Satin & Saddles (11 page)

Head tilted to the side, she thought about it for a moment. She wasn’t one for vengeance, but she wanted to just get out of there. “I could use a day away from home.”

“Good.” He smiled. “When can you be ready?”

“All I need to do is to grab my purse.” She turned. “Hold on a moment,” she added over her shoulder. He stood in the doorway and she returned with her messenger purse over her shoulder and mustered up a smile. “I’m ready to go.”

Her phone rang again and she glanced at it and saw that it was Dillon. Persistent jerk. She sent it to voicemail then put her phone on silent.

After she locked the door behind her, she headed to Geoff’s SUV and climbed in. He didn’t help her in like Dillon always did. The thought saddened her then anger quickly followed. What good was a polite cowboy if he was a cheating cowboy?

The SUV was luxurious and she sank back into the fine leather seat. “Nice ride,” she said.

He backed up the vehicle. “Might be a bit much for out here, but it’s what I drove in Tucson and I didn’t want to buy something new.”

She wasn’t really in the mood for polite chatter and began to wonder why she’d said yes to going with him. Maybe it was because this time if Dillon stopped by she really wouldn’t be home. Knowing that she was angry with him, this time he probably wouldn’t threaten to break down her door. That was if he did stop by.

“I’ve never been to Nogales,” Geoff said when they were fifteen minutes into the twenty-five minute drive. “The navigation system on this SUV is crap compared to my iPad. Can you check the directions on it?”

He glanced from his wheel long enough to key in a password, then handed her the pad.

“I don’t know how to use one of these things.” She took the pad. “But I’ll give it a shot.”

“It’s easy.” He glanced over at her and smiled. “The map is already up.”

She touched the screen and the map vanished and photos started to scroll across the screen. She opened her mouth to tell him that when her skin went cold.

The picture of Dillon and Sue was moving across the screen.

She froze for a moment then looked up at Geoff. He glanced at her and smiled. “Figure it out?”

Panic set in as she realized what must have happened, thoughts racing through her mind. All this time it was Geoff. He’d figured out how to send it to her in an email from Dillon. But how had he gotten the picture? He worked remotely on computers. Somehow he had accessed Dillon’s computer. It was the only explanation.

“Just a second.” She tried to keep her voice calm as she frantically tried to exit out of the pictures and pull the map back up. She kept the iPad tilted away from him as she touched the screen, her heart beating like crazy. “Okay, I think I have it,” she said as she got the map back up. “The turnoff is just ahead, East Morley Avenue.”

“Is something wrong?” he asked her, his brow furrowed.

“Just had a rough couple of days.” She tried for a smile but couldn’t and proceeded to lie. “I’m already feeling better.”

He nodded and took the next exit and then made the next turn that she told him to take, and then they were in the Arizona side of Nogales. The town spanned across the border of Mexico. Nogales, Mexico was much larger with its over two hundred thousand residents, as opposed to its Arizona counterpart which had around twenty thousand residents.

“Where are you going in Nogales?” she asked as her mind whirled, trying to think of a way out of the car and away from Geoff.

“I need to go to the MVD to get my driver’s license renewed,” he said. “There’s a problem and it won’t let me do it over the Internet.”

“Why don’t you drop me off on one of the main streets” This time she did manage a smile. “I can do some shopping while you take care of that.”

“All right.”

“Come to think of it,” she said. “Sabrina told me about a couple of shops on Maricopa—no, it was Mariposa Road.” She looked at the map and scanned it. “Here it is.” She gave him directions.

When they arrived, he pulled up next to a western store. “I think I’ll start at this place.” She gestured to the shop. “Why don’t we meet here when you’re done? Just give me a call and I’ll make sure I’m ready.”

“Sounds good.” He smiled at her and she smiled back before climbing out and shutting the door behind her, then slinging her purse cross-body.

He drove off. When she couldn’t see him anymore, she hurried past the western store, farther down the street to a shoe store and ducked inside.

Her heart raced and she looked out the window as she stood by a shoe display and dug her phone out of her purse. She looked at the screen—three missed three calls from Dillon.

She dialed his number and held her phone up to her ear.

“Carly?” he answered.

“I need you to come to Nogales to get me.” She hurried to speak. “I think I might be in trouble. I’m not sure.”

“I just got to your house. I’ll head that way now,” he said. “It’ll take me twenty minutes to get there. What happened? Are you all right?”

She held her arms tight to herself. “I’m okay. I’m in a shoe store on Mariposa.”

“I know the one,” he said. “Are you with Burnside?”

“How did you know?” she asked, surprised.

“A hunch,” Dillon said. “Where is he now?”

“He went to the MVD to renew his driver’s license.”

“Hopefully that will take him some time.” His voice sounded hard. “He’s bad news, Carly.”

“I think I’m figuring that out.” She thought about the picture. “I’m really sorry. I thought you sent me a picture of you and another woman—”

“Wyatt told me. Brought over a copy of the email you sent to Sabrina.”

Carly blinked. “I told her not to tell you.”

“Technically, she didn’t.”

“Oh.” That was true. “I saw that picture on Geoff’s iPad. That’s when I figured out that it had to have been him.”

“Right. I came to the same conclusion.” Dillon’s voice had a hard edge to it. “Like I said, he’s bad news. I did some research on him and the guy has been in some trouble.”

“Danica said you’re good at that kind of thing.” Carly continued to stare out the window in case Geoff came back.

“He was arrested in California for assault against a woman. He did two years in prison.” He told her the dates.

Carly mentally tracked the timeframe and her skin prickled with goose bumps. “That’s when he stopped calling me, sometime after I told him I wanted to see other people and just be friends. It must be why he didn’t keep contacting me.”

“That’s not all.” Dillon sounded grim. “He’s been in trouble for stalking and some restraining orders have been filed against him more than once. He’s been arrested and did a little time for computer hacking, too.”

“I had no idea.” She rubbed her arm with her free hand. “How much longer before you get here?”

“I’ve been driving like a bat out of hell,” he said. “Another ten minutes and I’ll be there.”

She glanced at her watch then back at the street. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about it.”

“Honey, if I got an email like that, I would have been pissed, too.”

“But you would have talked with me about it.”

“We all deal with pain in different ways.”

She nodded to herself. “Yes, that’s true. But that will teach me to talk things out.”

“How could you have believed me?” Dillon asked. “Hell, it was a perfect set up.”

“Almost perfect.” Her thoughts went back to the iPad. “If he didn’t have it on his iPad I never would have believed you.”

“I would have made you believe me.” His voice softened. “I’m not letting go of you that easily.”

Her heart warmed. “I’m glad. Because I don’t want you to give up on me.”

“You never have to worry about that.”

They continued talking for a few moments when her phone beeped, telling her she had another call coming in. She checked and saw that it was Geoff’s number. Her heart started pounding again.

“He’s calling me,” she said to Dillon as she ignored the call from Geoff. “That must mean he’s finished and heading back over here.” She peered out the window and looked down the street. “Unless he’s already here.”

“Hold tight,” Dillon said. “Pulling off the freeway now.”

“There he is.” She swallowed.” He’s standing beside his SUV in front of the western shop where I told him to meet me.” Her phone beeped again and she looked at the screen before putting it back to her ear. “He’s calling me.” She watched him holding the phone up to his ear as he called her.

“I see him,” Dillon said. “I’m going to pull in front of the shoe store. I want you to come straight out. I’ll have the door open for you, just jump in.”

She nodded as she watched Geoff look up and down the street and then peer into the Western shop. She should have picked a store a little farther away.

Dillon pulled up in his truck and a breath of relief shot from her. Geoff was looking away as she opened the door to the shop. But the moment she stepped out, he turned and looked at her.

“Hey, Carly,” he said and started toward her.

Feeling suddenly frantic, she ran to the now open door of Dillon’s truck, yanked the door wide, and climbed in. She shut the door just as Geoff reached the truck. Surprise then anger flashed across his face.

Dillon pulled away from the curb and entered the light traffic. She turned away from the window, not wanting to see Geoff’s face any longer than she had to.

She looked at Dillon. He reached over the console and gripped her hand. “You okay?”

“Yes.” She squeezed his hand back. “Thank you for coming all the way here for me.”

“I would go anywhere for you, sweetheart.” His eyes told her that he meant every word he said.

She smiled at him, feeling a world of feeling for him that she didn’t want to identify—not just yet.

“I don’t know if it’s safe for you at your house.” Dillon glanced at her when they were halfway back to Patagonia. “Why don’t you grab your things and stay at my place a bit until we figure this thing out?”

“Do you really think I’m in danger?” Even as she said the question, her mind told her she should be concerned. “I hate being run out of my own home.”

“I think we need to take a look at it before you stay at your place alone.” He glanced in his rearview mirror. “It doesn’t look like he’s following us, but he just might head on over to your home when he returns to Patagonia. I have a feeling he’s not going to let go so easy.”

“Considering what you came up with in your research and from past experience,” Carly said, “You’re probably right.” Her phone rang and she looked at it before sending it to voicemail. “It’s Geoff again.”

Dillon looked like he was considering something. “I don’t think you can get a restraining order because he hasn’t actually done anything, has he?”

She shook her head. “No. He just keeps popping up everywhere I go.”

When they reached her house, once she was out of the truck and on her doorstep, Carly hurried to unlock the door. She had that panicked feeling again, like something might happen at any moment.

While Dillon waited on her front porch, keeping an eye out for Geoff, she threw clothes into a bag along with other personal items.

She finished packing a duffel bag then headed out of the house and locked the door. Dillon took the bag from her as they started toward her Jeep that she would be driving as she followed him to his ranch. One thing she wanted was the ability to leave if she needed to. He seemed ultra-aware of their surroundings as they walked to the Jeep. He took her keys from her and unlocked the door.

As he threw the bag on the passenger seat, hair prickled at her nape. She felt like someone was watching her. Was it Geoff? Was he hiding somewhere, stalking her? She looked over her shoulder but saw nothing on the street. There was a copse of trees, though. Could he be there?

She mentally shook her head. She was just spooked now.

Dillon helped her into the driver’s side of the Jeep and shut the door behind her and she suddenly felt safer, more secure. She waited as he climbed into his truck and the engine roared as it came to life. They backed up the vehicles and then they were headed away from her house.

Even as they drove down the road, she felt like she was being watched. She put her hand to her queasy belly and took a deep breath.

She glanced back at the group of trees but again couldn’t see anything. It’s nothing, she told herself. I’m just a little spooked.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” she said aloud. All she could do was hope that she was right.

Geoff stood hidden in the shadows of the trees, his face hot with fury. He had been stupid and left that picture of Cameron and his old girlfriend on his iPad—Carly must have seen in and added everything together. Her demeanor had changed as she looked at the iPad on the drive. The damned piece of technology would take recent photos and scroll them across the screen in the background, something that hadn’t occurred to him when he’d asked her to look at the map.

And now the cowboy was in her good graces.

Geoff watched as Cameron drove off, with Carly following in her Jeep. Geoff had left his own vehicle at his home and had jogged the short distance over to watch her house. He’d figured she would come back—he just didn’t know if it was to stay or to go to Cameron’s place. Considering she’d packed a duffel bag, he was certain he had his answer and he didn’t like it.

He took a deep breath and pushed away from the tree he’d been leaning against. He’d watched her so many times from this very spot. Next visit he made was going to be up close and personal and then she was going to come with him for a little trip to his place.

His thoughts turned to forcing her to suck him off as he slammed his dick to the back of her throat so hard she’d gag with every thrust he made. He’d fuck her mouth until he was close to coming then pull out. He’d punish her for anything she did wrong, if she didn’t suck him right. He’d slap her so hard she’d see stars.

The sexual desires and urges that this woman stirred in him were so strong he could never stop them. He didn’t want to stop them. Once more he pictured having her beneath him as he drove his hard dick into her pussy and wrapped his hands around her slender throat.