“Tell me about it.”
He was blaming her. Wait a darn minute. Bushwhacker? The name was familiar, one that had been imparted by Eli. Her gaze traveled to the pink scar on Lucky’s forehead barely peeking from beneath his cowboy hat.
“Isn’t this the bull who fancied you up?” she asked, pointing to the scar.
“One and the same.”
“And you own him?”
“Technically, Eli does,” Lucky informed her as they came in sight of the house. “Bought him when we decided to quit the circuit.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t want to see the old guy go to the slaughterhouse. Figured he had a few breeding years left in him.”
“Is that what the music was for?” JoJo asked, wondering if a suggestive melody could affect an animal’s hormones. “To get him in the mood?”
Maybe that’s what was affecting her…having heard the music. At least she hoped so.
“What music?”
“From the show.”
Lucky sounded downright exasperated when he said, “You’re talking in circles.”
“The boombox in the pen—it was playing the rumba from the show at the Caribbean.”
“Boombox?” Lucky’s rugged features pulled into a harsh frown. “The Caribbean?”
But before he could question her further, a woman’s voice echoed his. “What’s this about the Caribbean?”
A female voice that JoJo wished she didn’t recognize—that to her had the same effect as fingernails scraping over a blackboard.
“Caroline,” she returned.
Her flat tone indicated her lack of enthusiasm at seeing her least favorite Donatelli sibling. She glanced at Lucky. No surprise crossed his features.
“I thought you were going to shower or something,” he said.
“I chose the or something,” Caroline stated, her glittering green eyes raking over JoJo, still held tight in Lucky’s embrace.
Any doubts that she’d had about Lucky’s identity vanished. And obviously, brother and sister had caught up with one another while she was out walking…or while she was playing keep-away with a Brahma bull.
“So what on earth is going on here?” Caroline continued. “You couldn’t snare one brother, so now you’re going after the other?”
“Comforting that some things never change, I guess,” JoJo muttered. Caroline was being her usual charming self.
Lucky finally set her down, though he kept an arm around her waist until she wriggled free. “I take it you two ladies know each other.”
“Not only am I acquainted with this hussy, but I know her type,” Caroline said, moving in to take her brother’s arm possessively. “And so do you, Lucky. All too well.”
Her intimation being that he should be smart enough to stay away from her, JoJo realized, fuming.
“What brings you here, Caroline?” Out of sorts— who wouldn’t be after being bull bait and then manhandled?—she couldn’t help adding, “Didn’t Daddy give you enough work to keep you busy?”
Caroline’s stunning features hardened, and JoJo knew she’d hit a nerve. The other woman wanted Sally to see her as his equal, to make her his partner and the heir apparent to handle his empire. Sally felt the “family business” needed a man’s hand, and to that end, he was constantly trying to suck Nick back into working with him.
“Papa always gives me plenty to do. That’s why I needed a little rest,” Caroline said, her voice cold. “Imagine my surprise when I arrived here and saw my recalcitrant baby brother…not to mention you.”
Lucky didn’t look like anyone’s baby brother, headstrong or otherwise, but for some reason he tolerated Caroline’s name-calling. As a matter of fact, he appeared amused by their verbal sparring. JoJo glared at him and started off, meaning to go past him, toward the sanctuary of the house and her room, until he put out an arm to stop her.
“Not so fast. Let’s get back to Bushwhacker.”
She stood her ground. “I’d rather not. Once around the dance floor with that old bull was more than enough for me, thank you so much.”
“Luckily, he didn’t step on your toes.”
“Or anything else.”
Not one to be left out of a conversation, Caroline asked her brother, “Who’s Bushwhacker?”
Lucky ignored her. “You’re sure someone left a boombox in the pen?”
“Trust me on this one.”
“And you said something about music from the show at the Caribbean.”
“That’s what it was playing. Actually, to be exact, the rumba that I dance to.”
“Why would someone around here choose that music?” It was more of a question than an accusation. “And why would anyone leave a boombox in the middle of a bull enclosure?”
“That’s what I was trying to find out.”
“Bushwhacker could have hurt himself!”
“Himself? What about me?”
“I get the feeling you know how to take care of yourself…no matter what.”
Furious, JoJo tore her gaze from him. Caroline seemed no more sympathetic. The other woman didn’t even register surprise. Her expression was closed. And as cold as JoJo knew her capable of being.
Seeming not to notice, Lucky cocked his hat back on his head. “I’d better get that contraption out of the enclosure before the noise drives Bushwhacker nuts.”
“You’re a little late,” JoJo informed him. “He took care of the problem himself. All that’s left of the boombox is a hunk of twisted metal. But I guess you’d better make sure he didn’t hurt himself,” she added sarcastically.
“I’ll do that.”
He was obviously more anxious for the bull’s well-being than hers. Though he’d carried her back to the house, JoJo saw the gesture as Lucky’s sneaky way of imposing his will over her rather than as one of concern for her. She gave both Donatelli siblings a cold shoulder and headed for her room. A shower would revitalize her, as would another trip to town. Maybe she could lose herself in the art galleries.
And this time, she had no intention of coming back for dinner.
“WHERE DID that infernal woman get herself to now?” Lucky muttered irritably when the guests gathered for dinner in the dining area and he realized JoJo hadn’t even returned to the ranch.
While Adair and Paula and Rocky took seats at the table, he hung back, pacing before the fireplace. Placing a platter of fried chicken on the table, Flora looked at him questioningly, but he held out a hand and shook his head. Caroline remained seated on a couch, watching him, undoubtedly wondering at his interest.
Lucky wondered himself.
“She probably decided to eat in town,” Caroline said. “So what’s the big deal?”
“Just want to keep my eye on her,” Lucky hedged.
He wasn’t about to share his mixed feelings for the woman with his sister. He’d found the boombox, all right, though the unmarked tape inside had been smashed to smithereens so he couldn’t check it out. Had someone set JoJo up to be hurt for some reason? Or was JoJo working some kind of a con on him? Maybe she was trying to get his sympathy so she could get closer to him. If so, he could let her get closer, all right. He could beat her at her own game with his eyes closed and one hand tied behind his back.
“I don’t trust her,” he muttered.
“Good. No reason you should.”
He eyed Caroline, remembered how overprotective she’d become of him and Nick after their mother had died and their father had been incarcerated. In some ways, Caroline, the middle child, had taken on the responsibility of their missing parents. She’d grown up the fastest, had lost the best years of her childhood. He loved her for the sacrifice, but he also knew her failings. The unnatural sense of responsibility had warped her judgment when it came to her brothers. No woman had ever been good enough for either him or Nick.
Coincidentally, so far, she’d been right, at least as far as he knew….
“You don’t like JoJo.”
He kept his v
oice low so the guests wouldn’t hear. Not that they were paying attention to him. They were too busy passing around platters of Flora’s food and talking about taking a long ride the next morning. Earlier, he’d heard Paula tell Adair that she and Rocky had never gotten themselves horses because they hadn’t been able to find Vincent—something he’d have to check out first thing in the morning. It was time he started asserting himself around the place.
“No, I don’t like JoJo,” Caroline agreed, also in a low voice. “She’s trouble. Has been from the moment she arrived in Vegas.”
“Nick obviously likes her.”
“Nick is blind when it comes to women.”
Lucky didn’t remember his older brother having that particular failing…except for his fascination with Mia Scudella. Nick had fallen for the daughter of another crime boss, Salvatore Donatelli’s chief rival. Carmine Scudella had lusted after Sally’s territory and had seen his opportunity to take over while his rival was behind bars. Mia had been using Nick on her father’s orders, had even gotten herself engaged to him. Luckily for Nick, she hadn’t gone through with the marriage, but had broken it off. Unluckily for Mia, she’d been murdered shortly afterward.
“So Nick did have a fling with JoJo?” he asked.
Caroline’s gaze flicked away, to the painting of Cathedral Rock over the fireplace. “Until someone else interested her more. Marco Scudella.”
He started at the mention of Mia’s twin brother. “What?” he bellowed.
And the conversation at the table came to a dead halt. Lucky felt four pairs of eyes turn toward him, including Flora’s. “No problem,” he told them. “Enjoy your dinners.” Then to Caroline, he said, “Let’s take it outside.”
She rose and followed him onto the front porch, seemingly eager to give him all the details. “JoJo and Marco were secretly engaged. He was just out of prison and using an alias. And she was feeding him information about Nick. Marco blamed Nick for Mia’s death and was determined to get even with him. Anyway, it’s a long story, but suffice it to say that JoJo would be married to Marco now if he weren’t in jail, awaiting trial for murdering a show girl.”
JoJo and Marco. The thought twisted his gut good. Not that he’d had any dealings with the adult Marco. Carmine’s son had done hard time starting as a teenager and had been out of circulation for years. But Lucky remembered Marco as a kid, a mean little bastard, slippery as a snake when it came to covering his butt. As far as he was concerned, snakes might change their skins, but not their nature.
And JoJo had been engaged to him?
“So, if Nick found out JoJo was tight with a Scudella, why.didn’t he tell her to go to hell?” Lucky asked, a sour taste in his mouth.
Caroline ducked her head, hiding her expression. “Because she’s his new wife’s best friend.”
“Right.” She’d told him Nick was married now, a foreign concept as far as Lucky was concerned. “So he’s tolerating her for his bride’s sake. But why send her here?”
“Actually, it was Papa’s idea,” Caroline said. “The whole thing was arranged at the last minute. I had no idea until I was ready to leave and he told me she’d be here.”
Though he remembered her pretending surprise upon seeing JoJo, Lucky didn’t challenge his sister. He was too preoccupied mulling over his original assumption. “Then I was right.” His father was as capable of using people as Carmine and Marco were. That JoJo had been in love with a Scudella undoubtedly meant little to him in the grander scheme of things. “She is working for Papa.”
He looked to Caroline for confirmation. Her expression odd, she merely shrugged, as if she didn’t know. But Lucky had no doubts she would do anything for their father, because family loyalty was everything to her. Was she in on the plan with the old man and not liking it?
“I’ve gotta find her.”
He flew off the porch, but Caroline caught up to him near his Bronco. She grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Lucky, just leave her be.”
“Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, Caroline!”
“Why, because I don’t count? Don’t I mean anything to you?”
Emotions had always stuck in Lucky’s craw. He had a hard time putting words to them. “You’re my sister.”
“Not so that anyone would know it.”
Here it came, the accusations that he’d seen in Caroline’s eyes earlier when she’d arrived and had come face-to-face with him for the first time in six years. Hurt that she’d swallowed when she’d thrown her arms around him and told him how glad she was to see him. Guilt shot through Lucky. He’d meant to punish his father, not Nick or Caroline.
Now tears shone in her green eyes. “You disappeared, damn it! You never once wrote. You never once called. You could have been dead, for all we knew!”
Her hearing his reasons wouldn’t make her feel any better. “I may be a little worse for the wear, but I’m alive, as you can see.”
“And that’s all you’re going to say on the subject?” she asked, her voice rising.
“For now. First, I’ve got other things to take care of.”
Exasperation marred her perfect features. “Going after that woman? What’s the point?”
“The point is that no one messes with Lucky Donatelli without getting messed back!”
Anger turning to caution, a wide-eyed Caroline blinked and took a step away from him…almost as if she were suddenly afraid.
“Do what you have to do,” she whispered.
Lucky did. He climbed into his Bronco and sped off, determined to find JoJo Weston and give her as good as she deserved. He’d make peace with his sister later.
Though Sedona was a small town, the shops, art galleries and restaurants were spread out along a couple of roads, one leading to the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon. As he dodged tourists, Lucky searched the street for JoJo’s vehicle, but the only red Cherokee he spotted had Arizona license plates. After passing the last building with no luck, he turned his Bronco around and headed back onto the less populated strip along the highway.
Mouth set in a grim line, he searched every parking lot of every restaurant or coffee shop along the way, the conversation with his sister fueling his irritability when he didn’t find her truck. He didn’t expect to see it sitting outside of Sedona Sam’s, a weather-beaten frame building with a big glowing red neon sign.
Though he hadn’t been inside in years, he remembered the joint as being little better than a watering hole, though it used to serve good sandwiches and better steaks. Nothing fancy about the place that undoubtedly still catered to locals rather than tourists, that was for sure. But it was exactly right for his purposes.
Lucky was ready to do whatever was necessary to get JoJo Weston off his neck…and off his property for good.
JOJO LEANED BACK in the rough-hewn wooden booth, tapping her nails against her beer mug to the beat of the country music blasting from the jukebox. She’d spent the whole afternoon wandering from one art gallery to another. Satiated with all decorative things Western, she was glad to be in an unpretentious place free of the tourist hordes she’d been experiencing all day.
At least window-shopping had taken her mind off her encounter with the bull for several hours.
Again, thinking how close she’d come to getting hurt, JoJo felt a tremor shoot through her. She hadn’t considered a visit to a real working ranch held its own brand of danger. Now she was forewarned and would be extra careful about poking her nose where it didn’t belong. That what happened might not have been an accident occurred to her, but she couldn’t accept the fact. She didn’t want to think any deeper about the incident, didn’t need any more stress in her life.
But suddenly, stress turned up like a bad penny.
“Give me whatever you have on draft and the biggest steak you can rustle up,” boomed a familiar male voice.
JoJo’s heart raced, whether from aggravation or excitement she wasn’t certain. Standing between the bar and a handful of tables that were mostly em
pty, Lucky Donatelli loomed over the middle-aged blond waitress who scribbled his order on her pad. He was still wearing those butt-hugging jeans, but he’d pulled a chambray work shirt over the white T-shirt. Not that a long-sleeved shirt took anything away from him.
“How you want that steak done?” the waitress asked.
“Still bleeding.” He was looking JoJo’s way when he said it. “And I’ll be waiting for my order over there, in that booth with the little redhead.”
Little, her Aunt Fanny. JoJo decided aggravation was definitely in order and tried to work up a good case as he crossed to her booth, trying to hide his limp.
Lucky slid into the bench opposite her. “Drinking alone again, are you?”
“Not that it’s any of your business—this is merely a lite beer and I’m waiting for a steak sandwich.” JoJo looked at him pointedly. “What are you doing here?”
“Would you believe coincidence?”
“No.”
“Smart lady. How smart?”
She considered the question for a moment. “I have a feeling there is no safe answer.”
He stared at her from hooded eyes, as if he were looking through her. “Not bad.”
JoJo’s skin crawled. What was that supposed to mean? And what was he up to?
Staring at his belt buckle engraved with a bull, rider and some writing, she said, “I have a feeling you’re not safe.”
“Smarter than I thought.”
Before she could demand he explain himself—demand to know why he followed her—the waitress interrupted.
“Here you go.” She set a beer down in front of Lucky, then turned to JoJo. “Your sandwich is just coming up, honey. You want me to hold it until your friend’s steak is done?”
“My friend wasn’t invited.” And JoJo’s stomach was growling. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast. “I’ll have that sandwich now, thanks.”
“Okay.” The waitress rushed off toward the kitchen.
Lucky’s expression didn’t even change when he said, “That wasn’t very sociable of you.”
“I’m not feeling very sociable.” As usual, she was on edge with him, the reason she’d stayed away from the ranch all day. One of them, she amended, Caroline being another. Now here he was anyway. “I’m hungry.”
Lucky Devil Page 6
