A Lawman's Justice (Sweetwater Ranch Book 8) (13 page)

“Yes, it probably would be a good time.
If
I wanted to come to my senses, that is. I don’t.”

Shelby especially didn’t want good sense when Seth kissed her breasts. Yes, he knew what he was doing.

They pressed against each other. Body to body. So close that she took in his scent. Very nice. And she picked up the rhythm of his breathing.

Too fast.

Everything was moving too fast. There was no way to latch on to this kind of fire and hold on to it for long. Maybe, just maybe it would burn so hot that it would ease her need for him. But at the moment that didn’t seem very likely.

Seth unzipped her jeans, pushed them off her. While fighting with her clothes, they tumbled onto the bed together. The kisses continued. Fast and frenzied. But somehow with all that frenzy Seth’s touch managed to stay gentle.

Unlike hers.

Shelby felt all thumbs when she fumbled with his jeans. In part because her hands were trembling. In fact, her whole body was trembling.

Seth didn’t help with his jeans. Instead, he went after her bra and panties, removing them with what seemed to be little effort while he continued to kiss the breath right out of her.

It didn’t take long for her to realize she was stark naked and he wasn’t. Her body put up a huge protest about that because more than anything she wanted him naked and making love to her.

Seth cooperated with that part, too.

“I want your jeans off now,” she insisted.

He paused the touching and kissing just long enough to pull off his jeans and take a condom from his nightstand drawer.

“No,” he said.

And it took Shelby a moment to realize the reason he’d said that was because she’d stopped trembling and had gone a little stiff. Not only that, her attention wasn’t on his hot, naked body but rather the condom.

“You’re the only woman I’ve had here,” he said as if reading her mind.

She believed him, but even if she hadn’t, that wouldn’t have stopped her. Maybe that made her a fool. Another conquest in Seth’s bed. But at the moment she was willing to take the risk that this could be a whole lot more.

That sent her arms around him.

The kisses and touches returned with a vengeance. No more gentleness, and Shelby was thankful for that. Right now the only thing she wanted was to finish what Seth and she had started.

Seth clearly wanted the same thing, because the moment he had on the condom, he pushed himself inside her. The blood rushed to her head. To other parts of her as well, and Shelby couldn’t manage more than a moan of pure pleasure.

Oh, yes. Seth was very good at this.

He made love with the same intensity he did everything else in life. He took hold of her hands, gripped them in his. His gaze locked with hers while he slid, hot, into her.

It was perfect.

Well, except for the part about this not being able to last.

Her body was already begging for release, and Seth was more than willing to help her with that. He moved faster, harder, working that same magic as he had with his kisses. Except this was a kiss times a million.

Since she wasn’t sure if she’d ever get to have this with him again, Shelby tried to hang on. She tried to savor every second. Every thrust. But she felt herself slip toward the edge.

And Seth quickly took her right over that edge and finished her.

Shelby could only hang on. Could only catch a glimpse of that incredible face before her vision blurred and the pleasure closed in around her. But she didn’t need to see his face to realize something she didn’t especially want to know.

Or feel.

She was falling in love with him.

Chapter Fourteen

Seth stood at the kitchen window of the guesthouse, sipping his coffee and trying to figure out just how badly he’d messed up.

He was guessing pretty badly.

Not the sex. That’d been the opposite of bad. Right up there on the top of the list of things that’d felt darn good. Still, that didn’t mean
good
wouldn’t make things worse than they already were.

As an FBI agent he’d had it drilled into him not to get personally involved with an investigation.

Well, this was as personal as it got.

He only hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite him.

Seth topped off his coffee and went to check on Shelby. She was still in his bed. Asleep and naked. Exactly the way he’d left her nearly an hour ago. Face down, hair a beautiful mess against the stark white pillow. The sheets were coiled around her as if she’d been fighting a fierce battle with them.

Or rather fighting with the nightmares.

She’d had a couple of them during the night. Bad ones. Seth had held her, but kisses weren’t going to put an end to this. What he needed was a break in the case. If they could just find Annette, Whitt or the shooter, he might get some answers. But all were still missing.

He had just made his way back to the kitchen to check his emails on the laptop he’d left on the table when he heard the sound of a car engine. His body went on instant alert, but he soon saw the familiar truck pull to a stop next to the main house.

It was Roy and his mother, both looking as tired as Seth felt.

Jewell stepped out, her attention going straight to the window. She waved when she spotted Seth, said something to Roy, who headed for the main house. Jewell started walking toward the guesthouse.

Oh, man.

Normally, he would have enjoyed seeing his mother, especially now that they didn’t have to visit behind the Plexiglas at the jail, but he wasn’t especially eager for her to learn that Shelby and he had shared a bed. Still, he couldn’t ask Jewell to stand out on the small back porch and talk. Not with a gunman still out there who could target her with a rifle. So Seth quickly shut his bedroom door, turned off the security system and hurried back to the kitchen to let Jewell in.

His mother managed a smile. A genuine one from the look of it. But he saw the fatigue in her eyes now that they were face-to-face.

“There’s no baby yet,” she explained. “Rayanne’s labor stopped shortly after midnight, so she’s resting now. But the doctor’s keeping her because if the contractions don’t start up again on their own, he’s going to induce.”

“Induce?” Seth asked, but he waved off the question. It didn’t seem like something he wanted to know, and he hated that his sister had to go through this.

“Rayanne will be fine,” Jewell assured him. That sounded genuine, too. Good. One less thing for him to worry about. “Roy and I are here just for a change of clothes and to freshen up, and then we’ll head back.”

“I’m sure Rayanne will appreciate that,” he replied. “You want some coffee?”

Jewell nodded and sank down at the kitchen table as he poured her a cup. “Did Shelby and you have a...rough night?” she asked.

The question seemed innocent enough, but his mother had a sixth sense when it came to her kids.

“Yeah, it was a little rough,” he settled for saying. “Probably a lot better than yours, though. Your first night out of jail in months, and you ended up sleeping in a hospital room.”

“It was still a good night.”

Seth knew something about that, too, since that was the kind of night he’d had. Good mixed with bad. He also knew Jewell wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere other than with Rayanne while she was going through this.

His mother glanced around the place. Not that it took too much glancing to see most of it. “I’d forgotten how little room there is here. When will you be moving to the new house?”

“Soon.” He hoped. “I’ve got the keys to the place. Already hired the ranch hands. But I haven’t had time to look for livestock or furniture yet.”

Their conversation seemed a little too much like small talk considering several thousand-pound elephants were in the room.

“How are things with Roy?” Seth asked, sitting down next to her at the table.

No genuine smile this time, though she did attempt one. One no doubt meant to reassure him. But as her son, he had a sixth sense about her, as well. So Seth kept staring at her to let her know he expected a real answer.

“It’s complicated.” A heavy sigh left her mouth. She slid her hand over his, gave it a comforting pat. “I don’t expect him just to forgive me for abandoning him and the boys.”

Well, Seth sure expected it. “You didn’t abandon them. You did what you thought was necessary to save Roy’s life.”

“Maybe.” She drew back her hand and stared down into her coffee.

“Maybe?” he questioned.

“It was partly selfish, too. Leaving meant I didn’t have to deal with Whitt. It meant shoving all the hate and anger so deep that I didn’t have to feel it.” She paused. “Of course, I’ll have to deal with it now. All of you will. That’s why I’ve decided to forgive Whitt.”

Seth was glad he was seated, because that gave him a jolt. “He doesn’t deserve your forgiveness.”

He would have added more to his argument, but he heard footsteps.

Shelby’s.

They were coming from the bedroom, and Seth held his breath, hoping she wouldn’t come into the room bare butted. Thankfully, she was dressed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said when her gaze landed on Jewell. She turned to walk away.

“You didn’t interrupt,” Jewell assured her, and she got to her feet. “Stay, please. I need to be getting back to the main house anyway. After a shower and a bite to eat, Roy and I are going back to the hospital so we’ll be there when Rayanne has the baby.”

“Seth’s right. You don’t have to forgive my father,” Shelby blurted out. “He doesn’t deserve it.” Obviously, she’d heard at least part of the conversation he’d had with his mother. “I’m not sure I could forgive him if I were in your place.”

With that soft half smile on her face, Jewell went to her and pulled Shelby into her arms for a brief hug. “I’m not doing it for Whitt. I’m doing it for me. It’s the only way I can get on with my life.”

Heck, that was too much logic considering that Seth was still seeing red over what Whitt had done to her. And he always would. One way or the other, Whitt would pay. Not just for the rape, but for what he’d done to Shelby and the rest of her family.

He stood and watched Jewell make her way back to the main house. Roy was waiting for her on the porch and even opened the door for her.

“Roy and Jewell are getting back together?” Shelby asked, watching, as well.

Seth had to shrug. “Hard to say. I know they got in touch with each other after Rosalie’s daughter was kidnapped over a year ago. They were trying to help her find the baby, and I think maybe that brought them a little closer.”

It’d broken the ice between them anyway, and thankfully, it’d had a happy ending with Rosalie’s daughter being found. Now both his sisters were making homes at the ranch. Colt, Tucker and Cooper, too.

Leaving Roy and Jewell alone in that big ranch house.

If any fire was left between them, being under the same roof would certainly fuel it.

As Seth had learned with Shelby.

“Is everything okay?” she added.

It took him a moment to realize she was no longer looking at Jewell and Roy but at him.

“Fine.” And because he thought they both could use it, he brushed a kiss on her cheek. Then her mouth. “You?”

“Better now.” Shelby’s smile didn’t last long. “Anything new about the investigation?”

That was his cue to get down to business. “Nothing, but I need to check in with Colt anyway.”

He reached for his phone, but reaching was as far as Seth got before he heard a sound he didn’t want to hear.

His mother screamed.

* * *

J
EWELL
’
S
SCREAM
SLICED
through Shelby like a knife.

Sweet heaven.

What’d happened now?

“Stay behind me,” Seth said, throwing open the door. “What’s wrong?” he shouted.

No answer. That caused the skin on the back of her neck, to crawl and Shelby’s thoughts jerked back to another time, another place. Another attack.

“Mom?” Seth tried again.

When he didn’t get an immediate answer, he went outside, but then glanced back at her. Shelby saw the debate going on in his head. If he left her alone that could be dangerous, exactly what their attacker would want him to do. But his mother was clearly in trouble.

“Keep low and hurry,” Seth finally said. Before he’d even finished they started running toward the main house.

They were barely halfway there when she spotted Roy coming out of the backyard. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s not real.”

Shelby couldn’t imagine what Roy meant by that, and it only made Seth run even faster.

As soon as they reached the porch she saw Jewell, but because of the steps and posts, she couldn’t see what had taken the color right out of the woman’s face.

“It’s not real,” Roy repeated, leading them up the steps. “Jewell, you need to get inside.” When she didn’t budge, Roy took her by the arm and led her to the kitchen.

The porch stretched all the way across the back of the house, and it was lined with white wicker chairs, plants and even a porch swing.

And beneath the swing was a body.

Shelby’s heart jolted even though she kept reminding herself that Roy had said it wasn’t real. But it certainly looked real, like the other bodies they’d discovered over the past couple of days.

This one had a mask, too.

Of Seth’s face.

“Get inside,” Seth told her and, as Roy had done, he maneuvered Shelby into the kitchen with his mother.

Jewell and she didn’t go far, however. They stayed right in the doorway looking out while Seth and Roy went toward the “body.”

“I didn’t touch it, but if you look closer, you’ll see it’s not real. It’s just clothes stuffed with mulch and straw from the flower beds,” Roy explained. “It wasn’t here last night when we went to the hospital.”

A chill rippled through Shelby. This meant someone had gotten onto the ranch. The killer. Or else someone who worked for the killer.

Seth studied the body for only a few seconds before his gaze whipped around the backyard and the rest of the property. A few ranch hands were out in the nearby pasture, but they didn’t seem to alarm him or Roy. So they must have known the hands. And that meant there was no sign of the person who’d left that fake body. A fake that no doubt was designed to scare them.

It’d worked.

Shelby was scared.

It had been bad enough to see masks of her father and her own face, but now the killer was using Seth’s image. Of course, she’d known Seth was likely a target right along with her, but it drilled the point home to see what the killer intended.

“How could the killer have gotten all the way to the house?” Shelby asked no one in particular.

Seth tipped his head to the fence on the far side of the large pasture. She’d remembered him saying that an attacker could get in that way. And he or she apparently had.

“I’ll ask the hands if they saw anything,” Roy volunteered.

“And I’ll call Cooper to let him know,” Seth added. “For now, though, I think we should all stay inside.”

Seth was already moving Roy in that direction, but he took it a step further. Once they were all in the kitchen, he shut the door, locked it.

“You had the security system armed the whole time you were at the hospital?” Seth asked.

Roy nodded. “All the windows and doors are wired so if any of them had been opened or broken into, the alarm would have gone off, and the security company would have called us.”

That gave Shelby a little relief. At least it probably meant someone wasn’t inside the house, waiting to kill them.

Probably
.

No doubt that slim hope was why Seth kept them in the kitchen, away from the windows, while he called Cooper to report the incident. Roy also made a call to one of the ranch hands, and he told him to ask around to see if anyone knew anything about the fake body.

“None of the ranch hands would do anything like this,” Roy explained when he ended the call. “I trust them, and we haven’t hired anyone new in months.” He paused. “But someone could have cut through the pasture and made it to the porch. There aren’t any security sensors back there.”

Yes, and the person easily could have come on foot, carrying just the clothes and mask since they’d used the bedding cover to stuff the garments.

“We need to check the grounds,” Seth insisted.

Roy nodded and made another call to one of his ranch hands. He asked for a thorough search of every part of the grounds and the outbuildings. Roy also asked them to look for any tracks leading to the house. It hadn’t rained in days, so maybe this monster had left footprints.

“The kids,” Jewell said on a gasp. “They’re at Colt’s.”

That prompted another call. This one from Seth to Colt. “Are you okay?” Seth immediately asked the deputy.

Since Seth didn’t put the call on speaker, Shelby held her breath, waiting. Jewell did, too, and even clutched Shelby’s hand.

“They’re all right,” Seth relayed to them several moments later when he finished the call. “Both Colt and Tucker are there with their wives, Cooper’s wife and the kids. They’re locked up and with the security system on. Colt’s going to call the hospital and alert Blue and Austin.”

Shelby didn’t know either man very well, but since they were both lawmen, she hoped that would be enough protection for Rayanne and Rosalie.

“Cooper’s on his way here?” Shelby asked.

Seth nodded. “But he wants to stop by Colt’s first. He said to call if we spotted anyone or anything else suspicious.”

Of course Cooper would want to see his wife and son to make sure they were all right. Shelby understood that. Especially since her sister, Laine, was also at Colt’s. There’d been no indication that this killer would go after anyone else in the family, but that could change.