Two Cowboys in Her Crosshairs [Hellfire Ranch] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (25 page)

Her heart flip-flopped at the sight of them.

Olivia slid from the bed and shimmied into her T-shirt and panties. Like her clothes, Jake and Hudson made her feel sexy and desirable. She took Hud’s hand and squeezed lightly. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her temple as if the swift affection was perfectly normal.

She’d come to Freedom, Texas, looking for answers.

Instead, she may have found her future.

Jake couldn’t stop grinning as he assembled his ham sandwich. He looked over his shoulder at Olivia and Hudson, who sat huddled at the table. They, too, wore the same goofy smile he knew graced his face.

Slapping a piece of bread on top of the lettuce, he squished the sandwich and put it on his paper plate.

They looked up as he joined them at the table.

“Chips?” Olivia asked.

“Yeah, thanks.” He nabbed a handful and popped one in his mouth. “How are you feeling?”

She straightened, and her smile grew wider. “I feel great. Wonderful. Ecstatic.”

Hudson chuckled. He caressed the inner curve of her elbow, which made her jump and laugh.

“That tickles.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Jake said. “That you feel great, I mean.” He shared a look with Hudson. “We were a little worried about what you might think.”

He was also amazed she wasn’t blushing or stammering. But he realized he shouldn’t have been. Olivia always threw herself into whatever she was doing with 100 percent commitment.

She took a sip of her tea then fiddled with the edge of her paper plate. “I gotta be honest. I shocked the hell out of myself by agreeing to it. But”—she raised a hand before they could speak—“I’m damn glad I did. It’s been amazing so far.” She bit her lip and looked down at the table. One oval fingernail traced a long-ago made scratch in the wood surface. “Being with you two has made me feel alive again. I feel special.”

“You are,” Hudson concurred. “Very special.”

Her smile was soft. “But I don’t want to get caught up in it being all about me. I want to make the two of you feel just as good as you make me feel.”

Jake covered her hand. “You do that just by breathing, Olivia.”

“Oh, goodness.” This time she did blush. Then she cleared her throat.

“What’s wrong?” Hudson asked.

Jake’s sandwich turned to dust in his mouth at the hesitation on her face.

“Livvie?”

“Nothing’s wrong, really.” She brushed back a black curl and rubbed her bottom lip with her finger. “I just kind of wondered…what happens next?”

Jake frowned. “What do you mean?”

“After this mess is done.”

Hudson scooted closer and draped his arm around her. He kissed the top of her head and shot Jake a warning stare. Jake nodded. He’d let Hudson do the talking on this one.

“Well, darlin’,” his friend said. “We were hoping you’d consider staying.”

Her shock was nearly palpable, and Jake felt a huge relief sweep through him.

“For how long?”

The security alarm shrieked loudly. All three catapulted to their feet.

“Get to the back,” Jake ordered Olivia.

“Like hell I will,” she snarled. She grabbed a butcher knife from the block on the counter and dropped into a low crouch.

Hudson vaulted across the room and slapped the light switch, which plunged the kitchen into near darkness. The only light came from the green numbers on the microwave.

“Shit, I can’t see,” Jake muttered.

The alarm continued to pierce the night air.

“Hudson, get that thing turned off.”

“I’m working on it.”

“I see someone on the porch,” Olivia whispered.

Jake squinted into the darkness and caught sight of her shadow heading for the front door. He grabbed at her and managed to snag the hem of her T-shirt. “Stop,” he ordered.

“Let go,” she said. “We need to be prepared.”

“The alarm company will call in about two minutes,” Hudson said as he joined them. “What’s going on?”

“Someone out front,” Jake muttered.

“Jake?” A thundering pounding rattled the screen door.

Jake blinked and let go of Olivia’s T-shirt as he straightened up. “Well, hell.” He made his way cautiously through the kitchen and hit the lights as he passed into the hallway.

He turned the deadbolt and unlocked the knob before opening the door. “Tag, what the hell do you think you’re doing? You damn near had your head taken off.”

The tall sheriff looked bone-weary. His skin held a light-gray pallor and deep grooves lined his forehead. “We need to talk,” he said.

A cold sweat enveloped Jake as he nodded and stepped back to allow the lawman inside.

“It’s Tag,” he said in a loud voice. Last thing they needed was Olivia and Hudson taking out the sheriff.

“Tag?” Olivia’s voice sounded a bit alarmed.

He remembered she was clad
only
in her T-shirt and panties.

“Uh, Tag, why don’t we step back outside for a minute?”

“No,” the sheriff replied. “It’s not safe.”

“Damn.”

“Where are Olivia and Hudson?”

“Kitchen,” Jake said.

The light went out again, and he heard the soft scurry of footsteps as she raced past him. Then a sudden grunt when she splatted into the couch.

Jake’s mouth twitched.

“I’m not even going to ask what’s going on,” Tag said.

The humor in his voice was evident and a bit relieving. Hopefully whatever news he’d brought wasn’t that bad if he still had some humor left in him.

“Come on into the living room,” Jake said. He snapped on the hall light so they didn’t hit the couch like Olivia had.

“Want some coffee?” Hudson asked from the kitchen.

“As long as it’s got a draught of whiskey in it,” Tag replied.

Jake whistled. “What’s up?”

Before he could say anything, Olivia returned to the living room. She’d put on a bra and her jeans. The T-shirt looked a bit rumpled, but nothing to overtly shout they’d been having a fantastic sexual romp.

He grinned as he sat on the couch. He patted the cushion next to him, and she sank down.

“Tag, it’s late. Don’t you ever sleep? I thought Deputy Carson was on duty.”

“She is,” he replied. “She’s still down at the gate.”

Hudson came in with a tray of coffee cups, a steaming urn, and plenty of sugar. Jake rose and grabbed the whiskey from his grandpa’s handmade bar and set it on the tray.

Tag poured a healthy dose into his cup, splashed it with coffee, and took a long drink. “It’s a hell of a mess,” he finally muttered.

“What happened?”

“Myron Jones, the night clerk at the Calico Queen, was murdered tonight.”

Jake frowned. “Who did it?”

“Why?” Hudson demanded.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the same guy who is after you.”

“What makes you think that?” Jake asked.

Tag checked his watch. “Myron called the sheriff’s office about eleven this evening. Told dispatch he’d overheard a conversation between two men regarding the explosion and a package. One demanded if the other had found it, and he said no but he had a good lead on where it was. “

Olivia frowned. “I guess you weren’t kidding when you said the staff listens to every phone call.”

“Nope. Myron was nosy as hell, and the Calico’s old rotary phones and party lines were perfect for his eavesdropping habits.”

“Did they discuss anything else?” Jake asked.

“Not that Myron reported. And now, three hours later, he’s dead.”

Jake frowned. “I don’t know, Tag, that’s an awfully big leap. How would the person on the phone even know he’d listened in?”

“Before he could give dispatch the room number and name of the guest, someone walked into the lobby. She said Myron sounded very scared then heard him saying something about listening in and that he was on the phone with the sheriff about it.”

“Jesus,” Hudson muttered. “That was stupid.”

Olivia glared at him. “The man’s dead, Hudson, show some compassion.”

“Sorry. But you gotta admit, that was not the brightest move in the playbook.”

She nodded her agreement. “What else did dispatch hear?”

“Another male voice, but she said it was too low to really understand. Then a couple of pops and the phone clattered. Someone picked it up and said hello. Dispatch knew it wasn’t Myron, so she asked for the man’s identity. He laughed, said she’d know soon enough, and hung up the phone.”

A chill wrapped Jake’s shoulders. “Damn.”

Tag took another long sip of his coffee-flavored whiskey and nodded. “Exactly.”

“Now what?” Olivia asked. “Any leads on who it is?”

“No. We found the register, but the name was fake of course. He was careful. A professional. We don’t have any surveillance either. Whitty doesn’t have any cameras, you know. No prints in the room, no evidence left behind. Only thing we found was a few short brown hairs in the sink. Colton Ryan took them to Austin on a high-priority DNA request, but it will still be days before we learn anything.”

“We don’t have days,” Jake said grimly.

“No, we don’t.”

Olivia leaned forward. “Tag, my office is supposed to be sending someone down from the FBI. I don’t know when he’ll arrive or who it will be, though.”

The sheriff’s face tightened. “Great, just what we need. A bureaucratic meddler.”

She winced. “Actually, I don’t think he will be.”

Tag slapped his hat against his thigh. “That’s what they excel at, Olivia.”

His phone rang, and he pulled it out. “Cain.”

He listened for a moment, and then his face settled into granite-hard lines. “Send him to the gate and give Carson the okay to let him up.”

He shoved the phone into his chest pocket and stared at Olivia. “Your FBI is here. He’s on his way to Carson right now.”

“This ought to be interesting,” she muttered.

Jake frowned. “Why do you say that?”

Olivia just shook her head and crossed her arms.

“Did you know who was being sent?” Tag demanded.

“Yep,” she replied.

“You didn’t think to tell me?”

“No.” Her smoky gaze encompassed Hudson and Jake. “I’ve had a few other things on my mind.”

“Who the hell is coming?” Jake finally exploded.

Tag gave him a sour look. “Boone. I didn’t know he’d gone to the Feds.”

She lifted her palms. “I just found out myself.”

“Figures,” Tag said. “Boone always did have holier-than-thou aspirations.”

“Think he’ll give you a hard time?” Olivia asked.

“He always did. Why should now be any different?”

The half grimace, half smile was not all that reassuring. Jake scrubbed his face with his palm.

“Why do I know Boone?” Hudson asked.

“You know
of
him,” Jake said. “He was part of the Hellfire Battalion.”

“Was he there that day?”

“Yes.”

Hudson chuckled. “Sounds like it’s old home reunion week.”

Tag’s radio crackled and Deputy Carson’s voice squawked into the room. “Got a guy claiming to be a Fed here, Sheriff. Checking out his badge right now.”

Tag rolled his eyes. “Give him back his badge and send him up. He’s clean.”

“Just like that?” Her tone clearly implied her disapproval.

“Yes,” Tag snapped.

Jake laughed. “She’s a handful.”

Tag snorted. “She’s a pain in the ass.”

Hudson grinned. “Man, you have no idea. Sam is a good egg, though. When she’s not being bitchy.”

“That happens?” Tag asked.

Jake tipped more alcohol into his cooling coffee and sipped. He needed it to deal with Boone even though he’d not seen the man since they left Afghanistan.

A few minutes later heavy footsteps sounded on the porch, and he rose. “I’ll get the door.”

“No, I will,” Tag said. “I want to double-check his credentials before I let him in here.”

Olivia lifted a brow. “A bit overzealous don’t you think?”

“No.”

* * * *

Olivia sighed at his retreating back. “He and Boone always had a tenuous relationship,” she said to Hudson.

“Why?”

“Tag’s temper. He says he is much better now, but back then he was a major hothead. And despite being a silver-spoon kid, Boone has his own short fuse. Or he did. I hear being a Fed knocks that right out of you. Company man and rules and all that.” She looked at Jake. “Did you know he’d gone there?”

“I’d heard. I used to keep up with all the guys, but not so much in the last year.”

“So you know where some are?”