MC BIKER ROMANCE: Bad Boy Romance: BETRAYED: (New Adult Motorcycle Club Navy SEAL Romance) (Contemporary Military Romance Thriller) (14 page)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Peach

Normally, being bound and gagged would have pissed me off and made me go into survival mode. But as I sat there back to back with Sal in the middle of a barn, which smelled of whatever had come out of the animals that had been there last, I really didn’t care anymore. I’d lost Trevor, I’d screwed everything up, I was about to get Trevor killed as well and there was nothing that I could do to stop it. I didn’t deserve to keep breathing. I really didn’t want to.

I don’t know what had made me turn on my phone that afternoon. The false hope that Trevor might have called, or might call, wanting me back? I’d sunk back into bed nursing the horrible hangover from the torture that I’d put my body through the night before and forgotten all about the phone until it awakened me a little while later.

To have Sal calling me pissed me off just enough to bring me back to life. If Bulldog got wind of our connection, then the prayers I’d said while I was drunk and miserable the night before would quickly be answered. I got on my Fat Boy and went to meet him for one major reason, and that was to chew his ass out for putting me in danger.

I’d suspected nothing and was immediately caught off guard when Bulldog sat up from the backseat and pointed a pistol at me while keeping another one trained on the back of Sal’s head.

“Get in the car, Peach,” he’d ordered.

I did as I was told, instantly realizing that there was nothing left to hide and no reason to do anything stupid. Bulldog had already figured it all out.

“What are you waiting for, Bulldog?” I’d taunted him after we’d arrived at the ranch and were taken into the barn. I was ready to just get it over with rather than dragging it all out.

“We’re waiting for TNT to show up so that I can take all three of you sons of bitches out and then walk away.”

“You won’t walk away from this,” Sal warned.

“You know, you say the same fuckin’ thing all of the time, and I’m tired of it.”

He cuffed our hands behind our backs, set us in two chairs in the middle of the barn, tied our arms and feet to the chairs and tied gags around our mouths.

“You know, Peach,” Bulldog started in, “I’m really not going to enjoy killing you. I was starting to come around, you know, thinking about you and me together until we grew old, having a home together and all of that. But, well, I guess I see what you’re really like now.”

There was a gag in my mouth, so I didn’t bother to respond. I didn’t even bother to look up at him. He pushed the barrel of the pistol up under my chin and forced my eyes toward his as he stared into mine. There was nothing but pure evil in them.

“You, Sal,” he continued, moving away from me, “I’ve been paying you to keep things covered up and now they’re not. Once I get finished with TNT, I’m going to take my time with you. I’m going to see if I can get some of that money back in entertainment.”

Sal grunted and fought against his bonds, though nothing he said was intelligible and he hadn’t even budged from the position he was in.

“Yeah, I know,” Bulldog responded. “I’ll never get away with it, keep my head and we’ll figure out how to get out of this. Fuck you!” He whipped the pistol across the side of Sal’s head and turned away.

“You two just sit here quietly and wait for our other guest to arrive, okay?” He grinned at us and then strode toward the door.

I didn’t hold out much hope of getting out of the mess that I was in alive. I really didn’t care if I did, but I hadn’t wanted for Trevor to be killed in the process.

Having been trained by the Corps, my eyes had taken in the ranch and its surroundings as we approached. It was in a commanding position in the valley and the access into it could be watched from the loft of the barn above our heads. I’d picked out three armed men, attempting to conceal themselves as we approached, and there could have been more that weren’t so reckless. When the leader of that particular portion of Bulldog’s trap approached, he got a sound ass chewing for being careless and an order to get the others straightened up.

I placed the count at no less than six to one. After they had been thoroughly informed about what sort of man they were expecting, they would do a much better job of concealing themselves. The deck was heavily stacked against Trevor and he probably wasn’t even aware of it. He’d come riding down the road on his Road King and right into their trap. I had no one but myself to blame for that.

Some hours later, or it might have been minutes—there was little way of knowing how much time passed while sitting in the middle of the barn—Bulldog strolled confidently through the door.

“I just thought I’d come check on you two,” he said. “Actually, Peach, I was curious about something and wanted to ask you a few questions.”

He pulled the gag from my mouth and squatted in front of me. “How did you get TNT to buy into all of this?”

I didn’t respond. What was the point? I was going to die anyway.

He slapped me hard across the face. “I shouldn’t do that, actually. That sort of thing turns you on. Isn’t that right, Sal?”

“Look, Peach,” he softened his tone. “I can make it so that you go easy and quietly if you’ll talk to me. You really don’t want the alternative.”

“You can do whatever you want,” I replied. “I don’t care anymore.”

“Hmmm. I’m sort of surprised by that. The Peach I know would be full of piss and vinegar. She would be fighting me every step of the way. You’re not, so here’s what I think. You can tell me if I’m wrong, okay? I think that you got your heart broken. I think that’s the reason you showed up in my office yesterday looking like warmed-over shit. I think that’s why you smell like a whiskey distillery right now.”

I shrugged. “Think whatever you want.”

“I’m guessing that you tried to use TNT and me against each other. You hooked up with him and started working him just like you did me, but you fell in love, and when he found out about what you’d done, he dumped you. Is that about right?”

“Pretty close,” Trevor said from behind me.

“What the fuck?” Bulldog said, rising up.

“You better keep that pistol down, Bulldog, and drop the one in your waistband too.”

By Bulldog’s reaction, it was clear that Trevor had the drop on him.

“By the way,” he said in a bored tone. “I put those other four guys to bed. This is just a private party now.”

Chapter Thirty: Peach

I couldn’t believe that I was still alive. I couldn’t believe that I was lying in Trevor’s arms in my own bed. I couldn’t believe that he had taken me back and that we had made love in such a tender way. I couldn’t believe that he told me that he loved me and wanted to make a home and family with me. I couldn’t believe all of those things, because, to me, while sitting bound and gagged in that barn, it didn’t seem like there was even the slightest chance that I was going live to see another day.

I’d replayed the events over and over in my mind while I listened to Trevor’s steady breathing and felt his chest rise and fall under my head. When I heard his voice in the barn, I’d thought that it would be the very last time. I was certain that Bulldog’s men would rush in, surround him and capture him, and I’d be forced to watch as Bulldog killed him.

How he did it would always be a mystery to me, but he’d slipped into the ranch and quietly eliminated the others before appearing like a ghost inside the barn. The startled expression on Bulldog’s face told me that he was trying to solve the same mystery.

“We can either end this quick or I can take my time tearing you apart,” Trevor had growled.

Bulldog grinned. “That’s pretty bold talk while you’re holding a pistol on me. Is that the same one that you used to kill Denny and his guards in Salt Lake? You might want to listen to this, Sal. You can tell Detective Taylor who the real killer is.”

“Your Detective Taylor works for me,” Trevor retorted. “He’s actually not even a detective. He’s a former Marine logistics specialist. Quite an operator too. Blends in well, can get his hands on pretty much anything. He’s a little pricy, but well worth it.”

Bulldog chuckled. “So, you knew about this whole thing?”

“After I hired Taylor I started putting things together,” Trevor responded. “You okay, Leila?”

“I’m fine, Trevor,” I had replied.

“Leila and Trevor?” Bulldog growled. “So I was right about the two of you.”

There was a long quiet moment.

“So, are you going to shoot me now or did you already lose your nerve?” Bulldog taunted.

“No, actually, I was hoping that you and me could put away the guns and dance together first.”

“You want to dance with me?” Bulldog laughed. “You don’t stand a chance.”

“How about we put a little wager on it, then?” Trevor responded.

“I’m listening.”

“Whoever wins walks away with Sal and Leila, gets things smoothed over and goes on with life. Whoever loses takes the rap for what happened in Salt Lake? I think I could get Sal to agree to that, don’t you?”

“It isn’t going to matter,” Bulldog said, backing away from the guns and back into the open space in front of me. “Because after I kill you, I can do whatever I want with these two.”

Trevor had moved up beside me at that point. His hand on my shoulder was reassuring. He kept the pistol pointed at Bulldog and cut the ropes on my hands and feet.

“That’s not really fair,” Bulldog protested. “You let those two go and you have all the guns. One of them can just shoot me down.”

Trevor scooped up the pistols from the floor and ejected the magazines, tossing them towards Bulldog. “They can keep the guns and you can have the bullets.” He ejected the shells in the chamber and squatted with his gun still pointed at Bulldog to scoop them up. Once he was standing, he repeated the same with his own pistol, tossed the magazine and ejected bullet toward Bulldog and tossed his pistol next to the others. “Happy now?”

“I’m thrilled to death,” Bulldog grinned. “Step on over here and get ready to meet your maker.”

I had cut Sal free from the chair and was reaching into his pocket to get the key to the handcuffs when they started. Bulldog attacked first, lunging at Trevor, who stepped aside quickly and sent him into the dusty floor. Trevor circled away from him and let him get to his feet. In that instant, I realized that Bulldog towered over him and outweighed him by almost a hundred pounds, but he lacked two things that Trevor had: calm nerves and a hell of a lot of skill.

Not more than a few times did I see a blow by Bulldog connect with Trevor. Whenever they did, they had the heavy, meaty sound of a blow that ought to have put the smaller man down, but Trevor had been able to shake them off and keep going.

Though Trevor’s blows didn’t pack the power of weight behind them that Bulldog’s did, he hit the bigger man a lot more often and used Bulldog’s weight and overconfidence against him. I had to hand it to Bulldog, however. He learned quickly. Each time he waded into a situation and came out bleeding, he changed his tactics and came at Trevor with a new approach.

There was no doubt in my mind that Bulldog was a brawler who would have made quick work of almost anyone. But not Trevor. I was pretty certain of how the fight was going to turn out, up until Bulldog finally made a move that got Trevor in his grasp.

Trevor’s advantage, up until that point, had been his ability to stay away from the power of the bigger man, but once he was trapped by his powerful grip, I was certain that I had seen the end of him. He took heavy blow after heavy blow to his mid-section and a number of them to his face before he was finally able to break free.

In the process of beating on Trevor, Bulldog had worn himself out. It took a lot of effort to move that big body, and he was winded when Trevor broke free. The deciding moment came only seconds after and I screamed out when I saw it coming. Bulldog had, from out of nowhere, produced a knife and plunged it toward Trevor as he was trying to roll free. I don’t know how he did it, but in a flash Trevor had somehow turned the knife back on Bulldog and shoved it well up under his ribcage. Before I knew what had happened, Bulldog was lying on the floor of the barn bleeding out.

I had been rescued and I was quickly wrapped up in Trevor’s strong arms. Though it wasn’t nearly as clear to me as my memory of the fight, I recalled hearing Sal explain how he was going to play things out to law enforcement. I also heard Trevor telling Sal that he didn’t want anything more to do with what Bulldog had been into. Between the two of them, they had made some sort of arrangement that let Trevor walk away free and straight into my arms. I really didn’t care about the details.

“You not sleeping?” Trevor asked, breaking into my replaying of what had taken place earlier. He rolled me off of his shoulder and onto my back, gazing down at me.

“Actually,” I lied, “I was just about to doze off.”

“Yeah, well, before you do that…”

He didn’t finish the sentence, well not with words anyway. However, his actions underneath the covers spoke loudly.

The Cowboy's Lover

I had just finished herding the cattle out to the back forty when I heard the sound of hoof beats and turned to see Buck riding in from the direction of the house. I had meant to be angry with him for showing up late, but my heart skipped a beat at the sight of him just the same. Stupid, really, all things considered. He’s my boss, he’s married, and I’d eat my hat if he felt the same way about me. But damned if I can do anything about it.

I brushed a stray lock of hair back from my face as I watched him approach. I could tell from the set of his shoulders that he and Ruth had had another bad one.

“Charlie,” he said as he tipped his hat. I’d smack anyone else who called me that. My name is Charlotte,
not
Charlie. But somehow when he says it, it’s all I can do not to melt into a puddle on the spot.

“Mornin’, boss,” I replied pointedly. It was well after noon. And of all the silly things, I was actually proud of myself for managing to be at least a teeny bit angry at him.

“I know,” he said sheepishly, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. “I’m sorry.” He even attempted a smile.

That was what really got me. That sad attempt at a smile. At the sight of it, what little anger I had evaporated into nothing, like steam off a griddle. It was one of those smiles that you see on someone and it hits you that you didn’t realize just how much their heart was breaking until you saw that smile. Until you saw them trying their damnedest to pretend their heart
wasn’t
breaking.

“That’s ok, boss,” I said, doing my best not to let on just how much hurt I’d seen on his face in that one instant. Which screamed against pretty much every instinct I had. But Buck is nothing if not a proud man, and if he knew that I’d seen what he would consider to be weakness, it would only make it worse. So I held my tongue.

And he held his. He gazed back toward the house in silence as I waited. The silence stretched on for what was probably only a minute or two, but it seemed like an eternity. I shifted uncomfortably in my saddle. After another minute, I finally could take it anymore. I cleared my throat, and he turned toward me, whatever reverie he’d been lost in dissipated for the moment.

“You uh…you wanna talk about it, boss?” I ventured. For the moment, any feelings I had for him took a back seat. Right now all I wanted was to be his friend, to help. Just to give him someone to talk to.

He hesitated and for a second, it seemed like he was really considering it. But the moment passed.

“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “Let’s call it a day, Charlie.”

That took me by surprise. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d decided to stop working so early in the day. Without waiting for a reply he turned his horse toward the house and the stables and headed in that direction at a walk. I followed in silence.

When we reached the stables, neither of us spoke as we brushed down the horses and put away our tack. His hand brushed mine as we both reached to hang our harnesses at the same time and a tingle ran through me. I silently cursed myself for reacting like a junior high girl and decided to get the hell out of there before making a complete ass out of myself.

“See you tomorrow, boss,” I said over my shoulder as I walked out of the stables. I made a beeline for my truck and headed home.

*****

I shook my head as I watched Charlie hightail it to her truck like there was a damn fire and haul ass toward the highway. I swear, that woman acts so damned odd sometimes.

This day had been a lot to process. Ruth was in rare form this morning. Not that things are ever quite right in this house, not since Colton.

But she was worse today. She always is this time of year. The first couple years I tried to be there and hold her, and…I don’t know…
help
somehow. It only seems to make it worse. But I don’t know what else to
do
. So I guess I’ll keep trying again this year.

I miss my wife. She was beautiful and vibrant. And she still is beautiful, just as beautiful as she ever was. She still has her long dark hair, and piercing blue eyes. But her vibrancy is gone.
I
t feels like there’s a stranger with her face living in our house and in our bed. I want my wife back.

Charlie asked me if I wanted to talk about it today, probably out of politeness. But damned if I didn’t want to talk about it. Ruth would have my hide if she found out I was airing our dirty laundry. And if she found out I talked about it to a
woman
? Hell, you might as well just strap in for Armageddon, because it’s coming.

Then again, maybe Charlie could give me a woman’s perspective…

But no. Especially not after what had just happened.

Our hands brushed when we went to put up our harnesses. I didn’t think anything about that. But the way she blushed…I’m not sure what it was, but that was the first time I’d actually seen her as a woman. It left me wondering what it would be like to touch a woman again. To touch
her
.

I tried to push those thoughts out of my head. It was just loneliness talking. I made my way back up to the house. Maybe Ruth had cooled off enough to talk by now. I hoped so.

I found her in the living room. She was curled up on the corner of the couch asleep. Her book had fallen to her lap. I had to smile. Seeing her like that, it was easy to believe that things were still the way they had been. Or at least that they could be again. I eased myself down next to her and let my hand rest on her shoulder, trying not to wake her.

It only lasted a few minutes. She began to stretch and then tensed as she felt my hand on her shoulder. She looked at it pointedly and then at me. I removed it reluctantly, and we sat in awkward silence for a few minutes.

“I was hopin’ we could talk,” I finally said to her.

“About?” she said icily, drawing herself up until she managed to somehow look imposing even with her legs curled up underneath her.

“This mornin’,” I said. “I feel like we left a few things unresolved and I just—“

“Don’t you have some work to do?” she snapped.

“Nothin’ that can’t wait ‘til tomorrow.” I tried to take her hand, but she pulled away. I hesitated before speaking again. “Ruth, I—“

“Oh, will you just
go?
” she shouted. “Go! Get out. Get the hell out of my sight!”

I hesitated another moment. I opened my mouth to speak again, but she was having none of it.

“
Go!”

Well, that was that. I threw up my hands before getting up and heading for the front door without another word. Not that I could have gotten one in edgewise. My boots kicked up clouds of dust as I headed across the driveway digging my keys out of my pocket. I hopped into my brown Chevy truck and headed for Bobby’s Watering Hole.

It’s where I usually go when she gets like this. I can blow off some steam, and on the off chance she cools down and calls me I can usually find a ride back home. And in the much more likely event that she
doesn’t
cool down, the Star Motel is right across the street. I guess I could go home and sleep on the couch, but it just seems a little too cliché.

I made my way into Bobby’s and sat at the bar.

“Uh oh,” said Shelly. “Don’t usually see you in here this early. Everything ok?” she asked, handing me a Budweiser without me even having to order it.

Shelly is the bartender at Bobby’s most days. And nights for that matter. Sweet girl, has a husband who works up at the mills and two kids cute as buttons.

“Yeah,” I lied, even though she and I both know it isn’t or I wouldn’t be here. “How’s the family?”

“Good,” she said with a smile. “Johnny got promoted, Gracie lost a tooth, and Samuel starts kindergarten in a few weeks. Can’t complain.”

“Good to hear,” I told her, saluting with my beer bottle and taking a swig. She didn’t ask about Ruth because she knew damn well that’s why I was there.

She gave my shoulder a sympathetic squeeze and went back to her work without a word, for which I was grateful. I didn’t really feel like talking about it now the way I’d wanted to talk about it earlier. Which was unfortunate for me, because just then Carl made his way up to the bar and sat down next to me. Don’t get me wrong, Carl is a great friend. Which, at the moment, was exactly what I wanted to avoid. He would know something was wrong and he wouldn’t leave until we had talked it out. Oh well.

“Hey, Carl,” I greeted him.

“Howdy,” he replied with a grin. “How ya been?”

“Oh, ya know,” I said.

The grin had already dropped from his face. Christ, he catches on quick.

“Uh oh,” he said. Then, raising his voice, “Hey, Shelly! Two more!” he shouted as he held up two fingers. He polished off his beer and lowered his voice again as he said, “Tell me what’s up, man.”

“Ah, it’s nothin’,” I said, still trying to weasel my way out of talking.

“Bullshit,” he said, crossing his arms. I sighed.

“Fine,” I told him. I know when I’m beat.

Shelly brought back two Budweisers and left us. Carl pushed one toward me and took one for himself before settling back and waiting for me to talk. I figured I might as well not put off the inevitable.

“It’s Ruth,” I told him.

To which he snorted and told me, “No shit, Sherlock.”

“Well I don’t know what ya expect me to tell ya,” I said, exasperated. “It’s Ruth. It’s always Ruth. What else do you want me to say?”

“Bad one, huh?”

“Yeah,” I said, feeling more defeated than I had in a long time. “Yeah, it was a big one.”

Carl nodded. “What’d y’all fight about?”

“Honestly?” I said, “I’m not even sure. I said I was gonna get to work and she lost it. Threw the coffee pot at me.” I tried to laugh, but it sounded weak even to me.

“You think maybe she was jealous of you goin’ out on the ranch with that woman Charlotte?” he said as he elbowed me.

I actually did laugh at that. “Just let Charlie hear you call her ‘that woman.’ She’ll kick your ass.”

“Hey, just askin’,” he said jokingly, holding his hands up. “Some women might take exception to a man lettin’ a woman do a man’s work. Might think he had his reasons, if you know what I mean.”

“Carl, Charlie can work circles around you and half the men I’ve hired. And besides that, it was Ruth’s idea to hire her to begin with. So can it.”

“Alright, man,” he said. “Alright.”

We sat in silence sipping our beers for a few minutes. I thought maybe he was actually going to drop it when he spoke up again.

“This have anything to do with Colton?” he asked.

My jaw tensed up as I fought the urge to clock him right in the jaw. He didn’t deserve that. He was just a concerned friend trying to help. And what’s more, he was probably right. Even so, it still took me a couple minutes to cool down. And God bless him, he gave me those couple minutes to cool down, without pushing the issue.

“Yeah,” I finally said. “I think it probably does.”

He placed his hand on my shoulder for a moment before speaking.

“Buck,” he finally said. “It is a terrible thing to lose a baby. It is even worse when that baby is stillborn.” I had to fight back tears as he spoke. “But you can’t spend the rest of your life grieving,” he continued. “You gotta let go. How long has it been?”

I didn’t reply.

“Buck. How long has it been?”

“Three years,” I replied. My voice was a hell of a lot raspier than I would have liked. “Three years this September.”

He nodded. He knew that already, of course. He had just wanted me to say it.

“Buck, three years is long enough to grieve. Y’all need to move on, live your lives.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I know.”

“Have y’all thought about..I dunno…tryin’ again?”

I snorted at that. “Carl, she ain’t let me touch her in three years.”

“Ah. Right. Ok.”

We drank the rest of our beers in silence.

*****

I arrived to work a little early, and decided to go on up to the stables. It was still predawn, no light in the sky. Normally I don’t get here this early. There’s a good bit of construction on the highway and it usually takes me a good hour to hour and a half longer to get here. Might as well get Winchester saddled. I could go and check on the cattle in the back forty and maybe get some of yesterday’s work done while I was at it, as long as I could find a lantern or a flashlight to light my way.

And that was exactly what I was trying to do when I tripped. I wasn’t prepared for it and I went down hard. I cried out as the ground bit sharply into my knees, and more sharply into my unprotected palms.

“Charlie?” a voice slurred from the darkness.

“Ahhggh, Jesus! What the…Buck?” I said, flabbergasted.

“I think you kicked me,” he slurred.

“Kicked you, my ass,” I said under my breath. “I tripped over you,” I said a little more loudly. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

“Oh yeah,” he said, giggling. “I
am
out here.”