As the meeting ended and everyone disappeared, Bruno approached her. Graham was talking to one of the other dealers.
“You look good, Ella. The country agrees with you,” he said then reached out and ran his finger along her jaw.
She looked to the right. Graham wasn’t watching her.
“Look at me, not him,” Bruno ordered and she did. She looked up at him and she knew that tone. He was pissed off.
“Are you fucking him?”
She shook her head.
“Good, because you’re mine. I was holding off back in New York. I was trying to give you time to grow up a little more. My mistake. It seems you’re pretty damn mature and resourceful. Lenny thinks so, too.”
“Lenny? He’s not coming here is he?” she asked, feeling her nerves about to shatter.
“He might. All depends on how your cowboy handles this first deal. He’s small time with big attitude. But hey, if he fucks up then he’s dead. End of story.”
“No, Bruno, don’t do anything crazy. This could turn into a huge mess. I don’t want any part of this. I told you that over the phone.”
Bruno stepped closer and grabbed her arm as he leaned close to her ear to whisper to her. He squeezed her arm tight.
“This deal gets fucked up, and you don’t see it through to ensure this asshole is legit then Sydney will suffer.”
Her eyes filled with tears and her chest tightened.
“No. No, Bruno. Syd has nothing to do with any of this. She doesn’t know about the first bag of drugs, about this deal going down, never mind you even being in town.”
He smiled at her.
“Well then I guess you better make sure this deal doesn’t go down the shitter.” He clutched her chin and tilted it toward him. She thought he was going to kiss her when Graham’s voice called out.
“Ella, over here now,” he ordered.
Bruno chuckled.
“See ya around, Ella. Be good,” he threatened her, and that was a threat. Bruno thought he owned her or that he saw her first and belonged to him. She was in trouble. She would be forced to make sure this deal happened and was successful. But how? She didn’t know about any of this.
She walked to Graham, as Scorpion looked her over then walked away.
“What are you doing?” Graham grabbed her and pulled her down the hall to where the bathrooms were.
“Nothing. What’s wrong, Graham? What did I do?”
The smack to her cheek came out of nowhere. She covered it with her hand and felt the tears emerge.
“You’re mine. You don’t go flirting and allowing another man, that man, to come in here and touch you in front of my people, in front of me. You got that?”
“Yes. Yes, Graham. I’m sorry. He was just—”
He raised his hand up and she covered her head and face with her arms in a protective move..
“Go wait in the fucking car. I’ll be out in a minute.”
She hurried out of there, holding her cheek and trying to wipe the tears away as they fell.
Her vision was blurry, but as she came out of the back door and headed to the sports car that belonged to Graham, something caught her eye.
There was a car parked down the way. Black SUV, black tinted windows. Not so common, but common enough, and she thought she saw the lens of a camera right before the window rose up and closed.
She got into the car and sat there feeling so stupid, used, a total loser. How did she get into this? Why was she always looking for the easy way instead of working hard and staying away from dumb-ass men? How was she going to tell Syd about this? What would her sister do? Would she hate her? She covered her face with her hands and cried. Her mind scattered in too many thoughts until the door opened and Graham jumped in.
“Fix your face. Next time you embarrass me in front of my men, I’ll beat you.”
“Graham, I’m sorry. I don’t want any part of this. I’m done.”
He grabbed her by her throat and shoved her hard against the window. Her head hit it, and she thought she saw stars as she focused on his teeth, his harsh words, and the feel of spittle collide against her skin.
“You’re not going anywhere.” He released her with a shove and she gasped then sat still as he started the car and drove away. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she had to protect Syd. It wasn’t fair that Syd had to suffer because of Ella’s stupid decisions. She would do whatever she had to. There was no other choice.
* * * *
“How can the young woman be the connection? It doesn’t make sense. Graham is just screwing her,” the undercover agent told Texas Ranger Fisher Lent.
“I don’t think she’s anything more than his latest conquest. We’ve been doing surveillance on Graham and his operation for months now. I think the woman is insignificant,” Fisher replied.
“I’m telling you, she’s the connection. She’s the one who brought these men together. From what I gathered, she had a small amount of drugs this Bruno from New York had her sell to Graham. Never saw the exchange or knew it even happened. Can’t prove a thing. Next thing I know they’re setting up this meeting and working out these details to conduct some major distribution of drugs. We can snag a lot of these assholes if we play this right. I mean, you saw the video and the pictures. Graham had his four head dealers meet Bruno in the Bradford Saloon.”
“It is definitely looking positive, and with Graham being a little less cautious we have gathered enough evidence to arrest him. I’ve got a team working on information in regards to this Bruno Fay. Our detectives got some good pictures of all those involved. We know most of them. We’ll gather our warrants, organize the task force, and prepare to take them all down once you confirm locations and times,” Fisher told him.
“Sounds good. I do get the feeling that this woman, Ella, does not want to be there. We know Graham. He likes to manipulate the young women, smack them around until he gets tired of them.”
“I’m going to find out more about her. She could just be a victim in all of this. Maybe influenced by the older, wealthy cowboy who makes her feel important. I’ve seen it a time or two before. Only time will tell. Be safe.”
“Always.”
Fisher sat back in his seat at his desk and waited for the pictures from surveillance to come through. He had a team of men and women working on this guy Graham for quite some time. Bringing in this dealer and supplier from New York was big. He needed to organize the team and prepare for the raid.
A few hours later, he was leaning back in his seat staring at the file on Ella Perkins. The further he dug the more upset he became. Ella, her mom, and her sister had just moved to Pearl within the month. They were staying with Matt McCullough. His friends knew Matt well. He might need to meet with Wyatt and Mark. This young woman was in danger, especially after he saw the photos of Graham assaulting her. Something wasn’t right. She did live in Pearl, and Matt was a friend, a retired Marine. The community members of Pearl were close-knit. Getting Ella out of this danger before she wound up arrested or even dead would need to be taken care of under the radar. He knew exactly who to call and who could help. He picked up the phone and called Wyatt Cantrell.
“We need to meet. I’ve got a potential situation involving some new members of your town.”
* * * *
Every time Ella tried to tell Sydney what was going on, she chickened out. She didn’t want her sister to hate her. She didn’t want to place Syd in danger because of her mistakes. She would have to see this deal through then work on leaving Graham. He was getting more physical with her. He wanted to have sex with her and she kept making up lies and more lies. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer soon. But the small test deal was going down tonight. Once that happened she should be able to ease her way out of this otherwise she would have to take off and disappear. That thought scared the hell out of her, but Mom and Syd came first.
She walked down the hallway, noticing how quiet the house was. Then through the kitchen window s
he saw Matt along with Sydney and it looked like he was teaching her how to ride a horse.
To the side, Jimmy and her mom stood. Jimmy’s arms were wrapped around her waist, holding her from behind, and they were all smiling.
The sight choked Ella up. She felt so overwhelmed with emotion. This was what their mom wanted for them. A safe, caring environment, a new start, and she fucked it all up. She felt the tears fill her eyes and then she chuckled as Sydney nearly fell off the horse, cried out and then started laughing. Matt looked so happy, too. To the side she saw Juno and Hart standing by the barn door watching but not coming closer. It was like they knew Syd needed this time with her father, that it was important for him to teach her to ride a horse instead of them. They were amazing men. Her sister was blessed and she deserved it.
Ella’s cell phone buzzed. Graham. Again. She ignored the call and would worry about him later. Right now she wanted to be part of the happiness outside. Even if it were just for a little while.
* * * *
“Look, Ella, I’m riding a horse,” Sydney said with a huge smile on her face. Matt held the reins and guided her around the corral with everyone watching.
Sydney was ecstatic. She never thought she would ride a horse, and it was one of the first things she joked around about with her mom and Ella. As she came around past where Ella stood, she could see something in her sister’s expression. She looked sad and was putting on a fake smile. Sydney nearly lost her balance, but Matt was there to stop the horse and grab Sydney’s leg.
“Are you okay?” he asked, filled with concern.
“Yes. That was great. Maybe next time I’ll be a little less nervous,” she said as he held the reins.
He smiled. “Next time you’ll probably be riding on your own. You’re a natural.”
“It must be a genetic thing huh, Matt?” she asked and winked. That brought a smile to his face and she smiled, too. As she lifted her leg to get down, before her foot hit the ground, strong arms lifted her up and twirled her around.
“Hey, beautiful.” Juno.
She smiled up at him as he slowly lowered her to her feet, keeping his arms around her waist then kissing her softly on the lips.
“You looked good. How did it feel?”
“Strange, but I liked it. It will take a lot of practice though. Plus, I never realized how big horses can be. He was huge,” she said as Hart took the reins of the large black horse and started walking it toward the barn.
“Well, Corporal is a real sweetheart. He knows when to be gentle and when to really tear it up. Hart trained him well,” Matt told her as he squeezed her shoulder and gave her a wink.
Corporal was Hart’s horse? She thought she heard some sort of small discussion going on this morning between Matt and Hart. That was what it was over. Which horse she should ride first.
Juno clutched her chin and caressed her cheek.
“Hart was worried about your safety. He insisted Matt let you ride Corporal your first time out.”
She smiled.
“Let’s go see him,” she said, and then they headed into the stables to meet up with Hart and Corporal. She glanced at Ella, who already disappeared into the house. She would need to talk to her. Something was up. But first she needed to see Hart.
She walked closer, watching Hart caress the horse’s mane as he took off the saddle and placed it on a holder. Then he got a bucket of oats and let the horse eat something.
Hart didn’t even turn to look at her. He must have heard her approach. His brothers said it was impossible to sneak up on Hart.
“How was your first ride? Enjoy it?” he asked.
She came up behind him and hugged him. He stood up straight and turned around to lift her up and place her on the high bale of hay.
“So Corporal is your horse?”
“Yup,” he told her, holding her gaze with that serious expression that was all Hart.
She ran her hands up and down his chest then tugged him closer as she gripped a handful of shirt.
“I guess it was important to learn how to ride the first time on your horse, considering.”
“Considering what?” he asked, letting his hand smooth up her arm then cup her breast. She parted her lips and softly released a breath. “Well I rode you and your brothers first, so it makes sense,” she teased.
He smirked, and she was shocked that he actually cracked a small smile, but as her eyes widened and she was about to point it out, he covered her mouth and kissed her. She couldn’t help but to smile inside. She just made Hart smile slightly. She was making progress, and before long she’d have him grinning from ear to ear.
He released her lips and she hugged him tight as she wrapped her legs around his waist and held him closer.
“You’re coming over for dinner tonight and staying over, right?” Juno asked her and she could feel his hand rub up and down her back.
“Yes, after practice. But we need to stop somewhere for something I think I need,” she said and leaned back.
“What do you need?” Juno asked, and Hart held her gaze as he caressed her thighs. Her jeans were tight and she could feel every sensation move straight to her cunt.
“If I’m going to be riding horses…and cowboys. I’ll need a pair of cowgirl boots. You’ll help me?” she asked them and Juno chuckled.
“You sure are asking for a nice pink ass, baby,” Juno said and ran his hand along her waist then under her, pinching her ass and making her squeal then jump up and into Hart’s arms.
“We’ll help you, baby, and especially with the riding cowboys part,” Hart teased as he slowly let her down to her feet but not before stroking a finger over the crack of her ass to her cunt. She swatted at his hand and turned away, but the burning need only increased thanks to the damn tight jeans and how easily her cowboys made her horny and desperate for them to be inside of her.
“See you in a few hours,” she said and then waved and headed out of the barn. When she got into the house she couldn’t find Ella anywhere.
“Ella left. She asked if you could get a ride from one of the guys to and from work,” her mom told her.
Sydney chuckled and held her own dirty thoughts in her head.
“Sure thing. Did she say where she was going?” Sydney asked as she washed her hands by the sink, dried them off, and then grabbed an apple. She sat down on the chair and watched her mom peeling potatoes.
“No, she didn’t. Her cell phone rang and she mumbled a few words then took off.”
Sydney thought about Graham. She didn’t really like him. In fact, she knew he was trouble. She had to talk to Ella about him. He wasn’t right for her. He wasn’t any better than Bruno and Lenny back in New York. Thinking of them and how both men were interested in Ella and Sydney made Sydney shiver. Things could have gone badly fast for them in New York. Moving to Texas was a smart move and should keep Ella out of trouble. But Graham seemed like trouble. Sydney needed some alone time with Ella to make sure she stayed on track.
The back door opened, and Matt came inside along with Jimmy.
“Are Juno and Hart still outside?” she asked him.
“I think they just headed into town.”
“Darn. I needed a ride to the Rusty Horn. Ella needed the car.”
“I can drive you. I’d like to check the place out. I haven’t been there in years,” Matt told her.
“Rusty mentioned that he knew you, and that you used to go there sometimes.”
“Yeah, I know Rusty well. I was hitting the bottle a little too much back then. Thought it helped ease the effects of my PTSD, but it only made matters worse. Right, Jimmy?” he said to his cousin.
“Sure did. But we got through that. We focused on the ultimate picture and what was really causing your depression and anger,” Jimmy said as he wrapped his arms around Stella’s waist and kissed her neck.
Sydney smiled.
“Did you have feelings for Mom before we arrived, Jimmy?” she asked, and Matt sat down at the table and looked
at Jimmy holding Stella in his arms. He faced her now and caressed her cheek.
“I can remember when Matt first introduced her to me. I thought she was stunning, and I had these feelings building inside of me. I knew she wasn’t used to ménage relationships, and to be honest I was caught up in my own goals and serving our country. But every time I visited her when Matt was on tour and I was on an R&R, those feelings grew stronger.”
“I felt it, too, Jimmy.”
“What?” he asked.
“I felt it, too, but I had Sydney. I already lost Matt and you were cousins. Then Drake came along and he was steady. He seemed like he wasn’t going anywhere and I had Ella to worry about, too. When I lost him that was it for me. I focused on my girls, and that was it.”
“There was no one else all these year?” Matt asked her.
She shook her head.
“No one. Just Ella and Sydney to care for, to raise, and to love,” Stella told them.
Jimmy kissed her forehead.
“God gave us a second chance. We’re not going anywhere this time, Stella. We love you, always have and always will.” Stella smiled then hugged Jimmy. Matt stood up and hugged her next then kissed her.
Sydney smiled and slowly stood up.
“Where are you going?” Stella asked her. She smirked.
“I have to shower and change, so if you three need about thirty minutes or so of some private, mushy makeout time, I’ll disappear. Just call me down when you’re ready to leave, oh and decent,” she teased them.
Sing Me a Song Page 18
