Renegades (3 page)

“You said the evidence left to you is enough to bury him. Why did you need more?”

“I promised Ty on his grave that I’d find his killer and now I have. He was in hiding until today.”

“What will you do when you catch him? Turn him over to the cops?”

Fierce resolution hung on his voice. “I can’t trust them with the evidence. Pike has too many dirty officials in his pocket. I don’t want to place another person in danger by leaving it with them so I have everything hidden in a very safe place. There’s no way I’m letting him slip through a loophole in the system after waiting this long to find him.”

Shye was all too familiar with loopholes and corrupt officials. Her parents lost their farm—a home that had been in her family for generations—in just such a way. She began to see a common thread forming between her and this hunky biker. He hadn’t come right out and said it but she sensed by the tone in his voice that Trip didn’t plan on bringing him in alive.

His past sounded as tumultuous as her present. She gazed at him for several long minutes while absorbing all he’d said. Flickering light from a weakening fire cast a warm glow as the sky darkened with night. She let her gaze drift over him as he lay seemingly lost in thought while staring upward.

With arms folded behind his head now, he was a sight to behold racked out on the ground. From his glorious black hair to his long lean legs and everything in between, he embodied masculinity at its finest and was sexy as hell. She stared longingly at the bulging biceps then sighed as her eyes took in his muscular chest and rippling six-pack abs beneath a clingy black t-shirt.

He turned his head, their eyes met and heat flushed her cheeks, having been caught gawking like a schoolgirl. Their two nights of intimacy floated through her memory while watching him simply lay there looking gorgeous.

“I can understand why you don’t trust the law.” She swept her hair to one side while staring back at him. “Sometimes the law just gets in the way.”

“Wise words from a beautiful woman.” He beckoned her with an outstretched arm to lie beside him. “Let’s relax a bit before riding down to the spread the wealth. We have all night.”

“Mm…good idea. When I’m in your arms I feel safe and the world just melts away.”

His voice lowered to a softly seductive growl. “Then come melt with me, angel.”

* * * *

Leaning back in the high back chair, Pike propped his feet on Carter’s desk.

The pudgy banker was sweating profusely. “What do you mean you
lost her
?”

“Hey…you wanted to know if she was the one stealing your money and now you know. So pay up, boss man.”

“I’ll pay when you bring her in. Besides, I’m low on funds at the moment. The little vixen has hit the vault every day for the past week. I still can’t catch her on camera and have no idea how she pulled off the video tricks that made me and Jill look like we’d taken the money.”

“Ironic that this woman suddenly starts robbing your bank yet you and your tellers are the only ones seen on camera.” He gave Carter a hard stare. “Maybe you’ve found a clever way to move money. You setting up a Swiss bank account? Getting cold feet? Planning on sneaking out of the country on us?”

“No, for Pete’s sake. I just spent a bundle getting that farm away from her to move operations out of town. Our business has grown too big for me and Gage to handle from our office. Sherriff Roone might be slow but he’s as straight up as they come. If we keep moving goods and in out the back door at this rate he’s bound to catch on.”

Pike twirled a pen in one hand while observing Carter’s body language. If the man had any intention of bowing out, he’d be taking a permanent vacation.

“There’s something strange about this woman. I swear she walked right through the wall. Then when I had her cornered, some freaking horse came running down the street and knocked me down.”

“A horse? You’re telling me that a horse ran into town and attacked you?”

“Hey!” Pike swung his legs around and sat upright. “I know what I saw. There’s a lot of Indians around these parts. Maybe one of theirs got loose. But I saw a big black horse run me down.”

Carter let out a sardonic laugh. “What next? Was Tonto riding its back?”

“Don’t mock me, ya fat little dirt bag or I’ll drop you right here. I’m telling you, there’s something uncanny about this woman you’re after. My price just went up to half a million if you want her brought in. I was hired to find out
who
stole your money not to chase ghosts.”

“You’re insane. Have you forgotten that if one of us goes down, we all go? Don’t forget who hired you and don’t underestimate me. If I mysteriously disappear like Ty, everything I know is on a disc in the care of an attorney whose name shall never pass through these lips.”

Pike rolled his eyes and sighed, annoyed that this small town swindler was smarter than he looked. “For now…but I want the hundred grand you promised for tracking the thief. What you do with the info is up to you. Just pay me and I’ll head on up to the farm and survey the new location.”

“Look, I need to keep enough money in the bank to cover customer accounts. Just give me time to find out what she did with it and I’ll pay you. I’m sure she found a good hiding place.” He dabbed his brow with a handkerchief. “Shye has managed to practically deplete my cash reserve. If we don’t catch her, I won’t even have enough to keep the bank open.”

“We have a deal going down tonight. You’ll pay me then.” He pushed off the chair. “I can’t be seen hanging around town, you know that. People here don’t know me. We don’t need to raise suspicion especially with recent events. You’re already under scrutiny and we don’t need Roone sniffing around.”

“So will you catch Shye before she wrecks everything?”

“Yeah…” he replied with a heavy sigh. “I’ll clean up your mess as always. I expect to be well paid when this is cleared up.”

“Just curious,” Carter muttered. “Was there anyone riding that horse?”

“No, there wasn’t a rider, just someone’s loose angry horse.” Pike shot him a foiled look. “Does it matter? The damn thing nearly pummeled me. Don’t tell me you buy into all that Indian legend shit.”

“Don’t you? You’re one of them.”

“No, I’ve never believed the dreams and visions of old men. I’m only half Indian. My old man was a purebred but I never knew him. Been told I look like him but one night with a whore doesn’t make a father. Doubt he even knows I exist.” Pike slid a cigarette between his lips. “Don’t matter now anyway.”

“How’d Shye get away? Let me guess, she rode the horse out of town,” Carter sneered.

“Something like that—a steel horse.” He gripped the man’s throat with one hand and growled through clenched teeth, “She had a friend waiting.”

“Did you get a look at him? Know who he is?” His already nasal voice cracked.

“No…” he lied. “I was on the ground picking gravel from my teeth when they rode away.” Slowly he released his hold. “I’ll get the girl, you get the money ready. I don’t plan on becoming a public figure…it’s not my style.”

Outside the town was quiet. Everyone had gone in for the night. Pike stood with one foot resting on a concrete slab next to a streetlight and his bent knee supporting an elbow while he lit a cigarette. He thought about this woman called
Shye
and the havoc she’d apparently been wreaking in town. The list of accusations toward her was mounting quickly including but not limited to hacking a computer, assuming identities, and robbing the bank every day. He found it hard to believe that an entire town of people couldn’t catch one little Indian girl. Then again, his experience with her had been eerie. Even he had felt the icy chill of death descend upon him as that fiery black horse thundered over him.

Something supernatural surrounds this woman.
He’d never invested much time or thought into the beliefs of his father’s people. According to his mother, who’d left him in an orphanage when he was only two years old, his purebred Cherokee father had never been told he had a son. Growing up as a bastard child had made him bitter. His mother claimed she did what was best. Pulling a faded photo and piece of paper from his wallet, he unfolded the letter, one of the few he’d received from her over the years until all contact ceased.

Shaking his head, he stared at the man who’d supposedly sired him. He couldn’t deny the strong resemblance and silently cursed both parents for their weakness. Because of them, he loathed weak-minded people without self control. Carter’s sniveling ways grated his nerves. If the man didn’t own the town, Pike swore he’d have no qualms over killing him. But the prick had money and now the land to expand their thriving business so he’d live a while longer.

His thoughts drifted back to the peculiar incident with Shye. The stunning vixen had seemed as shocked as he was when they’d come face-to-face. Her huge dark doe-eyes clung to his memory. She’d stared up at him without flinching and stood her ground. There had been no weakness in her. Perhaps a little fear but she never yielded to it. Pulling her deeper into mind, he fantasized about her long tan legs around him as he took her hard. He could picture her lying on the ground with that shiny mane of long black hair fanned around her beautiful face, gazing up at him with hot desire in those entrancing eyes.

I bet her lips are soft and sweet.
He drew heavily on his cigarette, then exhaled, releasing thin ribbons of smoke which curled upward. He visualized her luscious curves pressed against him as he kissed her wildly and she moaned her pleasure. The fantasy went on until he envisioned them laying in the throes of passion bathed in sweat.

If he handed her over to Carter, she’d be gone. However, taking her away from Viper appealed to him more. And he wasn’t about to tip the banker off as to whom she used as her getaway driver. The weasel would only muck things up by running his mouth to Gage. Then the dimwitted secretary would get word. Once she got hold of something it spread like wildfire and Trip would vanish.

No, Trip Viper is mine and his woman will be too. First I’ll take her then get rid of the last Viper.

Pike sensed Shye was on a mission. Carter had unknowingly placed him in the right place at the right time. It would take little effort to shift gears and fool the pig into believing he’d hand over the raven haired beauty when in reality he’d be catching her for reasons of his own.

After all, her new boyfriend will soon be history and a fiery woman such as her needs a strong man. And our crew could use a gutsy woman like her. She just might be persuaded if I can give her back the farm. Then we won’t need Carter either. Me and the sexy Indian maiden running the place…sweet.

He stomped out his spent smoke and a slow grin tugged at his lips. Though this was more than he had in mind when taking on the assignment, the perks were definitely looking better. Money, revenge on an old nemesis and a hot woman—an opportunity too good to pass up.

* * * *

“I can’t shift at night,” she told Trip after they parked just inside the reservation border. “I must always be in human form before sunset. Night shadows are those of darkness. I am forbidden to use them or I will be forever lost.”

He touched his lips to hers. “I should go with you.”

“I know my way around better than anyone. I can move faster if you stay here with the bike and keep watch.”

“I don’t like it. After what happened today they’ll be watching.”

“That fat ass banker couldn’t find his way around here if his life depended on it.” She laughed softly.

A warring look crossed Trip’s face. “He’s not the one that worries me. It’s our new Indian friend who poses the greatest threat.”

“I thought he looked Native American but I’ve never seen him around here.”

“He’s a half-breed. An orphan. He doesn’t embrace the rich culture as you do. But he’s cunning and dangerous.”

“Yeah…I gathered that from what you said. But I have to ditch this money before sunup. If Carter sends the Sherriff out in the morning, they can bust me. I’ll take my chances here in the dark.” She let one hand float through his hair, filtering the silky length through her fingers. “I’ll be fine. I can move much faster and quieter alone.”

Framing her face between tender hands, he pulled her closer for a kiss. She sighed as his tongue caressed the inside of her mouth. Drawing a deep breath, she breathed in his alluring scent of sensual cologne and leather. He smelled nothing less than intoxicating and she couldn’t wait to complete her task so they could return to his camp for more lovemaking.

“Mm,” she murmured when he eased from the delicious kiss. “I’ll hurry. If I’m not back in fifteen minutes, come looking for me.”

“I will.” His hand slid over her hair, then down her arm before reluctantly letting her go.

With a canvas bag full of money slung over one shoulder, she crept into the woods and made haste up to the village. Each haul she took from the bank blessed a new family. Campfires had been extinguished for the night and houses were dark indicating the residents of Bluff Ridge had gone to bed. Her twenty-year stint in the Air Force left her in top physical condition, enabling her to move from cabin to cabin with ease.

After placing the last bundle of bills under a doormat of a very needy family, she ran back into the woods making barely a sound. She stopped in a mossy grove, clawed the ground to uncover cool moist soil then lit the canvas bag with a lighter from her pocket. Squatting in front of the tiny fire, she waited anxiously as the flames consumed the canvas bag. No way would she leave a trace of evidence behind to lead law officials toward her people.

Once the sack was nothing but ash, she ground them into the dirt and kicked more dirt over the area with her boot. Then she covered it with moss again and stood up to leave.

“You
are
good,” he said in a low growl. Pike’s voice sent an unwelcome shiver her skin.

She spun around and smacked straight into the burly chest of her new follower. He stared down at her with a smirk. Taken by surprise yet again by this man, she didn’t hesitate to make her next move this time. A quick knee to the groin forced him to double over before she took flight. She raced downhill ducking and dodging limbs and thicket at what she felt was sufficient speed. Trip’s bike came into view. Moonlight glinting off the chrome became her focal point then she saw him waiting—watching.