Menage A Cowboy Complete Series (11 page)

I nodded yes.

"I needed you real bad just now. I'm glad you came out here. I knew we needed to be quick, since so many hands are around, but I'd like a chance for us to take our time, in private. Maybe behind a locked door instead of beside a truck in a parking lot? So we could explore this, you know?"

"Oh yes, I do know. I know exactly what you mean. And I'd be honored to take my time with you, Grace. We both would. To tonight then?"

"Yes."

I couldn't help it that my response was more of a heated sigh than an answer, but a heated sigh was suddenly all I was capable of, as my brain was already starting to imagine what tonight would be like, feel like, to be between both brothers again.

And I suddenly could not wait.

With a smile and a wink, Scott headed off to the main house to do whatever he had been headed to do when he'd ducked in here and got delayed by me.

I started whistling as I finished what I'd been doing as well, in a much better mood this time around, as I looked forward to dinner. And after dinner.

When I heard booted footsteps headed my way, I figured it was Scott coming back for something, so I spun around and headed to stick my head out of the stall door.

"Forget what you actually came for, did you? I'm sorry, did I distract you with all of my..."

My sentence was cut off with a gasp as it wasn't Scott's grinning face I met as I swung out of the stall, but Jake's face instead.

And grinning was not how I would describe it.

"I saw you, you know. As I waited for him to leave you alone, I stood outside. I'm assuming those tits pressed against the window back there were yours. Just one of the brothers still fucking you, Grace? Did the other one already get tired of your high and mighty shit?"

"How did you get in here?"

"I told you. I hid out behind the barn until I knew you were alone. It didn't take very long, did it? Do both brothers have longevity issues, or just the one?"

"Fuck you!"

"Nah, that's alright, I'm not much for Mitchell leftovers."

"Do you just get off on watching us, Jake? That's twice now that you've appeared out of nowhere. If I'd known you like to watch..."

He cut my words off again, only this time by grabbing me. He flipped me around, pulling my back to him and wrapping one arm around my waist as his other hand covered my mouth with some kind of rag.

I elbowed him, hard, hitting him somewhere near his kidneys, I hoped. I struggled against him, stomping my booted foot down on his toe, only to find out he was wearing boots, too, but his felt steel toed. I reached up and over my head, aiming for anything I could reach.

I wanted to poke his eyes out, or yank his hair so I could get away, but whatever was on the rag over my mouth and nose started to work on me as my breathing sped up.

The last thing I remembered was feeling sad and disappointed that I'd never know how it would feel to finally be between both brothers again before I died.

And then my world went black.

Chapter 16

Grace

I woke up groggy and confused, but I recognized my surroundings immediately. Jake had taken me to the cabin on his family's deer lease.

I'd been here a few times, with and without his family, both in and out of deer season. I looked around from the bedroom I'd stayed in before, where Jake must have dropped my unconscious body. I didn't see Jake anywhere, so I closed my eyes and listened for him instead.

The rhythmic sounds of someone chopping wood out back met my ears, and as I listened harder, I realized that the rhythm was Jake's.

He had this odd habit of tapping the axe head on the ground before starting a new swing, so at least I knew where he was.

I didn't hear anyone else, so I assumed that we were alone out here.

The quiet vibration of a phone on a table somewhere in the cabin got my attention, and I felt my own pockets for my phone, only to realize that it was gone.

Knowing that Jake never let his own phone leave his immediate area, and also knowing that Jake wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, despite getting into law school, I assumed that the vibrating phone in the distance was mine. He would be just smart enough to remove my phone from my pocket, but not smart enough to actually keep it with him, or to destroy it.

I figured my father wasn't looking for me, as he'd pretty much assume I was still living in sin with not one but two sexy, unmarried temptations, so that left either Scott or Adam that was calling every few minutes, making the phone's vibration an almost constant buzz somewhere close.

I stretched some, testing to see what was sore, and what was tied up, only to be pleasantly surprised to realize that nothing was, on either account.

So Jake had drugged me, taken me to his family's cabin, which practically everyone in town knew about, and didn't tie me up. He also took my phone, but didn't actually take it far. Yep, this was totally in line with how I'd assume a kidnapping by Jake would go down, meaning not very well.

I did wonder at where he got something to knock me out with, but then realized he probably found everything he needed in my own damn truck, since I used it to back dad up at so many vet calls. The dumb ass didn't even bring his own equipment.

He's probably drunk as well,
I thought. The realization that he'd driven drunk with me in his truck was the only really scary thing about this whole ordeal, now that I knew the who and the where behind my current predicament.

So, basically, all I needed to do was grab my phone, sneak out the front door since he was out back, and run until I felt safe enough to call the guys to come get me. Jake's kidnapping wasn't exactly genius, but it was freaking far. There was no way I could hoof it back to town.

Although, if he was true to form, he probably also left the keys to his truck hanging by the front door. That meant that I could probably hunt down my still vibrating phone, grab his keys, and leave his ass stranded out here instead of mine.

Yeah, Jake's common sense was totally not what I'd been dating him for.

He was definitely more book smart than common sense smart, which I knew going in. But he was fun, charming, and a great dancer, and until I found out that he was cheating on me, an ok way to pass the time away at school.

I was done with him once I found out about the cheating, and when he tried to hit me after I cornered him about the cheating, that just drove the point home.

I'd heard rumors of the reason he was called 'Red' by the rodeo circuit, but he'd managed to keep that not so pretty part of himself well hidden from me, somehow.

Until he didn't.

So, why was I still laying here shaking the cobwebs from my head?

I sat up gingerly, just in case a pounding headache or a bout of rolling nausea was just waiting for me to move. When none came, I swung myself off of the bed and stood.

I aimed my feet for the still vibrating phone, found it on the end table between the front door and the couch, and looked for Jake's keys.

Yep, there they were, hanging from the hook above the table he'd laid my phone on.

Such a brilliant criminal mind,
I thought, as I prepared to make a run for it.

The phone rang again in my hand, so I looked down at it. Scott was calling. And then, before I could slide to answer, the notification window popped up, telling me that Adam was also calling. I guessed that once they realized I'd gone missing, the two split up to be more productive in their hunt, with both of them calling pretty often.

I swiped the screen, not exactly sure which one of them it would connect me to.

"Hello."

I couldn't help but giggle to myself at the casual way I answered the phone, like I hadn't been kidnapped by my ex. I knew my mind often got silly instead of panicked at stress, but come on. Who answers their phone with 'hello' from the kidnapper's lair? Me, that's who.

I did whisper it, to be safe, but still.

"Grace? Where are you? Are you all right?"

It was Scott, I could tell by his voice. It was the same damn phone voice Adam had, only missing Adam's naturally light hearted tilt. Although, maybe Adam's voice would also be missing his light hearted tone in a kidnapping situation, so to be sure, I asked.

"Scott?"

"Yes. Where are you?"

"Jake knocked me out in the barn and I just woke up at his family's cabin. He's here, I can hear him, but he left my phone and his truck keys by the front door," I whispered. "I'm grabbing his keys now. I'll steal his truck, stranding him here, and head to you."

"Oh, thank God. Hey Danny, she's safe. Jake had her, like we figured. At some cabin? Oh, you know it? Anyway, she found her phone and his keys, and she's going to head here, so just hang tight. Oh, call the police, would you? Get them out there to arrest his ass for taking her while I keep her on the line."

"Danny? Like my dad, Danny?"

"Yes, your father is here. We called him as soon as we realized that it must have been Jake who took you, to see if he knew anything about
where
he would take you. He just got here. Grace, are you out yet? I haven't heard a truck start. Where is Jake?"

"He actually came? Dad, I mean. He came when you called him? I'm surprised he even answered your call."

"Grace, concentrate please. Get out of there first, then we can discuss your dad all you want. Where is Jake, can you still hear him?"

"Yes, he's out back. I can still hear him. Ok, I'm going to open the door, and make a run for his truck. Stay with me, OK?"

"Of course. I'm not going anywhere. Your dad said the cops are headed out there now, so just get here babe."

"Ok," I said, noticing that he'd called me babe even as I turned the knob on the front door.

Babe, huh? I liked it.

A loud, shrill, ear piecing scream made me practically jump out of my skin. It took me a second to place it. It was an alarm.

"Well that's new," I said inanely into the phone.

Damn it. Since when did Jake's family install an alarm? And where was the damn keypad?

I realized that I wouldn't know the code to shut it off, even had I seen one. Plus, the damage had already been done. There was no way in hell that Jake didn't know I was awake and moving now.

I got my ass in gear and started running for the truck, with Scott's voice sounding urgent but far away as I swung the phone at my side as I ran.

A large, barking, growling mass of sharp teeth blocking my way made me skid to a stop, still about twenty feet from the truck.

A huge, very dangerous looking dog stood between me and freedom. It looked to be half German Shepherd, half Pit Bull, and all teeth. And it was pissed.

"Going somewhere?"

I answered Jake's words without ever taking my eyes off of his devil dog.

"What the fuck, Jake?"

"I see you've met Tinkerbell."

"Tinkerbell? Seriously? You named your attack dingo Tinkerbell?"

"Sure. When people get a look at her, they do tend to fly the fuck out of here, and that's if she doesn't make pixie dust out of you first."

I nodded. I could totally see that.

"Could you call her off or something?"

"She's still kind of new here. She's not great with commands yet."

"Perfect. Of course not. So now what?"

"So now you back up. Slowly. And when you get to me,
if
you get to me, hand me my keys."

I knew I had no choice. I'd much rather take my chances with Jake than with Cujo, so I did what I was told. As I was slowly backing up, my eyes locked on Tinkerbell's slow approach as I backed away. I tucked my phone into the front pocket of my jeans, hoping nothing I did would cause the phone to hang up on Scott.

Either I did lose the connection, or Scott was bright enough to stop yelling into the phone so that Jake wouldn't hear him.

Once I got to Jake I handed over the keys and backed up further, into the cabin. The alarm was still screeching about my escape, the traitor, and when Jake followed me back inside, moved a decorative sign that said 'what happens at the cabin stays at the cabin' and entered his code, the sudden silence was its own punishment. I think I preferred the chaos of the alarm to the sound of Jake's heavy breathing.

"So...got any food?" I asked, trying to pretend that I wasn't almost mauled after trying to escape from being kidnapped by my ex.

When Jake just stared at me I asked instead, "Why am I here, Jake?"

"Because I panicked."

I hadn't expected such an honest, upfront response, so I found myself staying quiet, waiting on him to elaborate.

"I went by your dad's, to talk to you. He said some pretty nasty things to me, about filming you that night."

Welcome to the club. He said some pretty hurtful things to me about that night as well,
I thought.

"But he also let it slip that you were staying with the Mitchell twins. So I went there, to talk to you. I wanted to apologize, actually. For that night. I wanted to tell you that you didn't have to stay with them anymore, that you could come back to me. I would have taken you back, Grace. But when I saw one of them go into the stables, I ducked behind it, to wait.

And that was when I saw you. Your tits, actually. Against that back window. And I knew that as long as you were still there, with them, being corrupted, that I didn't have a chance. I knew I needed to get you away from there, from their evil influence. Only then would you listen to me and see the light. Only then would you see how it was really me who loves you, not them. But I knew you wouldn't listen, or come with me. So I panicked.

But you see now, right? Away from them you see how I've always been there for you?"

Wow,
I thought.
Jake was more than cheating and abusive, he was fucking batshit crazy.