Brody (13 page)

Madilyn
pulled at the handcuffs. “I want to touch you.”

“You
should have thought of that before you suggested this. I have you at my mercy.”

Madilyn
stared up at him. “You’ve always had me at your mercy, Brody.”

“I’m
not taking those off you, so don’t try to sweet-talk me.”

Madilyn
growled up at him and then laughed. “Damn it. You know me too well.”

Brody
leaned down and kissed her. “I’m going to go over every inch of you.”

Madilyn
groaned. “Brody…”

“
Shhh
. Leave me alone.”

She let
out a gasp when he moved his tongue to her breast and took a nipple deep into
his mouth. His hand moved down her stomach and down through her curls. He moved
his finger up and down her folds, making her wetter. His finger dipped inside.
When she moaned, he inserted another finger as his mouth moved over her stomach
and down to her clitoris. Brody sucked and moved his tongue over it. She
screamed out his name as she came. Madilyn lay there panting, watching Brody
roll on a condom. He sat up and pulled her onto his lap, and thrust into her.
She wrapped her legs around his waist as he pumped into her.

 
Madilyn pulled against the handcuffs. She
wanted her hands on him but it was exciting as hell with handcuffs on. She
watched as Brody dropped his head back while he started slamming against her
harder. She started breathing harder as she felt the orgasm coming over her and
cried out his name the same instant he groaned out hers. Brody’s head dropped
forward as she watched him try to catch his breath. His hard
pecs
rose and fell with each deep breath.

“Take
these off me now, please,” Madilyn panted out.

Brody
leaned down and captured her lips in a deep, hard kiss then he leaned over and
removed the key for the handcuffs from his utility belt. After he took the
cuffs off, he lay down beside her and pulled her to him. Madilyn needed this
all-consuming feeling of him needing her and loving her. He could always make
her feel cherished and safe. She really wanted to feel safe. They fell asleep.

Chapter Nine

Wilson
Delgado leaned against the fender of his car. The two men he’d hired stood in
front of him. They were both huge men.
Well over six foot,
with each of them weighing close to three hundred pounds.
Muscle.
Delgado knew he could trust them. They were the same
men who’d killed Abby for him. Not very intelligent but they got the job done.

“I want
her taken from him as soon as you can. It’s not going to be easy, especially
since she’s living with him now.” He moved toward the door and opened it. “I
don’t want you to hurt her. That’s going to be my pleasure. You just get her
for me. I want Morgan to know I have her and will kill her.” He smirked.

“Boss?
How long are you going to keep
her alive?” one of the men asked.

Delgado
frowned. “You got somewhere you have to be?”

“No,
but this town is boring as hell.”

Delgado
laughed. “Once you grab her, we’re out of here. We’ll take her to the same spot
Abby was killed. So appropriate, don’t you think?” He narrowed his eyes at
them. “So, how quickly we get out of this hellhole is entirely up to you. Let
me know when you have her.” He entered his car and pulled away. Glancing in the
rearview mirror, he shook his head as he watched the two men staring after him.
The sooner this went down, the better.

Delgado
grinned as he thought of how Morgan would freak out when he knew Delgado had
his woman. The thought of not killing her right away just came to him. He’d
keep her as long as he could, just to torment Morgan. After all, Morgan had
been with Abby for a while before Delgado had her killed. He’d take great pride
in watching her beg for her life, though. The house he’d rented was secluded
and no one would hear her screams. He’d paid for an entire year, although he’d
be there less than two months. Once he knew Morgan was going crazy looking for
her, she’d be killed. Delgado was going to take great joy in letting Morgan
know what he planned on doing. He chuckled as he drove toward the house. It
wouldn’t be long now. All he had to do was
wait
for
his men to grab her and bring her to him. Brody Morgan was going to suffer for
a while. Wilson wasn’t going to end it for him quickly. He shook his head. No.
He was going to keep her alive until Brody begged him to let her go. Then he’d
pull Morgan in and kill her in front of him. Wilson shrugged. Maybe he’d just
go ahead and kill Morgan too. That way when Wilson took off for Canada, there
would be no loose ends. He
’d wouldn’t
need to look
over his shoulder all the time. Because he knew, without a doubt, Morgan would
hunt him down. Wilson nodded. It would be better to kill him right after Morgan
saw the love of his life die.

* * *
*

The
next morning, Brody stood in the kitchen drinking coffee when Madilyn strolled
in. She moved toward him, stood on her toes, and kissed his chin.

“Good
morning.” She got a cup down and filled it with the dark brew.

“Morning.
Did you sleep well?” Brody
kissed her head.

“Once I
got to sleep, I did. I tossed and turned a good bit first.”

“Yes, I
know.” Brody set his cup down and took her hands in his. “I’ll do everything in
my power to keep you safe.”

Madilyn’s
arms went around his waist. “I know.”

“I’ll
follow you to work and check the place out before you go in.”

“He
can’t get into the shop, Brody. The alarm would’ve gone off.”

“I’m
still checking it out. Humor me.” When she nodded, he put his utility belt on
and his weapon into his holster. “I’m going to look around outside before we
leave. Lock the door behind me.” He walked out the door and listened as she
locked it. Moving down the steps of the porch, his gaze swept the yard as he
headed toward the barn. Opening the door, the scent of horse, hay, and manure
assaulted his nose. He smiled, loving every bit of it. He’d recently purchased
two horses from Wyatt Stone. Now, to just add some Angus to all of it would
make it complete. Brody withdrew his weapon as he slowly moved down the aisle
of the barn. Horses whinnied and shifted around but nothing out of the ordinary.
Once he walked through both barns, he headed back to the house. The door opened
before he reached it. Madilyn stood in the doorway. He stopped in his tracks.
This is what he wanted.
Her.
At the
door, waiting for him every day for the rest of his life.
Brody moved up
the steps and took her in his arms.

 
“I love you so much, Maddie. I want to
marry you now. Today,” he whispered before his lips took hers in a deep kiss.

 
“I love you, too, but we have to wait a
little while. Let’s see what happens with the shop first.”

Brody
sighed.
“All right.
If you’re ready, we can leave
now.”

She
nodded up at him. “Yes. I’ll be at the shop alone for a while. I forgot to tell
you Katie has an appointment with an attorney this morning.”

“I’m
staying with you until she gets there, then. I’ll let Sam know.” Brody called
Sam quickly and explained the situation. He hung up and grinned at Madilyn.
“He’s good with it.”

“I’m
glad. I’d feel better with you there. I don’t think Delgado will do anything
with Katie at the shop.
Too many customers throughout the
day, too.”

Brody
nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking.”

“Although,
if Sam wants to come over for a while, that’d be fine.” Madilyn grinned at him.

Brody
growled. “Not funny.”

Madilyn
laughed. “He’s gorgeous. What can I say?” Brody grabbed her and pulled her
against him. “I’m teasing you, Brody. You’re the only man for me.”

“Damn
good thing, baby.” He chuckled against her neck.

“But
Sam is gorgeous…just
sayin
’.” She squealed when Brody
nipped at her neck.

“Let’s
go.” He took her hand and led her outside. He waited while she got into her car
then he got into his and they drove toward town.

* * *
*

 
Madilyn kept glancing toward the rearview
mirror. Watching Brody following her made her feel safe. Wilson Delgado had an
agenda and she was terrified of him accomplishing it. She sighed with relief
when she pulled into the parking lot at the shop. Stepping from her car, she
stood beside it as she watched Brody park his truck and stroll toward her.

“I’d
rather you stay in the car until I get to you, Maddie. I don’t want to scare
you, but he could be anywhere at any time.” Brody shook his head. “Since we
don’t know what he has planned, I want to be at your side when we’re alone.”

Madilyn
nodded and glanced around quickly. “I hadn’t thought of that. I won’t do it
again.”

“It’s
all right. I should’ve mentioned it. Come on, let’s get inside.”

Madilyn
unlocked the door then turned the alarm off. She moved behind the counter and
waited while Brody moved through the building. He came back toward her and
smiled.

 
“All clear.
Do
you have a coffee pot here? I could use another cup.”

“Sure.
I’ll make some. I’ll be right back.” Madilyn kissed his cheek as she headed for
the break room. She went about making coffee then poured him a cup. She halted
in the doorway as she stared at him. Her heart slammed against her ribs. How
did she ever think she’d get over him? He was the love of her life. Her gaze
ran over his back to his jeans hugging his butt. The man had one hell of a
body. She watched him spin around to face her and blushed when he raised an
eyebrow at her.

 
“Were you just checking out my ass?”
Brody grinned.

Madilyn
laughed. “Yes.” She moved toward him and handed him his coffee.

“At
least you’re honest, hon.” Brody chuckled. “What time do you think Katie will
be here?”

“She
really shouldn’t be too late. The appointment was at nine.” Madilyn smiled.
“Speak of the devil.” She nodded toward the door as Kaitlyn strode through it.

“Hi
Katie,” Brody said, and then frowned at the look on her face. “Is something
wrong?”

Kaitlyn
shook her head. “I’m in shock. Kevin had a life insurance policy and I’m the
beneficiary.”

Madilyn
hugged her. “That’s great, Katie. Maybe it was his way of making up for
treating you badly.”

“It’s
for a million,” Kaitlyn whispered.

“As
in dollars?”
Brody asked in a shocked voice.

“Oh
my God!
That’s fantastic, Katie. You can pay your house off now.” Madilyn smiled at
her.

“I’m
going to sell it. I don’t want to live there. I’ll get an apartment for now and
maybe after the baby’s born, I’ll buy another home.” Kaitlyn smiled at Madilyn.
“I’m going to buy the shop, though.”

“What?”
Madilyn squealed.

Kaitlyn
hugged her. “We have jobs and you’re going to be manager. We’ll hire a couple
more people so I’ll be able to take time off when the baby’s born.”

“I’m so
happy. Not just for us having jobs but for you Katie. You deserve this. Did you
tell Sam yet?” Madilyn hugged her friend.

“I did.
He’s in shock, I think. I called him as soon as I left the attorney’s office.”

Brody
chuckled. “I’m heading to the office.” He quickly kissed Madilyn on the lips
and kissed Kaitlyn’s cheek.

Madilyn
and Kaitlyn started their day. Customers came in all day long but neither of
the women could keep the smiles from their faces. Madilyn stood beside Kaitlyn
as she called the real estate office to tell them she wanted to buy the shop.

“I’m
going to ask Sam if I can have a party at the ranch. I’ll invite everyone.”
Kaitlyn giggled.

“What a
great idea, Katie. I can help you plan it. I think it’ll be fun.” Madilyn
laughed.

“It’ll
be to celebrate my buying the shop and the baby.” Kaitlyn laughed again. “I’m
so excited.”

Madilyn
loved seeing her friend happy again. It’d been too long since Kaitlyn was
happy. She deserved to be after living with a man like Kevin. Madilyn thought
of Brody. The one time he’d hurt her had been her fault, not his. She should’ve
supported him in his decision to become a Marshal and gone with him. They
would’ve had the past five years together and probably had a couple of children
by now. A boy and a girl like they’d always talked about. Madilyn hated herself
for blaming Brody when it had been her fault for not going with him. How could
he forgive her when she found it hard to forgive herself? He loved her. It was
as simple as that. She smiled. What a wonderful man he was. Another customer
came in and Madilyn moved forward to wait on her.

* * *
*

Brody
strolled through the front door of the department and sent a smile over to
Betty Lou. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“What
are you doing here during the day, Brody?”

Brody
halted. “Didn’t Sam tell you? I’m on days for a while.”

“No, he
didn’t tell me. I wondered where Rick was.” Betty Lou stood and put her hands
on her hips. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing
at all, Betty Lou.”
Brody quickly moved toward his office. He almost faltered in his steps when she
spoke.

“I’m
not stupid, Brody Morgan. Something is going on for Sam to change your shift.”
She huffed. “No one tells me anything,” Brody heard her mutter as he closed the
door to his office. The woman wasn’t lying. She wasn’t stupid but Brody also
knew Sam wouldn’t tell her anything he didn’t want half the town knowing. As
much as Sam loved Betty Lou, they both knew she was a major gossip in Clifton.

Brody
sat at his desk and got to work on some paperwork. An hour later, he heard
Betty Lou giving Sam a hard time. Brody chuckled and shook his head.
Better Sam than him.
He jerked when his door flew open. Sam
stood in the doorway.

“I’ll
never hear the end of this,” Sam mumbled as he took a seat in front of Brody’s
desk.

“She
tried to get it out of me. I got back here as quickly as I could.”

“You
could’ve called me. I would’ve come in the back door.” Sam glared at him.

Brody
laughed. “Betty Lou would have hunted you down. You know it as well as I
do
.”

Sam
chuckled. “I do for sure. Did everything go all right getting Madilyn to work?”

“Yes.
Katie wasn’t too late.” Brody grinned as Sam shook his head. “Can you believe
he made her beneficiary?”

“No.
It’s the only decent thing he ever did for Katie. She’s on cloud nine. I think
it’s a great idea for her to buy the shop. She loves the place.”

“I was
still there when she told Maddie. Both women are happy as can be. Maybe this
will keep Maddie’s mind off Delgado some.”