BRANDED BY A CALLAHAN (2 page)

He’d already fallen, so the wager was lopsided. Ana had never given him the time of day, no more than River gave Tighe any reason to hope. Only Jace seemed to hold the key to the bodyguards, and that alone was annoying. “Trust me, I’d be more than willing to wager whatever you wanted, if I thought there was half a chance. I don’t wager when the house deck is stacked against me.”

“It’s for charity,” Ash said. “I’m trying to raise five hundred bucks for the horse rescue in Diablo. Pony up, bro. If you win—which would actually be losing, but never mind—I’ll give you your money back.” Her face held nothing but purposeful honesty. “You can trust me.”

“Okay.” He reached into his wallet, tossed out his rodeo winnings.

She beamed. “Money well spent. Just putting your money where your dreams are is practically a guarantee of good things happening for you!”

His sister went off, delighted that she’d lightened him of all he had on him at the moment. Dante sipped his drink again, catching Ana’s gaze on him before she hurriedly looked at her punch.

Well, it wasn’t the mask, he’d removed that. He hadn’t shaved, but women didn’t usually get real excited over scruffy cheeks, so that probably wasn’t what had her peeking. His hair was far too long—he hadn’t seen a barber in months—and so maybe he did look a bit wild. His nieces and nephews had lavished him with attention, a returning hero in their eyes, so at least he wasn’t completely Grizzly Adams–wild-looking if he didn’t scare small children.

Ana came over and sat next to him, and Dante was so shocked he nearly swallowed the floating olive eyeball in his drink.

“Happy Halloween,” she said, and he felt a tickle of something slide up his spine. Ah, yes, sexual attraction, the bane of his useless designs on Ana.

“Same to you.”

His tongue twisted up like the lemon garnish on her drink.

“Your sister says you’re the resident ghost-story-teller.”

Generous of Ash to throw him an opener for conversation with Ana. “I’m afraid I enjoyed frightening my sister and brothers whether it was Halloween or not.”

She smiled. He was lost in her eyes and that sexy smile. “I love ghost stories.”

He was getting a funny feeling that something was going on here. Ana seemed to be chatting him up—and it could all be just friendly, but then again, maybe—

Nah. She hadn’t spoken to him in anything more than a professional tone for all the months he’d lived at Rancho Diablo. “What’s on your mind, cupcake?”

She looked at him. “Cupcake?”

He had to hide behind alpha-male bravado to save his sanity. His wisdom had been too hard-won over the past several months—and the tearing that Firefreak had given him was a reminder not to make a fool of himself again on useless pining. “I just thought maybe you had something on your mind.”

“I do,” Ana said, and Dante blinked.

“Oh?” If she, too, had a horse charity, his pockets were as empty as old boots.

“I have the evening off,” Ana said, “and I was wondering if you’d like to—”

The doorbell rang, gonging throughout the palatial house. Everyone glanced at Kendall, since it was her family home. “I gave the butler the night off, and he went into town,” Kendall said.

Dante glanced at his sister. Ash’s brows rose. There hadn’t been any trick-or-treaters. No one could get past the gated entrance.

Kendall had a sniper on the roof to keep an eye on Jonas Callahan’s clan, make certain none of the mercenaries got close to any of the children or wives.

The mercs had tried for years to find the Callahan parents, but so far, it was Callahans riding to the buzzer, and the mercenaries—including their black sheep, evil uncle Wolf—unable to get anything going.

Dante got up. “I’ll go to the door.”

Everyone looked at him. Ana got up, too. “I’ll play backup.”

He didn’t need backup from a woman, even if she was a bodyguard with great references from several high-profile clients. His sister was the only woman who’d ever “backed” him up. He glanced at Ashlyn who grinned hugely and had the nerve to wave the stash of loot of which she’d stripped him.

But he couldn’t turn Ana down—it would be rude and decidedly un-Callahan. Dante went off down the long hall to the front door with Ana behind him. When he opened the huge wooden door, he was somehow not at all surprised to find a gun pointed at his face.

“Trick or treat,” the masked cowboy said. “Step outside and close the door.”

Nuts.
Dante walked out, prepared to protect Ana at all costs, when she slipped around him and sprayed something in the cowboy’s face. He howled and pawed at his eyes, and Ana took the opportunity to kick his legs out from underneath him and tie his wrists behind his back like a cowgirl tying off a roped calf.

“There,” Ana said, standing up, “he’s all yours.”

The man on the ground cursed, swearing about the burning in his eyes and how much he hated the Callahans in general. Dante grinned at his beautiful “backup” wearing purple scrubs and a sexy smile, his heart thundering like the mystical Diablo mustangs in the Rancho Diablo canyons, and thought,
You’re all mine, gorgeous.

You just don’t know it yet.

Chapter Two

Two hours later, the intruder had been trundled off by the local sheriff, and the sniper who’d been on duty was located—shot with a tranquilizer dart.

All the Callahans were grouped into the big white formal room that Kendall had always claimed she hated until the Callahans had taken over her compound. Now toy trucks and baby dolls lay in neat baskets lining a wall, and another basket of crayons and coloring books lay stacked near the ebony grand piano. An overly industrious child—he thought it might have been one of Pete’s triplets—had done a little Picasso-style artwork on the wall near the floorboard, in what looked very much like sky-blue and magenta, two colors he remembered well from his own days of coloring.

“This is bad,” Dante told his cousins, brothers and sister. Jonas nodded, as did the others. No one had told Aunt Fiona or Uncle Burke—yet. They’d have to be informed of this new development. They’d gone to bed after the Halloween festivities, and Dante saw no reason to rouse them when there was nothing they could do now. “What if Aunt Fiona had opened the door?”

Ana met his gaze. He thought he could sense her concern, which matched his.

“Fiona
would
have opened the door, if she’d been in the family room or kitchen,” Sloan said. “But someone meant business if they took out the sniper and then presented themselves on the front porch as a trick-or-treater.”

Ash shivered. “Lucky for you Ana went to the door with you, Dante.”

Dante frowned. “I can take care of myself, thanks.”

He was a highly trained SEAL. He didn’t need Ana—or anyone else—to take care of him.

Though it had been rather glorious to watch those curves in motion as she’d taken down the thug. Just remembering it brought a smile to his face.

“What’s so funny?” Ash demanded, staring at him. “You could have been killed.”

Dante shook his head. “I’m like a cat, and I’ve only used up about seven of my nine lives. No one’s gonna take me out.”

Ana’s eyes were huge. Okay, so maybe things could have gotten a little dicey if she hadn’t put her training and quick wits to use. “Let’s just focus on the plan going forward. The first thing we need to discuss is security. Obviously, the Phillips’ compound has been breached. We’ve inadvertently brought the fight here.”

They all considered that. “I think it’s pretty safe,” Ash said. “It’s taken them a long time to try an attack here.”

“They’re watching the ranch,” Ana said suddenly. “They knew half of us would be here in Hell’s Colony. Has anybody checked on the guys back at Rancho Diablo?”

Dante looked at Ana, considered her words, felt himself falling just a little bit more for a woman whose mind worked so quickly and looked so stunning doing it. It was as if a Greek warrior goddess had come to life, tempting him to kiss her.

He was going to have to do that real soon. “Ash, send a text to Galen, Falcon and Jace. See if you get a response.”

“On it,” she said, grabbing her phone.

“The sheriff didn’t have any idea who he was,” Ana said, “which means he’s from outside Hell’s Colony. He had no ID on him. That’s deliberate.”

“Yeah,” Dante agreed. “A Halloween ambush. It’s just all too convenient.”

“I think so, too,” Ana said. “There’s no way the man on the porch is the one who shot the sniper with the tranquilizer.”

Dante looked at her. “Why not? I took out plenty of armed—”

Ash cleared her throat. “Oh,” Dante said, “right.” It was a Halloween party, after all, no need to bring up past assignments, especially since the darling nanny bodyguard had defended him. He’d feel deflated about that except Ana was just so darn hot. Maybe he was weird or what his brothers would call judiciously individual, but Ana defending him gave him a superbad case of heat he didn’t think he was going to recover from anytime soon. “Okay, Ana, are you working on a theory?”

She nodded. “I think our Halloween visitor has a companion out there.”

Ash sat up. “Waiting.”

“That’s right.” Ana nodded, and Dante watched her, considering her suddenly very plausible idea. “The guy on the porch was just the sideshow. The distraction.”

Dante’s blood went cold. “Has anybody checked on Fiona and Burke?”

Ash’s eyes went huge, and then she tore up the stairs. Dante could feel his heart beating hard in his chest until his sister returned.

“Out like lights,” Ash reported. “And I don’t think Fiona holds herself and Burke to the one-martini rule.” She sniffed. “There’s a crystal pitcher of bloody rum punch by their bed. And a plate of her delicious gingerbread ghosts, but we won’t hold that against her.”

Ana sat thinking quietly. “What?” Dante demanded. “I can tell you’re working on something.”

“It just doesn’t add up. He barely put up a fight.”

“He didn’t have a chance,” Dante told her. “You were on him too quickly. He didn’t know what hit him.”

“No.” She shook her head. “He didn’t put up much resistance at all.”

“You gave him a faceful of pepper spray,” Ash pointed out. “That might wear down my resistance a bit.”

Ana got up, pacing a bit, which Dante appreciated because he loved watching her move. It was a ballet on cork sandals, body parts moving sexily, gracefully.

“Someone was with him. Someone took out the sniper, then played lookout. We called the sheriff, and two hours later he’s in a cell.” Ana shook her head. “Have you heard back from Rancho Diablo?” she asked Ashlyn.

“All present and accounted for,” Ash said.

“This is all so suspicious,” Ana said, sitting down next to Dante. His blood pressure went to the roof of his skull, drumming loudly. He smelled sweet perfume and warm woman, and it was everything he could do not to reach out and take her hand in his.

She’d be so shocked if he did.

“If we don’t think anyone could have breached the house, then it’s something else,” Ana said.

It suddenly hit Dante that Ana was working from a hunch. As a guy who’d relied upon his hunches at times to stay alive, Dante found himself paying close attention to what Ana was trying to tease through.“What else is likely?” he asked.

She finally glanced at him. “I don’t know.”

He nodded. “We’ll know soon enough.”

“The thing is,” Ana said, staring earnestly into his eyes, “it feels too coincidental. It feels too easy. Career mercenaries don’t make mistakes. That’s why I think it was a cover for something else.”

“Maybe just to keep us on edge?” Ash asked.

“I don’t think so.” Ana shook her head. “I’ll go to bed and think about it. Maybe it will come to me in the night.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Dante stood, began stacking the glasses on a tray. Halloween had come and gone for another year. Thanksgiving would arrive next, always a family gathering of great camaraderie and joy—and then Christmas. But the costumes and carved pumpkins would disappear for another year, which made him a bit nostalgic.

Why pick Halloween for an ambush?

He and Ana carried the small dishes and glasses to the kitchen. “Have you talked to Tighe today?”

He shook his head. He didn’t want to think about his loony brother at this moment. “I haven’t heard much from him. He’s been busy getting brained by bulls.”

She nodded. “Okay. Good night.”

He stared after her as she passed into the hallway. He heard her sandals on the marble floor.

“Drooling is only cute when babies do it,” Ashlyn told him, giving him a nudge. “Need a bib?”

He probably was drooling. Turning back to the dishes, he put them in the dishwasher. “Not sure there’s a bib big enough.”

His sister looked up at him. “You know, you can treat Ana like she’s a normal girl, not some kind of princess you have to put in an ivory tower. I have it on good authority that she doesn’t bite.”

“She might.” Dante didn’t care how much his sister ribbed him about Ana—he might be slow in his windup, but eventually, he’d work his way into the game. “Don’t think it’s escaped my attention that you, little sister, are working on quite the unrequited thing for one of the owners of this compound, and everybody’s favorite canyon-riding cowboy, Xav Phillips.”

Ash glared at him. “Am I supposed to say ouch?” She tossed her head. “At least I would kiss Xav if he got close enough. Ana saved you. The least you can do is put down the barbed wire fence.”

He grunted, wondered about Tighe. Why had Ana asked about his twin?

“The kids love her,” Ash said, washing out some glasses. “I bet Ana will make a wonderful mother.”

He blinked. “Is she going to be a mother?”

“Maybe.”

Ash didn’t clarify, and he wasn’t about to give her anything else to rib him about by asking. He had to go with the flow around here, especially where Ana was concerned, or he’d end up a laughingstock.

Ash sighed. “Did you at least thank her for saving you?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll thank her for saving my big brother,” Ash said. “I appreciate what she did. If people aren’t acknowledged when they do a good job, sometimes they find another employer.”

He got the hint and decided not to encourage his sister. “I’ll let you finish up here.”

His sister snapped his butt with a dish towel as he departed. “Good night, dear brother.”

He went out to the guest quarters, which consisted of three bedrooms and a small kitchenette. This is where he was bunking—and tonight, the sniper was also taking up one of the rooms, sleeping off the effects of the tranquilizer, which the doctor said wouldn’t last forever. They hadn’t gotten much out of the man because he mostly wanted to snooze, but one thing was clear: he didn’t want to go to a hospital. Said he’d be fine sleeping outside. They’d stuck him out here with Dante, who was fine with checking on him occasionally.

Thing was, without the sniper on the roof of the compound, they were pretty much without cover. Someone had known the sniper was there—and had taken him out with enough tranquilizer to give an elephant a bit of a Rip van Winkler. Dante went into his room, his thoughts in a snarl, trying to make sense of the whole thing—but his brain stopped cold when he flipped on the light and saw the gorgeous blonde in his bed. Sound asleep, looking like an angel.

Holy smokes, what was he supposed to do with this?

He turned the overhead light off. Pondered his next move. Clearly Ana hadn’t wanted to sleep in the main house. Did she have the night off? He supposed she must have. After one black martini with a floating eyeball in it, was he relaxed enough to take advantage of the heavenly gift in his bed?

Absolutely not.

Dante felt like he was sneaking around in his own room. Maybe she’d been scared, and didn’t want to be alone.

Nah. Ana hadn’t been the least bit intimidated.

Maybe he should just turn around, walk back through the door, forget what he’d seen. Pretend he’d felt better sleeping in the main house tonight—

The lamp beside the bed turned on, and Dante’s throat went dry as an old bone in the desert. Ana looked at him, her gaze curious.

“Hi, cowboy.”

Long blond hair draped silkily over one shoulder. She hadn’t changed out of her purple scrubs, but the cork sandals lay on the floor beside her.

Okay, gifts this good didn’t just drop into his life. There was a trap, he just couldn’t see it. His concentration was shot, and any warning system he’d ever possessed that normally blared caution in a danger zone had surrendered. “Howdy, nurse,” he finally said, trying to play it cool. “I do believe you’re in the wrong bed.”

“Maybe,” Ana said. “But I hope not.”

He couldn’t mistake the soft invitation, nor the smoke in those emerald eyes. The lady was offering, and all he had to do was get rid of the barbed wire fence Ash claimed he was hiding behind. “All right,” he said, his voice husky, his throat a bit stiff for some reason. “You tell me what you want, lady, and I’ll see if I can accommodate you.”

Safe enough. Let her state her mission—maybe she was only scared, after all—and he’d see if he could help her out.

She turned out the lamp. He heard sheets rustle, and the next thing he knew she was moving into his arms. Her lips found his, and it was everything Dante had ever imagined kissing Ana would be like: soft, sweet, powerful.

He didn’t ask any questions. He hung on like he’d hung on to Firefreak, praying he didn’t hit the ground too soon.

“I’m going to get a little more comfortable,” she said, moving out of his arms, “maybe you will, too.”

She went into the bathroom, closed the door behind her. His heart thundered like mad, a haze practically shutting down his brain. After all the months of longing, he was going to find himself holding the most beautiful woman in the world.

He pulled off his boots, kept his jeans and shirt on just in case the invitation got jerked away from him at the last minute. Waited in the dark, his body taut with anticipation.

The bathroom door opened, and he heard soft footsteps approach the bed. It was too dark for him to get the full effect, but maybe she was shy about him seeing her in the dark. Wouldn’t matter. He’d run his lips over every inch of that long, slinky body, and he’d have no problem whatsoever seeing everything he wanted to with his hands.

Something soft brushed his face, molded over his nose and mouth with a strange scent—but by then it was too late for Dante to react, even as his last thought was that the world’s most beautiful angel had just played him like the queen of hearts.