The Hunted Wife (The Sullivan Protectors #1)

Chapter 1

Late March, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

When he realized he had just attended a board meeting wearing two different socks, Adam Sullivan decided the time had come to marry.

To be fair, the board meeting had been virtual, so no one had seen his socks and he was worth several billion dollars so no one would have said anything if they had.

Still plaid socks and striped socks were so far from being a pair, he did notice when he put them on, but they were the last clean socks he had.

How he ended up with such a mismatched pair, he had no idea.

He stared at the offending socks from where he sat on the edge of his bed in the bunkhouse he shared with his brothers.

Outside the window the Rocky Mountains rose sharp and snowcapped against a brilliant blue sky.

Seven Brothers Ranch was quiet except for the rumble of Everett’s boots as he crossed the yard from the barn and the unmistakable thud` of someone—probably Daniel—dropping a bucket.

Here they were. Seven men. One ranch. Zero domestic sense.

The irony wasn’t lost on Adam. Sullivan Technologies employed thousands of people worldwide. They built software that ran hospitals, logistics networks and financial systems. Adam could oversee an international merger without breaking a sweat.

Together he and his brothers ran Sullivan Security, providing all types of security, from electronic building security to bodyguards to some of the most famous and powerful people in the world. Their client list included Hollywood movie stars, sheiks, kings, politicians, and athletes.

But running a household? That was chaos.

None of his brothers did any better, either.

They all had businesses of their own in addition to Sullivan Security.

The men all chipped in on ranch chores—fences, horses, cattle, repairs.

They worked hard and they worked well together.

But the rest of daily life…the domestic chores… cooking, laundry, basic housekeeping?

Those details were improvised because none of them had a clue. He just realized he’d eaten beans four nights in a row. Adam shook his head. How had life gotten so difficult?

Pulling on his boots, he headed to the main house. He passed the chicken coop and the shed for the house before he reached the kitchen door.

The building was three stories of roughhewn logs with bedrooms on the second and third floors. Bedrooms that were all empty.

The first floor held the kitchen, a full bathroom, living room, dining room, laundry room, his mother’s office and his father’s den.

They had to use the kitchen and laundry facilities but no one had spent the night in the house since his parents were killed in an avalanche while cross-country skiing more than two years ago.

When he walked into the kitchen he found Benjamin at the stove, staring into a pan. Frederick hovered nearby to fix whatever went wrong, and Gabriel, his blonde hair flopping in his eyes, sat at the table, attempting to fold laundry with little success.

Each of his brothers wore blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a plaid shirt of varying colors, which hung open over a black t-shirt. It was the standard uniform for all of them.

“Why are there only three socks?” asked Gabriel.

Daniel leaned in through the mudroom door. “Because socks breed in captivity and escape in the wild.” Then he laughed uproariously at his joke.

Flustered, Gabriel threw the three socks into the basket of clean clothes and pulled out a t-shirt. He tried to fold it, gave up and wadded it into a ball, then placed it on the pile of similarly balled up t-shirts.

Adam poured himself a cup of coffee. Making coffee was the only thing that all of them knew how to do well. “We need a wife.”

The room went quiet.

Benjamin, his long, dark brown hair tied back in a low pony-tail with a leather thong, removed the skillet from the stove and then turned slowly to face Adam. “You need a wife.”

“No.” Adam calmly took a sip from his cup. “We need a wife.”

Christopher lifted a dark brow. His light brown hair was close cropped, similar to Adam’s, yet he sported dark lashes and brows. “That seems…inefficient.”

“Actually,” said Adam, “it’s the most efficient solution to the problem available.”

“We could just hire someone,” said Everett, who leaned against the counter with a tablet in hand.

He was the only brother with any red in his hair.

His was dark auburn, like their mother’s.

Currently, he was in need of a haircut, with curls forming at the ends of his hair where it flopped over the back of his collar.

Technically, they all needed haircuts except Benjamin who only cut his hair once per year.

“They’d take one look at this place and leave. Period,” Adam said.

“That’s true. We’d have to clean it up before we hired anyone and since we can’t seem to do that, a wife, who can’t leave, is the most practical solution,” insisted Adam.

“Are we voting?” asked Frederick, as he flicked his golden brown hair from his eyes.

“No,” said Adam. “I’ve decided.”

“So, you’re going to find a wife. Have you forgotten your vow to never love another woman, after Cally?” asked Benjamin.

“I haven’t forgotten. I have no intention of falling in love. This will be a business arrangement. Nothing more. No feelings will be involved. We just get married and procreate, then go our separate ways until it’s time to procreate again.”

“I can’t believe you called it procreation,” said Daniel, who was now sitting at the table and refolding the t-shirts Gabriel had balled up. They ended up folded though not well, but at least they were flat and would fit in the drawers.

Adam rolled his eyes and shook his head. “We can’t even fold laundry correctly. We can’t cook. Do you know we had beans for dinner four nights in a row? We have to do something and a wife is the way to go. I’ll go to town and find one.”

“You figure you’ll just be able to find a woman who will marry you, one who is single and wants to have children—with you?”

“I’m not unattractive and my bank account is very attractive as is all of yours. I’ll be able to find a wife. Just watch me.

An hour later, Adam drove into town for supplies and groceries he hoped someone competent would eventually prepare.

Adam stood beside a cart so full as to being overloaded with food. He held a twenty-five pound sack of flour and a three pound can of coffee. He was currently calculating how many winters a reasonably sane man could go without a woman’s influence before going completely feral.

That was when she walked into him.

“Oh,” she gazed up, her deep emerald eyes wide. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

He looked down at her. Blonde hair. About five feet four inches in tennis shoes. Clean jeans, soft, pink sweater. She was pretty. “No harm done.” His pulse raced. She would be perfect. He had to make her his.

“You’re from the mountains aren’t you?” she asked.

He nodded. “The Seven Brothers Ranch.”

She cocked her head to one side. “I thought so. You smell of pine and hard work.”

Adam considered that for a moment and then grinned. “Accurate.”

She smiled.

And just like that his world was upended. She had a smile that lit up the entire store. This had to be a sign and in his mind he’d already decided he would ask her to marry him. “I’m Adam Sullivan.”

“Millie Watson.”

Did he detect a slight accent? “Are you married, Millie?”

She blinked and her brows furrowed. “Um. No.”

He smiled. “Would you like to be?”

Her eyes widened.

But she didn’t slap him and more importantly she didn’t laugh.

“I’m hoping to, someday. I’d like marriage and children,” she said slowly. “Eventually.”

Adam frowned. “Eventually is inefficient.”

She stared at him and then laughed. “You’re serious.”

“I am.”

“You’re one of the Sullivans I hear the locals talking about. The eccentric ones.”

“I am.”

“CEO and founder of Sullivan Technologies and Sullivan Security,” she said mildly. “Rancher by choice.”

“Yes.”

She smiled up at him. “That’s an interesting choice.”

“So is marrying a stranger, but here we are.”

“Excuse me?” She blinked.

He sighed. “I believe it’s time to marry. I want children and a home that doesn’t smell of burned bacon. Look, Millie, I’m thirty-seven years old. I want a wife and family. I can provide for you and I’ll be faithful. What about you? You said you did, too. By the way, how old are you, Millie?”

Millie looked to the side and then down at her feet, anywhere but at Adam. Finally, she gazed up, lifting her chin. “I’m thirty-one. And yes, I do want children and my time is growing shorter. I know women can give birth into their forties, but I don’t want that to be me. Do you understand?”

“I believe I do.” He definitely understood. Mom had Fred and Gabriel when she was forty-two and always felt they got shorted because she was older and didn’t give them as much time as she thought they deserved. “So, Millie, will you marry me? I’ll give you whatever you want.”

She tilted her head and observed him for a moment before she held out her right hand to shake.

This would save her in more way than one.

She was Ricard Sokolov’s fiancée but there was no way in Hell she would marry him.

She’d die first and she didn’t want to die.

“I believe we have a deal, Adam Sullivan.”

His heart pounded as blood rushed in his veins when he heard her agreement. He shook her hand, holding it gently so as not to hurt her. “I believe we do, Millie Watson. I believe we do.”

I’m going to make you mine forever, Millie Watson, just wait and see if I don’t.

Adam paid for his groceries after throwing a bouquet of peach colored roses in the cart.

Millie waited while he checked out.

Then he followed Millie to her apartment. Once inside, he took a good look around. “I hope you’re not planning on taking the furniture.”

She’d gone down the hall when they entered.

He found her in the bedroom shoving things into two suitcases. “Did you hear me?”

“Yes. No, I’m not taking the furniture. The apartment came furnished including the artwork.” She used finger quotes.

“Good. I’m glad you don’t want to take those pictures. They’re hideous.”

She laughed. “They really are. I used to like velvet paintings when I was younger, but now I hate them. Besides they look like they were done by his children. I just moved in a month ago, and it’s on a month-to-month lease. This will save me eighteen-hundred dollars.”

“Rent is expensive in Steamboat but even to me, that’s a lot of money for a one bedroom apartment.”

“Not in Steamboat Springs.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I’ve never had to rent anything and now I’m very glad.”

She went back to packing her suitcases. When she had all of her clothes in one, except for the sweater dress she wanted to wear for the wedding ceremony, she closed it. “I don’t have a lot. You can take this one out.” She pointed at the one she’d just zipped up.

While he was gone she quickly changed into the blue sweater dress and put the clothes she was wearing in the suitcase.

When he’d returned he saw she’d placed her shoes in the second suitcase along with all her toiletries and make-up. He looked her up and down. “You look very pretty.”

“Thank you.” She blushed at the compliment. Then she looked around the room, checking the closet and the drawers once more before zipping the second suitcase. “That’s it.”

“That’s all you have?” He was incredulous. He’d never seen a woman with so little stuff.

She chuckled. “Yup. I’ve learned young to travel light.”

He wondered why. What had happened to cause her to do that? He would consider that another day as he picked up the suitcase. “You can follow me as far as the bottom of the ranch road. Or driveway some would call it. I’m not one of them.”

“I’ll keep my rental car. I just never know when I’ll need to have a car available to me.”

“That’s fine. I have to get gas before we head to the courthouse and then home.”

She smiled.

He swore the sun was suddenly brighter, except they were still inside.

He shook his head, willing his vision to be normal again.

Although he wondered if it ever would. All she needed to do was smile and he was a goner.

It would be interesting to see how his brothers take to Millie and, more importantly, how Millie would react to his brothers.

Millie must have lost her darn mind. Marrying a complete stranger. She should definitely have her head examined.

But she really didn’t have a choice. Adam presented the perfect escape, though he didn’t know that. Ricard Sokolov would never find her on an out-of-the-way ranch in the mountains outside Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

I mean, really, how bad could it be?