Luke (Armed and Dangerous Book 2) (27 page)

Luke forced himself to remain calm and to keep from reacting to Butler’s barbed tongue. His heart twisted as he saw how blue Trinity’s lips had become, and the red blotches on her skin. “Let Trinity put on some clothes.”

“I am getting sick of looking at that ugly body.” Butler nodded toward Trinity’s clothing. “Go ahead, but just remember the ‘no sudden moves’ rule. Not that you’re capable of doing anything more than screwing the ranch hands.”

Trinity’s body wracked with shivers as she moved to put her clothes on, and Luke’s gut tightened. If he’d been close enough to her, he’d have taken a chance on disarming the bitch. She was getting tired, and she was definitely overconfident.

Butler waited until Trinity had dressed herself, then the bitch waved her gun toward the cave entrance. “Start walking. Hands up where I can see them, yadda yadda yadda.”

“Too bad we won’t get to finish what we started in the barn,” Trinity said with an odd note in her voice. Luke cut his gaze to her and she gave him a look that said
, Listen to what I’m not saying.
“You know, what I was doing—what we were doing—before Race interrupted us.”

“Shut the hell up,” Butler said. “I’m not interested in hearing or for God’s sake seeing any more of your fuck-a-pades.”

Luke wanted to tell Trinity
no, don’t try it
, but she had that look in her eyes that said she’d made up her mind. Without smiling, Luke winked at Trinity, so that only she could see, telling her he got her message. At this point, since backup hadn’t arrived, this might be their only chance. He had no idea where the tunnels were, but when Butler got them close enough, she’d shoot them both, and fast—and the bitch was a good marksman.

Luke raised his arms, palms forward, and started toward the cave entrance.

Hope you’re as good as I think you are, sugar. Both of our lives depend on it.

Heart pounding like a herd of wild horses galloping across the desert, Trinity followed behind Luke, keeping enough distance between them that she’d reach Joyce about the same time he got clear of the cave.

Joyce Butler watched them coming, her eyes mostly on Luke, whom she perceived to be her only real threat.

Trinity was counting on that.

She clasped her two hands together, and thought about all the times Joyce had run her down, all the pain she had suffered from the bullying Joyce instigated.

For that, Trinity actually forgave the bitch.

It didn’t matter anymore.

What she couldn’t forgive Joyce for was threatening her sister and the man she loved.

This little murder plan of hers, that just wasn’t going to happen.

“I love you, Luke,”
Trinity shouted at the same time she swung her fists up and under Joyce’s gun arm.

Contact.

Trinity felt the jolt of her fists hitting Joyce’s hands and the gun butt all the way through her skull.

Joyce screamed and the weapon fired as Trinity forced the woman’s hand up toward the cave’s ceiling. Rock shards rained down on them, landing on their heads and faces, getting in Trinity’s eyes. Her eyes stung as she followed her first swing with another one, this time slicing her fists against Joyce’s wrists and knocking the gun from the woman’s hand.

Another shot fired. Trinity didn’t know if it was from Joyce’s gun, and she didn’t stop to think about it.

“You fucking bitch!” With a shriek, Joyce raked her nails along Trinity’s cheek, but Trinity didn’t flinch.

Years of kickboxing training and Trinity went on autopilot. She landed a punch to Joyce’s jaw, snapping the woman’s head back. In a flash of movement, Trinity positioned herself for a side kick and slammed one Nike-clad foot down on Joyce’s thigh, just above her knee.

Joyce Butler screamed again and fell back against the cave wall. Her face was a sickening shade of purple, her eyes glittering with fury. Her brown hair stuck up like horns, making her look like the demon she was. “You’re gonna die now, slut,” Joyce spat as her hand shot to her back pocket where she probably had a second gun.

With a powerful right jab, Trinity buried her fist in Joyce’s belly, her hand sinking deep into the soft flesh.

Air rushed from Joyce’s lungs in a loud cough, doubling the woman over until she dropped to her knees. Trinity snatched Joyce’s extra gun from her back pocket. She backed up a few steps, and just like she’d learned at the firing range, she cocked the weapon and aimed it at the bitch’s head.

The way Joyce was rolling around the floor and screaming in obvious pain, though, it wasn’t likely she was going to be making any moves toward Trinity.

Sparing a glance toward the front of the cave, Trinity saw Luke casually standing with his own gun back in his hand.

Trinity’s gaze met Luke’s.

He smiled, and the look he gave her pumped the volume on every word he spoke. “I love you, too, sugar.”

The next few days passed by in a virtual blur for Trinity. It was worse than after Fenning’s arrest and Joyce’s supposed “disappearance.” She’d hardly had a chance to see Luke with all that he’d had to do to wrap up those pieces of his investigation, and they hadn’t had a second alone. Her body ached to feel him again, to be wrapped up tight in his arms and stare into his eyes for hours.

The moment she got him to herself, she was gonna jump him. After she beat him to death for not telling her he was a DEA agent.

He’d explained that.

Zack had explained it.

And Noah, and Clay Wayland, and even Skylar had taken a turn—but Trinity still thought a kick to the gut was in order.

His name wasn’t even Rider. It was Denver.

With a sigh, she perched on the small stool at the vanity table in her bedroom and ran a brush through her strawberry blond waves. But she didn’t even see her own reflection. Instead she couldn’t help but relive the incredible sex she’d had with Luke in the cave. And then the terrifying moments that had begun immediately after.

Thank God they had made it out alive.

When Luke had reached behind him for his gun, he had managed to press a button on his cell phone. It had opened a line to some kind of special setup that notified his partner, Rios, and gave him Luke’s coordinates, along with letting him in on the conversation in the cave.

Rios had called for backup, but had gotten sidetracked when he’d run into a group of Joyce Butler’s men on his way up the mountain, illegal immigrants they’d been using as mules to smuggle cocaine into the United States from Mexico.

After Luke had secured Joyce’s hands behind her back and bound her ankles with strips of material he’d torn from his denim shirt, he had whipped out his cell phone and reached Rios.

Thirty minutes later it was all over. The sheriff’s department, the DEA, ICE, CBP—heck, it had seemed like everyone had arrived. Trinity had been vaguely embarrassed by the thoughts of the whole world snuffling around the cave where she’d just had wild sex—and gotten interrupted, of course, by that psychopathic bitch.

What was it, anyway, with people catching her having sex? Payback for all those times she’d watched Skylar and Zack?

Trinity sighed at the thought, feeling a twinge between her legs. Here it was, Christmas Eve, and she had no idea when she would get to see Luke, or where he even was right now.

Or even what she was going to do about the future.

Yesterday she’d contacted Human Resources at DropCaps and notified them that she’d be working from the Flying M until at least March. They had no problem with that, as long as she scheduled some time at the London, San Francisco, and New York hub offices, so she’d set up those visits. If things
did
work out for her and her cowboy...

She shook her head and smiled. A cowboy for cripes sake, and a lawman to boot. Anyway, if she and Luke were going to make a go at their relationship, she would try to get an estimate of how often she’d need to travel, and take it from there.

After all that had happened over the past couple of weeks, Trinity felt as though she had come full circle. She could finally leave behind the old, insecure version of herself and see where the future led her—even if that was back into some aspects of her past, like Douglas. She just needed to be herself, and being herself was all right.

Trinity sighed again as she set the brush down, grabbed her makeup compact, and popped open the lid. She patted a little more foundation along the four long scratches marring her cheek, souvenirs of her encounter with Joyce Butler.

A smile of satisfaction crept across Trinity’s face. She’d kicked some serious butt in that cave, and it had sure felt good to let that bitch have it. No doubt, with all the evidence the various branches of law enforcement had gathered, Joyce was going to spend a very long time in prison—and the cartel she’d been working with had vanished like coyotes in the night. Guerrero might still be in business, but the bloody turf war Luke had described to her, that was history for now.

After Trinity finished putting on her makeup and had fastened earrings in all of her piercings, she slipped into an elegant strapless dress that she’d bought in Paris. It was a deep shade of emerald green, reached two inches above her knee, and hugged her slender figure. It didn’t come near showing the amount of skin as the dress she’d worn at Nevaeh’s. She felt sophisticated, sexy, and beautiful in it.

Too bad Luke wasn’t going to see her in the dress—unless he made it to the party at the Gadsden Hotel tonight. She hadn’t felt like going without him, but she’d promised Skylar.

Trinity struggled for a moment with the zipper, but finally managed to get it up. The shoes she chose were a matching green, but a decent height. Not like those death-on-sticks heels Nevaeh had talked her into wearing at that Christmas party where Trinity had met Luke. The stupid thong she was wearing was too tight, sliding up her crack, but she could handle that.

The hell with it.

Trinity hiked up her dress, peeled off the thong, and tossed it aside before pulling the dress down again. Just the feel of the outfit’s silky material brushing against her bare ass was enough to give her ideas for about a dozen fantasies, all of them involving Luke.

A knock sounded at the front door—probably Rylie, here to take her to Gadsden. Skylar and Zack had left earlier, needing to take care of a few things before they attended the party.

Trinity grabbed her handbag and headed out of her bedroom, down the hall to the living room. Her heels clicked against the tile, and she wondered why the house was so dark. She could swear she’d left the lights on in the kitchen. Only the colorful, twinkling bulbs on the Christmas tree illuminated the living room, giving it a soft holiday glow.

Trinity fixed a smile on her face and yanked open the front door—

To see Luke standing there with his sexy grin and that adorable dimple. “Merry Christmas, sugar,” he said in his deep, vibrant tone.

“Luke.” Trinity’s voice was only a hoarse whisper as she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her body to his.

Their mouths met, frantic, urgent, and demanding. He yanked up her skirt and groaned with obvious satisfaction when his palms rested on her naked ass. The next thing she knew, he’d picked her up and she’d wrapped her legs around his hips. Her head spun as he swung her around and backed her against the wall, never breaking contact with their kiss.

He felt so good, smelled so good, tasted so good.

Somehow he unbuckled his belt and she felt the coarse brush of denim against her thighs as he unfastened his jeans. Their hands and their mouths didn’t stop moving. And when he freed his cock, he drove inside her right there, right then, no teasing, no waiting.

Oh, God.
It felt so good, him taking her like that, his tongue plunging in and out of her mouth. Hard and fast he thrust into her, hurtling her so fast toward the peak that she could barely breathe.

Trinity purred her pleasure and her climax blasted through her in a flurry of incredible sensation. Luke swallowed her cries as his hips jerked against hers and his hot fluid filled her completely.

Lights blazed on, sudden and blinding.

At the exact same moment several voices shouted, “Surprise!”

And then the room went completely silent.

Trinity tore her mouth from Luke’s and buried her face against his shirt. “Oh. My. God.”

“Shit,” he muttered.

“Um... oops.” Skylar’s voice came from behind them. “Um, guys, let’s head back into the kitchen. We’ll break out the food while these two, uh, say hello.”

Giggles, laughter, snorts, and scattered conversation faded as the crowd moved out of the living room and into the kitchen.

“Sorry,” Skylar said, and then the living room went dark again, leaving only the twinkling Christmas lights.

When the room was quiet, Trinity tilted her head to look up at Luke. “Think we’ll ever be able to have sex without someone walking in on us?”

“Maybe.” Luke grinned and pressed his forehead to hers. “At least until we have kids.”

As far as Luke was concerned, they didn’t need to join any damn party—but that was purely for selfish reasons. He’d wanted to keep Trinity all to himself. But despite her embarrassment, she’d told him that they might as well get it over with.

Somehow that sounded familiar.

While Trinity had “freshened” up in her bathroom, Luke took her overnight bag out to his truck where he’d left a bag packed with a few of his own things. Once they escaped from this mandatory shindig, Luke was going to steal her away for some serious time alone.

Turned out that everything had been a setup—other than them being caught in the act. Again. Rylie had asked Luke to pick up Trinity exactly at seven, to take her to the party at the Gadsden. “Something came up at the last minute,” Rylie had said.

Hell, something had come up all right.

Just, ah, not quite what anyone expected.

When Trinity was as ready as she’d ever be, she and Luke joined the party that was now in full swing.

“Nice of you to make it,” Zack said with a grin as they reached the living room.

“I’m really sorry.” Skylar shook her head, a blush creeping up her neck as she reached for her heart pendant. “We had planned the surprise party out so well... it just never occurred to me ...”