CHAPTER EIGHT
Brody’s breath had stopped the moment Elena’s lips touched Olivia’s. He’d never been as aroused by a sight, not even purely naked women. Of course, his hard cock probably had something to do with it. Elena had a very talented mouth.
Olivia’s eyes were wide as saucers in her face. Her mouth quivered slightly as she stared at him.
“What just happened?”
He had to stop himself from throwing her on the bed and fucking her until they couldn’t see straight. His arousal was roaring inside, but he took a deep breath to tamp it down. Olivia was nearly in shock from what she’d seen and experienced. He had to focus on her, not on himself.
“What just happened?” she repeated.
Brody had to choose his words carefully. He forgot sometimes that she grew up on a family ranch. Her experiences had been limited until her parents had been murdered, then her world turned upside down. Now she’d stepped even further into the shadows of the dark corners and this time, she’d been unable to stay on her feet.
“Rodrigo told her to seduce us. Both of us. She wanted to see how we would react, if we’d take her up on the offer.” He took her hands, which trembled like trapped birds in his. “She also wanted to search us, so she knows both of us have a gun.”
He pulled her into his arms, noting her breath came in short bursts, warm against his skin. For now, he needed this contact as much as she did. They stood there for what could have been ten minutes or forty minutes. When he realized she wasn’t shaking anymore, he stepped back and looked down at her.
“You need to tell me what you’re planning. I don’t like not being ready. If I had known she would, well, do that, I could have, well, I don’t know what—” Olivia had gotten her wind back, that was for sure.
“I didn’t want to risk your life.”
She snorted. “I’ve been risking my life for a week with you. I asked you, begged, even pleaded, although I’m not proud of that, to tell me what your plan was. You didn’t.”
It was a raw truth but she was right. He’d left her vulnerable because he didn’t trust her yet. Hell, she’d only been with him a short time. Not long enough to know if he could trust her.
That wasn’t enough time for him to know her well enough.
He was lying to himself though. He did trust her. He felt more when he was with Olivia than he had in a couple of years. She’d brought him from the cold reality he existed in as a ranger and dragged him into living again. His brothers would’ve laughed at how much of a twist his tail was in. It was all due to Olivia.
“I, uh, I’m sorry.” He barely choked the words out but he did.
Her eyebrows went up, but her expression was skeptical. “Do you mean that?”
“I don’t do this. I don’t know how to do this. Being with someone all the time is too damn hard.” He sat down on the bed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I don’t have partners. My life is solitary. When you wanted to be my partner, I didn’t know what to do.”
She sat beside him and leaned against him. “You don’t have any family or friends?”
His heart pinched at the memory of what he’d lost. “My brothers died in the war. Didn’t have anybody but them growing up.”
“I’m so sorry. That’s why you understand how I feel about Benjy.” She kissed his shoulder, but he felt it through his shirt anyway. “You do have a heart, Ranger.”
The aforementioned organ thumped hard. “I wanted to forget it but you wouldn’t let me.”
“I was never allowed to hide how I felt so I just let it loose on the world. For better or worse.” She sighed. “I’m afraid I can be opinionated.”
Brody didn’t point out it was obvious she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. “You are a unique woman.” Brody had no doubt he would never meet another woman like her.
He’d be a fool if he didn’t try to keep her by his side. Brody thought maybe he was an even bigger fool because he couldn’t find the words to tell her that. They were trapped somewhere inside him.
Olivia stared at him, but he didn’t look her in the eye. He was no coward, but right about then he wanted to have more courage than he possessed.
“You are a hard man, Ranger.” She pulled away from him and rose from the bed.
His heart cried out, battering against the bars that held it captive. Yet he said nothing, did nothing, just let her walk away from him.
He couldn’t have a wife as a ranger, hell, he might not even be a ranger anymore. An outlaw certainly couldn’t keep a wife and neither could a dead man. Until this thing was finished with Rodrigo and Benjy, and he could bring her safely back to Texas, he had to let her go.
Damned if his eyes didn’t sting.
She sat down in the rickety chair in the corner. “Now that we’ve been all foolish and lovey-dovey, let’s get back to business. Tell me your plan, Brody. Now.”
He owed her that much. It was his plan that had landed them in this room, at the mercy of a man who would use them for sport with his own whore. It was an untenable situation and they had to work together to change it.
“An idea hit me when I was talking to Jeb at the jail in Austin. I realized no one had ever seen his partners and he refused to give up information easily.” Brody wasn’t proud of the way he’d pushed Jeb to talk, but he had been desperate to get something from him. He decided not to tell Olivia about that part of the conversation. “After some time, he mentioned Bluehound and that sparked my idea. I still didn’t know who his partners were but I realized they didn’t know me either.”
She leaned forward. “You decided to take over Jeb’s business.”
“Exactly. I wanted to stop the supply chain from the bottom up. Finding whoever was buying the goods was going to be the hardest part. I thought at first I’d pretend to be Jeb, but when Bluehound already knew about Jeb’s death, I had to think of something else.” He gestured at her. “And with you along killing bad guys and pretending to be a whore, I had help.”
This made her expression relax just a bit, but it was enough for him to know she would be okay. It was important because he was going to be brutally honest with her.
“I wanted to set up a deal with the buyer in Mexico and kill him. I can’t operate as a ranger here in Mexico, but I have to do this, to bring down these monsters. My brothers gave their lives for what they believed in. I want to do the same.”
Brody could hardly believe how much he’d just told her. For the first time in his recollection, he had spent time talking, just talking. The silence between them grew longer and he silently urged her to say something. Her blue-green eyes watched him steadily.
“I respect that, Ranger. You are doing what you think is right. That’s why I’m here too. Because I had to do what was right, no matter what the consequences.”
Brody didn’t breathe a sigh of relief, or at least not out loud. It shouldn’t be important to him that she accepted his motivations, but he’d be lying to himself if he said it wasn’t. He’d never experienced such a thing before. He’d lost his parents young enough he didn’t remember them. It wasn’t as though his brothers didn’t love him, but two teenage boys didn’t know how to spread loving on a five-year-old.
As frightening as it was to admit, he had a sneaking suspicion he was falling in love with the rancher’s daughter. She was the perfect woman for him, fearless, smart, gutsy and bossy.
Well, damn. That was a development he didn’t expect. It could be dangerous for both of them.
“What do we do next?” A small smile curved the corner of her mouth.
Brody found his own lips twitching to return the grin. “We use Rodrigo to find the buyer and nail the son of a bitch.”
She rose from the chair and sauntered toward him. “I think she locked the door behind her. We’re not going anywhere tonight.”
Brody’s lust roared back to life. This time it was more than physical. It was pulling at every fiber of his body. He wanted Olivia. No one else.
“We shouldn’t do this.” His protest was halfhearted at best.
“We have to do this. I have to.” Olivia stopped in front of him, her breasts inches from his face. “I need you to wipe her touch away. Please.”
He understood that more than she knew. Oh, Elena had a talented mouth, but she’d left behind a residue he needed gone.
“Let me wash up first.” He got to his feet and pulled her close. Her soft curves felt perfect against him, exactly where they were supposed to be. He leaned down and captured her mouth in a hard kiss. “I need to wipe her away too.”
“Then let me do it.” Olivia stepped back and went to the rickety washstand in the corner. She peered into the pitcher, then stuck her hand in. “There is water but it’s not warm.”
She poured water into the basin and glanced around for a cloth. Brody pulled a clean neckerchief from his pocket and tossed it to her. She caught it and smiled. His cock twitched with anticipation.
“Take off your clothes.” Her soft command felt as though she’d shouted it. He obeyed without a peep of protest. To his surprise, she took off all her clothes too before she approached his overly anxious naked self.
She stopped with the basin in hand and looked at him, her gaze traveling up and down his body. Her eyes drank him in as though he was a feast before her.
“What?” He would not cover himself, although he sure as hell felt odd being ogled.
“You are a good-looking man.” The simple compliment made any embarrassment fade. She was the most genuine woman he’d ever met.
This time when a woman knelt in front of him, he wanted her there. She dipped the rag in the water and wrung it out, then began washing him. Her scent surrounded him, her touch excited him. She worked her way down his body, leaving behind a trail of goose bumps he couldn’t hide.
By the time she made it to his cock, it was standing up like an oak tree. Hard, aching and pulsing with each rush of blood through his veins. She rinsed the rag again and took the unruly staff in hand.
He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath through his teeth. So good, so damn good. She washed his cock, then moved to his balls, much to his delight. Her nimble fingers cupped him, made him want to fuck her hard right then and there. But he had to hold back; restraint was called for and he could do that. He would do that.
When her mouth touched him, he cursed loudly. She sat back and looked at him with wide eyes, her expression wary and unsure.
“Oh, honey, you don’t have to do that.” It was the most unexpected thing she’d done and that was saying a lot. Not that he didn’t want her mouth on him—he’d had dreams about it, but he didn’t want her to do it because she felt she had to.
“I want to. Please.” Her throaty whisper made his cock twitch.
“Oh, God, Olivia.” He lay back on the bed and waited.
She was hesitant at first, hot and wet on his flesh. She swiped him with her tongue and his leg muscles tightened. When her mouth closed around him, a rush of pleasure shot through every pore of his body.
“Jeeeesus,” he gasped.
She lapped at him more, her soft tongue blazing on his already overheated cock. He knew there would only be a minute or two of the delicious feel of her mouth on him because he refused to come in her mouth. There was no way he could last any longer than that.
When his cock touched the back of her throat, he sat up and she released him. His wet cock slapped against his stomach, howling for more of the angel’s touch.
“Ride me, honey. Now.”
Olivia stared at him, her lips red and moist. Her nipples were hard and her eyes heavy with lust. He’d never seen anything so arousing or beautiful in his life.
She got to her feet and threw back her hair. It was Brody’s turn to look at her naked form. Her body curved in all the right places, soft and loveable. He grabbed her hips and pulled her forward, then planted a kiss on her belly, which tightened beneath his touch. Another time he would return the favor and lick her until she came, but now he needed to be in there. He smelled her musky arousal and slipped his finger into her folds. She was so wet, he shook with the knowledge he would be inside her in moments. God, how he wanted her.
He kissed her belly again and pulled her down until she straddled him. Her heat caressed his skin as she drew closer to his cock. She fumbled to find the right angle to take him in. He took pity on both of them and took hold of his staff. Like a divining rod, it found the opening of her wet core.
As she slid down his length, he took one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked. She gasped as he bit her and buried himself inside her. He paused, his fingers gripping her hips tightly. She was tight, so tight.
“Oh, God, Brody.” She gasped against his cheek. “Oh, God.”
He knew exactly what she meant. The wet slide of them together was incredible. He pulled her up just a few inches, then down, again, then again. Soon she had the rhythm and took over. He lay back on the bed, watching the amazing sight of Olivia fucking him. She rode him, her breasts swaying, her hair brushing her nipples, her face a study of pleasure unbound.
It was the most erotic moment of his life.
He reached up and tweaked her nipples, earning a gasp from her. Her tight passage squeezed him with each pinch, so he kept doing it. Her pace increased and he found himself pushing up as much as she pushed down.
His balls tightened and he knew he would not last much longer. There was no way he was going to find his own release without her finding one. He focused on her beautiful face and reached for her clit with one hand, while the other continued to pleasure her breast.
He found the nubbin in her swollen folds and squeezed it with his fingers, rubbing them together. Her body jerked and his cock howled with pure joy.
“Do that again.”
Oh, was he in trouble if he found himself falling in love with a woman who ordered him while she fucked him. But he was and he knew it. She was the right woman for him, the only woman for him.
He obeyed his bossy partner and flicked, squeezed and tweaked her. Her pace increased as she neared her peak. He found himself watching her, fascinated by the sight of her unfettered pleasure in making love. She enveloped him, pulled him into a realm of raw ecstasy he’d not known before her.
Brody felt her orgasm hit him with the force of a twister. It wound through him, leaving pulses of passion in its wake. Her body contracted around him, milking him, prolonging their mutual pleasure with each pulse of her own orgasm. He heard himself call her name as he spilled his seed deep inside her. Stars exploded behind his eyes as he reached the ultimate ecstasy with the woman he had found to be his mate.
His woman. His Olivia.
The gray light of dawn peeked through the meager curtain on the small window. Olivia had sat up most of the night with her mind whirling. Brody had been right, they shouldn’t have had sex, but she wouldn’t regret it even though he had planted his seed within her. After being touched by Elena, she’d needed to feel him, not her, on her skin.
She listened to his even breathing beside her. Funny how she’d never been awake when he wasn’t. His face was more relaxed in sleep, even though his dark whiskers cast a somewhat menacing shadow over his angular jaw and cheeks. Brody wasn’t classically handsome but all the pieces fit together well. He clenched that same jaw when he was angry or annoyed and she’d come to recognize the tic in his cheek when he did.
Olivia watched him sleep, wondering if they’d make it out of Mexico alive, or even out of Rodrigo’s tavern. She was glad they’d made love the night before.
Make love. Was that what they’d done? It hadn’t been like the other frantic couplings they’d had previously. No, this had been slower, more deliberate. She wouldn’t admit it out loud to anyone, especially him, but she was in love with the ranger. He was what she needed, wanted, although not what she’d ever expected. If God were kind, she would be able to live the rest of her life with Brody. If He were merciful, that life would include Benjy and the rest of her family.
She heard shuffling outside the door and before she swung her legs off the side of the bed, Brody was on his feet, gun in hand. Her mouth dropped open at the speed of the man. He’d been sound asleep! How did he manage to wake, get out of bed and draw his gun in less than a second?
He met her gaze and mouthed the word “gun.” She nodded and pulled it from the folds of her skirt where she’d had it hidden. To her surprise, he smiled fiercely.
“That’s my girl.” His words were barely a whisper but she heard him anyway.
It made her heart skip a bit.
The key scraped in the lock, loud in the quiet room. When it swung open, Elena stood there. She glanced at their guns, then at their faces.
“Desayuno. ” With that, she walked away.
“I guess we’re commanded to go eat breakfast.” Olivia got up, wincing at the tenderness throughout her body. The time with Brody had been exceptionally hard on her lower half.
“Make sure he eats first. I don’t want them giving us some desert poison in our huevos that puts us in the crapper for a week.” Brody picked up their saddlebags.
Olivia had to work to contain her surprise. Not only had she not expected to hear “crapper” from the taciturn ranger, but it came out almost funny. Either she wasn’t paying attention earlier, or he was changing in front of her eyes.
She shook off her momentary amusement and focused on the situation they were in. At least they were no longer locked in the room. “I’ll make sure I do that. I saw you watch him last night too. I never thought of poison.”
Thank God, he had been thinking of something so sinister. She was a novice at hunting criminals, but she was learning quickly just how far people would go.
They stepped out into the hall and she noted the tavern was deserted. There were no bustling patrons, clinking glasses or guitar music this morning. The burly barkeep was absent as well. She wondered if they all hid during the daylight hours, or perhaps had just gotten to their beds. Either way, she was glad to see there was nobody about. The experience last night had been uncomfortable enough.
At the bottom of the stairs, Elena waited, her hands folded neatly in front of her. Her expression didn’t reflect annoyance, but Olivia saw something flash in her eyes before she turned away, gesturing for them to follow.
She walked to a swinging door behind the tables and went through. Olivia was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the kitchen they entered. Its tidiness, combined with the delicious odors, made it feel almost homey.
She had to remind herself again that this was not a friendly kitchen. It was an enemy’s domain, no matter how appealing or friendly they seemed. Elena pointed to a round table on the left and walked over to the large black stove in the corner.
Rodrigo sat at the table, a mug in front of him. The hat was gone, as was the black clothing. He wore a plain white shirt open at the collar and his dark hair hung in waves to his jaw. Olivia was struck by just how young the outlaw looked; he couldn’t have been more than twenty or twenty-one, the same age as she was.
“Buenos dias, señorita. Tu eres muy guapa esta dia.” He gave her a lazy grin.
“Buenos dias, señor.” Olivia glanced at Brody as she sat down. His jaw was clenched and the tic jumping madly in his cheek. She didn’t respond to the compliment and she didn’t think Rodrigo expected her to. Telling her she looked beautiful was almost ridiculous in the current situation.
“Rodrigo.” Brody sat down, dropping the saddlebags beside him on the floor. “Didn’t appreciate being locked in.”
“It is for your safety. People in Forgata don’t like gringos.” Rodrigo sipped at his coffee.
“I had to take a piss and couldn’t.” The ranger was intent on being ornery.
“There was a chamber pot below the bed.” Rodrigo turned back to Olivia. “You like coffee?”
“Yes, please.” Olivia decided to use her manners. Brody flashed her a warning with his eyes. She would heed it. There wasn’t a chance she would put herself at risk for coffee.
Elena came over with two empty tin cups and a coffeepot. She set the cups down and poured, careful to hold the handle with a rag. Her gaze met Rodrigo’s for a second before she poured more coffee into his cup.
“We have no sugar for coffee.” The outlaw sniffed at the brew. “But real men don’t need it, eh?”
Brody didn’t answer. He picked up his own cup and pulled in a gulp.
Olivia drank her coffee, but she was on pins and needles wondering if whatever they were served next would be poison. If it wasn’t for their protection, she might have been annoyed at her lover for putting the idea in her head.
Lover.
That was a new word just bursting in her head. Brody was her lover now, for better or worse. One day he might be more, but for now she felt good thinking of him as her lover.
“I’ve asked people about Jeb’s death. Did you know him?” Rodrigo directed the question to Brody.
“Yep, I knew him. I took his business and his woman away from him.”
Now they both looked at her again.
“Ah, the pretty señorita was Jeb’s mujer, eh? Is this true, chica?” Rodrigo almost petted the rim of his cup. She watched the slender, olive-toned fingers move—he was quite graceful.
“Yes, I was his before I met Stuart.” She’d almost said Brody. Thankfully her brain stopped her tongue from killing them.
“Did you love him?” Rodrigo’s eyes were at half-mast but they were sharp as knives.
“No, but I liked him. He was easy to know, easy to like. Folks took to him. It’s how he was able to do what he did for so long without anyone knowing.” Olivia stopped and sighed. “I do miss him a little.” It was true, unfortunately; she did miss the charming Jeb she’d known as a neighbor.
“Jeb was lousy at a lot of things.” Brody pressed Rodrigo. “That’s why Jeb got himself killed. He didn’t have a head for business; he was greedy and had crossed people for money. I won’t make the same mistake. I set up the buy before I take a thing. I don’t want merchandise I can’t get rid of.”
Rodrigo regarded Brody for a full minute before he spoke again. “I like your business attitude. You are right, of course. If you take what you cannot keep or sell, then you are an idiota.”
Elena set down plates of steaming eggs, tortillas, peppers and onions. The smell was heavenly and Olivia’s stomach growled on cue.
Rodrigo chuckled. “Elena is a good cook. She learn from her mama, who owns her own, ah, tavern in another town.” Rodrigo took a bite of his eggs and spoke with his mouth full. Olivia had all she could do not to admonish him as she would her younger siblings. “This is where we will go today.”
“To see Elena’s mother?” Olivia blurted. Both men sent her an annoyed look. “It’s an honest question.”
“Is the buyer there?” Brody took another gulp of coffee.
“Sí. This is where we need to go.” He twirled his fork in a circle before he pointed it at the ranger. “I will take you to meet the buyer, but I tell you this now. If you play me for a fool, gringo, I will make sure you suffer before you die.”
The air crackled with the threat. The small hairs stood up on Olivia’s arm as the two men stared at each other.
“Fair enough. I’ll make you the same promise.” Brody held the other man’s stare until Rodrigo’s smile returned.
“Is good. Is good. Now eat and then vamanos.”
They ate an uneasy breakfast, and although the food was good, Olivia could not shake the feeling that something very bad was going to happen. They were taking the word of an outlaw that they would find what they sought—a buyer for children and women. It would be foolhardy to do so, but they didn’t have a choice.
Brody ate what was put in front of him, but he didn’t taste it. The battle lines had been drawn and his plan was now officially in play with Rodrigo. This was his opportunity to find the people he hunted, no matter the consequences to himself. The consequences to Olivia were another matter.
Although she’d assured him her eyes were open and she knew the dangers, he didn’t want anything to happen to her. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Rodrigo would do everything he promised and more. It was Brody’s job to make sure that didn’t happen.
Elena cleaned up the kitchen in a blink, and then they followed Rodrigo out of the tavern to the barn to get the horses. Elena walked beside Brody, the quiet seductress who probably had killed for the man she served.
“Cuidado, señor,” she whispered as they walked behind Rodrigo and Olivia, who were talking about horses ten feet in front of them.
Brody’s instincts reared to life. The woman who’d tried to seduce him was warning him of danger. “¿Porque?”
“You are working with people who would kill you in a second and not care. I know why you are here. I know why she comes.”
“What are you talking about?” He didn’t want to even consider that they had been found out already.
“Her eyes.” Elena glanced at him. “The boy had the same color.”
“The boy?” Brody’s stomach flipped, full of the heavy Mexican breakfast. Oh, God, could Benjy have come through the tavern?
“Sí, el hijo. He was here months ago, but I remember his eyes. He cried for his mama and for someone named Eva. Rodrigo told me to tie him up and gag him so he not hear him no more.” Elena nodded at Olivia. “You look for him, si?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The last thing Brody needed was to confirm they were looking for Benjy.
Elena nodded. “Entiendo. You keep your woman safe. Is good. Remember what I say. Do not trust anyone, especially mi mama. Cuidado, señor.”
They reached the barn and Elena disappeared into a stall to saddle a horse for herself. Brody could hardly believe the conversation he’d just had. As he walked into his horse’s stall, he noticed that Olivia was watching him. She must have seen Elena whispering to him. He wanted so badly to tell Olivia what he’d found out but knew it was far too risky to do so now. He would just have to count on catching her alone for a few minutes later.
After saddling the horses, the four of them got started across the scrubby desert. The sun had risen enough to warm their backs as they rode west. Rodrigo seemed to love to talk and he chatted with Olivia as though they were bosom friends. Brody wanted to punch the outlaw and carry her away on his shoulder. Stupid, he knew, but he couldn’t keep himself from feeling that way. The odds were stacked against them to survive, so wishing for it was even more foolish.
“Tell me about you, Meredith.” Rodrigo had an easy seat in the saddle; clearly, he was a man who had spent many hours riding.
“Oh, there’s not much to tell. I lost my parents when I was thirteen.” She looked out toward the horizon, her gaze distant. “I still miss them, even now. I worked the jobs I could get, um, for money. Jeb found me a couple years later and took care of me. He was nice most of the time.”
“Then you leave him for Stuart’s dick, eh?” Rodrigo laughed at his own wit. “It must be bigger and better. This is good because you are a woman who knows what she wants.” He licked his lips and Brody saw Olivia twitch.
Brody didn’t care for the outlaw’s implication. “Meredith is a smart woman. She knew Jeb was going nowhere in a hurry.”
“You give her what she needs then.” Rodrigo had put on his familiar flat-brimmed black hat. “You keep your woman satisfied.”
“We get along just fine.”
Rodrigo laughed. “I hear you getting along just fine last night. Meredith, she is passionate, no? I look for that in a woman too. No cold fish in the bed. Is boring! I look for fire and spark.”
He had the right of it, damn his rotten hide. Olivia was passionate, full of fire and spark. She was his woman now and if he were smart he’d hang onto her with both hands. If he could survive the next few days, he would do just that.
“Elena has the bedroom skills. I like this too. She could teach Meredith good things.” Rodrigo had already attempted to have Elena teach Olivia things, but they weren’t good.
Brody had to change the subject before he lost his temper and beat the life out of the man. “How far is the pueblo we’re going to?”
“A few hours. We will be there by dinner.” He gestured to the wide-open desert. “For now we have all this fine land to ourselves and a nice day to ride.”
Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, but it was not to last. Olivia’s breasts seemed to fascinate the Mexican and his gaze kept returning to them. Brody gritted his teeth to keep quiet, his hands fisting on the reins, wrapping tight. His horse didn’t like the pull on his bit and let Brody know by turning around and biting his leg.
“Ow, cut that out.” He loosened his grip, unwilling to let anyone see what he’d been doing.
“Your horse is how you say, ornery, hmm?” Rodrigo’s laugh grated on him like a hot, jagged rock.
“Sometimes he is. Maybe he don’t like all the chatter.” Brody couldn’t help digging at the man. He had to shut up Rodrigo somehow.
Another laugh. “Too bad he is a caballo and cannot speak for himself. I like to talk to Meredith more. It is a long ride and we can become friends, sí?”
Olivia didn’t look at him. “I don’t think we’re here to be friends, Rodrigo. We’re here to do business.”
“That means we cannot talk?” Rodrigo shook his head. “I thought we were amigos.”
The dark undercurrents in his voice gave Brody pause. They had to keep up their disguise as outlaws, but they also had to keep Rodrigo happy enough to bring them to the buyer for the human chattel Jeb had been selling. All that meant was they had to be nice to Rodrigo, talk with him and remember he could have an ambush planned another mile up the road.
Brody couldn’t tell Olivia everything he was thinking but he had to make her understand what they had to do, like it or not. “We can talk. Meredith is a little grumpy because she didn’t get enough sleep.”
“Ah, entiendo. You kept her busy, sí? You are the man she wanted more than Jeb Stinson.” Rodrigo didn’t appear to be too ruffled by Olivia’s cool remarks.
“She is a good woman.”
“Sí, I can believe that. She take care of you and not complain about it.” Rodrigo glanced at Olivia. “I would like a woman like this.”
She didn’t turn her head but a small grin kicked up the side of her mouth. “I’m not interested, but thank you.”
Rodrigo threw his head back and laughed. “She is funny too. Meredith, Meredith, Meredith, Meredith.” It was almost sing-songy and quite bizarre.
“What is your mother’s name, Elena?” Olivia must have felt the same sort of discomfort at the outlaw’s amusement. It was disturbing and it set the small hairs on his neck standing up.
Rodrigo was still chuckling as he flapped his hand in the other woman’s direction. “Puedes hablar, Elena.”
Ah, even more interesting. Elena had to wait for Rodrigo’s permission to speak. No wonder she’d whispered to Brody back in Forgata. He had to find an opportunity to talk to her in private again. No doubt the quiet, strange woman had more secrets to share, knew the darkest tales from the outlaw’s life.
“Her name is Lucinda.” Elena’s quiet voice broke the silence.
“She owns her own business then? Unusual for a woman.” Brody didn’t want to insult her by asking if it was a brothel because she could own a seamstress shop. However, given the caliber of the people they were dealing with, it was unlikely.
“It is a place for pleasure, señor. She has women and liquor. People come to see her every day.” Elena didn’t elaborate on why people came to see her mother but it was obvious. Taverns made money on liquor and women.
“It must have been hard to leave her.” Olivia turned to look at her. “You must love Rodrigo very much.”
The expression on Elena’s face was carefully controlled, but Brody could almost see the truth in her gaze. She didn’t love Rodrigo. Hell, she probably didn’t even like him. Nor did he think Elena was willingly with the outlaw. He suspected she’d been sold, or maybe even used to pay a debt. It was an unfortunate fate for many women who were more children than adult.
“I am loyal.” Elena’s response was what he expected, cryptic.
“I’m sure he appreciates your loyalty.” Olivia shot Brody a scowl, as though he’d been the one to pull the words from her mouth. “Thank you for coming with us. I’m sure you want to see your mother too.”
This time Elena didn’t answer.
Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, for which Brody was grateful. He needed a few minutes to think about the information he’d been given. He kept his gaze on Olivia until she looked his way.
“Be nice,” he mouthed.
She scowled again.
“We need him,” he mouthed.
She rolled her eyes and turned away from him. He hoped like hell she understood what he was trying to tell her.
Olivia sighed but then finally spoke. “What about you, Rodrigo? Do you have any family?”
“I have a broken family, amiga. It is scattered like the tumbleweeds.” Rodrigo didn’t sound particularly sad about it.
“I’m sorry.” Olivia had such a large family, she probably did feel sorry for him. “That must be hard.”
“I have all I need.” Rodrigo smiled at her. “My tavern, a woman, my men. One day I will be a caudillo.”
Brody had wondered if Rodrigo had plans to become a caudillo, a warlord in Mexico. He was well on his way: a dangerous man with dangerous plans.
“I was born in Texas, you know. My mama, she worked a big hacienda and then she had me. But I was not home until I came here. This, this is my home.”
For the first time since they’d met, Brody heard honesty in the outlaw’s voice. There were plenty of hacienda owners who got children on their hired help, but never acknowledged them as their offspring. They were half-breeds to many, bastards to others. Rodrigo was probably better off in Mexico than Texas.
If Rodrigo had stayed where he’d been born, he would have had nothing. Now he had his own little corner of the world with dreams of something bigger. But if Brody had anything to say about it, Rodrigo’s dreams wouldn’t come true.