A Little Harmless Ride

by Melissa Schroeder

  “I think you stay here and stay safe. St John would have my ass if I let you go with me.”

  “Crysta, the note Eli left you said he wanted you to stay here,” Danny said.

  “And I think he was drugged and worried I would come after him on my own. I won’t.”

  “This isn’t a good idea. It would be best, in my opinion, if you stayed home,” Sean said.

  “And I think I do what I want. I go with you or I follow you. Take your pick.”

  She went into the locked cabinet where she knew Eli kept his guns. Crysta pulled out a handgun and some bullets.

  “Come on. We can argue on the way there. Danny, make sure you field any calls. We both have our cells.” She strode past both men.

  When she realized Sean wasn’t following her, she looked back over her shoulder at him. “We don’t have time to waste.”

  “Fuck. St. John is going to kill me.”

  But he followed her. They were in the truck and on their way out of the ranch within minutes. .

  “Do you know where they are?”

  “If they are on Kaheaku land, yes. We’re gonna break the law here.”

  “There is one thing my family needs to learn. They can say anything they want, but screw with someone I love, and I prove that blood isn’t thicker than water.”

  He chuckled. “You got it.”

  * * * *

  “He was such a pest.”

  Eli shouldn’t feel sorry for the boy, but he did in a way. Junior wasn’t built for the real world, thanks to his father. Sam lay still, no longer twitching.

  “I don’t know why I always seem to find men who can’t keep up with me. But you can, can’t you, Eli? That weekend was wonderful.”

  He could only stare at the woman, wondering what the fuck she was talking about. He remembered a little sex and then a whole lot of pain. Of course, since she was into pain, he figured she saw it a different way. And apparently, she had built it up in her mind as something else.

  He drew in a deep breath. He could smell the blood, but he could also smell hay. They were somewhere on his ranch, or, more than likely, Kaheaku land.

  “So, you have me. What’s the plan now?”

  She smiled and there was something in the expression that sent a chill through his blood. She had things planned he didn’t want to think about. He had to concentrate on one thing. Getting free.

  “As I said, that weekend was wonderful. Until you disappeared.”

  That was until a SEAL team found him. He’d been unconscious when they broke in to extract him. And the woman had vanished in the wind, although, she had been caught later.

  “Wasn’t like I was going to stay around for the third act.”

  “I don’t see why not. You were into a little light bondage.”

  Light bondage. The woman was insane. She’d been pretty bad at the time but now, looking into those dark eyes, he could see she wasn’t quite right. In fact…she had the look of someone who had gone completely over the edge.

  And that made her more dangerous. He had to figure a way to escape without someone else looking for him. If Crysta got anywhere near Rose, she would be dead.

  “So, were you the one who attacked the cow?”

  She rolled her eyes and walked away. “Of course not. That was Sam. There is something really wrong with that boy. Well, was wrong. I took care of that.”

  She had obsessed about him for ten years, but Sam was sick. The woman was deranged.

  “So, he mutilated the cow. The shots, the attack on Jerry?”

  She tossed a coy smile over her shoulder at him. “A joint effort, although, I should have done the shooting. That bitch would be dead now. Sam is a horrible shot. Was.” She giggled as if she were telling a joke. She turned and watched to him. “I can’t believe you went for someone so…dark.”

  Rose was an exotic woman with warm features and a soft lilt of Irish to her voice. She had always enjoyed the idea that she was the most amazing woman in the room. With Crysta, he could see that she would feel threatened.

  “That really wasn’t well done of you, Eli.”

  “I don’t believe I asked your opinion.”

  She shook her head. “My opinion is all that matters. It’s a shame I didn’t have more time to take care of her, but I am pushing the limits as it is.”

  “You do anything to hurt Crysta, I will hunt you down and make you regret it.”

  “Such passion. It’s one of the reasons I fell for you right off the bat. I thought I might be able to recruit you to She picked up a bag. “I brought a few things I knew you would like.”

  * * * *

  “What about that? Is that the building you’re looking for?” Crysta said. Her heart was beating so fast, she didn’t think she could breath properly. The only thing keeping her from passing out was the thought that Eli was in danger.

  Sean glanced over to where she was pointing. It was their last hope. Or, that was what he had told her. Sean knew the land well and knew this was one of the last buildings.

  “Yeah.”

  He parked a little ways away and they both got out of the car. She checked to make sure the gun was ready. They saw the truck at about the same time. They shared a look. He motioned for her to stay but she shook her head. Still, she let him go first.

  She followed directly behind him, watching his every move. If he needed her to retreat or move forward, she wanted to be ready.

  Then, she heard voices. A murmur of a woman and a man. It was without a doubt Eli’s. Then, she heard the crack of a whip.

  It took everything she had not to run to the door and rush in. That wouldn’t do any of them any good. Instead, Crysta inched closer to Sean.

  “Stay here. I want to go in and assess the situation. Make sure to follow my orders,” he whispered with a frown.

  “Anything to save Eli.”

  He nodded and kicked open the door.

  * * * *

  Rose was about to land her third lash on his back, when the door exploded.

  “Ah, I see that you have friends here, Eli. Who is this naughty boy?” Rose asked. He was almost feeling better that he only saw Sean. He knew that Crysta had been smart enough to stay back at the ranch.

  “Sean Kaheaku.”

  “Ah, and you decided to come see your friend. You can see that your stepbrother is dead.” She glanced in the direction of Sam’s body. “He really didn’t like you.”

  “No, he didn’t. He hated me. No worries because the feeling was mutual.”

  Then, she raised the gun. “And while I do like a good plaything, you can see I have one.”

  She pulled the trigger. Sean dove away but not before she nicked him in the shoulder.

  “I think you need to drop the gun.”

  The moment he heard Crysta’s voice, Eli’s heart stopped. Rose would kill her. She would make her hurt, torture her, then Rose would kill her slowly. And the bitch would do it in front of him, just like she said she would.

  Rose looked at Crysta, anger and then pleasure moving over her features. “Is that so? Look Eli, the woman I hate has come to save you. Too bad she didn’t do as you instructed.”

  Crysta’s gun didn’t waver. “One thing you need to know about me is that I don’t take orders from men outside of the bedroom.”

  “Don’t tell me that you like when he ties you up?” Rose asked. “How every stereotypical.”

  She sounded bored and Eli knew that made her dangerous. He finally worked his binding loose enough he could get up out of his chair. Seeing the way she was eyeing Crysta, it was just a matter of time before Rose struck out at her. He rose up out of the chair and ran toward Rose. He rammed into her. The gun fell from her hand as they hit the ground hard. His hands were still bound, so she got away from him easily. She grabbed the gun and pointed it behind him. He knew without looking that it was Crysta. He turned, trying to think of something to save her, but he didn’t need to.

  Crysta fired her gun, hitting Rose in the chest. Ro
se staggered back, falling, and dropping the gun.

  Crysta rushed forward to him. Cupping his face, she kissed him gently.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Somewhat.”

  She kissed him again and helped him up. His vision wasn’t that good and the room was starting to spin. Aftereffects of the adrenaline and drugs they had used on him.

  “Where’s Sean?” she asked. She spotted him and ran over to him.

  She listened to his chest for a few seconds. “He’s still breathing.”

  “Of course I am, but damn woman, stop yelling,” Sean said.

  She smiled down at Sean as Eli made his way over to him. “Aren’t you glad you had me come along now?” she asked.

  He laughed as Eli helped him up.

  “Just nicked me, but I’ll take a kiss to make it better.”

  Before Eli could tell him to fuck off, there was a snick of a gun behind him. Eli felt the bullet hit him in the shoulder, throwing him forward into Crysta. She screamed as they stumbled to the ground. Another loud report of a gun filled the small room. Eli struggled to lift his head and he saw Sean, a gun in his hand as he walked forward. There on the ground was the woman from his nightmares, her eyes open…but there was no life in her.

  He looked at Crysta who had pulled his head into her lap. He wanted to say so much but as he felt his grip on reality fading, he had only one thing to say to her.

  “I love you.”

  Then, for the second time that day, his world dissolved around him.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Dillon came striding down the hall, his face a grim expression as he ignored the looks of others there. He didn’t stop until he was standing in front of Crysta. Then, he pulled her up out of the chair and hugged her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked when he finally let her go. She didn’t know what to say for a few seconds. She barely knew the man and he was giving her comfort.

  “I’m fine. Sean got hit, but it was a flesh wound.”

  He nodded. “Eli?”

  “He’s stable. They are going to put in a room soon and they said they’d come get me when they do. He didn’t loose much blood.”

  “So, I did some check on Rose. She bribed her way out of prison.”

  She sat down and he took the seat next to her. “She was an international criminal.”

  “And she had money to spare.”

  “But why come after Eli? That just seems stupid.”

  “He was the one person who got away. And truthfully, they aren’t sure she was right in the mind. She was raised by a grandfather who constructed bombs for the IRA then for whoever would pay him the most. When they took her into custody, she disappeared for a couple of months.”

  She sighed. “So, they probably tortured her.”

  He nodded. “Not that she was completely sane to begin with but that seemed to push her over the edge. She apparently focused on Eli. It took her awhile to find him, but when she did, it wasn’t too hard to get Sam, Jr to help her.”

  “Mr. Kaheaku, the doctor said you need to be admitted,” a nurse said loudly down the hall. She looked up and found Sean ignoring the nurse as he walked down to her.

  “Eli?”

  “He’s stable and out of surgery. He’s going to be fine.”

  He sat down on the other side of her. “That was one crazy bitch.”

  She snorted but it came out as a half sob. The last two days had been hell on her nerves and now…she felt as if she couldn’t keep it together anymore.

  “Oh, God,” she said as tears started to pour out her eyes.

  A look of panic moved over Sean’s face but apparently, Conner Dillon knew what to do. He put his arm around her and said, “Go ahead, honey. Cry.”

  And she did. Although, not loudly and not for long. He handed her a tissue when she had quieted.

  “How did you get so good at handling women, Dillon?” she asked with a smile.

  “I helped raise my sister, and I am married.”

  “Ms. Miller,” someone said. She looked up and found a nurse standing in front of her. “The doctor gave you permission to be with Mr. St John.”

  She nodded and stood. “Thanks, both of you.”

  Then, she followed the nurse down the corridor. When they got to his room, she stopped the nurse. “Is he awake?”

  “If he is, he will make no sense. He’s drugged to the gills for pain.”

  She nodded and took a deep breath. When she stepped into the room, she almost started crying again. He looked so pale, so still.

  “I’m not dead you know,” he mumbled without opening his eyes.

  “I know.”

  She walked to the side of his bed. She pulled the bedside chair closer and sat down. He reached out for her and she took his hand.

  “Sleep, Eli. I’m here.”

  And then she sat there, holding his hand, thanking God that he was safe and sound.

  * * * *

  “I’m not in the mood.”

  Crysta heard Eli yell the order as she walked down the corridor to his room. She closed her eyes and prayed for patience. It hadn’t been easy dealing with him, the paperwork, and the investigation, not to mention running the ranch. With both he and Jerry out of commission, she’d been overwhelmed. But, like Joe had told her before, the Hawaiian people took care of their own. People from all the surrounding ranches had pitched in to help. If it hadn’t been for them, she wasn’t sure what she would have done.

  “I think I should get out of here today.”

  Now Eli sounded like a five-year-old. He’d been a pain since they’d arrived at the hospital three days ago. She walked down the hall and gave the nursing station an apologetic smile. When she reached the door, she drew in a deep breath and pushed it open.

  Sean was sitting by the bed, his booted feet stacked on the mattress. Eli was giving him a look while Sean ignored him by playing on his tablet.

  “I said you can go.”

  Neither man had apparently realized she was there.

  “Is that the kind of welcome I get?” she asked.

  Eli looked over at her and his scowl softened. “Hey, babe.”

  Just like that, like nothing had happened, like less than seventy-two hours earlier he hadn’t almost died.

  She wanted to scream at him. Sean was more perceptive than Eli.

  “Hey, Crysta, you’re looking rested.”

  She smiled at her step-cousin. “I am. I’m feeling much better after a long night’s sleep.”

  “I was surprised you weren’t here when I woke up,” Eli said. Again, he was back to sounding like a little boy.

  She turned to Eli, who was scowling at her now. He looked better, if a little pale for her liking. Of course, he was ridiculously sexy for a man who had been clinging to life just a day earlier—not to mention dressed in a fugly hospital gown.

  “I thought maybe after her being here for almost twenty-four hours straight, she needed some rest. As did the doctors.”

  Sean’s calm voice—tinged with humor—seemed to irritate Eli more, but Eli just gave his new friend a nasty look. It had been funny to see the way Sean had acted after the shooting. He had stayed at the hospital, only going home to change and stop by the ranch to bring her clothes. It was as if he had adopted her as his cousin and he thought of it as his sworn duty to make sure she was taken care of until Eli recovered.

  “I think you can go back home. You look tired,” she said.

  “I guess I will if Eli will promise to behave while I’m gone.” The look the man in question shot Sean had her laughing.

  “Go on, Sean. I’ll make sure he behaves.”

  As soon as he left them alone, she wandered around the room then settled in the chair Sean had vacated when he left. She knew if she engaged Eli, he would start a fight with her. She said nothing, but turned on the TV.

  “So, are you going to tell me how everything is?” he asked after a few moments.

  “Everything is back to normal. Not
much going on, other than cleaning up.”

  She played with the remote control…waiting. She knew he was still mad at her for following him, for getting “in the way” as he called it. Of course, he wouldn’t admit that he’d be dead if she hadn’t gone against his wishes.

  “Are you going to pick a channel, or just go through them over and over?”

  “I dunno. Might just keep checking the channels.”

  He grunted.

  “Dad’s going to be here today. He’s anxious to see you.”

  “Your father? Anxious to see me?” he snorted. “I doubt that.”

  “I think it has to do with the fact that I told him I loved you. So, seeing that you were almost killed he’s worried about you.”

  There was silence in the room and she dared not look at him. She wasn’t sure she could handle his rejection right now, even if she knew what was behind it.

  “You told him you loved me?” he asked.

  She looked at him and had to fight showing any kind of emotion. He was still pissed at her, pissed at himself at what he saw as a failure. Right now, he looked so dumbfounded that she would admit to her relationship.

  “Of course I did. What did you think I would do when I called him to tell him you almost died and you were in the hospital?”

  He rolled his shoulders and then winced in pain.

  “Feeling sorry for yourself, are you?” she asked showing no outward reaction. Eli didn’t understand tenderness all the time, and he definitely needed a swift kick in the ass at the moment.

  “Not feeling sorry for myself.”

  She turned back to the television, trying to keep her emotions in check. “Sure sounds like you are. Kind of whiney.”

  “Look, woman, I’m not in the mood to deal with you.”

  “Yeah? Well, whatcha gonna do about it?” she asked.

  He said nothing but she felt his glare.

  “I want to know what the bloody hell you were thinking?”

  She sighed. They had done this the day before and she just wasn’t in the mood. “I was thinking I shouldn’t let you die just because I am a woman.”

  He said nothing for a few moments. She glanced over at him and he was staring straight ahead.

  “You want to be pissed because I followed you, because I saw what was happening and I wasn’t about to let that bitch kill you? It wasn’t like I came alone. I had Sean with me, and he definitely knew what he was doing. Get pissed, and then get over it.”