Cowboy Delirium

Joanna currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas, with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star State. You may write to Joanna at PO Box 265, Montgomery, Texas 77356.

“I promise you’ll rue the day you kidnapped me.”

Jaime jerked free of Rio’s grasp and stumbled away from him, bracing herself to fight him off.

The physical advances didn’t come. Instead he stood against the closed bedroom door. “I don’t suppose you’d believe me if I said I’d like to keep you safe.”

She studied the man she’d first considered a hunk. In any other situation, she would have found him attractive in a rugged, risky sort of way. His jaw line was craggy, his physique muscular. His short, thick hair was blue-black, like midnight on a moonless night.

But it was his eyes, piercing yet shadowed with mysterious incongruities, that got to her the most. They tempted her to believe there really might be more than evil lurking behind those burning depths.

But could she afford to find out?

COWBOY DELIRIUM

JOANNA WAYNE

www.millsandboon.co.uk

This book is dedicated to all my loyal readers who couldn’t get enough of the Collingsworth family and asked repeatedly when Jaime would get her man. Also to America’s brave law enforcement officers and military personnel who sacrifice so much to keep us safe. And to my hubby for cooking dinner for me when I get so busy writing I forget to do it for him.

Chapter One

“Surely you can’t be cruel enough to send me away without so much as a nightcap?”

Jaime Collingsworth found that difficult to believe herself. Afull moon, a gorgeous, fascinating man who was hot for her, and she was going to dismiss him with a kiss at her door. But duty called—and had left two messages.

“We’ve been out late every night this week,” she reminded him.

“I know,” he said, slipping his arm along the back of the car seat to massage her shoulder. “But I have this serious problem. I simply can’t get enough of you.”

“Slow down, tiger. No need to rush the romance. And I absolutely have to get up in time tomorrow to make it to Jack’s Bluff for Sunday brunch. I haven’t been to the ranch in four weeks, and my mother is on my case big time.”

Actually Jaime missed her mother as well. Her family was huge and could be overwhelming, but still, she was looking forward to visiting with all of them, especially her young nieces and nephews. Her new Houston townhouse was great, but Jack’s Bluff Ranch was home.

“You could take me with you,” Buerto said. “I’d love to meet your family, especially that cantankerous grandpa you keep talking about.”

“So you keep saying, but I hate those meet-the-family occasions. They are far too stressful.”

“You sound as if you’ve had a lot of them.”

“Not so many.” But enough that she hated to go through the ordeal when she didn’t have to. “It could be fun, though,” she teased. “You’d be sized up more thoroughly than a new bull being introduced to the herd.”

“Four protective cowboy brothers checking me out and one of them an armed law enforcement officer,” Buerto said. “Why does that not amuse me the way it does you?”

“They all have guns,” Jaime said. “But it’s my mother you’d really have to worry about.”

Buerto waited for the gate to her townhouse complex to open and then drove inside. He slowed as they passed the sparkling fountain, English gardens and finally the privacy border of thick shrubbery.

He stopped in front of her three-story townhouse. “I’ll assure your mother that my intentions are honorable.”

“It won’t help. She knows mine never are.”

That wasn’t exactly true, but it was close enough. Jaime liked guys. She just never fell in love, at least not the way her sister, Becky, and her brothers had.

For her, men were more like a new pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes or a Roberto Cavalli gown. They were intoxicatingly seductive when first acquired, but lost their glamour and excitement when the newness wore off.

There was an outside chance it could be different with Buerto—which was reason enough not to throw him to the wolves this early in the relationship.

She shifted in her seat, letting the short skirt of her sky-blue dress inch up to mid-thigh for Buerto’s benefit as she reached for the door handle.

He leaned across the seat and kissed her before sliding out his side of the car to walk her to the door.

Once up the short walk, he slipped his arms around her and pulled her close. His advance was interrupted by a black sedan that skidded to a stop behind his silver Porsche.

The doors flew open and three men jumped out. One of the men was short and slightly balding. Another was tall with a crooked scar that ran from his right temple to the center of his cheek. The third was a certified hunk, hard bodied, clean shaven, cocky swagger. And holding a gun.

Panic ripped through her. She and Buerto were about to be robbed. She scanned the area. No one was in sight, and she knew her closest neighbor was out of town.

Two of the men went for Buerto, shoving him backward and pinning his arms against the front wall of her house.

Jaime tore her handbag from her shoulder and threw it into the driveway. “Take the money. Please. Just take it and go.”

The hunky guy wrapped an arm around her and started dragging her to the car. “We’re taking you with us. Better if you don’t put up a fight.”

“Take your hands off her,” Buerto yelled.

The effort to save her earned him a punch in the face. The shorter assailant shoved him to the pavement and kicked him in the stomach before grabbing Jaime’s purse and keys.

Then he put a gun to Buerto’s head. “If you go to the cops, your girlfriend’s as good as dead. Tell that to her family. We’ll be in touch.”

The man who held her lifted her and threw her into the backseat of the car. She got in one swift knee to the crotch that narrowly missed its target.

The taller guy was waiting for her in the car. He reached over and she felt a sharp prick in her forearm. A needle.

“Handle her, Rio,” the needle wielder barked as he climbed out of the backseat.

The hunky thug slid in beside her.

Not about to give in without a fight, she sank her teeth into his shoulder and bit down as hard as she could. He barely winced, but he quickly closed his hand over her mouth and gripped it so firmly she couldn’t even part her lips.

Her vision had begun to blur—no doubt from whatever was in that syringe—but she caught a glimpse of Buerto as they sped away. He was groveling on the ground in obvious pain. He hadn’t died trying to defend her. At least there was that.

The man beside her looked her in the eye, and the intensity of his gaze seemed to crawl inside her. He put his mouth to her ear. “Trust me, and you’ll get out of this alive.”

She’d sooner trust a viper. Her eyes grew heavy and her head begin to spin. This could not be happening to her.

Except that it was.

Chapter Two

Zach Collingsworth pushed through the front door of the big house carrying four cold beers. He handed one to each of his three brothers and then took a big gulp of the last one before propping his backside against the porch railing. God, it felt good to be home after three weeks combing dusty Texas border towns.

“So what’s up with your new task force assignment?” his brother Langston asked. “Are you getting a handle on curbing the violence?”

“It’s hard to say,” Zach admitted. “A week ago two border patrol agents were killed, assassination style, in the driveways of their own homes. The week before that, an innocent kid was killed in a drive-by. This week, nothing.”

“Any arrests?” his brother Matt asked.

“No. That’s the worst part. There were witnesses to the kid getting killed but no one’s willing to talk for fear of retribution. And there’s no evidence as to who took out the border patrol officers other than it looks like the work of the drug cartels.”

“So we’re still losing the war on domestic terrorism right here in our own state,” Bart said. “This is not the world I want my infant son to grow up in.”

“We’ll stop it,” Zach said. “Texans always come out on top. You know that. I’m just worried about how many innocent people will die before we do.”

Langston took a swig of beer and then caught hold of one of the chains that held the porch swing, giving it a rattling shake. “Make sure you’re not one of those victims, Zach. You’ve got a lot to live for.”

“So did the agents who went down. But believe me I’m not planning on making my beautiful wife a widow anytime soon. So how’s the oil business?” he asked Langston, ready to change the subject. He’d shared about all he could anyway. The operations of the newly formed task force were mostly confidential.

“We’re feeling the financial pinch like everyone else, but we’re still economically sound.”

“And the cattle business?” Zach asked, turning his attention to Matt and Bart, who co-managed Jack’s Bluff Ranch.

Before they could answer, the hum of a motor sounded in the distance. All their gazes immediately redirected to the curving dirt ranch road leading to the house.

Zach pushed up the sleeve of the pale shirt Kali had bought for him in the new western shop in Colts Run Cross last week. “Nearly midnight. Awful late for company.”

“Sign of trouble,” Bart said. “Probably one of the neighbors needing help bringing a troublesome calf into the world.”

Tension settled in the pit of Zach’s stomach. Over the last few weeks the word trouble had taken on much darker connotations for him. He checked his cell phone. No new messages from Kali since she’d called to tell him that she’d made it back to their neighboring ranch and that her pregnant mare showed no sign of foaling before morning.

Kali had left him at Jack’s Bluff to bond with his brothers over beer and conversation. She knew he needed that. Kali had a way of always knowing what he needed. More often than not what he needed was her.

He didn’t recognize the low-slung silver sports car that came into view and then slowed as it approached the house. “Not a neighbor,” he said, “unless one of them just bought a new Porsche.”

“Ten bucks says the driver’s lost,” Matt said.

Bart stretched and stood from his perch on the porch railing. “Lost or looking for Jaime. There’s a full moon tonight and that seems to bring out all her jilted Texas exes.”

“Poor suckers,” Zach said. His twin sister did have a habit of leaving a string of broken hearts in her wake.

A lean, slightly muscled man jumped from the car when it stopped and strode toward them. When he stepped into the circle of light from the porch, it was clear he’d been in a fight and probably not come out the winner.

Langston walked down the steps to meet him. “Can we help you?”

“I’m here about Jaime.”

Zach’s stomach clenched as he stepped to Langston’s side. There was no way this could be good. “What about her?”

“She’s been kidnapped.”

An ominous, choking silence hovered just long enough for them to get their minds around the pronouncement. Then the questions started flying all at once.

“When?”

“Was she hurt?”

“Kidnapped by whom?”

“How do you know this?”

“Who the hell are you?”

The stranger put his hand up as if the questions were blows. “Are you her brothers?”

“Yeah,” Matt said. “Now start talking.”

“Okay, but I’m on your side. My name’s Buerto Arredondo. Jaime works for me.”

“You’re the art collector?”

He nodded. “I’m in the States to buy art for a resort I’m building just outside Mexico City.” He pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped a stream of sweat from his brow.

“Tell us what happened to Jaime,” Zack insisted impatiently. He didn’t give a damn what this guy did or didn’t collect.

“We’d visited an art gallery in the Heights this evening and then gone to dinner. I was walking her to her door when three men jumped us. I tried to stop them but I couldn’t fight off all of them. They threw Jaime in the back of their car and took off.”

“Did she know them?”

“No, but I’m pretty sure they knew who she is. They said if I went to the police they would kill her. I was told to make certain her family got that same warning.”

Zach muttered a curse and slammed his right fist into his left hand. “Not again.” It hadn’t even been two years since they’d had to rescue his nephews, Derrick and David, from a lunatic. It was like they’d become a target for all the crazies in the world.

“Did the kidnappers say anything else?” he asked. “Did they give any clue as to who they were or when they would contact us?”

“Nothing.”

“Did they hurt Jaime?”

“They manhandled her. That’s all I saw but who knows what they’re capable of. You have no choice but to cooperate with them.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” Langston said. His voice was firm. He was the oldest brother, the leader of the family, a responsibility he took seriously.

Zach didn’t question his intelligence or abilities, but kidnapping was a criminal act and that put this squarely in Zach’s saddle. Besides, Jaime was his twin. As different as they were in many aspects, he shared a bond with her that none of the others did.

“Start at the first, Mr. Arredondo,” Zach said, “and tell us every detail. Leave nothing out, no matter how unimportant it may seem.”

“Please, call me Buerto. And I think you should know that I am not only your sister’s boss.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We’re in a relationship, a very close relationship. I care a great deal for her. This is as hard on me as it is on you.”

Zach didn’t fully buy that, but all that mattered now was getting Jaime home safely. Whoever the sons of bitches were that abducted her, they’d just taken on the whole Collingsworth clan, and even Buerto Arredondo had best not get in their way.

LENORA WOKE TO THE SOUND of male voices coming from the kitchen below her bedroom and the odor of freshly perked coffee. She rolled over and checked the time on her bedside clock. Twelve twenty-eight.

It wasn’t all that unusual for her sons to talk past midnight. With Zack working on that new task force, it had been weeks since they’d all been together. But she didn’t recall their ever making coffee this late—unless something was wrong.

That fact forced the last dregs of sleep from her eyes. Kicking back the sheet, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and padded to her closet for her robe.

She picked up on the unfamiliar voice as she approached the kitchen. A cold shudder stampeded through her nerves when she heard him mention Jaime’s name. Had there been a wreck? Had she been riding that motorbike Lenora hated so much?

Pushing through the door, Lenora planted herself in the center of the kitchen and stared at the stranger sipping coffee from one of her blue pottery mugs. Her gaze left him to scrutinize each of her sons, reading the turbulence that clouded their eyes.

“What’s wrong? What’s happened to Jaime?”

Langston wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Sit down, Mom.”

She yanked from his grasp. “I don’t need to sit down. Was there a wreck? Is Jaime in the hospital? Is she hurt?”

“She’s been abducted.”

Lenora’s chest contracted until she could barely breathe. There had to be some kind of mistake. Everyone loved Jaime. No one would hurt her. She stared at the stranger again. “Who are you?”

“This is Jaime’s boss,” Zach said. “He was with her when three men attacked them and left with Jaime. He’s only here to help.”

Lenora grabbed the man’s arms. “You let them take my daughter? You let them take Jaime?”

“I tried to stop them,” he said.

Matt pulled his mother into his arms. “He’s here to help, Mom. We’ll get Jaime back. You can count on that. Just try to stay calm while we think this through.”

The empty words of reassurance roared in her head and a pain so intense it blinded her jabbed through her heart. Her chest exploded, and her mind went off in a million fiery tangents.

The pain hit again, and this time she felt herself crashing against the table. Jaime’s face appeared for a second and then vanished in a frigid swirl of black.

TWO HOURS AFTER THE ABDUCTION, the black sedan turned onto an isolated, muddy logging road that didn’t appear to have been used in years. In the backseat Rio Hernandez was still fuming at the turn of events and the lack of warning he’d had about what was going down. Not only did this not advance his own agenda, it put a serious kink in it.

“Where the hell are we going?” Rio demanded. “Or is that top secret, too?”

“There’s an old fishing camp at the end of the road,” Poncho answered from the driver seat. “You two beasts and the beauty will hold up there until we hear otherwise.”

The front right tire plunged into a deep pothole and the car shuddered and jerked, throwing the semiconscious prisoner against Rio’s shoulder.

He steadied her, aware of the softness of her skin beneath his hand and the silky texture of her hair as it brushed his rough cheek. His insides revolted at the quick stir of attraction. Definitely not the time for his libido to get into the act.

The woman’s eyes fluttered open and she looked up, meeting Rio’s gaze. Confusion clouded the deep blue of her irises, making her appear far more vulnerable than she’d looked when sinking her sharp white teeth into the sinewy tissue of his shoulder.

A gurgle resonated from deep in her throat, capturing the attention of the other passenger in the car. From the front Luke turned so that he could see into the backseat. “You two getting all cozy back there?” A croaking laugh punctuated what he saw as an amusing comment.

“What’s it to you?” Rio quipped.

“No one gave you first dibs on her,” Luke retorted.

“She ain’t up for dibs,” Poncho said. “She’s not entertainment. She’s collateral. Get it?”

“Yeah, we get it,” Rio said. “So is this hottie worth going to prison for?”

“No one’s going to prison on her account, not unless you guys foul things up. Then you still won’t have to worry. You won’t live long enough to face a judge and jury.”

Two miles farther and the road played out completely. Poncho finally pulled to a stop in a cluster of towering pine trees. Just beyond them, a ramshackle cabin with a leaning chimney and a half-rotted stoop waited unwelcomingly.

“This is home for the next few days,” Poncho said.

Rio opened the car door and stepped into a soggy bed of pine straw. “This dump? No self-respecting rat would stay here.”

Luke screwed his lips into a scowl as he climbed from the front seat. “I’m not sleeping with rats.”

“You’ve slept with worse,” the driver commented.

Luke worried the scar on his face and stepped over a downed limb. “You aren’t going to leave us stranded out here in the middle of nowhere, are you?”

Poncho reached into his pocket and pulled out a key ring with one key attached. He tossed it to Luke.

“There’s a car parked out of sight behind the cabin, but you’re to stay put until you get word to drive the woman somewhere. When you do, tie her, gag her and lock her in the trunk. There’s rope and duct tape ready and waiting.”

“Looks like the end of the friggin’world,” Luke said. “Phones aren’t going to work out here.”

“Your phones will work. It’s all been checked out. They’re essential to the plan’s execution.” Poncho scratched his balding head and swatted at a mosquito feeding on his cheek. “Help the lady inside,” he ordered, directing his command at Rio.

Rio tugged the woman from the car and half carried, half dragged her toward the cabin. She was in no shape to offer resistance, but she didn’t help, either.

It was more like dragging a dead weight along beside him and he had to be careful not to let her feet get caught in the scratchy brambles that had overgrown the path. Once inside, he let her slide from his grasp into a faded arm chair.

Luke went to the kitchen corner of the main living area and started rummaging through nearly empty cabinets, slamming the doors in disgust as he went. “What are we supposed to eat?”

“Those boxes in the trunk have food and water in them.”

“That’s more like it.” Luke went back for the goods, giving Rio the opportunity he’d been waiting for.

“Is this about a ransom or a payback?” he asked Poncho.

“A ransom. If it were payback, she’d be dead.”

“Who’s the victim?”

“Jaime Collingsworth.”

“Collingsworth as in Collingsworth Oil?”

“Could be.”

“So this is about money?”

“You’ll find that out if and when you need to know.”

“I didn’t sign on to be treated like a second-class citizen.”

“You do as you’re told, Rio.”

“That’s not how it was explained to me. I’m a Navy SEAL. We don’t play the role of flunky.”

“You were a SEAL. Now you’re just the new guy on the block. The boss wants proof you’re a hundred percent before he invites you to the dinner table.”

“Carlos would have never thrown me a crumb if he hadn’t checked me out fully. I was told I’d be a key player.”

Poncho leaned on the short counter that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room. “This kidnapping is big, Rio. See this through without a glitch, and you’ll see plenty of action next time from the inside out. And your bonus will make all the trouble worthwhile.”

“I’ll see it through, but I don’t want any more surprises like the abduction tonight. And I’d just as soon you take that buffoon with you when you leave.” He nodded toward the door where Luke had stepped outside. “He’ll be nothing but trouble for me.”

“Luke’s not as dumb as he seems. And the boss trusts him to do as he’s told without talking. That counts.”

Carlos might trust Luke, but Rio didn’t, especially now that he had the sexy spitfire thrown into the mix. Any way he looked at it she was solid trouble. When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not your friend.

Odd how that old Murphy’s Law of military combat came back to haunt him even now.

He needed more information about the woman, and he wasn’t going to get it from Poncho. That meant he needed a minute without Luke hanging over his shoulder. He had to bide his time.

When Luke returned to guard the victim, Poncho and Rio did a quick walk-through of the small cabin.

There were two bedrooms, one with a couple of twin beds, the other with a double bed. The one window in that room had been securely boarded up. The door locked with a key from the outside. No doubt this was Jaime’s room.