin.
Aurelia shook her head, her chest so tight she couldn’t take even the tiniest of breaths. “I’m sorry,” she said.
Spying sunshine and freedom, Sassy leaped forward, brushing past Gavin as she made a break from the confines of the barn.
Once outside, fences surrounded them.
Sassy didn’t let that slow her down. She raced for the closest one and leaped over the top rail.
Aurelia held on, adjusting to the horse’s movement. Soon, they were galloping across the pasture, heading away from the wedding and toward the safety and obscurity of the mountains.
Chapter 15
“Was that our bride?” Franklin ran across the barnyard toward Gavin.
“Damn it, yes!” Gavin ran toward Ranger’s stall, ripped it open and led the horse out. In less than a minute, he had a saddle and bridle on him, but he knew Sassy and Aurelia were so far ahead of him that he’d struggle to catch up to her before something terrible happened.
Though Hank’s men had arrived and had combed over the area within sniper range of the wedding tent, he couldn’t be certain a gunman hadn’t moved in after the Brotherhood Protectors had completed their scan.
Aurelia could be riding right into danger.
“You can’t go after her,” Percy called out. “You’re in just as much danger, if not more, than her.”
“I can’t let her go. She could be hurt or killed.” Gavin stepped into the stirrup and flung his bum leg over Ranger’s back. Percy tucked his prosthetic foot into the stirrup and jumped back.
Gavin raced for the pasture.
Vasquez already had the gate open when he reached it, allowing Gavin to gallop through.
Engines revved behind him. Hank’s men would be mounting all available ATVs. When they ran out of ATVs, the rest would follow on horseback.
Gavin couldn’t think about them, but he knew they’d have his back, if they got to him in time.
Why in hell had Aurelia run? Apparently, she’d had second thoughts.
His heart squeezed tightly in his chest. That she felt she had to run to keep from marrying him hurt more than he’d ever thought it could. As much as he wanted to marry Aurelia, he wouldn’t if it made her miserable. She deserved to be happy. If it was with someone else, so be it. But right then, she was in danger. Gavin wouldn’t stop protecting her just because she didn’t want to marry him.
Ahead, he could see the billowing white wedding gown flying out behind the horse, racing across the pasture.
Sassy was fast, but Ranger was bigger, stronger and even faster, and he liked being first. Slowly, they were catching up to the other horse and the runaway bride. He had to catch them before Sassy tried to take another fence. She’d been running long enough, she had to be tired. If she attempted a jump, she night miss and catch her legs on barbed wire.
Gavin couldn’t let that happen. He pressed his heels into Ranger’s flanks, urging him to go even faster.
When he was abreast of the runaways, he reached across, grabbed the reins from Aurelia’s hands and pulled back on Sassy’s reins and Ranger’s at the same time, digging his heels into his stirrups. “Whoa!” he shouted.
By the time he had both horses stopped, they were inches away from a barbed wire fence.
Sassy reared and danced, pulling at the reins, her eyes wide and wild.
Trying to keep his seat, hold Ranger’s reins and keeping Sassy from dumping her rider, Gavin swore. Finally, he reached across, plucked Aurelia from the saddle and dragged her across his lap. When he released Sassy’s reins, the mare bolted and ran back toward the barn.
Aurelia leaned into his chest, her breathing ragged, her eyes as wide and wild as those of the horse she’d been riding.
“Hey, shh,” he said softly. “It’s okay. I’ve got you now.”
“It’s not okay,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t marry you.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” he said, though it hurt. He wanted her to marry him. “I just want you to be happy.”
“You would be miserable if you married me,” she said. “Life as a royal isn’t all roses. It’s work, and you’re hounded by the paparazzi. There’s never a moment that you’re not worried someone will take what you say wrong. I can’t do that to you.”
“I know that. If it’s so bad, why don’t you let it go?”
She laughed, her voice catching. “I can’t leave my people to my cousin. He’s a terrible human being. But I’ll have to since I’m not going to marry you. You would absolutely hate it. And we wouldn’t be able to live in Montana for long.”
“Wait.” He pressed a finger to her lips. Hope swelled in his chest. “You won’t marry me because you think I’ll be miserable?”
She nodded. “I know you’d be miserable.”
“Sweetheart, I’ve known misery. Being up to my elbows in sand and bullets in over one hundred and twenty degrees heat is misery. Running into cameramen and reporters is nothing in comparison.”
“We’d have to live in Lastovia for most of the year. Montana is too far away for me to be an effective leader for my people.”
“Who said I wouldn’t go to Lastovia?”
“But you love it here,” she said, looking into his eyes. “It’s beautiful, and it’s your home.”
“Haven’t you heard?” He touched the strand of hair curling down around her ear. “Home is where the heart is,” he said, his voice dipping lower. “The question is, where is your heart, Princess Olivia?”
She sucked in a breath, and her eyes filled with tears.
“Uh-uh.” He held up his finger. “No tears, or you’ll ruin your makeup. I have it from a reputable source the famous Sadie McClain did your makeup.” He winked. “So, where is it, Aurelia. Where is your heart?”
She blinked away the tears and pressed a hand to his chest. “Right here,” she whispered. “You are where my heart is. Wherever you are.”
“And mine is with you.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips.
Gunfire ripped through the silence.
Gavin ducked his head while wrapping his body around Aurelia to shield her from lead poisoning.
Ranger stepped sideways and pranced, anxious to move.
“We need to go,” he said. “Question is, do we make a run for it and forget everything, including Lastovia, or go back and have a hotdamn wedding?”
Another shot rang out.
“Wedding. Go back to the wedding,” Aurelia blurted and clung to him.
Gavin pulled on the reins, turning them around. Then he sank his heels into Ranger’s flanks.
The horse leaped forward, galloping as fast as he could with two riders on his back.
The ATVs roared into view.
Gavin slowed long enough to point out the direction he thought the shots had come from. Then he continued toward the ranch house.
When he arrived in front of the house, the ladies hurried down from the porch and helped Aurelia down. Hannah carried a rifle.
Gavin didn’t dismount. Instead, he reined around, back toward the action. “I’ll be back in time to say I do. Don’t start without me.”
“No, Gavin. He’ll kill you,” Aurelia cried out.
“Not if I kill him first.”
“Then you’ll need this,” Hannah said and handed him the rifle.
Gavin held the gun with one hand and the reins in the other, as he raced away, det
ermined to put an end to the terror Aurelia had been living.
Ranger stretched out, eating away at the ground in long, fluid strides.
Gavin leaned over his neck, urging him to go even faster. When he got back to where he’d first heard the gunfire, he could see Hank’s men combing through the underbrush, searching for the shooter.
Gavin dismounted from Ranger and studied his surroundings with the eye of a sniper. If he wanted to kill someone, the best location would be on higher ground, looking down. He scanned the area, looking up into the hills.
Hank’s men had had the same idea and were working their way up the side of a steep ridge.
Something flashed in the sunshine above where Collin was climbing. Then an engine revved, and a man on a dirt bike took off, racing across the top of the ridge, heading back toward the ranch and the highway.
Being on top of the ridge, the man would have to come down soon. And coming down was much slower and more dangerous than going up.
Gavin mounted his horse and nudged Ranger into a gallop, paralleling the ridgeline. He knew the trail that led up to that ridge and where it would eventually come out. With that location in mind, he bent over the horse’s neck and let him have his head. Ranger blasted across the valley.
When he reached where the trail would come down off the ridge, Gavin pulled hard on the reins and brought Ranger to a halt. Then he dropped to the ground, tucked Ranger behind a stand of trees and bushes and ran back to hide close to where the dirt bike would come out.
As he expected, the rider raced down the hill toward Gavin who hid in the shadows until the bike came abreast of his hiding place.
Gavin reached out, grabbed the guy’s arm and yanked him off the bike. The motorcycle flipped onto its side and slid sideways the rest of the way down the hill.
The man who’d been riding it came up fighting.
Gavin wanted to bash the man’s brains against the rocks, but he couldn’t. He had to keep him alive to find out who had hired him. He would be the key witness in a case that would send a criminal to jail for murder and attempted murder. With that in mind, Gavin yanked the man’s arm behind his back and pulled it up sharply between his shoulder blades. Then he ran him up against a tree, hitting his head hard enough to stun the guy, but not kill him.
Hank’s men arrived in time to help him secure the man and carry him back to the ranch house where Hannah had had the foresight to have Sheriff Barron waiting to arrest him.
Once the authorities had cleared out, Gavin looked around for Aurelia.
“She’s upstairs brushing the dust out of her hair and off her gown.” Hannah smiled. “But don’t worry, she’ll be down.”
“Are you sure?”
Hannah nodded. “I don’t know what you said to her, but she’s not afraid anymore. What was it she said? Oh, yeah. Wild horses can’t keep me away from marrying that man.”
“Speaking of which…”
“Sassy is safely back in her stall and munching on grain.” Lori pointed to the house. “Go wash up. The preacher’s waiting.”
“I don’t care if Aurelia has dust in her hair. Tell her to get down here. I don’t want her to get a wild idea and run out on me again.” He said his words loud enough the woman they were intended for could hear.
“I’ll be down in just one minute,” Aurelia called out from the upstairs landing.
“You better hurry,” Hannah said. “A princess does not like to be kept waiting.”
Gavin ran for the bathroom washed his hands and face and brushed the dust off his tux. In less than a minute, he was back out in the living area, waiting at the base of the staircase for his bride.
“You’re supposed to wait with the preacher,” Lori said.
“To hell with tradition. She’s marrying me. She can walk down the aisle with me.”
Aurelia appeared at the top of the staircase, carrying a bouquet of red roses. A strange young woman stood behind her, dressed in a long lavender dress, her face split in a happy grin.
Aurelia stared down at Gavin, a smile spreading across her face, lighting the room.
He held his breath as the most beautiful woman he could ever have imagined walked down the curving staircase to be with him.
“I’m the luckiest one-legged cowboy alive,” he whispered into her ear and offered his arm. “Who’s the lady behind you?”
“My best friend from Lastovia.” She turned and waved her hand toward the strawberry-blonde. “Lili, meet Gavin. Gavin…Lilianna.”
“Nice to meet you, Gavin,” Lilianna said, her cheeks turning a pretty pink.
Gavin took her hand. “The pleasure’s mine.”
Lilianna leaned close to Aurelia. “He’s even more handsome than his profile picture.”
Aurelia’s gaze never left Gavin’s. “Yes, he is.”
Gavin’s chest swelled so much he feared it would burst. This woman was about to promise herself to him.
She laid her hand on his sleeve and walked with him out of the house and across the lawn to an arbor that had been festooned with dozens of pink and white roses.
In a blur of words and nods, Gavin promised to love honor and cherish for the rest of his life this woman he’d known only three days. But he’d never been more certain of his decision as when he said I do.
When the preacher said he could kiss his bride, the Navy SEAL gathered her into his arms and gave her a kiss that would make her want to stay with him for the rest of her life.
When he let her up, her face was flushed and wreathed in a smile.
“Don’t worry, princess, there’s a lot more of those where that came from.”
Chapter 16
Nine and a half months later…
Queen Olivia Aurelia St. George Blackstock stood on the balcony of the palace overlooking the largest crowd she could remember ever gathering to greet the royal family. Sadly, the royal family consisted only of herself, her husband, Gavin, and the baby girl growing in her belly. But she felt optimistic about her family’s future and knew more children would come.
She rested her hand on her baby bump. As if on cue, Princess Hannah Lili Lori gave a healthy kick, reminding her that she was past due and ready to get out of the tight confines of her mother’s belly.
“How are you doing?” Gavin asked, as he smiled toward the crowd.
“Much better now that the trial is over and my cousin Rupert will spend the rest of his life in jail for the murder of my parents, brother and my two unfortunate fiancés.” She sighed and pasted a smile on her face for the people who’d gathered to celebrate her coronation. With her birthday only a couple weeks away, and her baby due to arrive any minute, the parliament had convened and concurred that she had met her obligation and should be crowned before the baby came.
“Now that you’ve been here for a few months,” Aurelia said, “any regrets?”
“Only one,” he said and kissed her temple.
“Really?” she glanced up at him, her brow furrowing.
He rubbed his thumb across the lines on her forehead, smoothing away her frown. “I regret that I didn’t meet you sooner. I’ve wasted so many years we could have been together.”
She laughed and leaned into him. “We have many more ahead of us to make up for it.”
“Yes, we do.” He slipped his arm around her. “I’m glad the courts and solicitors were able to piece together everything Rupert did to your family. I can’t believe he got away with it for so long.”
“If you hadn’t caught the shooter, he might have been the new king of Lastovia.” She shuddered. “I hate to think of how he would have destroyed our country.”
“I hate to think of how he might have hurt you.” Gavin’s arms tightened around her.
“But that’s all behind us.”
“Yes, it is. And now you’re a queen.”
“And you’re about to be the proud papa of a princess.” Aurelia tilted her head and looked up at her husband. “Do you miss Montana much?”
“What di
d I say?” he reminded her.
“Your home is where your heart is.”
“Do you think Collin will find someone in Montana?” Aurelia asked. “I was surprised he chose to stay.”
“Hank wanted him to head up a branch of the Brotherhood Protectors that would work out of Brighter Days Rehabilitation Ranch. He was happy to stay.”
“Do you think he has a thing for your friend Lori?”
Gavin shrugged. “If he does, he’ll have his hands full. She’s a real ballbuster.”
Aurelia laughed. “Then he’s met his match.” She rubbed her belly. “I probably should get off my feet. And my back is hurting a lot more than usual.”
“Wave goodbye to your people. They love you almost as much as I do,” Gavin said.
She raised her hand and started to wave, when a pain ripped through her belly and a gush of water slipped down her legs. “Oh, boy,” she said and doubled over.
“Aurelia?” Gavin leaned over her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said, through her clenched teeth. “My water just broke.”
“Seriously?” He straightened and waved at the crowd. “Show’s over. Thanks for coming. Gotta go.” Then he scooped her up in his arms and carried her back into the palace, shouting, “Call the doctor, boil some water, get the nurses, we’re having a baby!”
Aurelia laughed and grunted as another pain tore through her. She didn’t care, she was happier than any queen had a right to be. She had the man she loved caring for her and a baby girl ready to take the world by storm. She was the luckiest woman in the world, and she was even more in love now than she’d been on the day she’d married her Navy SEAL.
Hellfire, Texas
Hellfire Series Book #1
New York Times & USA Today
Bestselling Author
ELLE JAMES
Chapter 1
The hot July sun beat down on the asphalt road. Shimmering heat waves rose like mirages as Becket Grayson drove the twenty miles home to Coyote Creek Ranch outside of Hellfire, Texas. Wearing only a sweat-damp T-shirt and the fire retardant pants and boots of a firefighter, he couldn’t wait to get home, strip, and dive into the pool. Although he’d have to hose down before he clouded the water with the thick layer of soot covering his body from head to toe.
