Brody (17 page)

“It’s too dangerous.”

“I helped in Rodrigo’s place. I distracted everyone so you could talk to him.” She crossed her arms again, frowning fiercely. “You are not my husband or my employer. I can do what I feel necessary.”

Brody got to his feet slowly, cool anger flowing through his veins. He stuck a finger in the air, inches from her. “You will not risk our lives because you can’t be patient. This isn’t going to happen in ten minutes. It’s going to take time. If you cause trouble, you will get us both killed.”

“I wasn’t going to cause trouble, I was going to flirt with Rodrigo or Elena and get what information I can from them.”

Brody’s mouth dropped open. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me. You thought it was fine when I acted like a whore with Sanchez. I will do what I have to for my family.” She stuck her chin in the air in challenge, daring him to act.

He stuck his nose right against hers. “You will
not
do any such thing.”

“You can’t stop me.” She whirled around and headed for the door.

Before he could reach her, she’d flung it open to find a burly, unshaven man outside the door. His face was scarred with what might have been a pox or acne, his eyes black holes in his face.

“Hola,”
Olivia said breezily, but Brody heard the undercurrent of dismay beneath.
“Me llamo Meredith. ¿Como te llamas?”

“Manuel.” His heavily accented English was thick and deep.

The last thing they needed was a babysitter, but apparently they had one. The man was a wall of muscle in nondescript brown clothes with a knife strapped to his left thigh and a pistol on his right. No doubt he did whatever Rodrigo or Lucinda bade him to do. This would definitely put a crimp in his plans to snoop later on. He wouldn’t have told Olivia what he was doing since she would insist on coming along and he couldn’t risk it.

“Is siesta time over?” Olivia held onto the doorknob with whitened knuckles.

“
Sí,
come downstairs now.” He turned sideways like a human door and Olivia stepped out.

When she turned to look back at him, he saw a glimpse of defiance in her face, then she schooled her features. Brody followed her and hoped like hell she wouldn’t start something that would finish them.

As they walked back downstairs, they entered the main area again; this time, there were a few ladies lounging about. Each one was dressed in a plain cotton skirt and peasant blouse, their cleavage clearly displayed. Dressed for customers, their faces, however, reflected boredom.

Lucinda stood at the bar, this time wearing a form-fitting green gown that hugged her ample curves. Her silver hair was piled into a mass of curls, tendrils hanging down over her shoulders. Her lips were painted the same shade of red as the sign outside.

She was not nearly as old as he’d thought, given her performance earlier. But it was just that, a performance for two gringos. She thought to be a simple kitchen woman and watch them unawares. It was clever of her to do so and although she was obviously a criminal, Brody did appreciate a keen mind.

Olivia pinched his arm and he realized he’d been staring at the formidable Lucinda like a village idiot.

“Did you enjoy siesta?” Lucinda cocked one brow at them.

“It wasn’t restful but we enjoyed it.” Brody took Olivia’s stiff arm and wrapped it around his own.

“You didn’t enjoy it enough and neither did she, I think.” Lucinda shook her head. “I ask about you in the pueblo and no one knows you, Stuart. You are nobody then, eh?”

Brody wasn’t surprised to learn she had been busy trying to figure out who he was while he’d been upstairs pacing. Hell, she probably knew he had been pacing. This was a family of predators, a snake’s den.

“I am nobody now, but I plan on being somebody. If I can find the right buyer for my merchandise.” He was careful to keep his face blank, and his tone even.

She nodded. “
Bueno
. We talk business then.” She gestured to the table nearest to her.

Brody glanced around pointedly at the whores staring at them. “I won’t do this with an audience.”

Lucinda cocked one brow, then clapped her hands. The other women wandered to the far end of the room, out of hearing distance. It would have to do.

Manuel loomed behind them like a wall that hovered in mid-air. He stood closest to Olivia, which annoyed Brody. His big body couldn’t be more than six inches from her smaller form. Hell, her flyaway hairs were touching the man’s arm.

Brody felt a surge of jealousy and swallowed it back with difficulty. The man could probably knock him out if he chose to do so, long before Brody could reach his gun. It didn’t matter if Manuel got too close to Liv—it was his job to do that.

Foolish, lovesick man.

The idea that he was in love with Olivia made his stomach flip twice. He definitely didn’t want to be in such a state, and he sure as hell didn’t know what to do about it. Definitely one of those times he wished his brothers were here so he could ask them. They’d taught him how to pleasure a woman, but they’d never taught him how to love one.

“Talk, gringo.” Lucinda watched him with her sharp, probing gaze.

“We can get merchandise out of Texas, but we can’t sell it there. I was with Jeb’s men when he was doing the same, but he was sloppy about it, which is how he got caught.”

“Jeb Stinson? This is who you speak of?” Lucinda sat up straighter.

“Yep, that’s him.” He noted the play of emotions on her face and wondered if Jeb had spent some time in Lucinda’s bed.

“Is he dead?” Her brows drew together and formed a dark V on her forehead.

“Yes, ma’am. He was strung up last month.”

She closed her eyes and paused for a few moments. Olivia reached out and put her hand on the older woman’s. Lucinda’s eyes snapped open and she snatched her hand away.

“Too bad. I liked him.” Lucinda sighed and turned to Olivia. “He was your man?”

Olivia’s face crumpled just a bit, enough that Brody wasn’t sure if she was acting or not. Damn. What a situation he found himself in.

“Yes, for a while. At least I hoped he was.” Olivia glanced down at her hands. “Until he was arrested.”

“Ah, yes, I hear the rangers got him.” Rodrigo appeared from the shadows, his dark hat shading his eyes.

At the mention of the rangers, Brody’s heart picked up but his face didn’t even twitch. If the outlaw had discovered who he really was, he’d already have a bullet in his heart.

“That’s what I heard too. I found Olivia hiding at this little shack where he stored the goods he took.” He turned a feral smile on her. “Then I took her.”

Olivia found the muster to grin back at him. “I wanted to be taken or you wouldn’t have had a chance.”

Lucinda looked between them and then waved her hands. “I don’t want to know about this. Tell me about the business now.”

The danger seemed to have passed and Rodrigo sat at a stool behind them near the bar. His presence didn’t complicate things so much as annoy Brody. The outlaw had flirted with Olivia and sent Elena to seduce them. He was as dangerous as his mother.

“I need a buyer. If I have one, I can take orders for specific types of, ah, merchandise, and bring the types likely to fetch the highest bid.”

Lucinda leaned forward and a small grin played around her mouth. “Let us talk about specifics.”

Olivia felt rather than heard Rodrigo step up behind her. Every nerve ending jangled at the close proximity of his body to hers. His breath tickled her ear.

“
Querida,
they will be talking for a while. Why don’t we have something to eat?” He pulled her toward the kitchen, and Brody was so deep in conversation with Lucinda, he didn’t even notice.

It was enough to convince her she needed to do what she could to find information. No matter what Brody said, Olivia was capable and strong. She would use whatever means necessary to get details from the outlaw. Rodrigo was smart, but she was smarter.

She let him lead her into the deserted kitchen. As he walked toward the table, she mustered up enough courage to stop in her tracks. He turned to look at her, surprise on his face.

“What is wrong, Meredith?”

The sound of her mother’s name was enough to push her into what she needed to do. This was for her family, her brother and the future of the Grahams. She would be a warrior for them.

Olivia stepped closer, pressing her breast into his arm. The surprise on his face turned to curiosity and interest.

“Does your Stuart know you play with me in here?” He turned until she was chest to chest with him, a hair’s-breath away from actually touching his body. The heat between them slithered up her skin, making her shiver.

“I don’t play.” She ran her finger down his chest, not surprised to find it as hard as granite. He was every bit as muscular as Brody, but instead of quiet fierceness, Rodrigo exuded dangerous sexuality.

He captured her hand and brought it to his mouth. As his lips closed around her pointer finger, Olivia’s stomach quivered. The wet slide of his tongue against her finger made every inch of her want to run in the other direction.

But she didn’t. She simply watched as he pulled the digit out of his mouth, then blew on it. A chill raced through her.

“Oh, yes, you play.” His grin appeared to be designed to melt her resistance, but there was no chance she would fall prey to his wiles.

He had to fall prey to hers.

She extracted her hand and reached out to cup his face. His grin deepened as he waited. Her heart thumped harder than it ever had as she pulled his lips down to hers.

His mouth was softer than Brody’s and tasted faintly of an exotic spice. She nibbled from side to side, then ran her tongue along the seam of his lips. He chuckled softly as his mouth opened to hers.

Even as her tongue slid against his, she closed her eyes to forget what she was doing. She could barely acknowledge that she was betraying the love she felt for the man in the next room. It was necessary for her to do what she did. No matter how much it hurt.

She sucked his lower lip into her mouth and slowly let it out before she pulled back.

“I don’t play.”

“I can see that,
querida
. What do you want from me?” He cupped her behind and rubbed his cock against her mons.

She was startled to realize she’d made him hard by kissing him. She had wondered if she could arouse him. Now a surge of confidence battled with the uncertainty and fear churning in her gut.

“I want a little boy.” Now that the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to swallow them back. Judging by the way Rodrigo’s eyebrows shot up, she had rushed her request.

“In your bed? I did not think you were that dark, but perhaps I was wrong.”

“No, not in my bed.” Her stomach threatened to regurgitate her food at the thought. She tried not to show him the disgust she felt that he had jumped to such a twisted conclusion. “I lost my boy last year. He was five and Stuart has promised me another one, but he hasn’t let me keep any we took.”

His eyebrows now lowered into a scowl. “You lost your boy? You are a mama?”

Olivia let her grief well up and her eyes stung with tears. “Elliott died from a fever. I’ve missed him every day since.” Using Benjy’s middle name made her heart pinch so hard, she gasped at the pain.

“Why don’t you make another boy?” Rodrigo’s hard staff had waned and she knew her window of opportunity was shrinking.

“I can’t. Elliott’s birth was too tough on me.” She pushed her breasts into his chest. “I want another boy like him. If Stuart can’t or won’t, I need you to.”

His face reflected no emotion as he stared down at her. She ran her hands up his arms, not surprised by the width of his shoulders. His scent surrounded her, making her all too aware he was not Brody.

“You have beautiful eyes, Meredith. Such a strange color.” He wrapped his arms around her so tightly she couldn’t move and it was almost hard to breathe.

“Th-thank you, Rodrigo.” She managed a small smile. “Now where were we?” She lapped at his neck, the taste acrid on her tongue and lips.

His cock pulsed against her and she knew she had distracted him from her foolhardy attempt to buy a child from him. She knew it was likely impossible that Benjy was not already sold to the highest bidder, but she’d had to try.

In a split second, Rodrigo was yanked from her and Olivia stumbled at the sudden change. She heard flesh against flesh and grunts. By the time she was able to regain her balance and look up, she saw Brody locked in battle with Rodrigo.

“No!”

The two men were grappling for control, even as Brody landed a punch to Rodrigo’s jaw. She tried to grab the outlaw’s arm as he pulled back to retaliate. Instead, he punched her and she fell backwards. She landed hard on the rough wooden floor, her teeth clacking together enough to vibrate through her skull.

Her cheek throbbed from the fist, but she got up, ignoring the pain and tried again to intervene. An elbow landed in her shoulder and her foot was smashed beneath a boot, but she managed to wiggle between them.

“Stop. It. Now.” She reached up and pinched both of them under the arm.

“Jesus.” Brody jumped back and glared at her.

“
Puta,
you do not dare touch Rodrigo like that again.” The outlaw had changed into a different person. Gone was the seductive grin and gentle tones. He looked more like a thundercloud with dark rage covering his face.

“Don’t call her a whore. And if you ever put your hands on my woman again, I will fucking kill you.” Brody punctuated his threat with one finger to Rodrigo’s chest.

The sound of a gun cocking was the next thing Olivia heard over the roaring in her ears.

“You dare not touch Rodrigo like that again.” Lucinda repeated exactly what her son had just said, in her own quiet, deadly way. She put the gun to the back of Olivia’s head, the muzzle cold and hard against her skull. A trickle of sweat rolled down her back.

Her mouth went cotton dry and the reality of the situation hit her square between the eyes. Ignoring Brody’s warning and pushing ahead to find information about Benjy might have cost them both their lives.