Only One (17 page)

Josh ripped it open and drew the picture out, took one quick look and shoved it back in. He turned to Dane without hesitation. “Brother, trust me, just no. You aren’t looking at this.”

“Is it that bad?” he asked, but he addressed me not Josh.

“It’s just a picture I think you’d rather not see. It’s not bad or good. It’s just I don’t think you want to see your baby girl in that position,” Josh answered.

“What the fuck?” he roared, standing up and leaning his hands on his desk.

“I’m sorry. We got carried away,” I answered, panic-stricken.

“Dane, knock it off. They’re both adults. Shit happens.”

Dane kicked his chair back like he was ready to reach across the desk and kill me. Josh jumped in front of me, which was unexpected but welcomed.

“Do I need to remind you of how you and Ashton were when you first got together? Christ, you couldn’t keep your dick out of her. Let it go,” Josh said.

I didn’t really like that mental image, but I understood it. If I could live inside of Annabelle, I would.

“There’s more,” I admitted. I picked out the typed letter that had been inside the envelope.

Dane snatched it from my hands, refusing to allow Josh to grab it first. He looked up a second later. “We need to get her out of here.”

“What is it?” Josh asked, concern in his tone.

“It says,” he paused and looked up to me and then down to the note. “Your woman dances beautifully, almost as good as it looks like she fucks. You’re a lucky man. I almost couldn’t stop myself from joining you. I wonder what it would feel like to have those boots grinding into my ass. I’m looking forward to finding out.”

They made me leave the picture with them. The fact that Belly’s dad had a picture of his daughter lying underneath me, looking like an angel coming apart killed me. I just hoped he wasn’t a glutton for punishment who had to take a peek. Thankfully, Josh just glimpsed the photo instead of studying it.

After I mentioned the call I’d placed to Hannah, they promised me that they’d get to the bottom of it. I didn’t mention Aaron, because I had made a promise to Belly, and I never break my promises to her. Besides, it couldn’t be him since the letter suggested he’d never had her. All the other cases were handed out or passed on. Annabelle was front and center, the most important for the Wood boys now. And, I promised to get Belly out of Charleston before sundown.

Before convincing Belly to go on a last minute vacation, I needed to speak with one more person.

Shifting my Jeep into reverse, I headed out to the housing development where I knew he’d be waiting for me. The biggest thing he drilled into me growing up was the pride of an honest day’s work. He had zero tolerance for being lazy or being late. I was expecting him to ride my ass about it, but when he looked up as I pulled in, he seemed relieved rather than pissed.

As I hopped out, he said something to one of the workers before he made his way over to me. “Get back in,” he ordered.

“Sorry for being late, Pops.”

He turned, resting one hand on my dash. “Are you kidding me? I don’t give a shit about that, Cole. I left your mama hyperventilating with Ashton over shit not one of us is privy to. So, I need you or someone to explain to me what the hell is going on? And no sugarcoating.”

My hands gripped the wheel. I couldn’t look at him. “Someone’s tailing me and Belly.” I licked dry lips. “Taking pictures and threatening to hurt her.”

Taken aback, he sat in silence briefly. “Who the hell would want to hurt, sweet Annabelle? And what kind of pictures, son?”

I shot him a look over my shoulder that explained without words what kind of pictures.

He sat, staring out the passenger window, absorbing it all. “All right, what is Dane doing about it? Who is it? Do we know?”

“I don’t know, Dad. They don’t know, either. All three of ‘em are looking at every angle. But I do need a favor.” If he didn’t agree, I was sure Dane would make him.

“Anything you need, boy. Name it.”

“Jason and Dane think it would be a good idea if Belly disappears for a couple days. A week--tops. I need to ask for a vacation, even though I pretty much just started. I’m sorry to let you down.”

He nodded like he was listening to a song on the radio, but I knew he was thinking. “Yeah, that might be good. See if any more pictures circulate. Where are you thinking of going?”

“No clue. I was going to let Belly decide. Her birthday is coming up.”

“The last place they’d think of her going back to is L.A. Maybe…”

I shook my head violently. “No!”

“Beach?”

I just sat there, thinking.

“Does Annabelle know about any of this?”

“Some. Not the latest picture that came to me. We figured since Dane placed cameras all over the farm and his office, they think whoever it is went through me to get to him. Dane wants me to keep it from her. I feel bad for lying. I don’t know. I’m totally freaked the fuck out. This is Belly we’re talking about. Someone wants to hurt the one person who is more precious to me than anyone. What if I’m not there? What if I turn my back for a split second and she gets hurt? What if he fucking hurts her, Dad?” I roared.

“Calm down, Cole. You can’t think like that, son. You need to get your ass and go get that little girl of yours and keep her safe, no matter what. I know you love her. We all do.” He paused like he was lost in thought. “Maybe you should take my Hardballer with you for safety.”

I raised my eyebrows at his suggestion. “Dad, I can’t take a gun on a plane, but yeah, I will if we stay mainland.”

I slumped onto my steering wheel, wanting to break down, trying to figure out why this was happening, but I couldn’t. I didn’t have time to be a pussy. I needed to take care of her, to protect her.

“Cole.” His hand fell on my shoulder. “get it together, son. Dane trusts you with his baby, and that says something. He wouldn’t let her go if he thought for one minute you couldn’t protect her.”

I sat up, nodding. “Yeah.” I reached out and hugged him. “See you when I get back.”

“I bet those boys get that son of a bitch before you even get home. Go have fun and try to forget about it.”

Belly trotted up on Lance as I leaned on my Jeep, waiting for her to get back. I decided on waiting instead of panicking, so I didn’t show my hand yet. When she rode up to me, the smile spread across my face while I looked up at her. She belonged up there on that beast. “Hey, baby.”

“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at work?”

Annabelle leaned down for a kiss just as I was patting Lance. “Come on down, will ya?”

“Sure. One second.” She dismounted. “Let me put him out.” She and Lance headed for the paddock where she liked to let him hang out and graze. I watched as she removed the saddle and bit before placing them on the hay bail inside the stables. When she came back out, her hair that was previously tied up now cascaded down her shoulders.

She ran toward me, jumping up and wrapping her tanned legs around my hips. “I love this surprise,” she said before her lips crashed onto mine. Damn! Her kisses were so nice they could make me forget anything.

I held her up as I spun her around, not breaking the kiss for a few seconds, but I knew I needed to get on with it. I cupped her soft face with my calloused hands. “Guess what?” I slide her down my body and wrapped my arms around her waist.

“What?” Her eyes sparkled as she waited for me to continue.

“My old man gave me an entire week off, and I want to spend it with you.”

“You’re lying. Uncle Charlie would never let you go for a whole week. It’s his busy season.”

She had me there, but I forged ahead. I shook my head, grinning. “Nope. He’s all about young love and making each day count. He practically shoved me out the door.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Well, let’s just hang here. I’ve been neglecting Lance and I want to ride some more. You can take Sergeant out and we could go riding every day, find a creek, bring a blanket, make love,” she whispered in my ear as she slithered around to my back, caressing my ass before her hands came around my waist. Her warm breath touched my cheek as she stood up her on toes and then proceeded to drive me to the brink with a lick of her sweet tongue on the back of my neck.

I groaned, wanting nothing more than to do everything she’d just suggested. My hand snaked around, grabbing the loop of her belt so I could pull her in front of me. My hands draped loosely around her waist, grazing the tip of her ass. “Too many damn cameras here. I was thinking a real vacation, like to the islands or something. I’ll even let you pick which one.”

Belly looked up at me, skeptically.

Personally, I’d been waiting for Ashton or my mama to come barreling out and blow everything. But they stayed inside, watching from a curtain tugged to the side in the kitchen. The only assumption I could fathom was that Dane got to them first.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” I pinched her ass, smiling, trying to hide my nerves.

She tipped her head to the side. “I don’t know, Cole. I feel bad leaving again so soon. My daddy would probably say no, anyway.”

“First of all, you are a grown damn woman and should be able to come and go as you please. Secondly, I already asked your daddy and he was fine with it. You’re gonna be twenty-one, baby. Let’s go celebrate your birthday. Pick somewhere fun and different.”

She cracked a smile and bit down softly on her bottom lip. “My birthday?”

Leaning over, I kissed her quickly. “Yeah, let me take you somewhere. We have a few years to make up, and summer will over before you know it. I’ll be off to school soon for training, and you’ll be all alone here,” I heard pleading in my voice, but kept my smile bright and wide.

Sadness washed across her face at the mention of my leaving, but I didn’t want to press anything right now, so I ignored it.

“What about Myrtle Beach?”

“We’ve been there several times. Nah, pick somewhere else.”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to go zip lining in Jamaica. I read about it in an article once in California. Maybe we could there? When can we go?”

“Go get packed and I’ll pick you up in an hour or two.”

“An hour or two?” she asked, shock bouncing off her question.

“Yeah,” I answered, turning her around and patting her on the ass, and pushing her toward the barn. “I’ll go buy the tickets, pack and then come get you. And don’t forget your passport.”

She stopped, twisted around and crooked her arms. “Cole, what is going on?” she demanded.

Scooping her up in my arms one more time, I kissed her nose. “Nothing, beautiful. I love you and I want to give you something special for your big birthday. Now get that sexy ass back in that barn and pack that itty-bitty black bikini I like so much.”

She knew I was lying. At least, I think she did by the way she was judging every crinkle in my forehead, every word, but then she jumped down, let out a squeal and headed for the barn.

Mission accomplished.

The curtain in the kitchen dropped and I knew they’d be out. I waved them off as they almost ripped the door off the hinges. They stopped in their tracks and I saw the fear written on their faces, but I jumped in my Jeep and shot off a quick text to mama letting her know I was taking off, and that we’d be back soon. I exhaled, hoping I could pull this off, and then threw my ride into drive to head back to Dane, so he could make the necessary arrangements.

Annabelle

Cole was up to something, but seeing that smile on his face light up when I mentioned Jamaica was all it took for me to not question his motives. I mean, who cared? Only a moron would not want to spend a few days on a beach, or under a waterfall making love to Cole Lucca.

It was moments like these that made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I had Cole as my man. I was going to take pictures, instead of trying to be in them. And, if possible, I would ask to live at the beach house after summer--permanently. Last, but not least, I was spending my special day with Cole, hopefully naked. Yep, it was all working out.

We stayed at an all-inclusive resort with a lazy river, a few water slides and a swim-up bar inside the pool. That small bar was crowded from opening until closing. Saying the weather was hot would have been an understatement. July in Jamaica, although picturesque, was oppressively hot. We only left the air-conditioned room to go to the pool, at least until the sun went down. Either way, we didn’t care, since we were together.

“You ready to go zip-lining? I booked us on the hotel shuttle to head out soon,” Cole yelled into the bathroom.

I had just showered and was getting myself ready for day three of our little romantic getaway. The last two days had been blissfully happy. The first day we barely left our room. Getting a much needed break from the pool bar and all those rumrunners would be a nice change today, since I felt like I was drinking way too much, although Cole reminded me that they water the drinks down and not to worry. Today was my birthday, and this was exactly the way I wanted to spend it.

It took us just under an hour to get to our destination. The van dropped us and about dozen more guests off at the Tour Guide office where there were a bathroom, souvenirs, food and beverages and a small desk where we had to sign the waiver to use the zip. A booth sold those embarrassing pictures of us as we used the zip.

After each of us had signed the releases, our group was then asked to board another bus to head up the mountain. Cole and I snuggled close together on the bus, listening to the driver ask or answer random questions, or enlighten us with tales of his family.

Cole grabbed my hand as I hopped down from the bus once we arrived. While I looked all around, my nerves started to get the best of me. Suddenly I was terrified, but not wanting to be the chicken in the group, I forced myself to push the fear aside.

Cole rubbed my arms up and down. “You okay, birthday girl?”

I nodded. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” People were being harnessed and the line moved forward as Cole kissed my forehead.

“Because you just turned as white as a ghost, and considering how tan you are, that was pretty hard to do.”