Tangled (Steele Ranch 3)

I cleared my throat. “Definitely later.”

He certainly knew how to sweet talk his way into my pants…and he was doing a great job of working his way into my heart as well. My ovaries were ready to pop out some eggs for him to raise.

His gaze dropped to my lips. “Later. Archer’s here. It’s time to talk about what happened last night, and I don’t mean what we did on the coffee table.”

He winked and walked out, leaving me with Kady and Penny grilling me for the naughty details.

10

SUTTON

* * *

“You want to go with him, don’t you?” Cricket asked.

We were on the front porch and watching everyone leave, the SUVs and trucks kicking up dust as they went down the long driveway. Kady and Penny left with their men to go home, Archer on his own to head to Missoula. The sun was setting; we’d talked through the morning, at least what was left of it when Cricket had finally gotten up. After hearing how hard she pushed herself with working full-time and school, and how late we kept her up, she deserved to sleep in. It also filled me with ridiculous male pride to know that Archer, Lee and I had worn her out that much.

I’d slept hard. No nightmares. Perhaps fucking them away was the way to do it. But then I thought back to the night I’d met Cricket at the rodeo, got her into my hotel bed. After fucking her twice, we’d fallen asleep, but then the nightmare had come. I’d grabbed her, thinking she was an insurgent. She’d yelled, jostled me enough to rouse me only for me to discover I’d bruised her gorgeous skin. I could have done worse.

That was why I’d left her with Archer and Lee the night before. No fucking way would I hurt her again, even unintentionally. That was the perk behind claiming her with my two best friends. She wouldn’t be alone at night. She could be held, kept warm in the dead of winter, even fucked if she was needy. But it wasn’t going to be with me. I’d happily fill any of her needs out of bed and when there wasn’t any chance of me falling asleep.

“Yes, I want to go with Archer.” Leaning down, I kissed the top of her head. “Fuck, yes.”

As a group, we’d talked over lunch—Cricket and I along with Archer, Lee, Cord, Riley, Jamison and Boone. Kady and Penny, too. We’d listened to Cricket recount the details she knew. Names, locations, how she paid off her debt, how they’d come to her house, pretty much fucking kidnapped her, where they took her. That had taken over an hour, then Archer had needed the rest of the afternoon to work with the police who had jurisdiction to organize a take down. Night was best. The cover of darkness, surprise, and they knew where the fuck he’d be—the strip club.

I wrapped my arm about Cricket’s waist, pulled her into my side. She felt warm, soft and perfect in my hold. It felt…right. A wave of contentment washed over me. For a year, I’d wondered where she was. Hell, I’d wondered who she was. Kicked myself every day wishing I’d told her something so she’d have stuck around, at least given me her damned phone number.

But she was here. This was her land and she wasn’t going anywhere. It was up to me to keep from fucking this up. Over her head, I glanced at Lee, saw the same determination I felt.

The men who’d harassed Cricket were going to jail. No, they didn’t just harass her, they’d pretty much sex trafficked her, holding her against her will and threatened her if she didn’t perform lewd and inappropriate acts as well as the expectation of sexual performance for repayment of money that would most likely never end. Those were the fancy words Riley had used, the ones the local police would use on the arrest warrant.

Archer was headed to the Missoula area to meet up with them to see it done. While it wasn’t his jurisdiction, they were more than generous in having him participate in the takedown, if just from a support

standpoint.

It eased my mind knowing he’d be there, that he’d see the guys were in cuffs and off the streets. That neither was a threat to Cricket, or any other woman, ever again.

“If he were there, Sutton would just get himself arrested,” Lee said, which had Cricket turning her head to look up at him.

That was the damned truth. I’d be behind bars because instead of giving the asshole the right to remain silent and a right to an attorney, he’d be dead. The fucker wanted to exploit those who were weaker? Intimidate women? Force them to do sick shit? Yeah, he’d be in the back of my pickup like an elk during hunting season. I’d killed for Kady. I’d do it for Cricket without blinking an eye. I’d killed while deployed, the line blurry about who really was the enemy when sitting in a foreign desert. It also haunted me. But this wouldn’t haunt me. Keeping Cricket safe was my highest priority.

And Archer knew this and that was why I was standing on the porch and he was off to get shit done.

“Kady told me you killed the guy who broke into the house,” she said, her voice soft.

I stilled. Panic gripped my heart. It wasn’t a secret what had happened. Any one of the guys there that night would have done the same. I’d just gotten to him first. “I did. Do I scare you?”

“Because you were protecting my sister?” She tilted her head up, looked at me, studied me as if wondering if I were serious.

I nodded.

“Of course not. I’m proud of you.”

She was proud of me? I’d killed someone. I was scarred; not physically, but definitely mentally. “I’d do it for you.” I stroked my knuckles down her cheek.

“Again, that’s why we’re here and Archer’s going after the bad guys,” Lee said, circling right back around, making light of the situation, as was his nature. I was too serious. Again.

“He’ll call when they’re in custody,” I told her, giving her a reassuring squeeze.