Cameron, Paige - Commando Cowboys Seduce Their Woman [Wyoming Warriors 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Polyromance)

by Paige Cameron

  “Nothing, Paul. I’m fine, just a bit tired.” She sat and took a drink of her water.

  Across from her, Brian glared. She’d made an enemy. Good. Surprisingly, she was free. Meeting him face to face, saying what she did, had broken something inside holding her back.

  She laughed in relief, and Brian’s face got redder. Free, what an amazing feeling. She wanted to jump up and twirl around the room. Again, she chuckled, thinking about the response of this sedate crowd if she dared such behavior. She must control her joy. Brian looked ready to have a stroke.

  When the music ended, Jack returned Pat to her chair and came quickly to Ellen’s side. He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. “I missed you.” His eyes were really asking if she was upset.

  “I got tired. Brian was a gentleman and let me excuse myself.” She made the comment loud enough for the others to hear.

  Garraloga, who’d rejoined the table from where he’d been conversing with others at various tables, gave her a hard look. “You’re too young to be getting tired this early.”

  Jack frowned. “We’ve been traveling through several time zones the past few weeks. I’m not surprised she’d be tired. Since she is, I believe we’ll excuse ourselves and go to the hotel.” He stood and pulled back her chair. “Darlin’, ready to go?”

  “Absolutely, thank you.”

  “I hope you will all join us at our cocktail party tomorrow evening. Until then, good night.” He nodded, put his arm around Ellen, and they walked around the tables to the door.

  Garraloga caught up with them just as they were going out the double-door entry. “Meet with my son and me at my office tomorrow at eleven.”

  Jack glanced at Sahale. “Do I have an appointment at that time?”

  Sahale pulled out a small datebook and looked inside. “No, Sir.”

  “Then I’ll see you at eleven o’clock.” He strode off with Ellen, leaving Garraloga staring after them.

  Once inside the limo, Ellen gave a deep sigh. Jack pulled her close.

  “What happened to you two on the dance floor? I’d have given anything to hear the conversation,” Jack said.

  She told him and Sahale what Brian had told her, and her response. She also added how wonderful it felt to be free to speak her mind.

  “I love what you did.” Sahale gave her a hug. “He was about to burst into flames when he came to the table.”

  “But,” Jack added, “you’ve made a dangerous enemy.”

  “I know.” A touch of fear crept across her skin. “I’m also aware you and Sahale, with the rest of your men, will bring him and his father down. I won’t have to worry about them ever again.”

  Ellen leaned her head back against the seat. “I’m free, finally, thanks to you two.” She pretended to not see the worried glance exchanged between Sahale and Jack.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jack had dressed in a brown suit, prepared to leave for his appointment with the Garralogas. Sahale in his usual black would be with him as his bodyguard.

  “Don’t go out of this penthouse,” Jack told Ellen for at least the third time. “I don’t want you going anywhere without Sahale or me as an escort, understand?”

  “I should. You’ve told me enough times.” Ellen frowned at him.

  “We won’t be long.”

  “There’s plenty to oversee here, with the party starting at seven. The hotel is doing all the work, but I’m going to watch them.”

  “Good,” Jack and Sahale said in unison.

  “Go, you two are making me nervous.”

  “That’s not what you said last night,” Sahale whispered in her ear.

  She blushed. “Get out of here.”

  As soon as the door shut, Sahale’s face changed. “You think we might have problems coming in this meeting?”

  “I don’t know. Expect the unexpected.”

  “Will do.”

  The limo was waiting at the curb. Sahale opened Jack’s door in the back and he got in the front. Soon they were moving through heavy traffic going across town. At precisely five minutes to eleven, they got out at a tall office building.

  A doorman greeted them. Inside, soft music played. Orchids and roses arranged in large vases around the opulent foyer scented the air. A long mahogany desk was manned by two beautiful women dressed in rich, burgundy-colored uniforms.

  “Mr. Linear?” the blonde asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Come with me.” She led them to the elevators and put in a code. They moved up quickly. The doors opened to a large foyer with plush, dark blue carpet and walls covered in a lighter blue wallpaper with a feathery design. A secretary, dressed in the same burgundy uniform, sat behind a curved desk.

  “This is Mr. Linear and his—” She glanced at Sahale.

  “My assistant, Paul,” Jack finished for her.

  The secretary glanced at her watch. “You are prompt. Mr. Garraloga will be with you in a moment. Please be seated.” She indicated the white chairs arranged against the wall.

  Jack knew a test when he saw one. He looked at his watch. “I believe in promptness also. Since he’s not ready to see me, he can call me and make another appointment. I’m a busy man.” He started toward the elevator, where the first woman waited to go down.

  “Wait.” The secretary stood. “I’m sure Mr. Garraloga will see you right now. Let me call him.” She picked up the phone. “Mr. Linear is here, Sir. Yes, I explained, but he has other business and is leaving. Yes, right away.”

  “He is hanging up his phone and will be right out.”

  She’d barely finished her sentence when Garraloga opened his door. “Linear, come in. A slight misunderstanding. I told her”—he glared at his secretary—“to interrupt me the minute you arrived.” He waved Jack and Sahale inside his office.

  Brian stood by a chair, a smile pasted on his face. One whole wall behind him was made of glass and overlooked the city. Jack smiled to see how the desk was situated so anyone facing Garraloga caught the glare from the sunlight, immediately putting them at a disadvantage. Jack looked around the room. In one corner, there were four chairs arranged around a table.

  “Let’s sit over here,” Jack said, and led the way. He sat in the chair facing a bookcase, not the windows. Sahale took the chair beside him. Looking stunned for a second, both of the other men moved, but not quickly enough. Their chairs faced the view, not quite as glaring, but still distracting.

  “This is much more pleasant. Don’t you think?” Jack asked.

  Garraloga frowned. “I prefer to do business at my desk.” He still stood.

  Jack gazed directly at him. The old man tried to intimidate him with his glare. When it didn’t work, he and his son reluctantly sat.

  His secretary served coffee and left the room. Garraloga studied Jack and Sahale. “You two always go places together?”

  “He’s my bodyguard.”

  “You hardly need him here for this meeting. He wasn’t with you yesterday at the meeting with Brian.”

  “I failed to mention he’s also an assistant of sorts. He stays.”

  “No problem.” Garraloga shrugged. “I wanted us to meet at this time to get a few details straight before we give the final agreement to let you join our select group. We have a good deal of influence in what happens in this town and beyond.”

  “I know.”

  “Good. There are expectations of the members and their wives.”

  Jack didn’t say anything. He made his expression as blank as possible, although inside he was seething.

  “Our group is a club of wealthy men with fine tastes. We expect our women to be adoring, which your wife certainly is, and not to speak unless asked to by one of us. We also share everything.”

  A heavy silence filled the room. Jack looked from father to son and saw the lust in their eyes. He smelled their sexual hunger. The warrior in him stirred. Years of practice had taught him to control his change, but for the first time he wasn’t sure he’d be successful. At his si
de, he smelled Sahale’s anger and his senses picked up his struggle.

  “Everything meaning?” Jack snapped the words.

  “Meaning we share our wives from time to time. At first, my son and I train them in obedience and teach them some new tricks. I’m sure Crystal will be most receptive, and even more alluring to you when she returns after spending this weekend with us.”

  Jack’s head blew off. At least he felt like it must have. He jumped out of his chair. Fear flashed in both the men’s eyes. Jack grabbed Garraloga and Sahale held his son against his chair. Jack slammed the older man against the wall.

  “I may share my money, maybe even my golf clubs or my car, but I never share my wife.” He tightened his hand around Garraloga’s throat. “If you so much as look at my wife too long or touch her other than to shake her hand, I will cut out your heart.” He held the man up on his tiptoes, his nose right in his face. “Do you understand?” He nodded toward Brian. “And that goes for your weak, impotent son, too.”

  Garraloga’s face got redder. He gasped for breath as Jack strangled him. At the last minute, Jack let him go, straightened Garraloga’s tie, and walked back to his chair. “Be seated. Now we’ll talk about how much you want my millions.”

  The old man staggered to his chair. Brian’s face was an angry, bright red. But he didn’t say a word. Sahale sat back down.

  “What the hell? I could call the police right this minute and have you arrested for battery, at the least.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll explain about the offer you made, and about your club. You can try to deny you made such an offer, but your enemies will gloat and encourage others to believe me.”

  “You are a clever man. I misjudged you. You’re right. I am still interested in your money. No woman is worth missing out on, did you say millions?”

  “Tell me what I’m investing in. Afterwards, we’ll discuss amounts. I’m sure you’ve checked me out by now, or you wouldn’t have suggested we meet.”

  Garraloga flushed. “I have. They missed the part about your savage side. By all reports you appeared to be quite refined. My mistake.”

  “A big one,” Jack said and smiled.

  “Dad, I don’t trust them. Get them out of here.”

  His father swung his gaze onto Brian. “If you are uncomfortable, leave. I’m doing business.”

  Brian glared at his father. He hesitated, and then sat back in his chair.

  “We use money to get what we want, votes on our issues, jobs for our partners, and in the background we sell items overseas that are in hot demand.”

  “Such as?”

  Jack needed to hear the words. The hidden device buried under his skin picked up the slightest sound and sent it to where Mitch and his men waited.

  Garraloga stopped talking and studied Jack and Sahale. “Why do you need to know?”

  “I never invest blindly. It’s a deal breaker.”

  “How much goes into my account today?”

  “For a start, two million.”

  Brian made a noise, like a small gasp. His father frowned at him.

  “This is not to go out of this room. Understand? My men will find you and destroy both you and your lovely wife.”

  Jack smiled. “I doubt it, but go ahead and think you can. I don’t intend to tell anyone. I’ll be in as deep as you. That’s how you control the others, right?”

  “As I said, you are a smart man and can be valuable to the organization. I have men in high places to cover our backs.”

  “How high?”

  “Close to the President.”

  “That’s high indeed.”

  Apparently the huge amount of money involved convinced Garraloga it was worth the risk to answer Jack’s question. “We sell guns to foreign countries. Any further information can wait until your money is in my account.”

  His warrior persona barely contained, Jack stood to leave. If he stayed a minute longer, he’d physically destroy both men. He and Sahale could finish them in a minute.

  “I’m headed to the bank,” Jack explained as he went to the door. “See you tonight.”

  Jack, with Sahale following, strode briskly to the elevator. The secretary punched a button and the doors slid open.

  “Push the button for the lobby. You’ll go straight down,” she said.

  They didn’t speak or look to the left or right on their way out. The limo pulled to the curb and they jumped in.

  Pain lanced through Jack’s muscles as he sat and the car took off. “Damn, damn, damn.”

  Sahale groaned from the front seat. “At least you got to almost strangle him.”

  Their driver, one of the warriors, drove straight out of town to a large home situated in the middle of ten acres. They got out and went inside.

  Mitch met them. He led them downstairs to a gym. “Get changed and work out. We’ll talk afterwards.”

  Sahale made a quick call to Ellen to tell her they’d be late. In short order, they both came back to the gym area and began to pound on the punching bags. They danced around the bags, swore, and pounded. Mitch watched from the sidelines.

  Jack’s muscles began to smooth out, his adrenaline working off as he sweated through a familiar routine. But where it usually took an hour or so to get rid of the majority of their extra adrenaline and change from warrior to their regular persona, he and Sahale worked for three hours before their movements began to slow.

  Mitch patted them each on the shoulder. “Enough. It’s hell when you lose that control and then can’t use the excess energy. The pain coming off is rough. I’ve been there once or twice.”

  “Thanks, boss. I was disgusted at myself for not being more in control.”

  “There are a few times we’re most vulnerable,” Mitch said. “When an innocent person is threatened, and especially when that person is our mate. I was glad to hear what you said to the old bastard.”

  “You got his words?”

  “Clear as a bell. Daren has put the two million in his account. We’ll follow the chain of the money to the rest of them. I do wish he’d have admitted to the rest of his nefarious dealings.”

  “We’re heading home tomorrow?” Jack checked.

  “As planned. You have the cocktail party tonight. All our people will be wearing their receivers to pick up any additional information, and then we fly away in the morning.”

  “Ellen will be glad.”

  “Tell her she did a good job. Let’s go to the kitchen. You two need to eat.”

  They ate but watched the clock. Jack didn’t want them to get back before they’d rid themselves of all the aftereffects of their change. Ellen was too perceptive. He didn’t mind answering her questions, but later, at home. Still, they didn’t have much time. They couldn’t be late.

  She was pacing the floor when they got back just in time to dress for the cocktail party. “Your meeting went longer than you expected.”

  “It did. We need to get ready now. We’ll join you shortly,” Jack said and smiled.

  After they’d closed the door, Sahale stopped Jack on the way to the shower. “You aren’t going to tell her of the threat?”

  “No.”

  “She deserves to know. Otherwise she might not be as careful.”

  “You may be right. But not tonight, when she has to socialize with them. When we get her to the ranch safe and sound, you can tell her.”

  Sahale nodded. Jack headed to the bath. They had less than an hour before the first guests arrived.

  * * * *

  Ellen sensed Jack and Sahale were keeping information from her. She’d find out after the party. Jumpy nerves kept her moving around the room checking and rechecking everything. The hors d’oeuvres looked delicious.

  Two waiters would move around the crowd with trays of drinks and tidbits to eat. Muted music played in the background. She opened the curtains and sliding doors to the veranda. Stars twinkled in the twilight and lights began to come on around the city. A cool breeze ruffled her hair as she stood at the
waist-high wall.

  Tonight she had chosen a cocktail dress of emerald green. The material fit snugly from her breasts to just above her knees. Light, see-through material made an overskirt that bellowed around her. Her matching high heels gained her two inches.

  Ann had left Ellen’s long hair hanging loose with the sides held back by diamond hairpins. Diamonds sparkled around her neck, on her wrist and fingers. When she’d stared at herself in the mirror her confidence had grown. She wasn’t the same woman who’d left here, or even the woman who fled to the ranch. Thanks to Sahale and Jack, she was discovering layers of herself she’d never suspected existed. Or if she did, she’d buried them deep.

  “Whatever you’re thinking about must be serious,” Sahale whispered in her ear, then kissed her neck. “You look beautiful and smell delicious.”

  Ellen glanced around him. “Someone may see us.”

  “No guests have arrived yet. I have good news. We fly home tomorrow morning.”

  “I’ll be ready.”

  “We thought so.”

  “I’m glad I came and faced them. It’s helped me close a lot of doors and answered some questions.”

  “Ready to start a new life?”

  “No fair asking right this moment.”

  “You’re right.” He took her hand and walked her inside. The doorbell rang. He let go of her hand. “Do me a favor. Stay off the veranda tonight.”

  She started to ask why, but he turned and walked across the room to stand near Jack. They weren’t giving her all the information because it wasn’t good. Ellen glanced back at the veranda, where she’d just enjoyed a few minutes of solitude. Where the shadows had been comforting before, now they looked forbidding.

  “Darlin’,” Jack called to her. She hurried to his side. Surrounded by him and Sahale, she was safe.

  Ellen remembered why she’d never cared for these types of parties. She and Jack welcomed the guests with their artificial smiles and fake hugs.

  “Oh, my dear, you look lovely in that dress,” one woman she’d never met before gushed at her. Another gave her a steely glance, but fawned all over Jack. Voices raised as the evening went on and the drinks were circulated around. After all, they didn’t have to worry about driving. These people all had chauffeurs.