Imprisoned Match [Ménage.com 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (3 page)

Grabbing the handle of the door, Elliott yanked it open and then climbed inside the cab. Turning the engine over, he made sure the heat was on and then put the gear into drive. Slowly, he maneuvered the truck down the back alley and made a left, which brought him to Main Street. Looking both ways, Elliott waited for Mrs. Wheelock and Mrs. Turner to cross the street before making a right that would lead him to where Dakota’s truck had broken down.

Turning up the radio, Elliott settled back into the driver’s seat. He wasn’t sure what made him look over at the diner, but something caught his eye. Stopping at the stop sign, he scanned the customers. There, sitting at a table—it was her hair that must have nabbed his attention. The woman had beautiful hair, falling to her shoulders in a brilliant array of reds. It was a darker shade, and Elliott knew that some women would call it auburn. Whatever name might be associated with a color like that, he really didn’t care. Elliott just knew that he’d seen that shade before. It didn’t take him long to figure out it was from a picture a couple weeks ago.

“Damn, she’s the woman I sent that message to,” Elliott said aloud, his voice ringing throughout the cab in astonishment.

He watched as she stood up and turned, snagging the cream-colored jacket from her chair. What was her name again? Anna Valdez, that’s what it was. She was getting ready to leave the diner. Something told him that he couldn’t let her leave without meeting her, so he quickly made a right on Third Street, looking for a place where he could park the tow truck. Finding a place four spots down, Elliott swung the massive vehicle into place and hastily put it into park.

Pushing the door open, Elliott swung down from the cab. Once his feet hit the pavement, he swiftly slammed the door and jogged to the corner. He looked through the window again, seeing if Anna was still putting her jacket on at the table. It was empty. By this time, Elliott had made it to the door. Yanking it open, he muttered an apology to Mr. Ottmeyer for almost running the old man, who was on his way out, over. Stepping inside, Elliott looked straight at the counter, expecting her to be there paying her bill.

“Hey, Elliott,” Willow said. The waitress motioned for him to take a seat. “I’ll be with you in a second.”

Elliott was already shaking his head. “I’m looking for someone. She was just in here. About five feet five inches, cream jacket, red hair?”

“She just left. She—”

Elliott didn’t give Willow time to finish her sentence. Turning, he hurried out the door, looking up and down the street. Mr. Ottmeyer was still crossing the road and Cooper Jackson was pulling out of his parking spot in front of the gun range. Anna was nowhere in sight. There was no way she could have left that quickly. Seeing no sign of her, Elliott started to scan the cars. Nothing.

“Damn.”

* * * *

Anna fisted her hands inside of her jacket, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. Carlos had supplied the name of the person she had been searching for, leading her back to the one town she should be staying away from. She never questioned how he got his information, but he always came through for her. Anna was aware of how difficult it must have been to find out the real identity of the Contractor. But now that she knew who it was, there was no way for her to avoid Triple, Arizona. The man had integrated himself into the town to the point where everyone thought of him as an upstanding citizen.

Scoping out the layout of Triple was her mission for the day. Unfortunately, the minute she had stepped out of her vehicle, she’d caught sight of Cooper Jackson leaving his gun shop down near Second Street. Having no choice, Anna had ducked into the diner and taken a seat, making sure her back was facing the window. The only thing she had going for her was that her hair coloring was different. Was that enough to keep Cooper or his brother from recognizing her? They knew her as the untouchable, untraceable Anna Cruz. If she kept her distance, they would think she was any other redheaded woman.

Anna stood inside the alleyway, making sure she didn’t take her eyes away from Main Street. Having to take out Sonny Jones earlier than she had wanted to had certainly put a wrench in her plan to bring down the last one responsible for taking the lives of her family. She needed to take time in order to strategize the upcoming downfall of one of Triple’s reputable citizens.

This man was not going to be an easy target. She wouldn’t be able to use her usual contacts that aided her in these matters. They didn’t have access to a decent town like Triple, and if they were seen in this area, it would draw too much attention for her to do what needed to be done. Since the ATF had been there the night that she shot Sonny Jones, they obviously had her identity on file—at least, Anna Cruz’s profile and picture. If the lead agent in this area were to suspect that she was Anna Cruz, they’d take her into custody before she could finish what she started.

“May I help you?”

Anna startled at hearing a high-pitched voice coming from behind her. Damn, she knew better than to let someone sneak up on her. Anna closed her eyes for a brief second to gather her composure. Turning slowly, she saw a young woman with pale skin, although not in an unhealthy way—more of an
I don’t have time to go out in the sun
way. Her black hair was pulled back into a sloppy ponytail, but a radiant smile lit up her face. The woman kind of reminded her of Sarah.

“No, thank you,” Anna replied, turning sideways so that she could still see Main Street. Various excuses ran through her mind as to why she would be standing in an empty alleyway. Anna glanced at the woman’s uniform tag and saw that her name was Willow. “I wanted to surprise a friend of mine that I haven’t seen for a while.”

“Oh, you must mean Elliott Braxton,” Willow said. “He just came in looking for you, but I’m pretty sure he already left. Sorry about that. I’m sure you can catch him at the garage.”

Someone had been asking about her. By name? No one knew who she was. Maybe by description? Had the ATF got a lead on her that she wasn’t aware of? Should she ask the waitress, or would that just bring about more attention she didn’t want? Who the hell was Elliott Braxton anyway? Too many questions for Anna’s liking, so now was the time to cut and run. Unfortunately, she hadn’t gotten as much information as she wanted.

“I’ll be sure to do that,” Anna said with a fake smile. “You have a nice day.”

Anna began to walk out of the alleyway, hoping beyond hope that neither Cooper nor Brody Jackson were walking around downtown Triple. She was relatively sure that Cooper had driven away. Keeping her head down, Anna made her way to the nondescript vehicle she had purchased years ago for the reconnaissance that always preceded this type of mission. She made sure her oversized sunglasses were secured in place on the bridge of her nose before reaching inside her jacket for her car keys. Anna fingered the key ring with her right hand until she had the button on the remote that would unlock the doors. Clicking it, she was close enough to hear the locks slide open, entreating her to enter the safe haven.

“
Oomph
!”

Anna stumbled back, having bumped into someone that had chosen the path between her car and the one next to hers. Papers flew out of the person’s hand and landed at their feet, luckily staying put since there was no wind on this cold day. They both leaned down to their knees, each of them picking up what papers they could.

“I’m sorry,” Anna said. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“No, no, please,” a beautiful voice sang out with a laugh, “I wasn’t looking either. Hope I didn’t hurt you. I always tend to carry too much stuff, but I’m too impatient to make two trips.”

Anna swiped the last paper off the ground, realizing that it was a flyer. Seeing the title in big, bold black letters had her frozen in her tracks. It was the ménage dating website that Sarah had signed her up for. Anna didn’t care for coincidences, and so far, in the last couple of weeks, there had been too many occurring for her liking.

“No harm done,” Anna replied, although her attention was on the flyer. At least, it was until she looked up into the eyes of the woman she had saved by shooting Sonny Jones. Chalk up another fluke, Anna thought wryly. She tried to tamp down the anxiety that was starting to bubble in her chest. Would this woman recognize her? Her sunglasses covered much of her face and she had kept her hair down, hoping the color hid the slant of her cheekbones. The woman in front of her didn’t seem to be staring at her in horror, so maybe Anna would be able to extricate herself without giving anything away. She remembered one of the Jackson brothers calling her Cyn. Was she here to meet one of them? It was definitely time to leave Triple.

“Do I know you?”

Anna shook her head in answer, while placing the flyers she had collected on top of the box the woman was holding. She pushed her sunglasses higher up her nose. “No, I’m just passing through. I’m not from here, although it seems like a nice town. You have a nice day.”

Turning, Anna was able to pull open her door, situate herself inside, and close it before the woman ever had a chance to say another word. Pretending not to notice that Cyn was still standing next to the car, Anna turned the key in the ignition. Hearing the engine turn over, she was grateful when the woman turned and walked to go stand on the sidewalk. Anna breathed a sigh of relief and backed out of the parking spot, putting the car into drive. It was time to head back home, consider her options, and regroup.

Mitch stood just inside the doorway of the garage, cringing at the view in front of him. He knew he was too far away to yell out a warning to the beautiful woman that Mrs. Wheelock was about to back right into the driver’s rear side of her vehicle. The loud sound could be heard all the way down Main Street. Cyn had laid down what she had been carrying on the sidewalk and run to make sure that they were okay. How she ran in those stilettos was anyone’s guess. Mitch placed the rag that he had been wiping his hands on in his back pocket and started to jog across the street.

He couldn’t say that the question of “What the hell am I thinking?” didn’t cross his mind, because it did. Mitch never got involved in other people’s business. Why he was doing so now, he didn’t know.

That was a total lie. He knew exactly why he was going over to make sure that the women weren’t hurt, and it was because he wanted to meet the secretive redhead. He had caught a glimpse of her standing inside the alleyway. Thinking it odd that she was watching the goings-on of the town, he had witnessed Willow talking with her. Any other person probably wouldn’t have noticed the edge that was in her stance, but his ten years in prison had taught him to be perceptive. Observation was the key to life or death inside the joint.

“Mitch, will you make sure the woman is okay? I’ll get Mrs. Wheelock.”

Mitch nodded, walking around the car and pulling up on the handle of the door. He knew he was a hardened man and nothing in life ever fazed him, but seeing those light-blue eyes staring up at him made Mitch wish that things had been different. Neither of them moved for a moment, giving him time to study her features. Her oversized sunglasses had slipped down to the tip of her nose, where a sprinkle of freckles dusted her skin. With graceful movements, she removed them, all the while keeping her eyes in constant contact with his. She was classically beautiful, with high cheekbones and sensual lips that were made for kissing. The red highlights in her auburn hair shined in the sunlight, making it seem as if she were wearing a halo. The length only came to her shoulders, but its volume and chic cut accentuated her jawbone. Had it not been for Cyn asking if the woman was hurt, Mitch probably would have kept standing there like a love-struck boy. More accurately, a man who had been in prison for the last ten years and been deprived of seeing such beauty.

“Are you all right, ma’am?” His voice was deep, but the rusty way the words came out indicated that he didn’t talk much. He hoped she didn’t notice. Mitch squatted so that they were at eye level, ignoring the bite of pain from his dick being squeezed.

“Yes. Is the other woman hurt?”

“Mrs. Wheelock is fine,” Cyn said, coming over to them. “It’s a good thing she wasn’t backing out fast. There doesn’t seem to be much damage to the cars, but I’m sure you’ll want to exchange insurance information.”

Since the woman had still not revealed her name, Mitch couldn’t help but give her the nickname
Ginger
. And seeing as Ginger had lost all color to her face at Cyn’s suggestion, Mitch knew for sure that this woman was full of secrets. He gave her credit though, because Ginger got out of the car, forcing him to stand and watch as she went over to Mrs. Wheelock to make certain the older woman wasn’t hurt. Seemingly satisfied with what she found, Ginger nonchalantly waved her hand at the damage to her car and dismissed them turning it over to the insurance companies.

“I’m sure all it will do is raise your rates. Honestly, there’s no need to do that.”

“But, dear, I’m not sure I can afford—”

“She’s a friend of mine, Mrs. Wheelock. I’ll take care of fixing up the vehicles,” Mitch said, offering up his services. “No need to worry about cost.”

What the hell was he thinking, opening his big mouth like that? As Mrs. Wheelock and Cyn exclaimed how perfectly everything had worked out, Mitch and Ginger stared at one another. The wariness in her eyes made him want to reassure her that there were no strings attached, but now was not the time. Hell, he wasn’t sure there
weren’t
strings attached. He resisted the urge to reposition his cock to try and relieve the pressure.