Daddy in Cowboy Boots (Montana Daddies Book 9)

by Laylah Roberts

  He gave several fast thrusts then came in her mouth. She swallowed quickly, the taste was different yet not entirely unpleasant. She knew she could get addicted to this, though, the look of pleasure, the way all tension had drained out of him made her feel a sense of pride.

  Then he picked her up under the arms and set her back on the bed before kneeling between her legs. “My turn.”

  Well, who was she to say no?

  30

  “Ed, that woman from the spa is demanding to see you,” Kiesha stated from the doorway, a frown on her face.

  For a moment he thought she meant Marisol and his heart skipped a beat. But of course she didn’t mean Marisol. She wouldn’t be frowning if she did. And he needed to get over this interest in the dark-haired, curvy beauty. She was Linc’s.

  “Do you mean Rosalind? Marisol’s aunt?”

  Kiesha snapped her gum and he gave her a disapproving look. She knew he didn’t like her chewing that crap at work. She just stared back at him calmly. They’d known each other too long for him to intimidate her much.

  “Yeah, she’s a real peach.”

  Ed grimaced. He should have left an hour ago. Right now he could be in his hot tub with a bottle of cold beer. Instead, he was about to deal with a viper. “Fine. Christ. Send her in.”

  He stood as Rosalind walked in. She was wearing a pair of jeans so tight that it left nothing to the imagination. He grimaced. A blood red see-through shirt displayed her black, lacy bra. And she topped everything off with red stilettos and a black handbag. Currently, she was wiping at her eyes with a tissue.

  He raised his eyebrows at the sight. He wondered at the crocodile tears. Any other woman came crying into his office and he’d be all over himself trying to calm her down. Crying women were his kryptonite. But he could smell a rat straight off with this woman.

  “Ms. Perez. What can I do for you?”

  He sat back and she gave him a startled look. Anger filled her face for just a few seconds. If he hadn’t been watching carefully, he’d likely have missed it.

  “Sheriff, I’ve come to report a missing person.”

  “A missing person?” So that was her angle. “Who is missing? That boyfriend of yours?”

  “You don’t like Saber much, do you?” She came forward and sat in the chair across from him, even though he hadn’t offered her a seat.

  “He’s a criminal. The leader of a gang. Several, in fact. I’m an officer of the law. So no, I don’t.”

  “That’s slander,” she spat at him. “You have no proof of any of that.”

  “Ms. Perez, I have had no less than five call-outs over the last week since the Devil’s Sinners moved into my town, including two bar fights. I do not want trouble in my town and that’s all someone like Saber brings. Now, what do you want?”

  “My niece is missing. I want you to find her.”

  Shoot. He’d need to at least make this look like he was taking it seriously. He picked up a pad and pen. “You’re talking about Marisol?”

  “Yes. You’ve met her?”

  “I have. What makes you think she’s missing?”

  She seemed surprised by that question. “Because she hasn’t come home. She lives with me. Works for me. And I haven’t seen her in four days.”

  “And you’re only just reporting her missing now?”

  “She has a new boyfriend. I thought she might have gone off with him.”

  “And not told you? Do you not have a good relationship? Also she is over the age of eighteen, so she can legally leave without your permission.”

  She stood up. “I know that. Our relationship is just fine. That man has taken her and I want her found and him arrested.”

  “Who took her?”

  “Linc Johnson. He lives on Sanctuary Ranch. I want you to take me there and get her out of his clutches.”

  “I’m not taking you anywhere,” he told her calmly. “Have you tried calling her?”

  “Of course I have. I know he has her. He kidnapped her. Aren’t you going to do something about that?”

  “Have you any proof that he took her?”

  “No,” she gritted out. “But my niece would not just leave me. She’s devoted to me.”

  Right. This woman was poison. At least Marisol was now safe from her. He wondered at her angle, though. Clearly, she wanted to get onto Sanctuary Ranch. Had Tiger sent her?

  “Have you seen Tiger Mason lately?”

  She frowned at the change of topic. “I told you the other night, Tiger isn’t even in the state.”

  He just hummed. “Well, if that changes, you let me know. Now, if that’s all, my shift should have finished an hour ago.”

  “Aren’t you going to do anything to find Marisol? I need her. She just abandoned her job. Her home. I need her back.”

  “Because you care about her or you want to continue exploiting her?”

  She reeled back. “Excuse me?”

  He’d said too much. “Never mind. Have a great night, ma’am.”

  He backed her out of his office then shut the door in her face. His first instinct was to go straight to Sanctuary. But he had this feeling that maybe that was what she was wanting. Perhaps she didn’t know where Marisol was and was fishing for information. If she was watching and waiting, and he went straight out to Sanctuary he could give her the answer she wanted.

  So instead, he grabbed his phone.

  “Yeah?” Linc sounded slightly breathless.

  Ed found himself smiling. “I’m sorry. Did I interrupt something?”

  “Yes, you did actually. What can I do for you?”

  “Sorry to pull you away from the lovely Marisol. Just thought I’d tell you that her aunt just came in here to report her as missing.”

  “She did? Marisol decided that she didn’t want to call her in the end.”

  “Yeah, well, my guess is she’s fishing for information. Not sure if it’s for herself or for Tiger.”

  “So you think he’s around?”

  “He might never have left. Or could be close by. If he’s here, he’s keeping a low profile. Unlike those other bastards.”

  “Heard they’ve been causing trouble. Also heard Markovich is pissed off.”

  “Kent’s been talking to him, huh?” Ed said dryly. Markovich wasn’t a good guy. He was a loan shark. He owned several bars and ran a number of illegal gambling operations. But he did have his lines and he didn’t believe in exploiting or hurting women.

  Linc just grunted. “Zander will find Tiger.”

  “And what is Zander going to do when he finds Tiger?” Ed asked tensely. He was still a cop. Much as he wanted these bastards gone, it had to be aboveboard.

  “He’s just going to have a small chat with him. I have to go. I’ll tell Marisol that her aunt is searching for her.”

  “Just don’t let her cave and call her.”

  “Of course not.” Linc ended the call and Ed stood, stretching. He grabbed his keys and wallet and headed out the door.

  “I’m leaving for the night, Kiesha.”

  “Have fun in the hot tub, boss. Don’t stay in so long that you turn into a wrinkly old prune. Actually, on second thought it might be too late.”

  Ed just shook his head. Brat.

  31

  Linc headed towards his truck. It was already late afternoon. He hadn’t managed to finish by lunchtime today. There had been too many things needing his attention. But now he was eager to get home to Marisol.

  Clint and Charlie were due home the day after tomorrow and he had some days off coming to him. He couldn’t wait to spend more time with her.

  Had he really known her less than three weeks? It seemed like he’d known her forever.

  “Linc! Got a minute?”

  He turned to find Kent pulling up in his own truck. He walked over to him.

  “Hey, man, what’s up?” Linc asked.

  “I was just headed to your place to talk to you and pick Abby up.”

  “Abby’s at my place?”


  “She’s been with Ellie, but she said she was just popping in to see Marisol and asked me to pick her up from there. I don’t want her out too late, and it’s getting cold at night.”

  Linc nodded. He got it.

  “Zander just rang. He ordered me to talk to you in person rather than call you,” Kent said dryly.

  “Why didn’t he call me?”

  “Why do you think? Because he’s a paranoid bastard. He called on my satellite phone.”

  “Who does he think is going to be listening in?”

  Kent shook his head. “God knows. Anyway, he wanted you to know that they’ve found where the Devil’s Sinners have set up headquarters. It’s an old farmstead about a half hour north of here. They’ve been watching the place for a while now and this morning, they had a positive sighting of Tiger.”

  Finally, they found the bastard.

  “What’s he going to do?”

  “Told me he wanted to observe a while. But he’ll let us know immediately if he makes any move towards the ranch. Did Corbin tell you that we’ve had a few drive-bys of Devil’s Sinners members down past the gate?”

  He scowled. “Yeah. Ed said that Rosalind has guessed that she’s here. He thinks that’s why she reported Marisol missing, she was hoping Ed would bring her out here with him to check.”

  He’d been furious when Ed had called. He’d also had to convince Marisol that she didn’t need to contact her aunt and tell her that she was all right. The bitch was just trying to use her.

  “One of Zander’s people overheard Tiger going ape-shit because they can’t find Marisol.”

  “Think they’ll try to sneak onto the ranch?” he asked.

  “If they do, we’re ready for them. Don’t worry. Nobody will get to your girl.”

  “I hate that everyone here is in danger and that all the women have been locked down.”

  “Nobody is complaining, man. We all want Marisol safe and away from those bastards.” Kent grinned at him. “Plus, everyone is happy you’ve found your Little.”

  She wasn’t quite his yet. But she would be.

  “No problem. I’ll head to your place now. See you there.”

  Linc nodded. Kent drove away and he turned, walking towards his own truck. He climbed in and just sat there for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. He wanted this threat to Marisol gone. He hated that they didn’t know what Tiger was up to. At least Zander had his people watching Tiger now. Having eyes on him made Linc feel better.

  After a few minutes, he started his truck and headed home. One of the best things about his job was that it didn’t take long to get home. As he turned the corner and his cabin came into view, he slammed on his brakes in shock. What the fuck?

  Oh God. Oh God.

  What the fuck was she doing? Why had she decided to clean the damn windows? She’d already done all the lower ones. And when she’d found the ladder in the shed out back, she figured she might as well do the gable ones.

  Big. Big mistake.

  “It’s okay, Marisol. Just come back down,” Abby called out. “I’m holding the ladder, it won’t move on you.”

  It was a big mistake, because when Marisol had gotten to the top of the ladder, it had started wobbling. In a fright, she’d climbed onto the porch roof, which had thankfully held her weight. And then the ladder had crashed to the ground.

  Soon afterward, Abby had arrived and seen the ladder on the ground with Marisol clinging to the roof.

  “Do you want me to come up and help you down?” Abby asked.

  “No!” she cried out, shivering as a cold breeze whipped through her thin clothing. “No, you might get hurt.”

  “I’ll call Linc then,” Abby told her.

  “No, please don’t. He’s busy at work.” And her idea to help him had turned into a nightmare. He’d been talking about cleaning these windows yesterday and it had planted the seed about how she could take some pressure off him.

  Stupid girl.

  “I’m coming up,” Abby called out.

  “No, Abby. You’ll get stuck too.” She wouldn’t let the other woman get in the same predicament as her.

  She saw a truck pull up then Kent climbed out, rushing towards them. “Abby! What the hell is going on?”

  “I’m going up the ladder to get Marisol. She’s too scared to climb back down.”

  “No, you’re not. You know you’re not allowed to climb ladders. What’s happened? Marisol? Are you all right?” Kent called out.

  She carefully looked over the side to see that Kent now had his arm wrapped around Abby’s waist. The other woman was pale as she stared up at Marisol in worry.

  “I’m fine,” Marisol replied. Another shiver ran through her and her teeth started to chatter.

  “Marisol climbed the ladder and then it started wobbling and scared her so she climbed onto the roof of the porch and now she won’t get down. And I can see how cold she is from here.”

  A big red truck pulled up beside Kent’s and Linc fairly shot out of the driver’s seat. Relief flooded her. She was going to be all right. Linc was here.

  Linc wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

  “What the fuck is going on?”

  She winced at his roar. He was yelling and swearing. That wasn’t a good combination. “Marisol! What are you doing up there?”

  “She climbed up to wash the windows and now she’s too scared to climb down. The ladder was on the ground when I got here and she was clinging to the roof. But you have to get her down, she’s so cold,” Abby said worriedly.

  She didn’t add that she’d been up here at least an hour before Abby arrived. Her whole body was starting to feel like a popsicle but especially her face and hands. She wished she could move, but she was too scared to.

  “I’m coming up the ladder to get you, Mari-girl.”

  She let out a small whimper but didn’t protest. She wanted down from this roof. And she knew now that Linc was here, she was safe.

  He soon appeared at the edge of the roof.

  “Linc,” she gasped out.

  “Baby, it’s all right. I’m here. I want you to come towards me, though. I’m going to guide you back down the ladder.”

  She shook her head.

  “Come to me, teeny. I don’t want to add my extra weight to the roof in case it can’t take it.”

  “I . . . I can’t.”

  “Do you trust me, Mari-girl?” he asked calmly.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know that I’d never let anything happen to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then come here, teeny.” His voice was firm. An order that was expected to be obeyed and her body was moving before her brain could even catch up. When she was close to him, he reached up and grabbed hold of her hips gently, drawing her closer to him until she was pressed against him, her legs hanging down, on either side of his torso. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she shook, both from the cold and with relief that she was in his arms.

  “I’m going to guide you down, baby.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t do it.”

  “You can.” He took hold of her chin. “You can do this. You will do this. Understand me?”

  His command filled her. His confidence calmed her. His presence kept her in the here and now with him.

  “I am going to take care of you, teeny. All you have to do is listen to Daddy and do exactly what he tells you to. Understand?”

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  “Good girl. Now, I want you to roll onto your belly. I’m not going to let you go. I promise. I won’t let you fall.”

  She whimpered but rolled onto her belly. He kept his hands on her at all times, guiding her down, keeping her between him and the ladder. When he was on the ground, he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her down, turning her in his arms so she was cradled against his chest.

  “She okay? She hurt?” Kent asked from behind her.

  She burrowed in closer against Linc, breathing in his sc
ent. He walked inside with her. Her teeth chattered.

  “No, I don’t think so. Just scared and cold.”

  “You want me to call Doc?” Kent asked.

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  “No,” she said. “N-no, I don’t need Doc. I’m just c-cold and tired.”

  “Linc?” Kent asked.

  “Call him,” he said grimly. “She’s freezing cold and I want to make sure she’s all right.”

  “Linc, I don’t need Doc. I’m fine,” she protested as he laid her on the sofa with an admonishment to stay there.

  Kent, who was on the phone, stepped towards the fireplace, throwing on more wood.

  Linc returned seconds later with her bag so she could check her blood sugar.

  “Is there something I can do?” Abby asked anxiously, hovering to the side. “A hot drink? Hot water bottle?”

  “Actually, sweetheart, could you go into our bedroom, it’s just down the hall to the left, and grab Marisol’s doll and blanket that are on the bed?”

  Abby nodded and took off.

  “Linc,” she hissed in protest. Now Abby would know she slept with a snuggly and Princess Nana.

  “Hush,” Linc said firmly. “When was the last time you ate?” She held out her finger for him to prick.

  “Umm. Lunch time, I think. What time is it?” If she was honest, she was feeling a bit light-headed and woozy.

  “What can I do?” Kent asked just as Abby raced back in and bounced into him. She would have fallen if he hadn’t grabbed hold of her.

  “Whoops.” She handed Marisol her doll and blanket.

  “Can you get me some blankets,” Linc said to Kent. “Her blood sugar is low.” He showed her the number before grabbing a small tube of glucose tabs from her kit. He opened up two and gave them to her.

  Kent returned with a handful of blankets and they started piling them over her.

  “I don’t need blankets,” she said irritably, pushing them back. She was sweaty and shaking.

  Linc placed his hand over her forehead. “You feel cold to me. You’re irritable because your blood sugar is low.”

  “I am not.” She scowled at him.