“Do I need to give you a ticket?” Nate’s head turned, and his eyes narrowed. Cam stood beside him. “Damn it, Briggs, are you a deputy or not? You were just going to let them go at it in the middle of Main Street? Don’t you know how these things go around here? If you let this threesome get away with it, Max and Rye are going to start jumping Rachel in public just to prove they can. It’ll be a free-for-all.”
Cameron Briggs grinned. “Sorry, Sheriff. What can I say? I believe in the power of love between one woman and her chosen men. Besides, I thought if we gave Doc there time to think, he’d talk himself out of it.”
“No,” Caleb said. He loosened his hold and then leaned over, scooping her into his arms.
Holly smiled because she knew that “no” meant “yes” to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck. There was no way to mistake the warm satisfaction on Alexei’s face as he looked at them.
“Hey,” Nate said. “You can’t just say no to a ticket.”
“No.” Caleb proved he could.
“Go. Take her back to car. I’ll deal with sheriff.” Alexei winked at her. “Try to wait for me.”
“No.” Caleb had started walking toward her little car. He shouted the word over his back toward Alexei, but there was a smile on his face as he said it.
“Hurry!” Holly called out. Alexei’s big body got smaller as Caleb walked further away.
When they got to her car, he set her on her feet and held out his hand for the keys.
“It’s okay. I can drive.”
“No.”
She sighed. “Caleb, you can’t tell me no all night.”
He pulled her close. Now that he’d touched her, he seemed to want to be really close. His face rubbed against her hair. She reveled in his affection. She’d expected that Alexei might be deeply sensual, but Caleb’s obvious need for contact softened her heart. She brought her hands up to his waist.
“I won’t tell you no all night. But we’re going to have a talk about this dress. I can see your nipples. It makes me want to tear off what little material there is and get those breasts in my mouth. I will say no to this dress, Holly.”
His voice was thick and rich, like molasses, clouding her senses. Even the way he told her what to wear seemed sexy. “Caleb, I can’t let you dictate to me.”
“Really? Then you won’t care if I run around without a shirt on or if I choose to join the Naked Man March. I hear the women of the town are going to set up lawn chairs and cheer the biggest penis.”
“No.” She gave him back his favorite word. She really didn’t want him to do that. Once a year, the men of the Mountain and Valley Naturist Community marched through town on their way to the Wild Man Retreat that was supposed to bring them back to their masculine selves, apparently by showing off their junk. The sheriff had tried to arrest a few of them last year but rapidly discovered a distaste for dealing with that many penises. Nate Wright took that day off to go fishing.
“See, we can compromise.” He kissed her again, making her forget her argument.
Alexei jogged up behind them. “Let’s us to go. I got us out of ticket, but we need to take her home.”
Yes. It was time to go home. It was time to be with her men.
Vince took a slow sip of beer and tried to disappear into the background. He slumped down trying to disguise his height. He was a tall man. People tended to remember his height. In New York no one noticed his Italian dark looks. He blended. It was hard to do here. Everyone knew everyone else in this weird little town. And they seemed to have the strangest relationships. It was very difficult to figure out who was with whom.
And his target seemed to like to draw a fucking crowd. And to switch cars.
His first attempt had failed. It gnawed at him. The truck was perfect. Even if the yokels had figured out someone had cut the brake line, allowing the fluid to slowly drain, no one would ever think it was the sunny tourist who smiled but didn’t talk much. He was just another granola-loving hiker.
But his target was still walking and talking and apparently about to have three-way love. That was unexpected. He’d counted on a lover, but certainly not two. They had to separate at some time. And now the threesome seemed to be down to one car. Maybe he could try again.
A big guy with scars marring his face stood over the booth Vince occupied. He’d been tending bar when Vince had come in. There was a waitress walking around. She seemed like a little mouse of a woman, young and pretty, but nothing impressive. She hadn’t studied him the way this big guy did.
“Get you another beer?” the big guy asked.
If Vince had to guess, this guy had experience. There was something about the eyes and the way he held his own. Cop. The big dude had been a cop once. Vince put on his best “man of the people” smile.
“Sure. I’m on vacation after all.” He opened his face, allowing his eyes to go wide. “This is a great little town you have here. I’m staying in Pagosa Springs, but they told me there was some great hiking out this way. And the sand dunes are incredible.”
He’d picked up a bunch of pamphlets touting local attractions at the motel in Creede. He’d learned the lay of the land. Locals, he’d discovered, usually got bored talking to tourists. A couple of minutes of gabbing about how pretty everything was and their eyes glazed over, any suspicion giving way to the need to get on with their lives.
“Yes, they’re beautiful. And there are a lot of romantic places around here. I’m sure your wife probably loves it.”
Yep. He would rather have dealt with the waitress. The big guy was probing. It was time to start lying. “Girlfriend. She was a little tired today. She stayed back in the motel. I had to get out a bit.”
“Long drive from Pagosa. Guess you heard about how good the beer is. I’ll get you another.” The big guy turned, but not before giving him another long look.
Fucker. This was supposed to be a simple job. Now some fucking ex-cop had stared at him long enough that he could probably draw his face from memory. He thought about leaving before the guy could get back, but that would look even more suspicious. He was stuck.
And now the sheriff was here. Awesome. And he wasn’t some round-ass rural jerk who couldn’t get his head out of his anus. He looked lean and sharp. And he was talking to the big guy.
Damn it.
His cell phone vibrated, signaling he’d received a text. Yeah. That was what he needed. This job was rapidly devolving into a clusterfuck that wasn’t worth his money or time.
The target is still moving.
No fuck the target was still moving.
He was ready to leave. There would be another job. He typed back as he prepared to get the hell out of Bliss. He’d head back to New York where no one bothered to look at the people around them. He could fade back into blissful anonymity.
Sending back the down payment. Job not worth it.
The ping back was almost immediate.
500,000 more.
Someone really wanted the target dead. Damn it. He couldn’t turn it down. His fingers hovered over the keys.
Done. Second attempt tomorrow.
He nearly cringed as the big guy walked back with a beer in his hand. He didn’t like to drink on the job, and there was no question that he was on the job. It would be his single biggest payday to date. He couldn’t walk away. He just needed a few days to learn the target’s habits. He’d hoped for an easy job, but it was more complicated than he’d imagined. It didn’t help that the target had two people close all the time. He might have to take out all three of them. It would cause more scrutiny than he would like, but he could leave the country for a while.