All Roads Lead Home (35 page)

“Thank you. I won’t be too long.”

“Take your time,” Jagger called out.

I waited for Jacob to close the door behind him, and then I turned back to Jagger, who was practically foaming from his mouth.

“What the hell was that? I have never been so humiliated in all of my life, and this is not just any guy off the street. This man, Jacob Paulson, is a highly decorated federal agent, who lucky for you has a sense of humor. And do you care to explain to me what the raising of the hand was? Oh, cowboy! If you think for one God loving second that I will just transform into the good little woman who fucking bows down to your feet, you have another thing coming. I am not that girl. I was never that girl, and I will never be that girl. Got me?”

“Oh, my Tumbleweed! My wildcat. You drive me fucking insane. I love your dirty mouth, and I love how you work it on me. I want you so bad right now. Keep talking that way, and I don’t care who he is, I will take you right here, right now.”

I was shoved hard up against the wall, knocking down the pictures that my back banged into. Jagger had my legs wrapped around his waist and was kissing me savagely on my neck and chest. I kissed him back with the same intensity. We pressed our foreheads together and took in some calming breaths.

“I’m not sorry,” Jagger said. “Be angry with me, but don’t shut me out. Punish me the way you see fit, preferably on my body, but don’t leave me. I love you, Ten, and I’m just out of my mind that I have you back. Maybe back then I never had a reason to be jealous because I was this overconfident guy who thought what you just accused me of doing. Now my innocent spitfire has returned as this hell on wheels woman that has the ability to bring me down to my knees, and I’m smart enough to know to remember that. I love you.”

“I love you too, and you are forgiven, even though you’re not sorry. He’s a friend and a colleague, nothing more. Please do not be rude to him. Obviously Jacob’s reasoning must be pretty important if he took the time to fly out here. I just wish I knew what happened to the message he said he sent.”

“Wait a minute, didn’t he say about four days ago?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“I think I know what happened to it. We were at the cabin, and you were asleep. I went outside to get some firewood and found a note tacked to the door. I shoved it in my pocket and haven’t looked at since. I guess I forgot about it until now.”

“Where is it, Jagger?”

“I have it here. I put it in my jacket intending to give it to you, but then I haven’t been back here since I left you a few days ago.”

Jagger handed me the telegram, and sure enough, it was from Jacob, asking me to call him as soon as possible, and from a burner phone. It’s not something I advertise, but I do carry one for emergencies like this one. I knocked on the closed door as Jacob was finishing up his call.

“Can I come out now? Or is the caveman going to club me over the head?” Jacob asked.

“You may, and he only uses the club on me.” I tried to make light of the tense situation, but neither guy was laughing.

“Okay, can we start over? I’m sorry, Jacob, for all of the confusion. I did after all receive your message, so what is this about?”

“It’s federal business, Tenley. We need to discuss this in private.”

“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m not staying. If this involves my girl, it involves me,” Jagger once again interrupted, staking his claim.

Jacob sighed in frustration. “Fine! At least allow me to finish a full sentence before you rudely interrupt me again.”

I looked over at Jagger, and he had his arms crossed over his chest and nodded at me. I mouthed back, “I love you” to calm and reassure him.
Honestly! What is it with men and their pissing contests?
I asked Jacob to take a seat, and we got comfortable to hear him out.

“Tenley, the reason for my visit is simply to bring you back to New York with me.”

I grabbed Jagger’s knee to silence him. He gritted his teeth while his jaw clenched in vexation.

“Why? What’s happened?”

“Roberto Bornarelli has made his presence known, and we now can tie him to Tommy’s brutal attack. All the video footage has been analyzed, and there’s no doubt it was him that ordered the hit on your friend. The threats at the office have also been linked back to him. He wants revenge on you for putting his father away. His father wants peace and no more bloodshed in his family. The take-down not only brought down their housing scheme, but it also cost the lives of two captains, and more than six men who proved to have failed the family.”

“Wow! I spoke to Raymond today, and he mentioned the threats, but not all of this.”

“He doesn’t know all of it, just what we feel is enough for him right now. We also have your phone tapped. One of the assistants there, Cheryl, is a mob plant working for Bornarelli. She’s a single mother with college loans to pay off. He got to her and will take her out if she doesn’t give up your location. I’m guessing that’s why she asked you about it today. Up until now, Cheryl has been a loyal employee. I’ve heard the rumors, all true by the way. You scare the hell out of half the staff in your office. She didn’t do this on her own. She’s being threatened by Roberto.”

“I knew it right away just from her tone alone. She has never been so casual with me on the phone.”

“You have to come to New York with me. Once they know you’re back in the city, they will make their next move against you, and then we will move in and arrest them.”

“No. Fucking. Way. Is Tenley going back to New York as bait,” Jagger blurted out as he stood to face Jacob.

“I can’t protect her here. It’s too open and vast,” Jacob responded, now facing Jagger, towering over him.

“If anyone is going to protect Tenley, it will be me. She stays here.”

“Enough! Back to your neutral corners and let me talk. Jacob, do they know where I am right now? Is my family in danger?”

“No. As far as anyone knows, you are on an extended holiday and very far from New York.”

“Okay then. That will be the story that will continue to play out. We can create a false paper trail and send them to the office. In the meantime, you place a twenty four/ seven protective guard on Cheryl and her daughter.”

“Tenley, security measures are already in place for her and the child. Roberto’s getting ready to make his next move. I need you back where we can draw him out into the open. His father doesn’t want him harmed. Roberto is a loose cannon who shoots first, never questions. He did this all on his own without the approval from his father, so if this goes bad, he may have to be taken out before he tries again to get to you, but it won’t be from us. His old man will order the hit himself. If that occurs, then you are still in danger because we will not know if any other threats exist. We need to draw him out into the open. It’s the only way.”

“Fine, I agree.”

“Tenley!” Jagger shouted. Ignoring him completely, I focused on Jacob.

“I will agree to this plan, but not before Christmas. I’m safe here on my family’s ranch. We have state of the art security systems wired all throughout our properties. I have a dozen or more ranch hands that live here on this property alone, and if memory serves, Jacob, I’m a damn good shot. You can thank my daddy for teaching me.”

“I guess there’s no point in arguing with you after that list of valid points, counselor.”

“You can try, but I’m not only a good shot, but a damn good lawyer too! So pick the battles you can win, Paulson.”

And with that, the tension that filled the room a few moments ago had been replaced with Jacob laughing and Jagger undressing me with his eyes. His eyes were blazing with feral desire for me. It’d been a long time since we had a good tongue lashing with each other, but now we would continue it in the bedroom. It took all my control not to pounce on him. He got me so turned on, my panties were dripping wet.

He knew what I was thinking and nodded in victory that he had the ability to affect me without even laying a finger on me. I offered my parents’ cabin to Jacob to stay on here while I celebrated Christmas with my family. He only stayed the one night, and then flew back to his office. He would return to Wyoming on the 27th, and we would fly to New York together.

Jagger was adamant about going with me, as if I could stop him. I explained in the shortest detail possible to my parents why I needed to go back to New York, but since Jagger was accompanying me, they didn’t worry. For the first time in many years, I was home and I was determined to give my family the best Christmas they had ever seen. It would never be the same without my brother with us, but I knew he would be watching from the night sky above. They needed this moment with me, just as much as I needed to share it with them. I even convinced Jagger to have Shane and Shelby join us at the winter carnival.

I didn’t care what I had to do to help my man mend his broken fences with Shane. Life was too short, we all had a hard lesson in realizing that. They both meant too much to me not to at least try to help them find their way. It was my way of honoring Jamie’s wishes for his brothers. No matter what danger lied ahead for me back in New York, Christmas here in Wyoming would be beautiful, and it would be shared with the man I love, along with my family and friends.

THIS WEEK HAD been one surprise after another with Paulson showing up making the decision to take Tenley back to New York. Some fucker was gunning for my girl and would not stop until he succeeded. Going with her was the only way I could keep her safe. He would never have a chance to harm one hair on her beautiful head.

She could brag all she wanted to Paulson about her skill when it came to firing a gun, but I’m praying it would not come down to that, and Jacob’s guys can take him out. This was my first Christmas with Tenley in over six years, so I was kind of nervous about it. I had her ring, and I wanted to choose the perfect time to present her with it. Wendy already told me to make a big production out of it and get on my knee in front of the entire town, but that wasn’t my girl. Her career may be fast paced, but never the girl. Tenley would always choose simplicity over the grand gestures. I was sure of it and knew exactly how I would do it.

It’d been a few days since I attempted to ride my horse. She was itching to get out of the stables just as I was to ride her. I fastened the last strap on her saddle and had a chat with my horse.

“Okay She-devil, we’re going to take this slow, and I’ll let you know when we should fly.”

I fed her some apples and she nudged my shoulder for more. I was just about to mount her when Shane walked in.

“Hey, man, mind if I join you?”

“I don’t know, Shane, going to throw me off a cliff again?”

He looked defeated, and I knew I was being a dick to him. After Paulson left us, the conversation shifted to Shane. Tenley wanted me to try and work at letting go of my anger and to find the forgiveness to move on from the pains of the past. She wasn’t taking no for an answer until I promised her I would try. I conceded and said I would. Judging by the way he was looking at me, Shane was pissed.

“Sorry, man,” I mumbled.

“Yeah, I think that is the most overused word in my vocabulary. I’m sorry too, man, but I’m done saying it. I’ve been apologizing to you for over six years now, and I’m done. I swear to you that I never meant to hurt you, and I will regret my actions for the rest of my life. These past years have not been easy for me, and they don’t seem to be getting any better. I’ve paid over and over for my sins, brother, and I’m so fucking over it.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“Are you fucking serious, man?”

“I know, shocking, right? Yes, Shane, I am. I was just about to take a ride. Saddle up and join me. We need to talk, or maybe I just need to listen for a change.”

He didn’t hesitate and grabbed a saddle. The sky was clear, and the temp wasn’t too bad. We took the horses out to where I built my home for Tenley. Shane had never seen the house before today, and his eyes brightened in amazement. It was stunning, I would have to agree. I personalized every last detail with Tenley in mind as I designed it. It was always my dream to share it with only Tenley, and now that dream is coming true.

“Wow, man! You truly outdid yourself. The house is gorgeous.”

“Thanks man, I love it. I can’t wait to carry my girl over the threshold to our new life together.”

“That’s all I want for you two,” Shane said. “I hope you know that. You can never go up against fate and win. You and Tenley are two halves of each other’s soul. I’m happy you two made it.”

You could see the sincerity written all over Shane’s face. For the first time in years, I saw who my best friend used to be, and it hit me hard through my chest. I wanted our friendship back. I looked up to the sky and tipped my hat.
This is me trying, Jamie.

I gave him a tour of the house, and we talked for hours. I told Shane I no longer wanted to live in the past. Words hurt just as much as actions did, and I knew I was doing both. When I was choosing the bottle of Jack to make me forget my girl and the betrayal I felt, it was only breaking me down more, until my crash. Hitting that tree was probably the best thing that could have happened to me. I was at my lowest point in my life, my rock bottom. I walked away from that unharmed and with new resolve to straighten out my life and pave the road back to Tenley.