Beautiful Criminal

by Shady Grace

  “We need to go to Mary’s. Is it a far distance?”

  “Why?”

  “Because only she has seen this plane, and possibly what was in it. If she has the cargo, her life will be in danger if the wrong people find out. You have to trust me.”

  Mima stared up at him, her eyes throwing daggers. “What was in the plane?”

  He had no intention of telling her what exactly was in that plane, but her hard stare made him cave. He blew out a shaky breath, hating what he had to say. “About ten million dollars worth of cocaine.”

  Her eyes bulged and she gasped. “Oh my God! How could you do this to us?” She lunged at him, punching him in the chest. “We hauled you out of that plane! I took care of you,” she shrieked.

  Gabe took her lashing like a man. He deserved it. When she finally sagged against him, and her sobs grew quiet, he put his arms around her. She moaned and clung to him, and for the first time in his life, Gabe was fully aware that he was in love. He was responsible for her life, and wanted to be responsible for her happiness.

  He kissed her temple, letting this strange emotion wash over him. “I’m so sorry, Mima. I should’ve died in that crash. If I could take everything back, I would.”

  “No.” She pulled back and looked up at him. The pain in her face, her voice, made his throat burn. “I know you enough to know you didn’t plan for this. And knowing you now… what we’ve shared… I don’t want to imagine you dead.” She looked away, clearly lost in thought, before she turned back to him. “I’m not a child. I know you want to protect me, but in doing so, you’ve put Mary in a bad situation. We need to help her.”

  Her heartfelt words gave him hope. He cupped her beautiful face in his hands. “I know I don’t deserve it, but I need you to trust me. I don’t even give a shit about the cargo, but if Mary did take it or knows what happened to it, she’ll need our help.”

  Mima dried her tears with the back of her mitt. He cupped her shoulders and pulled her in, kissing her roughly. Maybe this would be the last time he’d get to feel her soft lips against his. He’d gladly give up his life if it meant saving hers.

  She whimpered, clinging to him. He hoped the kiss showed her how much he cared about her.

  If only they’d met a different way.

  He tucked her under his arm, and they walked back to the skidoo. She took her seat on the back, and he pulled the cord to start the motor.

  “We’ll have to backtrack to my place for gas. Her home is over the pass behind my cabin,” Mima shouted over the engine. “We’ll take my hunting rifles, too. You might need me to shoot somebody.”

  Gabe chuckled, thinking he’d met his match with the opposite sex. Although he suspected she was afraid, she took the news well. Better than he’d hoped. But he wasn’t kidding himself. If Colton sent his best men, then they could be walking into a trap, and he couldn’t risk losing the only woman he had ever wanted to keep.

  Chapter Seven

  Mima felt betrayed, but at the same time she had to trust Gabe. What choice did she have? She clung to his waist as he took the trail as fast as her little beast would move.

  She’d made love to a drug dealer. A killer. The more she thought about it, she realized he may be considered a bad man, but he’d never hurt her. Some men were products of their upbringing, or situation, not necessarily enjoying the havoc they caused in other people’s lives. She knew he’d never intentionally hurt her, felt it in the deepest depths of her soul, and she hoped he’d meant what he’d said about wanting to enjoy his life and change his ways. He may not look like he belonged out here, but she sensed he felt peace in her neck of the woods. A man like him needed that.

  He needed someone to love him. To show him there was good in the world. And she wasn’t fool enough to pass up an opportunity to be with a strong man who could protect her, and, maybe, some day, love her.

  Before they reached the clearing to her homestead behind a hill and thick stand of pines, Gabe pulled off to the side of the trail and shut off the engine.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Playing it safe.” Gabe swung his leg over, stepped off the machine, and onto the trail. “I don’t want us walking into a trap, just in case.”

  They walked side by side the rest of the way, until the tree line parted before the clearing at her cabin. With the dog pen between them and the back of the cabin, they watched the surrounding scene, hidden among the trees.

  Mima noticed the dogs immediately. They were all staring at the cabin with their ears pointed. “Somebody’s here,” she whispered. “Look at the dogs. If it was only Mary they’d be excited, not curious.”

  “I know.”

  “What do we do now?”

  “We wait and see who shows their face.” He turned to her, a spark of humor in his eyes. “I don’t suppose you have a weapons stash buried out here somewhere, do you?”

  She pursed her lips at his horribly timed joke. “No, my hunting rifles are in the cabin.”

  “Fuck, I hate waiting like this. We’re either gonna freeze or get shot out here.”

  Mima smiled up at him, despite the danger they were in. “What did you do outside when you were a kid?”

  He looked at her quizzically. “Chase after girls. Why?”

  “Figures.” She smacked him in the chest. “Come on. I have something to show you.”

  She walked off the trail, thankful the tree line was thick despite winter thinning the brush. If there were dangerous people in her cabin, at least they wouldn’t be able to see them out here.

  Knowing the truth about Gabe made her uneasy, though it didn’t make her care for him any less. She wasn’t that naive to believe a bad situation would never set foot on her doorstep, but she was well aware she had to be smart. Nuisance bears and wolves were quite different than people.

  Fate had a funny way of making shit smack you in the face. Now they had to fix it, and she was determined to help in any way she could.

  “Where are you taking me?” he asked, his voice laced with annoyance. “We need to watch the cabin, not play around in the bush.”

  “When you were busy chasing after girls, my brother and I were busy building tree forts. See?” She pointed ahead to a cluster of birch trees, and, built about five feet up, was her tree fort. “Lucky for us, it’s high enough off the ground. We should be able to keep warm.”

  “I see a window in there. Pretty civilized for a tree fort, don’t you think?” His teasing grin made her giggle.

  “My father replaced a window in the cabin and put the old one in here. He wanted us to be safe, and the window faces the cabin.”

  Gabe’s eyes glinted with amusement. “My resourceful little minx. Think both of us will fit in there?”

  Mima fixed him with her best teasing grin. “It’ll be a tight fit. Think you can handle it?”

  “I can handle anything. Now get your sweet ass up there.”

  She pulled the old rope ladder down from its hook and took the first couple steps. The latch door, located beneath the fort, creaked open after a few hard shoves of her elbow. She peeked inside, suddenly thrust back to the past when she shared so many fun times with her brother. It was like looking into a time capsule.

  Once she was inside, Gabe followed. By the time he got in and latched the door on the floor, they were crammed like a couple of sardines. Funny how the fort seemed so big when she was young.

  “I haven’t been in here for years. Not since Rory and I were kids.” The sting of tears threatened too close to the surface as she remembered Rory’s comical smile.

  “Understandable,” Gabe said. “I didn’t go near a plane for a long time after my dad died.”

  “How do you do it?” She gazed at his features, remembering the many scars she’d seen on his body. He carried himself like a man on a mission, like a man knowing he walked a precarious path. She’d never understand it, but maybe she wasn’t meant to.

  “Do what?”
/>   “Your line of work.”

  Gabe stared out the window toward the cabin, his face an unreadable mask. “Not long after my father died in that crash, I was approached by an old friend of his. He treated me like a son and asked for my loyalty in return. As a young man with nothing left to live for, I threw myself into the mix of things. Money. Women. Drugs. Those things are exciting to a young man.” He looked back at her, staring at her face as though he wanted to etch it in his mind. “Now it’s just a routine, and I’m good at what I do.”

  “Do you use drugs?”

  He shook his head. “Not anymore. I learned quickly that you never make money if you use your own shit.”

  Although she didn’t quite understand what he meant by that, she heaved a sigh of relief knowing he wasn’t a user. “Have you ever loved a woman?”

  His eyes changed then. Maybe he was remembering something good, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled her against him and kissed her. It was nothing like the kisses they’d shared before. This was long and slow and full of emotion. Mima’s body heated while her mind fought for control. They shouldn’t be doing this. Shouldn’t be giving in to passion when strangers were in her cabin, probably plotting to kill them.

  But she couldn’t push him away, didn’t think she ever could. She crawled onto his lap and deepened the kiss, putting every bit of heart and soul in her actions.

  “I’m supposed to be mad at you,” she whispered, pressing kisses over his cheeks, his chin, then working down his neck. She unzipped his coat and parted it, slipping her hands beneath his shirt to touch and caress his taut stomach.

  “You should be,” he said, his eyes hooded with desire. “I don’t deserve you.”

  Mima smiled when his jaw muscles flexed as she slipped her hand into his pants. She gripped his erection and squeezed, while her body tingled with anticipation. How can he make me wet and needy so fast? She sat back and pulled off her boots, then removed her snow pants. “This isn’t going to be graceful.”

  His grin was devilish. “I don’t think it should be graceful in a tree fort, baby cakes.”

  Gabe pushed his pants and boxers down to his knees while he leaned back against the wall. He looked so cute—a big, dangerous man sitting with his pants down in a kid-sized tree fort. His thick cock stood proud, making her ache to take him in deep.

  Mima crawled over and positioned herself on his lap, taking his beautiful dick in hand and sliding it back and forth along her slick pussy lips. She stared down at him, her head angled low not to hit the ceiling. With a hushed moan, she cinched around his thick cock, her body quaking with lust. He unzipped her parka and parted it, cupping her breasts in his hands, his gaze boring into hers.

  She kissed him as she rode him, her soft cries lost in the heat of his mouth, while he pinched and twisted her nipples through her shirt, instigating a deeper tingle of ecstasy as his cock penetrated her body. It was carnal, but it felt spiritual at the same time. This was making love, she thought, as she ground her hips over his.

  He pressed deep, fusing their bodies tight, creating a delicious friction with their joining. She wanted it faster, harder, wanted to scream, but knew she couldn’t. She grabbed the collar of his coat and angled her hips, arching backward to feel him deeper, harder inside her.

  “Touch yourself,” he said, as he gripped her hips, lifting and pressing her down harder on him.

  She skimmed her hand down and fondled her clit, circling the sensitive bud. Instant shivers racked her body, and she had to grit her teeth to stop the loud cry rising in her throat.

  “Do you want to come?” His deep, sensual voice made her skin tingle.

  “Yes.”

  His words made her body tense as if strung tight, then suddenly released. A throb of heat sluiced through her, and she ground harder on him, needing him deeper.

  Suddenly, Gabe lifted her off his lap, careful not to bang her head on the ceiling, before guiding her to her hands and knees in front of him. She sucked in a sharp breath when he drove into her from behind, filling her deeper and harder than ever before.

  He curved his body over her back, fusing as one with her. Then he reached round and strummed her clit like a guitar string, and her entire world spun out of control. Mima buried her face into the material of her jacket, muffling the sound of her orgasmic cries. She quivered and bucked while he panted and quickened his pace, before finding his own wicked climax.

  Gabe grunted and stilled, gripping her hips hard as he came inside her. Mima had never felt so satisfied until now, as she looked over her shoulder and smiled.

  He stared at her with an odd expression on his face. “What you asked earlier, about loving a woman—” He turned his head suddenly and peered out the window. “Shit. Somebody’s outside.”

  Mima pushed up to look out the window. Sure enough, a man carrying what looked like a machine gun was heading toward the outhouse.

  “I can’t believe Colton would send Malik here. I need to get that weapon from him. It’s our only chance.” Gabe fixed his clothes in a flash.

  “Wait. Don’t go alone. What if something happens?” She tried to pull him back, but Gabe ignored her. He opened the latch and disappeared through the door.

  Terrified, Mima fixed her clothes and stared out the window, hoping to God Gabe didn’t make a big mistake.

  * * * *

  The outhouse was located about three hundred yards from the tree house, on the same side of the bush. Gabe inched his way between the trees, keeping his gaze trained on Malik. Every step Malik took, Gabe copied, making sure the other guy didn’t hear him. He didn’t want to kill him, but he didn’t have a choice. If they were in Mima’s cabin and Malik had a weapon, then they were here for one thing and one thing only: to get rid of him.

  He didn’t think Colton or Terry would ever betray him, but Ben might. Ever since that night Ben walked in at the wrong moment when his wife was trying to seduce him, Ben had had it out for him. Jealously could change a person in a second. He should’ve known talking to her over the radio would get him in trouble, and now he had to get Mima out of his mind and focus on what his hands were made for.

  Malik entered the outhouse. Gabe waited behind it, focused on the task at hand while his old friend took a shit. Several minutes passed, then the door opened. Before Malik realized he wasn’t alone, Gabe grabbed him in a headlock and twisted his neck until he heard the snap. Malik sagged, dropping the Tec 9 to the snowy ground.

  Gabe immediately put the machine-gun strap over his shoulder and dragged Malik’s body behind the bushes. Once Malik was missing long enough, Gabe knew somebody would check on him, but at least he had a weapon now. Unfortunately, he couldn’t go back to the tree fort without putting Mima in danger. His footprints needed to lead away from her. He looked back from where he’d come, hoping she stayed put. Then he turned in the opposite direction and worked his way around to the bushes facing the front of the cabin.

  As long as Mima was safe, that was all that mattered. He’d put her and Mary into this mess; now he’d get them out of it.

  No matter what it took.

  Chapter Eight

  “I think you’ve been lying to us, Mary,” Ben said, pacing the cabin. He was tired of waiting for Gabe and his little lover to show up. He checked his watch. “Where the fuck is Malik? How long does it take to have a shit? Jimmy, go check on him.”

  The moment Jimmy left the cabin, Ben spun around and backhanded Mary. He hit her hard enough that it stung his hand. Her chair toppled back, smashing against the floor. Mary sobbed as blood trickled from her mouth.

  Terry rushed forward in her defense. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  The boss’s weak son lifted her up and righted her chair. Then Terry turned on him. “Are you forgetting who’s in charge here, Ben? Do another stupid thing, and I’ll make sure you get what you deserve.”

  “Oh, really? And what would that be?” Ben put his arm over Terry’s shoulder and led
him away from the woman. “Your father put me in charge of this mission. You’re tagging along, my good man. Did it ever occur to you that you have absolutely no say in what happens here? Sit back and watch. Maybe you’ll learn something.”

  He shoved Terry backward, and Dean grabbed him, pinning his arms behind his back. Terry thrashed and kicked, trying to lose Dean’s grip, but it was pointless. Dean was an enforcer, nearly seven foot and built to infuse pain.

  If looks could kill, Terry’s glare should’ve sliced Ben apart. “Let me go, Ben. My father will—”

  Ben laughed. “Your father is far away from here, Terry boy. Daddy can’t help you now, and you need to learn what it takes to get a woman to talk.”

  Ben grabbed the front of Mary’s shirt and ripped it down the center of her body. She cried out and struggled against the rope holding her to the chair.

  “Pretty little tits, aren’t they, Terry?”

  “Let her go. She doesn’t know anything,” Terry growled.

  Ben ignored him and looked down at her with savage intent. He pulled his pocketknife from his jacket and opened the blade, holding it in front of her terrified eyes. “See this shiny little blade, Mary? If you don’t answer my questions, you can be sure it won’t take much to remove that delightful little nipple of yours.”

  Tears slid down Mary’s cheeks as she sobbed, and as he expected, she nodded quickly. “I’ll tell you whatever you want.”

  “Good girl.” Ben looked over his shoulder and winked at Terry. Then he grabbed a chair and took a seat in front of the girl. “What do you know about our friend?”

  “We found his plane about a week ago. He was unconscious. Mima and I pulled him out and brought him back here.”

  “Did he go back to the plane?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t think he was well enough to go anywhere. But when my husband and I went back to retrieve his belongings, I grabbed his duffel bag. That’s it.”