“Rifle. Ground.” He pointed to the pine needle- covered soil at her feet.
She huffed, but laid the large assault rifle down before taking his hand. At least he hadn’t balked at the handgun holstered to her left side.
He pulled her up behind him on the horse like she weighed nothing. Then guided her hands to his waist and patted them.
“Keep your hand here, so I know you’re not planning another sneak attack with that damn Taser.”
“Stun gun.”
“Whatever.” His voice was gruff, but she detected a hint of amusement.
She tightened her hold around his stomach, her arms grazing the top hem of his jeans. Beneath her fingers was a body of hard-core muscles. She knew that already from her peek at him naked earlier tonight, but she hadn’t truly appreciated it until now as she clung tightly to his rock hard abs.
A few minutes later, the only thing she could focus on was the jarring sensation of the horse’s rump colliding with hers on every step. It felt like she was riding shallow rapids without a raft. Up and down. Up and down. Ugh.
When they finally got to his place, she wouldn’t be able to walk on her own and her ass would look like a Jackson Pollock painting from all the bruises. Not to mention the yoga pants were going to reek of horse sweat.
Luckily, Hollis and Grimes seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she’d slipped right out the back door. If she could find out what was going on with Lucy, maybe she could still get away before those double-crossing assholes took what they wanted from her and left her for dead in some abandoned back alley in this redneck town. These rich cowboys certainly weren’t going to be any help against trained guns. Although...the wolf-man- thing made her wonder what else her victim-turned- rescuer was hiding.
“Do you know what happened to Lucy?”
“The poor woman accidentally tripped on a display in the local grocery store. She bumped her head really hard and, as far as I know, hasn’t woken up yet. I think it has been a couple of weeks.”
“She’s unconscious?” Emma’s heart stopped in her chest and breathing was suddenly painful. What was she going to do without Lucy? She had no idea how to go about avoiding Hollis and Grimes without help. She’d been trained in weapons by Lucy, but everything was at the farm—with Hollis and Grimes. All she had was the hand gun and every spare clip she could fit in her purse. It would have to do for now.
“Yep. Strangest thing though, my uncle is a deputy in town and he said they found a handgun, a knife, and a roll of duct tape in her purse. What average middle-aged woman carries stuff like that?”
A deputy? The urge to curse out loud was strong, but she bit her lip and took a deep breath. As for the weapons found in Lucy’s purse, she was astonished they hadn’t found more of an arsenal. But then again, he’d said she was only at the grocery store.
A smile crept over her mouth. Lucy would be spitting mad that a grocery store display took her down.
He urged the horse across the street and down through the ditch on the other side. A small gate with nothing keeping it closed other than a simple wrapped chain and trigger snap on the end to connect to a ring on the post was visible in the growing light.
Crime must not be common out here. She considered the double and triple security she lived with back home. Locks, deadbolts, keypads, security guards. Must be nice to rely on snapping a damn gate shut to keep out the wild animals. The bad things in the Hamptons required more than a latch to keep them out.
“No comment?” His soft honey-smooth voice brought her back to the present. His spicy male scent mixed with grass filtered into her nostrils and she inhaled slowly.
“Sounds like Lucy,” she answered.
“Is she related to you? I only ask because you also seem to carry an arsenal.”
Curious much, wolf-man? She shouldn’t share personal information, but something about the warm body and soothing voice won over her need to keep her guard up.
“Not by blood. But she’s family. I need to get to the hospital.”
Emma tightened her hold on his waist to keep her balance as he leaned to the side to latch the gate. Shoving him out of the saddle crossed her mind at that point, but in all honesty, she wasn’t going to get far on her own with nothing more than a gun, her purse, a horse, and no idea which way to the hospital. Going into town and asking around wasn’t really an option either.
If Hollis and Grimes were smart—and they were—they would be canvassing the town looking for her, too.
“Quit trying to decide how you’re going to ditch me.” His voice was steady and even, but his words caught her off guard.
“I’m not.”
“Liar. I can hear your heart racing. So either you’re planning something or you’re terrified. I’m betting on the first, because nothing much seems to scare you.”
“Maybe I’m really good at hiding it.”
She swallowed and flexed her hands around his stomach again, getting a better grip as the horse climbed another hill.
Shit! Hear my heartbeat? Was it a wolf thing? She’d have to be more careful to steady herself. Meditation would apparently be her friend around these wolf people.
“I would believe that, too. I’m betting you’re pretty good at hiding a lot of things. I’m still trying to figure out the stun-gun-carrying-frying-pan-wielding-girl from out of town who knows how to fire an assault rifle.”
“You forgot to mention truck-stealing.”
“I’m trying to forget that scenario,” he said, a slow chuckle rolling from his chest. “I’m Noah VonBrandt by the way.”
She stayed quiet. The last thing she really wanted was for any of them to know who she was. It would only put them directly in Hollis and Grimes’s line of fire. They didn’t care who or what they had to do to get her back or who they hurt. Though being aligned with one of the wealthiest families in Texas could have its advantages. If the wolf thing was hereditary, there could be a whole other issue that came along with knowing them. I wonder if those VonBrandt girls that got married in the Hamptons were wolf people, too? Werewolves? I wonder what they call themselves.
“You might as well tell me. Allan will be able to find your identity sooner than later.”
Ah, yes the deputy uncle. She frowned. Later would be fine by her. Unfortunately her picture was plastered all over the news as a missing person. So the likelihood of her identity remaining a secret for very long was next to nil.
“My name is Emma.”
“Emma.”
The way her name rolled off his tongue warmed her insides, like he was savoring a bite of hot apple pie. There was even the slightest groan of appreciation from deep in his chest. Damn. She could not afford to be distracted by a cute guy, much less a cute guy who could turn into a wolf. How did he even exist in a world filled with satellites and cameras on every phone and electronic device?
“No last name?”
“Nope.”
“Suit yourself.”
They came out of a grove of trees and a huge house sprawled before them. Well, more of a mansion than a house. A large whitewashed barn sat off to the right. Several small corrals and small fields held a variety of horses. The field in front of them had a small herd of cattle grazing over to the left.
A few minutes and a few gates later, they ended up in front of the barn.
Emma slid down from the rump of the horse and stretched uncomfortably as blood started to flow through her ass again. She rubbed it with both her palms and grimaced. It was definitely bruised.
Noah flashed her a smile as he dismounted. “Need any help?”
She glared, yanking her hands away from her bottom. “Did you seriously just offer to rub my ass?”
He shrugged, a twinkle showing in his blue eyes. “I wouldn’t be opposed.”
“Try it and my trusty stun gun will knock you onto yours again.” She patted the leather-fringed purse hanging at her hip. It clanked noisily and she pulled her hand away.
He raised an eyebrow sus
piciously, but didn’t question the contents of the bulging bag.
Chapter 9
After cleaning up the horse and stabling him, she followed Noah through the large barn. Rows of stalls lined the center of the building, while several offices and storage rooms lined the far wall down a hallway on the left.
The smell of fresh sawdust and hay was pungently sweet, filling her with a calming peace. She loved spending time in stables. Horses were good company and riding was relaxing after a stressful day of dealing with snarky, rude people who pretended to be all about their charities, when in reality they were merely playing the angles to get more clout.
The horses that stuck their noses out of their stalls to look at them were sleek with coats that shone from hours of meticulous care. The character of a person could be judged by how he cared for his animals. The VonBrandts certainly took pride in their horses and had very good taste. A particularly stunning quarter horse neighed from the last stall they passed on the way to the main door and she couldn’t help but stop for a moment to pat his silky muzzle.
“I didn’t think you’d have a kind word for another horse after the beating your rump took.” Noah crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe, waiting.
“It isn’t the horse’s fault my ass is sore. It’s yours,” she shot back with a smirk. Even after she’d stunned him and knocked him down, he continued to flirt and tease her. Wolfy Noah was a bit of a glutton for punishment.
“Touché. But I preferred to be in the driver’s seat since I was more familiar with the landscape. Plus, I was much less likely to be shoved off and left in the dust.”
“True,” she answered, sauntering toward him, leaving the quarter horse’s stall. “It did cross my mind on more than one occasion.”
“I know it did.”
“What does your family want with me? Why can’t you let me go to the hospital? It’s about the wolf thing, isn’t it?” She’d been trying to convince herself it wasn’t, but it hadn’t worked. A nagging feeling deep in the pit of her stomach said she might be in worse shit with the VonBrandts than she was with Hollis and Grimes.
A telltale sigh slipped from his lips before he answered, and her heart sank to her stomach.
“It does. There are laws about who knows.”
“Let me guess,” she said, a bitter tone more evident in her voice than she would’ve preferred. “I’m not allowed to know.”
The front door opened and a tall woman with dark auburn hair glared down at her. An unfamiliar sensation clawed its way through Emma’s gut --- fear. The cold steel blue eyes of the woman in front of her didn’t bode well for her future. She pressed her arm tightly over the handgun holstered to the side of her ribcage. It didn’t work though, the woman’s gaze narrowed in on the bulge and she pursed her lips into a tight white line.
“No guns,” she said, her voice void of emotion. She stretched out her hand, palm up, never letting her gaze drop.
Emma wasn’t sure whether to be more frightened or pissed at being ordered to disarm. She hated being vulnerable, but she really couldn’t run either. They were out in the middle of nowhere. It was miles into town and she’d have to steal a car or a horse to ever make it there without being caught immediately.
Her eyes flashed up to the corner of the front patio. A small black dome was affixed to the ceiling with a pin-sized red flashing light inside of it. Strange. They certainly had state-of-the-art security, for being out in the middle of nowhere. Of course they were protecting more than probably any average person knew or could imagine. Still, digital security meant it would be that much more difficult to slip out if the need arose.
“Gun. Now.” The woman spoke again, this time with more force.
“Mom, you don’t have to be mean. She’s had a rough night.”
Mother? This was Noah’s mother? Emma studied the woman in front of her again. She could see small similarities in the eyes, but he must take after his father because that’s where the likenesses began and ended.
Emma pulled the gun from the holster and placed it gently into Mrs. VonBrandt’s hand.
“Is that the only one?”
“Yes,” Emma answered without hesitation. She waited for Noah to out the stun gun he knew was in her purse, but he didn’t. That small act earned him a few brownie points on the trust scoreboard in her mind. That and his uncanny and continued interest in her after she’d assaulted him three times this evening.
Took a hell of a man to move past something like that and look at her without disdain. He was the only guy she’d ever attacked that had come back for more. Of course he was also the only werewolf she’d ever run across.
It wasn’t like she’d had to fend off many advances. Usually her bodyguards’ presence at her side shrank the balls on most men who might’ve had the guts to approach her at all. Being Emma Carrington, daughter of a billionaire arms dealer masquerading as a philanthropist, was a very lonely existence. She could only hope and pray that somehow she could get to Lucy. And that Lucy would be able to get her out of this mess.
There were a lot of ifs. A lot more uncertainty than she was used to and the only person who might even be remotely in her court was a wolf-man she’d just met, electrocuted twice, and knocked upside the face with an iron skillet. The odds were certainly not in her favor.
They entered the house. Marble tiled floors.
Mahogany paneled walls. Persian rugs. Artwork that would’ve made even her mother a little jealous. It was like walking into one of the Hampton mansions, and it felt a little too much like home— meaning danger probably lurked around every corner in the form of shrewd calculating minds.
A large man entered the room from their left. His broad chest, full shoulders, and darker complexion, not to mention his striking face made him an almost perfect, yet older, replication of the younger man standing by her side. He had to be Noah’s father. Though taking into account the stern overbearing attitude, she wouldn’t be surprised to hear that he was the deputy sheriff uncle.
“Mom, Dad, this is Emma,” Noah started. “Can we talk for a moment first though?”
Noah gently caught her upper arm and pointed toward a room. “Can you wait in there? I need to talk to them first. I’ll be right back.”
Without waiting for an answer, he ushered her inside the room and slid the large double doors closed behind her.
What the hell? She turned and glared at the two solid oak doors. Dismissed like the help. Her stomach flip-flopped, uncomfortable with being left out of a conversation that potentially had a great deal of importance to the next move in her existence.
“Noah, what the—” the woman spoke more than loud enough to be heard through the doors.
“Mom.” Noah protested. “Dad, there are some details you need to know before you make a decision.” His voice lowered a few decibels as he continued, but it was still easy to understand.
Emma moved to the door and pressed her ear against the cool glossy wood. The dad growled something unintelligible and the mother hushed him.
“I’m not going to let you steal her life away from her without a fight. She won’t either. So get ready.” It was Noah again. Sticking up for her, too. How are they going to steal my life? Kill me?
That was original.
She rolled her eyes. There’s no way he would’ve brought her to his house just to kill her. He might be some sort of supernatural werewolf, but she’d been in the company of bad men before and Noah VonBrandt was not a bad man.
Even as much as her father tried to hide it, she knew he was a killer. It didn’t diminish her love for him. He protected and took care of her in the best way he could, but it also lowered her expectations of his role in her life overall.
Killers had a certain spark of humanity missing from their gaze. It wasn’t obvious to most, but Emma had learned to pick them out of a crowd. Lucy had taught her what to look for years ago. Flat emotions, coldness, a caustic sense of humor, extroverted, and very intelligent. Only an
extremely smart person could kill successfully and not get caught. Most were psychopaths, too.
Not that it helped being able to identify them— she was still surrounded on a daily basis by trained killers. She’d become so desensitized to them, Hollis and Grimes hadn’t even been a blip on her radar. Then her parents’ friends. If they could be called that. Her father and mother hosted dinner parties with guest lists that would make the everyday Joe piss his pants.
“In the study,” a deeper male voice rumbled in response. His father was directing them out of the foyer area and out of earshot.
Damn it.
Chapter 10
“You can’t do this to her,” Noah said, leaning against the closed study door. He was slightly conscious of the fact that he was blocking the route to Emma, mostly he didn’t trust leaving her in the library for very long on her own. The girl was quick on her feet and didn’t waste opportunities.
“The law has been upheld for centuries, Noah. It’s there for a reason and was not crafted without great thought to those it would affect.”
“She’s not just some girl, though. You don’t understand. She’s got people looking for her already. I’m not sure who Lucinda Craig is to her, but that’s where I found her.”
“Lucy Craig is in the hospital,” Allan said, crossing his foot over his knee and brushing a bit of grass off his pant leg. “She’s not going to be much help to the girl from there. Although, I did hear she woke up yesterday.”
“Dad, there were men with automatic rifles. We barely slipped out of Craig’s house without being spotted. Not sure what they would’ve done with her, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have thought twice about killing me.” Noah crossed his arms over his chest and glared straight as his father.
Aaron VonBrandt was a good man. A hard alpha, but fair. He would understand the risks outweighed the advantages of wiping this girl’s memory. It could potentially cause the pack more issues in the long run than it might prevent.
To Love A Mate: Somewhere, TX (VonBrandt Pack Book 2) Page 5
