Trial by Fire (9 page)

“So, we ask for ten million?” Kade asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s fair. You tell ’em we want the money in unmarked bills, and we’ll call back in twelve hours to do a trade.”

“What’s unmarked bills?” the kid asked.

He had no fucking idea, but he knew it was a thing. “Means they didn’t put trackers in, stupid. Take a picture of the baby so’s you can send it. You gotta drive off, though, ’kay? Head toward Sulphur Springs.”

“Am I supposed to stay with the baby or drive off?” Shiloh looked so fucking confused.

Kade rolled his eyes. “Norman goes to the ranch. When he texts, I’ll take your truck and make the call. I got one of them travel phones at the Wal-Mart just for that.”

Norman nodded. “You take care of the brat. If we did this right, we’ll be rid of her and rich by tomorrow morning.”

“I can do that.” Shiloh rocked the baby, humming a little like he was happy as a pig in shit. Freak.

With his fucking luck, the goddamn kid would fall in love with the baby and refuse to give her back. Shit, they did this, the stupid shit would have enough money that any girl’d let him dip his wick and fill her belly.

The baby gurgled happily, and Norman rolled his eyes. Time to get a move on. “I’ll holler when I’m there.”

“Good deal. We just got to keep it together and we’ll be rich by morning, right?” Kade grinned, looking cheerful for the first time in days.

“That’s it, boys. We’re about to make a whole bunch of money.”

“
WHERE
the bloody hell have you been?” Lachlan stormed out to meet Holden at the back of the house. He’d seen the arsehole ride in and turn out his horse in the small paddock they’d created as a makeshift place for the horses.

“Huntin’. Any news?”

“Any news? Your fucking phone has been off for hours, you idiot. You had people worried you were gone just like Chloe! Fuck, Lofty, your mum thought someone had shot you!” Frustration boiled over now that Lachlan had a safe target for it, and he planted his hands against Holden’s chest and shoved.

“My phone is in my fucking pocket and hasn’t rang once, you asshat!” Holden was like an itty jack-in-the-box and popped right up, fists slamming into his chest.

“Then you weren’t getting signal or the damnable thing was out of juice, and that’s even worse. You can’t be out of touch right now. What if they called you with the ransom demand?” Lachlan got some of his own back by bopping Holden in the chin this time.

“Don’t you try to make me feel bad, you asshole! I was looking for her! What were you doing, you fuck? Sitting here on your ass being worthless?” Holden looked like he was going to fall down from worry and exhaustion, and Lachlan almost stopped when the blow to his nose made him see stars.

Pure rage took over then, and he roared, leaping at Holden and slamming him down with a full-on rugby tackle. Holden weathered the hit as well as he could, but Lachlan outweighed, outreached, and outright beat the little fucker in sheer fury. Holden’s head bounced off the ground, splashing some from last night’s rain.

“Motherfucker!” Holden caught him with a fist right in his left kidney, making him howl with the sharp rabbit punches.

Lachlan grabbed Holden’s arms, dragged them up over his head. “I swear to God, I will peg you right in the chest and leave you to drown in your own juices.”

“Fuck you. Fuck you, man.” Holden fought like a brumby feeling a bridle for the first time.

“Stop it! Just stop.” At this point, the fury was leaching away into worry. He didn’t want to hurt Holden. He was just sick of the stress and the lack of any real progress. Not to mention that the idea of something happening to Holden had sent him into an unreasonable panic. He already cared about the little fuck too much.

“I didn’t fucking turn it off. There were a bunch of us, searching.”

“You’re the one I was worried about, damn it.” He didn’t know any of the others, and they weren’t Chloe’s guardians.

Holden looked at him, dark eyes wounded, hurting, like a dog with his leg in a trap, just begging for someone to fix it. Anyone.

Lachlan sighed, because he was so utterly fucked here, and bent to press his mouth to Holden’s bruised one, needing the contact more than he’d ever needed anything.

Holden opened up to him, sobbing once, the sound harsh and broken, and then they were devouring each other, all teeth and tongues and the coppery taste of blood.

Pressing down, Lachlan slid a leg between Holden’s, pushing into the ground with his knee so he could get friction against Holden’s zipper with his thigh.

He spared about half a thought to having an audience, but fuck it, he needed this, and Holden was a grown-up. He could say no if he needed to, and if anyone really wanted to watch this, well, they could fuck right off.

Holden dug in, pulling him down even more, one hand on his ass, the other on the small of his back. They rocked like a freight train picking up speed, panting together. Holden gave as well as he got, tongue pushing hard in between his lips, boot heels digging into the grass.

Lachlan couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. He wanted more, wanted to touch and taste. He settled for pushing up on one hand and sliding the other between them to grab at Holden’s fly.

Jesus. He got Holden’s zip opened, mouth going dry at the feel of the thick johnson that he found hiding there. He stroked, his fingers fascinated by the lack of foreskin.

“Don’t stop. Don’t. Not now.” Holden’s voice was nothing but a desperate rasp.

No. No, that wasn’t going to happen this time. The worst thing that could happen already had, and this time they were going to finish. Lachlan pulled and pushed, getting a rhythm going, his teeth worrying Holden’s lower lip.

Holden drove against him, hands clamped onto his ass. “You. You too. Come on, motherfucker.”

“’M trying.” Lachlan sawed back and forth, finding pressure against the back of his hands and his wrist. He gritted his teeth, sensation crawling along his spine, drawing up his balls.

“Shit. Could fucking eat you alive.”

Oh, he could see that, Holden’s mouth wrapped around his cock and sucking him off.

Lachlan’s eyes crossed, and he grunted, spilling himself right into his jeans like he hadn’t since he was a lad. He never let up on Holden, that amazing cock not at all short like the rest of the man.

Holden lurched up, teeth sinking into his shoulder, muffling a wild cry as pure heat splashed over his fingers. Wet and slick and perfect, Holden’s orgasm eased something in him, something that had been wound too bloody tight.

“Oh. Oh, fuck. I. Dude.” Holden stared at him, eyes huge and almost black.

“Yeah.” They were in the goddamn yard, for fuck’s sake.

“You know….” Dez’s voice was husky as all fuck.

“Yeah. If you two weren’t the hottest bastards in history, we’d just turn the hose on y’all.” Jacques joined in.

“But as it is, you two owe us for not telling the entire family to come and watch. Get your arses into the barn, yes?” Dez pointed toward the outbuildings still standing.

“Preferably not a burned one or the one where the Fibbies are pretending not to have a little team meeting about what to do about us.”

Holden closed his eyes. “Christ.”

Lachlan tucked Holden’s cock back into his jeans. “Nah. Just the Aussie who made you come.”

“Come on. Hide with me. I can’t believe they haven’t called yet.”

Lachlan rose and held down a hand for Holden. “They will. They always do.”

“This happened to you?” Holden let him get them upright, and then instead of heading to a barn, Holden took him to a side door that led up into the house. “Our old room. Bathroom’s in there.”

“Ades.” Lachlan sighed and cleaned himself off. “Snatched her right off the street in Brisbane when we were on a family vacation. Dez there was a rookie.”

“Dez is your man, then? Like a professional?” Holden sat on a little twin bed, the matching one right across.

“Yeah. He’s my head of personal security. I guess that’s why Ades ran, huh? She wanted to go somewhere else, and in Oz she didn’t feel safe?”

“What’s it like? I’ve never been overseas.”

He guessed Holden’d seen most of the States, but there wasn’t much of a call to go somewhere else. Still, Landon had come over, hadn’t he?

“It’s amazing. You should come see sometime.” He chuckled. “Now, you might not think much of the station. It’s brown compared to your land.”

“Maybe. I’d like to try. I stayed at home way more than he did.” Holden looked over to the bed facing him. “We had this big old house, and we shared this room.”

“Twins, huh? It’s got to be a special thing.” He missed Ades like part of him was gone. Lachlan couldn’t imagine losing someone like Landon.

“I don’t know. I’m only just learning how not to be one, so still feels normal.”

“I’m sorry, mate.” He really was. About everything but for the orgasm.

“Me too. I…. They trusted me to keep her safe. Five weeks, and I’ve already fucked up.”

“Hey, now. Everything has been askew. You think I don’t think this is my fault? No one thought to snatch her until I came along.”

“I… I liked her, you know? Addie. I think she was one of my best friends. She was down to earth, and she could do anything. Except make pies. Her pies tasted like ass.”

Lachlan shouted with laughter. “I bet they seemed like they ought to have lamb and mushrooms in them.”

“I’ve never even eaten sheep, man. I wouldn’t know.”

“No fucking way.” He’d have to grill some chops. Lamb was yummy.

“I swear.”

Lachlan came to light next to Holden, uncomfortable about sitting on a dead man’s bed. “They haven’t even tried to make contact.”

“Who could have taken her, then, if they don’t want a ransom?” Holden’s hands clenched on his legs, knuckles white.

“No one else wanted custody of her?” Dez asked from the doorway. He looked solid, comforting, arms crossed over his barrel chest.

“Who’s asking?” Holden didn’t even sound aggro, just curious.

“I’m Desmond Holmes.” Dez stepped into the room and held out a hand to shake. “So sorry that I had to come under these circumstances and meet you.”

“I’m sorry the first time you saw me I was, uh….”

“Having a pash and a root?” Lachlan offered.

“Roots like watt on a holidays?” Dez didn’t even try to look sorry.

“I was thinking indisposed, but that works okay.”

“So delicate.” Lachlan rolled his eyes. “So what do we do next, Dez?”

“I’m serious about the question. Who else wanted the baby?” Dez waited, looking watchful.

“No one. I’m serious too. We’ve got no one that even blinked about me getting custody of Chloe. My folks made some noises, but they would never do this. Momma’s worrying herself sick.”

Lachlan nodded slowly. “My mum and dad and Rick know on my end.”

“You trust this Rick?” Holden asked.

“Fuck, yeah.” Dez laughed when they both glared at him. “What? He’s incredibly good as a PI. Has five ankle biters. He would never hurt a child.”

“Not to mention that he’s, what, in Singapore right now? Possibly Dubai?” No, this was one of the hangers-on here. Someone Holden knew, but not someone close enough to the family to twig Holden into thinking of him or them.

Holden stood up, headed to the window, looked out. “I don’t understand. What do they want?”

“I don’t think they’re pros, Pancho.” Ryan appeared at the door, shoving Dez. “A pro would have killed Maria, would have called hours ago.”

Lachlan shuddered. That was true enough. The call had come in on Adelaide in less than half an hour. “Your FBI all set up when it comes?”

“Yeah.” Ryan sighed. “They want you in the command center, Holden. They want your cell phone.”

“Sure.” Holden tossed over the smartphone. “Take it.”

“Will you come once you get cleaned up?” Ryan asked.

“He’ll be there in half an hour.” When Dez and Ryan stared at him in obvious surprise, Lachlan shrugged. “He needs a shower and some food.”

“I’ll be there. I have nothing to hide.”

“Shit on that. Everyone has things to hide.”

Holden shot Dez a look. “I just got a hand job in the backyard, man. My biggest secret is that I ain’t ashamed of being queer.”

Lachlan snorted, although from what he saw, it was the asthma that was the big shame, which was bizarre as fuck.

“Go away, you two.” Lachlan stood. “We’ll be there.”

“Will do.” Ryan turned and made tracks, sort of leaving Dez staring after for a second.

Oh, Lachlan would give him no end of shit about this. Later. “Oy. Out, you.”

“Got you, Bossman.” Dez rolled his eyes and left, shut the door behind him.

Holden sat there a minute, staring at his hands. “You ever feel like you’re in a dream that you can’t wake up from?”

“All the time. Then I decide to wake up and kick ass. Come on, then. You’re all muddy.”

“Yeah.” Holden gave him this crooked grin, and he could see it then, why Ades’d turned and walked away from everything for her man, for that wicked spark that was right there. “I ain’t sure I can wake up, but kicking ass? Yeah, I’m in.”

“Let’s get to it, then.” He reached out, his hand on Holden’s cheek. “We’ll find her.” Then God help the man who’d stolen their girl.

“She’s ours, and they’d best hope with all they got that the cops find them first.”

All he could do to respond to that was nod.

HOLDEN
got his happy ass cleaned off and his hands coated in bag balm before he walked downstairs into the beehive of folks in the kitchen. Lachlan was nowhere to be seen, and neither was that Dez, but Ryan was sitting with Daddy and the preacher, which gave Holden an evil little shot of joy.

“Son,” Daddy glanced up, offered him an exhausted smile. “You get all your running around done?”

“Checked our houses, all the barns, everything on our acreage. I think they would’ve had to have headed out on the road toward the highway.”

The preacher offered Holden a weak smile. “We were fixin’ to pray, Holden, for the baby’s soul. Join us.”