by Diane Leyne
When she crawled back into bed, both men were wide awake and horny again. Truth to tell, so was she. This time, though, they made love to her slowly at first, pushing her back against the pillows. Cole made a leisurely exploration of her mouth with his before moving down to worship her breasts while Murphy positioned himself between her legs, using his mouth and fingers to push her over the top before sliding and pressing his cock into her. He rode her slowly while Cole lay on his side, watching. It was incredibly erotic to see Cole stroking his cock as he watched his best friend fucking her, waiting his turn, and she could feel her climax bubbling up, enhanced by Cole’s presence.
Once she came, Murphy’s pace increased, and soon he came, too. Once he pulled out, Cole wasted no time in sliding inside her swollen pussy. He wasn’t as gentle. Watching her with Murphy had pushed him to the edge, and his movements were more urgent, riding her hard and fast until they were both breathing hard as he drove them both to completion.
Jess fell asleep quickly this time, sandwiched between the men, her men. She could get used to this, was the last thought to flicker through her head before drifting off.
All too soon, though, her eyes flickered open. It still looked dark out, and she felt like she hadn’t slept long, but she had the nagging feeling she was forgetting something. She checked her watch. Four forty-five a.m.
Four forty-five?
Damn. She was going to be late. Scrambling, she was out of the bed before the men registered her movements. Grabbing her clothes, she headed to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She didn’t have her toothbrush with her, but she squeezed out a bit of Cole’s onto her finger and brushed it across her teeth. It would have to do.
Then a quick shower and she was ready to go. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and was confronted by two angry, naked cowboys.
“Where do you think you are going?” demanded Cole.
“Candy’s.”
“We told you, she’s back from Kinsdale. She’ll be able to survive one morning without you.”
“Candy may be back, but Jorge won’t be in today. He called yesterday to say that he needed the day off to take his mother into El Paso for medical tests, and Lulu won’t be in until ten at the earliest. I’m not letting Candy down.”
“You are nuts, you know that? Your crazy ex is in town and you want to go serve breakfast?”
“Look. Lance is not going to give up, but this won’t be over until my brother comes. So all I can do now is try to act like everything is normal. If he thinks I’m going to run, you have no idea what he’s capable of. I have to act like I have nothing to hide, and that includes working at the diner.”
“Fine, but we’ll go with you,” declared Murphy.
“We’ll both go with you!” added Cole.
“And how is that acting normal? Look, I have no desire to be a martyr. You can drive me to the diner. Once I’m there, there will be people around all day. Once Lou Lou arrives, I’ll call you and then I’ll head back to Cole’s.”
“What about the ranch? Don’t you like it?”
“I love it, Murphy. But the last thing I want to do is draw attention to where you are hiding my dog. Lance may suspect you have him there, but he can’t be sure. Besides, I’m sure that Murphy is just an excuse. What he really wants is the money.”
“Money?” Cole asked. “Is that what’s in that duffel you’ve been talking about?”
“Yup. I figure it’s drug money. I grabbed it from Lance’s house when I broke in to get Murphy. It’s got to be evidence that Lance is on the take. How else does a cop have that much money in his bedroom? Taking it was an impulse, one which I sincerely regret.” She looked at Cole and Murphy. “Look, can one of you get me a prepaid cell phone and bring it to the diner? I’ll call my brother again, and no, I can’t use one of your phones. I know Lance is already here, but I don’t know who he’s working with or how he found me. If it has some connection to the company my brother works for, I don’t want the call traceable back to you guys. If I can’t get a hold of him or his partner, then I’ll tell you everything. I promise.”
She could see the unspoken communication passing between them.
“Fine. Cole will take you to work and I’ll get you a phone.”
* * * *
Murphy waited with Jess while Cole took a shower and then got dressed. He hated that she was going with Cole and he was related to phone duty.
Whatever. What was done was done. Now they just had to get her to spill. He was tired of her cryptic comments. How bad could it be? Hell, Dent was just one man. And just what magic powers did her brother have? What kind of contacts?
Contacts. Phone. Damn. Dace still had the SIM card from Jess’s phone. Maybe he could use that to get in touch with her brother? He walked down the stairs with Cole and Jess and watched them drive away. Then he sent his guys back to the ranch while he headed to the sheriff’s office. Dace was usually an early bird, and he was pleased to see the sheriff’s personal SUV in the lot.
He was surprised that there were two vehicles he didn’t recognize. Both were big and black and looked like government SUVs. The Feds were never subtle. He called Cole and told him to get over to the sheriff’s after he dropped off Jess.
He parked beside Dace’s Range Rover and got out. If it was a federal matter, it was serious. Really serious. Of course, Jess had admitted to stealing drug money from a crooked cop. It probably couldn’t get much more serious than that.
Striding up to the door, he pushed it open and went in. There was an armed man in a dark suit in the reception area. His first impulse was to push past him and go in search of Dace, but he knew that wasn’t a good idea and forced himself to be patient.
“I’m here to see the sheriff. Tell him it’s Murphy Smith, please.”
“Sheriff’s busy.”
“He’ll see me.”
The man spoke into a radio mike attached to his shoulder, and a moment later, another man in a suit came out and nodded to the first man who proceeded to pat Murphy down.
“He’s not packing.”
The second man nodded and motioned to Murphy. “Come with me.”
He was lead back to a conference room. The stranger stepped aside and motioned Murphy inside. Dace was there with two others. These ones weren’t as formally dressed. Another stranger was already inside. He had longish blond hair and blue eyes and was clearly related to Jess.
“You must be Tait.”
“And you’re Murphy Smith. This is Aaron Day, my partner. I hear that Jess has gotten herself mixed up in something. What can you tell me?”
“Why don’t you ask your sister?”
“I’m asking you.”
Murphy looked at Tait. The man looked dangerous. There was no other way to describe him. He wasn’t especially large or muscular, but he had the kind of physicality that called to mind a jungle cat that would purr as it sunk its claws into you. He looked over to the other man, Aaron. He was taller, but just as dangerous looking. He was wearing a shoulder holster and looked like he couldn’t wait to shoot someone.
He started to answer but then was distracted by a commotion in the outer office. They all rushed out to find that Cole had one of the guards on the ground and the other was pointing a gun at him.
“Call your dogs off. That’s Cole.”
“Wait. Murphy, same as your sister’s dog?” Aaron started laughing.
“Yes, well, it can be confusing at times, but it is what it is. Now can you let my buddy up? He’s one of the good guys.”
Tait looked at Dace, who nodded, then gestured to his men, and they let Cole up. Then he turned and walked back into the conference room.
“Nice entrance, Cole.”
“Yeah, well, they were in my way.”
Murphy made the introductions and then started his story again.
“I wish I knew the whole deal. It’s got something to do with her ex and drug money and a dog, also named Murphy.”
“You should have let me
kill him last time we were in Chicago, Tait. I never liked Dent and told you I could make it look like an accident.”
Murphy turned to Aaron. “I like the way you think, but know this, Jess is ours.”
Aaron grinned. “No worries. Tait’s baby sister has always been off-limits.”
Murphy grinned back. “As long as we understand each other.”
“Wait.” It was Tait’s turn to interrupt. “Did you say she was both of yours?”
“Yeah, you got a problem with that?”
“Not if she’s fine with it. Otherwise, I’ll have to have you both castrated and buried in a shallow grave. But I was interrupting. Please continue.”
“As I was saying, she’s been pretty closed-mouthed about the whole thing. I accidentally answered a call on her cell and a man, who I now know was Dent, said vile things and demanded she turn her dog over to him. He now claims that he was just angry because she stole his dog, and he’s hanging around town insisting that she return the animal to him.”
“Dent’s in town?”
“You didn’t know?”
“No. You’d think we could trace him with that damned gaudy Vette of his, but he managed to disappear a few days ago. We never thought to look in Satisfaction, Texas, not until we got Dace’s call asking about him. We just came down to find out more about why you wanted to know about him. We didn’t expect to find him here.”
“What’s his deal?”
“He’s a dirty cop. We can’t prove it, but he’s involved in the drug cartels in some way. He’s just started showing up on the radar.”
“You know that your sister also took one hundred thousand dollars from him to bring to you so you can have him arrested. She thinks that he’s after the money and the dog is just a cover.”
“Damn, she’s crazy. You know that. We knew there was a cop in Chicago involved with the cartels, someone in the Drug Squad who was helping them find better ways to disguise their drug shipments. The drug-sniffing dogs were having trouble, not making the kind of finds they should have. It was like they’d all lost their sense of smell or something.”
“Or…” Murphy had a sudden thought. “Or like they’d found a way to test their methods…like maybe with their own drug-sniffing dog.”
“Murphy the dog.” Cole nodded. “Didn’t Jess say he was a drug dog before he was injured in the line of duty? Damn, maybe he really is what Dent is after?”
“My sister has a drug dog for a pet?”
“You didn’t know?”
“I knew she had a dog and that there were custody issues, but she never told me his background. No wonder Dent wants him back, if he’s been working with the cartels. I’m sure he wants the money too, but a hundred thousand dollars is a drop in the bucket compared to the kind of money they are making in the drug deals that the dog can help them with. No one expected things to move this fast. We were down south of the border—I can’t be any more specific—and when his name first came up only a few days ago, as the possible law enforcement connection, I can’t tell you how shocked I was when I realized that he was Jess’s ex. That’s why Aaron and I had to go south so unexpectedly.”
“I never liked that guy!” Aaron stated. “I told you he was no good.”
“Yes you did. And you were right. Murphy, where’s Jess? We need to make sure she’s safe, and then we’ll decide how to deal with Dent.”
“She’s out at the ranch. Cole just dropped her off there. There are a number of armed men there to look after her and Murphy. They are both safe.”
“Actually…”
“Dammit, Cole, I knew you came back too quickly to have dropped her off.”
“She wanted her Jeep. She said that Dent wasn’t a threat while he was with the sheriff and she could drive herself out to your ranch. Hell, she isn’t going anywhere without the dog. I called Owen.” He turned to Tait and Aaron. “He’s the ranch foreman, and I told him to do whatever it took to keep her on the ranch and safe even if he had to tie her up to keep her there.”
“Why am I not reassured.” Murphy didn’t like Tait’s tone, but he called the ranch to humor him. Owen answered on the second ring.
“What do you mean she never arrived? Why didn’t you call one of us?”
He hung up after giving Owen instruction to take the truck and get to town as quickly as he could. Then he looked at the three grim faces.
“She never arrived. Owen and the hands that aren’t out on the range are coming in as quickly as possible. They can help form a search party.”
“Shit! How could that happen? She was in the Jeep and driving towards the ranch. I made sure of that before I came back here.”
“Seems she called him and told him she had an errand to run.”
“Damn it. She’s gone after the money. Where do you think she stashed it? Not her apartment. Candy’s?”
“Where else? That damned giant safe she has in there. What better place.”
Cole whipped out his cell phone and called Candy’s. Then he called Candy’s personal phone.
“No answer. She’s always in by this hour. Damn. This is all my fault. I should have personally delivered Jess to the ranch and then tied her up so she couldn’t run.”
“Not your fault, buddy. It’s probably nothing.” But deep down, he knew it wasn’t. Murphy headed for the door, and Cole and the others fell in behind him.
Chapter 16
Jess pulled into the parking lot. The men would be furious, but if she could retrieve the money, maybe she could trade it for Murphy’s life? She knew they would try to stop her or insist that she let the law take care of things, but she couldn’t wait any longer for her brother and she didn’t trust any other law. After all, Lance was the law.
She’d give him his money and then he’d be gone from her life for good.
She entered the diner and closed the door behind her but before she could lock it, she felt it pushed back open. It was Lance and he had a gun. She started to yell, but he back handed her and she fell to the floor.
When she woke up, she was in Candy’s office, lying on the couch, and Lance was sitting at her desk, his feet up, waiting.
“Oh, Jess. You just made it too easy. I came to search your place to see if you’d left the money lying around. Then I was going to head out to the ranch to retrieve my dog, and yes, of course I know he’s there. I mean, where else would you stash him? But, now, where was I? Oh, yes. I was tossing your place because I figured I might as well get my money while I was at it when I heard you drive up. You really made this all too easy, babe.”
“Fuck you, Lance.”
“Fuck you too, baby. But first, I want that damned mutt. You are going to get me onto that ranch, past their security, and get me the dog. I don’t want to hurt anyone else, but I will.”
“There are armed men there. You won’t be able to get away.”
“Oh, Jess. You underestimate me. Get me on the ranch and I’ll take care of the escape.”
Jess stared at him. How could she ever have thought she’d loved him?
“I’ll give you the money, Lance. Just take it and leave me and Murphy alone. No one will be able to prove anything against you without the money.”
“You hid the money here? Damn, does the redheaded chick know you risked her life?”
“Candy? You’ve seen her? Where is she? Is she okay? Did you hurt her?”
“I’m not a killer, Jess. Although you have tempted me sometimes. She’ll be fine. She’ll have a headache when she wakes up. I’ll put her in the freezer before I go. She might be a little cold maybe, but someone will find her sooner or later.”
“She could die of hypothermia.”
“Then you’d better hope it’s sooner, hadn’t you?” He pushed Jess through the kitchen doors, and there Candy was on the floor beside the desk where he sat. Jess ran to her. She was out cold.
“Please don’t put her in the freezer.”
“Fine. Tie her up and gag her. Do a good job and I’ll leave her there.�
�
Reluctantly, Jess did as he asked. She could see Candy start to stir, but she tried to get her body in between Candy and Lance so he couldn’t see her move.
“Lance, she’s out cold. You won’t have to hurt her again.” She felt Candy stiffen and then go limp. Message understood. She finished tying her friend and then found a clean cloth to put in her mouth. When she was done, Lance pushed her against the wall and used some of the twine to tie her own arms behind her back. It cut into her wrists, but that was the least of her worries.
“Now get the money.”
Jess made short work of retrieving the cash from the safe.
“Here it is. Every penny. Now just go. You can tie me up if you like. That should give you a few hours’ head start.”
“Nice try, babe. You are coming with me.”
“But I gave you back the money?”
“Yeah, but you don’t think I’m risking so much for a measly one hundred thousand, do you? Now get your ass in gear. Now!”
“What if I refuse?”
“Well, then there are a couple of options. First, I could put a bullet in Candy. Nowhere vital, you understand, but she’ll bleed out unless you cooperate. And then you should be getting some customers soon. I could shoot one of them.”
“You said you weren’t a murderer!”
“Yes, well, desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’d just made a deal to sell Murphy to a rich drug cartel, and you ran off before I could turn him over.”
“Tell them that he’s gone.”
“You also took the deposit money. They want either their hundred thousand dollars back or they want the dog. In fact, they’d prefer the dog. I spent the last six months in Chicago proving that my scheme could work. Now that it did, they want him down on their premises. I would, too, because when they get him, I’m getting another nine hundred thousand dollars. I’ll be a millionaire, Jess. Maybe you’ll want me back when I’m rich.”
