Capturing Kylie [Slick Rock 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (14 page)

Although she was timid sometimes, beneath that fear was a tigress just waiting to emerge and he was going to be by her side when she unleashed the real Kylie Mailing.

* * * *

It had been so easy to plant a tracker on the trucks. He’d followed them to the ranch but made sure to keep a long way back so he wouldn’t draw attention to himself. Once again his patience and diligence had paid off. He was currently in his motel room, sipping a beer while staring at the TV, but the show on the screen couldn’t hold his attention. He’d had to wait until they entered the diner for lunch before he could get close to the black truck. It would have been too risky to do it at the ranch with no other people around. He’d parked his rental car two blocks down and then walked along the street, looking around like a tourist.

When he’d been near the truck, he’d stumbled and gone down on his knees. While he was down, he had carefully applied superglue to the back of the tracker and then had placed his hand on the wheel rim and made it look like he was using the vehicle to gain his feet. Just as he stood, a deep voice had spoken from behind and it had taken all his effort not to have shown the anger he felt.

“Are you all right, sir? Are you hurt?”

He’d turned around to face one of the sheriffs. “I’m fine, thank you. Just took a little tumble is all.”

“I haven’t seen you around here before. Are you new in town?”

“No, sir, just passing through on my way to Denver to visit the folks. Your little town is very picturesque and I thought to take a look-see while stretching my legs.”

“Where are you from?”

“Blanding, Utah.”

“Well, you enjoy your walk and drive careful.”

“Yes, sir, I will. You have a nice day now.” He hurried back to his car and headed for the house, keeping an eye out for the hick sheriff. Again he’d parked his car out of sight and kept within the trees lining the road, in case someone came along, but no one had. He’d placed trackers on the other two trucks and then left a message for the bitch by slashing all four of her tires. Time was running out for her. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Kylie watched Xavier pace as he waited for his call. He had put in an offer through the estate agent to the owner of the ranch three days ago and was just waiting for confirmation. The agent had told him the vendor was keen to sell, since he had moved states to be closer to his son and daughter and their families. Kylie was excited on her men’s behalf because they wanted that ranch so badly and couldn’t wait to set up their own cattle breeding operation.

As she watched Xavier’s restlessness, she finally admitted to herself that she was deeply in love with the Badon brothers and wanted to spend the rest of her life with them. Being with them had given her courage she’d never thought to see in herself. She no longer panicked when she was in a crowd and hadn’t had a panic attack since the dinner at the Slick Rock hotel. And the more she thought about her situation with the fucker stalking her, the angrier she got. There was no way in hell she was going to live in fear for the rest of her life.

Just as she opened her mouth, Xavier’s cell phone rang.

“Hello.”

Kylie watched as a slow smile spread across Xavier’s face and she knew his offer had been accepted. Will and Lachlan came rushing into the room but stayed quiet while Xavier spoke.

“Yes, ma’am, thank you so much. I’ll be in this afternoon with a deposit check to sign all the paperwork. Two is perfect. Thank you, Ms. Jones, I’ll see you then.”

“We got the ranch house?” Will asked and Kylie was sure the question was rhetorical since the answer was already obvious, but she wasn’t about to dampen his excitement.

“We got it,” Xavier replied. He rushed over to her, scooped her off the lounge, and spun her around.

“Wow, I’m so happy for you all,” Kylie said.

Will and Lach surrounded her when Xavier stopped spinning her, and she ended up sandwiched between three men, right where she wanted to be.

“Why don’t we all go to the real estate office,” Will suggested as he placed a kiss on the top of her head and stepped back. “We can pick up the keys and take Kylie to the house while you finalize the paperwork.”

“That’s a great idea,” Xavier said. “I want you to start making a list of what we’re going to need, baby. We have some furniture in storage, but we are going to need more.”

“All my things are in storage, too,” Kylie said. “Between the four of us we may have everything we need.”

Lachlan gripped her shoulders, turned her around, and looked down into her eyes. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying, sugar?”

“I don’t know,” Kylie teased and smiled at him. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re thinking?”

“Are you going to move in with us, Kylie?”

“Yes.”

Lachlan picked her up until her feet left the floor and she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. “I love you, sweetheart. You’ve made me very happy.”

Kylie placed her lips on his and kissed him. It didn’t take long before he took over and devoured her mouth.

“Hey bro, let us have some of that sweet sugar, too.” Will pulled her away from Lach and cradled her in his big muscular arms and then he kissed her.

Kylie sighed with arousal and contentment as he pulled away, and then Xavier was there. He lowered her feet back to the floor, bent her over his arm and ravaged her mouth. By the time he released her lips, her body was quivering with desire, and if it wasn’t for the fact they had to get going, she would have asked them to make love with her.

“We’ll get back to this later, baby, but we don’t want to be late getting to the real estate agent’s. You can ride with me in my truck and then go to the ranch with Will and Lach.” Xavier slapped her ass as she hurried away to get her purse and decided she may just have to be bad to get more of the same.

* * * *

Will ushered Kylie through the front door to the ranch and watched as she did another exploration and began taking notes. Lachlan had headed upstairs to the bedrooms to take measurements and he wanted to go over the plumbing to make sure the pipes were sound. Kylie looked up at him as she finished making another note on her pad. “What is it you want to do?”

When he explained, she made a shooing motion with her hand. “You don’t have to hover. I’ll be fine here in the kitchen.”

“I don’t want to leave you alone, sweet thang.”

“I’m safe here, Will. There is no one else around and you and Lach are only a yell away. Go on and do what you have to. With the three of us working, we’ll get done a lot faster.”

“Okay.” Will kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll lock the front door, but if you hear any little sound, you holler right away, all right?”

“Okay.”

“Love you, honey.” Will hurried upstairs. He and Lachlan had brought their tape measures as well as a pen and paper and spent the next half hour measuring the bathrooms and checking the plumbing. The pipes and fixtures were sound and he was pleased by the size of the master bath. The owner had updated the bathrooms a couple of years ago, and they only needed a fresh coat of paint. The shower was big enough for all four of them and there was also a large, square spa bath with steps leading up to it, and the vanity was inset with two sinks. He couldn’t wait to get Kylie into that big tub.

Lachlan stepped into the bath just as Will finished inspecting the ceiling fan. “Where’s Kylie?”

“In the kitchen.”

“I was just down there.” Lachlan frowned and then hurried out with Will following behind.

“Kylie,” Will yelled, “where’d you get to, sugar?”

“Kylie, if you’re playing with us, you’d better stop now. You’re scaring me, sweet thang,” Lachlan shouted.

* * * *

Kylie studied the sketch she made of the kitchen and then glanced around at reality. The whole thing needed to be gutted. It looked like something out of a seventies sitcom. The bench top was cracked orange Formica and the stove was so ancient she wondered if it still worked. As she walked over and pulled the oven open, she heard a noise behind her. She was about to turn toward it, but she didn’t get the chance. A hand covered her mouth and something pierced the skin at the side of her neck and then her legs were giving out. Her vision blurred and it took great effort to turn her head and look up.

A big stranger stood over her and that was her last sight before she succumbed to the darkness.

* * * *

It had been so easy to sneak into the house through the back door. The lock had been child’s play, and he’d had it open in seconds. He’d searched the bottom story and the stupid bitch hadn’t even been aware of his presence. After making sure the two men with her weren’t close by—he’d heard their footsteps on the floor above—he snuck into the kitchen. Her back was toward him and she was just pulling open the oven door when he stuck her with the sedative. He covered her mouth in case she cried out, but she just stared at him with shock and since the sedative he injected into her was fast working and he’d probably given her more than the required dosage for her height and weight, her legs buckled beneath her and she slumped to the floor. She looked up at him through glazed eyes and then her eyes closed.

He bent down, hefted her into his arms, and then slung her over his shoulder and rushed toward the back door. Her head connected with the wooden door frame as he hurried through the door, but he didn’t slow down.

It took him nearly ten minutes to get to his car, which he’d parked on a gravel back road that didn’t see much use. He’d studied the surrounding area on the Internet when he’d first seen the ranch so he wouldn’t have to use the main road and draw attention to himself, and his homework had paid off. He pushed her into the backseat of the car and then got into the driver’s seat.

Just as he turned onto the main road, a black truck passed him by. The driver looked at him but he didn’t think the asshole had seen him. Besides why would anyone take note of a stranger just passing through?

He sighed with relief when he turned onto Highway 141 heading in a northeasterly direction, back toward Mountain Village and his motel room.

This was going to be so much fun.

* * * *

Xavier looked at the man driving the car toward Slick Rock. Something about him looked familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he’d seen him before. He took note of the license plate and filed it away.

He couldn’t wait to see Kylie in their new house again, even if it was only to see her making notes. She had entrenched herself in his heart and soul so fast and had finally conceded to move in with him and his brothers. The next step would be to ask her to marry them, but he was going to have to hold off on that for a while.

Just as he pulled to a stop in front of the house the door burst open, and Will and Lachlan ran toward him. “What’s going on?” he asked as he got out.

“Kylie’s missing,” Will said in a hoarse voice.

“Fuck. Call Luke.” He locked his knees so they wouldn’t buckle. “Get him to run a plate.” He rattled off the number when Will began to talk to the sheriff. Then Xavier turned to Lachlan. “Guns. Hurry.”

Lachlan ran into the house, and by the time Will was off the phone with the sheriff, Lachlan was jogging from the house with a black duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

Xavier’s stomach was roiling with fear and he felt sick to his stomach. Intuition kicked in and he got back into his truck. “Get in.”

Lachlan jumped into the backseat and Will rushed around to the front. “Luke will call as soon as he has anything on that plate. Whose is it?”

“I don’t know. I passed a guy going in the opposite direction when I was coming here,” Xavier answered and pushed the pedal to the metal.

“What did he look like?” Lach asked.

“He was big, like you, Will, with black hair, and I’d guess around six three and two hundred and thirty pounds, and he had a mustache.”

“You think he had Kylie?” Will asked.

Xavier nodded slowly. “I’d bet my truck on it. I only passed a few cars on my way here, and he was the only one I didn’t recognize at all.”

Will threw his hands in the air. “But how the hell did he find Kylie all the way out at the ranch?”

Lachlan chimed in from the backseat. “The same way he found out that Kylie was in Slick Rock. Pull over.” When Xavier hesitated, Lachlan’s voice became more frantic. “There’s a tracker on this truck, I know there is. Pull over.”

Xavier slammed on the brakes and came to a screeching halt. All three of them got out of the car and searched every inch of the truck.

“I got it.” Lachlan pried the bug from the wheel rim with his knife, placed the small device on the road and crushed it beneath the heel of his boot.

“Let’s move.”

Xavier sped through the town of Slick Rock, being careful of the people walking along the streets, and then picked up even more speed as he hit Highway 141. Just as he hit one hundred and twenty miles an hour, his cell phone rang.

Will hit the hands-free button and Sheriff Luke Sun-Walker’s voice filled the cab. “The car is a rental and was leased in Sheridan in the name of Parker Smythe. It turns out that the rape victim is Smythe’s stepson, Richard Harrow.”