Captured by Cowboys (Doms of Destiny, Colorado 1)

“Darlin’, if I hauled in everyone who passed around a plastic bag, the jails would be full. You have no proof. Honestly, even if you had held the bag in your hand and inspected it, unless you managed to get a sample, we couldn’t be sure. You believe it was crystal meth, but you’re not a chemist and Juan’s twelve, so I’m sure he isn’t either. Though now that I think about it, we got a couple of teenaged evil geniuses here, so I shouldn’t judge. The Farley boys are going to run a crime syndicate one of these days. If they don’t blow up the town first.”

Wright had a deep, laid-back Western accent and seemed to be willing to go off subject. She had to pull him back in. “So there’s no way to convict him?”

He chuckled over the line, a deep, almost soothing sound. “Now there’s always a way to convict someone. I suggest you head to Bliss, Kathy. I’ll make a few calls and see what I can find out about Mr. Mitrofanov. I used to be in the DEA. I still have some contacts there. You’ll find out we never say ‘die’ here in Bliss. Well, not when it comes to solving a problem, that is. We’re actually the murder capital of the country, so we say ‘die’ a whole lot.”

The lawman’s words weren’t convincing her that there was any chance Sergei would be convicted. “If I could bring you a couple bags of the dope to see for yourself, would that help our case against him?”

“That’s not a good idea. Come to Bliss and let’s talk about this. You need to stay away from that boys’ home.”

But she couldn’t do that. The other boys were still in jeopardy as long as Sergei remained free and able to run Green Lakes. If Nate needed evidence to build an open-and-shut case, she would find it.

Later, after two in the morning, she parked her car in front of the boys’ home. The admin building was empty, unlike the home’s dormitory, which housed fifty-two orphaned youngsters, who were hopefully all asleep. She walked down the hallway to Sergei’s office in the dark. She wasn’t about to turn on a light and alert Marcus, the staffer who had worked nights here for more than ten years.

Even though she knew Sergei’s office door must be locked, she still tried to turn its handle, but it didn’t budge. She opened her purse and peered at its contents—a little makeup, her wallet, the paper with Nate’s contact information, and her universal tool she never left home without. The admin building was the oldest on the property. Every door, including this one, had big gaps between the door and frame. She twisted the screwdriver into the gap where the bolt mechanism sat. It worked to release the lock. She swung the director’s door wide. The light from the streetlamp shining through the window was enough illumination. In less than five minutes, she found three plastic bags filled with more dope in an unlocked drawer of his filing cabinet. The arrogant fucker apparently wasn’t afraid of ever being caught. How long had he been using the boys to work his criminal activity? He’d been director here for quite some time, long before she’d been hired.

She scooped the bags up in her arms. She would take these to Bliss and hand them over to Nate. Sergei would go down and the sweet, innocent boys here would be safe.

Suddenly Sergei’s office brightened up from the headlights shining through his window. She peered out the blinds and saw the asshole getting of his car, which he’d parked next to hers. Terror made her mouth desert dry and her pulse lightning fast.

Instead of going out the front to her car, she ran to the back of the building, pulling the keys to the home’s van from the hook by the back door. The tiny parking lot was much smaller than the one out front. Of the four parking spaces back here, only one had her last escape option—the Green Lake Boys’ Home’s white van.

A little more than a week ago, Amber had left Chicago for Bliss, Colorado, not Destiny. But the confusing roads mixed with her overwrought state caused her to take at least one wrong turn, maybe two. When she was stopped by a flat tire on the van, she’d started out on foot in search of help. After walking for only God knew how long, the wind had started picking up. The storm was rolling in. She’d tripped and hit her head on a fallen log. The next thing she remembered was being in the cabin with her three amazing cowboys.

As the memory faded away, Amber’s heart thumped hard and fast in her chest.

She looked at the lying bastard still talking on his phone. Sergei’s back was to her, so she chanced a quick look out the window, but the two men she expected to wave inside Phong’s were no longer standing by the dragon statue. Her heart leapt into her throat. Where were they?

With the cell still glued to his ear, Sergei glanced at her for a second, inducing a horrific cold shiver inside her.

She forced her lips to reshape into a smile, realizing it would be in her best interest to continue to play dumb with her old boss if she had any chance of getting out of this mess.

When Sergei turned back to face the wall and let her get a view of his back, Amber quickly typed a text to Emmett and prayed he would get it. She also sent a text message to Cody, even though she bet he was still on the mountain without cell service.

Her eyes darted around the restaurant, which was strangely empty, save her and Sergei. Where were the waitresses? The other customers? What had her old boss done? Something to ensure he could be alone with her?

Another hasty glance out the window pulverized her completely. With her memories back and no sign of her rescuers’ whereabouts, a bad omen took hold of her, dimming whatever light might’ve been at the end of this bloody tunnel. She still wasn’t going to give up without a fight, but she wanted to be smart.

Before she could risk another text, Sergei walked back to the table.

He laughed. “Got your memory back, Kathy?”

“No, Mr. White. I don’t,” Amber lied, hating the shakiness she heard in her voice.

“Time to end this charade, don’t you think?” His murderous stare was horrifying to see.

“Maybe we should call it a day for now. We can pick this up in the morning.”

“Don’t try to fuck me over again, Kathy. I saw the panic in your eyes when you looked around this dump. Don’t worry. I didn’t come to town alone. I brought some of my guys with me. A couple of them tied up the staff and put them in the freezer out back after we were served our food. Four more have been making sure no one, not even those two idiots across the street, comes in for moo goo gai pan.”

The man was evil and completely nuts.

&n

bsp; “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. White.”

“You know my name is Mitrofanov. Stop bullshitting me and maybe I will spare your little wetback.” The hollowness of her old boss terrified her.

“While you were on the phone, I left a message for Emmett to come get me.”