Lingerie and Lariats (Rough & Ready#7) (6 page)

With a cry, she crossed her arms over her chest, covering her nakedness. Tears rolled down her cheek and her voice rose, sounding almost hysterical. “I’m not going to have sex with you.”

Jerry looked like he was going to slap her again and she cringed. Instead he grabbed a pillow and blanket off the bed and threw them across the room and onto the floor. “You can sleep on the floor like a dog. You little bitch.”

It felt like blood was draining from her face as he looked at her as if he was going to beat her.

“I’m going out and I want you right here.” He bared his teeth at her. “You don’t so much as blow your nose until I come back. Do you understand?”

She nodded, feeling trapped and alone.

He jerked open the dresser drawer where she’d put her panties, bras, and nightgowns and he threw a gown at her. “Get changed for bed.” He watched her as she stripped off her sandals and dress. She hated his eyes on her naked form and she prayed he wasn’t going to try again to force himself on her.

The look in his eyes made her hurry to pull her nightgown over her head and then tug it down over her hips. She took off her jewelry and set it on the bureau, then started toward the bathroom where she was heading to wash off her makeup. He grabbed her arm and shoved her back toward the blanket and the pillow on the floor. “Lie down where you belong and don’t move until I’m back.”

Her heart was still pounding as she obeyed him. Her body remained tense as she lay on the hard floor and tucked the pillow under her head. Her belly felt queasy as she watched him riffle through her purse. He took out her ID, credit cards, cash, and cell phone. He held up a business card and she realized with a sinking feeling that it was the one Dan had given her. Jerry glared at her then shoved the card along with the other things into his pockets.

He gave her one last look before he picked up both room keys then shut off the light as he opened the door to the room and headed out. He closed the door behind him and she heard the lock click shut.

It was then that her entire body started to shake. Everything that had happened over the course of the past two days crashed in on her. She hadn’t felt so alone or so afraid since the time she was a little girl and her mother had abandoned her without a look back.

Maybe she should call the Camerons or Dan—but Jerry had taken her phone and the card with Dan’s personal cell phone number. She thought about using the B & B’s phone, but then realized she didn’t want to involve the Camerons or Dan.

No, she’d have to do this on her own. The problem was that she didn’t have the faintest idea of what she was going to do.  

Chapter 6

“Get up.” Jerry’s shoe hit her backside as he kicked her awake.

She blinked, confused. What was she doing on the floor? She looked up into Jerry’s face as he glared down at her and everything came rushing back.

Worried that Jerry would kick her again, this time harder, she hurried to get up off the floor. She had a kink in her neck and her body that was already sore from the accident ached even more. She hadn’t slept well at all, and during the night had tried to think of what she should do about her situation. The trapped feeling was worse than ever.

Jerry towered over her petite height and she felt more vulnerable than she ever had. “Put on your clothes and hurry and pack up your shit. I’ve got a meeting and we don’t have time for you to screw around putting on makeup.”

Without answering, she went straight to the drawer and pulled out a pair of Levis along with panties, bra, socks, and a T-shirt. She hurried to put everything on, including her running shoes, and she pulled her hair back in a ponytail. When she was dressed, she shoved her clothing into her suitcase. Jerry watched her the entire time, his arms crossed over his chest and a mean look in his eyes.

As soon as she finished gathering all of her things, he picked up his own duffel bag while she gripped the handle of her small suitcase.

She grabbed her purse off of the bureau as she walked toward the door. She hated how small her voice sounded when she said, “Can I have my phone and other things back now?”

He turned his gaze on her, his eyes narrowed. “Not until I’m ready to give them back to you.”

Her heart sank. If she managed to make it to a bank, she needed her ID. Then she remembered her passport was in the outside pocket of her suitcase because she always kept her IDs in separate places in case she lost one of them. That would do. Her checkbook was in there too—she hadn’t felt the need to carry it since she’d had her cards and cash in her purse. She also usually kept extra cash in her suitcase, just in case. The only thing she wouldn’t have was her driver’s license as well as her credit cards.

Grateful that she always planned ahead, she followed Jerry out of the room. He closed the door behind them and they headed down the stairs. When they reached the front desk, Jerry had on an amicable mask as he smiled at Angie and handed her the room keys.

The moment Jerry turned to take care of the bill, Renee rushed to take her passport, checkbook, and cash out of her suitcase and stuff it all into the pockets of her jeans.

She noticed Jerry had handed the woman one of Renee’s credit cards to pay for the room. She wondered if Jerry had been using her money all along to finance the trip. Who knew what else he’d been doing with her money or what he might have planned when it came to her inheritance.

Jerry turned and faced her just as she finished putting everything into her pockets and a cold feeling sliced into her belly. Had he seen her?

Relief replaced the cold when he said, “Let’s go,” and he strode out the B & B’s entrance.

Angie smiled at Renee and she forced a smile in return. She had the urge to cry, “Help!” But it wasn’t like Jerry was kidnapping her. If she walked away right now, what could he do about it?

He’d probably grab her and throw her in the rental car and take off. No, she would figure something out. She had her money to worry about, too. She’d be destitute if he emptied her accounts.

Renee followed Jerry into the early morning sunshine and bit her lower lip. He grabbed her suitcase and threw it into the sedan’s trunk beside his duffel bag then slammed the trunk shut.

She climbed into the passenger seat, holding her purse in her lap. A feeling of dread and fear settled over her as he drove away from the B & B and headed out of town.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Nogales.” He glanced at her as he drove. “I have a meeting.”

“Why Nogales?” she asked.

“I have a load of Mexican furniture and accessories I bought that another buyer defaulted on. I can turn around and make a profit on it right away.” He was looking at the road ahead and not at her. “Like I’ve told you before, I buy low and sell high. Doesn’t matter the commodity.”

She didn’t know why, but she felt like Jerry had just lied to her. The fact that he’d volunteered information when he was angry with her made her feel like something was off.

He didn’t say anything else. She too, remained quiet on the rest of the drive.

She’d been to Nogales as a child, but it was so long ago that she barely remembered it. No doubt it had changed over time. The town felt alien to her.

When they passed a branch of the bank where she kept her accounts, her heart leapt. If she could get away and get back here, she could fix everything. Now she just needed to remember where the bank was and how to get back.

It wasn’t much farther before Jerry pulled into a café parking lot. “Get out,” he said when the car was parked. She grasped her purse as she started to obey, but Jerry grabbed it out of her hands and tossed it in the back seat. “You won’t be needing that.”

Grateful she’d stuck her cash, passport, and checkbook into her pockets, she opened the passenger side door and climbed out. She still felt stiff and sore from her night on the floor and of course from the aches and pains from the accident. She followed him into the café and he scanned it with his gaze.

He pointed toward a booth near the restroom sign. “Sit there while I have my meeting. Order yourself something to eat.”

She nodded and went to the booth and slid onto on the red vinyl bench seat. The café had a retro 1950s look and had pictures of popular icons of the decade like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Audrey Hepburn, and James Dean.

Menus were tucked between a napkin dispenser and a basket containing a pour bottle of sugar along with salt and pepper shakers. She wasn’t terribly hungry, but she selected one of the menus and opened it on the laminate tabletop.

From the corner of her eye, she watched Jerry approach a table with two men. They looked to be of equal size but one had a goatee and the other’s head was shaved. The pair didn’t look like the friendliest of men. Jerry nodded to each of them then took a seat in one of the two empty chairs at the table, his back to her.

She noticed two women chatting at a nearby table and they glanced in the direction of Jerry and the men he was with. The women were hard looking. The brunette with blonde streaks in her long dark hair talked a lot with her hands as she spoke while the other woman listened intently.

A young woman with a ponytail and an order pad stopped in front of Renee, blocking her view. “What can I get you?” the waitress asked.

Renee hadn’t glanced at the menu, but she figured that a basic breakfast would be universal. “An egg over easy with a piece of whole wheat toast and a sausage link. Oh, and orange juice, too.” Maybe she was hungrier than she’d thought.

“You’ve got it.” The waitress finished with a bit of a flourish and headed toward the long bar behind red vinyl-covered seats on chrome stools.

Renee hadn’t had a chance to go to the restroom this morning because Jerry had rushed her in getting ready. She moved across the bench seat and out of the booth and headed into the nearby restroom. The heavy door creaked as she opened it and then let it slide back in place. She slipped into a stall. Thirty seconds later she heard the restroom door open.

“Luis tells me everything,” came a woman’s voice. “According to what he told me, that Jerry guy is crazy.”

Renee froze.

“He looks nice enough, Mercedes,” came another woman’s voice as someone stepped into a stall and closed the door.

The other woman made an unladylike snorting sound. “Don’t let looks fool you, Carla. Luis didn’t tell me exactly what that Jerry guy wants, but it’s some kind of revenge.”

“Is Luis taking care of it?” Carla asked from her stall.

“I don’t know.” Mercedes had a shrug in her voice. “He’s getting more information now. At least it will be a good payday if he does do it.”

Chills rolled through Renee and she bit her lip to keep from making any sound of surprise. Jerry was planning to pay for one of the men to get even with someone?

A toilet flushed followed by the sound of a stall door opening and closing. Water ran, as Mercedes said, “Not a word to Juan. I don’t want Luis thinking I talk about his business if it was to get back to him.”

“You can trust me,” Carla said. “You’re lucky. Juan doesn’t tell me anything.”

“Luis trusts me with everything,” Mercedes said. “He told me that there’s going to be a big buy through his contact from the east. Got to be that Jerry guy.”

Renee continued to hold her breath until she heard the sound of the women’s voices fading and then vanishing as the restroom door slid shut behind them.

Her skin prickled as she hurried to pull up her jeans and fasten them before flushing the toilet. What kind of revenge was Jerry paying for? Maybe he wanted to destroy someone financially. She’d heard him threaten that before. The thought sickened her, making her feel queasy.

She left the stall and washed her hands before going out the restroom door. What kind of buy was he going to make, if it was in fact it was her Jerry that Mercedes had been talking about?

When she reached her booth she saw that her breakfast had already been served. Jerry still had his back to her booth and she hesitated. She could slip out of the café’s front entrance now, head down to the bank, and take care of her accounts. Was there anything she could do about Jerry trying to ruin someone?

She stood for a moment longer, trying to decide what to do, when Jerry pushed his chair back. Her heart pounded and she hurried to slide onto the bench seat. She pretended to be interested in her food as she picked up a fork and cut into the sausage link. From the corner of her eye she saw Jerry approach.

He eased onto the bench seat across from her and she looked up. A fierce scowl was on his face and she wondered if somehow he knew what she’d overheard.

But then he tossed something on the table between them and she saw that it was her phone. She reached for it but he said in a low, cold voice, “Don’t touch it.”

She met his gaze and wanted to flinch away from him from the way he was looking at her.

“You’ve had two text messages from your sheriff and a couple of calls,” Jerry said, his expression furious. “Send him a text that you want nothing to do with him and to leave you alone.”

She swallowed and set her fork on her plate. She picked up the phone and opened it up to see that she had a recent text message that had been read.

The message said,

Renee, the Camerons gave me your number. I want to make sure you’re all right. Call me. Dan.

She glanced up at Jerry whose eyes were narrowed, an angry glint in them. “Tell him to stop bothering you.”

Her heart sank as she composed a message.

Dan, please don’t call or text me again.

Jerry took the phone from her. “Not good enough.”

He revised her message and showed it to her with a smirk on his face.

Don’t ever call or text me again. I don’t want anything to do with you, especially after the way you got in Jerry’s and my business last night. I don’t want you ruining things between Jerry and me.

Renee’s throat felt dry. She didn’t want to send a message like this to Dan.

“Press send.” Jerry’s smirk hadn’t changed.

She pressed the “send” button and closed her eyes as the message went.