“They’re my personal, private papers, so what are you doing with them?”
“How did you get these files? They are supposed to be private.”
“What files?” Adam asked from the side.
Not that she paid him any attention. “Oh, please.” Rachel snorted. “Like your preference for big-boobed redheads who like to suck cocks like lollipops is some great secret?”
“You aren’t supposed to have these.” The veins stuck right out of Killian’s corded neck as he flushed so badly with his roar.
But she did, and where she’d gotten them, how many files she had, and just what kind of mischief she might be up to would all be questions they’d want answers to. Rachel tilted her chin up, deciding then and there that she wouldn’t be giving any answers. They’re cops. They can figure it out their damn selves.
“What are these?”
Ah, crap. She should have paid Adam more attention. Now she’d pay for that mistake because he’d scooped up some papers. They weren’t Cattlemen files but something a whole lot worse. Not that they should be. Rachel had grown about sick of the argument she could feel coming.
It was stupid and dumb. She treated it as such, barely sparing Adam a glance as she shrugged. “They’d be my confidential files. You know, ones most cops would need a warrant—”
“Don’t.” Adam didn’t need an incendiary bellow. All he needed was a whispered snarl to make her feel threatened. “I want to know what these are.”
Not in any mood to indulge him no matter how much he growled at her, Rachel remained firm in her response. “They’re my work notes and no concern of yours.”
“No concern?” Adam repeated, only to be drowned out by Killian’s impatience.
“I want to know who gave you these.”
“Like I’m going to tell you my source,” Rachel shot back at Killian before sharing her glare with Adam. “Or you.”
“Wanna bet?” Adam’s drawl thickened, becoming deep and velvety. Rachel knew what followed that tone, but she wouldn’t stand for it tonight. “You’re going to start explaining why you’ve been lying to me and what you’re planning to do with those notes, and then we’re going to discuss your punishment.”
That broke her. Before Rachel could think better of it, she snatched the papers out of Adam’s hand. With one roll of her hand, she had a whacking stick that she made instant use of to pop Adam then Killian until they stumbled backward.
“I have had just about enough of both of you. With your snotty-ass commands and obnoxious-ass babbling about punishments. Well, let me tell you something, cowboy. If you don’t stop pissing me off, I’m going throw both your arrogant asses out on the street.”
Adam had danced all the way back to the dining room’s arched opening, driven nearly into the other room by a relentless pelting of slaps to his shoulders. Growling over Rachel’s rampage, he snatched the roll right out of her hand and took a brave step forward.
“I’d like to see you try.”
“It won’t be hard,” Rachel assured him before taking the fight below the belt. “I’ll just give Alex a call.”
Adam reeled for a second like she’d actually dealt him a punch to the gut. She might as well have. She left him gasping for air, the papers crinkling into a ball as his fist went white around the knuckles. “That had better not be who’s been helping you with this project because don’t doubt, little lady, I can tell somebody has.”
“So what of it?”
Adam jaw clenched so hard he had to strain to crack his lips open enough to form words. “You promised us—”
“Under duress, you really think that you can rely on a person to keep her word when you forced her to give it in the first place?” All the annoyance and frustration of the past couple of weeks had broken the dam. Rachel couldn’t stop the flood of words pouring out her mouth.
“Obviously, I don’t need your help because I already have it, which is actually part of my job, and I’m getting good and sick of having to hide things and justify everything to you two. I shouldn’t have to because I’m a capable, independent woman and not some idiot child that needs the two of you to oversee every fucking thing in my life.
“So let’s get everything straight right now.” Turning on Killian, she lit into him in the rapid-fire manner of an auctioneer. “Those files were given to me by a source and, no, I’m not going to tell you now or ever who that was. But you can relax. I’m not using them for any story.
“And you,” Rachel turned back to Adam. “I am researching my prostitution story. I am doing it my way. I don’t care what you think about it. I don’t even want to hear one damn word about it. Got it?”
“Then how about two? ‘Hell’ and ‘no.’”
“Go fuck yourself, Killian, because you aren’t sleeping in my bed tonight. Neither are you,” Rachel shot at Adam a second before she brushed him aside and stormed out of the room. Slamming her bedroom door vented none of her anger.
Instead, it ballooned it into dread as she waited for the door to shove open. Nothing happened. Neither one of her men came after her but left her standing there trembling so badly she couldn’t breathe. What had she done?
The way she had spoken to them burned inside her head, multiplying the misery as her conscience whispered they’d been right. She shouldn’t have had their files, shouldn’t have read them. She should have told them about her research. She should have done everything differently because everything had started to unravel.
Sucking in a squeal with a painful breath, Rachel rushed over to the bed, collapsing into it in time to smother her sob. The end had begun. It hurt even worse than she’d imagined. Her heart called her every type of fool because all she had to do was what they wanted. If she’d obey, she could hold on to them…for a little longer.
Delayed, that’s all the pain could be. Nothing could stop this, her mind whispered back. Nothing but Killian or Adam. One of them could have come to her, checked on her. They didn’t because they didn’t love her. How could she change for men like that?
* * * *
Killian watched Rachel walk away, feeling a nearly uncontrollable need to race after her and make her heed his authority. A very small sliver of reason, all that he had left, assured him that wouldn’t work. He had to be careful to play this smart. Smart meant giving her a little room and time to calm down, no matter how much it rankled him.
If Adam could do it, he could, too. Amazingly enough, the big dumbass actually stood his ground. Panting, making little snarly noises but nevertheless, Adam’s feet stayed planted firmly to the floor. “This is all your fault.”
“Me?”
It didn’t matter if Adam had a point. Primed and ready for the fight Rachel had denied him, Killian would be glad to take out his aggression on his friend. Of course, tearing up Rachel’s house wouldn’t win them any warmth from their woman.
“I think we should finish this discussion outside.”
“After you.” Adam gestured toward the kitchen and the backdoor. As civilized as they could be under the circumstances, both men piled out into the backyard and politely removed watches along with shirts before squaring off.
This was how they always solved their big arguments. They fought it out. Once they drained all their energy then they might be able to get around to talking. That’s how they’d used sex with Rachel for the past couple of weeks, but apparently that hadn’t won them any golden stars. For her, Killian would take the beating.
“Okay, then.” Killian clenched his fist as he raised them up, issuing Adam a warning in the process. “I’m not going to give you any free shots because of earlier, either.”
“Wasn’t expecting any,” Adam retorted a split second before he threw his first punch.
For the next half hour, Killian ducked, rolled, punched, and kicked, and ended up bruised, scraped, and sore by the time they finished. The yard didn’t fare much better, but they’d managed to keep things quiet enough not to draw Rachel outside or tempt any of the
neighbors into calling the cops.
Still, Killian suspected Rachel wouldn’t be thankful for either once she saw her trampled flower beds and squashed tomatoes. Killian had enough red goo smeared across his pants to make it look like he’d been through a blood bath.
He was bleeding, but only a few trickles from around his brow and lip and over his cracking knuckles. They were raw and red and would ache worse the coming morning, but it had all been worth it. Violence or sex, it all ended the same. When he got hot like that, Killian needed some kind of release. It all ended the same, with him feeling good.
“I need a beer.” Or something to wash the coppery taste out of his mouth. “I think I might have bit my lip.”
For some reason, that made Adam laugh. Turning his head to glance over the few wooden slats that separated him, he smirked at Killian. “You want me to go get you one?”
“Like you can stand.” Killian snorted. If Adam got up, then he’d have to. Otherwise, it would be like admitting Adam won the fight. That would never happen.
“I could if I wanted to,” Adam muttered, rolling his head back toward the stars. “Just don’t feel like it now.”
“I know what you mean.” That would be a draw. Now they could both sit there and come to the realization that as good as the fight had been, they still had a problem on their hands. “So what are we going to do about Rachel?”
Adam inhaled an audible breath before letting it sigh out. “I really don’t know.”
“She lied to us about staying home tonight and about her researching the prostitution book.” There was no heat left in Killian’s tone as he listed Rachel’s sins. He didn’t have the energy to be mad right then. “Not to mention working with somebody else and getting herself into a bar fight. But what I really want to know is who the hell gave her those Cattlemen files.”
Because if it was the sheriff, Killian wouldn’t care if he lost his job or ended up in jail. The two of them would be having a conversation.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Apparently, it was to Adam because he sounded very sure of himself. Only, he hadn’t picked out the same culprit as Killian. “Rachel was at that bar tonight with Hailey Mathews. Her good friend Hailey Mathews.”
By Adam’s tone, Killian knew he should be getting a clue right about then, but he had nothing. “So?”
“Hailey Mathews’s best friend is? Come on, Killian, you know the answer to that one.”
He sure as hell did. Patton Jones, the Davis brothers’ woman. The Davis brothers had stared the club. They owned and managed every aspect of the club, including maintaining all the records.
“Son of a bitch.” Killian had never had a soft spot for Patton. Not like most men developed when they got a good look at the girl. She might be hot, but she also acted like a man. All bossy, demanding, and even combative, she was a damn feminist. Of course, it could be because she’d been raised in a house full of men.
Either way, Killian liked his women sweet, like Rachel was when she wasn’t telling him to go fuck himself. “Hell, you don’t think she’s the one riling Rachel to act all bitchy tonight? Maybe it’s Hailey, birds of a feather and all that. She didn’t seem particularly sweet this evening and—”
“No.” Adam squashed Killian’s budding hope that the answer could be that simple. “Don’t even try to blame that girl for your own screw-ups.”
“My screw-ups?”
“Yes, yours,” Adam repeated, only sounding more firm in his conviction. “You’re the one who’s been bossing that girl around for the past two weeks, treating her like a damn child.”
Killian bristled at that accusation. He didn’t think of Rachel as a child, but she was sweet and soft and didn’t understand how hard and brutal the world could be. “I’m just trying to keep her safe. What do you want me to do? Encourage the girl to go off and interview pimps and whores?”
“Of course not,” Adam snapped, “but that doesn’t mean you have to take away the girl’s coffee in the morning.”
“She didn’t object.”
“And don’t you find that odd?” Adam turned toward Killian. Straightening off the fence to face him head-on, he had to brace a hand on the ground to hold himself in position. “I mean, seriously, the girl’s been way too complacent lately.”
It hurt, but Killian managed to offer up a shrug at that observation. “She’s settling down. It’s what most women do.”
“No she ain’t.” Adam scoffed. “If she were settling down, she wouldn’t be going through our Cattlemen files or researching a book behind our backs, and she certainly wouldn’t be using another cop to help or getting caught in bar fights.”
Killian hated to admit that Adam had a point, but the evidence couldn’t be denied. “So what do you think it is?”
“I think she told us she loved us and we never said it back.”
“Oh, God,” Killian groaned. He’d rather give in on the club issue than this. Adam didn’t understand, though. He thought those words actually meant something, but Killian had been hearing them all his life.
They were just words. What really counted were actions, and as far as he could see, Rachel didn’t trust them, so how could she love them? He could have asked that question of Adam, but he didn’t have it in his heart to hurt his friend that way.
Hell, he’d thought she’d meant it when she said it. If Killian hadn’t discovered all her secrets tonight, he’d probably still believe Rachel’s confession. Obviously, though, it had been a moment of passion, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t become real.
They just had to figure out how to get her to trust them.
“I say we tell her we love her, and then you back off on all your little dictates.”
“I’m not telling her I love her.” Not until she said it and meant it first. “But you might be right about the other. Maybe it’s time to use a little subtlety.”
Adam snorted. “Do you even know what that word means?”
Chapter 28
Friday, May 2nd
The tantalizing scents of strong coffee and delicious bacon roused Rachel from her fitful sleep the next morning. She didn’t wake rested or happy, no matter how much sunshine flowed through the windows to greet her. The sheets were cool on either side of her and had been all night.
At least they hadn’t left. She really hadn’t wanted them to. A part of Rachel regretted last night, wishing she had stayed in. Then none of this would have happened. It didn’t matter if reason argued that it would have happened eventually. Sleeping alone felt more miserable than she wanted to bear.
They were like the bacon that lured her from her bed, delicious and bad for her in every single way. Loving them shouldn’t mean sacrificing everything she was for them, but it did. Her affection twisted her pride to the point where Rachel almost didn’t care what it would cost her to become the woman they wanted, even if only for a moment.
Hell, wasn’t the art of every relationship compromise? Then again, putting on a little makeup to look pretty wasn’t the same thing as going to a doctor to have him mold her into a beauty. Rachel couldn’t do it. That left her with no answer or defense prepared as she slipped into her robe and went to face the men who had put her in this untenable position.
Expecting something of a confrontation, Rachel stepped into the kitchen, braced for round two. They caught her off guard with their smiles, smiles that cracked already busted lips. Taking a double look at both men, Rachel was appalled to realize they both looked worse than her that morning.
She only had a faint bruise darkening her cheek, but they had bruises all over. Not that either appeared the least bit sore from what had obviously been a raging battle. Rachel could guess from their busted knuckles what the two of them had gotten into, but why, when, and where escaped her.
“Morning, darlin’.” Busy at the stove, Adam nodded to her.
“Here.” A big mug full of rich-smelling coffee floated in front of her nose. Killian handed over the cup before gesturing to the dining room table. �
��Go on and have a seat. Adam will have your breakfast up in a moment.”
They were up to something, but Rachel didn’t know what. It was too early and the coffee smelled too good for her to bother starting an argument. Accepting the coffee as a peace offering, she settled down at the table. Sure enough, a moment later, Adam lowered down a plate loaded with bacon, hash, and a perfectly prepared omelet.
Loaded with mushrooms and parmesan, the fluffy yellow offering turned out to be a trick because it was really hard to bitch at them with her mouth full of food.
Seating himself at her side, Adam began the conversation with a bit of politeness. “Is it good?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Rachel nodded her head. “Very.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Adam smiled and then blew her hopes of just forgetting last night altogether. “You know, it’s not that we don’t want you to eat well or enjoy your life but—”
Adam shot a pointed look in Killian’s direction in a clear signal for him to pick up on his own explanation. Clearing his throat and straightening up, he did. “But we want you to be healthy and safe.”
Rachel glanced from Killian’s serious expression to Adam’s earnest one and recognized they were trying. To what end, she didn’t know, but Rachel wanted this to work too much not to aid the effort. Instead of coming back with a smartass comment about how dangerous coffee might be, she strived for a more mature attitude.
“I understand that.” She did. Rachel wanted them to be both of those things all the time. As deputies, they couldn’t promise her half of what she could promise them. “But I am healthy…enough and I don’t exactly engage in risky behavior.”
“You were in a bar fight last night.”
It must have hurt Killian to say that without growling because he almost flinched over his words. The fact that it cost him so much to remain rational sounding made Rachel appreciate the attempt all the more.
“It wasn’t like I went out looking for one or started it, Killian.” Rachel couldn’t help the slight pitch of annoyance lifting her tone as she pointed out those obvious facts. She tried to cover it up by talking on until her frustration mellowed out of her voice. “Anybody anywhere can run into trouble. Hell, I could be driving down a street and a tree could fall on my car and kill me, or a drunk driver—”
Penn, Jenny - Rachel's Seduction [Cattleman's Club] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 29
