Captured by Cowboys (Doms of Destiny, Colorado 1)

He found no one else.

Straightening up, he pointed the barrel of his gun at the guy he’d turned into a eunuch.

He scanned the other prick he’d filled with lead. Dead as a doornail.

He limped closer to the other man. “Who the fuck sent you? Nate Wright?”

Chapter Fourteen

Amber looked out the big picture window at Bryant and Emmett standing by the dragon statue that guarded the southwest corner of the park in the center of Destiny. Around the green space were the four roads that made up the city’s square and housed most of its business.

Knowing her cowboys were across the road, just on the other side of South Street, gave her some comfort. They’d never stopped glaring through the window of Phong’s Wok at the man who had come to take her away from Destiny.

Sergei stood by the stone Buddha near the front door, talking on his cell and glancing back at her several times. This was the fourth time he’d taken or made a call. He’d apologized each time, claiming the calls were work related.

She looked at her plate of orange chicken, which she’d only taken a couple of bites from. Her appetite had vanished the moment she’d walked into the sheriff’s office earlier. She was thirsty, but her glass of water had been empty for over fifteen minutes. There’d been no sign of staff or owners coming to their table with a pitcher. In fact, there was no sign of staff anywhere to be found. Even the customers had disappeared right after Mr. White and she arrived. Very strange, but a quick look at her cell told her that the current time—3:31—had to be a downtime around Destiny. Right this minute, she and White were in between the lunch rush and the dinner crowd.

Sergei sat back down at their table. “Okay. Where were we?”

“At the very beginning. How did you and I meet?”

“Why do you insist on grilling me like a two-bit criminal?” His angry tone was easy to detect.

“I’m sorry if my questions are making you feel that way. That’s not my intention.”

He rolled his eyes, and she felt a heavy pit in her gut. “You said you remembered a boy. Do you recall his name?”

She shook her head. “I wish I did. He seems so lost and sweet.”

“Hispanic, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Let’s toss around some common Spanish boys’ names, Kathy. Maybe one of them will unlock your mind.”

“Okay. Maybe it will.”

“Let’s start with the letter J, shall we?”

“Sure thing,” she answered but wondered why he’d chosen the middle of the alphabet as opposed to the beginning.

Several that began with the letter A came to her mind. Alberto. Alfonzo. Antonio. Many more popped in her head but none of them were the boy’s name, of that she was certain.

“Let’s begin,” White said. “Jesus. Javier. Jose.”

“No. None of those sound right to me.” She closed her eyes and brought up the image of the boy in the back of her mind. The kid’s smile was so sweet. Who was he?

“Look at me, Kathy.” Sergei’s tone seemed to carry a suspicious note to Amber. Or was that just her overactive imagination getting the best of her?

She opened her eyes and looked directly into White’s. She watched him squeeze his eyes tight and, as before, chew on his lower lip. Silent alarms were firing inside her, but she wasn’t sure why. She had the oddest urge to wave Bryant and Emmett inside. Why? What reason would she be able to tell her cowboys if she motioned them in? That she didn’t like his tone? No way. Sergei might actually be telling the truth, and where did that leave her?

When White opened his eyes back up after what felt like at minimum a full minute to her, she watched his face cloud up with what seemed to her to be anger and volatility. She leaned back in her chair, trying to put an extra inch of space between them. Silly? Maybe, but she needed to be cautious.

He tapped his fingers on the table, creating a rat-tat-tat repetitive sound. Then he grabbed her hand. “What about ‘Juan’ for the boy’s name? You think that’s his name?”

She pulled her hand free from his grasp. Maybe she’d liked his touch in her former life, but right now, right here, she definitely didn’t. Everything inside her was recoiling from Sergei, but she wasn’t sure why or even if it was appropriate. How could she trust her gut when her head had taken a hike, leaving no forwarding address?

Sergei reached across the table and cupped her chin. Then he glanced out the window. He knew Bryant and Emmett were within a couple of leaps from them. Her cowboys.