Tyler

by Jennifer Ashley

  “Talk to you about keeping out of prison.” Tyler addressed Cade directly. “I know where I can find a ton of evidence that will put you right back in. It’s what you came out to get.”

  He finally had Cade’s attention. The man switched his ice-cold glare to Tyler. If Tyler hadn’t been used to Carter staring at him like that all his life, he’d have flinched. As it was, he met the man’s gaze with a cool one of his own.

  “Tell me what the hell you’re talking about,” Cade growled.

  “The cash from your last deal, your stash of weapons—those alone will put you back inside right quick. But your secret is safe with me. All you have to do is leave. The state—hell, the country. That would be the best idea. And not come back.”

  Cade watched Tyler in bafflement, a man used to commanding, and wondering why Tyler had tracked him down to be a pain in his ass.

  Tyler saw the wheels turn inside the man’s head as the bafflement slowly became realization and then rage. “She told you. The fucking slut. Jess told you about it, didn’t she? Where is she? I’ll kill her.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Tyler’s backup surged around him in the small shop, looking like the dangerous men they truly were.

  He didn’t want bodies on the floor though. The goal was to get Cade and Elijah arrested or fleeing, out of Jess’s life for good.

  “You won’t be going anywhere near her,” Tyler said in a hard voice. “It’s me you’re dealing with now. But we can negotiate.”

  “Or, I can just kill you,” Elijah said calmly. His hand remained on the gun, but he didn’t draw.

  “Then you won’t find out what I did with the stash.”

  Tyler hoped his button mike worked well, and that Ross and his Dallas police buddies were getting every word. Cade said some choice ones.

  “You fucker—you stole from me?” he bellowed. “You’ll pay for that—you’d better fucking tell me where it is.”

  Tyler opened his mouth to continue the script he and Ross had cooked up, trying to convince Cade to rush to his hiding place and see if Tyler was lying. But in that moment, Tyler noticed that Elijah’s reaction was all wrong.

  Instead of outrage that Tyler had robbed his friend—and probably part of the stash had been promised to Elijah, the loyal man who’d looked after Cade’s wife—Elijah looked worried. He tried to hide it under his arrogant façade, but he was definitely troubled.

  Stunt riding was all about careful planning, down to the last detail, but it also involved thinking on your feet when something went awry. Tyler had learned how to extemporize long ago, and learned it well.

  “Or maybe Elijah knows something about it,” Tyler suggested.

  He didn’t miss the color leaving Elijah’s face. The man remained unmoved though. “Where’s Jess?” Elijah countered. “I’m going to slap the bitch for ditching me.”

  Cade didn’t look interested in Elijah’s question. Tyler remembered Jess telling him and Ross how much of an asshole Cade had been about her MS, and had wanted her only so he could control her. If Cade had ever truly loved her, he’d have been by her side no matter what. The first thing a sane man would have done after being released from prison would be to contact her. Instead, he’d stuck with Elijah.

  “Jess doesn’t know anything about this,” Tyler said, which was the truth. “But whoever you believe, if you want what I took back, get yourself the hell to Mexico, and I’ll text you where I’ve put it.”

  “You took it to Mexico?” Cade asked, again baffled. He didn’t seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed. “Wait—you’re a liar. It’s right where I left it.”

  “I’m willing to bet it’s not,” Tyler said.

  “I could just beat it out of you,” Cade said, taking a step forward.

  Tyler didn’t move. “You could. Or you could check. Or you could take my word for it. Tell you what, I’ll give you those directions now. I know that by the time you find it, you won’t be heading back north anytime soon.” He held up his phone, showing them it was just a phone, and started to slide it open to start texting.

  Elijah shook his head. “Don’t listen to this stupid fuck,” he said to Cade. “How could he have got hold of it?”

  Cade scowled. “If Jess told him, took him there, he could. I wouldn’t put it past her. She was always a shit to me.”

  “Makes me wonder why Elijah wanted to take such good care of her then,” Tyler said to him. “Right? Maybe because she knew where the keys to your kingdom were. Or Elijah didn’t want her to find out he’d been helping himself all this time and report it to you. Maybe hoping that, if she did find out, since Elijah has been helping her pay for her prescriptions, she’d take his side.”

  Made more sense now. If Cade was done with Jess and didn’t seem to care about Dominic, why was Elijah so keen to look after them? Maybe Elijah had wanted Jess to go with him to Cade’s release knowing she would protest and tell the prison’s warden exactly why Cade shouldn’t be let out.

  “That’s bullshit,” Elijah said, his calm gone.

  The biggest danger was that Elijah would pull out that pistol and shoot everyone in this room to keep his secret. Cade must have realized that too, because he stepped forward and grabbed the gun out of Elijah’s holster so fast Elijah had no time to react.

  “What the fuck?” Elijah asked Cade, wide-eyed.

  Cade kept the gun pointed downward. “How about we take a ride, Elijah? See who’s telling the truth?”

  “It’s what he wants you to do, dumb-ass!” Elijah’s panic wasn’t feigned. “I bet Jess sent him here to rob you.”

  Tyler spread his hands. “And I keep telling you, Jess has nothing to do with this. She doesn’t even know I’m here.” More truth.

  “We’re going,” Cade said. He gestured with the pistol. “Come on.”

  Elijah looked hurt. “I’ve done everything for you, man. What the hell?”

  “If this cowboy’s lying, you don’t have anything to worry about,” Cade said in a reasonable tone. “Let’s go.” He pointed the pistol at Tyler. “You, stay here. Don’t be here when I get back.”

  Tyler’s heart stopped when he saw the barrel of the gun pointed at him, then pounded again when Cade withdrew and herded Elijah out.

  “Shit,” Jack said quietly. “Don’t ever do that again, Tyler. I didn’t bring a change of pants.”

  “What do you want us to do?” Noah asked.

  “Follow them.” Tyler lifted his shirt button to his lips. “You got that, bro? Follow him, but discreetly.”

  Ross couldn’t answer—it was a one-way mike. Tyler waited until he heard a couple vehicles start up and drive off before he sprinted out of the shop.

  Ross waited around the corner in a dilapidated pickup, wearing a T-shirt and jeans instead of his uniform. “They’re following.” He touched the Bluetooth in his ear. “That mike’s seriously sensitive. You almost blew out my eardrum.”

  “Yeah …” Tyler trailed off, catching sight of something he didn’t want to see. Down the street a little way, halted in deep shadow, was a woman astride a black motorcycle. Her helmet hid her face, but her jeans and tight top hugged the curves he’d come to know and love.

  Tyler strode toward her. His anger rose higher when he saw the truck parked behind her, containing the unmistakable forms of his two oldest brothers.

  Jess took off her helmet as Tyler reached her, no shame or fear as she watched him. “Get on,” she said.

  Tyler halted in mid-stride. “What?”

  “Get on,” Jess repeated impatiently. “Do you want to catch Cade in the act or not? I know where they’re going.”

  Ross, hearing, gave Tyler the thumbs up. Tyler glared at Adam and Grant, who didn’t even look guilty, the shitheads then swung his leg over the back of the bike.

  He’d ridden motorcycles before—Adam had taught him—but he had to grab on tight to Jess as she started out and expertly took off down the alley.

  Not that Tyler minded. He hung on to Jess, the woman
he wanted by his side for the rest of his life, as she gunned the bike and headed off with him to do battle.

  * * *

  Jess was going to kill Tyler. What the hell was he thinking, confronting Elijah and Cade? She’d nearly collapsed in panic when she saw Cade walk out with a gun, damn it.

  The cops hidden around could have pounced on Cade for simply holding that pistol, but Jess understood why they hadn’t. Arresting Cade on the spot wouldn’t solve the problem of Elijah—plus if Cade led them back to the evidence for that drug deal, both of them would be inside forever.

  Jess couldn’t see any sign of Cade as they went, but she didn’t need to. She knew where he was heading. The back alleys and roads had become clear to her as she went along, these spaces she’d avoided for five years.

  The difference this trip was that Tyler was wrapped around her, lending her his steadiness. The trepidation she’d undergone when riding these streets with Cade flowed away. She knew this town, and she’d use it against him.

  Jess rode confidently through the back streets, knowing which ones ended abruptly and which ones snaked through. Tyler whooped as she took a hard corner, leaning with her to keep the motorcycle balanced. “See? You can ride, darlin’! No wonder I love you.”

  Jess forced herself not to jerk the bike as his words poured over her. Love. From the sexiest man alive. Her heart filled, turning the last of her fear into iron strength.

  The street she rode down appeared to end at a wall. Jess knew this was deceptive—a tiny alley turned from the wall to lead to another set of warehouses. Cade had driven her here the first time before they married, a private place away from her mom’s house where they could make love on the bench seat of his truck. Jess hadn’t enjoyed it, which she’d thought was her fault. She understood now that Cade was just a jerk and bad at sex.

  It turned out he owned a small storage space nearby where he’d kept spare parts for his truck and motorcycles or hid out when he needed to. Jess had never seen any sign of a stack of cash, drugs, or weapons the few times she’d been allowed to go in, but if Cade had hidden them, he’d hidden them here.

  Jess halted her motorcycle halfway to the end wall, not wanting to announce their presence. She killed the engine and took off her helmet as she waited for Tyler to dismount. He caught her when she slid from her seat, pressing a brief and silent kiss to her mouth.

  Jess felt the imprint of the kiss as they walked, keeping to shadows. The open area between buildings the alley led to was deserted when they reached it, but Jess knew where Cade’s storage space was, memories rising as she went along.

  Six doors in, Cade had told her when he’d first showed her the place. It was no wonder she wouldn’t have been able to find it on a map though, even with satellite photos. It was a warren back here.

  The sixth door along the brick building was black and beat up, paint scraped and rotting, the hinges rusty. The door was ajar, and from behind it, Jess heard voices.

  Cade and Elijah were arguing. Their voices rang out as Tyler and Jess crept closer.

  “What did you do?” Cade was roaring. “The second I turn my back, you rob me?”

  “I still have it,” Elijah returned, terror in his voice. Jess had never heard Elijah sound afraid before. “I moved it. It wasn’t safe here.”

  “It damn well was! You said you’d take care of everything. I didn’t know that meant screwing me over, you dickwad. You said you’d watch over Jess—were you fucking her too?”

  “I never touched her,” Elijah said with more conviction. “She’s an ice queen. And she was yours.”

  “So is that money. Where the hell is it?”

  “I took it to my place. It’s still there.”

  “All of it?” Cade’s voice was dangerous.

  “No.” The word was faint.

  “You son of a—”

  “Cade.” Jess slid in through the open door. Tyler, after a startled curse, came rapidly after her. “If you kill him, you go right back to prison.”

  Cade upended the pistol in amazement. “Jess? What the hell?”

  Elijah’s hand went to his holster, the movement arrested when he remembered it was empty. “You bitch,” he snarled at Jess. “You sold me out.”

  Jess’s view of him was blocked when Tyler stepped in front of her. “You sold yourself out, asshole,” Tyler said.

  “What do you want?” Cade demanded of Tyler.

  Tyler didn’t answer, probably because he had no idea why Jess had rushed in here. Jess, on the other hand, had entered with a plan.

  “Check your stash, Cade,” she said. “Maybe Elijah didn’t get it all.”

  Elijah glanced at her in astonishment. Cade looked puzzled but he didn’t waste time with more questions. He took up a crowbar that lay on the cement floor, walked straight to the back wall, and started prying away bricks. Once he had a dozen of them down, he laid the gun on the ledge he’d made and continued to pull away bricks with his bare hands.

  Behind the wall was a black garbage bag. Cade reached in and pulled it out, both he and Elijah regarding it in befuddlement. Cade thumped the bag to the ground and yanked it open.

  “What the fuck? It’s all here—at least …” He started counting the wads of cash he pulled out, and then he tugged out a pistol covered with dust.

  At the same time, the back and front doors of the storage unit burst open and blue and red lights and shouting blared into the dim interior. Ross, backed by about a dozen cops, trained their guns on Cade and Elijah. “Weapons down!” the Dallas cop with Ross yelled. “On your knees. Now.”

  Cade stared at them, his hands filled with money and a pistol, the shock on his face comical. Elijah had the same look on his face, but he recovered much faster. He swung around and went for the loaded gun Cade had left on the bricks.

  Tyler moved. Between one heartbeat and the next, he launched himself at Elijah, his boots connecting with the man’s side the second before Elijah could close his hand around the pistol. Elijah grunted and went down, Tyler on top of him.

  Tyler hadn’t lied when he’d told Jess that he’d have been able to take Elijah if Elijah hadn’t had twenty men with him. Tyler had him down on the ground in about three seconds, Ross rushing forward with four other cops to take charge of him.

  A knife flashed in Elijah’s hand, but Tyler pulled back and slammed his fist into Elijah’s face. Elijah’s head snapped back, and he went limp.

  Ross held out a hand to help Tyler up. Tyler grabbed it, coming to his feet with agility, landing with a light touch. He spun around, crossing the floor in his swift moves, and swept Jess into an embrace.

  He lifted her as he went around and around, laughing up at her. The cops had Cade on his knees, his hands on his head, and Ross was making arrangements to have Elijah carried out.

  Jess barely noticed them. She only saw Tyler, his blue eyes on her, his smile broad as he spun her around the little space, letting her fly.

  Tyler finally set her on her feet, and she landed softly, supported by his sheltering arms.

  He towed her outside, a long way from the chaos of the police swarming Cade’s storage unit, taking it apart.

  “How the hell did you know that stuff would be there?” he asked.

  Jess laughed, her triumph bubbling. “I put it there. Well, with the help of your brothers.”

  Tyler’s eyes went wide. “My brothers? What are you talking about?”

  Jess shrugged, trying to look modest. “I figured Elijah had stolen the money. It was too easy for him to pay for everything he did—he doesn’t make near enough in his shop to cover expenses like that. Mrs. Alvarez told me you were going to his shop, so I took Adam and Grant to his house. When Elijah cleared out for work, we went in and found the stash—which he hid under some tiles in his kitchen—and brought it back to Cade’s storage space. I figured Elijah’s confusion would give the cops a second to run inside, and I wanted Cade to be caught with the stuff.”

  “Adam and Grant,” Tyler repeated, his
smile dying. “They are dead men.”

  “Now, Tyler, don’t be like that,” Grant said, coming to them. Adam was behind him, his big grin pulling at his scars. “You know Christina and Bailey egged us on. They thought it was a great idea.”

  Tyler scowled at them. “You could have done it without bringing Jess with you.”

  “No, they couldn’t,” Jess said calmly. “I had to show them where to go. And show you.”

  “Shit.” Tyler started to say something more, then his face went bleak and he yanked Jess into a hard embrace. “Damn it. Don’t scare me like that ever again.”

  “You don’t either,” Jess said into his chest. “Standing in front of a loaded weapon, jumping Elijah when he was going for a gun. What the hell were you thinking?”

  Tyler pulled back and looked down at her, his blue eyes filled with heat. “Tell you what. I won’t do anything more dangerous from now on than fall off horses and fight with my brothers. And you don’t do scary shit that gives me a heart attack either. Deal? But first, we’ll go home and not let anyone near us for a while. How does that sound?”

  “Perfect.” Jess shivered in sudden release. Her life was about to change, begin anew. She’d be in the beauty of Circle C and Riverbend, surrounded by friendly people. She’d be with her adorable son, and most of all, with this cowboy who’d saved her life, several times over.

  “Perfect,” she said again, softly this time. She leaned into Tyler, absorbing his vigor, hearing his heart rapidly beating. His hands on her back held her still, keeping her from all harm. “Let’s go home.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Jess lay in quiet darkness the next night, her head pillowed on her arm as she watched the rise and fall of Tyler’s chest as he slept beside her. He’d fallen into hard slumber after their third round of lovemaking, and was sprawled on the sheets, his tanned body looking good against them.

  Dominic was in the main house, liking to stay there, under the supervision of Olivia. She made a fantastic grandma, something Dominic had never really had. Something else she had to thank Tyler for.