Being Zolt (17 page)

I let out a long sigh as my heart rate started to slow.

Zolt’s phone rang and he answered it with a growl. “Talk to me, T. You lost them? Good. We did, too. We’ll be home soon. Yep. See you there.”

He disconnected the phone and dropped it to his lap. When he turned and glowered at me, his neck corded with tension, I knew I was in for it.

I withered in my seat, searching for the right words to say, but I didn’t have any. I had screwed up and put Zolt, T, and my own life in danger.

Zolt took the next off-ramp and turned into a dark, industrial area.

Still too afraid to speak, I kept my mouth shut.

He pulled the car over and got out, stalking over to my side. His anger and rage at me tightened his body.

Tentatively, I opened the door just as he reached me. I barely had time to unfasten my seatbelt before he yanked me out of the car and crushed me to him, his mouth descending on mine in a heated kiss. In it, I felt his fear of losing me, losing us.

“You’re lucky I’m not seriously into BDSM, because right now, I want to turn you over my knee and spank the shit out of you.”

“I’m sorry,” I panted against his lips.

Zolt took hold of my hair and forced my head back. Illumination from the street lights showed me the anguish in his eyes.

“Don’t ever fucking do that to me again. Ever!” His hand slashed through the air before his mouth came down on my again, his tongue plundering my mouth with desperation.

I gave way to his kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I repeated as he kissed his way down my neck.

He slammed the door shut and pushed me against it, his hips thrusting hard on mine. I could feel his erection stiff on my belly. I knew then where this was headed and I didn’t refuse him. Instead, I gave myself over, surrendering my body to him so he could once again feel in control of a situation neither of us had control of to begin with.

We both pulled our shorts off and somehow found our way into the backseat of the car. If you’ve ever been in the back of a Mustang, you know there isn’t enough room to sit, let alone fuck. But we made it work anyway, seatbelts and other things stabbing us in the back—adrenaline and the overwhelming need to be with the other pushed us forward.

Zolt bit and tugged at my bottom lip, sending delicious shivers down my spine, culminating between my legs. I was wet and ready for him, but that was nothing new. When he plunged into me, I screamed, lost somewhere between the pain and pleasure of him ruthlessly fucking me. I dug my nails into his ass and pushed him deeper.

In these moments, I let myself go, lost to my husband in every way. Whatever kind of fuck this was, be it a fear-fuck, a sense-fuck, a punishment-fuck—or a combination of all three—I gave in. I needed to let him do this. But more than that, I wanted him to.

Through the desperation of our less-than-gentle coupling, I surrendered, releasing some of my grief as my husband possessed me.

I scraped my nails down his back as he continued to pound into me. As much as I could in our confined space, I lifted my knees, increasing his penetration.

“Fuck, Irelyn.” He let out a sexual, guttural moan as he came inside me, sending me down my own orgasmic spiral.

We lay panting and sweating as we retreated from our high. When I looked into the shadows of his face, I glimpsed the intense fear that started to recede from his darkened expression. My heart clenched as I comprehended what I had done to the man I loved—the pain and terror I had caused him.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I don’t know why I did it. I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. I had intended to go for a run and something came over me. The inaction is killing me. What if Marcus has arranged privately to sell Kenna? What if we missed saving her?”

Zolt put two fingers over my lips, silencing me. “Marcus’s ego won’t allow for that; he feeds off the attention. And I get it, baby, I do. I understand how devastating inaction can be. But you can’t be so reckless. You wake me up next time; I’ll work off your angst.”

“I didn’t want to wake you.”

“You tipped our hand, Irelyn, exposed our knowledge of the ranch. In turn, he’ll probably surmise that we know way more than we’ve let on.”

“I know. I screwed up,” I said, my voice full of remorse.

“Do you understand what would have happened if Marcus found you? I would have lost you again, and this time I might not have been able to get you back. I can’t lose you, baby. I can’t.”

He leaned his forehead against mine and sighed. “Never do that to me again. You’re everything to me.”

“I promise. Never again.”

I kissed him sweetly, gently, reassuringly as I stroked his hair.

“Now, drive me home, wife,” he said and sat up, breaking our connection, leaving me feeling empty. “My leg is killing me.”

I arched a brow at his demanding tone then acquiesced. In silence, I drove us home, knowing that when I got there, T-bone would be waiting to rip me a new asshole I so richly deserved.

The next day, Brody, Irelyn, and myself were all gathered around the table eating lunch when T stormed in.

“We’ve got more problems,” he said, grabbing the last sandwich and shoving it in his mouth. “Or, rather, you’ve got more problems.”

“What now?” I wiped off my hands on a napkin and sat back in my chair, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“I received a call from my friend in the DA’s office. He said there’s some noise about a woman coming forward to accuse you of rape.”

“What?” My eyes darted to Irelyn in time to watch her shake her head and mouth “no.”

“Who? It’s not true.” I kept my eyes on Irelyn and wasn’t surprised to see the blinders come down and her expression turn impassive.

“I know, Z-man, but that doesn’t change the situation. I think you and Irelyn should leave town while I try to fix this. I’m sure money exchanged hands. I’ll figure out who it is, and we’ll outbid the bastard and make this go away. But the last thing we need is for you to be arrested; there’s no telling how far his influence extends.”

“Perfect. Just perfect!” Irelyn threw her napkin on the table and stormed from the kitchen.

“Irelyn,” I called after her. When I heard a door slam, I knew she’d shut me out.

“Fuck!” I raked my hands through my hair and glanced at Brody. “Are you going to be all right here by yourself? Maybe you should go back to Colorado.”

Brody shrugged. “I’ll be fine, and I’m not leaving until this is done. You need me whether you think so or not.”

“I have a safe house,” T said. “I won’t say where, so if the police come here Brody can say he doesn’t know where you are. I suggest you get your shit together and leave within the hour.”

“Fine.” I pushed my chair from the table. “This isn’t good for Irelyn. She’s at her breaking point. Find the bitch, T. Find her and pay her off. I don’t care how much it costs, just do it.”

“Consider it done. But…” T-bone rubbed his bald head.

“But what?” Brody asked, getting up from the table and clearing the dishes.

“Why now?” T asked. “Is Marcus flexing his muscles, or is he trying to distract us while he plans something worse?”

“Perhaps. That and hurting Irelyn. What better way to do that than to shove my past dalliances in her face? He said it the other day that I’d cheat on her. Why not try to drive a wedge between us? It makes perfect sense.”

“I really hate that bastard,” Brody said, pouring himself a glass of soda.

“We all do. So, what do I tell Irelyn to bring? Can we bring the dogs?” I asked, watching my brother drink the glass in one gulp. You couldn’t drink that much soda without producing a large and boisterous belch.

“Leave the dogs. You don’t want anything keeping you from a quick getaway should you need to.”

“This will be good for Irelyn to be away from here. She needs time to decompress, and we need time alone.”

“I agree,” Brody said and let out a very loud, soda-inspired belch.

The three of us smiled. Not acknowledging a well-executed burp was against the man code.

“Nice one.” T clapped Brody on the back. “Have Irelyn pack layers. The weather varies where you’re going. I better fly. I need to track down your past lover and pay her off. In fact, I’m going to do my own snooping and see how many I can find myself. Open your wallet; this could end up costing you, Z-man.”

“Whatever,” I said, rolling my eyes. “If Marcus is using this as a means of making me go broke, he can’t. My bank account is deep enough to survive anything he throws at me. It’s the emotional toll it’s taking on Irelyn, the loss of her parents, and the fact that she hasn’t let herself grieve yet, that’s what I’m most concerned with. She’s going to break and it won’t be pretty.”

I glanced over at Brody and was surprised to find him grinning at me like a loon. “What?”

He shook his head. “Your emotional growth makes me happy—proud, really. You’ve come a long way, Zolt.”

“So, you’re not angry at Irelyn and me for eloping?”

“Not anymore. Given what’s happened and continues to happen, I see the necessity of forging that bond between the two of you. I can admit I let my emotions get the better of me. I apologize for that.”

“Jesus, you two,” T-bone groaned and smacked his forehead. “Have you grown ovaries? Where’s the testosterone?”

Brody and I both flipped T the bird. I was proud of the relationship I had with my brother and happy he’d come to terms with my marriage. Irelyn and I needed him on board. He was our rock, the level-headed one in our family.

“A car will take you to your destination. I’m sending two guards with you who will drive you there in a different vehicle, since I don’t want you driving yours,” T-bone said as he made his way for the door.

“How far are we going? Do you think he’s tracking us?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s far smarter and devious than I’d ever pegged the slimy bastard.”

“Word. Real quick, any word on Kenna’s auction? Irelyn is worrying herself sick over her.”

“Not yet. Jackson’s due to check in today. I’ll call and let you know. Max emailed Marcus asking if there was anything that might interest him coming up.”

“Shit, T that was stupid. Won’t that tip Marcus off?” I was starting to feel hamstrung and that made crazy-Zolt want out.

“No. Max has been to the club prior to any of this happening. Marcus is familiar with his kinky, freaky-ass, ways and that makes him the perfect person to help us. We’re lucky he owes me big. And, as it so happens, he doesn’t take kindly to Marcus wanting to auction Kenna. He has a history with organized sex traders, so this is personal for him.” T put on his sunglasses and walked to the front door with me trailing behind him.

“Okay, that makes me feel better for all concerned, especially Kenna. Peter Campbell is ready to go there himself and call Marcus out; that’s the worst thing that can happen. With Jacob and Emme’s death, Marcus is feeling invincible. We need to keep him believing he is. And we need time to encourage everyone on Chris’s list to get on board with our plan. Thank God Peter Campbell is in good standing in this town and he didn’t show up on the list.”

“You’re singing to the choir, Z. Campbell and I are working on it. But we have to be careful; we don’t want anyone on the list to alert Marcus to our plans. It’s a slow process making sure we have enough evidence to persuade them to not only help, but keep their mouths shut.” T-bone opened the door and walked outside. “I need to get home. Tamara’s about to pop any minute. Get your ass out of here ASAP.”

“On it. Thanks, T.”

“Hey, dude, no thanks necessary. Your cash is thanks enough. You’ve already put this kid and any siblings he might have through college.”

“So it’s a he?”

“Sure is.” T-bone’s lips turned into the large grin of an expectant father.

“Congrats. The world needs another T-bone running around.” I shook his hand and gave him a quick pull-together-and-bump man-hug.

I watched T climb into his Corvette and drive away. As I closed the door, I sucked in a breath and let it out. Time to tell Irelyn the plan and get her on board. I just hoped she wasn’t still pissed, because I didn’t feel like having my head ripped off by my wife.