by Chloe Lang
Jackson shook his head. “I thought cheating was when you won by breaking the rules.”
Jackson and Pappy Jack had always been really close. Denver knew the old man liked having Jackson come every day even if he grumbled about it. There wasn’t anyone like their granddad. He was one of a kind, and they’d almost lost him to the explosion. Sabotage in Wilde, Nevada? Denver would’ve never believed it, but it was true. “You need anything, Pappy Jack?” he asked.
“A bottle or two. You could sneak one in here, son.”
“You’re a devil,” Jessie laughed. “You need to get well and back on your feet so you can leave. Drinking now would only delay that.”
The old man snorted then looked back and forth from Denver to Jackson. “Boys, you don’t have a chance with this one.”
Jackson smiled. “That’s for sure, Pappy Jack.”
“Yep.” Denver squeezed Jessie’s hand. “No doubt at all.”
“Boys, do you mind if I have five minutes alone with Ms. Greene?”
Denver didn’t like the idea at all. He’d spent every waking and sleeping moment within inches of her. She needed his protection, and damn it, he needed to be the one protecting her.
“Son, don’t worry.” His grandfather’s voice was softer than he’d ever heard it. “Just step outside the door for a minute. No one comes in or out, understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Denver thought about asking what he was planning on talking about with her in private but then thought better of it. He didn’t need to know, and he trusted the old man as much as his dads. What Denver did know was that though Pappy Jack’s room was on the second floor of the hospital. He’d already surmised that the potential for someone to climb up and get through the window did exist. That kept him from moving into the hospital hallway.
“Denver, I’ll be fine. Promise.”
“Son, I saw you looking at the window. If by some slim chance an asshole tries to break into my room, he reached under his pillow and pulled out a .45 pistol. “I’ve got Dependable Smoke Pole.”
Jessie’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got a gun in the hospital?”
Pappy Jack laughed. “Figured that out all on your own did you, city girl?”
The look in her eyes showed shock. “How did you get that in here?”
“I’d rather not say.” But his eyes jumped to Jackson, then back to Jessie.
She whirled on Denver’s youngest brother. “You brought him that?”
Jackson looked as guilty as a kid with his hand in the cookie jar. “You need to understand something before you pass judgment, darlin’.”
“Enlighten me.”
Jackson opened his mouth as if to speak but then shut it. Denver loved Jessie’s power over his brother.
“What are you grinning about, Denver?” she asked. “You think this is funny? I bet you would’ve brought Pappy Jack a weapon, too. All of you Wilde brothers are a mystery to me. What in hell does he need a gun for here?”
“I’m smiling because my grandfather looks good. And you need to be careful with your tone, sugar.”
“Oh.” She looked down, repentant. Her head popped back up, and she cocked up one eyebrow. “Well, would you have delivered a gun to Pappy Jack or not?”
“You’re way too much, Jessie. Maybe. I don’t know.”
“That’s BS. You know, but you’re just not telling me.”
“No. Not true. My mind is busy at the moment.”
“On what?”
“Nothing to trouble that pretty little head of yours with. Just business stuff. Keep pushing me and you might get yourself into trouble. Understand?”
Jessie glared at him with a sweet defiance that called to him to tear down. Before he could whisk her away to a nearby supply closet to begin, she turned to Jackson. “So, cowboy, fill me in on why you brought a gun to your grandfather while he’s recovering from the Old Mine’s explosion.”
As Jackson began his tale of Pappy Jack’s gun delivery, Denver rubbed his chin, contemplating his reactions to Jessie. Had he actually been grinning? Damn, he needed to stay guarded or Jessie could, and probably would, top him from the bottom. They weren’t in play here, so she could call him by his name or anything else she wanted. Still, if he and his brothers were able to clear Austin from being a conspirator for the cut brake line and Old Mine explosion, she needed to be more subdued in public. Austin was twenty-four-seven. Denver decided that he would run Jessie through a twenty-four-hour exercise and see how she took to it.
He watched her turn her gaze to Pappy Jack. “All that true that Jackson said?”
“Every word,” his grandfather answered. “Every word.”
“You can’t sleep without a gun under your pillow?”
Jackson gathered up the cards on the bed. “Neither can I, darlin’.”
She turned to Denver. He shrugged. “Guilty.”
“There’s a gun under your pillow?”
“Yes, sugar. There is. This isn’t New York or DC. This is rural Nevada.”
“Amen, son.” Pappy Jack nodded. “We protect what is ours by any means.”
She asked, “Don’t you mean deadly means?”
His grandfather answered, “If necessary, Jessie. Yes, we do.”
“And what is in this hospital room to protect, Pappy Jack? The bed? The IV? I thought you didn’t give a damn about this place. If someone wants to ransack it or steal from it, why not let them?”
The old man opened his mouth then shut it tight. Denver had never seen his grandfather be stumped with a comeback. Then Pappy Jack howled with laughter.
Jackson roared and pounded the rolling table. Jessie’s former irritation about seeing the gun clearly evaporated, and she cracked up. Denver couldn’t help but bust out himself. It felt so good to laugh. For a moment, all was right with in the world.
A nurse ran in. They all stopped laughing. Denver watched his grandfather deftly put the gun back under his pillow before the woman spotted it.
The nurse frowned. “You need to keep it down in here.”
Pappy Jack nodded, and then they all died laughing.
“Well, I never.” She turned on her heels and left the room.
The old man whooped and snorted. When he got his breath back, Denver’s granddad said, “Now, they’ll finally let me go home, I bet.”
“I bet you’re right, Pappy Jack.” Jessie smiled. She looked so beautiful.
Denver knew this was a moment he’d relive and tell his children about, along with the night he’d sung to their mother at his house for the first time. He wanted many more moments with Jessie. The brief amusement dried up inside him at the thought of the unknown killer stalking her. It was time, by whatever means necessary, to smoke him out of his hole, whoever he was.
* * * *
The pictures were attached to the email. The person at the laptop clicked on “Send,” and the message was delivered to the two intended recipients.
“Now, Jessica Greene, let’s see you wiggle out of this.”
The message read:
I think you’ll find the photos of Ms. Greene very enlightening. She’s been very busy in Wilde, Nevada, but not for the reasons you think. I would suggest you do something about the mess she’s creating here. We are a small community, and this kind of behavior won’t go unnoticed.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Citizen
Chapter Five
Denver looked at Jessie in his tub. He’d lit candles, put the bath salts, soaps, shampoos, and oils he’d purchased for her today within easy reach, and then set up some music to play from his iPod dock. The tunes were soft jazz, which he’d learned she loved. So did he. The first selection began to play. Light vocals, a sax, snare drum, and piano softly vibrated the air.
He leaned down and kissed her. Her lips trembled slightly against his.
“You got everything you need, sugar?”
“Yes. Thank you, Denver.”
“My pleasure.”
“When are we going back to th
e club?”
He wasn’t sure. Had he been foolish to take her there? What if the killer had been there? He could easily surmise that she was staying with him. “I’m not sure. Soon, though.”
“I think I could let others watch now.”
“I think you could, too.”
“I just needed my first time there to be with you guys.”
“I know. You did great. Now, relax. I’ll be back to check on you.” Thankfully, his bathroom had no windows and only one door. No one could get to her without passing him.
“Yes, Sir.” She giggled, and he sensed his forever in that sweet little sound.
“Good girl.”
When Denver exited the bath, he closed the door behind him. He didn’t want her to hear the conversation he was about to have.
He sat in the big leather chair that gave him a clear view to the bathroom’s door. He opened up his laptop and logged into Skype. He clicked on Phoenix’s icon first.
The image of Phoenix popped on the screen. “Hey. We all here?”
“Nope. You’re first.” Denver clicked on Jackson’s icon next. The ringing sound went on and on. “Where the hell is he? I told you guys nine-thirty for this video conference, didn’t I?”
Phoenix answered, “Yes, you did.”
“Fuck.” He clicked Jackson’s icon again, and the ringing stopped. “Hopefully, Dallas is around.”
Dallas answered immediately. “Jessie’s out of earshot?”
“Taking a bath.”
“I think this is smart to talk this way, bro. Good idea. If we all came over there with our intel, she’d want to know everything. Sub or not, she’s not a pushover about these kind of things.”
“True, bro.” Phoenix nodded.
Denver agreed. A ringing sound and Jackson’s icon popped up on the upper left part of his screen. He clicked it. “About time, lil’ bro.”
“Sorry, guys. I’m at the mansion. Brought Pappy Jack here instead of his place at mom’s insistence. Granddad didn’t like that, but couldn’t figure out how to persuade mom otherwise.”
“So? That fucking doesn’t fly, Jackson. The woman you love is in trouble, and you’re making excuses for being late. You should’ve been here like the rest of us.” Denver’s aggravation grew. He loved his youngest brother, but sometimes his carefree ways pissed him off. “There’s Internet service at the mansion.”
“Hey, I’m here. And, yes, there’s service here, but that storm jacked up the parents’ wireless router the other night. It took me longer than I thought it would to get it reset and up and running again.”
Denver felt bad that he’d jumped down Jackson’s throat. “Sorry. I’m on edge knowing someone is still out there who wants to harm Jessie.”
“It’s okay, bro. Me, too.” Jackson’s face darkened. “We all want to find out who’s responsible for the explosion and the brake lines.”
“So, what have you found out?” Denver asked.
Dallas spoke first. “Rich, the teenager who broke his leg in the Old Mine, works as a mechanic at the gas station. It’s only a block from Jessie’s hotel, so he’d have time and the know-how.”
Jackson shook his head. “Circumstantial. What would be his motive to do it? I’d think the kid would want to let Jessie do her job just in case she could uncover some infraction by the mine. That way he’d get out of hot water for climbing over the fence onto clearly marked private property.”
Dallas shrugged. “I know. Just trying to fill out the list of possible suspects.”
“Keep digging.” Denver looked at the door of the bathroom. “What have we learned about the explosion?”
Phoenix frowned. “I’m checking the inventories of explosives at the mine, but so far nothing. I think your house is the safest place to keep her for now with its basement and surveillance cameras.”
“Oh yeah. Besides, I’ve checked. No sign anyone has been within a mile of my place but me and Jessie.”
“Bro, you didn’t leave her alone?” Jackson asked. “That wouldn’t be safe.”
“Chill, lil’ bro. I took her around the entire perimeter of the house on a ruse of showing her my property. What I was actually doing was looking for planted dynamite.”
“She bought it?” Dallas asked.
“Yes.”
“You’re a better liar than me.”
Phoenix snorted. “Everyone’s a better liar than you.”
Denver continued, “There’s a problem. Jessie does have a job here. I’ve been able to keep her away from the mine for a few days, but she’s made it clear tonight that she plans on getting back to work on her investigation in the morning. Without going completely Dom on her, she’s going back.”
“Shit.” Dallas’s eyes narrowed.
“My sentiments exactly.”
“Well, I can meet you both at the mine,” Phoenix offered. “I think she needs at least two of us with her in public from now on.”
“Agreed. I know we thought taking her to the club might give us a lead on who might be after her, but I’m not willing to take her back there until we have the killer.”
“Yep. You’re right, bro.” Jackson’s head turned. “Hold on. Mom’s knocking on the door.” His picture disappeared.
Denver heard his mother’s voice. “Jackson, dinner will be ready in thirty minutes.”
“I’m not hungry,” his little brother answered. “Thanks though.”
“You staying here tonight?” she asked.
“No. I’m finishing up some work, and then I’ll head home.”
“Suit yourself. I’ll fix a plate for you to take with you for later.”
“Okay, Mom. Thanks.”
Jackson’s video popped back up. “I think Mom knows we’re up to something. That’s the fifth time she’s come up.”
“She would be fine with everything we’re doing, less one.” Denver hated to ask, but he had to. “What did you find out about Austin?”
Jackson’s face darkened. “He has been meeting with Malcolm, in fact, several times. He’s also moved a big chunk of the club’s money to a new account in Las Vegas.”
“Vegas? That doesn’t make sense.” Denver’s gut tightened.
“Neither does that memo with his signature,” Dallas pointed out.
“I have a possible answer for that mystery, boys.” Jessie’s tone was sharp.
Denver jerked his head around. He’d gotten so focused on what his brothers were telling him that he hadn’t heard her leave the bathroom and come down the hall. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel and her body was covered in his robe that was way too long for her and touched the floor.
Well, too late to try to fool her now. “Come.” He motioned her forward and shifted the laptop so she could see the images of his brothers.
Jessie moved next to the chair. “So, you guys were going to hold out on me. Nice.” She was pissed, and he couldn’t really blame her.
“Darlin’, we don’t want you to get too deep into this. There’s a killer on the loose who is gunning for you. Leave this to us.”
“You said you had an answer about the memo, sugar.” Denver fixed her with his best Dom stare, daring her to refuse to answer.
She folded her arms over her chest. “Now you want my help? That requires a two-way street, guys.”
There was a long pause, and then Dallas spoke. “I think she deserves to know.”
“Me, too,” Phoenix concurred.
“Okay.” Jackson nodded.
Denver didn’t like where this was going, but he couldn’t figure a way out of this mess. “We tell her only if she agrees not to do anything stupid.”
“Done,” she answered.
“And if she promises to let us take the lead on this.”
“I promise.”
“And she won’t fight us when we say something needs to be done to make sure she’s safe.”
“Like what, Denver?”
“Like telling you to stay away from the mine.”
She sat on the
arm of the chair. He inhaled her scent. “Not possible. My boss needs input from my investigation. I’m not willing to jeopardize my career here.”
Phoenix snapped, “You won’t need a career after we’re married.”
“Slow down, cowboy. I love you, but I’m not the kind of woman who doesn’t have a mind of her own.”
“You can say that again.” Denver chuckled.
Jessie frowned. “Seriously, let’s table any discussion of me leaving my career to be barefoot and pregnant in your kitchen.”
Denver liked the image she was creating in his mind. “Okay. For now. But at least two of us will be with you whenever you’re at the mine.”
“I can handle that.”
“And you will stay with one of us from now on at all times.”
“Denver, are you proposing?”
“You’re too much, Jessie.” He would propose to her, but when he could do it right. Now wasn’t that time.
“Have no doubt, angel. You will marry us.”
“Well, we’re not engaged yet. I promised to give you all a chance. I will. But Austin is part of the equation.”
Denver growled, “Unless we find out he’s behind all of this.”
“Okay. Show me yours, and I’ll show you mine.”
He had other ideas of what that game would be, but that had to come later. If she knew something that might be helpful, he wanted to know it, too. In fifteen minutes, he and his brothers had shared what they’d found out about the cut brake line, the explosion, the memo, Austin’s meetings…everything.
“So, we really don’t know much,” she said.
“What about the memo, honey?” Dallas asked.
“The original is lost. I asked myself why. If Austin didn’t create the memo, then who did, and how did they do it?”
“Go on,” Denver prodded.
“It would be easy enough to get a scan of your brother’s signature off another document and then paste it into a memo of your choosing. Then all you have to do is print or make a digital copy of it, and presto, you have a valid document to lower the mine’s standards below the agency-acceptable safety guidelines.”
Jackson rubbed his chin. “That makes sense.”
