Brody (24 page)

“Can I go look for her? I know I’m not your favorite person right now, but I can track.” Brody moved toward the barn, wondering with each step if he was going to make it there without feeling the deadly heat of a shotgun blast.

“She’s not there.”

Brody ignored Matt and stepped back into the barn. There were fresh footprints in the dirt on the floor and what appeared to be a couple drag marks from bare feet. He squatted and stared at the markings. No rancher boot had made those prints. The heel was squared off and cut deeper than the toe.

“Any of your men wear
vaquero
boots?”

Matt stood in the door of the barn, watching, scowling so hard his eyebrows touched. “No. Lorenzo and Javier don’t much like them. Why?”

Brody got to his feet and glanced in, glad to see none of her clothes were left behind. That meant she was dressed when she left. Thank God. She could’ve been dragged out of there buck naked. “Did she have any shoes on last night?”

Matt threw up his hands. “No, she was barefoot. What the hell is going on, Armstrong?”

The realization of what had happened hit him square between the eyes. Holy hell.

They hadn’t lost Rodrigo after all. He had followed them all the way into Texas. To the Graham ranch, the very place where too much tragedy and bloodshed had already happened.

Brody’s stomach lurched straight up his throat and he had to swallow down the bile that filled his mouth. Cold, raw fear slid through him.

Sweet Jesus.

“Your sister’s been kidnapped.”

“What?” Matt’s eyes widened. “By who?”

“Who took Olivia?” Caleb’s face was flushed.

Nicholas made a grunting sound and charged at the barn like a teenage bull. Matt threw his arm out and stopped his younger brother before he hurt himself.

“Who?” Matt repeated.

“An outlaw named Rodrigo who fancies the title of
caudillo
. We had dealings with him when we were in Mexico. I can tell you more later, but know this, he is ruthless and isn’t afraid to kill to get what he wants.” Brody would wait until Matt was calmer before he told him the outlaw had sold Benjy six months earlier. “For now let’s get moving. They’ve already got a headstart.”

Matt’s blue-green eyes, so much like Olivia’s, bored into him. “I’ll agree to this for now. But later, you will tell me more about Rodrigo and how you got my sister wrapped up in this mess.”

“Fair enough.” Brody would tell him as much as he could, but there were things that would stay between Olivia and himself. There would be no discussion of who killed whom, or just how close the two of them had gotten. Or that she’d told him “I love you” and he had run off like a coward into the night. No, those would be his moments to hold onto.

“Everyone
move
. Now,” Matt barked and everyone jumped.

The Grahams were like an army, commanded by Matt, with Eva providing instructions when he wasn’t in earshot. The horses were saddled, food and water gathered, and guns loaded. Matt, Caleb and Nicholas had the fiercest expressions on their faces that Brody had ever seen. That was real love. Olivia had brought him a forever kind of love and the family he’d never truly had.

“I’m going to blame you if anything happens to her, Ranger.” Matt’s horse grew restless beneath him, but he kept it under control with his knees.

“So will I.” Brody would control his rage and fear for now. When he had Olivia back safely, he would let it all loose on Rodrigo. This time, the outlaw wouldn’t live to hurt anyone again.

Olivia was furious—with Rodrigo, with Brody, but most of all with herself. She was tied up like a turkey thrown over the rear end of Rodrigo’s horse. Rodrigo’s hand pressed down on her back, keeping her in place as he navigated his way through the dense woods. He had obviously chosen this place well since it was the thickest forest within twenty miles of her home.

“
Querida,
you shouldn’t have run from me.” He pushed down on her back so hard, she couldn’t get a breath in.

She considered kicking the horse to start it panicking, but knew she would get herself killed in the fall or trampled. However, she was running out of choices. Spots danced in front of her eyes as she maneuvered her bound feet to kick the horse right in its vulnerable leg. Just as she got in position, Rodrigo released the pressure and air rushed back into her lungs.

“I do not want to hurt you.”

“You have a strange way of showing that,
maricon
.” She had learned a few curse words from Javier and Lorenzo. That one tasted especially good since it shut him up for a few minutes.

He dug his fingers into her back but she closed her eyes and thought of Brody. The ranger wouldn’t whine or complain if he were in the same situation. Neither would she.

“You have a filthy mouth. I will take pleasure in making sure it’s too busy to talk.” His laugh sent a chill up her spine. “I will enjoy it too. Your
hombre
is too protective of you. He should have let us have our pleasure. Now I must kill him.”

“You’ll never get the chance. He will kill you for taking me.” Big words for a woman who had no idea where her man was. He’d already left, either scared or disgusted by her confession of love. He didn’t even know she’d been kidnapped.

“Ah, you lie to me,
querida
. He rode away an hour before I took back what he stole. I listened and watched you both and the others at the house.” He made a
tsking
sound with his mouth. “You lied to me,
Olivia
. Another sin to be punished for. Perhaps I will take the little blond girl for payment.”

Olivia knew her first pinch of fear. He had been watching her family, her home. The man had hunted her, and now knew where her family lived. He threatened to take Catherine, for God’s sake. Sweet, innocent Catherine.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stave off the panic that threatened. If she didn’t focus, she couldn’t get herself free or help her family. What she needed to do was assess the man, his weapons and the situation, then find his weak spot and strike. She needed a battle plan.

If she reacted to his threat, he would know he had her beaten. No, she needed to do the unexpected and throw him off balance.

“Of course I lied to you, foolish man. Those people don’t know what my life is or how I live it. Do you think I’m stupid? I chose to leave them, to live on the back of a horse, under the sky. Not cooped up in one place for all time.” She managed to lift her hips enough to relieve the pressure on her stomach. “We were planning on taking what we needed and leaving by tomorrow.”

Rodrigo was quiet for a few moments, perhaps gauging whether she was lying again or being truthful.

“Those people all look like you, the same eyes I think. I have seen eyes that color before.”

Her mouth tasted of cold fear, but she managed to form the words she needed to speak. “The youngest. We needed money for guns so I convinced Jeb to take him. There are too many mouths to feed anyway. One less left more for me.”

She told her stomach not to react, not to vomit for fear she would choke to death on it with her head hanging down. It was a difficult fight but, in the end, she managed not to throw up.

“You are a cold-hearted bitch,
querida
. I knew there was something about you I liked. You are like me. You want more than life gives you and you aren’t afraid to take it.” His hand moved to her rump, where he squeezed. “And you are round and soft in all the right places. We will be good together.”

The very idea of being with Rodrigo, knowing what he did, what he’d done, and what he intended to do, made fury rise inside her. That was good. Anger would keep fear and panic at bay while she figured out how to get away from him.

“I’m not a cheap whore you can just take.” She gritted her teeth.

“Ah, I did not think so.” He chuckled, the sound grating on her nerves. “You will be a challenge. This I like.”

Was there no putting this man off? He liked her docile. He liked her feisty. He liked her at his mercy. The man just wanted to own her, no matter how she behaved. He made her skin crawl. Fear fluttered back into her heart. Olivia dug deeply, way down to found another cup of courage.

“Well, I don’t like being belly down on this goddamn horse. If you want me to be accommodating, you’re going to have to be nicer to me.” She managed to bang her head into his back. Her ears rang from the contact, but she had the satisfaction of hearing him grunt from the blow.

“I could tie you to the back and drag you instead.” His playful tone had been replaced by one as sharp as the knife he’d held to her throat.

“I could bite off your dick too.” What possessed her to threaten him, she’d never know. Her heart thumped so hard, her ears hurt, but she hung on and kept working on the knots. She could only reach the knots with her fingertips, but picking at them made her feel better.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before they emerged from the woods. Being upside down, she could only see the ground and the horse’s hindquarters. She had no idea where they were, or what direction he had chosen to take. The sad fact was she hadn’t spent much time in the woods, or even beyond the boundaries of the Graham ranch, until she’d met Brody.

He had taken her on an adventure, shown her what was out there for her to discover. Now she regretted not taking the same opportunity at home. If she had, the ground, the rocks, something might have given her a clue as to where they were.

The sound of another horse’s whinny sounded in the morning air. He pulled the horse to a stop and she was thankful for the reprieve from the constant jarring. She lifted her head, but her hair covered her face, obscuring her view. Maybe Brody had followed Rodrigo after all. She couldn’t help the burst of hope in her belly.

The rapid-fire commands in Spanish told her it wasn’t Brody’s horse she’d heard, but someone with Rodrigo. Oh, God, he had brought one or possibly more of his followers. She had a chance against one, but not a group of men.

When she heard Elena’s voice, Olivia wondered if Rodrigo had kidnapped her as well, or if she had come willingly. Her brother was a dangerous man, commanding everything and everyone around him. His sister was no exception, regardless of the fact she’d helped Brody and Olivia escape.

“Vamanos.”
Rodrigo kneed his horse into motion again and Olivia’s eyes pricked with tears.

She hadn’t cried and didn’t intend on crying but, dammit, this entire situation was wearing her down. Discomfort, pain and heartbreak overwhelmed her.

You are too strong to buckle under now, Liv. You killed three men to save my life. You are a survivor, not a quitter
.

Brody’s voice was so clear in her head, she thought he was hanging right next to her. He was right. She’d be damned if she would give in now.

Olivia was ready to fight for her life.

Brody struggled with self-control. He wanted to howl at the heavens and beat his chest, screaming his fear and self-recrimination. Hiccups of bitter emotion bubbled up his throat and escaped as small grunts. He sounded like a wild boar and damned if he didn’t feel like one. He was angry, reckless and ready to kill anything that got in his way.

The Grahams, on the other hand, were cool and collected. The three of them rode with their backs straight and their eyes focused on the horizon. He’d never met Stuart Graham before he died, but the man obviously knew how to raise boys to be men.

Being a soldier, then a ranger, Brody had thought he knew everything about how to be a man. But Olivia and her brothers had taught him the true meaning of loyalty, honor and courage. It was as humbling as it was frustrating.

He wanted a pack of snarling beasts at his side, ready to tear open the enemy. Instead, he got the Graham boys, who might freeze their enemy to death before they shot him. They were shooting frozen daggers at him from their blue-green eyes right now.

He couldn’t look at them, to see the similarity between her brothers and Olivia. It reminded him of his failure to be the man she needed. He had to find her, to tell her he was sorry and that he loved her.

He loved her
.

Why hadn’t he just accepted that hours ago? Days ago? Stupid idiot that he was, he had ridden away from what was as plain as day, and now he risked losing the most precious gift he’d ever received.

While his mind spun in circles, his eyes were trained on the ground, looking for signs. He found the hoof prints straight off, the deep impressions telling him the horse was carrying two people. They had headed west, off the Graham ranch and into wooded areas. That might have been to throw him off the trail but it had the opposite effect.

A horse tromping through trees and brush left more signs to track. He dismounted as soon as they reached the edge of the forest.

“What are you doing, Armstrong?” Matt snapped. “Get the hell back on your horse and get to tracking.”

“I am tracking, Graham. And if you think I’m going to let you order me around like you’re my captain, you are mistaken.” He turned a cool expression on the eldest Graham. “I am still a Texas Ranger. Right now I’m investigating a kidnapping.”

“My sister’s kidnapping,” Caleb growled, looking much older than his eighteen years.

“It helps me focus if I don’t think about her.” Brody faltered, his voice breaking as his heart stuttered. “I need to focus on the task, not the person.”

He pleaded silently for them to understand. Olivia was the most important thing in the world to him, and he couldn’t risk her by going loco. Her brothers were angry with him, rightfully so, but they had to give him a chance to do what he did best. Track and hunt criminals.

Matt’s expression relaxed a smidge. “You told me some of the story last night, but the boys don’t know yet. You tell us who he is and what happened in Mexico and we’ll help you catch him.”

It was likely the best offer he would get from them. “Fine. I’ll tell you what I know, but we need to keep moving.”

Matt dismounted. “Lead the way, Ranger. We’ll stay close so you can talk low.”