My breath caught. He’d stopped us at an empty hole already dug in the ground.
He yanked the pendant from my neck and gestured with the gun. “In the hole. I can’t afford you chasing me.”
I slowly shook my head. “I’m claustrophobic. Please don’t. I promise not to chase you.”
Confusion and a hint of concern crossed his face before it was masked. I dropped to my knees. “I’ll stay right here. I promise.”
He shook his head and pointed toward the hole again. “Get in.”
Just when I thought he was going to have to kill me to get in the hole, I realized I was wrong. A single gunshot near my feet had done the trick.
I slid down into the hole and pressed my back to the farthest end.
“Your boyfriend will come to save you, and if he doesn’t, I’ll send someone else.”
That confession confused me. I didn’t care if what he said was true as long as the next bullet wasn’t in my body.
The man tore off in a run without looking back.
I was stuck in a dirt hole, but he hadn’t killed me, but he might as well have. My hand landed on my bare neck. That crystal wasn’t just for decoration, and it didn’t just help me find people and things. It helped keep my energy grounded.
“One problem at a time,” I whispered out loud to whatever worms wriggled nearby.
“Cassie.” Nathan’s yell came from a distance as I tried not once, but twice to find a hold in the side of the packed dirt.
“Nathan,” I yelled back, trying to climb out, but I fell onto my butt.
“Cassie.” His yell was getting louder.
“I’m in a large hole,” I yelled back.
Nathan found me minutes later, and I’d never been so happy to see his face.
“Thank God. I thought he shot you.” Relief flooded his face. “Are you hurt?” He lay down on the ground and held out his hands for me to grab.
“Only my pride that I can’t get myself out of here,” I said, taking his outstretched hands. He pulled me out and held me in his embrace.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“No, and when I told him I was claustrophobic, he said the weirdest thing. He said if you didn’t find me, he’d make sure someone came back to pull me out,” I answered, rubbing the dirt off my butt.
“A robber with a conscience. That’s a first.”
“He didn’t take your badge either, Nathan.”
“The man held you at gunpoint, Cassie. Tell me you aren’t taking pity on him.”
“No, I’m just saying, who in their right mind would leave an FBI agent alive if he stole all the money? He has to know his time is limited before you find him.”
“Let’s agree to disagree,” he said as he took my hand.
“Any chance there’s a pay phone nearby where we can call your house collect so someone can come get us?”
“There hasn’t been a pay phone around here in a decade, and all of the shops are closed. We’re stuck out here until morning.”
“I’m not sleeping in a cemetery, especially the one we just got robbed in.”
Nathan glanced in my direction. His mouth tilted up in the corner. “I know the perfect place where we’ll be safe and undisturbed to get some sleep until daybreak.”
Thirty minutes later, after walking for a mile, Nathan led me into the stables at the fairgrounds. He walked in like he’d been there plenty of times and knew where to go. He stopped in front of a gate and opened it. Nathan’s last name was written on paper and hung outside the empty stall. Hay filled the area.
“Is this your home away from home?” I asked and gestured to the name.
He chuckled. “Not mine, but Amanda’s. This spot is reserved for her horse.”
Chapter 15
“Nathan, I need my…” My words died on my lips as Nathan crushed his lips to mine.
He eased the kiss to whisper, “If you’d gotten hurt, I never would have forgiven myself for dragging you down here.”
“You talk too much,” I whispered and took over the kiss, a warm slide of our tongues as he pulled me closer. He gathered me into his arms and gently laid me on the hay, following me down. His hands caressed my body. I don’t know if it was the adrenaline we were both swimming in or something else, but I didn’t just want him; I needed him.
His warm palms sent tingles down my spine as they rested, touching skin just below the hem of my shirt.
“We shouldn’t…” he said, breaking the kiss.
“We are,” I answered, resuming the kiss, only this time moving his entire palm to touch my stomach skin to skin.
As if that little contact lit a fire beneath him, his lips left mine, kissing a trail down my neck as his hand lifted my shirt and landed on my bra. He leaned over me and lowered my bra with his teeth, sending shockwaves through my body.
My heartbeat raced as I watched him take my nipple into his mouth. My head dropped back, and I moaned, lifting my body into his. I needed to feel him. I needed his hands and mouth all over me. My body was on fire and in a sexual haze of need.
He’d finished with the right one and then worked his way to the other as I pulled the shirt over my head. His fingers toyed with the button of my jeans as I grabbed his shirt at the shoulder blades and pulled his off too.
In a hurried state now, the rest of our clothes came off within minutes. He was poised at the juncture of my thighs.
He paused. “I don’t have a condom, but I’m clean.”
“Me too, and I’m on the pill,” I whispered, taking his lips again.
He eased into me, slowly until seated to the hilt. The hay poking my skin was forgotten. He stared down at me with heat in his eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I will be when you get moving, cowboy.” I grinned, nudging him with my heels.
It wasn’t long before he took us both over the edge. He grunted my name when we both found our release.
We lay unmoving, a twisted pile of limbs. Our chests rose and fell in rhythm. “That was... whoa.” He let out a breath.
“Amazingly hot,” I answered. “Next time I’ll wear nothing but cowboy boots and a grin.”
He rolled over me and pressed a tender kiss to my lips. His warm palm lay heavy on my stomach. “Next time I’ll hold you to that, and it will be in a bed.”
I chuckled as he pushed up from his spot. I took my time drinking in his amazing body. Heat flushed my cheeks from thoughts of wanting him again.
He slid first his boxers and then his jeans up his long powerful legs before fastening them at the waist. “Wait here, and I’ll go find something to clean us up. I know where they keep their supplies.”
He gave me a salacious wink before he slipped out of the stall, returning a few minutes later with towels to clean away the evidence of our hot and dirty deed. I slid back into my clothes and lay in his arms.
“Get a few hours’ sleep. The crews will come in early, and I’ll borrow a phone and get us a ride back to the ranch.”
My eyes were already closing. The night was nothing like I’d expected, but I settled into the warmth of the crook of his arm. My palm rested over his heart, and I proceeded to fall asleep.
I was dreaming. I knew I was. In the dream I sat next to a fire, the subconscious flames hot on my cheeks. My sister Talia and my parents were on the other side of the firepit. It could have been a memory of our last camping trip. I eased my seat back, and it was as though the flame was following.
Panic raced my heart, and my eyes flew open.
“Nathan,” I whispered.
We were no longer in the stall but in his bedroom. Sheets covered my body while an icepack rested on my forehead.
“Cassie,” he answered and hurried to my side, dropping to his knees. Dark stubble outlined his strong jaw, and his hair was mussed, as if he’d raked his fingers through it repeatedly. “I thought I’d lost you twice.”
“What happened?” I asked, my throat dry and scratchy.
“We fell asleep in the stall, a
nd when I woke up, you were burning up with a fever and unresponsive. I got you back here, and Mildred and I have been watching out for you. It wasn’t until Clayton called Gwen to explain what was going on that she told us what to do.”
My brows dipped, my thoughts twisting in turmoil. It was like he wasn’t making any sense.
“I don’t understand.”
“You remember the robber, right?” he asked.
I nodded.
“I didn’t know anything about your crystal until Gwen asked if you still had your necklace. When I checked, you didn’t. The robber took your crystal.” He pressed a tender kiss to my lips.
“I need my crystal. It helps keep my energy grounded.”
“That’s an understatement, child,” Mildred said from across the room. “We thought you’d been possessed when we got you here. There were mirrors breaking and glasses too. We didn’t know what the hell was going on.”
“If my tapped energy isn’t controlled, the vibration has been known to give me a fever and break things nearby.” It had only happened once before. Once I’d almost died. Once had been enough to learn that lesson.
“Your sister told me any crystal would help you, so that’s why you’ve got the crystal from the chandelier hanging from your neck. Sorry about the fishing line. It was all we had from when Nathan used to make his momma those sweet necklaces.”
I reached for the crystal and held it up. A smile split my lips. “I should start carrying more than one in the event that ever happens again.”
“I should say so,” Mildred answered as Nathan stared down at me.
I tried to sit up, and Nathan helped. “How long have I been out?”
“Two days.” He held the glass of water to my lips. “Clayton has been giving your sister updates. She threatened to bring all of your sisters here if you weren’t awake in the next six hours.”
“That’s a scary thought.”
He sat down on the bed beside me and leaned in to kiss me again. His gaze was soft, his hold strong.
“Let that girl breathe, Nathan.”
Nathan pulled away but held my gaze. “I made a police report. They’re looking for our robber, and I also had to call it into the FBI since he took the heist evidence. I’ll probably be reprimanded for that.”
“I’m sorry, Nathan,” I whispered. “Let me get dressed, and we’ll go search for him.”
“You aren’t going anywhere, child,” Mildred announced. “I’m going to make you a sandwich and some soup. When you can keep that down, and your fever is one hundred percent gone, then you can think about going out and about.”
“But…”
“She’s right,” Nathan added. “Regain your strength first.”
An hour later, I was sitting on the porch with Nathan’s grandfather and Clayton. He’d given a slight nod as I took a seat, as if to welcome me back to the land of the living without spending any precious words.
A late afternoon breeze caressed my face as Amanda ran out to the barn where her horse was corralled. The workers at the first oil rig were in the distance, taking a break and sitting in the shade while other machinery men had started to stabilize the digging equipment in another area on the property.
“That didn’t take long to get the equipment.”
“Feel free to tell me the lottery numbers or where diamonds are hidden,” Clayton said, jostling my arm. We slowly rocked on the swing as if this was exactly where we belonged.
“I’ll be sure to let you know.”
“So.” Clayton clapped his hands. “You didn’t have any luck with the money, and you were robbed, so when are we blowing this joint?”
I shrugged, unsure how to answer. I wasn’t in any hurry to go back, not with the niggling feeling that this wasn’t quite over. “You don’t have to stay and babysit me. I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, like when I left you alone for a minute, and you not only got robbed but developed a life-threatening fever? You mean, fine like that?”
I nudged his arm back as Amanda came running across the yard. She ran right into her dad as he and Nathan opened the screen door.
“Where’s the fire, Amanda?” his dad asked.
“I lost Mom’s good luck pin that I clip onto the saddle before every competition. If I don’t find it, I’m not going to win.”
“Where did you see it last?” he asked.
“The barn, but it might have fallen off when I took Obi out on one of our morning rides. It could be anywhere.”
A look of despair fell across Amanda’s face as if her entire world was crumbling. Tears welled up in her eyes. I rose. “I’ll help you find it since I haven’t had much luck with anything else.”
Amanda swiped a fallen tear. “You will?”
“Of course, but you need to take me to the barn.”
“Cassie, you don’t have to—”
“Yeah, I do.” I smiled and headed off the porch.
Nathan rested his palm on my arm as I passed. He cupped my cheek and leaned in to kiss me. It was quick and gentle, but I got the message. Nathan had just announced to everyone watching that we were an actual item, and not just pretend. Everyone who mattered would read how real that kiss had been. “Stay out of trouble and holler if you need any help.”
“No need,” Clayton said as he rose off the swing. “I’ll go with them so Gwen doesn’t think I’m just here enjoying the scenery, as she so aptly put it.”
“My sister wouldn’t know a good time if it were to sneak up and bite her in the…well, never mind,” I said, heading down the steps.
Chapter 16
I couldn’t find anything else we’d been looking for, so maybe helping to find this good luck charm would dust the cobwebs off and rev things up again. If nothing else, it would give this new crystal trinket around my neck a good workout.
We entered the barn, where more than the one horse was stabled; there were two. One I’d yet to see Amanda ride. This barn was nothing like the one Nathan and I had slept in. That one had several stalls and locked boxes and other things. This one had hay stacked against the back wall going up to the second-story loft area.
“What’s up there?” I asked.
“Oh, just a bed and blankets. Sometimes the oil roughnecks will bunk here, especially if they work into the night.”
“Which horse is yours?”
Amanda opened the stall door and rubbed the horse’s neck. “This is Obi-Wan.”
I grinned at the name as I rubbed the horse’s nose.
“You must like Star Wars.”
“My brother named him. Obi was his horse before he gave him to me.”
“Where do you normally keep the pin?”
“On Obi’s saddle,” Amanda answered, closing the stall. She crossed the barn to where several saddles sat astride a bench. Just ready to be picked up and lain on the back of the horse. Amanda pointed to the one closest to us.
The leather was faded, cracked, and embellished with several swirls and etches carved into the leather around the seat. “How is it you connect it onto the saddle. I would think the leather would break the pin.”
“Oh, right,” Amanda said. “I attach it to Obi’s blanket.”
Amanda walked across the room to where several blankets were folded. She handed me the one on top. I picked it up and inhaled, trying to get a bead on what might have happened.
I didn’t even need to open my senses to figure it out. A simple sniff told me everything. “This was laundered recently.”
“Once a week if not more, but always before competitions,” Amanda said, her eyes widening as if just saying the words out loud activated her brain cells again.
“Go check. We’ll wait here in case we’re wrong.”
Amanda ran from the barn, yelling for Mildred on her way.
“Where is she going?” Clayton asked.
“To check the washer and dryer.” I handed him the blanket. “It smells fresh and clean.”
I picked up the one beneath it and instantly pictu
red an image of Amanda and Marty. They were lying atop of it and kissing by a lake I’d yet to explore.
Amanda came running back a few minutes later, holding up the pin. “You were right.”
“Case solved.” Clayton rubbed his hands together.
“Can you give us a minute?” I asked Clayton with a nod toward the door.
“Sure, I’ll be on the porch.”
I waited until he was gone and Amanda had gotten busy re-pinning the good luck charm to the blanket.
I held up the other blanket. “You know, when I was younger, there was this boy that I crushed on something fierce. I would have given him anything. I would have done anything, so imagine my surprise when he showed interest in me. I ate it up without question. One thing led to another, and well, I wish I could take back what I gave him and saved it for someone more special.”
Amanda’s brows dipped as she turned to look at me. I handed her the blanket. “The river has kept your secret, and I will, too, but if you ever need to talk, you can call me.”
Realization dawned on her face as she clutched that blanket to her chest. “I love Marty. He gets me.”
I smiled at her. I could only hope that he loved her back and her heart didn’t get crushed like mine had at her age.
“Like I said, if you ever need to talk, you can call me. I’ve been there and done that. I know you have Mildred, but still. I have sisters, and we’ve been there for each other. Just consider me the same. If you ever need anything.”
“Thanks, Cassie,” she said as a look of relief crossed her face. “When my mom died, I didn’t realize how much I’d miss her. How much I’d need her. Dad tries, and Nathan does too, but there are just some things they don’t understand.” Amanda was a young and beautiful eighteen-year-old. There was a light in her eyes and a fire in her heart at her zest for life.
“Sweetie, sometimes even age doesn’t change that.”
We walked out of the barn and back to the house. I hadn’t had to use my crystal to find the trinket, so I had yet to determine if it would work. I needed practice. I needed to know if this crystal could encase my energy and work to stabilize me, or I’d be in a boatload of uncertainty.
Pay Dirt (Bennett Dynasty Book 2) Page 7
