The Millionaire Cowboy's Secret

Chapter 11



Matt eyed Skylar sitting so comfortably on one of his best mares, cursing himself for not considering how badly he’d have to battle temptation around her.

A kiss hadn’t been enough. And sex, powerful, raw and intimate, had done nothing more than stoke the embers of desire to a roaring flame.

He wanted her again. With a fierceness that rivaled his desire for revenge. He’d thought nothing would ever equal the strength of that.

This craving both worried and enchanted him. Skylar didn’t seem to realize how beautiful and sexy she was with her riot of red hair and emerald-green eyes. Matt, however, could hardly think of anything else.

Focus. Damn, this was the worst time for him to be infatuated with a woman, the absolute worst. No matter what, he needed to hold it all together and keep his sights trained on his goal. No way was he messing it up when he was so close.

The sun was warm and the slight breeze kept it from feeling too hot. Though he tried to relax, he couldn’t. His senses had gone into a sort of hyperaware overdrive and his chest ached with the effort to appear nonchalant.

“Where are we going?” Riding up alongside him, Skylar handled her horse with the natural seat of a born horsewoman.

“I told you, the grand tour. I’m going to take you to see everything.” He managed to smile at her, hoping he at least appeared more relaxed than he felt.

“Everything?” She smiled back, starting a slow burn in his groin. He’d just about decided to try to relax and enjoy the day when she cocked her head and gave him a quizzical look.

“When you say everything, do you mean you’re you going to show me where the ammo is stored?”

As far as lust-killers went, this one was a doozy.

He supposed he should be grateful. Instead, he could barely contain his irritation. “Why would I want to do that?”

She lifted her chin in that obstinate little gesture he was coming to know. “Why not? I stuck my neck out for you. I lied to my superior. I think I at least deserve to see it.”

Reining his horse to a halt, he eyed her. “Why? Why would you even want to?”

If he expected her to fumble for a response, he was wrong. “To prove to myself it’s really there. All this time, with the ATF claiming to have proof that you’ve amassed a stockpile, I’ve been searching for it. Now you’ve leveled with me and we’re on equal footing. I think I have a right to see it.”

Inhaling deeply, he hoped his grimness wasn’t reflected in his expression. “That doesn’t even make sense. Tell me the rest. Again, why do you want to see my ammo?”

Gazes deadlocked, neither would look away. A thousand possibilities spun in his mind—from her finally being able to call in the ATF with some trumped-up charges to her actually working for Diego Rodriguez. Which was ridiculous. She’d lost her family, just like him. With something like that in common, he knew she’d never betray him.

He trusted her—up to a point. Just not enough, not yet.

“I just do,” she responded stubbornly. Her answer didn’t make him feel any better.

He glanced at his watch. “You know what? I suddenly remembered an appointment. The local Cattle Ranchers Association is meeting in town in half an hour. I was going to skip it, but now I think I’d better go. We’ll have to head back in. I guess I can give you the ranch tour some other time.”

His patently sincere tone didn’t fool her. He didn’t care.

“You can go with me if you’d like. Come on.” Turning his horse toward home, he waited for her to catch up. But when he glanced back over his shoulder, he saw she hadn’t moved.

So he rode back to her, cursing under his breath. “What are you doing?”

Her eyes blazed emerald fire. “Refusing to play stupid games. What are you doing?”

She had him there. Dragging his hand across his chin, he winced. “There’s no need for you to see the ammo.”

“Really? I’m beginning to wonder if there even is any ammo.”

Whatever. He wasn’t rising to the bait. “I’ve told you everything I can. And while I do appreciate you helping me out by giving a bit of incorrect information to your agency, there’s no reason for you to see anything at all. Understand?”

“No. Actually, I don’t.”

Frustrated, he caught himself staring at her mouth. Hell, he’d much rather kiss her than waste time with this pointless arguing. But kissing her would likely lead to something hot and unstoppable in no time—and that was a risk in and of itself.

“You really don’t see, do you?” Shifting in her saddle, she appeared every bit as aggravated as he was. “I’ve dedicated my life to my job. So far, I have never failed to make the arrest. This case—your case—was supposed to be an easy one. Assuming it went well. Which, so far, it has not.”

He waited, aware there had to be more.

After taking a deep breath, she continued, “While I did what I could to help you, I have to believe that this is still going to end up being the best bust of my career. Oh, not of you—” she waved away whatever comment he was about to make “—but of key players in the Mexican drug cartel. Maybe this time we can get some charges to stick before they’re extradited back to Mexico.”

Now it took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to comment. It was obvious Skylar had no idea how these criminals worked. If captured, Diego Rodriguez would never make it to trial. He’d be shot and killed within the first forty-eight hours, if that long.

Rather than some cartel employee who was killing for hire, Matt wanted to be the one to kill him. Simple as that.

“Come on, Skylar.” He gestured. “I wasn’t joking about the meeting. Let’s go.”

“What about our picnic lunch?” she asked.

“We can eat it in the truck on the way.”

Reluctant—and not bothering to hide it—she finally turned her horse around and rode with him back to the ranch.

Once they’d removed the saddles and brushed down the horses, Matt eyed her once again. Careful to keep his distance—he didn’t want to take a chance on even brushing up against her and inflaming his already semi-aroused body—he checked his watch once more.

“I’m going to head to the house and clean up. If you want to go to town with me, I’ll meet you out front in fifteen minutes.”

“No thanks.” Though her tone sounded serene, the smile she gave him hinted she was up to no good. “I think I’ll just grab my own lunch and hang out here.”

“Suit yourself.” Confident she couldn’t get into any trouble, he left her, feeling both relieved and disappointed all at once.

* * *

Hating that she couldn’t articulate why she wanted to see the ammo, Skylar watched Matt go. It didn’t help that he was right, in part. To him, it made no difference whatsoever if she viewed his stockpile. Her cover was blown and her usefulness limited.

But not to her. If she truly knew where his stash was kept, she’d have that much to hold in reserve if and when everything else went south. Which, she admitted, it so easily could. One phone call and she could bring the well-trained team of agents down here like rain.

But not if she didn’t have a single shred of proof the stockpile truly existed.

Well aware her limited window of opportunity was growing ever shorter, she knew she’d have to take advantage of every chance that came her way.

Therefore, she’d begged off attending the cattle-ranchers meeting with Matt. It had sounded boring anyway.

After all, having a few hours to herself would give her the perfect opportunity to do a little more snooping. Though she couldn’t imagine where he’d hide such a huge amount of bullets, this time she planned to search the ranch office, which was housed in a building near where the big barn used to stand. Luckily the fire hadn’t spread to it.

Returning to her trailer, which had a good view of the drive, she stood vigil, watching until she saw Matt’s red Ford F250 pull away. Then, feeling absurdly nervous, she took a stroll down to the old barn, ostensibly to pet the horses, in case anyone asked.

But for late in the afternoon, the stable yard was curiously deserted. She went directly to the barn to make her rounds admiring the beautiful horses before exiting and strolling toward the ranch office.

This door, too, was kept unlocked; lucky for her, because there was no way in hell she could easily explain picking the lock.

The late-afternoon sunlight had begun to wane, fading into the rosy dusk of early evening. A perfect time when overhead lights would not be necessary, though she had a handy flashlight app on her phone that she could use if the lighting inside the ranch office was too dim.

She still didn’t see another soul.

Odd. Quietly she walked up the wooden steps to the small porch. Grasping the knob, she pulled open the door and slipped inside.

Whew. The hard part over, she stood still until her breathing quieted. It was then that she realized she wasn’t alone. Grunts and groans, endearments whispered in Spanish, the instantly recognizable sounds of two bodies intertwined, the distinctive and unmistakable sounds of lovemaking.

Horrified, Skylar froze. As her eyes adjusted to the dark room, she saw José and a blonde woman, naked on the office couch. Neither had noticed her arrival.

Crap. What the hell should she do now? Her best option would be to beat a graceful exit, especially since once he got past his embarrassment, José would undoubtedly demand to know what she was doing snooping around the ranch office.

Luckily, the two of them were so involved with each other that they still didn’t know she was there.

As their caresses grew more intense, the woman raised her head. Skylar recognized her from photos she had in her file on Matt. The woman—Chantal something—was a model and Matt’s former girlfriend. From all the news stories she’d seen on TV and in the magazines, the woman was extremely high maintenance. She needed a man with a lot of money, like Matt. How a man like José could afford her, Skylar didn’t know.

Great. Just great. Skylar hastily looked away, praying she could make a quick exit. Her only option would be to go back out the way she’d come.

Heart in her throat, she began backing away. When she could reach the doorknob, she made a hasty exit. Once outside, she ducked around a corner and waited to see if there was any pursuit.

So far so good. Nothing happened.

Okay, then. Hurrying back toward her camper, Skylar tried to think. She hadn’t even known about the ruins of the old house or the fact that there was a cellar. On the off chance that the ammo really was there, maybe she should check it out first. Once she found out where it was, that is.

She’d go grab her dog and check the place out. With Talia in tow, she headed on foot across the first pasture, breathing deeply of the clear country air, when her cell phone rang. Her entire body tightened when she realized it was her boss, David.

“Thanks for the information,” he said, sounding pleased. “I’ve passed it on to my superiors.”

Skylar made a noncommittal sound. She knew there had to be another reason behind the call. David wasn’t in the habit of phoning just to praise her.

“We have a bit of new information about José Nivas,” he said. “A deposit of twenty-five thousand dollars was posted in his savings account a few days ago. Any idea where he might have come by that amount of money?”

Though she had no idea what kind of salary Matt paid his friend, she knew it wouldn’t be anywhere near that kind of money. “No,” she answered. “No, I don’t.”

“We think he might be running a little business on the side, selling off some of Landeta’s ammo. I want you to keep your eyes out for anything incriminating. We just might come away with two arrests instead of one.”

Stunned, she agreed to do exactly that and pressed the button to end the call. Only then did she realize she’d forgotten to mention stumbling in on José having sex with Matt’s former supermodel, high-maintenance girlfriend. If that wasn’t a motive for needing money, she didn’t know what was.

She had to tell Matt. Or did she? José was his closest friend—hell, the two men were like brothers. Worst-case scenario, Matt would refuse to believe her, and her attempt to keep him informed would result in yet another wedge being driven between them.

“I wonder if he keeps an inventory on his stockpile,” she mused out loud, causing Talia to wag her plumed tail.

Damn. Really, she needed to find a way to let Matt know. He’d grown so used to watching for enemies without that he hadn’t once considered looking within.

She found the old house—correction, old ruins—easily enough. The site gave off an aura of sadness and neglect. Sighing, she turned in a slow circle, trying to see the place as it once had been. Hard to believe that this pile of rubble had ever been a home where children played in the yard.

Most of the house was gone. Only the chimney still stood. Walking around carefully, she found a concrete triangle still standing, into which had been set a rotted wooden door. This had to be the entrance to the cellar.

Yanking the door open as carefully as she could, considering it must have weighed close to twenty pounds, she brushed away spiderwebs and peered down into the dank darkness.

Should she go down there? Was it safe?

She only debated a few seconds. After all, she was here on assignment. She had to learn if Matt had really stored the ammunition here. She didn’t have time for fear.

Descending the steps—which blessedly were concrete—was an exercise in control. She’d worked hard over the years to contain her terror of small, enclosed spaces. Unfortunately, she would have felt a lot better if someone were here with her, just in case she got stuck. Since she hadn’t even been able to tell anyone where she was going, she’d have to rely on Talia to fetch help if needed.

Hopefully, that wouldn’t be necessary.

“Talia, sit.” Once her pet had obeyed, she gave the palm-forward hand signal for stay. “Wait,” she said.

Then, inhaling deeply, she turned to go down into the dark and empty cellar.

While she hadn’t brought one of the huge flashlights—too conspicuous—she had a penlight she’d clipped to her purse. Its steady pinprick of light was welcome as she went down into the darkness.

After each step, she paused, carefully counting, and shone her little light around her. When she’d finally reached the bottom, stepping cautiously, she illuminated the entire small concrete room.

Except for stacks of rotted lumber and piles of old rocks, it was completely empty.

She nearly laughed out loud. Of course it was. Had she really thought Matt and José would direct everyone to the ammo’s true hiding place?

Breathing deeply, she turned to begin her ascent.

And heard the thud of the door closing above her.

Heart pounding, she told herself not to panic. It might have been the wind. After all, no one else was out here and Talia hadn’t barked.

Nevertheless, she hustled up the steps in the pitch-black darkness, her small beam of light leading the way.

When she reached the heavy wooden door, she pushed, using her shoulders and every bit of strength she could muster.

The door didn’t budge.

Don’t panic, don’t panic, she chanted over and over to herself. “Talia,” she called, knowing her dog wouldn’t have broken the stay. She gave the only command she could. “Come. Talia, come.”

A happy bark from the other side of the thick wood told her Talia had obeyed.

Now came the tricky part.

“Go find help,” Skylar said in desperation. Then, realizing her pet would have no idea what that mean, she reconsidered. “Talia, bring ball. Go bring ball.”

The border collie barked once, then, hopefully, took off. Her ball was inside the camper, so Skylar assumed she would sit outside the trailer and bark until someone came along.

Then Skylar had to pray whoever saw Talia would realize something was wrong and come looking for her.

Meanwhile, she was trapped in this dark and exceedingly confined space. With spiders and who knew what else.

She shuddered, then sternly ordered herself not to think about that.

Sitting down on the bottom step, she turned off her penlight to save the batteries, closed her eyes and began doing the deep-breathing exercises she’d learned in a yoga class. Hopefully, someone would come to let her out. The sooner, the better.

Each time terror threatened to overwhelm her, she somehow managed to talk herself out of it. When she began feeling as though she were suffocating, she tried to find calm.

But the dark! The idea that no one might ever find her, that there were spiders and rats and other things that came out at night...

She felt herself losing it. Launching her body at the door, she tried to claw her way out, cursing and screaming and crying.

Of course, she couldn’t.

Heart pounding so hard it felt as if it would leap from her chest, she gasped for air. Would that run out, too?

Hyperventilating, she tried again to attack the door, but as she pushed to her feet, everything went blurry. She fell, barely conscious as her head slammed into the concrete step.

* * *

The Cattle Ranchers Association meeting took longer than expected. Driving back to the ranch, Matt found himself consumed with thoughts of Skylar. As he entertained himself with carnal fantasies, his stomach rumbled. Reaching into the picnic hamper, he discovered chicken along with carefully packed containers full of potato salad, deviled eggs and biscuits.

Too bad he and Skylar hadn’t taken the time to have their picnic. They could have feasted on each other for dessert. His entire body went warm at the thought.

When he pulled back into the driveway, Skylar’s dog came barreling out to greet him.

“Hey, Talia.” He reached down to pet her, but the border collie seemed agitated. Matt felt the first prickling of alarm.

Pushing it aside, he grabbed the meal and headed toward her camper. Talia ran circles around him, barking, barking, barking.

“Where’s Skylar?” he asked, his unease growing. When a quick inspection revealed she wasn’t in the trailer, Talia barked again, running off toward the field and then returning, giving him a bark to make it clear she wanted him to follow her.

Placing the remains of his lunch on the camper table, he climbed back outside. “Show me, girl,” he urged.

This time, when the dog took off running, Matt was right on her heels.

They crossed two pastures. Talia had to circle and come back for him several times, as he couldn’t keep up with her. When the ruins of the old homestead came into view, he realized where Skylar had gone.

The border collie barked once more, dashing into the rubble and standing before the cement that led to the cellar.

The heavy wooden door was closed.

Talia barked again.

“Skylar?” Matt called, gripping the weathered metal handle and pulling. The damn thing wouldn’t budge.

He called her name again. She still didn’t answer.

“Maybe she’s not in here, girl,” he told Talia. He gave the door another try, but couldn’t get it to move.

Cursing, he began looking around for something he could use as a makeshift crowbar.

Unfortunately, the half-burned two-by-four wouldn’t cut it. That didn’t stop him from trying it anyway. The rotted piece of lumber came apart in his hands.

Talia barked. “Sorry, girl,” he told her. He’d have to head to back to the ranch to find an actual crowbar.

He took off running, wishing he had a horse. The dog chased after him, barking and trying to herd him back toward the ruins. She nipped at his ankles, nearly tripping him. As he stumbled, he saw the piece of metal pipe on the ground, glinting in the sunlight.

“What the...” Hefting it, he shoved aside any questions about what it was doing in his field and tore back toward the stubborn door.

The pipe worked perfectly, and after only three attempts, he was able to wedge the door open.

Talia watched him, appropriately solemn. The instant he had the door open, the dog dashed past him down the steps, barking.

Pushing the heavy thing back so far it splintered, Matt rushed after Talia, hoping against hope that Skylar was all right.

He had no flashlight, and despite the tiny bit of light that leaked from above, the darkness felt absolute. When he nearly tripped on something, he thought at first it was the dog. But when he reached down, he realized Skylar was lying on the concrete floor.

Somehow, he got his arms under her and managed to lift her. Staggering, he made his way slowly up the steps, blinking as he emerged into the afternoon light.

Skylar. Once they’d cleared the cellar, he carried her outside and placed her gently on the grass. A small trickle of blood showed she must have hit her head—close to the temple, but hopefully not near enough to do any serious damage.

But then why was she still unconscious?

“Skylar...” Brushing the hair away from her face, he checked for a pulse. Her heart beat steady and strong.

Talia barked, urgently this time. Skylar’s eyes fluttered open. “Tali?” she whispered. Then, as her memory apparently came flooding back to her, she gasped and tried to climb to her feet.

“Easy, easy,” Matt said. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

She gasped, inhaling as though she feared she’d run out of air. “I thought I was going to be trapped in there forever. I didn’t want to die like that.”

He gave her a gentle smile. “You can thank your dog for coming to find me. I’d just pulled into the driveway and she came running.”

“Oh, Tali!” Wrapping her arms around her pet, Skylar laughed as Talia licked her face, tail wagging furiously. “Such a good girl you are. What a good girl.”

When Skylar had finished cuddling her dog, she struggled to get up. Matt put his arm around her and helped her.

“Maybe we should run you into town and get your head looked at,” he said.

“No.” She started to shake her head and then winced instead. “I’m fine. I think.”

“You might have a concussion. I really think...”

“No.” She cut him off emphatically. When she went to move forward, it quickly became apparent she was still a bit shaky on her feet.

“Let me help you. It’s a good walk back to the ranch.”

Facing straight ahead, she didn’t look at him. “Thanks.”

Noting the twin spots of color high on her cheekbones, he wondered if he ought to override her protests and force her to get checked out at the medical clinic.

Envisioning the struggle that would be, he decided to simply keep an eye on her for now. Talia also, he noted, appeared to be watching her carefully. Even though the dog ran circles around them, she kept coming back and trotting at Skylar’s side, her canine gaze intent on her mistress.

As they slowly and painstakingly made their way home, Skylar’s strength seemed to gradually increase. Eventually he was able to remove his arm from around her waist, allowing her to walk on her own.

“Do you mind telling me what happened in there?” he asked.

She swallowed hard. When she spoke again, her voice had gone flat. “I panicked,” she said. “I’ve always been claustrophobic, but I really thought I’d overcome that fear. I found out otherwise.”

Stopping, she lifted her hands, letting him see her raw, bloody fingers and broken nails. “I tried to claw my way out of there,” she admitted, her voice still shaky. “It was a pretty bad panic attack.” Swallowing, she continued, “In the middle of all of that, I slipped and hit my head.”

He didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t speak. He didn’t have too many fears himself, not these days anyway. For a while after he’d returned from Iraq, he’d had PTSD and jumped at every sound. He’d taught himself to overcome it, but in the process he’d closed himself off from people, focusing on his animals instead.

Silently commiserating, he took her hand in his and held it all the way back to her trailer.