by Becca Van
“We have to keep her safe. If anyone finds out where she is, she’s dead. Hire her on, full pay, cash in hand. I’ll bet that little girl has no place else left to run to. She probably has no place to stay either. Don’t you have a spare room in that house you and your two brothers bought?” Luke asked, a frown still marring his face.
“Fuck. I can’t believe what that little girl must have been through, is still going through. Yeah, we do have a spare room. Do you really think she’d want to share a place with three bachelors?”
“Only one way to find out. Ask her.”
Damon heard the slide of the chair wheels rolling over the timber flooring and signaled Luke. Luke quickly replaced Rachel’s license in her wallet, then put it back into her purse. Damon nearly smiled when he noticed Luke leaning nonchalantly against the wall just inside the office doorway when Rachel walked in. He was surprised when she didn’t seem to notice his colleague at all. Apparently she only had eyes for him. He had to bite his tongue when Luke grinned at him, waggled his eyebrows, and gave him the thumbs-up.
* * * *
Rachel could see the spark of amusement in Damon’s eyes and wondered what was so funny. She handed the handwritten then typed letters over to Damon as she eyed him curiously.
“Don’t tell me you’ve finished already.”
Rachel screamed, jerking so hard with fright at the deep voice behind her that the finished letters went flying out of her hand to scatter all around her. She placed a hand to her rapidly beating heart, trying to prevent it from jumping through her chest. “Oh my. You scared the shit out of me.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, that wasn’t my intention. I’m Sheriff Luke Sun-Walker. You must be Rachel Lamb. Pleased to meet you.” Luke bent down to the floor, picking up the strewn letters. “I can’t believe you finished all these letters so quickly. How the hell did you do that?”
“Haven’t you ever heard of mail merge, Sheriff?” Rachel asked as she crouched to pick up a few of the letters.
“What?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Rachel muttered.
“So, when can you start, Rachel? How about tomorrow?” Luke asked as he straightened.
“Well, I really need to find somewhere to live first,” Rachel speculated, nibbling on her lower lip.
“Don’t you have a room to rent, Damon?”
“Yeah, just haven’t gotten around to placing an ad in the local paper yet,” Damon replied.
“There you go. Now that you don’t have to worry about finding somewhere to live, you can start work right now. Damon can help you move your stuff later.” Luke took Rachel’s hand in his own and shook it. “Welcome aboard, darlin’. We’ll expect you to come to dinner tonight, as well. I have some errands to run and a patrol to make. Just ask Damon if you need anything.”
Rachel watched openmouthed as Luke left without a backward glance. She quickly snapped her mouth shut and turned to see Damon giving her the once-over, again. She backed out of Damon’s office, intent on catching up on the paperwork stacked up on her desk, since she was now employed at the Slick Rock Sheriff’s Department. She wondered if she’d done the right thing. The last thing she wanted to do was put anyone else in danger, but just maybe, she was in the safest place she could be for now.
Chapter Two
Damon could see Rachel waiting nervously for him to get out of his car and lead the way into his house. She was biting at her lip again and clutching her purse in a death grip. He knew she had a lot to be scared of and wanted to try and put her at ease. When he hurried up to the front steps, she moved back, allowing him room. He knew she was trying to keep him out of her personal space and could see the nervous apprehension in her eyes. He wanted to take her into his arms and tell her everything would be all right, but knew it was way too soon. “If you’ll follow me, baby, I’ll show you to your room.” Damon led her down the long, timber-floored hall to the door at the end. He opened the door for her and stood back, letting her precede him into the room. He watched her face as she gazed about the bedroom.
“Oh, it’s so nice and big. Are you sure this is the room you were going to rent out?” Rachel asked dubiously.
“Oh, I’m sure, Rachel. You have your own bathroom, that way you don’t have to share with anyone else.”
“But this is the master bedroom, Damon. I can’t take that. You should sleep in here and I’ll take your room.”
“Not gonna happen, so don’t waste your breath. Now, let me help you unload your car. Why don’t you pull your car up onto the driveway closer to the front door? We’ll have all your stuff in here in no time.”
“Um, okay. If you’re sure?” Rachel asked again, uncertainly.
“No arguments, baby. From now on, this is your room. Come on, let’s get your stuff in. We still have to get ready for dinner at Luke’s place.”
Between the two of them, it took no more than fifteen minutes to get Rachel’s car unloaded. Damon couldn’t believe how little Rachel had with her. He realized she had obviously skipped her hometown in a hell of a hurry. He knew he was going to have to fill his brothers in on Rachel’s situation and advise them to keep it under their hats. The last thing he wanted was for Rachel to disappear again. He knew she would be safe in Slick Rock. He and his two brothers were ex-military, and even though his youngest brother, Sam, was a mechanic, he had also done his fair share as a Special Forces operative. Between him, his brothers, Luke, and Luke’s friends, Tom and Billy Eagle, he knew they would have her back.
Damon left Rachel to unpack then shower and change for their night out with his new friends. He waited for his brothers, Tyson and Samson, to make an appearance so he could give them a heads-up before he took off to shower. He knew Sam would shower and change at his mechanic shop before heading home. Tyson had been at his new hotel overseeing things, making sure everything was ready for the Thursday night crowd of ranch hands, locals, and tourists, who were sure to be out and about. Luke heard his brother’s vehicle pull up and stepped outside, not wanting Rachel to overhear him while he explained her situation. He just hoped his brothers were as attracted to the sexy little woman as he was. He didn’t want to say he thought Rachel was the woman of their dreams until his brothers formed their own opinions of her. They were going to have to be very careful around the skittish woman, even though he knew she had to have a core of strength to have survived as long as she had on her own. He didn’t want her to have to worry anymore, and once they knew her a little better and she knew them, he was hoping she would come clean about the trouble she was in.
Damon met Tyson out on the driveway, watching his brother pull his car into the garage, leaving the automatic door open for Sam, who wouldn’t be far behind.
“Whose car?” Tyson asked as he walked over to Damon.
“Our new tenant’s.”
“What? Why the hell have you leased the master bedroom, for God’s sakes, Damon? We were supposed to be holding that for the woman we want to share. What the fuck?” Tyson asked with a scowl.
“Wait, I see Sam’s car. Let’s wait for him so I don’t have to repeat everything,” Damon replied, shoving his hands into his pants pockets, hiding his clenched fists from his younger brother. Tyson was Damon’s twin and younger than he was by five minutes. The only difference between them was Tyson’s height—he was an inch taller than Damon—and his eyes, which were hazel, instead of green. Even though the two brothers looked nearly identical, their personalities were like chalk and cheese. They both had intense, arrogant personalities, but more often than not, Tyson was usually more easygoing than Damon. Sam was a couple of years younger than them, a little shorter in stature, but a lot more muscular. His features were similar to his brothers’, but he had light-brown hair and brown eyes, which seemed to draw women to him like a puppy. Sam was also the most lighthearted of the brothers, less serious, but when warranted he could be just as intense, if not more demanding, than Damon and Tyson.
“Whose car?” Sam asked.
“Huh? I thought we were waiting for—”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. It seems this asshole has made the decision for us. How could you, Damon? We were all supposed to vote on a tenant, not just bring one home,” Tyson said.
“Wait just a minute…” Damon began.
“Damon, is it all right if I make a pot of coffee?” Rachel called out the front door.
“You don’t have to ask, Rachel. Make yourself at home,” Damon called back.
“Thanks,” Rachel called, closing the front door behind her.
“That’s our new tenant?” Tyson asked, licking his lips, his eyes still glued to the front door.
“Exactly,” Damon replied, seeing heat in both of his brothers’ eyes.
“Where did you find her?” Sam asked, his voice husky with desire.
“She came into the sheriff’s office this morning to apply for the secretary’s job. She’s new to town and had no place to live. In fact, she’s in a shitload of trouble. Luke and I did a check on her, when she asked to be paid cash in hand. She’s on the run, has been for the last six months. She’s nearly crossed the whole of North America and ended up here. She started out in Miami, Florida, worked her way up to New York, and has been traveling from state to state ever since. She has dark smudges under her eyes. I can tell she’s exhausted, and who knows when her last decent meal was.” Damon ran his fingers through his hair.
“Who’s she running from? An ex?” Tyson asked speculatively.
“I wish,” Damon replied. “She’s running from her last boss. The Chief of Police in Miami.”
“Fuck. How can you want to get mixed up in this shit, Damon? We’ve only just gotten out of the military. I’m sick and tired of fighting. Why the hell are you harboring a criminal?” Tyson asked, and Damon could see his brother’s teeth clench, the muscles in his jaw twitching.
“Oh, she’s no criminal. She’s a witness to murder. Luke has a cop friend in Miami he knows he can trust with his own life. It seems the Chief in Miami took exception to one of his detectives finding out he was involved with a big drug cartel. Rachel was the bastard’s secretary. She’d left work for the day, but had obviously forgotten something. She drove back to the station and was just in time to see a drive-by shooting of the detective. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Damon sighed.
“She identified his car?” Sam asked, anger evident in his voice.
“No. Apparently it was a hired car involved in a drive-by. She saw his face.”
“Fuck. Why is she on the run? She should have reported in to the Police Commissioner.” Tyson growled.
“She did. She even recorded her conversations with the Commissioner.”
“So why isn’t he doing anything?” Sam asked.
“She didn’t realize the Chief of Police and the Commissioner are related. They’re brothers-in-law.”
“So what? Law is law, as far as I’m concerned,” Tyson ground out.
“You and me both, Ty. It seems the Commissioner threatened to kill Rachel’s mother if she so much as spouted a word to anyone about what she saw. Then he advised he would kill her as well. He let her leave his office, since he couldn’t do anything to her there without incriminating himself, but she’s obviously smart. She hired a bodyguard for her mother and sent her on a six-month cruise. She took off the same night and hasn’t looked back since.”
“Shit. How the hell do you know all this? Where did you get your information from?” Tyson asked.
Damon told his brothers what Luke had learned earlier that day. He was frustrated and worried that he and Luke had inadvertently put Rachel in more danger. He didn’t want her to leave. He wanted her to stay with him and his brothers where they could keep her safe. There was no way in hell he was letting anyone near that little woman. Not in his lifetime.
“So are we agreed? Are you attracted to her as much as I am?”
“I don’t know yet, Damon. Let us get to know her a bit before we decide,” Tyson mumbled.
“Are we agreed on protecting her?” Damon asked.
“Yeah, man, count me in,” Sam replied.
“Yeah, me too, but you’re gonna owe me big-time,” Tyson negotiated.
“What do you want?” Damon asked.
“I get first dibs,” Tyson stated, glaring at Damon.
“I didn’t think you had decided yet.”
“I haven’t, but when and if I do, I’m first.”
“Done. If and when you decide, don’t push her too hard, too fast. She’s likely to bolt. It took a lot of guts for her to apply to work for the law again. One wrong move and she’ll be off before we even know about it. Now, I’m going to take a shower. Why don’t you two go and introduce yourselves to our new tenant?” Damon threw over his shoulder as he opened the front door, heading for the other bathroom.
Chapter Three
Rachel looked up from her seat at the counter in the kitchen, eyeing the large men warily as they walked in and made themselves coffee. She shifted nervously on her seat as she watched them move about the kitchen. She didn’t really want to be leasing a room and sharing a house with three bachelors. But since she only had a few hundred dollars left in her wallet and couldn’t take the risk of withdrawing cash and leaving a trail, she didn’t have much choice.
“Hey, darlin’, I’m Sam, Damon’s youngest brother. I’m pleased to meet you, Rachel,” Sam stated, holding his hand out in greeting.
“Pleased to meet you, Sam.”
“I’m Tyson, Damon’s twin and younger by five minutes. Nice to meet you, sugar,” Tyson greeted, also holding a hand out for Rachel to shake.
Rachel removed her hand from Tyson’s, her eyes going from one brother to the other. They were such rugged, muscular, sexy men. Tyson was nearly the spitting image of Damon, except for his extra height and hazel eyes. Sam was a tad shorter than his older brothers, but more muscular and wider in his chest and arms. She could feel her pussy weeping with desire as she stared at the two gorgeous hunks before her. She had never felt so horny in her life. She’d never wanted to jump any man’s bones before, but there was something about these three men that seemed to draw her in. She could feel flames licking up her body as they stood drinking their coffee, staring at her as they leaned on the opposite side of the kitchen counter. She had never felt so vulnerable yet small and feminine in her life.
“So, what do you both do when you’re not at home?” Rachel asked curiously, hoping her voice didn’t sound as squeaky to them as it did to her.
“I opened up my own mechanic shop in town,” Sam replied with a crooked smile.
Rachel couldn’t help but smile in return. Sam’s sexy mouth tilted up in one corner and had her heart beating rapidly. She slid her eyes away from Sam and over to Tyson.
“I’ve opened up a new hotel in town. Apparently the local hotel has been around for years and is close to falling down to the ground,” Tyson supplied.
“Hm. So do you have music and dancing at your hotel?”
“I plan to. Just haven’t gotten around to it yet. The bar has just finished being outfitted, and I’ve only been open for two weeks. You’ll have to come by one night for a visit.”
“I might just do that, thanks.”
“Shower’s free, Ty,” Damon called out as he sauntered into the kitchen and poured himself coffee. “Hm, this is the best coffee I’ve had in years. What did you do to it, baby?”
Rachel felt her heart leap in her chest and her breath hitch at Damon’s endearment. Dear God, but he set her blood racing through her body. She hoped he couldn’t see her reaction to him and his hot brothers. She felt her nipples harden, and her pussy clenched with excitement. “Nothing special, I just followed the directions on the bag of grounds.”
“Shit. You mean we’ve been drinking coffee too weak and too strong for nothing? Why didn’t we know there were instructions on the coffee bag?” Sam asked with a grin.
; “Well, even though it’s a sexist comment, I’d have to say, men are always too stubborn to ask for directions or read destructions—oh, I mean instructions.” Rachel giggled, covering her mouth.
“Oh, you’re asking for it, darlin’. You can’t say something like that and expect to get away without retaliation,” Sam said with his crooked smile.
Rachel watched him warily as he sauntered around the counter, blocking her into her seat. He must have seen her fear and trepidation, because he halted, placing his hands on his hips as he looked down at her.
“Are you ticklish, Rachel?” Sam asked.
“Um, no.”
“Knock it off, Sam,” Damon growled at his brother.
“What crawled up your ass?” Sam riposted.
“Nothing. Just don’t,” Damon commanded.
“Sam was only having a bit of fun, Damon. He didn’t upset me.” Rachel could feel the tension between the two men and wondered if they were always like this.
“I know. I just didn’t want him scaring you, baby. You looked a bit wary, is all,” Damon said.
“Hey, I’m a big girl, Damon. I can take care of myself. If I didn’t like what Sam was doing, I would have told him to back off.”
“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s head on out to the Double E Ranch for dinner,” Tyson stated from the doorway.
“I’m driving,” Damon said, grabbing his keys from the hook above the counter.
“Sure, whatever you want, Damon,” Sam said facetiously.
“Come on, sugar, you can sit in the back with me,” Tyson said, grabbing hold of Rachel’s hand and pulling her out the front door with him.
* * * *
Rachel followed Damon, Sam, and Tyson as they got out of the truck. She didn’t know why she had been invited to the sheriff’s house. She didn’t even know the man. The door was opened by a tall, handsome man, and they were all ushered into the large kitchen. The room was full of ranch hands eager for a meal, and Rachel wondered where they were all going to sit. She saw a small woman wander into the kitchen and felt really dowdy dressed in her jeans and shirt. The woman was tiny, with long black hair, violet-blue eyes, and features that reminded Rachel of a pixie. She walked up to Luke, reached up, grabbed his shirt, and pulled his head down to hers. She whispered in his ear, and he had a look of heat and love focused on the small woman at his side. Rachel had to consciously stop herself from fanning her face as she felt heat suffuse her cheeks. She slid her eyes away from the couple, obviously so much in love. Luke moved to the small woman’s side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, then looked up at Rachel.
-->
