A Little Harmless Ride (22 page)

She knew better than to go down that road with Eli. Big strong Alphas didn’t like their tender feelings probed.

“
And the woman?” she asked.

“
She died in prison from what I understand.”

“
Oh.” It was the only thing she could think of.

“
Don’t mourn her death, love. She was a nasty bit of goods. She liked to hurt people.”

And that’s why he made a good Dom. Some people got off on the pain, but with Eli, she felt he was more interested in the connection. Maybe that’s why she was pretty sure he’d never brought a woman to the ranch before. Not for play at least.

She turned in the water and his eyebrows rose in surprise. Crysta cupped his face and gave him a long, loving kiss.

“
What was that for?” he asked his voice wary.

“
Just because.”

Something moved over his face and he frowned. A proud man like Eli wouldn’t want to take compassion, which was stupid. But many times, men like him thought it was something else.

“
Don’t even think this is for pity” she said her temper rising. She brought it under control, barely. “This is…well, I’m thankful that Joe saved you and then allowed me to come here to meet you.”

His lips curved slightly. “Yeah?”

She nodded and turned back around, afraid if she looked at him any longer, she might tell him exactly how she felt. But she was pretty sure Eli didn’t want that. He didn’t want to hear how much she respected him. He was one of those salt of the earth people. Like Joe. He didn’t want praise, just respect.

And she was pretty sure he wouldn’t be happy that she was falling in love with him.

Chapter Twenty-One

“
I’m sick of waiting,” Eli growled into the phone. “It’s been two weeks and nothing. You would think someone would know something.”

Dillon sighed. “I can’t explain it. There seems to be no one connected to it. Although, I do have one more thread to follow up on.”

“
What?”

“
I don’t want to say anything until I confirm it. I also want you to make sure there isn’t anyone from your past that might be popping up.”

He hesitated. “What do you mean by that?”

“
I know you were SASR. Joe told me when I took over the security of the ranch. By what he said, you might have some enemies in that realm.”

“
There was only one person. She died in prison from what I was told.”

Dillon grunted. Eli could tell he was thinking that over.

“
I’ll do some checking.”

“
What’s that mean?”

“
You know as well as I do that governments lie. I’ll just make sure what they told you was true.”

“
Joe told me. He checked it out.”

“
Ah. Okay, well, I will double check, but it’s probably going to be another dead end. This is getting on my nerves.”

He smiled despite the situation. “There hasn’t been a damned thing that happened since then. Of course, we tightened up security, but no breaches, no issues. It’s odd.”

Dillon sighed and Eli heard the creak of his office chair over the phone. “It is. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just a weirdo.”

“
Ah, Agent Dillon using the word weirdo. Is that allowed?”

“
That’s former agent and in this case it is.”

“
Have you tried checking into the animal rights activists?”

“
We did, but found nothing. They tend to not want to hurt the animals, but I thought we could find something there.”

The frustration in his voice was mirrored in Eli’s gut. It seemed like a strange incident, nothing big, but there was something there. It was lurking in the shadows…he could feel it.

“
I’ve got a contact who used to infiltrate some of the more radical groups. I’ll double check.”

“
But you don’t think so?”

“
No. They are for saving the animals, so why would they hurt them? I just hope it isn’t something bigger. Like…a serial killer or something.”

He snorted. “A serial killer running around Hawai’i? I doubt that.”

“
You would be surprised. And, it is the kind of thing that many of them would do, you know that. They go after animals first.”

“
Okay. I guess you’re going to check out cow mutilations?”

“
Did. It was a dead end. But according to Jillian, it could be something else.”

“
And what did your wife suggest?”

“
Aliens.”

Eli didn’t say anything for a second. “As in foreign?”

“
As in outer space.”

Eli chuckled. “We’ll keep a lookout for little green men.”

“
I’d appreciate it. Let me follow up on the rest of these leads and then I’ll get back to you.”

“
Sounds good.”

Eli clicked the phone off and looked out over the horizon from the back lanai. He hadn’t realized how quiet it was at that moment. It was…wrong. Then, he saw Danny walking across the yard.

“
Hey, Aiona, have you seen Crysta.”

“
She went out with Jerry. They were staying within the safety perimeter.”

That had been the hardest thing for him. Crysta hadn’t been happy about it, but unless Jerry or he was with her, he’d cut down on her time outside of the house.

Still, there was something bothering him, something in his gut that told him there was something wrong.

* * * *

“
It’s a beautiful day out here,” Jerry said.

Crysta looked over the ridge and smiled. “It is. But then, what day is bad in Hawaii?”

He nodded. “I’m not sure how to say this.”

She glanced at him. “My father always says you should just say what you’re thinking.”

He looked at her then back out over the horizon. “The men, they wanted to thank you for staying around. We understand you could walk away. This isn’t…well…it isn’t your home. Your heart.”

She understood that sentiment. It had less than three months, but she had started to fall in love with the island, with the people, the life. And there was something pulling at her, more than just that. She knew it was a man and she wasn’t too sure she liked that idea.

“
What I mean is, after everything that happened, we’re glad you didn’t leave.”

She glanced at him. “I understand that if I leave, the ranch will be sold for charity.”

“
And there’s no telling what would happen then.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
Land developers. They’d ignored us for a while since we’re further from the shore, but they’re running out of that. And, of course, since we get less rain than the rest of the island…perfect for golf.”

The disgust in his voice made her smile. “You golf?”

“
But I don’t want to do it on prime pasture land. There are some things you just don’t do.”

“
Well, I happen to agree. And if I didn’t, I understand about family. Joe didn’t want that. He wanted the ranch to stay. It will stay.”

He turned to say something else, but he never did. There was a crack in the distance. She glanced back, but before she could figure out where the sound came from, she saw Jerry’s face drain of color and he slumped forward.

“
Jerry,” she yelled. There was another crack and her horse reared. She lost her grip and fell to the ground, busting her head against the hard earth. She sat up to watch as Maisy galloped in the direction of the house.

Jerry’s horse stayed steady enough for her to gain a footing. She slipped Jerry’s foot out of the stirrup and replaced it with her own. She mounted the horse behind him, and dug her heels into his sides. The horse took off as she ignored the shots behind them.

Fear was coursing through her blood, but she ignored it. She needed to get as much space between them and the person shooting at them.

It felt like forever before she sighted the ranch. There was activity in the yard. Eli was already mounted on his horse.

She rode into the yard at full speed. There were so many people running around. Eli was off his horse and beside her before she could dismount.

“
Crysta, baby, are you all right?” His large fingers biting into her arms as he shook her. “Answer me,” he shouted.

“
I would if you would quit yelling at me. I’m fine.”

“
There’s blood all over you.”

“
Boss, it’s Jerry,” Danny yelled out.

“
What?” he said, turning to give the younger man a mean look. He kept his hands wrapped around her arms and pulled her along with him.

“
He’s the one who is hurt,” she said. He was shot.”

The ranch hands were making their way to one of the trucks. Danny was carrying Jerry.

“
Let’s go,” Eli said, and he dragged her to the truck.

* * * *

It was hours before they were actually able to talk to Mitch. He had been out at the ranch while Eli had insisted on staying at the hospital. Jerry didn’t have family, so he felt that he should stay there and wait.

“
Hey, there,” Crysta said. She’d changed into scrubs offered by the hospital. He would never forget seeing blood staining her shirt. In that one moment, he had thought she was hurt or worse…dying. That idea was too much for him to even think about.

She handed him a cup of coffee. “Nurse Kitty found these for me.”

“
Nurse Kitty also said you should be admitted.”

“
The doctor said I didn’t have a concussion.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but Mitch came striding down the hallway. The grim expression on his face told Eli it was as bad as he imagined.

“
Jerry?”

“
Still waiting. They had to perform surgery.”

He looked at Crysta. “I understand you were there. Out on your own.”

She shrugged. “We were just out on a ride. Not even close to the edge of the property. Jerry said it was okay.”

“
You just had the damned cows mutilated, and you’re riding around.”

She sighed and rubbed her head. “Oh, lord, I didn’t think about it. It’s been a two weeks and Jerry said he wanted to talk to me. I figured he knew what he was about.”

“
What did he want to talk to you about?” Mitch asked.

“
Nothing really.”

“
What the hell does that mean?”

Eli frowned at Mitch. “I think you need to reassess your tone.”

She settled her hands on his. “It’s fine. I went because he asked me to go with him to talk about the future.”

“
The future?” Eli asked.

“
He was worried about the ranch, and he wanted to thank me for having a backbone.”

“
That’s all?”

“
Yes.”

He studied her for a second. “Are you sure he wasn’t getting you out there for another reason?”

Crysta looked confused, but Eli wasn’t. He knew exactly what Mitch was suggesting.

“
No,” Eli said.

Mitch gave him a narrow-eyed glance.

“
What?” Crysta asked.