Jake, Devils on Horseback, Book 2 Read online

  Gabby’s eyes widened. “I am not trying to distract you. I’m making sure the job is done right.” She flapped her hand in the air. “Allison came by for a visit for the first time in six months. I am not about to tell her to go home.”

  Allison seemed to shrink right in front of Jake. Her bright smile faded into a pinched expression he remembered from the first time they met. Jake felt about two inches high at that moment. Zeke stepped up beside him.

  “Some reason why you turned into an ass?” He scowled and gestured to the women. “And decided to scare the hell out of them? Pardon my language.” Zeke inclined his head to Gabby and Allison.

  “I want to get this job finished.” Jake’s chest constricted painfully and a shadow of panic slid down his back. “I need to get it finished.”

  Gabby took hold of his arm and yanked him toward the mill, leaving Zeke and Allison to stare after them. By the time they got inside the mill, Jake was leading Gabby, marching her inside. His emotions thundered through him like a storm, leaving him angry and confused.

  They whirled to face each other in the silent mill. Jake’s nostrils flared as Gabby’s scent assaulted him. Arousal mixed with his fury and before he knew it, she was in his arms and his lips were on hers. Sweet delicious heat slid through him as the memory of her passion washed over him.

  As their bodies melted into one, her softness cradled his hardness. His cock lengthened and pressed into her belly, eager to be one with her again. Tingles of pure pleasure seemed to leap between them. Gabby mewled as she clutched at his hair, the sound going straight to his throbbing erection.

  Jake cupped her ass, pulling her up until she wrapped her legs around him. Her muscles gripped him, pushing her moist heat against him. He tried to keep hold of his self-control but it was slipping fast. Zeke and Allison were just outside, anyone could walk in at any time.

  Somehow he didn’t care about any of that. All he cared about was the woman in his arms. Gabby was still wearing her trousers, an impediment to touching her, to making her his again. Their mouths fused, tongues dancing and sliding against each other, mimicking what Jake’s body cried out for, to be joined with her.

  Her nails scraped down his back, then she yanked his shirt from his trousers. Long fingers closed around his hardened staff and his eyes crossed from the pleasure. She pulled at him, her thumb stroking the head of his cock. He savored the cool feel of her hands on his heated skin for barely a minute before he knew he’d embarrass himself if she didn’t stop.

  “Gabby.”

  With a growl, he set her on her feet and made quick work of her trousers, then without a thought as to who heard what, he pushed her up against the wall and settled her against him. He paused at the entrance of her moist pussy and met her gaze. Strong, dark eyes full of passion met him.

  “Now.” Her only word to him.

  Jake wasn’t one to ignore a lady’s demand. He thrust home, impaling her in one stroke. A gasp gusted past his ear as her firm muscles tightened around him. Heaven, pure heaven on Earth. He clenched his teeth and held her there for a moment, wondering how the hell he’d gotten through life before he met Gabby.

  When he began to thrust, he forgot about everything but her. He forced himself to use slow, sure strokes, filling her, enclosing him in all that was good. She found his mouth, and their tongues dueled even as their lower bodies moved as one.

  Slick, moist sounds joined the short breaths and kittenish mewls from Gabby. Jake tried to keep his moans trapped in his throat, but she was so hot, so tight, several burst forth despite his efforts. He bit her breast through her shirt, and she pulled it open so fast, he thought he heard a button ping somewhere behind them.

  The creamy breasts with pouting dark pink nipples enticed him more than any banquet. He kissed each one in turn, then laved and nibbled at them, as her sweet muscles continued to clasp his cock. It was as if she was designed to pleasure them both no matter what he did. Gabby was the perfect match for him.

  She bit his earlobe and whispered, “Oh God, Jake, I’m so close.”

  Good thing too because his balls had tightened to the point of pain and he knew an orgasm was close. He captured her mouth, and as their tongues entwined, he fucked her hard and fast, slamming her into the wall. Her legs closed around his hips, pulling him deeper, farther into her sweet heat.

  As his release rolled through him, stars exploded behind his eyes and he sucked in a breath, inhaling hers into his body even as his essence spilled into her. Their mouths fused again, swallowing the cries of pleasure as they rose from the depths of their hearts.

  After a minute, he let her back down to her feet and withdrew, as his body screamed for more. He hungered for her even as he recovered from a powerful orgasm. Without saying another word, they dressed.

  Gabby started to walk outside and he grabbed her arm. Her expression was guarded, but she stopped. Jake cupped her head and kissed her deep and hard.

  “We’ll continue this later.”

  She shook her head and left the mill, leaving him with his heart in his hands.

  * * * * *

  When they walked back outside, Gabby was sure Zeke and Allison would know what she and Jake had just done. Their lips had to be swollen, hair mussed and clothes not quite perfect. Gabby’s body buzzed and throbbed with the force of their passion. Their first night by the water didn’t have the desperate hunger like that. She wasn’t sure what happened or how it happened.

  She’d pulled him into the mill to tell him goodbye, to ask him to leave her alone, and somehow they’d ended up having the most incredible experience of her life. Her self-preservation instincts had failed her and she found herself even more deeply involved with Jake. He’d crawled into her heart and her mind, becoming a part of who she was.

  Gabby shook with the force of her obsession. How had it happened? She’d only known him a short time and yet from the moment they’d met, it felt like they’d known each other for much longer. Forever maybe.

  Jake’s gaze skittered away from hers as he climbed back up the wheel. Zeke looked at her with a question on his face.

  “We’ve come to an agreement. Please help Jake finish the repairs.” Her voice sounded high and tight, unnaturally so. She forced herself to smile at Allison while all she could think of was the taste of Jake’s mouth. Gabby’s head was too full of what she felt and thought about Jake.

  Zeke grunted in Jake’s direction and continued to spear her with a hostile look. Gabby shook from head to foot as she stood with her friend fifteen feet away. Allison chatted and peppered her with questions about the “heroes” of Tanger. Gabby wondered what she’d think if she knew one of the heroes just took her against the wall of the mill, and she let him. No, she willingly participated.

  Jake had to leave, he had to. Gabby didn’t know what she’d do if he stayed. Just the thought made her stomach twist into a knot.

  The afternoon passed by as slowly as a snail. The late summer sun beat down on them with relentless heat. Perspiration snaked down between Gabby’s breasts and itched like mad. She wanted to undo the buttons on her shirt, but knew it was out of the question. When Jake and Zeke took their shirts off, her mind told her to look away, but she didn’t listen.

  It was a feast of flesh, a banquet of masculine beauty that made Gabby’s breath catch. She wasn’t the only one either—Allison grabbed Gabby’s arm in a tight grip.

  “My heavens,” the blonde whispered. “They look like two fallen angels up there, shining down.”

  Gabby shook her head at her friend’s observation. “They look like two sweaty men to me.”

  “Oh, no, they’re much more than that.” Allison’s voice had deepened into nearly worshipful.

  Gabby had to put a few feet between them before she started acting like her lovesick friend. Although she tried not to stare, Gabby couldn’t seem to stop herself from looking up. When Jake turned
around to climb up higher, she saw his back and the slow arousal she’d been fighting dissipated. His beautiful freckled skin was marred by so many scars, she didn’t think they could be counted. Some were silvery, dating them to many years ago. Others were pink, newly healed within the past year or so. They resembled the marks on a horse made by a quirt, but much more numerous.

  Jake had been beaten, tortured by someone. She had a feeling it had happened during the war. When they’d been together a few nights ago, it had been dark enough that she didn’t see what the bright sunlight revealed.

  How could a human being endure so much pain and still be so full of life? Gabby didn’t know if she could be as strong as he obviously was. She’d have lost her mind as her father had done. Against her will, a new respect for the redheaded gunslinger bloomed in her heart. She wanted to stop thinking about him, not think about him more than she already was.

  “Men without their shirts are like candy before breakfast.” Allison let out a breathy sigh. “He’s wonderfully handsome, don’t you think?”

  Gabby’s gaze never left the muscular, lean back marked by freckles and pain. “Yes, he is.”

  After working on the mill all afternoon, Jake cleaned up in the river and tried to forget the amazing ten minutes he’d spent with Gabby in the shadowy interior of the mill. Much as he’d like to deny it, he was falling for her hard. He needed to do something to ground himself, to bring the earth back under his feet. It was the perfect night to pay a visit to the mayor, perhaps it would remind him of just who he was.

  The streets were deserted after dark, making Jake’s midnight walk to the mayor’s that much easier, not that anyone would’ve seen him anyway. He was a thief, after all, one with well-honed skills. He knew his late-night watcher wasn’t around because he would have sensed her.

  Zeke stayed twenty yards behind Jake, keeping an eye on what happened around them. Normally, Jake wouldn’t need another set of eyes, but this was different, everything was different. The undercurrents in Tanger were deep enough that the Devils still didn’t know what was going on. Too many mysteries needed to be solved and they needed each man’s talents to do so.

  A thrill raced through his body, a familiar sensation that made him homesick, even if he’d never had much of a home. Sneaking around had always been his skill, that and romancing women. It came second nature to him, the ability to be quieter than death, stealthier than a panther. He skirted the main street and stayed behind the buildings, keeping company with the night creatures. A light came on in Marchison’s store and Jake ducked behind a stack of crates.

  The back door opened and Jake heard the low murmur of voices, but he was unable to make out anything they said. The door closed and the light went out minutes later. Since it was the middle of the night, Jake was suspicious as to what was going on. His gut instinct told him someone was involved in something dirty, either in their bed or in their pockets.

  Jake had seen the lowest point to which human beings could sink and he didn’t doubt the good residents of Tanger were capable of anything. What had started out as a well-paying job had turned into another sour taste in his mouth. The sooner they finished, the better. However, without a whole lot to go on, and with so many unanswered questions, it seemed they’d be in Tanger for quite a while.

  When he reached the mayor’s house, Jake crouched down by the white fence and sat completely still to the count of a thousand. When nothing stirred within the house, he jumped over the fence and crawled across the dew-covered grass. The slickness coated his hands and knees. As he approached the back door, he slid up the three steps, hoping to find it unlocked.

  He wasn’t in luck. After wiping his hands on his trousers, he pulled the custom picks from his pocket. He’d carried them for many years and the cold metal felt comfortable in his hands. A few seconds later, the back door popped open. Again, Jake counted, this time to two hundred, before he pushed the door open. Fortunately, the hinges didn’t creak.

  Jake left the door slightly ajar and committed his first crime in Tanger by entering the mayor’s house. The thrill of being a thief had faded long ago to be replaced by numbness. He’d done this so many times before, it wasn’t usually a challenge. However, it was more than that this time. The Devils were counting on him to find information, something they could use to find out exactly what was going on in Tanger.

  The musty smell hit him first. He remembered being struck by the condition of Phineas’s house the first time he was in it. Jake explored the kitchen as best he could in the moonlight. Nothing seemed out of place or extraordinary. A half loaf of bread and a jar of honey sat on the table as if from a bedtime snack. He ran his finger along the bottom of the wooden sink, however all he found was a trace of water along with a plate and a knife. It had to have been at least three hours since anyone had been in the kitchen, which was a good sign.

  Jake left the kitchen confident that he wouldn’t find anything of importance there. He crept down the hallway to the parlor where the Devils had met with the mayor. The same pervasive odor hung in the air. He kept an ear out for any unusual noises, but the house was deathly still.

  He went straight toward Phineas’s desk, certain he’d find something there. It was covered with piles of papers, a pipe with tobacco spilling onto the scarred top, an inkwell and two pen nibs. Jake knew he’d have to look through each stack of papers. He picked up the first one and sat on the floor behind the desk.

  After fifteen minutes, he’d gone through all the papers and found nothing of importance. He replaced everything exactly as he’d found it then started opening drawers. Frustration built inside him with every second that passed. The bottom drawer was locked.

  A lick of excitement was followed by a grin. People locked up what they didn’t want others to find. Just a few seconds and the lock opened under his skilled ability. A ledger book, several telegrams and a half dozen letters were neatly stacked together in the back of the drawer. After studying where everything was placed, Jake took it all out and sat down again to read.

  The letters were all addressed to Phineas from a young woman named Nelle. They were yellowed with age and hard to read in the meager light from the windows, but he didn’t dare light a lantern or even a match. Jake concluded they were long-lost love letters. Perhaps Phineas still pined for this Nelle.

  Jake read the telegrams once, then again, absorbing the shocking contents. It appeared the good mayor of Tanger had been brokering some shady deals with the townspeople’s money. The ledger would hopefully tell him more.

  A noise from upstairs made Jake freeze, the open ledger on his lap. A trickle of sweat rolled down his temple. The creak of wood and footsteps made his heart thump. Hopefully whoever was awake didn’t intend to come downstairs. Jake kept himself so still, his muscles cramped. After a few minutes, which felt like an hour, the creak resounded again and then the house was still.

  Letting out a shaky breath, Jake then counted to a thousand twice before he moved. Reading as quickly as he could, Jake scribbled notes on a piece of paper he’d brought. The sound of the pencil scratching seemed unnaturally loud in the room. Wolcott’s record-keeping was immaculate and very detailed. He’d been taking money in small bits at a time and moving them into a single account. He wasn’t particular about who he stole from, or what their balance was. From the poorest to the wealthiest—which interestingly enough included Lucy from the saloon—each person with an account at the bank had been robbed.

  Wolcott had made several large withdrawals over the last year. The ledger didn’t give details on exactly where the money was sent, but the telegrams did. It also told him the mayor lied about paying the Devils. There was almost no money left in Tanger’s bank. Unless Wolcott had money hidden in the house somewhere, the town was flat broke.

  Jake set everything back in the drawer carefully then locked it again with one of his picks. He’d come to find information about Wolcott but he’d found m
uch more than expected.

  He locked the door on the way out. His mind whirled with the information he’d found and wished Gideon was there to help him sort it out. He leapt back over the fence and made his way back to the main street. Jake found Zeke on the steps of the store.

  With a low hoot to signal Jake’s arrival, he waited for his friend to join him. A bit of tension eased from Jake’s shoulders as his friend approached.

  “What is it?” Zeke whispered.

  Jake shook his head and motioned for him to walk back home. “Not here.”

  They walked back in silence, keeping their eyes and ears open. It took less than ten minutes to arrive back at their humble shack. Now Jake knew why it was so humble. After they got inside, Jake didn’t want to light a lantern in case there was anyone watching them.

  “Tell me.” Zeke sat on the cot next to him.

  “Wolcott’s a thief. He’s been embezzling money from the town for at least a year. From what I could see, there ain’t enough left in that bank to buy seed for even one cotton farm.” Jake waited for Zeke to absorb that information.

  “Shit. Are you saying we’ve been working our asses off for some lousy food and this shitty shack?” Zeke punched the cot. “Son of a bitch. What else did you find?”

  “I think he’s put the money away for himself somewhere in Kansas City. Near as I can tell, he planned on leaving town and having that pile of cash waiting for him.” Jake took out his notes. “Wolcott had some telegrams from a couple of banks and somebody named Natalie Gates. I think she’s his assistant or something. Hell, I don’t know, that’s why I wrote it all down. Gid needs to look at this.”

  Jake had never felt stupider than he did at that moment. He was frustrated at his inability to put the puzzle pieces together.

  “Yep, but he won’t be back for at least another day.” Zeke cursed a blue streak. “That fucking bastard Wolcott.”

  Remembering all his experiences in Tanger, Jake considered whether or not he’d trade those memories in.