by BJ Wane
Fear and uncertainty lent Sydney enough bravado to go at him with her free arm. Turning her fingers into a claw, she went for his eyes and got in a row of deep, blood-oozing scratches before he backhanded her with a curse. Pain blossomed across her cheek as stars lit up her suddenly black vision for several numbing seconds.
“There’s more of that if you try another stunt like that. Now, drive.” Sydney jerked on her arm again but he refused to let go. “You can drive with one hand,” he sneered, reaching up to finger the gashes.
Vowing to come up with a plan to get away, she inched back onto the highway, her vision still blurry and her mind numb with fear and misery, she never noticed the Dunbar ranch truck pulling out behind them.
“What now?” Caden mumbled, reining in his steed and yanking his cell out of his pocket as Connor sent him a questioning look. “Diego, what’s up?” The hands never called unless to report a problem they couldn’t handle, which there weren’t many.
“Someone’s got her, Boss,” his frantic voice shouted in his ear, the words coiling Caden’s gut into an icy ball of fear. “Forced her into the car and they’re driving east on Highway Six. Billy Joe and I are tailing.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? Sydney?”
Connor’s eyes went as cold and flat as Caden knew his were. “Yes. Son-of-a-bitch dragged her into her car, hit her and forced her to drive. That’s all we saw.”
“You stay on them, you hear, Diego? Don’t fucking lose them. We’re on our way. Keep the line open.” He pocketed the phone without hanging up, turning to ask Connor, “You send out the SOS and coordinates?”
Connor nodded, both of them turning their mounts and taking the shortcut across the field. “Texted Grayson, too. He’s issued an alert with Sydney’s car description. What’s going on, bro?”
Caden shook his head, preferring to concentrate on heading off Sydney and her abductor than tell his brother he hadn’t a clue. It had to be the same man who threatened her, but why would she meet up with him instead of just leaving? The only explanation was he’d threatened Caden and the ranch again, and after the mess yesterday and potential for even greater harm to the livestock and his employees, she wouldn’t take a chance. Damn her stubborn, lovable hide.
Out of the blue, sirens came wailing from behind and in front of them, the sudden clamor and glimpse of flashing lights were welcomed sounds and sights, at least for Sydney. Flicking a glance at the thug, she relished the shock and panic crossing his ugly mug. She slowed, stifling the urge to gloat. A barricade of police vehicles loomed ahead, she recognized Sheriff Grayson’s cruiser and Billy Joe behind the wheel of the truck next to him. Her heart soared even as she despaired of where all this would leave her with her family and Caden.
“Keep going,” her kidnapper insisted on a note of desperation. “How the hell did they know?” He shook her arm none too gently. “Did you warn them?” He pulled a gun from his waistband in the back and pressed it to her side.
“No, I swear.” Sweat pooled at the base of her spine as her grip on the wheel grew slick. “I just left, that’s it. The hands in that truck must have seen me from the barn or field. I didn’t notice anyone when I left.” Of course, she hadn’t bothered to look too closely, either. “It’s over. I’m stopping.”
“No!” He jabbed the gun hard enough to leave a bruise.
“Where am I supposed to go?” she shouted back, applying the brake.
“Turn off, go around them through the field.”
Shaking her head, she stalled as she continued to slow. “My car won’t go over such rugged ground, they’d be on us in seconds.” And then a final ray of hope spread a warm glow in her chest as she saw a group of riders barreling across that meadow, in the lead with grim faces below their Stetsons were the Dunbars.
Coming to a stop in front of the line of police cars blocking the highway, Sydney sat in a bemused state, her eyes on Caden’s concerned, grim face as he leveled his rifle at the idiot next to her. He’d fought their attraction but never let her down, not once, despite her secrets and the problems she’d given him. Where else would she find someone who cared enough to ride to her rescue without knowing the circumstances or her culpability?
The cops got out of their cars and aimed their guns at the passenger side of the car over their open doors, the sheriff’s deep voice booming through a megaphone from behind them.
“Come out with your hands up. Now.”
“Get out.” Another sharp poke in her side prodded her out of the car, her fear now for those who were so bravely trying to protect her.
“Come on, let me go,” she whispered as he twisted her arm behind her and used her as a human shield. “You can shoot me, but you won’t get away.”
“Are you so ready to die then?”
“No.” Her voice trembled as she looked up at Caden who had nudged his horse closer. “No, I’m not. But I won’t let anyone here get hurt.” Before she could chicken out, Sydney bent her knees, dropping down as far as her wrenched arm allowed, squeezing her eyes shut as shots rang out.
And then she was falling all the way, free of her captor’s hold for seconds before being swept up into a pair of familiar arms. “I swear to God, darlin’, you’ll be the death of me yet,” Caden whispered in her ear as he crushed her against his chest.
Rocky Henderson. Sydney never knew his name until now, and it still didn’t matter. He was dead, her uncle was swearing he had nothing to do with sending him, that the order came from the people he owed money to. For once, she believed him. His tears over the phone had been real, and she didn’t have the energy left to doubt him or hide the truth from the family any longer.
Pushing the porch glider with her toes, she watched the sun setting, another glorious red/gold sunset as cattle lowed and the hands called out good night as they piled into their trucks to head home. Tears pricked her eyes as she waved, the list of desserts she planned for the next week running through her head. As the last truck’s taillights disappeared, an unfamiliar car drove up and pulled into the drive.
Sydney’s heart jumped into her throat as her two oldest uncles, Robert and David, got out and glared at her from across the yard. With a crook of his finger, Uncle Robert beckoned her over. Unable to help herself, she ran to them, throwing her arms around Robert and promptly bursting into tears. What an awesome surprise to end a day from Hell.
“Well, hell, Syd, how can we lay into you if you’re going to turn on the waterworks?” He squeezed her tightly before handing her over to his brother.
“You have a lot to answer for, girl.” The strain in David’s voice went with his damp, green eyes as he hauled her next to him.
She burrowed deeper against his shoulder, whispering, “I’m sorry… what’re you doing here? How’d you know…”
“I called them.”
She stiffened and then whirled at the sound of Caden’s rough voice. “But… how…”
“You know,” David drawled, slinging his arm around her shoulders. “I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing Sydney stutter in front of a man. Good job.” Holding out his free hand, he introduced himself. “I’m David Greenbriar, and this is my brother, Sydney’s other uncle, Robert.”
“Nice to meet you both. Let’s take this inside.”
Sydney jerked away from her uncle. “What have you done?” she hissed as Caden drew her away from David and hugged her close before ushering everyone inside, with Connor and Grayson joining them. Her breathing grew short as she fretted over what the sudden appearance of her relatives might mean.
“It pays to have friends with easy access to government records. It didn’t take Grayson long after running your license plate this morning to unearth where you’re from and more about your family. About an hour after our talk, he called back with your uncles’ names and numbers. The only thing he wasn’t able to learn is why you took off two months ago. They’d already flown out before we knew about your abduction.” Caden nodded toward her uncles. �
�I called them this morning. I have to say, they made damn good time.”
“We grabbed the first available flight,” David said.
She had trouble wrapping her mind around Caden’s subterfuge and determination until a sudden thought added to her concerns. “Did… did you talk to anyone else?” She prayed he hadn’t contacted her grandmother and upset her. When she’d called Uncle Mike, they had both agreed to wait and talk to the family together, when he promised to come clean with everyone.
Robert faced her as soon as they entered the den, hands on his hips, eyes snapping with impatience as he answered, “You’re the one who has caused her grief. And we’re,” he nodded to his brother, “guessing this has something to do with Mike and the substantial debt he owes. He’s been scarce ever since you took off.”
“You know?” Sydney sank onto the sofa in shock. “But, he told me no one in the family knew, or could find out as it would break Grandma’s heart.”
David crouched in front of her and clasped her hands. “Lucille Greenbriar is tougher than you think, sweetheart, and a gambling debt incurred by Mike won’t surprise her. He’s always been bad with money, and lazy to boot. But none of that is why you left. He threatened you for help, didn’t he?”
She shook her head, not wanting to be the one to reveal how immoral and corrupt in his desperation Mike had become. “I don’t want to hurt you, or anyone else. It’s bad enough Caden’s ranch has suffered because of him, and me.”
“Don’t make me turn you over my knee in front of your relatives,” Caden warned, his stern look saying he wouldn’t hesitate if she didn’t stop with the self-blame. “While it’s damn admirable for you to want to spare your family’s feelings, darlin’, in this case it’s no longer wise,” Caden growled in his usual impatient, caring way. “The truth has to come out sometime. And I say now. Your Uncle Mike doesn’t deserve your consideration even if he wasn’t responsible for earlier today.”
“Taking on that burden alone was never a smart thing to do,” David admonished. “Magnanimous and selfless, but wrong, nonetheless. What happened today? Did we miss something?”
Sydney wanted to hide from everyone’s nods, but now wasn’t the time to turn coward. Caving to the pressure bearing down on her, she relayed Mike’s desperate actions at her apartment and the thug she’d believed he’d hired to threaten her into returning. “For months, he’d been pestering me to trust him with the shares Mom left me, saying he could invest them and turn a nice profit for both of us. I may not know much about such things, but enough to know he was conning me. When he became really desperate, he let slip he owed a lot of people, some who didn’t like to be kept waiting for payment.” She shuddered at the memory, but when she looked up into Caden’s cobalt gaze and saw the anger on her behalf, that warm, fuzzy sensation in her chest she first experienced when he’d found her spying through the window of his club, returned.
For the first time since Rocky Henderson had approached her, Sydney felt free to speak openly and more optimistic about the future. Flipping her rancher one of her cheeky grins, she quipped, “I’m an idiot, aren’t I?”
“Yes, but a very caring one,” David answered with a smile as he rose. Caden just lifted one eyebrow, as if to say, ‘you damn well are’.
“We knew it was bad, but not how bad,” Robert sighed, running a hand through his thinning hair. “At least he didn’t sink so low as to send that goon after you, but it was his actions that put you in danger, and he has to pay for that. There’s no excuse for his behavior toward you at your apartment. Under the circumstances, I think it’s best if you stay here while we dish out some tough love to our baby brother.”
“What about Nana?” Unbidden, tears welled as she thought of all her grandmother had endured already.
“You’re a good girl, Sydney. We’ll give her the details on his debt, but just say he wanted your shares and leave it at that. That’ll be enough for her to come down on Mike like a ton of bricks. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to come home soon, I promise,” David assured her.
“In the meantime, give me your statement about what went down this afternoon in as much detail as you can,” Grayson said as he took a seat next to her and pulled out a small notebook. “Word for word, best as you can remember will help close this out fast.”
This isn’t going to go over well, she mused before telling the truth and bracing for Caden’s wrath. “He showed up again at the mess hall yesterday, while everyone was out. That’s when he admitted he’d poisoned the water and suggested it could be someone on the ranch who got hurt next time and instructed me to meet him today, or else.”
“Son-of-a-bitch,” Connor muttered.
Caden remained silent, but his glacial look spoke volumes. Her uncles’ faces were creased with concern, and guilt slithered under her skin again, making her regret her choices.
Funny, Sydney thought fifteen minutes later as Caden showed her uncles the guest rooms they could use tonight before catching their flight in the morning. Somehow, in the past few weeks, her desire to return home had shifted into second priority, while remaining here on the ranch, with her rancher, slid into the first slot. She made it through dinner and the evening of catching up before she turned to Caden with a beaming smile as he shut them into the privacy of his room.
Keeping her eyes on his, she slowly unzipped her jeans and shimmied out of them. “It looks like you’re stuck with me a little longer, Boss.”
Arms crossed, he replied in a cool tone, “Looks like.”
Her top went sailing onto a chair next, followed by her bra and panties. “Gee, what will you do with me?” She cupped her breasts, a shiver rippling down her spine at the raw lust stamped on his sun-bronzed face.
He reached out, hauled her up against him and took her mouth in a deep, tongue-stroking kiss before swatting her ass, hard.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“For not trusting me or your family sooner.” With a small push, he sent her toppling onto the bed. “Continue.” He placed her hands back on her breasts then rid himself of his clothes.
Sydney’s arousal skyrocketed by the time he draped the full length of his rock-hard body on top of her, clasped her hands and held them above her head. The relief of having shared her burden and her uncle’s promise to take Mike in hand brought a whole new level of excitement to submitting to Caden.
“This can be your home, if you want it to be, Sydney,” he said, shoving her legs apart. “I want you.” He worked his cock inside her, one slow inch at a time. “I need you.” Pulling back, her breath caught as he took his time filling her again. “This,” he bumped her cervix, “is now home for me, you are home.”
The tears returned as she wrapped her legs around his hips and dug her heels into his flexing butt. Who said she couldn’t call two places home? Only this one, here, with her rancher, was the one she longed to plant roots.
“Well, since you put it like that, and given my poor sense of direction, I probably couldn’t find my way back to Missouri, at least not without you. I would love to stay.” Tomorrow, she’d tell him she loved him. Tonight, she’d just show him.
Epilogue
Two months later
Sydney stood at the kitchen sink, staring out the window at the light snow falling in large, soft flakes. The afternoon had darkened early due to the cloud cover, and she worried Caden wouldn’t get back tonight like he promised. He and Connor had been gone for five days at an annual ranching seminar in Wyoming, and she missed him dreadfully.
The last several weeks had passed in a blur of changes. The sheriff and St. Louis police had connected Henderson to two ruthless loan sharks, and with Uncle Mike’s sworn statement, had been able to make charges stick against them. For his part, her uncle had shown true shock at the threats and actions from the people he was in bed with, swearing he never would have condoned sending someone after her, that he’d been trying to find a way to pay back his debt obligation on his own after his drunken actions had sent her fleein
g. With no choice left to him, Mike agreed to rehab and counseling in exchange for the family paying off his debt, but only after they made it clear it would be his last chance. Robert and David also threatened him with expulsion from the family if he stepped out of line again.
She’d returned home for two weeks, Caden accompanying her for the first week. He’d won her grandmother over in spades and nothing could have made Sydney happier than having her beloved relative’s blessing to move to Montana for good, especially since they all promised to visit often. Now, if only her rancher would get his butt back here. The nights had been cold and lonely with him gone.
The sound of his large truck tires crunching over the frozen ground reached her ears before the bright headlights crossed in front of the window. With her heart beating in a wild tattoo of excitement, she braced her hands on the counter ledge and leaned forward to watch his tall frame striding up to the front door.
Turning as he entered the kitchen, she beamed at him. “You’re home.”
Caden’s eyes gleamed as he tossed his Stetson onto a kitchen chair and shrugged out of his coat. “Not yet, darlin.” Striding toward the minx who had turned his life upside down, he gave her a cold kiss before spinning her around and placing her hands back on the edge of the counter. After making short work of yanking her jeans down, releasing his cock and sinking into her wet, slick depths, he breathed in her ear, “Now, I’m home.”
The End
Submitting to the Sheriff
Cowboy Doms, Book Two
Published by Blushing Books
An Imprint of
ABCD Graphics and Design, Inc.
A Virginia Corporation
977 Seminole Trail #233
Charlottesville, VA 22901
©2018 by ABCD Graphics and Design, Inc. and BJ Wane
