His fingers gripped her hips, his hard shaft pounded inside her, leaving his mark as completely as he’d left his brand in her heart.
With a cry of his name, she broke. Splinters of shooting pleasure cut through her, and she rode them out, lost in the sensations. He growled her name and ground against her. The orgasm lasted forever. Finally coming down, she relaxed against him. He held her tight.
Quinn walked them back to the open truck door and set her gently on the seat.
Her heart clutched. Not a word had passed between them. Without looking at him, she grabbed her shirt off the steering wheel and scooted over to the passenger side.
What now?
…
Juliet frowned at Sophie sitting across the scarred wooden table in their booth. The scents of grease and burned toast coated the air. “I don’t care how bad your cravings are. I shouldn’t be out in public today.”
Sophie rubbed her baby bump. “Come on. Leila is at Loni’s, and I needed a greasy meal from the Dirt Spoon. Nobody will recognize us here.”
Juliet shook her head. “I appreciate you letting me stay the night, but we should’ve stayed at your house for breakfast.”
“The guys had to fix fences after the storm last night. It was easy to get away so we could talk.” Sophie studied her. “You were rather disheveled when Quinn dropped you off last night.”
Disheveled and heartbroken. The sheriff hadn’t said a word after handing over her clothing and dropping her off. Well, nothing but an order to stay at Jake and Sophie’s until he fetched her the next day. “I don’t want to talk about it,” Juliet muttered.
Sympathy curled Sophie’s lip. “I understand. I’m married to a Lodge, remember?”
“Yes, I know. But Quinn and I aren’t married. Heck, we’re not even talking.” Sure, he’d mounted her like she was a prize mare the previous night, but without talking, there was no intimacy. “I could just shoot him.”
“Been there, seriously considered doing that.” Sophie took a deep drink of an herbal tea before grimacing. “Shooting Jake, I mean. I never wanted to shoot Quinn. Until now.” Loyalty lifted her lips in a sweet smile.
“I’ve probably broken enough laws lately,” Juliet said wryly. “I’ll be right back.” She headed to the restroom, filing through the room filled with several people she’d seen at the bar the previous night.
She reached the door, and the hair on the back of her neck prickled. Slowly turning around, she already knew who she’d see.
“Morning, JJ,” Freddy said.
She took a breath to scream and halted as he drew a gun. A shiny, almost too big for his hand, silver gun. It wavered.
“You have a choice.” Freddy glanced toward the busy restaurant. “Either come nicely with me, or I’ll take both you and your pretty friend. Please, JJ. I just wanna talk to you.”
“Go where?” She edged toward the bathroom. If she could get inside, maybe there was a lock.
“My partner would like to discuss the missing millions with you.” Freddy grabbed her biceps. “Please. It’ll just take a minute.” Desperation creased his forehead.
“There’s no money.”
“Nobody is stupid enough to give away that kind of money.” He swung her around and dug the gun into her ribs. “If you want, you could make a lot of money with us. You’ll need to relocate and start over, but hey, you’re good at pretending to be someone you’re not.” Kicking a back door open, he pulled her into the chilly morning air.
“Fine. I’ll go with you.” She could scream and struggle, but there was a good chance the gun would go off. Even if the idiot didn’t shoot her, he might shoot somebody else. It’d be a lot easier to jump out of a moving vehicle when he drove past the police station.
“Thank you. I promise, you’ll be happy you did.” He dragged her around the corner to the alley. “I can’t believe how clean the alleys are in this stupid town. Who has clean alleys?”
“I think it’s a county ordinance.” She stumbled over a puddle, splashing mud on her jeans. “You know the sheriff is going to skin you alive for this, right?” Quinn might not like her any longer, but a woman kidnapped in his county would truly anger him.
“Jesus, JJ. The guy fucks you, and you think he’s invincible?” Freddy’s hold tightened. “He’s a stupid hick—one who’ll end up dead if he comes after you.”
“Who’s your partner, Freddy?” She eyed the end of the alley. Maybe she could trip him and make a break for it.
“Oh, you’ll meet him. He’s got some real good ideas for making money.”
A black SUV slid into the alley, and a man jumped out. Much bigger than Freddy, the guy wore guns in a shoulder holster, leg holster, and at his waist. He reached them in two strides. Dead blue eyes stared into hers. “Where’s my money?”
The moment changed from an irritating one with Freddy to a deadly one she wasn’t likely to escape. Her mouth went dry.
A truck sped by the other end of the alley.
The guy tugged something from his pocket. He grabbed her hands and zip-tied them, pulling too tight. She bit her lip to keep from giving him the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt her.
Getting in the car would be disastrous. She jerked away and opened her mouth to scream. He manacled her around the waist and yanked her into his body, slamming a hand over her mouth. She struggled, kicking and twisting, but he hauled her to the car and tossed her in the back, where she smashed into another man. The first jumped in beside her. “You drive, Fred.”
“No problem, Luis.” Freddy lifted himself into the front seat and put the truck in drive.
Trapped. Her hands bound, she sat between two large men. Screaming seemed like a good idea. She sucked in air—
“If you scream, I’ll have to knock you out,” Luis said calmly.
She paused. If he rendered her unconscious, she wouldn’t be able to get away. She glanced at the man on her right. Several scars lined his face, and he kept his gaze on the buildings outside. Guns and knives were tucked into his pants and leather vest. A man in the front passenger seat was similarly armed and also keeping watch of the world outside.
She swallowed. “You guys going to war, or what?”
Luis chuckled. “No. We have a shipment coming in and like to be prepared.”
Freddy drove through the archway to town and turned the vehicle toward the mountains. The safety of Mineral Lake disappeared behind them.
Chapter Nineteen
Juliet twisted her wrists. The damn zip-tie dug into her skin, holding tight. Luis had pushed her into the cabin and chair thirty minutes ago, and her arms had gone numb. So much for her big escape plan.
A chill from her wooden chair swept up her spine, and she eyed the small area. The place was more of a shack than a cabin. A rough fireplace set into one wall, a dingy kitchen the opposite. In the middle sat a round table with four rickety chairs. One wall held doors to what looked like a small bedroom and bathroom. The final wall showcased a medium-sized window that probably had a decent view of the mountains behind the soiled blue blanket covering the panes. Her laptop perched on the table, humming softly.
Luis nodded to Freddy. “Go scout the south perimeter while I chat with your sister.”
Dread settled in Juliet’s gut.
Freddy stilled and then eyed Juliet. With a sympathetic grimace, he nodded and dodged outside, shutting the door.
Luis grabbed a large envelope off the table and twirled it with long fingers. End over end. Again, end over end, his gaze on her, thoughtful and somehow more menacing than if he were angry. “Where’s my money?”
“The money I found in my trunk is long gone.” She met his dark scrutiny without flinching.
He drew a picture from the envelope to toss in front of her. The photo depicted Quinn standing on the steps of the sheriff’s station, his eyes narrowed, his body alert.