Princess of the Plains

by Katherine Rhodes

  She knew it was important to leave things as they were as much as possible, and shooed RJ out of the barn while she checked Ellen. She directed RJ to walk with her around the building to make sure that there was no one around to cause more trouble.

  That was when they found Josef, beaten and unconscious outside the back of the blue barn.

  That added a call to 911 for an ambulance.

  Just about the time the ambulance pulled up, Tennessee and Jaxson McCoy pulled up next to the house. Fatima had them carry Ellen into the house and put her on the couch. She made sure that Josef was loaded into the ambulance and had Jaxson call his family once he was.

  And that was when Fatima crumbled, falling to the ground and starting to hyperventilate. Geo walked in at that moment with Caldwell and skidded across the front hall, catching her before she hit the ground.

  "What the hell is going on?" Geo asked, carrying Fatima to the couch.

  RJ answered as Fatima settled into the cushions, trying to catch her breath. "Addie and Lucy were kidnapped. King's Dominion was stolen. It all happened at the same time, so they were probably all taken together."

  Geo turned on his law enforcement side, clearly trying not to react to the fact that his girlfriend was probably in serious danger. "Did we cordon off the area where they were taken?"

  "Fatima made sure we didn't touch too much," RJ answered, nodded at her. "She's handled everything to this point. And did a damn good job. I couldn't think after my mother fainted."

  Tennessee hung up the phone. "I got the team mobilized. The Enforcers are going to take it from where they are in Austin, but they're sending Micah up to check out the situation and see if he can find anything—no offense to local law enforcement, Geo."

  "None taken. It's a good guess my head's not on straight right now."

  "Mine either," RJ said. "Who the hell took my horse? Why? I just know the girls were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and we have to figure out who would want King's Dominion."

  Fatima stayed on the couch. Her sister was missing—kidnapped, along with the Millers’ prize horse. It wasn’t a coincidence at all. They were either going to ransom all of them or let girls die. She had to get her parents. They knew how to handle a kidnapping. They were used to threats from random people, trying to take their five children for money or power. They couldn’t give out either, really, but the threat was real. She was about to get up and grab her phone upstairs when Jaxson walked by toward the office.

  By the sound the doorknob made, she had the feeling he wasn't going to need the keys. And just a moment later, Jaxson pushed the door open, the door creaking down and off the hinges, crashing into the floor and wall behind it. Fatima walked over to where they were all standing and waited. Someone flipped on the light, and it was clear that whoever had stolen the horse and taken the girls knew the farm—and had ripped out the surveillance system.

  "Any hope on this one?" Tennessee asked, glancing into the mess beyond.

  "I'll bet money Saxon can get something off them. But it's not going to help us now." Jaxson folded his arms. "Ten, you're the tracker. Go out there and take a look. We really can't do anything here right now with this, and we have to get going on this before the trail gets cold. RJ, can you think of anything that's happened recently that would make someone want to come after you and the farm?"

  With a shake of his head, RJ said, "There are always things. I mean, we all know that Addie's father is an asshole and he wants in on the farm money. Harry Pollard wants us shut down, of course. Keith Gibbons just hates us. I have no idea which one of them would come after the horse and the girls."

  "How about a disgruntled farmhand?"

  Again, RJ shook his head. "I don't know. Honestly. I always thought that we were pretty good employers. I didn't think we'd had any unhappy people."

  "Gib..." Ellen yawned and opened her eyes. She blinked a few times. "Gibbons. They've been asking to buy King since he was a foal, and I wasn't selling."

  "His son went after the girls the other night," Geo said.

  "Keith?" Ellen pushed herself into a sitting position. "He's been after Addison for years, too.”

  RJ nodded toward the door. “I'll go check the barn and see what I can find out, and Jaxson will get someone on the hard drives for the surveillance. Meanwhile, RJ, Ellen, make a list of people who could have done this. Fatima, call your parents. Let them know what's going on?"

  Fatima nodded and headed for the phone. She’d hold them in reserve on this one—for now.

  * * *

  Pacing the floor between the kitchen and the living room, Fatima was seriously considering calling her parents again and letting them walk Ellen through the kidnapping protocol. Tate was watching—he’d arrived about two hours after the troops had moved out to look for Lucy and Addie—and it took him saying something before she realized she was pacing.

  Ellen stepped in front of her. “Fatima, dear, since our green barn manager has disappeared—why don’t you head out there and give the horses a once-over. Laura is out there alone, and I’m sure she could use some help.”

  Tate nodded. “You’re going to wear a hole in the floor.”

  “Do you want to come with me?”

  He paused, then shook his head. “Bad day. Lots of knee pain.”

  Fatima pursed her lips. She kind of wanted Tate with her. He was good at keeping her grounded. But she would wear down the floor. Nodding, Fatima grabbed a jacket. “Yes. I’ll go out and help Laura.”

  Ellen laid her hands on Fatima’s shoulders. “Tee, darling, they’re going to find them. You know that. It’s just time. It’s just the waiting.”

  “I don’t know that.”

  Ellen put a hand over her heart. “Cady is here. She swears she hears her. Your sister is special, and I think if you listen, you’ll know that she’s alive and waiting for them to find her. I know my Addie is. Trust them to find her.”

  Nodding, Fatima headed out to the barn. She paused to give Tate a quick kiss.

  She’d squealed when Joseph McCoy had walked into the house. He was a daredevil, and she had loved watching him run motocross. But he was there because of his wife, Cady. Cady was magical, like her sister, and Ellen believed the two of them were communicating. Fatima didn't have the heart to tell Ellen they did have the same kind of magic. They might both be blessed, but type of blessing wasn't the same.

  She wandered into the barn and momentarily hated her mother for pulling Lucy away from Grandmother and away from her magic. There was nothing wrong with having magic.

  “Tee?” Laura spotted her wandering in. “What are you doing out here?”

  “I’m going to pace through the floor. I need something to do and—”

  “There’s plenty out here, don’t worry about that. You’re actually more than welcome. I have two horses that need some dressings replaced, and I have another with a limp and I think it’s a problem with his tendon. He wasn’t limping a week ago.”

  Fatima let out a breath. Her element, caring for animals. Her sister might be able to speak to them, but she understood them on another level. She knew where they hurt when they showed her, and she knew how to help them. Laura told her where, and nodding, she headed for the stall where the stallion was waiting for her, leg in the air.

  Letting out a little breath, she saw that the horse’s name was Mulligatawny Stew. She pulled the door open and laughed. “Hey, Mully. How are you doing?”

  The big bay whinnied, clearly not happy with his situation. She wished she had her bag, but Fatima had honestly thought she was going to be mucking stalls, not vetting the horses. Grabbing a brush, she paid some attention to his grooming first and gained his trust. Once he was nuzzling her, she ran a hand over the forelock.

  He bucked hard.

  Fatima went flying backwards in the stall, and caught her shoulder on the door. She slammed against it hard and it whipped her around. She figured she’d hit the ground in a moment and let herself go limp.

  Onl
y to slam into a soft-but-hard body that stopped her from falling.

  Looking up, she thought that Tate had kept her from hitting the ground. A moment later she realized it was the other brother.

  “You okay?”

  “Caldwell...What on earth are you doing here?”

  He helped her to right herself. “Pepper told us there was some intrigue going on and the Millers could probably use help with the horses. What's going on?”

  “My sister and RJ’s sister were kidnapped.”

  She saw him blanch. “I'm sorry. I thought—”

  Holding up a hand, she stopped him. “No. RJ, half the McCoys, and nearly all of Travis county police are out looking for them. I'd get in the way, so don't worry about being flippant.”

  “So y’all need some help?”

  “I'm a vet in training, and Laura had me checking the horses. She said Mulligatawny here had a foreleg injury. I was just checking him out when he bucked me into you.” She eyed the horse suspiciously. “He’s, of course, being an asshole.” And the anger she’d been holding in bubbled up. “I don’t need you to be an asshole, horse! I don’t need you to be mean! I’m trying to fucking help you, you miserable, flea-infested piece of shit—”

  “Whoa, there!” Caldwell grabbed her around the waist and yanked her away from the stall while pulling the stall door shut. “You don’t need to piss off the pissed-off horse, Fatima. Let’s back up and take it down a notch.”

  She spun around and started wailing on his chest. “They kidnapped my sister! They took my sister away from me! I want to hurt them! I want to find them and hurt them and bring her home! They can’t have her!”

  As Fatima railed and screamed, Caldwell just stood and took it all. She cried a bit more, and he held her still. She finally just collapsed in his arms and sobbed. “They can’t have her, Caldwell. They can’t. She’s my sister. RJ loves her. Make them give her back.”

  “They are going to find her, Fatima.” He stared down into her eyes. “They are already out there looking, and with Cady and Ten on the job, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were already on to where she was being held.”

  “She’s my best friend, Cald. My sister. I followed her down here because I didn’t want to spend so much time without her around. And now they took her.”

  She caught his eyes, and they locked gazes. He looked so much like Tate it was stunning. He was handsome, and it was easy to see why he had groupies. His arms were firm but careful as they held her. He was also built and strong—and he was stunningly hard inside the jeans pressed against her stomach.

  * * *

  If he were a better man, he would have let Fatima go and walked out of the barn, ignoring the desire—first coursing through him and then settling in his dick.

  She was seeing his brother. She was dating him. She was sleeping with him.

  But there was something about her, about this moment, that held him there, pressing her against his chest in her vulnerable state.

  If he were a better man.

  But he wasn't.

  “There are days when I wish I'd made the move as soon as I saw you, Fatima. You are simply one of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen.”

  “Caldwell…”

  He didn't give her the chance to speak. His lips found hers and he consumed her, invading her mouth, stroking her tongue with his own. The intensity of it took his breath away, and he pulled back a little. He studied her face as she studied him.

  “I'd give anything to make you mine.”

  She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close again, sinking herself into the kiss. A breathless minute later, she spoke against his lips. “Fuck me.”

  “What?” The word rushed from his lungs.

  “Fuck me. Right here, right now.”

  “Tee—”

  “This is your only chance.”

  Had he been a better man, he wouldn't have taken the chance.

  Instead, he spun her into the dark corner of the barn and pushed her against the wall, her hands already reaching for his belt. Caldwell yanked her shirt up over her bra and pulled down the lace, releasing her breast as he immediately found the hard peak with his mouth.

  She trembled, his lips and teeth devouring her. But his ministrations distracted her for only a moment as she immediately and successfully went back to freeing his dick from the confines of the denim.

  Slipping his jeans down just far enough to expose his cock, Fatima wrapped her hand around him and groaned. She pumped his length in her fist with a grip he couldn't back out of even if he’d wanted to. Caldwell yanked her pants down over her backside in the next moment and his hand plunged between her thighs, shoving the scrap of cloth that covered her out of the way.

  “Tell me no,” he begged her, his finger finding the deepest part of her. “Tell me no, right now.”

  She shook her head. “Fuck me, Caldwell. I want it.”

  He captured her mouth again. Tell me no, Fatima. Christ, tell me no. His words were only in his head as he kissed her—and her response ran through him. She wasn't stopping him. Not at all.

  He spun her around and pressed her against the wall, yanking her ass out by her delicious hips. He couldn't be bothered undressing them any further—instead he fisted himself and found her entrance from behind, slamming home inside her in the next moment.

  “Oh! Fuck yes!” She thrust herself against him hard, and helped him find his rhythm. She grabbed his hand and guided him to her clit—he could swear his dick grew harder. She knows what she wants. She wants this.

  He obliged Fatima: he strummed his fingers over her the hot, wet nub and listened to her breath tripping and gasping across her lips. And while she knew what she wanted —his dick inside her—she was also nubile and pliable. She slid further down the wall, pushing her ass further into him.

  “Hard,” she hissed. “Do it harder.”

  “Fuck,” Caldwell hissed, but complied. He was plunging in and out as fast and as hard as he could, his balls helping stimulate her whole sex.

  “Are you gonna come for me, belle?”

  “Yes.”

  He grabbed her hair tight, but not hard. “Are you going to come around my dick, belle?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “Where do you want my cum? On your skin? On those tits?”

  She shook her head. “In me. I'm on the pill. Come in my pussy. I want to feel your heat.”

  He almost spilled himself immediately. He slapped her ass to distract himself, but it nearly made it worse, the red of his palm on her firm cheek. “You have a filthy mouth, princess.”

  “Foda-me, vaqueiro! Vou mostrar-lhe como está suja minha boca!”

  Her words were sultry, and even though he wasn't sure exactly what she'd said, when she ground her ass on him, he got the picture. He pulled on her hair, tugging lightly. “I'm not coming until you do.”

  “Make me come, oh, yes…” Fatima hissed the last letter of her plea.

  Her walls fluttered around his erection, and for just a moment she fluttered on the precipice. Reaching down, Caldwell gave her clit a quick, sharp slap. Fatima came, whimpering and moaning, barely able to get a true sound out. The pull of her sex finally sent Caldwell over the edge, too. And as he spilled himself inside of her, she came again, this time barely able to contain the scream that wanted to rip from her throat.

  Slowly, they settled from the intensity of the coupling. Fatima leaned her forehead on the barn wall for just a moment. Caldwell enjoyed the feel of her depth for just a few seconds longer. As Fatima looked over her shoulder at him, he withdrew from her and quickly tucked himself away, back into the confines of his jeans.

  Ever so gently, he helped Fatima right herself and turned her to face him again. He reverently tucked each pert breast back into its proper place. He carefully pulled her shirt down to cover her again as she pulled her panties and pants back to their original location.

  Fatima was flushed, and covered in the light sheen of sweat from the effort of their lovemak
ing. He didn't think it was possible, but Caldwell found her even more beautiful now. Her eyes were both happy and sad, sated and still lustful as she studied his face.

  “You’re with Tate.” It wasn’t a sad statement, it wasn’t a question. It just was.

  “I wanted you, Caldwell. But Tate won me. This is the only time this will ever happen.”

  “Tate will never know from me.”

  She leaned in and kissed him, hard. For a moment she looked like she wanted to say something, but instead she turned on her heel smartly and left the barn.

  Caldwell watched Fatima disappear, and—instead of retaining what was left of his claims of being a gentleman and being the better man—he hoped it wasn’t the only time.

  Chapter Five

  Maybe getting away from the mess of the kidnapping wasn’t a good idea. They’d all been so consumed with Lucy and Addie’s return, the investigation, the interviews, the health of King’s Dominion that Fatima just wanted to get away for a few hours.

  Get away from the memory of the barn that day…

  But, now, in the car she was rethinking the whole thing.

  Tate was staring hard at her.

  Did he know…?

  “I cannot ride an ATV.”

  Fatima almost let out a sigh of relief. “Sure you can. You know how to drive.”

  “No. It has nothing to do with my ability to drive. It has to do with me having two really bad legs that can't hold on properly. I don't have the tone to hang on.”

  Now she really felt like an ass. “Oh. Tate, I'm sorry. I didn't even think about that. I just assumed that you could drive it.”

  They rumbled over the dirt road in the back of RJ’s pickup, out toward the ATV track in the distance. Fatima had thought that getting away and just unleashing the gas on an ATV would be a great way to blow off some of the pent-up adrenaline from Lucy’s and Addie’s kidnapping. Addie and Geo were in the other car with Caldwell.

  She'd done that on purpose. She didn't trust herself with Caldwell at the moment.