by Marla Monroe
When the knock came again, he crossed the room and opened the door just enough to see who it was. Two men stood outside wearing black T-shirts and sporting guns on their hips. Neither one of them looked friendly.
“What can I do for you?” he asked, still not opening the door much wider.
“You have a female here,” the taller one said. He didn’t ask.
“Yes, she belongs to me and my partner. Why?”
“Her description matches a runaway from back east of us. We need to see her.”
“You’ll just have to wait till my partner gets back. I’m not about to let you inside without us both being here.”
“If she’s a runaway, she comes with us.”
“He’ll be back late tonight. Come back tomorrow sometime.” Brice kept his voice confident, as if he wasn’t worried in the least.
“So you’ll have time to hide her? I don’t think so. Either you bring her out now, or we’ll come in. There are two of us, and one of you. And,” he pointed out, “we have guns.”
“You’d shoot an unarmed man? Where is the justice in that?” Brice demanded.
“We are justice. If she’s who we think she is, she’s going back after we administer that justice.”
“You mean beat her.”
“She will get five licks of the whip, like all runaways get.”
“And I still say you have no jurisdiction in a man’s own home.”
“Open the fucking door now, or I will shoot you.” Until this moment the shorter man hadn’t said anything.
“No, you won’t, because I’ll shoot you first.”
Brice looked behind the two men and nearly moaned out loud. Ronnie stood behind them, but not with the gun from her pocket. She had a shotgun pointing directly at the shorter of the two men. She kept her hand steady. Brice would have sworn she was used to handling a gun. Maybe she was, but didn’t like them.
The two men slowly turned around. They stared at her, and then at the gun. Brice opened the door now that there was no reason to keep it closed. He glared at her, but would save the dressing down until later, if there was a later. Garrett was going to kill him. He’d screwed up twice, where she was concerned.
“You’re Rhonda Ann Sawyer,” the second man said.
“I’m Ronnie. I don’t go by that name anymore.” She kept the gun steady on the two men.
“You are a runaway and are being sentenced to five lashes of the whip and being returned to your owner,” the first man stated formally.
“I’m not going anywhere. That son of a bitch wasn’t my owner. He was my jailer. No one owns me. I can live wherever I want to live, and that is here. You have no authority over me.” Her voice got higher and louder as she spoke.
“You need to hand that gun to me, or I’m going to be forced to take it from you.”
“Brice, move out of the way,” she warned.
Brice cursed and moved to one side. She was going to shoot one of the bastards. That was all they needed. But then, he couldn’t keep them from taking her, so what was his gripe?
“You take one step toward me, and I’ll shoot you. Don’t think I won’t. At this range, I can’t miss what I aim for.” She lowered the gun to crotch level.
Both men froze.
* * * *
Ronnie was scared spitless, but she wasn’t going back to that bastard, and they sure as hell weren’t going to whip her. She might take a spanking from her guys, but she wasn’t going to be whipped, hit, or slapped by another man.
“I think you want to lower that gun and come with us before you get into even more trouble, female,” the shorter of the two told her.
Ronnie took a couple of steps back and to the side. She never took her aim off of their crotches, though.
“I think you need to leave now. You’re not welcome on our property. Common law says I can shoot anyone trespassing on private property once it’s been claimed and worked. This has been claimed and worked for three, nearly four, years now. You are trespassing. Get the fuck off.”
They stood there staring at her as if she’d lost her mind. Then she racked the shotgun and they immediately backed away toward their truck sitting down at the edge of the road. She kept the gun trained on their asses until they had pulled off and were out of sight.
“Fuck, Ronnie! What in the hell do you think you were doing?” Brice grabbed the gun from her and opened it to eject the shells. Only there weren’t any.
“You didn’t even have it loaded,” he fussed.
“I couldn’t find the shells fast enough. I wasn’t going to let them shoot you. They would have, Brice.”
“And what in the hell are we going to do when they come back with more men? Have a damn shootout here?”
“So I’m just supposed to let them take me, whip me, and send me back to that rat bastard? I mean that little to you?”
“Hell, no, Ronnie. That’s not true. I’d never have let them take you.”
“Oh, you would have died for me. But you wouldn’t have been able to stop them from taking me in the long run.”
“Hell, there has to be something we can do, Ronnie, to stop this from happening.”
Ronnie sighed and hugged him. He pulled her back into the house and locked the door. Then he leaned the shotgun up in the corner by the door before picking her up in his arms.
He sat on the couch and cradled her in his arms, smoothing one hand up and down her back.
“We’ll figure something out. When Garrett gets back, we’ll put our heads together and come up with something.”
“If you say so, Brice. I’m tired of always having to hide.”
“I know, baby.” He lifted her chin and softly kissed her.
She wrapped her hands around his head and dove deeper into his kiss, opening her mouth to him. She was desperate for something to hold the fear at bay. His mouth, his body, would do just fine.
He licked along the inside of her mouth with his tongue, then explored her teeth before sucking her tongue into his mouth to tease. When he pulled back, she was about to force him down again when he nipped at her chin and nibbled his way around her jawline to her neck. He sucked and nibbled there before heading for her shoulder. He was marking her, she knew. She was fine with that. She belonged to him and Garrett, just like they belonged to her.
His hands went to the hem of her T-shirt and lifted it. When it needed to go over her head, he moved back from her shoulder and jerked it off, dropping it to the floor before returning to her collarbone. When he reached for her bra, she shoved his hands away and unhooked it herself and let it slide off. Then she grabbed at his shirt and pulled at it, trying to get it up over his head. He helped her and threw it over the back of the couch.
“I think if we’re going to get anywhere fast, we’re going to have to stand up for the boots and jeans,” he pointed out.
Ronnie grinned and scrambled off his lap and began pulling off her boots, then worked on her jeans. She watched Brice do the same thing. When they were both naked, she jumped on him and took him down to the floor. He chuckled and swung her on top of him. She immediately worked her mouth over his chest, finding each flat disc to nibble and suck on. Then she followed the happy trail to his massive cock and enveloped the head of it in her mouth to suck.
Brice hissed out a breath and grabbed her head as she began to suck him all the way down her throat.
“Fuck!” Brice fought to pull her off of him. “I’m not going to last if you do that again. Ride me, baby.”
She came off of him with an audible pop then climbed on top of him. He held his cock steady for her to slowly slide down over him. She stopped once to catch her breath at the fullness of him inside of her. When she sat flush against his pelvis, she squeezed her cunt and was rewarded with a string of curse words.
Ronnie grinned and began to slowly ride him. She used her knees to hold her as she pulled up and slammed back down again, over and over. Brice held her hips as if trying to help, but he was only holding on as she rode
him to completion. When she felt him begin to come inside of her, she reached between her legs and found her clit and rubbed it. He pushed her hand out of the way and pinched it just right.
She exploded and lost her rhythm as she climaxed, clamping down on his dick as she did. He called out her name and they both collapsed against the floor. Ronnie was completely out of breath and worried she wouldn’t be able to catch it again. Brice didn’t sound like he was in much better shape.
After a few minutes of pulling herself together, Ronnie climbed to her feet and retrieved the shotgun. She laid it by the mattress on the floor and re-dressed in everything but her boots.
“Come on, lazy. Dress so we aren’t caught with our pants down, and let’s grab some sleep before Garrett makes it back home.” She grabbed his limp arm and pulled him to a sitting position.
“I think sex just stirs you up. No more sex for you,” Brice grumbled as he pulled on his jeans.
“I’m really worried that’s going to happen. I’m going upstairs to find the damn shells to the gun and I’ll be right back down.” She took the stairs at a jog and realized she felt much better than she had.
Was it because of the near-disastrous episode, or because she had stood up for herself, or maybe just like Brice said, sex revved her up? No matter why, she felt good, and even though she was sleepy and could use a nap, she knew she would probably stay awake and make sure no one snuck up on them.
Deep down, Ronnie was terrified of losing her hard-won independence and the two most wonderful men she’d ever been around. She’d fight tooth and nail to stay there with them. They treated her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.
She located the shells in the drawer of the bedside table and carried them downstairs. Brice stood waiting on her, fully dressed sans boots.
“Do you know how to load it?” Brice asked.
She gave him a look and nodded. “I’ve been hunting for meat for the last three years. Got pretty good at it and the rifle. I just hate handguns.” She expertly loaded the shotgun, then carefully laid it on the floor next to the mattress.
“Hop on, baby, and let’s get some sleep. I know you’ve got to be tired. We both were up at the crack of dawn.”
“How long before you think Garrett will be back?” she asked.
“I figure in another three, maybe four hours. He planned to be back early enough that we wouldn’t have to worry about unloading in the dark. That’s why he left so early.” Brice pulled her into his arms. She used his shoulder as a pillow.
“I’m worried, Brice. Those men are crazy. They’re not going to stop until they turn me over.”
“Don’t worry about it anymore now. We’ll talk to Garrett and figure out what to do. Nothing is going to happen to you.” He nuzzled her hair and squeezed her for a few seconds.
Ronnie shivered at the thought of being whipped. She would run again if she had to. She would miss the men because she loved them, but she wouldn’t go back to the bastard who’d used her like a slave.
Chapter Thirteen
Garrett pulled up the drive at nearly five that afternoon. He was dog tired, but pleased that he had been able to find pretty much everything on the list, plus some. He hoped Ronnie would be excited at some of the things he’d managed to find for her. He had four cases of canning supplies, for one thing. Then there were the pretty shirts and blouses and skirts. He knew she wouldn’t use the skirts that much, but they would be nice sometimes to wear around the house.
He backed up to the back door. Ronnie came running out with Brice right behind her, fussing. Why was he fussing at her? Garrett immediately felt the tension in the air. Something was wrong.
“Hey, you guys, what’s up?” he called as he climbed out of the truck.
“Oh, we’ll talk about it later after we get everything unloaded.” Ronnie jumped into his arms and gave him a huge kiss. He hugged her back and kept an arm around her when she slid out of his arms.
“Brice?” Garrett asked, studying his friend for a clue.
“She’s right. We should get everything unloaded before it gets dark.”
“I don’t think I like the sound of this.” But he closed the door to the truck and walked around to open the tailgate of the truck. Ronnie squealed at the sight of the canning supplies.
“You found them! Thank you.” She gave him another sloppy kiss on his cheek.
They spent the next hour and a half unloading the truck and putting things away where they went. Brice made several trips to the barn and to the shed that held the tractor and gardening supplies. Once they’d finished, Garrett went upstairs and took a shower. He was surprised and a little disappointed that Ronnie didn’t join him, but figured she was too busy putting away the clothes he’d brought her. She seemed to genuinely like them. He hoped so.
After dressing again, he walked downstairs to find the two sitting at the kitchen table with a meal set up.
“Figured you needed to eat. I doubt you ate lunch,” Ronnie said.
“I could definitely eat, but I want to know what is going on.”
“After you eat,” she said. She poured more tea in her glass.
“I’m really not liking the sounds of this.”
Brice sighed and shook his head. “Nope, you’re not going to.”
As soon as they finished up the light meal, Garrett leaned back in the chair and gave them a get it over with look.
“While you were gone, the gang looking for runaway females showed up.” Brice said it quick.
It took a few seconds for it to sink in. Then it hit him. Fuck! He immediately reached across and took Ronnie’s hand.
“What happened?”
“They wanted Ronnie, but I refused to let them see her.”
“They were going to shoot Brice for not letting them in, so I grabbed the shotgun and ran around the house and cornered them with it.” Ronnie looked proud of herself.
“You did what?” he demanded.
“Yeah, she did. She told them she would shoot them if they didn’t leave, and then leveled the gun at their balls.” Brice took a sip of his tea.
“What would you have done if they had called you on it, Ronnie?”
“Shot their freaking balls off. I’m not going back, and they sure as hell aren’t going to whip me.”
“Ah, hell, Ronnie. There’s no way we’ll let them take you.” Garrett grabbed her hand and squeezed it. He looked over at Brice and caught the worry in his eyes.
“What are you going to do then? They’ll be back, and they’ll have more men with them,” Ronnie pointed out.
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law, Ronnie.”
“There is no law. That’s why these crazies can do this. There’s no one to stop them.”
“There’s us now,” Brice suggested.
“There’s us,” Garrett agreed. “Look, the entire thing is about ownership. They say this guy owned you. Did he have papers to say he owned you?”
“No. He didn’t own me. You can’t own a human being anymore.” Ronnie frowned.
“Now, you can. They buy and sell females in Border Town all the time. They issue bills of sale. It’s proof of ownership.” Garrett looked over at Brice for confirmation. He’d been out most recently in that area.
“That’s true. You buy a female, or trade for one, you are given a certificate of ownership.” He looked thoughtful. “So what you’re suggesting is that we draw up a bill of sale or certificate of ownership of her?”
“Hell no! No one owns me,” she all but growled.
“It wouldn’t mean anything to us, baby, but it would mean something to them, and they would leave you alone,” Brice told her.
“You’re both serious about this, aren’t you?” she demanded.
“Ronnie, we have to keep you safe, and if this is all it takes, then what’s the big deal? We know better. Why does it matter if anyone else thinks differently?” Garrett asked.
“It doesn’t. I just hate the idea that there’s a piece of pa
per that has my name on it as belonging to someone. Even if it is you two.” She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands.
“Let’s get to work, Brice. They’ll be back soon, I’m sure.”
“How well do you write?” Garrett asked Brice.
“Probably not well enough to make it look professional. I’ve always had bad handwriting.”
“Hell, mine is probably worse. My big hands never held a pencil very well.” Garrett sighed, holding out his hands.
“Get some damn paper and a pen. I’ll write the thing out. I used to do calligraphy.” She sniffed and brushed away a tear.
Garrett got up and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s going to be okay, baby. I promise.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to have owners to be safe.”
“Here you go, Ronnie.” Brice handed her several pieces of paper and a pen.
“Let me mess with it, and then you can look at it. Go on and leave me alone,” she fussed.
“Come on, Brice. We’ll do chores. We can see if anyone comes up from the barn.” Garrett grabbed the milk bucket and handed it to Brice, who frowned. “Sorry man, I can’t do it. Big hands, you know.”
As soon as they were outside, Garrett cornered Brice. “Is that all that happened? They didn’t touch her, did they?”
“No, they never got close enough to, but they had been watching us all morning, evidently.” He told Garrett about the glint Ronnie had seen twice before they went inside.
“If this doesn’t work, I’m moving her farther west. Are you coming with us?” Garrett asked.
“Hell yeah, I’m coming. I’d already thought about that. I figured we would go on the other side of Sky Line, maybe a little farther north.”
“Good idea. The southwest area is pretty much dead, from what we’ve seen in the past,” Garrett agreed.
“Best thing to do would be to load up and leave in the middle of the night. We’d have to open all the gates and let the animals out, but they’d make it.” Brice set up the stool and sat down to milk the cow.
