by Elle James
Jolie shook her head. “I haven’t kept in touch very well.”
“She’s Sadie McClain. The Hollywood megastar actress lives right here in Eagle Rock.”
“Oh,” Jolie nodded. “That Sadie.”
Mad Dog had heard of her, too. Who hadn’t? “Hank’s married to Sadie McClain?”
Jolie shook her head. “Wow. I didn’t realize he’d married Sadie. Those two were tight in high school. But they split up after graduating.”
“Actually, Sadie is the reason Hank got the idea for the Brotherhood Protectors. She came home because she’d had problems with a stalker. The stalker followed her here, and she needed a bodyguard to protect her from her stalker. She hasn’t been the only one. With the influx of all the rich folks, they have their own issues and need protection.”
“Sounds like Hank has his work cut out for him,” Mad Dog said. “Did they catch Sadie’s stalker?”
“Yes, they did. And that’s when Hank caught Sadie and made her his wife.” Deputy Wells grinned. “They have a baby girl, now. Hank’s never been happier.”
Daisy returned a few minutes later with their plates laid out on her arms. She set them down one by one and stood back. “Can I get anything else? Catsup for your hash browns? Jelly, more coffee?”
“No, thank you,” Jolie said.
Mad Dog inhaled the scent of fresh, fried bacon. After fending for himself on a camp stove for the last few months, it was nice to let someone else do the cooking. He tucked into the meal, not uttering another word until his plate was clean of every speck of eggs, hash browns and toast.
“You want some of mine?” Jolie shoved her half-eaten plate of food his direction. “You act like you haven’t eaten in a month.”
She had no idea how close to the truth she was. Other than eating the contents of some of the canned goods and dried beans left behind by Kujo, Mad Dog had hunted for rabbit and squirrel to provide protein in his diet. Bacon didn’t keep for long without refrigeration. Since the cabin had been without electricity, he’d had to hunt for his food, or drive down the mountain into a nearby town for supplies or go hungry.
Many days, he’d gone hungry.
But not today. Today was a breakfast feast.
As Deputy Wells was drinking the last sips of his coffee, the radio on his shoulder squawked. “That’s my cue.” He threw down a napkin and enough money to cover his portion of the bill and slipped out of the booth. “Good to see you, Jolie.” He held out his hand to her. “Don’t get up. Duty calls, but you might as well enjoy the rest of your meal.”
“It’s good to see you again, Chase,” Jolie said.
“And you. Nice to meet you, Caleb.” He touched his fingertips to his temple in a mock salute. “I’ll see you around.”
Jolie smiled. “You bet.”
After the man left, Jolie pushed her unfinished plate away. “I didn’t know things were so bad here.”
“Seems like it’s always a very few people who make an entire community miserable.” The gangs in his neighborhood terrorized the good people as well as the bad. Drive-by shooters didn’t always make other gang members the victims.
Jolie snorted. “And I thought I’d have it easy identifying a single terrorist in a small town in the middle of nowhere, Montana.”
“You don’t know you’ll have problems with the local gang.”
“No, but I need to know if they’re on my ranch. And if they are, I need to get them off. I don’t want to be caught in the crossfire of gang warfare and an ISIS terrorist.”
“Fair enough,” Mad Dog said. “Let’s get those errands run and get back out to the ranch. Hopefully, we’ll see someone coming from far enough away we can get a bead on them and take them out, before they have a chance to get to you.”
Jolie tossed her napkin on the table and waited for Mad Dog to scoot out of the booth.
Once he stood, he held out his hand to assist her to her feet.
Her foot must have caught on the table leg, because she pitched into Mad Dog.
Still holding her hand, he pulled her against him and wrapped his arm around her waist. With Jolie pressed against him, every nerve in his body lit up like the Fourth of July.
“Sorry,” she said and pressed her hands to his chest. When she glanced up into his face, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes a deeper shade of green. Her tongue swept across her pale, pink lips, and her gaze dropped to his. For a moment, her fingers curled into his shirt.
Then she pushed away and stood on her own, a few steps away from him.
If Mad Dog wasn’t mistaken, Jolie had felt whatever electric jolt had gone off between them.
Yeah, this assignment might just get a whole lot harder.
7
Jolie couldn’t get out of the diner fast enough. What in the hell had just happened? She’d tripped. No big deal. The big deal had come when she’d landed in Mad Dog’s arms. And liked it!
She didn’t need to fall for the man. She had a job to do, and he wasn’t part of it.
Mad Dog drove the two blocks to the Bartlett’s Hardware and parked.
“I’ll only be a few minutes if you want to wait here.” Jolie didn’t wait for a response, jumped down from the truck and hurried into the store.
Mad Dog wasn’t far behind her.
She had hoped he’d stay in the truck and give her a few minutes to get her act together. Her body’s reaction to the man was unprecedented. She’d never had such a strong physical reaction to any man. Until Mad Dog.
Fortunately, he gave her a little space by wandering down different aisles. But she could feel his gaze on her at all times.
“Can I help you?” A young man wearing a light blue T-shirt with the Bartlett Hardware logo stopped in front of Jolie.
“I need barbed wire, fence staples and T-posts.” She handed him the list she’d written that morning.
The young man hurried to gather the items on her list and carried them out to the truck.
All the while, Mad Dog followed her, close enough to be there in a flash and far enough away she couldn’t hit him.
Jolie felt protected and irritated all at the same time. By the time they were in the truck and on their way, she was ready to scream. “I think I could have handled the hardware store by myself,” she said. “I’m not used to having someone hover around me like a mother hen.”
“Sorry, to crowd you, but you never know when someone will walk up to you all friendly-like and run a knife into your ribs.” He pulled out of the parking lot and paused. “Which way?”
“To the Lewis’s ranch. Tom promised to loan me a couple of horses while I’m here.”
“Yeah, I meant to ask you, why two?”
She stared across the seat toward him. “I assume you’ll go where I go.” She narrowed her eyes. “You do know how to ride, don’t you?”
“How hard can it be? Like riding a motorcycle with legs, right?”
Jolie clapped a hand to her forehead. “What were they thinking sending a city boy out to a ranch?”
“I’m sure I’ll catch on quickly.”
“I hope so. The four-wheelers in the barn have been sitting for eight years. They probably need a complete overhaul before they’ll work. So, unless you can perform miracles on old machinery, you’ll be learning how to ride.”
“How do you plan on getting the horses over to the ranch?” he asked.
“I’d planned on riding them home.”
“You can’t ride two, and you’re not going alone.”
Jolie bit down hard on her tongue. As much as she’d like the time by herself, she’d be a fool to ride out without her backup. If she was killed while trying to prove a point, Nadir would get away to kill again.
She sighed. “While I’m borrowing horses, I’ll ask Tom if we can use his horse trailer.”
Mad Dog nodded, apparently satisfied with her answer.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived in front of the Lewis ranch house. Jolie dropped down from the truck and started towa
rd the house.
Sherry stepped out on the porch, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “Hi Jolie, Caleb.” She tipped her head to the side. “Tom is expecting you. You can find him out by the barn.”
Mad Dog joined Jolie. Together, they walked around the house toward the barn.
Tom emerged from a paddock, leading a palomino mare. He glanced toward them and smiled. “There you are. I was wondering when you’d stop by.”
“I wanted to get to the hardware store for supplies. I’m sure I’ll have some fences needing some attention.”
“They shouldn’t be too bad.” Tom led the palomino into the barn. “I kept up with them over the years, but the last time I was out, was a couple months ago.”
Jolie followed, admiring the mare. “Is this one of the horses you’re going to loan me?”
“If you want her,” Tom said. “She’s a little spirited, but nothing you can’t handle.”
“I’ll need a really gentle horse for Caleb,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “He’s new to ranch life.”
Tom grinned at Mad Dog over the back of the palomino. “I have just the mount for you. Topper is a little older, but he’s as gentle as they come. I’d put my gray-haired grandmother on him without a worry.”
Mad Dog chuckled. “Nice to know I’m being compared to a grandmother. But thanks.”
“Tom,” Jolie said, “do you have a horse trailer I can transport them back to my place with?”
“Sure. Is your truck equipped with a drag hitch?”
Mad Dog nodded. “It is.”
“You can use my two-horse trailer.”
“Do you need it back right away?”
“No. Keep it to bring the horses back when you don’t need them anymore.” He ran a brush over the mare’s back. “Now, what about tack?”
“I need everything,” Jolie said.
“Brandon!” Tom yelled. When no one answered, the rancher shook his head. “He was here a minute ago. I don’t know where he disappears to. But never mind. I can get you fixed up.”
An hour later, they had two horses loaded into the back of the trailer. They loaded saddles, bridles, blankets, feed and hay, necessary for a couple of days, in the bed of Mad Dog’s truck.
“Hopefully, we won’t need them more than a week. And I’ll replenish your feed and hay at that time, unless you need it sooner,” Jolie said.
Tom waved her offer away. “Don’t worry about it. I’m hoping you’ll decide to stay. I like knowing I have neighbor watching over the place. There’s been too many strange things happening around the county lately.”
“Like what?” Jolie asked, though she’d already heard from Chase about the gang-related activity.
“I don’t know. I was out a couple nights ago and thought I heard the roar of small engines, like at a motorcycle race.”
“Coming from which direction?” Mad Dog asked.
“I couldn’t be certain. Sound echoes off the hills around here. It could have been from your place or on the opposite side of my spread.” Tom shrugged. “You know how it is.” He locked gazes with Jolie.
“Yeah. It’s frustrating when you can hear the bawl of a cow, but can’t tell from which direction it’s coming.” She smiled. “My father and I spent many hours riding over pastures in the complete wrong direction.”
“I hope whoever was out riding after midnight wasn’t doing so on your property.” Tom laid a hand on Jolie’s shoulder. “And if they were, that they won’t do it again. You take care of yourself. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re home.”
“Thanks for everything, Tom.” Jolie glanced at Mad Dog. “Are you okay driving with a trailer?”
Mad Dog nodded. “I might not have ridden a horse, but I have driven a truck, towing a trailer.” He settled in behind the wheel and circled the barnyard, heading out the way they’d come into the Lewis’s ranch.
As they pulled around in the barnyard, Mad Dog saw a young man with brown hair and brown eyes standing in the shadows, watching them. He looked again, and the boy was gone. Perhaps he’s imagined it. Why would Tom’s son hide from them? Or was he only hiding from work? Mad Dog shook it off. It didn’t matter. They’d gotten what they needed and were headed back to the Rocking R Ranch.
Jolie sat in her seat, staring out the front window, scanning the woods around them. “What’s wrong with the world? Have people lost their minds?”
“Sounds like this area has had its share of troubles.”
“No kidding. I hope whatever it is doesn’t get tangled up with Nadir’s kind of crazy.”
Mad Dog reached out and took her hand in his. “Hey, it’ll be all right. Whatever happens, I’ve got your back.”
She gave his fingers a squeeze, and held on. “Thanks. I guess I’m glad you showed up when you did.”
“You guess?” Mad Dog chuckled. “Thanks for your vote of confidence. But seriously, I’m here for you. We’ll face whatever comes our way together.”
Jolie held onto Mad Dog’s hand. The strength and comfort she got out of that simple gesture filled her heart and made her chest swell.
He might be overprotective and far too attractive, but he was good to have around. The man had skills, or he wouldn’t have made it as a SEAL. He’d be an asset to her mission and to keeping her alive until they found and dealt with Nadir. They had to stop his brand of terrorism before anyone else got hurt. The job wasn’t the problem. Waiting was.
* * *
Mad Dog pulled through the gate at the Rocking R Ranch, taking it slow over the cattle guard, trying not to disturb the horses in the trailer behind them.
He’d towed equipment and the occasional trailer full of all his worldly goods, but he’d never transported live cargo.
“You don’t have to go so slow. The horses are used to being transported in a trailer.”
The gravel road leading through the trees to the ranch house had seen better days and needed to be graded and smoothed. “If it’s okay with you, I’d prefer to go slow.”
She sat back and smiled. “I would like to take the horses out before it gets dark and check things out for myself.”
“Point taken.” He glanced up at a bright, sunny sky. “It’s not even noon yet. You’ll have time.”
“True.” Jolie rolled down the window and leaned her head out. The wind whipped her strawberry-blond hair out of the ponytail and flung it around her face.
She looked like a teenager on her way to summer camp, not a seasoned CIA agent, waiting to kill a terrorist.
Suddenly she sat up straighter. “Do you hear that?”
Mad Dog hit the button to lower his window and slowed the vehicle to a stop. Without the crunch of gravel beneath the tires, he could hear the whine of engines, growing louder, as if heading their way.
“Think we’re going to get up close and personal with the people Tom heard out riding at midnight.”
Mad Dog pressed his foot to the accelerator and eased forward, aware of the horses in the trailer behind him, but determined to find out what was going on ahead of them.
When they came out of the trees into the open, Jolie gasped. “My house!”
Half a dozen dirt bikes and four-wheelers circled the ranch house, stirring up dust. Someone had spray-painted red graffiti all over the exterior walls and windows of the ranch house.
When one of the riders spotted the truck, he turned and headed straight for them. He wore a dark helmet, dark jeans and a black leather jacket. The rest of the gang was similarly dressed. Once the leader turned away from the house, the others followed suit, flying over the ground, hell-bent on raising a ruckus.
Mad Dog shifted the truck into park. “No matter what happens, stay in the truck,” he said.
“Like hell, I will.” Jolie started to open her door.
Mad Dog reached across and grabbed her arm. “You’re who Nadir is coming for. If something happens to you, he’ll disappear. He won’t come looking for me. He’ll get away. You have to stay safe until we get him.”
He’d voiced what Jolie had thought all along. She let go of the door handle and stared across at him. “What are you going to do?”
“Catch me one of these bastards and find out what the hell’s going on.” He waited until the first rider was close, then flung open his door, dove out and lunged for the man. He grabbed the guy’s sleeve, but couldn’t hold on.
The man swerved, right then left and fell over. He was up and back on the bike before Mad Dog could get to him again.
The others saw what had happened and raced toward Mad Dog.
One pulled out a handgun.
As the shot rang out, Mad Dog tucked and rolled to the right, springing to his feet. He grabbed a stick from the ground and went after the next guy, swinging hard.
He hid the biker in the chest and knocked him off his bike.
The man landed on his back and lay still for a moment.
Mad Dog started for him, but didn’t get two feet before he was cut off by a biker nearly running him over.
He jumped back to avoid being hit. After the guy passed, Mad Dog started again for the man lying on the ground, just beginning to stir.
Another biker came close to running him over.
Mad Dog threw himself to the side and rolled over, pulling the handgun from his shoulder holster beneath his jacket.
The dude with the gun came at him.
Mad Dog knelt and aimed.
A moment before he pulled the trigger, a shot rang out, and the man on the bike dropped to the ground. His bike continued forward.
Mad Dog rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding the front tire. He glanced toward the truck.
Jolie stood in the door, resting her hands on the roof of the truck, her pistol pointing at Mad Dog.
Mad Dog ducked.
A shot rang out.
He could almost feel the whoosh of the bullet as it skimmed over the top of his head and hit something behind him.
He turned to see a biker swerve away from him.
The guy he’d knocked off his bike was on his feet, running toward his ride. He pulled it up from the ground, jammed his foot on the starter and gave the throttle a twist. And then he was gone.
