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  Roped & Rescued

  By

  Mary Winter

  Chapter One

  Hank held out his hand. “It’s good to have you on board, Caid. Logan spoke very highly of you. I understand you were both on the same Para-Rescue team.”

  “We were, sir.” Even now Caid stood at attention, focusing on the man who would now be his boss. The mission that others may live burned through his veins, and though the circumstances sucked he was happy to be back on mission once more. He shook Hank’s hand, the strong grip indicative of a man of honor. Though Logan had brought Caid in to help with Erica’s situation, he hadn’t signed on with the Brotherhood Protectors until recently.

  “Remember, we’re a different kind of unit,” Hank said. “The security of our clients is our top priority, but that doesn’t mean being without emotion. Do you understand?”

  Caid looked into Hank’s eyes that knew too much, had probably seen too much, and nodded. What he did, or didn’t do, with Jenny was none of Hank’s business, and he’d be damned if he let it interfere with the mission. The cattle mutilations seemed like the work of some crazed psycho, someone who needed to be put down like a rabid dog—hard. “Yes, sir.” He nodded once.

  “Very good. Then your paperwork is in order and it’s up to you to explain to Jenny why you’re showing up on her property, since Logan told me she refused help. You got your hands full there.” He winked and turned back to his laptop. “Dismissed.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” His hand automatically raised to salute. No doubt Hank outranked him, not just in civilian life, but in military as well. He turned on his heel and left.

  Logan met him at the cafe not far from the Brotherhood Protector’s office. He sat down at the table, his back against the wall, and glanced around the mostly empty restaurant. A waitress smiled at both of them, her hair so red it had to have come out of a bottle. She set two glasses of water down in front of them, two mugs, and a pot of coffee. “Hey, Logan,” she said. “Jenny told me you might be in this afternoon.” She turned her attention to Caid. “You must be a friend of his.” Her gaze surveyed him like he suspected a stock buyer might look at a choice steer.

  Caid smiled. “I’ll be in town for a while. I’m Caid.”

  “Oooh,” her mouth formed a perfect circle. “Jenny told me a lot about you.” She backed up and her demeanor instantly changed. “Shelby. I’m Jenny’s best friend and if you hurt her in any way I’ll brand that tight ass of yours and whip you all the way to the state line.” She chuckled light-heartedly and focused on Logan. “Your usual, hon?”

  “Thanks, Shelby. And don’t worry. I’ll keep Caid in line. Bring him the usual as well.” Logan poured himself a cup of coffee and one for Caid.

  “No problem.” She tucked her pencil back into the black apron she wore over jeans and a rust-colored shirt, her boot heels tapping on the floor as she went behind the counter. Caid heard her yelling something to the cook and a moment later the sound of food hitting the hot griddle filled the air.

  Logan chuckled when he looked at him. “Don’t let her get to you. Shelby and my sister have been best friends since elementary school, and she knows I’ll kick your ass even harder than she would if you hurt my sister.”

  Caid set down his water glass, trying not to choke. “Hey, I want to find out who is mutilating the cattle, that’s all.”

  Logan snorted. “And I’m going to trade in my work to become a circus clown.” He shrugged. “I know you’ll treat my sister right. I wouldn’t let you anywhere near her, or called you in to help with Erika’s situation if you weren’t a good man. I think you need to convince her of that, though.”

  Caid nodded. “She might take a lot of convincing.” Memories of stretching her out beneath him, licking and kissing every inch of exposed flesh until she writhed and begged for him to fuck her filled his mind. He tamped down the need—and the memory. The last thing he wanted to explain to her brother was that his sister was hotter than a firework and just as explosive to his libido.

  “She always was stubborn. So here’s what I know.” Logan detailed the first cattle mutilation, a young steer with strange markings the sheriff couldn’t decipher carved into his side. One of the deputies thought it might be Satan worshipers, but while the entire town didn’t go to the local church on Sunday, they surely didn’t have anyone like that in the area. Besides, that sounded so old school, so much like something out of the fifties that it had to be a joke. The next cow, a young heifer with her head cut off, was left close enough to Jenny’s house to be seen and to scare her. That’s when she’d gone to Hank and asked to have an agent sent in to help. Lucky for him, he’d been staying at Logan’s and had overheard the conversation.

  Caid set down his coffee mug just as Shelby returned and put plates down in front of the men. Stacks of pancakes, bacon, with two over easy eggs made his mouth water. She added a small jug of syrup and a bowl full of little butter tubs. “You guys need anything else?”

  “I think we’re good,” Logan replied. “Thanks. I’ll let you know if we need anything.”

  “You boys are always my easiest customers,” she said. “A big plate of food and coffee and you’re set.” She fixed Caid with a stare. “Jenny’s going to be in the south pasture this morning if you’re looking for her.” With a wink, she left.

  “Well good. I know where I’m heading next.” As if going to Jenny’s house hadn’t been in the cards all along.

  ~* * *~

  Jenny knelt by the young heifer, her heart in her throat. The animal lay on its side, limbs stiff in death. Though no blood remained on the site, and the wounds didn’t look bloody, as if someone had done surgery, then had cleaned it up and lain the animal on its side to mimic a natural pose, someone had cut into it. The animal’s anus and external genitalia had been removed. A quick inspection showed internal organs missing as well. A grotesque grin had been cut into its mouth, and flesh had been removed from the body to spell out the words “you’re next”. Her stomach heaved. She kept it together, covering the animal with a tarp. When she turned around, a man stood behind her.

  Jenny stifled the shriek, hating herself for being easily startled. For as soon as she looked around, she recognized the tall, lean form of Caid “Domino” Janda, her brother’s friend and member of his ParaRescue team. “You startled me.” She pressed a hand to her throat, her pulse quick. Taking several deep breaths, she glanced from him to the bright blue tarp. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Shelby told me you’d be in the north pasture.” He frowned at the tarp. “What happened?” Before she could stop him, he strode with that cat-like grace she admired to the tarp, knelt and flipped back the plastic. His lips twisted into a grimace, and he quickly put the tarp back. Caid had a sensitive stomach? She wouldn’t think so, not with the things she knew they’d parachuted into out on the battle field. “That’s nasty. You’ve had a few of these, haven’t you?”

  Shit. She’d kick her brother in his bad knee if she found out he’d squealed on her. “I have.” She kept quiet about the threat. If he hadn’t seen it, all the better. Last thing she needed was an over-protective man loaded with testosterone shadowing her every
moment. Never mind that his nearness made her nipples tighten, and she longed to kiss him again to see if he was as talented as she remembered. “I was just about to go back to the house and get the tractor. Then call the rendering truck.”

  “You’re not going to involve the authorities?” Caid scowled, and any thought Jenny had of getting out of this easily fell. Damn, he looked exactly like her brother with his “I know what’s best for you” frown. “We have trespassing. Vandalism. Loss of use. They all might be misdemeanor charges, but that threat isn’t.” He pulled back the tarp, and though she knew what lay beneath it, Jenny gasped just the same. “That isn’t a nice hello, Jenny. And I won’t let anything happen to you.” He flipped the tarp back over the heifer, then strode toward her, pausing inches from her.

  His nearness overwhelmed her. From the sharp jut of his cheekbones, to his short almost sun-kissed brown hair and those lips, those kissable lips that she knew how they tasted and how they felt against her skin…she held her breath. If she breathed deeply, her breasts might brush against his chest, her thighs against his. She steeled her resolve. “I’m not your client, Caid. I’m not someone you can boss around.”

  A slow, way too sexy grin, spread across his face. “Oh, but Jenny darlin’, as of this morning that’s exactly what I am. Logan contacted the Brotherhood Protectors to hire me to take care of this.” He waved his hand to indicate the downed cow. “You’re my client, and I am not to leave your side until this is taken care of.”

  She cursed, low and pithy, and vowed punch her brother—or something—when she saw him again. “I don’t need your help, Caid. And if this is about what happened when you were here on leave, I’m not interested in that either.”

  His low, husky chuckle caressed her nerve endings.

  She shuddered.

  “If that’s the way you want to play it, sweetheart. Some things are best left to simmer. But be careful. Don’t let them boil over.” He caressed her cheek, his thumb tugging gently at her lower lip.

  Jenny turned her head, hating the soft moan that passed her lips as she leaned into his touch. Just as soon as it was there, it was gone, and his knowing eyes told her that he knew exactly the kind of effect he had on her.

  “Leave the cow here. Go back to your place. Act like this didn’t happen. I need to get some gear from my truck, then I’ll come back out here. Take some pictures. Document the crime scene. Then you can call someone to haul it away. If you don’t want to involve the authorities, I’ll honor that request.” The unspoken for now hung between them.

  “Then what?” she asked.

  “We go back to your place, sit down, and you tell me everything you know, because I’m sure there were some things you didn’t tell your brother.”

  Damn, he knew her way too well.

  Chapter Two

  She chafed every moment she stayed in the house, following his instructions to the letter. If she hadn’t, he might have contemplated spanking her sassy ass. She’d cut her hair short, and the almost boyish cut to the brown strands suited her. A no-nonsense hairstyle for a no-nonsense rancher. A plaid work shirt draped across her breasts, the sleeves rolled up in difference to the warm day. Her jeans were worn in all the right places, and her boots were scuffed. Certainly, she dressed to work—not impress. He’d been impressed anyway.

  By the time he took pictures, and documented the crime scene including what he thought were tracks leading off toward the western edge of her property, he had a good idea whoever did this wasn’t an amateur. Her western neighbor up until a few months ago had been her best friend Shelby, then she sold the acres to a group talking about putting in a retreat center. Logan said they’d already spoken to Jenny, mentioned keeping a fairly wooded perimeter between their properties, and that they would ensure any guests didn’t wander. Apparently they were building a large bunk-style house for guests and making trails through the property. A pond complete with a waterfall had been created in the center. Pretty, Logan had said, and while Caid didn’t want to jump to conclusions, he had no idea what kind of hokey new age spiritualism they were doing. Then again, people like that tended to be vegan and things like mutilating cattle would be so far beyond the pale for them that it was hard to see them as suspects.

  He set up wireless cameras in that pasture, and along gates to her other pastures, a daunting task that took half the day. When he sat in his truck with his tablet and watched all nine cameras at once, he finally relaxed. Unless someone cut fence, and there hadn’t been any signs of that so far, he’d see them coming or going.

  When he came back to the house, he sat down with Jenny, going over her daily schedule. He might need to bring in someone to watch the cameras, then again, he bet Hank had someone for a job like that. They also discussed her neighbors, the previous mutilations, and in general, felt her out to see if she had any idea what might be causing it. An ex-boyfriend was mentioned, nothing serious and it seemed they parted on good terms. Still, he made a note of the name and made a mental note to run it through some databases this evening just to be on the safe side.

  The problem with cattle mutilations from what he could tell with a web search is that they usually peaked around areas where people believed to have seen UFOs or other supernatural creatures like Bigfoot or the Capybara were sighted. Nothing like that had happened around here. Occasional northern lights, sure, but nothing even remotely approaching a UFO sighting. He could check with the UFO group out of Cheyenne; they were pretty active from what he could tell online. Still, it seemed like such a long shot and one that might make him the laughing stock of the Brotherhood Protectors. Guys like him didn’t go chasing after UFOs. Usually they were the UFO.

  Night had fallen while they’d been talking and he’d been researching. He didn’t realize it until Jenny came downstairs wearing a long nightshirt, her legs blissfully bare, that she’d changed for bed. His groin ached thinking about lifting the hem of her shirt, seeing what she wore underneath, and exploring that territory with his lips and fingers. Her breasts swayed against the thin fabric, and though the shirt had a picture of an angry horse on it with the phrase “Cranky Mare”, it could be the most expensive negligee for as much as it aroused him. He focused on his work, on remaining professional.

  “I put fresh sheets on the bed in the spare bedroom. I’m going to go to bed. Morning comes really early. You’re welcome to stay up as long as you want.” She nodded, almost perfunctory, as if she, too, were trying to ignore the tension between them. “Good night, Caid.”

  He rose to his feet, setting the tablet on the couch next to where he sat and crossed the space between them. “Thanks. You didn’t have to go to all the trouble.”

  “No trouble.” She swallowed hard.

  Did she feel it, the incessant pull between them of their shared past and the future that wanted to recreate it? He paused at the foot of the steps. She’d stopped a couple steps above, placing her face even with his. Reaching for her, he cupped the back of her head, his finger tracing the shell of her ear, letting the soft strands of her hair play over his hand and pulled her close. “I’m a man used to sleeping on the ground. You didn’t have to go to the trouble.” He brushed his lips across hers, unable to stop or even try to rationalize things. His kiss lingered, just the touch of lips against lips, and when he pulled back they both were breathing heavily. “I hope you’ll sleep well knowing that I’m watching over things. Hank has a man who will keep an eye on the cameras overnight. Whoever is doing this, we’ll catch them.”

  And then what? He’d go onto another mission. He’d signed on to Hank’s agency, which meant he’d do just that, though it didn’t have to be out of state. The very idea of leaving Jenny, even for a few days, bothered him. He’d waited this long to come back to her. Now that he was here…

  “If they see something, they’ll text me,” he added, hoping to reassure her.

  “I want to go with you,” she said. “They’re my cattle. It’s my financial future they’re messing with every time th
ey’ve killed one. I’ve talked to my insurance guys. Adding it up, it’s something I can claim, but I’ll never be made financially whole from this.”

  “Don’t say that.” He knew nothing about the finances of cattle. The closest he’d come was to being his high school rodeo’s year end roping champion for tie down roping. Good enough to win in the small leagues, not good enough to go on to the bigger ones, which was how he ended up in AFSOC as a jumper. “We’ll find the bastard who is doing this and you’ll be made whole. I promise you.” He cupped her chin again, the calloused pad of his thumb brushing against the plump, lower lip he’d just kissed.

  “You’ve been known to make promises you can’t keep,” Jenny said. She grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away. “Don’t let this be another one.”

  ~* * *~

  Jenny lay in bed, listening for any sound down the hall. Knowing Caid slept nude, most likely, and would welcome her to his bed only fired up the libido she’d tried to keep tamped down since his arrival. His words stung. Damn, he had no idea just how much or how strongly they did. He’d promised to come back for her. He’d promised…a lot of things. That her brother probably chewed his ass and kept him away didn’t matter. If he’d loved her…

  Except, she had the feeling he did, and while he’d been making promises, she’d been the one who’d told him that she didn’t want to do the “long distance thing” and worried she’d be just one of many. Not that Caid was like that at all, still old fears and worries die hard.

  She thought she heard a phone vibrate and reached for her cell. No, wasn’t hers. A moment later the sound of Caid getting out of bed, possibly putting on some pants—she did not need the mental image of dark blue denim sliding over his muscled calves and thighs to cover his tight ass—followed by the sound of him going down stairs and muted talking.

  Someone was in her pasture.

  Hank has a man who will watch the cameras overnight. He’ll text me.