Branded by a Callahan

All the Callahans were grouped into the big white formal room that Kendall had always claimed she hated until the Callahans had taken over her compound. Now toy trucks and baby dolls lay in neat baskets lining a wall, and another basket of crayons and coloring books lay stacked near the ebony grand piano. An overly industrious child—he thought it might have been one of Pete’s triplets—had done a little Picasso-style artwork on the wall near the floorboard, in what looked very much like sky-blue and magenta, two colors he remembered well from his own days of coloring.

“This is bad,” Dante told his cousins, brothers and sister. Jonas nodded, as did the others. No one had told Aunt Fiona or Uncle Burke—yet. They’d have to be informed of this new development. They’d gone to bed after the Halloween festivities, and Dante saw no reason to rouse them when there was nothing they could do now. “What if Aunt Fiona had opened the door?”

Ana met his gaze. He thought he could sense her concern, which matched his.

“Fiona would have opened the door, if she’d been in the family room or kitchen,” Sloan said. “But someone meant business if they took out the sniper and then presented themselves on the front porch as a trick-or-treater.”

Ash shivered. “Lucky for you Ana went to the door with you, Dante.”

Dante frowned. “I can take care of myself, thanks.”

He was a highly trained SEAL. He didn’t need Ana—or anyone else—to take care of him.

Though it had been rather glorious to watch those curves in motion as she’d taken down the thug. Just remembering it brought a smile to his face.

“What’s so funny?” Ash demanded, staring at him. “You could have been killed.”

Dante shook his head. “I’m like a cat, and I’ve only used up about seven of my nine lives. No one’s gonna take me out.”

Ana’s eyes were huge. Okay, so maybe things could have gotten a little dicey if she hadn’t put her training and quick wits to use. “Let’s just focus on the plan going forward. The first thing we need to discuss is security. Obviously, the Phillips’ compound has been breached. We’ve inadvertently brought the fight here.”

They all considered that. “I think it’s pretty safe,” Ash said. “It’s taken them a long time to try an attack here.”

“They’re watching the ranch,” Ana said suddenly. “They knew half of us would be here in Hell’s Colony. Has anybody checked on the guys back at Rancho Diablo?”

Dante looked at Ana, considered her words, felt himself falling just a little bit more for a woman whose mind worked so quickly and looked so stunning doing it. It was as if a Greek warrior goddess had come to life, tempting him to kiss her.

He was going to have to do that real soon. “Ash, send a text to Galen, Falcon and Jace. See if you get a response.”

“On it,” she said, grabbing her phone.

“The sheriff didn’t have any idea who he was,” Ana said, “which means he’s from outside Hell’s Colony. He had no ID on him. That’s deliberate.”

“Yeah,” Dante agreed. “A Halloween ambush. It’s just all too convenient.”

“I think so, too,” Ana said. “There’s no way the man on the porch is the one who shot the sniper with the tranquilizer.”

Dante looked at her. “Why not? I took out plenty of armed—”

Ash cleared her throat. “Oh,” Dante said, “right.” It was a Halloween party, after all, no need to bring up past assignments, especially since the darling nanny bodyguard had defended him. He’d feel deflated about that except Ana was just so darn hot. Maybe he was weird or what his brothers would call judiciously individual, but Ana defending him gave him a superbad case of heat he didn’t think he was going to recover from anytime soon. “Okay, Ana, are you working on a theory?”

She nodded. “I think our Halloween visitor has a companion out there.”

Ash sat up. “Waiting.”

“That’s right.” Ana nodded, and Dante watched her, considering her suddenly very plausible idea. “The guy on the porch was just the sideshow. The distraction.”

Dante’s blood went cold. “Has anybody checked on Fiona and Burke?”

Ash’s eyes went huge, and then she tore up the stairs. Dante could feel his heart beating hard in his chest until his sister returned.

“Out like lights,” Ash reported. “And I don’t think Fiona holds herself and Burke to the one-martini rule.” She sniffed. “There’s a crystal pitcher of bloody rum punch by their bed. And a plate of her delicious gingerbread ghosts, but we won’t hold that against her.”

Ana sat thinking quietly. “What?” Dante demanded. “I can tell you’re working on something.”

“It just doesn’t add up. He barely put up a fight.”

“He didn’t have a chance,” Dante told her. “You were on him too quickly. He didn’t know what hit him.”

“No.” She shook her head. “He didn’t put up much resistance at all.”

“You gave him a faceful of pepper spray,” Ash pointed out. “That might wear down my resistance a bit.”

Ana got up, pacing a bit, which Dante appreciated because he loved watching her move. It was a ballet on cork sandals, body parts moving sexily, gracefully.

“Someone was with him. Someone took out the sniper, then played lookout. We called the sheriff, and two hours later he’s in a cell.” Ana shook her head. “Have you heard back from Rancho Diablo?” she asked Ashlyn.

“All present and accounted for,” Ash said.

“This is all so suspicious,” Ana said, sitting down next to Dante. His blood pressure went to the roof of his skull, drumming loudly. He smelled sweet perfume and warm woman, and it was everything he could do not to reach out and take her hand in his.

She’d be so shocked if he did.

“If we don’t think anyone could have breached the house, then it’s something else,” Ana said.

It suddenly hit Dante that Ana was working from a hunch. As a guy who’d relied upon his hunches at times to stay alive, Dante found himself paying close attention to what Ana was trying to tease through.“What else is likely?” he asked.

She finally glanced at him. “I don’t know.”

He nodded. “We’ll know soon enough.”

“The thing is,” Ana said, staring earnestly into his eyes, “it feels too coincidental. It feels too easy. Career mercenaries don’t make mistakes. That’s why I think it was a cover for something else.”

“Maybe just to keep us on edge?” Ash asked.

“I don’t think so.” Ana shook her head. “I’ll go to bed and think about it. Maybe it will come to me in the night.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Dante stood, began stacking the glasses on a tray. Halloween had come and gone for another year. Thanksgiving would arrive next, always a family gathering of great camaraderie and joy—and then Christmas. But the costumes and carved pumpkins would disappear for another year, which made him a bit nostalgic.

Why pick Halloween for an ambush?

He and Ana carried the small dishes and glasses to the kitchen. “Have you talked to Tighe today?”

He shook his head. He didn’t want to think about his loony brother at this moment. “I haven’t heard much from him. He’s been busy getting brained by bulls.”

She nodded. “Okay. Good night.”

He stared after her as she passed into the hallway. He heard her sandals on the marble floor.

“Drooling is only cute when babies do it,” Ashlyn told him, giving him a nudge. “Need a bib?”

He probably was drooling. Turning back to the dishes, he put them in the dishwasher. “Not sure there’s a bib big enough.”

His sister looked up at him. “You know, you can treat Ana like she’s a normal girl, not some kind of princess you have to put in an ivory tower. I have it on good authority that she doesn’t bite.”

“She might.” Dante didn’t care how much his sister ribbed him about Ana—he might be slow in his windup, but eventually, he’d work his way into the game. “Don’t think it’s escaped my attention that you, little sister, are working on quite the unrequited thing for one of the owners of this compound, and everybody’s favorite canyon-riding cowboy, Xav Phillips.”

Ash glared at him. “Am I supposed to say ouch?” She tossed her head. “At least I would kiss Xav if he got close enough. Ana saved you. The least you can do is put down the barbed wire fence.”

He grunted, wondered about Tighe. Why had Ana asked about his twin?

“The kids love her,” Ash said, washing out some glasses. “I bet Ana will make a wonderful mother.”

He blinked. “Is she going to be a mother?”

“Maybe.”

Ash didn’t clarify, and he wasn’t about to give her anything else to rib him about by asking. He had to go with the flow around here, especially where Ana was concerned, or he’d end up a laughingstock.

Ash sighed. “Did you at least thank her for saving you?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll thank her for saving my big brother,” Ash said. “I appreciate what she did. If people aren’t acknowledged when they do a good job, sometimes they find another employer.”

He got the hint and decided not to encourage his sister. “I’ll let you finish up here.”

His sister snapped his butt with a dish towel as he departed. “Good night, dear brother.”

He went out to the guest quarters, which consisted of three bedrooms and a small kitchenette. This is where he was bunking—and tonight, the sniper was also taking up one of the rooms, sleeping off the effects of the tranquilizer, which the doctor said wouldn’t last forever. They hadn’t gotten much out of the man because he mostly wanted to snooze, but one thing was clear: he didn’t want to go to a hospital. Said he’d be fine sleeping outside. They’d stuck him out here with Dante, who was fine with checking on him occasionally.

Thing was, without the sniper on the roof of the compound, they were pretty much without cover. Someone had known the sniper was there—and had taken him out with enough tranquilizer to give an elephant a bit of a Rip van Winkler. Dante went into his room, his thoughts in a snarl, trying to make sense of the whole thing—but his brain stopped cold when he flipped on the light and saw the gorgeous blonde in his bed. Sound asleep, looking like an angel.

Holy smokes, what was he supposed to do with this?

He turned the overhead light off. Pondered his next move. Clearly Ana hadn’t wanted to sleep in the main house. Did she have the night off? He supposed she must have. After one black martini with a floating eyeball in it, was he relaxed enough to take advantage of the heavenly gift in his bed?

Absolutely not.

Dante felt like he was sneaking around in his own room. Maybe she’d been scared, and didn’t want to be alone.

Nah. Ana hadn’t been the least bit intimidated.

Maybe he should just turn around, walk back through the door, forget what he’d seen. Pretend he’d felt better sleeping in the main house tonight—

The lamp beside the bed turned on, and Dante’s throat went dry as an old bone in the desert. Ana looked at him, her gaze curious.

“Hi, cowboy.”

Long blond hair draped silkily over one shoulder. She hadn’t changed out of her purple scrubs, but the cork sandals lay on the floor beside her.

Okay, gifts this good didn’t just drop into his life. There was a trap, he just couldn’t see it. His concentration was shot, and any warning system he’d ever possessed that normally blared caution in a danger zone had surrendered. “Howdy, nurse,” he finally said, trying to play it cool. “I do believe you’re in the wrong bed.”

“Maybe,” Ana said. “But I hope not.”

He couldn’t mistake the soft invitation, nor the smoke in those emerald eyes. The lady was offering, and all he had to do was get rid of the barbed wire fence Ash claimed he was hiding behind. “All right,” he said, his voice husky, his throat a bit stiff for some reason. “You tell me what you want, lady, and I’ll see if I can accommodate you.”

Safe enough. Let her state her mission—maybe she was only scared, after all—and he’d see if he could help her out.

She turned out the lamp. He heard sheets rustle, and the next thing he knew she was moving into his arms. Her lips found his, and it was everything Dante had ever imagined kissing Ana would be like: soft, sweet, powerful.

He didn’t ask any questions. He hung on like he’d hung on to Firefreak, praying he didn’t hit the ground too soon.

“I’m going to get a little more comfortable,” she said, moving out of his arms, “maybe you will, too.”

She went into the bathroom, closed the door behind her. His heart thundered like mad, a haze practically shutting down his brain. After all the months of longing, he was going to find himself holding the most beautiful woman in the world.

He pulled off his boots, kept his jeans and shirt on just in case the invitation got jerked away from him at the last minute. Waited in the dark, his body taut with anticipation.

The bathroom door opened, and he heard soft footsteps approach the bed. It was too dark for him to get the full effect, but maybe she was shy about him seeing her in the dark. Wouldn’t matter. He’d run his lips over every inch of that long, slinky body, and he’d have no problem whatsoever seeing everything he wanted to with his hands.

Something soft brushed his face, molded over his nose and mouth with a strange scent—but by then it was too late for Dante to react, even as his last thought was that the world’s most beautiful angel had just played him like the queen of hearts.

Chapter Three

Bumps and jolts jarred Dante painfully awake. Opening his eyes, he stared at a dark sky overhead, felt the cold of a truck bed beneath him as it trundled over ruts on what was obviously a country road. His hands and ankles seemed bound together—make that were bound. His boots lay near his head, confirming that he’d been hijacked.

Last night’s sudden and sweet seduction had been nothing but a sham. Ana St. John was a spy, a double-crosser in the first degree. He could see it all clearly now: she’d been working with whoever had taken out the sniper, and she’d followed Dante to the front door to pretend to save him Halloween night, throwing off suspicion.

All the while she’d been planning his downfall with a body made to stun. Like Samson cut down by Delilah, Dante had allowed Ana to blind him to common sense.

Love did indeed stink to high heaven.

A particularly vicious rut sent him bouncing skyward, and something moaned—not him. Glancing across the truck bed, he saw Ana in pretty much the same condition as he, only she had on less clothes to keep out the November chill. She, too, was bound, still wearing her scrubs, though the cork sandals didn’t appear to have made the trip.

Dante was cheered by her presence, but he also felt like a louse. Being happy when one’s object of desire was trussed up like a chicken, obviously being kidnapped along with him, was the mark of a truly pathetically gone heart.

He was so relieved Ana hadn’t played him. He would have felt like a bigger putz than all his brothers combined.

Ana opened her eyes, glanced around in rather shocked fashion, as he had, then saw him smiling at her. “Fancy meeting you here, cupcake.”

She blinked, looked annoyed. “This was not supposed to happen!”

“Yeah, well. Just an adventure to tell the grandkids, I guess.” He kept his tone soothing and light so she wouldn’t panic. Females were so delicate, and it was his job to comfort the gentler species, especially this darling one. He frowned. “Wait, what wasn’t supposed to happen?”

“I’ve never been jumped.” Ana glanced around the truck bed. “No one has ever been able to catch me off guard, and that’s a record I was extremely proud of. Who took us?”

“We’ll know soon enough.”

“Where are we?”

“My guess? Far from home. The air’s got a trace of petroleum. Definitely a chemical. I’m guessing somewhere around Houston.”

“Or Louisiana.”

It would stand to reason. They’d clearly been on the road a long time because his body was screaming from all the jags and bumps. He needed to hit a rest stop in the worst way. “They must have grabbed you in the lavatory, because I never saw you come out. And I would definitely have remembered.”

“First bad mark on my record.” Pure annoyance crossed her face. “I didn’t check the bath when I snuck in, and I should have.”

“Rule number one in the bodyguard manual broken,” he said cheerfully. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” He didn’t care, because she freely admitted sneaking into his room, and from that, he could deduce that this beautiful woman dug her some Callahan cowboy.

“I failed to protect you,” Ana said.

“Oh, I won’t hold it against you,” Dante said, thinking he was fine with role reversal. He was the man, he was supposed to be doing the protecting, and moreover, they’d only grabbed her because of him—she was a collateral situation. None of this would be happening right now if he weren’t a Callahan, which left very little blame to be parked at her door. “Anyway, I’m the man, I’m supposed to protect the fairer sex.”

“Are we going to debate sexual roles or figure out how to get out of this mess?”

He liked the idea of debating sexual anything with Ana, but he supposed her question was relevant. But then he had a horrible thought: his grandfather, Chief Running Bear, had muttered something about one of the seven Chacon Callahans being the hunted one. Running Bear had intoned the warning with such fierce knowledge, and Dante had always figured it couldn’t possibly be him.

But what if he was the one of which Running Bear warned? Any last vestige of grogginess from whatever they’d used to dope him disappeared, and his focus returned, laserlike.

“What?” Ana said. “You look like you want to kill something.”

He wasn’t going to worry about it now. If he was the hunted one, he’d get unhunted fast. Darkness had fallen, blanketing the truck’s path. His body felt like a yo-yo from the pounding bumps in the road, and Ana couldn’t be in any better shape. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

“Following you, cowboy.”

She was a sparky little thing, he’d grant her that. “For what it’s worth, I appreciated finding you in my bed. Hope you don’t let this experience scare you from trying again.”

Ana gave him a wry look. “Not at all,” she said sweetly. “I’ve picked you to be the father of my child.”

A hard jolt sent them both rolling, and covered the yelp Dante might have let go upon hearing Ana’s pronouncement. “You meant it wasn’t just about my body?”

“No.” Ana rolled close to him, which he thought was very sweet of her, very sexy. He liked women who were so pointed about their desire. “Undo my hands, please,” Ana told him.

“Ah.” Romance would have to wait; this little doll was all about business. He backed up to her, grabbed her bound hand with his and worked off the knotted handkerchief. “Free as a bird.”

Without creating any movement that would alert their kidnappers, she untied her feet. “Blast, they didn’t bring my shoes. That’s men for you. They never consider the important stuff.”

“They brought my boots,” Dante said, a bit relieved by that. He could carry Ana on his back if he had to.

“I may borrow those boots, cowboy.”

He looked at her. “Oh, no, you don’t, cupcake. If you think for one second that you’re going to take my boots and leave me stranded here with a couple of jokers, you will never get what you came for last night.”

She reached for a boot, looked him in the eye. “You may not be able to give me a child. It’s a calculated risk.”

There was absolutely nothing he’d rather do than give impregnating this sweet angel the old college try. “I offer my family tree as Exhibit A. You’re the nanny, you should know that Callahans are prodigious baby makers.”

She considered that. “True. Yet I find it highly suspicious that you’re not running. Men are supposed to run when a woman tells them they want a child.”

“Yeah, but I’m not a normal guy.”

“This, I’ve heard.”

She undid his hands, which he’d expected, since it was obvious she did indeed want to test his pregnancy prowess. He smirked, trying to look like a man who had full confidence that a baby bingo was as easy as snapping the fingers. “What’s the big hurry on getting pregnant? You have a biological clock going off?”

Ana barely gave him a glance. “You focus on the mission, which is saving us. Let me worry about my reasons.” She hesitated. “How do I know you’ll keep your promise?”

He kissed her briefly, just a soft brush of promised pleasure against her lips. “Because, beautiful, I guarantee satisfaction.”

She finished undoing him and his hands came free. He grabbed her, pulling her lips to his, cradling her head in his hands so that he could kiss her as thoroughly as he’d ever wanted to. “Consider that a down payment.”

“I do. I promise to make your life miserable if you try to back out of our deal. Remember, I could have taken your boots and left you here.”

“I’d hate for you to live with those regrets. One day you’ll thank your lucky stars I kept you, despite the fact that you’ll be a drag on the mission.” He pulled on his boots, watching her. She was a spicy girl for sure, and one day, he was going to dive in and enjoy the fire. “Now hang on, this is where it gets rough, gorgeous.”

He wrapped his arms around her, held her tight.

“What are you doing?”

“Watch and learn. Focus,” he whispered in her ear. “The truck has slowed. We’re no longer on the main road, we’re obviously getting closer to the destination. They’ve slowed, looking for a meeting point. The road isn’t hard and rocky anymore, feels more like sand. Perfect.”

“Perfect for what?”

“Finding out what little girls are made of. I always heard it was sugar and spice, but let’s hope you’re more spice than sugar.”

He flipped her over the edge of the truck, still holding her tight. They landed with a thud in a not-so-soft patch of dried sand liberally laced with grit. To Ana’s credit she didn’t make a peep, and Dante held his breath, praying that the truck kept on its slow way to its destination.

It did. “Let’s go. We have about five minutes, maybe less, before they discover we flew the coop.”

“Head away from the road,” Ana said, and Dante thought, Yeah, I had a feeling she was spice, and they ran until they crossed a smaller road that was more of a dirt-bike path.

They stopped, and Dante plotted his bearings. “Due north,” he said, pointing. “Heading to the west gets us back home.”

“How do you know they didn’t take us west?”

“I was watching the sky. The North star always guides us.”

“I must have missed that lesson.” Ana took off her shirt, tore it in half, bound up her feet for protection. “What are you staring at? It’s a sports bra.”

He was staring because being this close to heaven might just kill him. Sports bra or not, she was a tantalizing twist and slope of delicate curves and just-right softness. Tiny little waist. Athletic body. He swallowed, tore his eyes away with effort. A huge effort.

Dante cleared his throat even though it felt as if it was suddenly made of industrial rubber. “You ran pretty dang fast for a girl who was barefoot. I’m sorry.” There’d probably been burrs or sticker grass in the sand loam road.

“Sorry for what?” Ana glared at him. “I can take care of myself. I can take care of you, too.”

He smiled. “You are the most precious little thing I’ve ever come across.”

“And you may be the biggest donkey I’ve ever laid eyes on.” Her glare deepened. “Has it ever occurred to you that not every female is just waiting for you to bring your big muscles and your annoying chauvinism to rescue her?”

A grin split his face. “You like my big muscles?”

“Yes, I do. Can we discuss your manliness another time?”

“It’s never a bad time to discuss that,” Dante said, and they began walking toward the west, staying well out of sight of the main road. “Because I was thinking,” Dante said, “if you like the muscles you can see, I’ve got some others that may—”

“Save it for later,” Ana said. “I don’t want you to blow a fuse.”