Triple H Ranch [Slick Rock 13] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
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She drew in another deep breath before sinking back under the water. Her first thought was to make for the river’s entrance, but she was scared her uncle would be waiting for her. Swimming across to the other side of the lake would take her forever, but she had no other choice. Not if she wanted to live. And she did, more than ever.
The only consolation she could see when she came up for more air was that the sun was nearly set and it was getting darker by the minute. She hoped and prayed that Uncle Max didn’t decide to steal a boat to search for her. If he did, she knew she wouldn’t survive the night.
She alternated between swimming under water, floating and swimming on the surface. It was hard to ignore the pain in her arm, but she couldn’t stop. She was exhausted and cold to her bones but she couldn’t give up or give in to the lethargy assailing her burning limbs. Thankfully, the cold helped alleviate the pain in her arm enough to push it to the back of her mind. She had no idea how badly she’d been hurt but there was no way she stopping to assess her injury. There wasn’t time.
Cat had no idea how long it took her to swim from one side to the other, but she hadn’t swum in a straight line across Lake Coeur d’Alene. That would have made it too easy for him to find her. She kept her ears alerted for the sound of a motor boat, but thankfully, that sound never came.
It took her hours before she felt safe enough to leave the cold lake and crawl up onto the shore. A quick glance at her waterproof watch showed her it was nearing midnight. She shivered as she lay on the muddy bank, the cool wind feeling as if it was piercing her skin as it breezed through her sodden clothes, but she knew she could stay here forever. Her uncle wouldn’t give up looking for her until he found her.
She had a feeling she wasn’t safe no matter where she was or who was protecting her and even while she was grieving, she’d made provisions for such a situation. Every morning after her shower, she stuffed money into the pockets of her jeans as well as her license just in case she’d had to take off. She’d thought she was being paranoid but now she knew she’d been smart. The money would dry out just like her clothes would, and she would be able to leave town when she found the train station or the bus depot.
When she had enough energy to get to her feet, she did so and shoved her wet hair off her face and began to walk. Her arm was throbbing, but she pushed the pain to the back of her mind. She glanced down and saw that blood was seeping onto the sleeve of her shirt, but she didn’t have time to stop and tend the wound. By the time she reached a main road on foot, her feet were sore with blisters from her soggy shoes rubbing against her skin, but she didn’t have the luxury of stopping. The moment she saw the vacant taxi she nearly cried with relief and hailed it as she stepped out farther onto the road so the driver would see her.
He stopped, and she climbed in the back before telling him to take her to the train station. The cost of the ticket would be dearer than a bus, but a bus station would be one of the first places Max looked for her if he wasn’t still searching for her on the lake. She ignored the curious looks the taxi driver gave her in the rearview mirror and tried to slow her breathing and racing heart.
It didn’t take long before the taxi was stopping, and although she couldn’t really afford to squander money, she gave him a generous tip since the cash was all wet and jumped out before he could complain.
Cat ignored the stares as she walked into the nearly deserted station and bought a one-way ticket to Denver. The train slid into the platform fifteen minutes later. She almost ran through the open doors after having her ticket checked and curled up into corner of a seat, leaning her head against the cold window. Although she was still cold and shivering, at least she was out of the biting wind.
When she felt something warm trickle down her arm, she stood and headed toward the onboard restroom, grateful that the longer traveling trains had amenities for its passengers. It hurt to get her arm out of the sleeve, and she gasped when she saw there was a deep gouge in her left upper arm. She didn’t have any antiseptic, so the only thing she could do was tear a strip of cotton from the bottom of her shirt, wet it under the sink, and wash the gash. It hurt so badly she had to bite her tongue so she wouldn’t cry out, but she didn’t stop until it was clean. She tore the wet end of the material off and then wrapped the rest of it around her arm in a makeshift bandage. Glancing in the mirror over the sink was a mistake. Her hair hung in clumps of rattails, her face was pale and drawn, and there were dark smudges beneath her red-rimmed eyes. There was mud all over the side of her face and on her clothes. With a sigh of helplessness, she turned away from her appearance. No wonder people had been staring at her. She looked like something the cat had dragged in out of the trash. After trying to finger comb her hair into some semblance of order and washing as much of the mud she could from her face, she headed back to her seat.
She didn’t relax until the train departed and with a sigh of exhaustion closed her eyes and slept in sporadic increments. She couldn’t let herself sleep too deeply because the nightmares would return, and the last thing she wanted was for someone to call the cops and have them waiting for her when she stepped off the train. Even the police couldn’t keep her safe and she didn’t want another innocent person to lose their life like the deputy had. She blinked back the tears burning in her eyes and clenched her jaw with determined resolve. She would find a cash-paying job and hide until her uncle had been caught by the police. The sheriff wouldn’t give up since one of his own had been killed.
When she got to Denver, she hopped onto the first bus and prayed she would find somewhere safe where she could hide.
It took just over fifteen hours to get to Denver and she immediately bought a bus ticket on the next bus out of the city, not really caring where she ended up, just as long as she was as far from Idaho as possible.
Just over twenty-four hours later, Catalina saw the sign telling her they had arrived in Slick Rock, Colorado. Once the bus stopped, she disembarked, and after several shocked glances from the people walking along the street, she looked for a clothes shop and hurried inside to buy a change of clothes.
The lady in the shop was courteous, but Cat knew she was wary of her and she didn’t blame her. She probably stunk and looked like she’d been living on the street, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
She pulled two pairs of jeans from a sales rack, grabbed a couple of T-shirts, a light sweater, and then moved to the lingerie section. After selecting a couple of pairs of plain cotton panties and utilitarian bras, she headed for the changing room.
When she emerged, she had her soiled dirty clothes draped over one arm and the other new clothes over the other as well as the tickets from the new clothes she’d just changed into.
She paid for her purchases and asked for a spare plastic bag for her dirty clothes, which the sales attendant reluctantly handed over with a wrinkle of her nose. The moment Catalina left the store she glanced back through the window to see the woman picking up the phone.
“What to do? What to do? What to do?” she chanted under her breath as she walked down the street. Her stomach was so empty she felt sick and the throbbing in her upper left arm was relentless, but she wasn’t sure it would be prudent to find a restaurant or diner to eat. Being a stranger in a small town would only draw more attention to her and that was the last thing she wanted, but she had nowhere else to go. She was about to head back to the bus stop, but when she spied a sheriff’s vehicle coming toward her in the distance, her heart began to race again.
Cat ducked into an alley and jogged the length of it before glancing about frantically for somewhere to hide. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust the law, but she was full of guilt. The deputy who had been assigned to protect her was now dead, and it was all her fault. After making sure no one was about, she raced across the parking lot behind the shops and headed for the tree line.
Once she was in the shade of the trees, she felt a little better, but she kept right on running. Sweat formed on her brow, face
She ran until her lungs burned and although she wanted to stop and rest she didn’t, but she slowed down to a fast walk. The trees waivered in her peripheral vision, but she put the light-headedness down to lack of food and sleep. She was so hot from running she wanted to strip out of her clothes and feel the cooling breeze wafting through the trees on her bare skin.
A giggle escaped her mouth, and although she tried to stifle the laughter bubbling up in her chest, she just couldn’t seem to help herself.
She reached out toward a tree trunk when she staggered but missed and almost fell to her knees. She did a little hop and skip, which had her steady again. Cat had no idea where she was, but she wasn’t upset about that fact.
“So tired,” she muttered as she swiped the sweat from her brow. The temptation to lie down and sleep was almost a compulsion she found hard to ignore, but she pushed on. One step after the other. Her whole body was one big ache, but she kept pushing herself on. The pain in her feet was excruciating, and her arm was burning and throbbing right along with her heartbeat.
The shining sun felt as if it was burning her skin, but she shivered in spite of the heat. When she looked up at the bright blue sky, she noticed she was no longer in the shade of the trees.
“How far now?” she asked herself and giggled when she shrugged.
Cat felt drunk and didn’t realize she’d closed her eyes until she walked into something hard, her breath leaving her lungs in a whoosh, and she fell back on her ass. Blinking her eyes didn’t dispel the haze from her vision, and with a tired sigh, she rolled over and closed her eyelids, no longer able to keep her them open or stay awake.
Chapter One
Max was frantic. He couldn’t believe he’d lost that bitch on the lake. He’d run up and down the banks, from one private jetty to another, searching for a boat he could steal to seek her out and kill her, but he had no knowledge of boats and none of the owners had been stupid enough to leave their keys on board. He had no idea how to hot-wire a car, let alone a boat, He’d searched all through the night and all the next day, but he hadn’t spotted her. The only way she could have gotten away was if she’d had help. Had some fucking do-gooder seen her and given her a lift?
His life had gone to hell over six months ago, and when he’d heard his dumb fuck of a brother telling his stupid wife that a hundred grand would be left to him if the asshole had died, he’d been livid. After what the prick had won on the lottery a hundred grand was chump change. Luckily for him, he hadn’t played his hand too early and let his temper get the better of him. He’d been hiding beneath the open study window in the shrubs next to the house, and his patience had paid off. He’d heard his fucktard brother instructing his lawyer to make amendments to his and his wife’s will. In the event of their sickeningly sweet daughter’s demise he, Max, would be left with everything.
It had taken a couple of months to watch and plan, but every time he visited his disgusting brother, wife, and niece, he’d played the role of loving brother, brother-in-law, and uncle. None of them had been any wiser, but it had all gone to shit.
His stupid fucking niece had come home unplanned and caught him after he’d killed her parents, and before he could take her out, she’d run. Thankfully, he’d had contacts, and he’d been given a heads-up that she had been put into protective custody.
Another three months had passed while he’d watched and waited, hiding out from the assholes hell-bent on taking him down because of the money he owed them. As well as staying hidden from the cops. His business had gone to pot with the economic crash, and he’d been left with large tracts of land mostly barren, but some of them had half-finished houses on them. He hadn’t been able to pay the construction workers or the taxes or fees for building permits. The only choice he’d had was to run and hide.
Luckily for him, he’d already been brownnosing his brother, hoping to wrangle some money out of him to dig him out of a couple of holes, but those holes had ended up deeper and deeper, and then he was in so deep he hadn’t been able to see a way out.
However, when he’d caught his asshole brother talking about leaving him some money when he passed on, Max had had an epiphany. The only thing, or should he say people stopping him from having it all had been his sibling, sibling’s wife, and niece. But that hadn’t worked out either. His cunt of a niece had turned up at home out of the blue, and after he’d tried to get at her while she was in protective custody, he was a wanted man.
He could literally feel the arm of the law breathing down the back of his neck and though his instincts were to run as far from the US as he could, he had no way to do that. He was flat broke with no way to get his hands on any cash. His bank accounts and credit cards had been frozen, and he had more than the law after him.
Max had had to take to the streets, hiding in storm water drains and parks, but he’d had to sleep with one eye open all the time with the various thugs and the cops after him. He didn’t know if it had been fate, but after deciding to take to the land and hiding in the forest, he’d come upon an abandoned cabin. The cabin had been a godsend and given him time to think and plan. He’d made friends while he’d been building his business, until it had all come crashing down, and while most of them had deserted him, he still kept in contact with Kelly. She’d been his contact in the police force and after the things she’d done, selling out secrets for money, he’d had no qualms about blackmailing her.
Kelly had shared his bed often, and since she liked to hit the bottle more often than not, she had a loose tongue, especially after he’d fucked her into oblivion. The second time she’d begun bragging, he’d used his phone to record her and he’d made copies of those recordings onto a USB stick, luckily for him since he’d had to ditch his phone and use burners any time he needed to contact her.
Kelly was an assistant to the Coeur d’Alene sheriff and he’d used what he had on her to hold over her head. Max had taken out the deputy guarding his bitch of a niece without any hesitation and he’d been searching for the cunt, but she must have heard or seen him because she’d run.
Now he had nowhere to look for her and no money to hire a private detective, but maybe it was time to get hold of another phone and contact Kelly again. There was no way she would refuse him, not unless she wanted to end up in jail, and if he played his cards right, he might even be able to use her to lure his fucking niece out into the open.
He rubbed his hands together and watched the people moving about their business as the sun began to set. When he saw a lone older woman walking toward the deserted park with a cell phone stuck to her ear, he marked her and waited.
He would be talking to Kelly again real soon.
* * * *
Hank sighed as he straightened from fixing the fence and wiped the sweat from his brow. He loved working the ranch where he and his brothers had grown up and come back to after serving as SEALs for their country, but it was also a lonely life.
Even though it had been a bad situation when Sabrina and the Wendall brothers had stayed when their woman was in danger, he realized what he and his brothers were missing since they didn’t have a woman on their own.
Sabrina’s presence had brightened their home with love and laughter, even if that love hadn’t been directed at him and his brothers, Barry and David. Time was marching on, and although he was happy for his friends for having a woman to love, he was also envious. He was turning thirty-five years old in just over a week, and while he’d had short relationships over the years, none of the women had been right. He and his brothers had never found a woman all three of them could love. In fact, even though they’d tried upon occasion to talk a willing woman into a ménage, it had never happened.
Sometimes he wondered if he and his younger brothers would ever have that chance. The chance to love a woman and create a family. A small niche of paradise where they worked the land and came home to a loving woman each and every night.
Hank shook his head at himself and pushed his thoughts aside. He’d never been so introspective before but seeing the love between Sabrina and the Wendalls had gotten to him.
He gathered up his supplies, tossed them into the back of the truck, and got into the driver’s seat. He had another fence to fix, and then he could turn toward home for some rest and relaxation. It was warm for fall, but he knew the sunshine wouldn’t last forever. Before he knew it, there would be snow on the ground and they would be bringing the herd closer to home so they could keep an eye on them. Luckily, the shelters were in good condition and didn’t need any repairs because he had a feeling it was going to be a long cold winter.
He pulled up at the far reaches of the northern pasture, got out of the truck, and grabbed the roll of wire, gloves, and pliers. Luckily, there was only one strand that needed to be replaced and was only around fifty yards in length. He worked quickly and methodically, and after making sure the last bit of wire was taut, he twisted the end and threaded it through the metal loop before twisting again. There was no way that wire was giving away again unless it was cut.
Once more, he gathered his tools and tossed them into the back of the truck. He was about to walk to the driver’s side but paused when he heard what sounded like a moan. Hank pushed his Stetson farther back on his head and looked for where the sound had come from as he walked around toward the front of the truck.
His breath caught in his throat, his heart stuttered and then thundered in his chest when he saw what looked like a person lying on the ground on the other side of the wire fence right next to a fence post. How he’d missed them as he’d moved along the fence to fix it, he had no idea.
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