by Devney Perry
“Not happening,” Silas stated at the same time Jess and Beau chorused, “No.”
“Sit down.” I pulled out a stool and patted the seat. “Maisy can get to work on you while we all brainstorm what to do.”
“How about we get the full story first?” Jess asked. “I’d like to hear this from the beginning.”
Thirty minutes later, everyone knew Sabrina’s story. Maisy deemed none of Sabrina’s injuries too serious and said the wounds on her face would heal with minimal scarring. Deciding the less she knew the better, she collected Coby to go home. The minute the door closed behind her, Jess started grilling Sabrina about the evidence she’d sent to the police.
“You’re sure you got enough evidence for a conviction to stick?”
“I’m sure. The FBI should have taken down an illegal handgun shipment,” she glanced at the clock on the oven, “six hours ago. With my intel, Anton should currently be sitting in a jail cell.”
“You trust the federal agent you contacted?”
She nodded. “I’ve worked with him for years. He’s a good guy and an even better cop. He’s solid.”
“If he’s such a good cop, why’d he let a reporter do an investigation meant for the FBI?” Jess asked.
“You kept it a secret, didn’t you?” I asked Sabrina.
She nodded. “No one knew what I was doing.”
“Reckless,” Jess huffed. “Just like coming here. You should have gone to your FBI guy instead.”
“Probably,” she admitted. “But I panicked and my first thought was to run. I’m not all that confident in protective custody and really don’t want to enter witness protection.”
Jess shook his head. “The Federovs aren’t going to stay in jail for long. They’ll be after you if they aren’t already.”
“I know but as soon as my story breaks tomorrow, they’ll be hounded by the press. They won’t be able to go anywhere without an audience.”
“That still doesn’t make it safe for you to go back to Seattle,” I said.
“And you can’t show your face in Prescott,” Silas added. “The first place they’ll look for you is with family and friends.”
“You need to be off the grid,” Beau rumbled.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Jess said. “You got any ideas?”
“Maybe one of the outposts? The one on the north side of Fan Mountain? I could take her up there and get her settled. Stick around for a while and clean the place up. Then make trips up and down to keep her in supplies.”
Jess and Silas shared a look. Were they grinning? How was this funny?
“I think that would work,” Silas said.
“What’s an outpost?” I asked.
Jess smirked. “Think of it like a cabin in the woods.”
“Wait a minute.” Sabrina’s face paled. “I don’t think that’s necessary. I’ll just promise not to go out in public, stay tucked away in Felicity’s closet or something. I’ll be like Harry Potter living in my tiny cupboard.”
“I’m sorry, Sabrina,” Silas said gently, “but I’m not having you anywhere near Lis.”
Silas, my protector. My heart warmed and I gave him a small smile.
“I can understand why you’d say that,” Sabrina said. “I don’t want her in harm’s way either, but I’m not going to disappear into the wilderness with a strange man.”
“Then what are you going to do?” Jess asked.
She lifted a hand and twirled a lock of hair. She was worried. Really worried. That hair twirl was her one tell. “I don’t know. I need a new ID. Maybe a car. Can you lend me some money?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
“Okay. What else?” Sliding off her stool, she hobbled across the living room to a big window and stared into the dark night.
“Talk to her, babe,” Silas said quietly. “Going with Beau is the safest thing for her. She shouldn’t be on her own and out in the open.”
I nodded and turned to Beau. “What’s this outpost like? The truth?”
“It’s not much, but there’s water, power and heat. We use the outposts for forest-fire crews and the one I’m thinking about is really secluded. She’d be as hidden as it could get.”
Damn it. They were right but this was not going to be an easy sell. “She hates nature. She hates dirt and bugs. She gets weekly mani-pedis and spends every Friday afternoon shopping. This will be like torture for her.”
“If she goes out on her own and fucks up, she’ll hit their radar in seconds and then she’s dead,” Jess said.
I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around my stomach. I couldn’t bear to think about what the Federovs would do if they tracked her down. She’d be tortured, raped and killed, of that I had no doubt.
This outpost was her best shot at life.
“Talk to her.” Silas rounded the island and tucked me into his side. “She’ll listen to you. When she sees how worried you are, she’ll go with Beau.”
I nodded, leaving the men in the kitchen, and went to the living room and stood next to Sabrina. Taking a few moments to stare into the dark night, I formulated my speech, then dove right in. “I think you should go with Beau.”
“No way,” she fired back immediately.
“Please, hear me out? They’ll track you down if you’re using my credit cards. The five thousand dollars I gave Kenny is going to show up as a huge red flag. They could find you here in the time it would take you to get a fake ID. It’s not like you can jump on an airplane. So what does that leave? You driving around the country like a vagabond, living out of the back seat and cheap motels?”
“That sounds better than living in a shack in the mountains.”
“Really? Are you sure about that? I’ve heard three out of ten motels have bed bugs.” That last part wasn’t true but it helped make my point. She would be miserable constantly running from one place to the next and there was no way she’d be able to afford top-of-the-line hotels for however long this lasted.
She took a deep, loud breath and dropped her forehead to press against the glass. “Fuck. You’re right. I’ll go with Goliath.”
“Thank you.” I pulled her in for a gentle hug. “He’s a good guy and I know he’ll keep you safe. Think of it like a rustic adventure. Maybe write a story about it.”
We spent the next two hours rushing around Prescott buying food, picking up supplies from Beau’s house and getting Sabrina clothes and linens from mine. By the time we came back to the ranch, it was well after midnight and Beau’s truck was packed to the brim.
Standing outside the barn, I wrapped my arms around Sabrina and held tight. “I love you. Watch your back and listen to Beau.”
She nodded. “Love you too, lady. Be safe.”
We hugged until Silas’s hand stroked the back of my hair. “Time to go.”
“Take care of her,” she said to Silas at the same time I said those words to Beau.
Both men nodded and I hugged my friend once more. Please don’t let this be the last hug we have. My silent wish floated into the dark night sky. When Beau’s truck disappeared down the gravel road, I found myself wrapped in Silas’s arms.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?”
He sighed. “I honestly don’t know, but I hope so.”
“Me too,” I whispered. Me too.
“Baby?” I gently placed my hand on Silas’s chest.
He stopped whipping his head back and forth on the pillow and shot straight up in bed. His eyes remained blank for a moment until he blinked and cleared the fog of sleep. Rubbing his hands over his face, he muttered, “Fuck.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.” Throwing the comforter aside, he swung his legs to the floor and went downstairs. When he disappeared from my sight, I listened to his footsteps pad through the living room and into the bathroom. I fell back into bed at the sound of the shower’s spray.
This had been his fifth nightmare in a week.
I glanced at the clock and cringed.
It was just after five in the morning. There was no use trying to go back to sleep so I slipped out of bed and shrugged on some gray leggings and a plum hoodie.
By the time Silas emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, I had the coffee made and was nearly done with our oatmeal. “Do you want raisins?”
“Fine,” he muttered and went upstairs to dress.
He joined me at the bar and we ate in silence. It had been nearly a week since Sabrina’s dramatic appearance, and all but one morning had been like this. The nightmares had started two days after she’d gone into the mountains with Beau.
I had no clue what he was dealing with, but something about her visit had triggered the nightmares. Was it memories from his time in the army? I could only venture to guess. Every time I had asked, he’d locked down and shut me out.
“Thanks for breakfast.” He placed his bowl in the dishwasher. “I’m going to head out. Get an early start on fencing.”
“Okay. I don’t have anything going on today. Can I help?”
“You don’t need to do that.” He barely kissed the top of my head as he walked toward the door.
Fuck this. “Stop.”
“What?”
I hopped off my stool and met him in the hall. He spun around and didn’t try to hide his annoyance that I’d hindered his escape. I mirrored his stance, fisting my hands on my hips.
“I said stop. You don’t get to keep closing me out, Silas. Something is wrong and if you don’t want to talk about it, fine. But avoiding me and spending all day wearing yourself out until you’re utterly exhausted? That’s not working either.”
“I’m not avoiding you.” He started to turn but I grabbed his arm and held him back.
“Do not lie to me.”
His annoyance vanished. “Shit. I’m sorry.” He stepped into my space and pulled me in for a hug. “I’m in a bad mood and didn’t want to make you deal with it.”
“You are always there to cheer me up when I’m in a bad mood. Don’t take away my chance to do the same for you.”
His cheek pressed against my hair. “You’re right.”
“I know.”
He chuckled and let me go. “Is your offer to help me with the fencing still on the table?”
“It’s going to cost you.”
“I’m willing to pay. What’s the price?”
I smiled. “You have to watch Top Gun with me tonight.”
He smiled back and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. “Deal.”
“And you have to find someone to talk to about what’s bothering you.”
He shrugged. “We’ll see.”
It wasn’t a yes but I hadn’t really expected one. Silas buried his demons. He let their bad juju fester and grow until he couldn’t keep them locked down anymore and they let loose his roaring temper. I considered it a personal miracle that he’d ever opened up to me about the ranch and his dad. Somehow, he’d trusted me with those troubles. Maybe in time, he’d trust me enough to spill the rest.
“Okay. Let me change real quick.” I tipped my chin up for a quick kiss before hustling upstairs. I came down wearing ripped jeans and the Mustangs sweatshirt I’d stolen from him.
He tossed me my leather gloves, and we walked to the barn, where he collected a roll of barbed wire, a pair of fencing pliers and a bundle of steel fence posts. After loading up his truck, he drove me down a gravel road not far from his parents’ house and into a wide, green meadow filled with wildflowers of every color.
“This is beautiful,” I said when he parked next to a grove of trees that ran along the creek.
“This is my favorite spot on the ranch. Someday, this is where I’d like to build a house.”
A home here would be amazing. No matter how it was positioned, every view would be spectacular. On one side was the mountains; the other had the meadow and a grove of trees.
I could definitely live here.
I smiled, wishing one day I’d get that chance.
“Ready for your crash course in barbed wire?”
I grinned. “Bring it on.”
Three hours later, I’d stripped my sweatshirt down to the simple, white tank top underneath, now-drenched. My muscles hadn’t worked this hard in ages and I was a sweaty, hot mess. No wonder Silas had such a sculpted body and never went to the gym.
The patch of fence that we were repairing was deep in the trees. Silas was using a chainsaw to cut up a huge Cottonwood tree that had fallen onto the fence itself, and as he cut, I tossed the wood blocks into a pile, then hauled them all back to his truck for firewood.
Once the debris was cleared, we got to work on restringing the wire. Silas pounded steel posts into the ground, then I helped him string the barbed wire, attaching it to the posts using special clips. My arms had been scraped repeatedly and I looked like I’d lost a fight with an angry herd of barn cats.
But as difficult as it had been, I was enjoying the hard work. More so, I was enjoying working side by side with Silas.
“Let’s take a break.” He wiped his brow with his forearm.
His tight, white T-shirt showcased his broad and muscled chest. Damp with sweat, it clung to all the right places to highlight just how ripped he was, and as soon as we got back to his place, that shirt was coming off.
Silas sank down onto a fallen log, and I sat next to him, taking a long drink of cool water from his canteen. “Thanks for your help, babe. This would have taken me twice as long without your help.”
“Really?” Pride swelled in my chest.
He leaned over and brushed his lips against mine. “Really.”
I stared into his brown eyes full of bright sunlight and knew he wasn’t just appeasing me. Elliot had said that I didn’t belong here, and maybe he’d end up being right. Ranch work really wasn’t my passion or my forte. But I did belong with Silas.
And since my man loved this ranch more than anything in the world, I’d put up with sore muscles and scraped skin every day of the week. I rested my head on his shoulder and listened to the birds chirping in the trees. When we’d both had more water, he helped me off the log and we got back to work.
As the morning went on, the sunlight disappeared and the clouds turned gray. I was pinching on my last wire clip when a drop of rain hit my nose. Three more followed and landed on my arms before the clouds burst and not even the trees could keep out the downpour.
“Gah!” I yelled, holding my hands over my head as I ran down the narrow trail toward the truck. Silas stood at the end of the trail.
He was just standing there. Not waiting to rush me back to the truck. Not shielding his face from the rain. Just standing and staring. His arms were hanging at his sides as he let the drenching rain wash over him.
My hands fell from my face when I reached him and the rain soaked my hair, running down my forehead and into my eyelashes. “What’s wrong?”
The water streamed down his face but he didn’t answer my question.
“Silas?” I was starting to get worried until a small smile tugged at his lips.
“You’re breathtaking, Lis.”
My breath hitched. Soaking wet with matted hair and no makeup, I had never felt more beautiful.
Silas’s fingers caressed my cheek. I tipped my head so it rested against his wrist and closed my eyes, letting the rain drip down my nose and over my lips. So what if we were wet? If he wanted to stand here in the rain, I’d stand here too.
When his warm breath hit my lips, his nose rubbed against the side of mine. I opened my eyes when his fingers started tracing the rain drops down the sides of my arms. Goose bumps broke across my skin and my heart pounded as I stood perfectly still, enjoying the feel of his sensual touch coupled with the rain.
His fingers reached mine and he laced them together before pulling me forward on the trail. He didn’t turn but was somehow able to navigate the rough ground as he walked backward. It was erotic, having his eyes locked on my face, refusing to break away.
The trail c
ame to an end and we stepped out of the trees into the meadow. Silas’s back hit the truck and his slow, steady pursuit changed to a rough, greedy claiming as his mouth crushed down on mine. The heat from his tongue mixed with the cool water as both invaded my mouth. I let out a small moan when his hands started jerking and yanking at my wet clothes.
My hands went to his shirt, lifting it up so I could pull at the button on his jeans. When it was free, I slid down the zipper and let my hands slip underneath the damp denim to grip his muscled rear. I squeezed and kneaded the curves of his ass, pulling his hips closer to mine so I could feel his erection against my stomach.
He untangled his tongue from mine but kept our lips pressed together. “Inside,” he ordered. We leaned to the left and I reached around him to open the door’s handle.
He hopped inside first, tugging down his jeans. His hard cock sprang free and my mouth watered. I kicked out of my jeans and panties before climbing into the back seat, setting my thighs on the outside of his. My lips found the skin at his neck, and without hesitation, I lined up my entrance and sank down onto him.
“Fuck,” he groaned. “You feel so good, Lis.”
One of his hands came to my ass and he guided me up and down on his cock. The other dove inside my bra, rolling and pinching my hard nipples.
“Yeah, baby.” My moan vibrated against his corded throat and he let out a deep rumble of his own.
“Faster,” he commanded.
I braced my hands on his shoulders and worked my hips and thighs faster. His hand abandoned my breasts so both of his strong arms could support my legs as I fucked him. We slammed together, his hips thrusting upward to meet my descent, and each time we came together, my clit ground against the base of his cock.
My legs were starting to burn but I kept going, powered on by the sensation of my building orgasm. “Silas,” I gasped before it overtook me. White spots broke out behind my closed eyes and I cried out, clenching around him. I tried to keep moving but the wave of pleasure was too strong. All I could do was feel as it washed over me, bucking my hips as I pulsed.
I was coming down when Silas twisted us across the bench seat. With one of my legs on the floor and the other thrown over the seat back, he settled into my hips and started pounding. With his eyes locked on mine, he reached between us, found my clit and took me over the edge again, this time coming with me. The truck’s cab filled with sound as we both let go. Collapsing on top of me, his heavy breaths heated my neck as his come leaked down my rear. I loved that intimacy, knowing his seed was inside me.
