Anita's Triple Temptation [Men of Montana 4] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (34 page)

“Then my mother died a year later. Martha went with me while I tried to settle everything at home. I’m ashamed to say it, but I love her more than my own mother. When I think of her having a life outside the ranch, I forget she’s a woman, and not my mother.”

Anita swallowed the sob that wanted to escape. James wore his heart on his sleeve sometimes and now, he looked like a little kid grappling with loss. Wrapping her arm around his chest, she held him close.

“I’m glad you were able to find someone to help you feel like you had a family here,” she said softly. “If you hadn’t found that, you may have left and I wouldn’t have found you. I’m sure Martha knows how you feel about her. As far as I can tell, you all feel the same way about her. Cherish her, because sometimes, people don’t even have a substitute mother. Just, treat her like a lady.”

James’s face lit up with her words. Lifting her hand to his lips, he kissed the palm. “You are a wonder, Anita. I am so glad you are mine. You may have to remind me not to be a jerk to Martha sometimes.”

Her laugh rang freely from her throat causing James’s smile to enlarge. “Oh, I will. Believe me.”

Leaning down, he kissed her lips. “I’m sure you will. You’re going to keep us all on our toes.”

Turning to the steering wheel, he put the truck into gear and drove on up the road, his smile set upon his features.

Arriving at the logging company, the yard was eerily quiet, deserted for it being quitting time. Anita knew usually at this time of the day everyone would be getting ready to leave, anxious to get home to their families or drinks with their buddies. Only two vehicles sat in the yard, one a large black Hummer, which Anita knew belonged to Virgil, and a small Prius that sat close to the door of the trailer that housed the office, which probably belonged to the secretary.

A chill ran up her spine but she shook it off as she glanced at James sitting next to her. She knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. James got out of the truck while Anita slid across the seat to the door he held open. He reached in, grabbed hold of her waist, and then lifted her down as if she weighed nothing. With her hands resting on his shoulders even though her feet were now touching the ground, his hands were now on the flare of her hips. Gazing up at him in the twilight, she could see the twinkle in his eyes along with the love he had for her.

Not wanting to tempt fate with Virgil, they separated but James clasped her hand in his as he pushed the door of the pickup closed. The sound seemed to echo throughout the area as there were no other sounds being produced.

Walking hand in hand to the office felt right to Anita, though it was overshadowed by the foreboding feeling she had. As they started up the metal steps that she thought she would never see again, she stopped and turned to look at James with trepidation. Since she was a step higher than him, it put her at direct eye level with him and she saw his concern.

“What is it?” he asked lowly. “Are you all right?”

“I just feel funny,” she whispered. “Something’s not right.”

James eyed her skeptically, causing her to second guess herself but surprised her when he turned and started down the steps with her in tow. Stopping suddenly, she slammed into his back as both his hands caught her hips as he reached behind him. Looking over his shoulder made her blood run cold in her veins.

Jeremy was standing at the end of the trailer in jeans, cowboy boots, and a black parka over a gray button-up shirt. His shoulder-length hair was a bit wild as it descended from his cowboy hat. The expression of hatred sat upon his face as if he had something invested in hurting them, most likely money. The rifle aimed at them being the most ominous feature of the man.

Anita had never liked the man. There was always something about him that irritated her and now she knew why. He leered at her though his gaze would bounce back to James before returning to her.

Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest as panic ensued. James groped at her, trying to protect her from the maniac before them. She had to wonder where Virgil was and she got her answer within moments when the door to the trailer swung open behind her. Trying to turn quickly, she found herself slammed up against the side of the vinyl-sided contraption with James’s body covering hers, still his back to her front.

Hoping against hope that the shotgun the man sported was in defense of Jeremy, Anita’s heart soared just a bit until the disdain in Virgil’s voice told her otherwise.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he clicked with his tongue. “I asked you to come get Scotty’s check and you have to bring a bodyguard?”

“I was with him…”

“Shut up, Anita! I don’t want to hear about you being with anyone!” Virgil shouted as he interrupted her. “You’re not supposed to even be with him! You’re supposed to be with me!”

“Virgil!” Jeremy shouted at the furious man, trying to get his attention. “Let me handle this, Virgil!”

Apparently the man knew how to handle Virgil for the man, though red-faced with anger, listened to Jeremy and shut his mouth. She knew from the night that Virgil had attacked her he was a live-wire and quick to anger but she didn’t think he would go as far as he was now.

Anita was having difficulty breathing for James was practically squishing her against the wall as he tried to protect her, but she knew no matter what, if these two lunatics wanted to hurt them, they would. Also, the anxiety was building within her and if she didn’t get it under control she was going to have a full blown panic attack.

Jeremy swung the rifle around toward the end of the trailer he had just occupied. “Move!”

James, still trying to protect her, side-stepped down the two additional steps to the ground and then continued down the side of the building, keeping her back to the wall and his body in front of hers. It was endearing what he was doing, but he would be the first one shot if either of the men with guns decided it was time to get rid of them.

When the siding of the building was no longer behind her, Anita glanced back hoping there was some kind of salvation but found none. Instead, she found Gene and Sean, the men from the restaurant, behind them, each holding a rifle.

Anita grasped James’s jeans jacket at the arms even harder as a gasp escaped her lips. She felt his hand dig into her hip for what she wasn’t sure, whether it was for encouragement or he was trying to communicate something, she wasn’t sure.

Virgil moved down the stairs somberly, a look of defeat on his face. Anita wasn’t sure what this was all about, but the way Virgil kept looking at her gave her an uneasy feeling. She knew he was interested in her but would he go this far to get her?

Knowing the answer, she was in denial. He had already hurt her and she knew he was angry about that since he would be facing court charges. What was he going to do now?

James kept backing up as Virgil got closer to them. Was he aware of the men behind her? Numb, Anita wasn’t sure how to get his attention without Virgil going ballistic.

“I’m so disappointed in you, Anita. If only you had done the smart thing months ago and accepted the fact that I wanted to take care of you, this wouldn’t be going on and this man would be safe. Now, he will end up on the growing list of people getting in my way to you.”

“What?” Anita and James both exclaimed in unison.

“Virgil!” Jeremy hissed through gritted teeth as if trying to get the unstable man to shut up.

“Don’t worry about it,” Virgil said before releasing a sadistic laugh. “By the time we leave here, Anita will be by my side and Mr. Cowboy will be gone.”

Several hisses sounded around her, one of them coming from James. Rage struck Anita at the thought of Virgil trying to kill James and yet sadness overwhelmed her at the thought of losing him.

Then, something he had said earlier struck her. Finding her voice she blurted out, “You killed Scotty?” It was a rhetorical question, one she already knew the answer to.

James must have thought along the same lines for his hand patted her hip as if trying to keep her calm. When his voice boomed out, she nearly jumped out of her skin. “You took care of Scotty, didn’t you, Virgil?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “You killed him because he had evidence that you killed Craig.”

Pompous indignation erupted from the man now standing about five feet away from James, the shotgun still aimed at him. “I did not kill Craig! I did nothing to the man!”

“You may not have killed him directly, but you gave the order for it, didn’t you, Virgil? Which one of these guys did the dirty work for you? Which one cut the cables that held the…what was it called, Anita?” he asked.

“The yarder,” she answered hoarsely. “He said it was the yarder.”

“That’s right, the yarder,” James said, nodding. “See, the cops have the evidence. The letter that Scotty got to Anita the day he met her in the restaurant, the day he was killed. They also have the pictures of the cut cables. They picked those up from the post office yesterday.”

“They did?” Anita asked out loud, kicking herself for the reaction. Was it true?

“Lyndee picked them up yesterday but we didn’t want to worry you about it,” James said quietly with his head turned though everyone around them could hear it. “Stay quiet.”

Doing as she was told, she held onto him, held onto him as if her life depended on it, which at this point it did.

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Virgil shouted. “She deserves better than you, cowboy. She deserves a real man!”

Unable to control herself, Anita pushed James aside though he held his arm out across her stomach. “You are not a real man, Virgil Cantrell!” Anita yelled, fighting against the hold James had on her. “Real men don’t go around killing women’s husbands because they want her! They don’t go around killing old men because they have information on them. I can’t believe you did that! And…and…then you had the audacity to try to hit on me? You left my children without a father, you asshole!”

James now had his arms around her waist from behind her, trying to hold on to her as she kept edging forward, but she was beyond comforting. “Look at me!” she pounded her foot into the hard cold dirt of the lot. “Look what you did to my face! Real men don’t do this to the women they supposedly love! What kind of man are you, and don’t you dare tell me you are a real man!”

The sun had set and the single light of the parking lot was the only illumination giving credence to the redness that was building in Virgil’s angry face. It stood out from under his black hair and over the dark blue shirt he wore. Anita was certain they could probably use him as a heater at the moment for how hot under the collar he was.

Watching the man take several deep breaths, the fear within Anita built up. Had she pushed him too far? She didn’t care for she was certain they were not getting out of this without the gunfire erupting.

“What’s the matter, Virgil? Did you realize that what I said was true? How many other women have you done this to?”

“Anita!” James snapped from behind her. “Think of the boys.”

“Yes, Anita. Think of the boys.” Sarcasm dripped in Virgil’s voice.

“Don’t you even talk about my boys,” Anita warned, trying to take a step toward the evil man. “You stay away from them! Do you hear me? Stay away from my children!”

Her last words were shrill in her ears and she could see Virgil and Jeremy wince as she felt James’s arms tighten around her. She could hear James behind her whispering over and over again, “Breathe. Just breathe.”

Anger finally waning within her, Anita quieted though she was shaking from her outburst. Fear coursed through her body for her children. As it looked at the moment, she was going to die and then her boys would be without their father and their mother. If Virgil was predictable, as he seemed at the moment, she was going to lose James and her boys and have to live her life without any of her family.

Tears began to stream down her cheeks at her impending loss. There was no way of getting out of this that she could see.

“Jeremy, take Anita to the meeting point. I’ll have cowboy here taken care of and meet you later on,” Virgil said emotionlessly.

Rage flashed through Anita at Virgil’s comment and everything before her was red and blurry but she could still make out the two men before her. With an unknown strength, Anita pulled herself from James’s arms and lunged for the man to her right which she knew was Virgil. Forgetting he was holding a gun, she hit the item before she was within striking distance.

The gun exploded in her ear but it didn’t deter her as her hands became weapons and she struck his face with first one fist and then the other. The blood pounded in her ears as the adrenaline ran a race within her veins.

When an arm tried to push her away, she held tight to the shirt she was able to grasp and used her other hand to begin scratching at whatever she could. She knew she had hit flesh as liquid seemed to be where her fingers touched. Continuing to lash out she finally heard herself screaming at the man who was going to take everything away from her.

An arm wrapped around her waist trying to pull her away but she dug her fingers into what she thought was Virgil’s cheek and wasn’t going to let go. The man began to scream as she locked her hand together and as the man pulled her from behind, she pulled on the man’s face. She felt the flesh tear but so did her nails. She felt the searing pain on the tips of her fingers, but that wasn’t anything compared to the pain in her heart at the thought of losing any of her men or her boys.