by Linda Conrad
But when he'd been talking to Cinco earlier, the words he'd needed stayed locked inside him. Now, as he tried to ignore the ache in his chest while he watched Kaydie giggle, Cal fought the nagging strains of guilt. Could he simply walk out of her life and never look back?
Across the way, Bella laughed with Meredith as she tickled the giggling baby in her arms. Bella tried to fight the jealousy at seeing the two females, looking so alike and seeming so happy. It was not her place to want to be the mother to this child. Cal would find a beautiful, blond Anglo woman to marry, and they would make a pretty picture all together.
Oh, but her heart ached at the thought of never seeing Kaydie or her father again. Of going back to the loneliness and the emptiness she'd come to realize had been her life.
She turned away from Meredith and the baby and caught a glimpse of Cal, standing by himself next to the picnic tables, watching them. Bella gulped back the lump in her throat—apparently a little too loudly.
"He's certainly a handsome man, isn't he?" Meredith said with a chuckle.
Bella could only nod, but she couldn't force her eyes away from his gaze.
"You've fallen in love with him," Meredith stated. "I figured that you would. Cal's charming, handsome, wounded. More experienced women than you have made fools of themselves over him."
Bella froze at Meredith's words. Was it true? Could she possibly be falling in love with a charmer like Cal?
She didn't want to face the fact that she was making a fool of herself with yet another man who wouldn't love her in return. Bella was aghast at her own stupidity. Of all things. It was true. She'd allowed herself to fall for the absolute worst possible person.
She swung back to face Meredith and her own foolishness. "Yes, I guess I have fallen." The time for lying to herself was over. "But he does not show the same interest. He doesn't want me. And soon I will be going back to Mexico. And…"
She'd run out of excuses not to be devastated and felt the sting of tears as they clouded her eyes.
Meredith laid a gentle hand on her arm. "He hasn't … you two haven't…?" She cleared her throat. "It's definitely not Cal's style to hold back. I wonder if—"
An elderly male voice rang out across the yard and Bella turned around to see who was calling to her. "Señorita Fernandez, I need to speak to you a moment, please."
Ray, the Gentry family attorney who'd brought the FBI agents out to meet her yesterday, hurried over.
"I didn't see you here earlier, Señor Adler. Did you want something to eat? I'm sure that Abby would—"
"I've just arrived, Bella," he said. "I don't want to eat. I've come to tell you something." Ray took a deep breath. "It's more bad news, I'm afraid."
Bella tried to steel herself, but her curiosity kept her holding her breath. What else could they want from her?
"The sheriff called," he began, "to say that they'd found a locked railroad car, sitting in the sun on a long-forgotten siding. Some kids were playing there and noticed a funny smell. When they finally told their families, the parents called him to come check it out."
Bella's skin began to crawl, but she wouldn't let it throw her off. This could not have anything to do with her.
Ray took off his hat and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "It took the sheriff a while to break the door down. And when he did … he found … I'm sorry, Bella, but he found twenty-eight Mexican-national men, all dead and stacked on top of one another in the sweltering car."
"What?" She couldn't quite hear what he'd said. A roar had started in her ears and it was making her lightheaded.
"The FBI is on the way," Ray continued in a hoarse whisper. "They believe these are the same men that came across the border with you. The ones that let you out of the truck. They're going to want you to look at some pictures to see if you can identify any of them."
When the truth sank in, the stab in the vicinity of her stomach came hard and fast. It doubled her over and left her breathless—reeling. No it couldn't be true. She wouldn't let it be true.
But the sympathetic look in Ray's eyes told her what she didn't want to believe. The men that had been so kind. The ones who had saved her life. They were all gone? All?
The air left her lungs with a whoosh, and she fell to her knees. "No … no…" she cried. "Dio, ayudame!"
The sunlight turned to fog. And the last thing she saw was the brown Texas dirt as it came rushing toward her face.
* * *
Eight
« ^ »
Before he could consider what he was doing, blind instinct moved Cal to where Bella had fallen. He pushed Ray aside and knelt beside her.
She was so deathly pale, so still. "What the hell happened to her?" His hands trembled as he felt for the pulse in her neck.
"She's had a terrible shock and fainted, Cal." Meredith put a firm hand on his shoulder to reassure him as she turned and called out to Cinco.
Meredith had Kaydie in her arms and couldn't bend down to see about Bella's welfare. But Cal wanted to take care of her himself anyway.
"Fainted … sure … she's okay. It's going to be okay." He wanted to drag Bella up into his arms. To rain kisses over her face and wake her up. Instead he made himself move slowly. He brushed back the hair that had covered her face and forced air out through his lungs in order to calm down.
He picked up her hand and squeezed the icy cold fingers, willing her to be all right. Bella groaned—and relief burned through his gut. Thank God.
Cinco was suddenly behind him and dragging at his shoulders. "Cal, you can't kneel. You'll reinjure you're knee. Get up. I've got her."
Ray stepped to Cal's side and pulled him up by the arm.
"Maybe we'd better call the doctor." Cinco was rubbing Bella's arms and trying to get the circulation going.
"Absolutely not," Cal declared. "We'd end up with Dr. Domingo, and I won't have that man anywhere near her. I don't trust him." He stopped and peered down as Bella blinked open her eyes. "Is she going to be okay?"
"We'll take her into the house," Cinco told them. "Get her some water. She'll be okay." Lifting Bella up in his arms as he stood, Cinco turned around and marched off toward Abby and Gray's home.
Meanwhile, Cal turned raised fists to Ray and Meredith in a blind white-hot rage. "What the devil did you say to her?" He wanted to punch the man. Rip apart anybody or anything that stood in his way.
"Let me tell you what's happened while we follow them inside," Meredith soothed. "This wasn't Ray's fault. He had no way of knowing how his news would affect her."
After he'd heard the whole story, and after Bella had fully regained consciousness, Cal's legs stopped shaking. But his disposition was as foul as ever. Those bastard coyotes had locked innocent men into a wood and iron deathtrap with no food or water and no way out. That sort of thing unfortunately happened by accident on occasion. But this time they'd meant to kill them. Their intent was to leave no witnesses.
"Can I borrow your pickup?" Cal asked his brother when things had calmed down.
"What for? You can't drive it."
"Watch me, bubba." He headed toward the yard, determined to see if the keys were in Cinco's truck as they'd always been before. "You still carry rifles in the back of the cab, don't you?"
Cinco caught him by the shoulder, spun him around. "What's going on, Cal?"
Cal swung back to him, but deliberately left his fists at his side. "I'm taking Bella to the cabin, where she'll be safe. I figure I can drive standard with my left foot if I have to, but I'm sure I'm okay to drive. My knee is strong now. Don't try to stop me."
Cinco held up his hands in surrender. "Whoa. I'm on your side." He cocked an eyebrow at Cal and grinned. "You think you can do a better job of keeping her safe than the rest of us, you go right ahead and do what you have to do."
"Fine," Cal snapped back at him. "No one knows how to get to the cabin except the family and a few hands. I want her where no one can find her, where I can watch out for her. Where we can be…" He tr
ailed off as he remembered his daughter. "Can you and Meredith keep Kaydie for a couple of days? Just until the feds get a better handle on where the coyotes might've gone."
Cinco narrowed his eyes at him but answered in a gentle tone. "Sure. She won't be any hardship. In fact, Meredith will be thrilled to be able to dote on her full-time."
"Great," Cal murmured with quiet determination. "I'll go tell Bella to get ready. Are the keys in the truck?"
Bella fussed and fumed about Cal driving the pickup and about leaving the baby behind. But in the end she'd been too exhausted to do anything more that merely rest her head on the back of the seat and let him do things his way.
Actually, she was torn between being pleased that he was moving around so well and scared that it would mean he would no longer need her. As soon as this trouble with the coyotes was over, Cal would go back to his life and she would never see him or Kaydie again.
"You sit and relax. I'm going to make you a little dinner," he told her when they entered the cabin. "Then you can take a nice hot bath and go to bed. Things will look better after a good night's sleep."
She'd started to say she would fix her own food and that things were not going to look a bit better no matter how much she slept. But he seemed so determined, she kept quiet.
He wasn't at all awkward in the kitchen like she'd supposed he would be. She sighed and guessed he was a man who naturally excelled at anything he chose to do.
Cal could do so many things with his life. Good things. Things for the betterment of mankind. Bella wished she could make him see that. But she knew it was not to be. He was still set on going back to the racing circuit, and her time with him grew shorter with every breath she took.
And that was the thought she kept with her as she ate the stew he'd fixed and then took her bath. The man must care a little about her to show such concern—mustn't he?
There had been passion in his eyes when he looked at her before.
She wanted to feel his arms around her one more time before he left. One more kiss. Would that be so bad?
Bella decided to go to him tonight. To thank him. To be close to him. She knew it was a little like flirting with fire, but the relationship was almost over anyway.
Just one kiss. Certainly, he might laugh at her. But the risk seemed slight. And the reward could be so great.
She stood in front of Cal's small shaving mirror in the bathroom and played with her hair. Compared to Meredith's shiny gold braid, Bella thought, her drab black strings were pretty sad. She brushed it. Then she pulled it back with a piece of yarn. Then she tore out the yarn and brushed it over her shoulders again.
There was nothing she could do about the pathetic state of her face, either. She didn't own any makeup, had never had much use for the stuff. But a little lipstick might've been a nice touch. Ah, well.
She brushed her teeth—twice. Then, sneaking out of the bathroom and into Cal's room to look for something to wear, Bella cursed herself for not having bought the frilly robe Cal had wanted her to have. She'd thought at the time that good solid cotton panties and a bra would be more useful, and besides, she loved wearing Cal's sweats to bed. When she did, it seemed like a part of him was there, too.
But just now, she wanted something a little more, uh, sexy. Bella went to Cal's closet and found what she'd sought. His fancy white dress shirt. The cloth was so fine and smooth.
She slipped off the sweatshirt she'd thrown on after her bath and slid her arms through his long sleeves. Oh, the shirt felt so satiny against her bare skin. And the hem hit her thighs exactly where she'd imagined it might. Covering the important parts, but only just barely.
Bella rubbed her cheek against the soft material at the shoulder, smelling Cal's aftershave. Then she quickly buttoned up the shirt. She stood for a minute considering. Unbuttoning all but one button, she raced out of Cal's room before she lost her nerve.
Bella went looking for Cal in the dark. None of the lights were on in the cabin, but illumination from tonight's full moon streamed through the windows and gave her enough of a glow to see clearly.
She found him standing at the kitchen window, staring out into the darkness. He was wearing his jeans with no shirt or shoes again.
That sight knocked the breath right out of her lungs. Bella lost her nerve and turned to go. But in the dark she hit the open door. "Oww," she gasped.
Cal turned. "Bella? Are you all right? I thought you'd gone to bed."
"No. I'm not sleepy. I wanted … I wanted to thank you for everything you've done." She took two steps in his direction then hesitated. "I'm sorry to disturb you. I'll just leave you alone."
He was beside her before she could make another move. "No, wait." Cal only had to touch her arm and she leaned into him.
His body heat enveloped her, warming her soul. She took a deep breath and put her arms around his shoulders to give him a grateful hug. But the moment she touched his bare skin she knew that she'd made a mistake. She'd gotten too close.
She felt the muscles across his back jump and bunch. His movements made her nipples hard.
Cal must've felt her, too, because he pulled back from the embrace and stared down at her chest. Even in the shadows of the night and with his eyes lowered to her breasts, Bella could see the hunger written all over his face.
He did want her. She'd known it all along.
"What the hell have you got on?" he growled.
"It's just one of your shirts. Do you mind?"
She watched as he forced his gaze back up to her face, and saw him grimace. But he didn't answer her question.
He fidgeted a second, but didn't move away from her. "You need to button up. It's chilly in here."
He reached to do up the first button for her, but when his knuckles skimmed her bare skin under the shirt, he froze. "Go to bed. Please," he groaned. "I can't think straight when you're this close."
The words stopped her for a second. But he'd nearly choked getting them out, and they'd sounded thick, raspy. She decided to stay anyway. Just one kiss. That was all she wanted.
"Bella…" The look on his face was indecipherable, but his eyes had turned to steely gray. "Please leave. I've been standing here in the dark watching the plain because I can feel those coyotes out there … somewhere. I'm afraid I've made a mistake bringing you here."
She peered around him to look at the black night through the glass of the kitchen window. "Have you seen something? Heard something?"
Cal reached up and gently took hold of her shoulders. "No. But I don't need to do that to know they're out there." He squeezed her shoulders, as if to push her away. But the push never came. Instead his fingers massaged … caressed.
He forced his gaze over her shoulder and refused to look into that gorgeous face. "Go to bed." Furious with himself and aroused beyond belief, Cal tried to retreat.
But his feet and hands stayed where they were. Too close. Too intimate.
Bella stood her ground. "I have to thank you." She splayed her hands across his chest and lightly kissed his chin.
Cal's blood was raging. This was wrong. She was so special. So giving.
But his brain was muddled with desire. He couldn't think clearly and the roar of the blood pulsating in his veins blocked his good intentions.
Staggered with the passion he saw in her eyes, Cal leaned against the kitchen counter to keep himself steady. It was too much. She was too much. She was everything.
Before he could stop himself, he swooped down and captured her mouth. The taste of her was wild and hot, with a faint touch of peppermint toothpaste. He stopped breathing and tried once more to back away.
"Take me," she whispered in his ear. "I know you want me. Take me now."
Every shred of his control snapped. Every sane thought disappeared with the torrent of flaming need.
He gripped her hair, yanking it back to expose her neck. She let out a little gasp, but her eyes darkened dangerously and her breath quickened.
"I want you, Bella—g
ive me everything." Now he would finally have what he'd been needing for so long—the whole world of Bella.
"Yes … yes," she whimpered, with a tremble.
He vowed to taste every inch. To light her body with burning desire then cool her down—only to reignite the flame over and over. Cal dove in, planting his teeth in the soft, vulnerable curve of her throat.
Her body jerked against his, and she groaned with the shocking pleasure of his desire. She'd pushed him into a wild, savage passion, and it made her lose her mind. She craved more of the tingling pain and erotic gratification. More of his mouth and teeth on her.
Then she was floating, felt the room spinning. She lost her breath as he lowered her to the tiny bed in Kaydie's room. Bella lifted her arms to drag him down with her.
But instead he reached over to her chest, grabbed a handful of his shirt and ripped it open. The button snapped off and exposed her fully to his view. Bella folded her arms over her chest automatically.
"Oh, Bella … you are so beautiful," he gasped.
Cal stood there, looming over her until the shock of her nakedness gave way to the demands of his body. He pushed aside her arms and lowered himself beside her.
"You're all that I imagined and more. I've been starving for you…"
Running his finger down her chest, from the base of her neck to her navel, he licked his lips. "Hungry for this…" He replaced his finger with his mouth and tongue, licking and nibbling as he went.
"And famished for this…" He covered one nipple with his mouth while he pinched and rolled the other between his fingers.
Bella's body jumped, and she had to dig her nails into the blanket to keep her from lifting straight up into the air. Gasping, she found she couldn't breathe. It was too much. Every muscle, every fiber inside, even every bone surged with her.
"Wait! I can't…"
But his mouth was ravaging her tender flesh with tongue and teeth. Laving … nipping … sucking so that she felt the pull all the way down between her legs.
She fought for air. Fought to touch him, the way he was touching her. Running her hands over his arms, shoulders and chest, she reached for his waistband and zipper. But his hands were on her body first, exploring tender creases, tickling shivering responses from unknown places. And sending her spinning past reason. Past control.
