Clay: Armed and Dangerous (18 page)

“Then do it already.” She couldn’t think. She barely could breathe. He placed himself
at the entrance to her core and gripped her hips tight. With one quick thrust, he
plunged into her tight entrance, burying himself deep within her.

“Damn, but it feels good to be inside you.”

Rylie moaned, enjoying the feel of him. He was so long and thick, stretching her,
filling her beyond belief. Slowly, he moved himself in and out, drawing out the sensations
and making her crazy.

“Faster this time, Sheriff.” She moved her hips hard against his, trying to bring
him deeper inside her.

Clay leaned over, covering her back with his warm body while his hips pounded against
her ass. All the while, he cupped her breasts as he kissed and nipped at her neck.

It was unlikely anyone would happen upon them, but just the thought that someone else
could drive up this same road gave Rylie the feeling of doing something very naughty.
And very exciting.

“You don’t know how many times I thought about dragging you into Skylar’s barn tonight.”
Clay’s breathing was harsh as he spoke, his breath warm against her back. “I wanted
to take you into the stall and have my way with you.”

“Yes.” Rylie reached between her thighs and fingered herself. “So good. You feel perfect.”

Clay brought one of his hands down and put it over hers, pressing her own fingers
tighter into her folds. “I like it when you touch yourself.”

All the sensations were too much. The cool air on her naked body, the feel of Clay’s
jeans and shirt scraping her backside, the way he was thrusting deep into her depths.

Rylie vibrated, the orgasm starting at her scalp and working down her body in a hot
flush. This time when she climaxed, she screamed as loud as she could and she barely
heard Clay’s groan as he came.

It felt like every bit of desire for this man came tearing from her lips, hurtling
into the night and echoing throughout the valley spread out below.

“Sorry, boss, but I think it’s as bad as it looks.”

Quinn had a hang-dog expression on his movie-star face as Clay stared at FBI printouts
of banking activity and the contents confiscated from Levi Thorn’s safety deposit
box. Another ten thousand, cold cash. Deed to the Thorn Ranch. And a ledger, stored
in plastic and completely print-free, as if somebody kept it with the intention of
leaving no identifying evidence.

He’d opened the ledger to find Vehicle Identification Numbers numbers, dates, and
cash sale prices.

Not a good way to spend a Monday afternoon.

Clay cleared his throat, wishing the numbers in the ledger would vanish, but knowing
he couldn’t get that lucky. “The VIN numbers match?”

“Yes, sir.” Quinn sounded miserable, but also a little excited. “All the stolen trucks.
And the cash deposits add up, too, to close to what he’s deposited and stashed.”

Damn, damn, damn.
Clay felt sick deep in his gut. He didn’t want this to be true. Levi had come across
so honest and earnest, a good brother, and a good man. Plus, Levi had a good explanation
for the night he was seen running Guerrero’s men off his property.

Now this.

Pretty much irrefutable evidence.

Clay closed his eyes. Opened them. Glanced at the phone. He needed to act, and he
knew it.

I should call Rylie first.

The thought was automatic. That was the man talking, though. The man who loved his
woman and hated beyond words having to hurt her—but the lawman inside him knew better
than to do something that stupid.

Clay couldn’t call Rylie. She’d send Levi running, and then he’d have one hell of
a mess, even bigger than the one he was facing.

Don’t want to do this.

He stood.

“Get Blalock,” he told Quinn. “Put him with Garrison. You ride with me.”

***

Come Monday afternoon, Rylie was feeling like one of those lovesick airheads who she’d
thought were such idiots to lose their hearts over a man. While she straightened up
the ranch house, she’d actually been humming. She couldn’t stop thinking about Clay.
The way it felt to be wrapped tight in his arms. His smell, his taste. The way he
kissed her. Made love to her.

Sunday evening, he’d brought her back to her ranch after they’d spent the entire day
in his home. Touching, feeling, sharing. She’d come close to telling him that she
loved him, but somehow she couldn’t get the words to come out. A part of her was still
afraid that what they had would vanish. That it was about as tangible as smoke, and
that it would just drift away on the first good wind that swept through.

Yet she knew she could trust him completely—with her life and her heart.

Rylie smiled as she undressed and kicked off her moccasins in her bedroom closet,
thinking about how exciting it had been to be with Clay while overlooking the distant
city lights. She yanked on a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, socks, and then
boots, preparing to go work in the barn with Sassafras.

On her way out, she grabbed her sheepskin-lined jacket off the coat rack by the door,
slipped it on, and then headed outside. Overnight, the sky had turned dark with clouds
that threatened rain, and the nippy air chilled her cheeks.

Levi was in the barn, getting his tack together to take Shadow Warrior out, probably
trying to gentle him enough for the Somerville boy to ride him.

Yeah. Good luck with that.

Sassafras stuck her head over her stall door and whickered at Rylie for attention.
Rylie rubbed Sass’s nose while she studied Levi. “When are you going to tell me about
what you’ve been doing with David Somerville? Not to mention Chloe.”

Levi shrugged as he took a halter down off the wall and hooked it over a sawhorse
by the stall. “Not much to tell. You heard it all at the reception.”

“Yeah.
Right.
” Rylie rolled her eyes. “So, the Somervilles are the reason you’ve been sneaking
off every afternoon. And you’re just too macho to admit that you’re doing something
nice and working with this kid, restoring and modifying the old Karchner place, and
helping them out.”

His blue eyes met hers, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a little smile. “He’s
a neat kid.”

She propped both hands on her hips and grinned. “And you’ve got the hots for his mom.”

With another smile, Levi grabbed the saddle blanket off a different sawhorse and put
his hand on the door to Shadow Warrior’s stall. “Yeah.”

“Levi Thorn.” Clay’s voice came loud and clear from the door of the barn slicing through
their conversation.

Rylie felt a flush of pleasure as she turned toward him, but the chill in his eyes
chased away the warmth. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Clay’s sheriff’s star glittered copper in the dim light of the barn as he strode to
where she and Levi stood. Deputy Quinn’s expression was unreadable behind his mirrored
sunglasses as he followed close behind Clay, and out in the drive, Rylie saw another
car with Blalock and Garrison standing beside it.

“I’m real sorry I have to do this.” Clay’s gaze flicked from Rylie to Levi. “Levi
Thorn, you’re under arrest for suspicion of seventeen counts of grand theft auto.”

Even as Clay spoke, Quinn held the handcuffs and eased behind Levi. Rylie’s ears rang,
and a ball of acid rolled in her stomach.

“Hold on.” Levi dropped the horse blanket and raised his hands in front of him as
though holding the men back. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“We’ve got a lot of evidence.” Clay’s face was stony, his eyes remote and focused
only on Levi. “I don’t have a choice about this. We’ve got the contents of your safety
deposit box.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Rylie clenched her fists at her sides. “There’s no way
that Levi has had anything to do with those trucks getting stolen. Our trucks got
stolen, too, remember?”

“Where’s he been every night?” Clay’s green eyes were cool as they met hers. “Where
do you think he got the money for that water heater? And what about a total of twenty
grand in his account across the last month, and another ten in his safety deposit
box?”

“Thirty grand?” Rylie repeated, unable to believe she’d heard right.

Levi shook his head. “There’s only ten left. And I can explain all of it. I’ve got
receipts.”

Her gaze swung on Levi as she tried to process what he’d just said. “Thirty. Thousand.
Dollars.” She blinked at him. “Where the hell did you get that kind of money?”

“Like I said, I can explain the money.” He turned his attention back to Clay. “There’s
just the ten left, from my box, right? Is that what’s got you so upset?”

“You’re gonna have to come on down and work it out at the county jail.” Clay sighed
and nodded to Quinn.

The deputy began reciting Levi’s Miranda rights as he jerked Levi’s arms behind his
back then cuffed him. While Quinn patted Levi down, his voice droned on like so much
background noise.

Rylie could only stare, barely hearing the words as the deputy told Levi he had the
right to remain silent. Had the right to an attorney. How everything he said could
be held against him in a court of law.

“I’m innocent,” she heard Levi say to her over the roar in her ears as her eyes met
his. “It’s no problem. We’ll get this straightened out.”

“I’ll—I’ll call a lawyer.” She raked her hand through her hair, watching Deputy Quinn
escort her brother from the barn. She wanted to scream. Wanted to cry. Wanted to turn
to Clay, the man she’d thought she’d loved. The man she thought had loved her.

“I’m sorry, honey.” Clay’s voice was low, breaking into her frenzy. “I didn’t want
to have to do this.”

“You bastard.” She cut her gaze from the barn door to Clay’s face. “You used me. You
screwed me just so that you could get information on Levi.”

His frown deepened. “That’s not true and you know it, Rylie.” He sighed and started
to reach for her, as if he wanted to comfort her, then dropped his hand at his side.
“I’ve got to go now. We’ll talk later.”

“Like hell we will.” She raised her chin, her vision practically red from her fury.
“This is all the talking I’m going to do.”

With everything she had, she slammed her fist into his gut. Her blow caught him by
surprise, but he only gritted his teeth as his hand shot out and caught her by the
wrist. “You and I, we’re not done. I’ll be back tonight when I can.”

“Screw you.” She jerked her hand and he let it go. “And not literally. Ever again.
You and I are through in every possible way. Just stay the hell away from me, Sheriff’

She turned and marched out of the barn and toward the house.

Deputy Quinn was waiting beside the sheriff’s department’s SUV, but even with his
dark glasses on she was sure he was watching her. She saw Levi through the back window
of the vehicle, looking straight ahead, his jaw set.

Her knuckles throbbed as she hurried up the stairs, and she felt the heat of Clay’s
gaze on her back. She hoped his gut hurt as much as her hand did. Should have gone
for his balls instead.

Rylie flung open the screen door and shoved open the door to the house, then slammed
it behind her. After locking the door, she ripped off her jacket and slung it across
the room, wishing she had something big and heavy to throw at Clay Wayland’s head.

The bastard. The bastard!

When Rylie had calmed down enough that she could talk without screaming, she called
Skylar to see if her friend could refer her to a good attorney. Skylar was as shocked
as Rylie at Levi’s arrest, and promised to do what she could to help him.

“We all know there’s no way he had anything to do with the thefts,” Skylar said after
giving Rylie the number of her attorney. “Levi’s a good guy.”

After calling Janet Jimenez, the attorney, and arranging for the woman to go to the
county jail to meet with Levi, Rylie hung up and paced the floor of her kitchen, tugging
at her earlobe so hard it was a wonder she didn’t tear her damn earring out. Her boot
steps thunked across the linoleum as she tried to force from her mind thoughts of
various methods she could use to kill a certain county sheriff, in a rather painful
fashion, and still make it look like an accident.

Rylie sighed and shoved her hair out of her face with both hands. I need to give it
a rest. Planning all the ways she could string Clay up for using her and breaking
her heart wasn’t real constructive right now. But it sure felt good.

Instead, she needed to concentrate on trying to figure out what to do next, and how
to help Levi. Where in the world had he come up with ten thousand dollars? Never mind
thirty. Why hadn’t he told her?

She braced her hands on the kitchen sink and stared out the window. The late-afternoon
sun was setting low over the mountains. Not too much longer and it would be dark.

Then it dawned on her. However Levi had gotten that cash, it had to have something
to do with Chloe Somerville. That’s where he’d been going every day. He’d as good
as admitted it in the barn.

Energized by actually doing something toward helping her brother, Rylie snatched up
her jacket from where she’d thrown it, grabbed her truck key from the hook in the
kitchen, bolted out the door, and jogged down the steps.

She and Chloe Somerville were gonna have a talk.

After she climbed in and started up the old workhorse of a junk truck, she gunned
the engine and headed as fast as she safely could to the old Karchner place. It had
been years since Rylie had been there. Her fingers tapped an impatient rhythm against
the steering wheel and her thoughts wandered while she drove the beat- up truck the
two miles north.

She used to ride Sassafras over to visit Mrs. Karchner, an elderly woman who always
had a plate of cookies and a good story to tell about the old days. Not to mention
the woman could play a mean game of Scrabble. Rylie had never seen much of Old Man
Karchner. Even though he’d been in his late seventies back then, he’d always been
out working in his garden, and he never did have anything to say the times she did
run across him. One of those strong, silent types, she supposed.