by JANA
She spied the dessert and grinned. She would eat it all by herself now, and then he wouldn’t get any. It was childish, she knew, but she needed sugar. She pulled out the Crème Brulee and set it on the counter. It needed a little more sugar, she thought and used a spoon to put some more on. Jared had brought the kitchen torch for the other night. She thought it was cute when she saw that he went through all that trouble. Now she snorted and thought only about eating all the sweet dessert on her own.
Traci heard the door squeak open and she turned.
Chapter 12
The stupid man was leaving the little house, Helmut thought and watched him through a crack in the board. His boss called earlier and said now was the time. He was going to go into the cabin and use the woman to get them all in the open. Then his partner would pick them off one by one.
The idiot schweine fell right into his hands. He had originally planned to crawl under and set up a small smoke bomb on a timer and pick them off as they ran out. But he felt watched, and wanted to confirm that first. Leave no witnesses, Luca had told him. Did they think he was stupid?
He saw the other soldat that was guarding the shack. They thought they were so smart, none of them knew that he’d slept here last night, hidden right where he had placed the camera. He had a feeling this might be a trap, that someone was out there, and he found out he was right.
After putting the last camera up, he had shimmied his way under the crumbling building by squeezing under a loose board. It was a storage area of some kind. Unfortunately, he had to listen to them pleasure each other last night. It had been extremely difficult to stay there and not shoot the man through the floor and then take her for himself. She sounded like a hellcat.
When he heard the fight and then the soldat leave the cabin, his plan changed. This was going to be much better. They would kill the men and take the woman. Oh, they would kill her in a few days, after they’d had their fill of her. She sounded like she was worth the risk, all fiery and sexy. And since the other had come here, it saved him a trip.
Helmut licked his lips and then listened. The woman was slamming things around in the kitchen. He slowly moved out from under the cabin and then paused to make sure the man was still walking away.
Slowly he crept to the side and slipped up the stairs, he held up the gun he had and opened the door.
***
Jared stomped out the door and looked around briefly. He felt something was wrong; he looked to where his friend was sitting and frowned. He had just talked to him and knew he was about 100 clicks to the west covered in the trees. Jared slowly walked toward him, making it look like he was concentrating on the argument.
He made it a few feet and then heard the small rustle behind him. Jared knew it was not Traci. Therefore, he kept his head down and walked slowly. Colton would be watching him, he pulled his arm up in front of him, signaled and waited. Seconds later, he saw the flash of acknowledgement.
Colton understood what he had been signaling and would be moving toward him. He listened and heard the steps creak behind him and wanted desperately to turn, but he had left his gun on the table. Traci had him so riled up he forgot his own first rule. To keep his weapon close.
He heard the door creak open and he stopped and held firm. He was close enough to get back to Traci, he hoped.
***
Traci saw a stranger when she turned and just reacted. Later she would make Jared congratulate her for not freezing like he thought she would.
“Who the fuck are you?” she said sarcastically and put her finger on the torch lighter.
Thank goodness Jared had brought the good one. It had a little trigger on it like a lighter, instead of having to light it with a match. The little gas can was already open because she had been about to light it anyway.
The man paused and then walked quickly toward her. “Scream, so your little schweine soldat will come and try and save you,” the man said. He had a thick accent and she glared. He wanted to use her as bait for Jared? She didn’t think so. This man was underestimating her too, what is it with men? They thought that just because she was a woman she would scream and cry. Right, she thought, and brought her hand around when he got within arm’s length of her.
Traci clicked the trigger and almost cried out with excitement when it lit the first time.
She swung it in an arch and hit the top of the man’s hand. She grinned a little manically when he screamed and dropped the gun. Traci was aware of Jared and Colton when they entered but she refused to allow them her prize.
“Traci!” Jared called and stopped just inside the door with Colton on his heels.
The stranger turned and Traci, still with the torch in her hand, swung it up as if to point to the ceiling, and the torch first lit the man’s jacket and then the back of his hair on fire.
She looked at him in surprise. She had intended to show off her defensive skills and kick him in the balls, but he turned so quickly, it caught her off guard.
She heard a burst of laughter from the door when the man grabbed his head and then did what he was supposed to do, and stopped, dropped, and rolled. Traci quickly reached down and grabbed the gun. The laughter had come from Colton who slapped Jared on the back and said, “You are one lucky man.” Jared puffed out a breath and looked at Traci who still held the lit torch in one hand and the gun in the other as she watched the man roll around on the floor cussing her out.
Her shirt was open and all she wore was that sexy teddy still, damn it, and Colton was staring intently as her breasts rose and fell with each breath. She finally snapped out of it and he had to put his hand over his mouth when she began to answer what the crazed man said.
“Really? You thought I was the easy target, didn’t you? Well screw you! And stop calling me those names before I make sure you can’t have children!” Traci shrieked.
The man had gotten the fire out and just laid there and moaned. Colton stepped around Jared, leaned over him, and said, “Hell, I expected something a little, I don’t know, more.”
Danny and Miles yelled from outside and Jared turned and saw that they had gotten the man who was driving the getaway car. Miles had a sniper’s rifle dangling from his shoulder and Jared felt his eyes widen in shock. Shit, he’d been a sitting duck, and had made his friend a sitting duck too.
Jared rounded in anger and yelled at Traci pointing to the front of the cabin, “Damn it, Traci, I could have been shot, and so could Colton, all because you were pitching a hissy fit! And why the hell was the door unlocked, I figured you would have enough sense to lock it when I left. He just strolled in here! You could have been shot too! And button that shirt up, no one is allowed to see you like that but me!” Traci froze and let go of the trigger for the torch with a loud snap. Both Colton and the man stopped when they heard Jared’s roar and watched the scary scene unfold in front of them. It was scary when a woman got that quiet.
“What did you just say to me?” she said softly.
“You heard me. You can’t run around here all willy nilly ignoring safety, especially since you are gonna be the mother of my children. Damnit, once that ring is on your finger, then you will listen to me.” Jared stormed and Colton winced.
“A shit storm is coming,” Colton said and pulled the man from the floor.
“Hey, even I’m not so stupid that I would say something like that to a woman,” the man said to Jared in a heavy accent.
“Shut up, you,” Traci said pointing to the man who nodded. “Jared, since I don’t see a ring on this finger right now, I guess that doesn’t really matter. And for your information, I would not marry a man who was such an asshole. My husband is going to be kind and nice. As for wearing this stuff for you, from now on, when you see me, I’ll be covered from head to toe, so take a good look since you ain't never getting any of this again!” she yelled and threw the canister she held at Jared.
Jared narrowed his eyes and Traci, if she’d been smart, would have taken the opportunity to get the hell out of
the cabin. But she was frozen in her spot with anger flooding from every pore she had.
Who the hell did he think he was? She thought to herself and then wished Jade was here. She would back her up. But no, she was surrounded by all this testosterone. She saw Miles peek in the door and laugh at the situation.
Jared stormed into the bedroom, and for a moment, she thought he’d given up. She wanted to cry at the sudden feeling of loss. He was going to leave her. Well good riddance, she didn’t need a man who acted like he owned her, no matter how much she loved him and how sexy he was or how he made her feel safe and secure. Nope she was better off.
She looked up when Jared entered the room again and stalked to her. He grabbed her left hand, shoved a ring on her finger, and growled at her. “There, now we’re engaged.
My ring is on that finger and it’s not coming off. We are getting hitched so get used to it.
Also, I may be an asshole, but I’m an asshole who loves you. And you’ll be in my bed for the rest of your life. Deal with it!” he yelled and then turned to where his brothers and friend were both standing staring at him with their mouths open. The two men who had planned on killing them smirked and rolled their eyes. “Let's get these guys to the jail and figure out what they know.”
Colton and his brothers snapped out of it and pulled the men out of the room. He turned back to Traci who was looking down at her hand with tears in her eyes. He felt the anger leaving him in a rush, pulled her into his arms, and let her cry. The adrenaline had caught up and she was going to crash. He wanted her home and in his bed before she did.
“Sweetheart, let’s go home. I’ll send someone out here for all of this stuff later,” he said into her neck.
She pulled back and looked at him. “I’m sorry, I love you too. But just so you know, we are gonna work on that attitude of yours.”
Jared laughed and kissed her upturned face and said, “I said it first.” Traci smiled and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, and holding on to his neck. “Take me home, big boy.”
Chapter 13
Jared and Colton handled the interrogation. They put the men in separate rooms and then waited for a few hours to talk to them. Colton had been on the phone most of the time talking to Dom who was bitching about something Paige did. Apparently, they hadn’t had an easy time since she had been taken into protective custody. The only reason that she had come in the first place was because Dom told her she had no choice.
They needed to put together the pieces of the puzzle that were lying before them. Some things fell into place easily, but other things weren’t. No matter how hard Jared and Colton thought, they still couldn’t understand some of the things that had come to light in the last few hours.
Lance had finally arrived with all the reports and some things didn’t add up. Like, how Luca had found out certain information, and where Paige’s mother was. They hoped that these two could fill in a couple of the holes.
Jared was going to talk to the man named Helmut and Colton the other one who had yet to be identified. He had refused to speak at all, whereas Helmut had been arrogant and smug, and unable to stay quiet.
He opened the door and saw that Helmut had remained in the same place and position for the last two hours, barely moving a muscle. Most people would have gotten up and walked around, stretched, not this guy. He stared at the wall with a blank expression on his face.
“Are you ready to talk?” Jared asked and turned the chair he sat in around so he could straddle it.
Helmut blinked and looked at him in the eyes. “What do you want to know?”
“Details, plans, locations,” Jared said briefly and deliberately left it open. He wanted to determine how much the man knew.
Helmut laughed and said, “I know that Luca will not quit, he will come for you and kill you, your family, and your friends.”
Jared rolled his eyes. “Drama is not my forte.”
“How s this for drama? Luca may have hired me, but he s not the only one out there gunning for you and your buddies. We only found you because someone gave us the information. I happened to be the one that talked to the person who turned you over.
The girl’s mother did t disappear, she ran off with one of your own men. Now they re trying to find the girl too; you just put a large target on your back.”
“What I don’t get is, why now? Why are they trying to find the girl?” Jared asked curiously.
Helmut laughed and shook his head. “You really are this stupid? Don’t you know anything? Luca implanted a chip in her; it has his bank codes on it. When you took down his place in Germany, you seized what funds he had, right?” the man said and grinned at him. “Do you really think a man this powerful would not have a back up? He has been looking for her for years, the orders we received were to bring her in, dead or alive, he only wants the chip.”
Jared leaned back in his chair and wanted to jump up and leave to call his teammate right away. He needed to warn Dom, but the need to get the information was greater.
“What were the rest of your orders?”
“Hey, I am just in it for the paycheck. I will tell you for a deal. I am getting too old for this, Luca is one crazy mutherfucker, I have already said too much. He finds out, I am dead, but I am dead anyway, in either an American jail or him, I am dead. I prefer to have a little, shall we say, comfort,” Helmut said and folded his arms across his chest.
Jared narrowed his eyes and said, “You know I can’t make that kind of deal, but I can make a recommendation about your placement in the prison system. If you want a deal, you will have to talk to the Feds. I will tell you this though, if I find out that your orders included any of my family, you will wish that you had told me when I asked.” Helmut seemed to weigh his options and then said, “I will wait for the guys who can make a deal, to give you a little incentive though, my orders were very clear. I have a list somewhere safe. To get it, I want a deal.”
Epilogue
Traci walked in the front door of the ranch and smiled. She had been living here for only three days and it already felt like home. Once Jared made up his mind, she hadn’t really stood a chance. By the end of the first day after they returned to the ranch, her little house had been cleared out, all of her stuff brought here, and her house sublet to Colton, Dom, and Lance. Jared’s plans had obviously included more than capturing bad guys.
She sniffed and the grinned, Chili Rellenos, another of her favorites. Marguerite must have made them all dinner. She frowned when she saw that there were no lights on in the house. Traci and Jade had gone into the diner to make sure things were good and ready to reopen the following week. Of course, the threat had not passed, so they were opening with security guarding them. Jade and Traci had protested but to no avail.
Lance had driven them into town. She liked the three men that Jared shared a connection with, and she was happy that they’d decided to move their business to Denver.
Apparently, they’d talked about it before and the recent incidents had made up their minds and sped up their timetable. They would live in Johnstown and commute. But until this situation was cleared up, they were not going anywhere.
Luca had disappeared off the face of the earth when he found that Dom had gotten to Paige first. She liked the small female who was staying at the ranch for the time being.
She fit right in with Jade and herself; they were having fun driving the men crazy with their plans.
Something had happened on the way to Colorado between Paige and Dom, every time they were in the same room, sparks flew. Traci smiled to herself; maybe they would be having a triple wedding.
Traci looked around the corner in the living room and saw that it was empty and dark.
There was a soft glow coming from the dining room and so she walked toward it. She wondered where everyone was. Of course, Jade was with Zach at his home packing things up, and Lance had avoided coming into the house with her when they arrived, saying he had to make a phone call. Thank g
oodness the ranch could hold all of them, the place was big enough they wouldn’t be tripping over one another, and still, she wished that Jared and she had more private time.
Since returning, they had been busy, the only time they had together was at night, and they certainly weren’t doing any talking then. She smiled when she thought about last night; Jared had made her scream so loud that Miles had pounded on the wall yelling at them to be quiet.
She stepped into the dining room and wanted to cry. Jared was standing next to the candle lit table that was set for two. He was dressed in his best clothes, a pair of dark pants and a white shirt and tie. She was sure that this was the first time she had seen him look so handsome. Tears gathered in her eyes and she sniffed.
“What are you doing?” she said.
“I cleared everyone out for the night; they’re all at Zach’s until morning. You deserved to have a proper proposal. So this is my, ‘I’m a dumbass and should have asked you to marry me romantically’ apology.” He said and then held out his hand. “Come here, sweetheart, you’re going to get a proper courting.”
Traci laughed and went to the man she had loved her whole life and allowed him to pull her into his embrace. Things were definitely looking up.
The Next in the Series will be- Taming Dom- stay tuned!
