by B. J Daniels
“No.” He gave her a sad smile. “Don’t try to go it alone this time, okay?”
“I’m too tired tonight. But if you don’t trust me, please, nail the door shut. Or I suppose you could tie me to the bed.”
A smile curled his lips. “Hmm. You tied to the bed. If I wasn’t so tired...” He shook his head and sighed. “Just holler if you need me.”
She dropped onto the foot of the bed, realizing it was true. She was too tired to run, and what would be the point anyway? He knew who she was. The only way forward at this point was with his help. They would find Geneva. They would find out what was going on. They would put an end to it, and if she was lucky, she’d get out of this free and clear.
The thought seemed impossible at this moment. She would need to call the travel agency and get a few days off. As if that’s all it would take to find Geneva. She had no idea where the woman had gone.
Worse, it wasn’t just JJ and Thorn looking for her. And because of that, none of this made any sense. How could one twenty-two-year-old be in so much trouble?
She could hear the shower running in the adjacent room. She tried not to imagine Thorn naked, soapy and all those muscles rippling under the spray. To her surprise that image wasn’t what sent an ache to her center. It was his smile and the way his gray eyes lit for just a moment sometimes, hiding the pain inside. And the guilt he felt over the death of his wife. Or was there more to it?
JJ looked toward the bathroom door, wondering about her. With a start, she realized she hadn’t seen a photo of his wife in the cabin. That seemed strange now that she thought about it.
But Thorn was right about one thing. She’d never been in love. She’d never met a man who made her heart beat fast and hard. Until now, and under the circumstances, that made her want to put distance between them.
Only a fool couldn’t see that the last thing on this wounded cowboy’s mind was another woman. He was doing this because the judge had asked him to. Because he was the kind of man who finished what he started. And he needed her to help him find Geneva Davenport. That was his only motivation, finishing the job he’d started. Then he would head back to the mountains and his...life.
And JJ would go back to work, back to her...life.
Feeling as if she didn’t even have the energy to change into something to sleep in, she forced herself to reach for her duffel bag. She withdrew a large T-shirt and, quickly stripping down, pulled it on before climbing between the sheets.
The minute her head hit the pillow she fell into a dark, deep, dreamless sleep.
* * *
WHEN THORN CAME out of the bathroom, he half expected JJ to be gone. He hadn’t been looking forward to chasing her down again, but he’d known he would. To his relief, there she was, curled up in the bed sleeping soundly.
He stepped closer. Sleep had smoothed out the worry lines in her forehead. It had softened everything about her. Without her usual intensity, she looked...peaceful—and damned beautiful. He stood over her, watching her sleep, jealous that she could just drift off so quickly. His sleep had been haunted for so long... This was what the sleep of the innocent was like, he thought. The sleep of a person with a clear conscience. Or at least fairly clear.
Shaking his head, he yearned for that kind of rest, but knew he wouldn’t get it—especially on the cabin floor. He looked longingly at the side of the bed that lay empty, with her curled against the far side. Did he dare? It would be like crawling into bed with a sleeping mama lion and just hoping she didn’t wake up and claw his eyes out.
Still... He stepped around to the side of the bed and carefully pulled down the covers, watching for any change in JJ as he did. The bed groaned under his weight until he settled in, keeping what space he could between them in the double bed. Thankfully she had not awakened.
She’d brought his wife out of the shadows, and now Bethany’s ghost seemed to move restlessly through his thoughts. He’d banished her, exorcising her from his life, just so he could have a day without thinking of her. Now JJ had called her up from the grave. He realized he would have to deal with her. Maybe it was time that he buried her for good.
He must have fallen asleep, which surprised him, because when he woke he no longer felt the pull of exhaustion. He blinked and looked down to see that as wonderful as a good night’s sleep had been, he had a problem.
JJ was asleep on his bare shoulder. If he moved even a fraction of an inch... If he even breathed...
* * *
JJ SIGHED, A long sigh of pleasure, and then stretched. She was still caught up in the amazing dream she’d been having. It wasn’t until she lifted her head from the warm, smooth-skinned shoulder that she screamed.
The man leaped from the bed, holding up his hands. He was bare from the waist up, but wore jeans below that. “Nothing happened. I swear.”
She blinked, the scream slowly dying in her throat as she recognized him. “Thorn?” He’d shaved off his beard and cut his hair. She couldn’t have been more shocked by the transformation—or the fact that she’d awakened lying on his bare shoulder.
“I was so tired and you looked so comfortable in the bed,” he said, still holding up his hands. “I’d apologize for climbing into bed with you, but that’s the best night’s sleep I’ve had in years.” He stopped talking for a moment and frowned. “You’re staring.”
“It’s just that you look so...so different.” She shook her head. “You’re...gorgeous.”
He let out a nervous laugh. “Thanks, I think. I’m glad you didn’t add what you thought of me before.”
“What were you doing hiding behind all that hair?” She saw that she’d struck a nerve, and wished sometimes that she didn’t often say what she thought.
“We should get going,” he said as he started to turn away.
She wanted to curl back up on his shoulder and escape in sleep. Mostly she wanted to pick up that dream where she’d left off. She had just been getting to the good part.
But the moment was lost. She looked down to see that she still had her T-shirt on, and her panties. Nothing had happened, just as he’d said. But the remnants of her dream seemed to hover around her, a faceless lover’s tender touch still making her skin tingle.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
“I left you two clean towels,” he said, his voice a little too low and seductive for this early in the morning. Especially with him looking so damned good.
“You really are one of the good guys,” she joked as she felt his gaze on her.
“That’s what I keep telling you.”
JJ climbed out of bed, grabbed her duffel and headed for the bathroom. After a quick shower, she dressed in the spare pair of jeans and T-shirt she had in the bag, along with clean socks and her sneakers. She’d washed her long, thick hair, dried it with the towel the best she could, and now pulled it up in a ponytail. As she did, she couldn’t help but think about Thorn’s hands tangled in her hair, his fingers gently massaging her scalp.
She shook off the memory of waking on his warm, strong shoulder as she pushed out of the bathroom to find him standing in the open doorway, his back to her. He looked so different that it still startled her. He was dressed in jeans that hugged his slim hips and firm behind, and a Western shirt that spanned the expanse of his broad shoulders. She saw that he had a jean jacket slung over one shoulder.
“I didn’t realize that you had time to pack clean clothes,” she said.
“Miguel lent me a few things,” he said, turning to look back at her.
When he shifted in the doorway, she saw his high cheekbones and strong jaw in the morning sunlight. For a moment, it took her breath away because she knew that this man was her faceless lover from her dream.
His gaze settled on her, and he seemed to do a double take. “Wow,” he said, and started to say something more. But whatever it was going to be, it was cut off as his ce
ll phone rang. He quickly turned away to take the call.
* * *
WT HAD SPENT the night in Franklin’s guest room, but he hadn’t slept well—and not just because of the news. Geneva Davenport was in the wind. And now both women were in danger.
“I’m sorry I got you into this,” he said when Thorn answered his call now. “I had my reservations about the kidnapping. I should have listened to my instincts. I think it’s time to call the authorities and let them handle it.”
“No. JJ doesn’t believe Geneva is behind this.”
“JJ?” He heard something in the younger man’s tone. A tenderness that surprised him. It had been heartbreak that had sent Thorn into the mountains to live in a cabin in the woods, to never love a woman again. WT could understand the sentiment only too well. Had something changed?
“I have to finish this. I’m going to. If you call in the authorities now—”
“It is much more dangerous than when I asked you to go into the mountains to look for the plane,” WT said. “I can’t ask you to continue.”
“You’re not. I’m doing this, but I’ll need your help. I need to know if Geneva got on any other flights on Friday or if she and her boyfriend, Zac Judson, are still in the area. Also, there’s some property on the lake. I need to know who owns it. And who is doing the construction on the property.” He gave him what information he had on the place where JJ had been taken.
“And you aren’t going to tell me what this is about?”
“JJ was abducted a second time from Geneva’s house. She doesn’t believe it was the kidnappers. Instead, it appears that Geneva owes someone a lot of money and hasn’t paid. The people involved want Geneva and are still looking for her. Apparently, they intended to trade JJ for her. So right now, there are people looking for both of them.”
The judge swore silently. It was much worse than he’d thought. He’d questioned his judgment involving Thorn in this. The man had been so broken for so long after his wife’s death. What if this was more than he could handle? “I thought I was only involving you in a simple rescue mission.” It had sounded so straightforward, and Thorn had been so close by. He’d known the man could find the downed plane and get the woman out if she was alive. He’d just never expected that the woman wasn’t Geneva Davenport. Or that things would get even more complicated, drawing Thorn in even deeper.
Thorn continued as if WT hadn’t spoken. “Also, I need the addresses and anything you have on the two dead kidnappers.” He’d given him the names Wes Brennan and Kyle Spencer. “I need to find the one that got away. Baker is all I know. It would help if I could get into their phones, but they are both password protected.”
“Thorn—”
“You asked me to find Geneva. That’s what I’m doing. Has there been any word on the plane?”
WT sighed. He knew this man, knew how tenacious he was. Wasn’t that why he’d called him? He wanted the best person he could think of to find his friend’s granddaughter. Sighing, he said, “It’s been found. I would imagine the FAA is investigating since the plane was reported stolen from an airfield near Kalispell Friday night.”
“Who owned the plane?”
“A corporation that owned a corporation and so on. I’m trying to sort it out and so is the news media. When I have some names, I’ll let you know. In the meantime—”
“Just don’t do anything stupid,” Thorn said. “Like going to the authorities.” The line went dead.
Thorn wasn’t going to turn back. He wouldn’t stop now even if ordered to. WT knew all he could do was help Thorn any way he could. He’d make a few calls. He’d get the information Thorn needed and hope it would be enough to keep him and the woman he called JJ safe.
But now he was worried about what Franklin would want to do. He might change his mind and insist on going to the authorities. Or he might refuse to go through with the ransom drop when the kidnappers called back. But until they knew for certain that the kidnappers didn’t have the real Geneva...
And if Geneva was behind this, from what he’d learned about her? WT sighed, not sure who they could trust. He thought about the man’s chief financial officer. He’d hardly noticed the man. Since Helen had walked in, he’d only had eyes for her.
But this morning with only Franklin and Curtis in the dining room, he considered the man. The CFO was much younger than WT would have thought, midforties at most. Blond, blue-eyed and attractive, he wore an expensive tailor-made suit, and chunky gold cuff links winked at his wrists as he shot his sleeves and sat down. The man seemed capable, and Franklin clearly trusted him. The same with Helen. Mostly WT tried to put his finger on what it was about all of this that bothered him.
With Helen in the mix, he knew he had to be careful. Thoughts of her and the past were not what he needed right now. He had a lot of lives at risk. He had to be at his sharpest and not let any personal feelings interfere.
Last night Franklin had talked them all into staying over. When WT had gone to bed in one of the many guest rooms, he’d left the rest of them in Franklin’s den figuring out the best way to get the ransom money together and discussing how to handle things with the media when it was over.
WT still hadn’t had a chance to talk to Helen, which was probably for the best. Seeing her had thrown him for a loop. He wasn’t sure what he might have said if they’d gotten a few minutes alone. This kidnapping was enough of a mess. He had to keep his head on straight. He couldn’t let his personal complications get in the way, or he’d get Thorn killed as well as the women the man was desperately trying to save.
But he didn’t kid himself. He and Helen had more than a past. They had a lot of unfinished business between them. He told himself it had nothing to do with Geneva Davenport’s alleged kidnapping, though, so it could wait until a better time.
He reminded himself that while he’d been shocked to see her, she hadn’t been the least surprised to see him. Clearly, Franklin hadn’t known about their past connection. Nor had Franklin told her who would be at the house.
Which meant that Helen had known if Franklin were in trouble, WT would be the first person he would call.
* * *
LOOKING AT JJ, Thorn knew he was treading on thin ice and not just with the judge. So much was up in the air. He had no idea what the kidnapper knew or didn’t. The judge thought he was in over his head. Maybe he was.
Could he handle this? There were moments when he wasn’t so sure himself. Because handling it meant handling JJ. He’d never met anyone like her, and let’s face it, he hadn’t given another women a thought since his wife died. So not for a very long time. Not that he had ever understood the workings of a woman’s mind. Did anyone, with a woman like JJ?
She continued to surprise him, he thought now as he was taken aback by how beautiful she looked in the Montana summer morning. Nor could he believe how quickly she’d showered and dressed this morning after the past couple of days she’d had. If he’d found the real Geneva Davenport, he suspected she would have still been in the bathroom getting ready. She would have been a lot more high maintenance, but by now she would have been her grandfather’s problem and not his anymore, he reminded himself.
JJ was going to help him find Geneva and it would be all over, he assured himself. What worried him was just the sight of her this morning had struck him at a primal level. Dressed in jeans and a red T-shirt that fit her lush body, her curves were undeniable. Her blond hair was pulled up in a ponytail. Her face, free of makeup, glowed, adding even more sparkle to her blue eyes. The woman looked young and full of life and sexy as hell.
Don’t get her killed.
She’d stopped just a few feet into the main room, and was now looking at him lounging in the cabin doorway. “Something wrong?”
Just the pang of guilt he’d felt moments before, after his phone call. He had his own reasons for wanting to find Geneva, and it wasn’t just to
make sure she was safe. He hadn’t completed his mission, and he was bound and determined to do what Judge Landusky had asked him to do. JJ hadn’t signed up for any of this, and now he was dragging her along and into even more danger.
“I need to be honest with you,” he said as he stepped toward her.
“Now you’re going to be honest?” she joked.
“This will get dangerous.”
JJ laughed. “Do I have to remind you that I was drugged, abducted and almost killed in a plane crash and abducted again and thrown down into a root cellar?”
“I’m serious. I need your help but—”
“I need to find Geneva Davenport as much as you do. If you’re right and she set me up, then I need her to turn herself in and end all of this. If I’m right, then she’s in danger and might not even realize it.”
“You’re not listening to me. I can clear you. I’ll find her. You’d have to hide out for a few days, but you can walk away right now, if you want to,” he said.
She chuckled. “That’s big of you, but I’ve always been able to walk away.”
He had to smile at that, thinking it was probably true. “Or take my truck when the mood hits you. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
JJ smiled. “I believe what you’re trying to say is that I have a choice here. News flash, I always did. I could have done a lot of things differently. But now this is where I am, and I need to see this through.”
Thorn studied her for a moment longer, thinking they were a lot alike and not just because they were both stubborn. She had one hand on her hip, her stance full of attitude. He loved that about her. He hadn’t meant “loved.” Love was a word he’d never planned to use again when it came to any woman.
“Okay,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I thought we would check the airport first.” He hadn’t heard back from the judge. “What would Geneva have been driving?”
“Her bright red sports car.”
