Rough and Ready [Men for Hire 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (12 page)

His radiant smile was back. It made her feel warmer than the hottest day in July ever could.

“Yeah, well, like I said. It gave me two reasons to come here.” He still hadn’t turned her hand loose. Not that she minded. “Of course, you’re reason enough.”

Kane, who had handed over horse duty to Daisy, sauntered up. “I hope Jeff told you where we’ve been the past couple of days. He got back to town before I did.”

She wanted to shout for joy, but she managed not to. “Yeah, he did. Sort of.”

“Let me guess. He didn’t mention that I was along for the job, did he?”

Jeff faked a stunned look. “Oh, were you? I didn’t even notice.”

“That’s what I figured.”

She pulled her hand from Jeff’s and pressed it to her mouth to stop the giggle. Sometimes the way they squabbled was downright funny. Even endearing.

Only the ringing of her phone brought her back from the giggles. “Hello?” She listened to the woman on the other end and was relieved when she told her that the rental home for the Johnsons had been approved. Milly had been overjoyed at the place.

“That’s wonderful. When can they move in?”

Jeff and Kane waited, each leaning on one of the railings. Although she had to pay attention to the instructions the lady gave her, she couldn’t help but feast on the amazing men. They were the type that people said were comfortable in their skins. But they were more than that. They oozed a confidence that she could only dream of possessing. It wasn’t cockiness, but a secure knowledge that they were in the right place and doing what they were supposed to do. Jeff’s crisp white T-shirt highlighted the outline of his muscular physique while the black denim shirt Kane wore, along with his black hair and eyes, made him even more mysterious than usual. She felt the now-familiar warmth grow between her legs. If they’d wanted her right then, she would’ve invited them up to her room.

But she had work to do. She blinked and answered the lady on the other end of the call. “This is great. We’ll get them relocated as soon as we can.” She lifted her eyebrows in question. “Hopefully, we can get some men to help them move.”

Jeff and Kane both nodded that they’d be happy to play movers.

“Thank you so much. I’ll be talking to you again soon.” She punched the button to end the call and grinned at them.

“I take it that the Johnsons have a new home?” Kane jerked his head at Daisy and the kids, who were still having a great time taking turns on the pony. “I’ll give them a little longer then load up and take Jelly Bean back to the ranch. The day’s almost half over now, so is it okay if we move them up there tomorrow?”

“I’m sure they’d appreciate it.”

Jeff leaned on the railing. “This sucks, you know.”

“Why?”

“Because now we don’t have an excuse to come out here and visit you.”

Relief, pure and unfiltered, made her knees weak. They still wanted her.

“When he’s right—which happens less often than a seeing a three-legged bird on a snowy morning—he’s right,” added Kane.

“Who says you need a reason to visit?” It wasn’t her usual style to be so bold, but something about the men brought it out in her. Besides, she didn’t want them to stop visiting, either.

But there was another problem. “My job here will be ending soon now that the Johnsons are settled.”

“Hell, I didn’t think about that.” The sincerity in Kane’s voice stroked her heart.

“Although I’m still trying to convince the mayor to put a preparedness plan into action.”

“Yeah, you should really do that.” Jeff exuded sexual allure with just a look. “We don’t want to get caught unprepared, you know.”

“Nope.” She adopted a serious tone. “We sure don’t.”

Kane nodded. “Yeah, you’ve changed my mind about that. We need to be prepared.”

“Good. It’s settled.” Jeff’s golden hair shone under the bright sunlight. “You’re staying. At least for a while longer.”

“I think the mayor has to make that decision.” Somehow she’d have to convince the mayor that the town needed her.

She was about to ask about her brother when a car drove by on the main road then stopped in front of the driveway. Squinting, she shielded her eyes and tried to see who it was. The men turned and watched, too, and as though by unspoken agreement, they waited for something else to happen.

She never expected to see her brother’s body pushed out of the car. He rolled then came to a stop and didn’t move.

“Avery!” Alex sprinted off the porch and past the stunned children and Daisy. Jeff and Kane soon ran past her with their long legs eating up the ground.

Please, please, please, please.

The litany continued even after Jeff and Kane slid to Avery’s side. A stab hit her under her rib cage, but she kept going. Her vision blurred as she fell to the ground next to her brother. She lifted his head and cradled it in her lap.

“Avery, open your eyes. Oh, please, God, don’t let him be dead.”

Jeff skimmed his hands over her brother’s body, then shook his head. “He’s banged up a bit, but I don’t see anything major.”

“Major?” He was on the ground unconscious. “How much more major can it get?”

“Major as in any knife or gunshot wounds,” answered Kane.

She sucked in a hard-fought breath and struggled to keep from crying. His chest rose and fell, so that was a good sign. “Is he going to be okay?”

Jeff patted Avery’s cheeks. “Yeah. I think so. Avery, man, come out of it. You’re scaring the hell out of your sister.”

“Half sister.” She didn’t know why she’d said that. It was an automatic thing they’d done all their lives.

Avery groaned, giving her renewed hope that he wasn’t hurt too badly. When he opened his eyes and saw her searching his face, he attempted a wan smile. “How’s it going, sis?”

Years of dealing with Avery’s troubles forged an angry spiral in her that wouldn’t be contained. She pushed his head off her lap and onto the hard ground.

“Ow!”

She stood, her fury sending her pacing back and forth. Jeff and Kane helped Avery sit up. “Ow, my ass. You almost gave me a heart attack.” She pointed back to Daisy and the kids. “And to have this happen in front of impressionable children makes it even worse.”

“Calm down, Alex. Let’s find out what’s going on.”

She snarled at Kane. “I know what’s going on. This has happened before.” She fisted her hands on her hips and glared down at all three of the men. Were men worth the problems they caused?

“What do you mean?” Jeff spoke softly, trying to placate her with his gentle tone.

“My brother is always getting into trouble. What’s it this time, brother dear? Have you gotten another girl pregnant? Or is it the usual business? How much do you owe? Was it horses, poker in Vegas, or what?”

Jeff and Kane got to their feet then stepped back. They’d let her handle her brother.

“Alex, come on. Not in front of them. I work with these guys.”

Did he really think she cared? “Do you? Has he been working at the ranch? Are you sure you’re not missing things like saddles or even silverware?”

“Gabriel wouldn’t know good silverware if you stabbed him with it.”

She narrowed her eyes at Jeff and wished she had could tape his mouth closed. “You know what I mean. Don’t even try to make this into something funny.”

Jeff lifted his hands palms out, showing he’d gotten the message. Oddly enough, it was Kane who came to Jeff’s rescue.

“As far as I know, he’s done a good job. I think Gabriel was going to ask him to stay on as a permanent member of the ranch.” Kane shrugged. “But once he hears about this? All bets are off.” He cringed when she shot him a hard look. “Sorry. Bad choice of words.”

Avery pushed himself to his feet, groaning as he did so. “Sis, please—”

“Don’t even try. Tell me, Avery. What’s going on?” When he didn’t answer right away, she slugged him in the arm. “Tell me!”

He backed away from her and dodged her second hit. “Okay, okay. Shit, calm the hell down.”

“Alex, maybe you want some privacy for this.” Kane took another step away, as did Jeff.

“No, it’s okay. You should know the man that’s working with you. Spill it, Avery, and don’t you dare leave out any details. If you do, I’ll do more than punch your lights out.”

Avery had always known when to confess his sins. Sometimes, she thought he liked doing so, thinking that it would gain him sympathy.

“Here’s the thing. Before I came here, before I decided to turn over a new leaf, I had a run of bad luck.”

She groaned, but motioned for him to go on.
Here we go again.

“You’re right. I lost a bunch of money at the track. Thing is that wasn’t the worst of it, though. I also lost money that belonged to another man.”

“Oh, Avery.” Her anger fled her, replaced by a painful sorrow. Would he ever learn?

“Yeah, well, what else could I do? I couldn’t pay him back so I took off. Hell, who would’ve figured he’d find me in this dinky little town?” He worked his jaw back and forth. Purplish bruises were scattered over his face and upper arms.

“That’s fucked up, man.” Jeff was the one who was angry now. “You brought this kind of trouble to your sister? Damn.”

“Half sister.” Both she and Avery said it together.

“Jeff’s right.” Kane dark countenance made him appear even angrier than Jeff. “That’s no way for a man to act.”

She wondered if the remorse on her brother’s face was real or just a pretense. “So he beat you up? Did you give him back any of his money? Even a little?”

Avery tracked a hand through his hair. “I gave him what I could, but it wasn’t near enough what I owe him.”

She knew what was coming next and hated to have to hear it. But there was no other way. “And what’s next? Did he give you more time to pay him back?”

Avery’s laugh was anything but lighthearted. “He gave me until the end of the week.”

“And if you don’t pay him back?” Had the air gotten thicker? Or was her throat closing up?

Avery’s solemn expression stabbed at her heart. He struggled to answer. “Either I pay him back all of the money with interest or he’ll kill me.”

Alex couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. She turned away from Avery and covered her face.

Only Alex’s tearful pleas kept Kane from ripping Avery’s head off his shoulders. Jeff was by his side, ready to add his own form of bodily harm to her brother.

How could anyone related to her be such a waste of skin and bones?

Kane stalked away from the group only to pace back. He clenched his hands, forcing them to remain at his side. Jeff hadn’t moved after his initial lunge at Avery and then his promise to Alex not to harm him. But Kane had no doubt Jeff was feeling the same sense of raw fury that he was.

“Kane, please.”

He couldn’t hold back. Not even for her. “Please what, Alex? Please don’t be mad at this jerk that keeps making you miserable? Because if that’s what you’re asking me to do, then I’m sorry, but it’s not going to happen. He’s lucky he’s still breathing.”

Avery cowered next to her, his head held low and silent.

At least he has sense enough to keep his trap shut.

Kane gritted his teeth and prayed that lightning would do them all a favor and strike the man down. He even glanced skyward only to be disappointed.

“Let’s get a grip here, guys.”

Had Jeff gone crazy, too? But one glance at him dispelled that thought. Jeff was simply better at controlling his anger.

“What I’m saying is that, as much as we’d like to, wiping Avery off the face of the earth won’t help the situation. These thugs would only come after Alex for the money instead.”

Shit. I didn’t think of that.

Alarm wiped away some of Kane’s anger. But not enough that he didn’t still want to throttle Avery. “What do you suggest we do? Take them out and bury their bodies in the lower pasture?”

“Again, as good as that sounds, I think we need to come at this in a more rational manner.”

If the situation hadn’t taken such a dire turn, he might’ve thought Jeff was trying his patience on purpose. “Get to it. What do you suggest?”

Avery opened his mouth but shut it again at Kane’s grumbled curse. Alex, the remainder of her tears still sparkling in her eyes, shook her head. “I don’t have any ideas. We could pay him back, but I don’t have that kind of money.”

“How much are we talking about anyway?” Kane was sure no one had mentioned the amount of the debt yet.

“I don’t know that, either,” answered Alex. “But I figure it’s got to be more than the couple of thousand I have in my account.”

The three of them confronted Avery and waited for him to fill in that magical number. Avery cleared his throat. “Including the interest? I owe him ten thousand.”

“Dollars?” Alex’s face paled.

“Who is this guy? Some mobster?” Jeff slid his palm along her arm, obviously trying to comfort her.

“He’s not a mobster. At least not the way you’re thinking. He’s an ex-friend who isn’t so friendly anymore.”

Kane forced down the urge to punch Avery. “You’ve got some shitty buddies.”

“Yeah, well. That’s the kind of guy you meet at the tracks.” Avery shrugged.

“What’s his name? When and where are you supposed to pay him back?”

“His name is Enrique Valquez and I have to pay him back on Saturday.”

Kane was glad when Jeff took hold of her. She looked like she was about to pass out. “Do you have any of the money left?”

Alex sounded lost. “No, he doesn’t. He had to borrow money from me the other day. Oh, hell, Avery. How could you do this?”

“I’m sorry, Alex. Really I am.” He reached out for her, but she cringed into Jeff’s arms. “I swear, if you can help me out of this mess, I’ll never gamble again.”

“I’ve heard that one before.” She turned away from him and put her head on Jeff’s shoulder.

Kane wished that he had been the one to comfort her. “All right, so we have until Saturday to come up with a plan. Don’t worry, Alex, Jeff’s good at this kind of thing.”

He’d surprised Jeff. “I think that’s the first and only time I’ve ever heard you give me a compliment.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.” Kane pointed back to his pickup. Daisy had tied the horse to the back of the trailer and taken the kids inside the house. “Let’s get to the ranch and put our heads together. Maybe Gabriel will have an idea.”