Chapter Fifteen
B eside Colt, Aspen’s breath came slow and even. The bed in the guest room was large, but she curled close to him, her bare curves soaking up the heat from his body.
A glance at the closed blinds told him that dawn was near. He should know—he’d spent years of his life watching light fill the sky increment by increment and knew the look by heart.
The window was cracked, admitting the scent of pine and fresh mountain air. In the tangled warmth of the sheets with his lover, everything felt right.
Except she was still a hunted woman.
He eased his weight from the bed. As he slipped away from Aspen, the mattress dipped.
She let out a stuttering sigh in her sleep and drew her knees upward to hold on to the heat where his body had been. For a moment, he stared at her oval face on the pillow and the wayward curl tumbling across her cheek, contemplating getting back into bed with her.
But both of his brothers would be up soon, and they needed to talk.
He took a couple steps away from the bed and located his jeans slung over the footboard. Careful to make no sound, he dressed in discarded clothes from the night before. Barefoot, he crept to the door and slipped out of the bedroom.
The scent of coffee hit his nostrils first. When he reached the kitchen and saw Gray, he let out a grunt.
With a full mug of coffee halfway to his lips, Gray cocked a brow at him. “For once, I beat you. I thought you started your day when the first bird pops an eye open.”
With a crooked smile, he strode to the coffee bar that Willow took such pride in keeping neat and totally ruined the effect by searching for his favorite black mug. It wasn’t there.
Then he saw it in Gray’s grip.
He leveled his brother in his stare but Gray wasn’t giving up that mug. Colt pushed out a sigh. A lot of things were changing for him. Letting go of a fight over something as trivial as a favorite mug seemed like a good first step toward growth.
He pushed the dainty girly mugs Willow preferred out of the way and plucked a different mug off the shelf. After filling it with coffee, he leaned on the bar and eyed Gray.
“When is your leave up?”
“Three days.”
“You feelin’ up to returning to duty with your head injury?”
He scoffed at Colt’s mention of the injury. “Never been better.”
“Still look like hell.”
The bruise around his nose and extending to his eye sockets wasn’t as dark as it had been the previous day, but it was still ugly.
Colt was getting a heavier feeling from his brother, though.
“How much longer you got in the service, man?”
“I’m close to the end of my contract.”
“Going to re-sign?”
He scrubbed a blunt finger over his jaw, creating a scratchy noise on his beard stubble. “Been thinking you guys need me here. After what happened to Layne, and Carson almost losing his damn mind thinking he’d lost her…then Oaks getting in deep shit to save Shiloh…” He waved a hand. “And now you.”
Colt didn’t know whether to grunt in irritation or laugh at being lumped in with his brothers and their significant others.
“You don’t have to pull a hero act to rescue us from the shit we fell into. You know that, right? If being in the military still makes you happy, then you should sign for another tour.”
He lowered his mug from his mouth. “That’s just it—I’m not sure it does anymore.”
He bobbed his head. “It gets to that point for some of us. Carson pushed on for so long, I figured he’d end up a lifer. Oaks lost his friend and that brought him home. The rest of us are bound to fall at some point.”
“Even Denver? He’s fucking black ops.”
He shrugged. “Not sure what path he’ll take, but we’re not talking about Denver. What do you want, bro?”
He never got to respond because at that moment, their discussion was cut short by Carson entering the kitchen. He was dressed for a day in the office in jeans and a dark gray Black Heart Security T-shirt.
He locked his gaze on Colt and Gray and then twitched his head. “Meet me in my office.” He pushed past them to get at the coffee, pouring the rest of the pot into a huge mug.
Once they were all crammed in Carson’s small personal office that he preferred over the larger spaces in the house, Colt took immediate control.
“I don’t know what you have planned for this meeting, but I have something to discuss. It’s about Aspen.”
Both of his brothers remained silent, waiting to hear what he had to say.
“That bastard is still on the loose, and most likely in the area. We need to fortify the ranch, make damn sure the guy can’t slip past us and get to her.”
“You really think he’s going to come onto the ranch to get at Aspen?” Carson settled back in his big desk chair while Gray and Colt took over the leather sofa.
Gray cradled his mug. “I think the man is unhinged, but he’s never going to attack the ranch.”
“Maybe you’re both right, but the best action is preemptive. We need to be on guard.”
Carson nodded. “I’ll add more patrols around the property.”
“I can set up some more cameras,” Gray added.
Colt ducked his head in a nod. “Good. That’s one order of business on my list. I have something else to discuss with you.”
He had his brothers’ attention and went on.
“The way to Gideon is through Aspen. We need a trap. We need to make him think she’s been left alone. When he comes after her, we take him down.”
A feminine voice filled the beat of silence that followed his statement. “Solid plan, Colt. Only problem is that Gideon isn’t going to let down his guard here in Wyoming.”
All three of them whipped toward the open doorway. Aspen stood there, dressed in loose pants and top and wrapped in a thick sweater, the dark chocolate color of her hair. As she swept into the room, Colt gained his feet, reaching out a hand to guide her to the sofa next to him.
She shook her head and stood in the middle of the small office, looking at each one of them in turn. “We have to go to California. That’s where Gideon is going to feel in control. Then I can lure him in.”
She could lure him in?
“No fucking way.”
She tilted her head in challenge. “It’s the only way this is going to happen fast. Otherwise, it could drag on for years. Gideon can go into hiding and I’m sure he knows all the good places to evade capture.”
“We’re not putting a target on your back, Aspen.” His tone was gruff with barely controlled frustration.
When she turned her head and pierced Carson in her stare, Colt knew she and his brother were going to gang up on him. He’d been the little brother his whole life.
“She’s got a valid point, Colt.”
He cut a hand through the air. “No way. No goddamn way am I letting the woman I—” He stopped and met her gaze before declaring, “I’m not letting you put yourself in danger, Aspen.”
She folded her arms. “And you have a better plan? One that’s going to end this fast so we can move on with our lives?”
Her words seemed to throb with a hidden meaning.
Their gazes locked. In that moment, Colt knew exactly what she was telling him. And it made her being the one needed to trap Gideon so much worse.
She wanted that future. With him.
* * * * *
Aspen could see how upset Colt was getting by the tension in the crease of his jaw and the way he fisted a hand at his side. She had to admit that deep down, his reactions over keeping her safe left her feeling washed away by a sea of love and passion.
On the other hand, he was going to be stubborn as hell.
Too bad she was more stubborn.
To take the irritation in the room down a notch, she sat on the sofa and patted the cushion beside her.
Colt dropped to it with such force that she bounced on the seat. She swore she caught a chuckle coming from Gray’s end of the sofa, but she didn’t give him her attention.
She looked at Carson. “Gideon has lived in California his whole life. He grew up not far from where I did. It’s a smaller town in the northern part of the state. His pride took a blow when he didn’t inherit. There’s a reason for that. He’s well-known in that area as a trustworthy mechanic with a good business. Everyone takes their vehicles to him for repairs.”
“What you’re saying is he is very comfortable on his own stomping ground.” Carson picked up a pen and tapped it lightly on the leather desk blotter.
She dipped her head in a nod. “If he hears I’m in town, he’s going to be confident that he can get me.”
A strangled noise in the depth of Colt’s throat drew her attention. She swung her head to look at him.
“Colt,” she said softly. “If I didn’t know you’d keep me safe, I wouldn’t even suggest this plan.”
Carson kept a tight rein on the topic. “She’s right.”
“But we aren’t vigilantes, searching for criminals on the lam. We protect people.” Colt’s words ended on a low growl like he was close to losing it.
“Do you really want to leave it to the cops to make sure your woman is safe?” Gray spoke up.
Aspen met Gray’s stare. A beat of knowing pulsed between them. He saw the same thing that Willow had—that Carson probably saw too. She and Colt were involved.
“You know damn well I don’t, but I refuse to put Aspen in danger.”
She touched his arm. The tendons and sinew rippled under her touch. “It’s the best way, Colt. Can’t you see that?”
“Fuck!” He sliced his hand through his mussed hair.
They all waited for Colt to come to the same conclusion that everyone else already had.
He blew out a breath through his nose. “How would we feed the news that you’re in town to Gideon?” Though Colt sounded about to gnash nails in between his molars, the fact that he was even entertaining this idea proved that they were halfway there.
She threw him a coy look. “I don’t suppose you’d consider throwing a parade in my honor?”
Her joke had the effect she was hoping for. Chuckles echoed around the office, and some tension eased from the group.
Before they could continue the discussion, Carson’s phone buzzed on his desk. He didn’t reach for it immediately, but the sound made Aspen’s jaw drop.
“Oh my god. I’ve got it!” Her words pushed off her tongue slowly.
The Malone brothers stared at her.
She jumped up, unable to sit still when there was so much chaos going on inside her. She snatched Carson’s phone and held it up. “He would know after confessing that he cloned my phone, the first thing I’d do is wipe it. But this is how I communicate.”
Colt blinked as understanding hit. “You let the information slip.”
She nodded.
“Post to your social media about how excited you are to be heading to this place, just like you did with your friend.”
“Yes!”
“Tell your followers that you’re headed to California to do research on a new locale.”
She bobbed her head in enthusiasm.
Colt pushed to his feet and reached for her as if he couldn’t stand to lose contact with her for more than a few minutes.
Gray cleared his throat, but it sounded like a swallowed laugh to her.
Carson nodded at the plan. “We’ll use Colt’s Lake Tahoe address to lure him via a potential client meeting. That way we have control on our terms—not the nephew’s.”
“Since my client needs the vacation property in two weeks, the dates won’t overlap. It’s perfect.” She and Colt locked gazes. Earlier, when Aspen heard him slip out of their shared bed, her mind immediately came awake and started picking apart ways to stop Gideon and keep Colt in her life.
As the guys started volleying ideas back and forth concerning the plan, Willow entered the room, bringing with her the scent of clean, crisp air. Even in worn jeans, boots and a coat that looked like it belonged to one of her bigger male relations, she looked amazing.
“I can hear you guys all the way in my room on the other side of the house. The sun’s barely up. What’s so important, and why didn’t you think to include me?”
“We’re forming a plan to catch the man who’s after me.” Aspen’s statement brought Willow around to stare at her.
She gave a small shake of her head. “You’re so brave.”
Aspen blinked. She’d heard those words before. When people learned she had cancer, they all muttered similar things. But coming from this strong, amazing woman, Aspen actually believed it.
Her spine straightened, bringing her to her full height. “Thanks, Willow.”
They shared a small smile that had all the feels of a new bond—a sisterhood. Aspen’s chest bloomed warm with affection for Colt’s sister, and for the rest of the Malones.
The talk resumed, and Willow took a seat, legs crossed, to go through her phone. “Oh!”’
Her brothers stopped talking to look at her.
“The photographer emailed with Oaks’s wedding photos.” She skimmed through them with a fingertip on the screen. “Wow. These are amazing.”
Oh, great.
Aspen was in all those photos. At the time, it was the last thing she wanted. Now, she wasn’t so sure about where she stood within the Malone family, only that she hoped that the small sprout of emotions between her and Colt would continue to grow into something beautiful.
When she slanted a look his direction, she found him staring at her. A crinkle formed between his brows. Was it there because he didn’t know how to respond to there being photographic evidence of her in their family? Or something more?
At the time, he couldn’t wait to get rid of her.
His deep gray eyes softened, and the crease between his brows smoothed out.
She didn’t remember taking a step toward him until suddenly his big hand engulfed hers in a warm clasp.
He drew her a step closer. When he lowered his lips to her ear, a shiver ran through her. “I’ll give my life to keep you safe, princess.”
She rested a hand on his sculpted chest, right over his heart. Under her fingers, she felt the soft thump-thump of its beat. “I trust you, Colt. I know I’m in good hands with you.”