“Once upon a time.”

  Hotchkins taps a key on his computer. “A few other matters of interest. This here's direct from the State Department. You hold dual citizenship, US and Mexico. Your father is none other than Alejandro M. Alvarez, one of the richest men in Mexico. The world, in fact.”

  The sheriff pauses to gauge my reaction. I have none.

  “Your mother,” he goes on, “is a woman named Beatrice Gates. Anglo, it looks like. American?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “How’d that happen?”

  “My mother was a wealthy heiress. My father was richer. They met at a business gala in Houston. Marriage aligned with their interests.”

  “Funny way to talk about it,” Hotchkins says.

  “That’s how they talked about it to me.”

  Hotchkins glances at his screen again. “You were born in Mexico City, lived in privilege as far as I can tell. Then you moved to San Antonio when you were eighteen.”

  “My parents moved me.”

  “Why’d they do that?”

  I shrug. “We had a difference of opinion on gangs. I wanted to join one. They were against it.”

  “This was down in Mexico?”

  “Yeah. So they sent me across the border to a boarding school in San Antonio. But I ran off.”

  “You were a bad boy.”

  “We weren’t a real family, Sheriff. There was no love. I merely wanted to belong somewhere.”

  “Well, your folks have been writing the State Department every year. Your name’s in the FBI missing person’s database.”

  “I’m not going back. I don’t want their money.”

  The sheriff crosses his hands over his gut. “There’s one million dollars in the back of your Cadillac Escalade. Before you tell me where that money came from, you oughta know if the money’s illegal, I’d have to arrest you. And then you can kiss your sweetheart goodbye.”

  I hold his gaze. “I found it,” I say after a long silence.

  “Oh you did? That’s what I reckoned. What a coincidence.”

  This is interesting.

  “Seeing as how you found the money,” the sheriff goes on, “we’ll have to take it into custody. Not to worry. Money’s yours as long as nobody claims it after three weeks. We have to follow procedures, you understand. This amount of cash looks suspicious. But after it’s been cleared, you can deposit it into any bank you choose. It’ll be clean.”

  “Isn’t that called money laundering?”

  “Not if you found the money, it’s not.”

  “Why the generosity?”

  Hotchkins looks at me for a while. “Because I believe in Biblical justice. Let's leave it at that.”

  “Did you talk to Sheriff Rose?”

  “She mentioned a few things in your favor, yes.”

  “Am I free to go?”

  “Far as I’m concerned.”

  “What about the goatfuck?”

  “Why, you were just a fella defending your hard-found cash from three unscrupulous scoundrels. It’s self-defense. Clear as day.”

  “Where’s Ms. Ginn?”

  “I checked her into the Valley View Inn, best accommodations we have in town. She spends most of her time at the hospital with Sheriff Rose.”

  “Rose gonna be okay?”

  “She’ll make a full recovery. Doctors took a few pieces of buckshot out of her shoulder. You can go see them right now.” Hotchkins stands. “But, if I ever hear your name being involved in another goatfuck in my county, you’re gonna find yourself in a heap of shit. Pleasure meeting you, Lusander.”

  “I go by Luke.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Ever try joining a motorcycle club as Lusander?”

  “Fair point.”

  We shake hands.

  I turn around at the door. “Did a Gavril Marsh speak with you?”

  “No man by that name I’ve met. Why? This another associate of yours from San Antonio?”

  “Not exactly. Thank you for everything, Sheriff.”

  “Have a good day, Mr. Alvarez.”

  I walk out into the sun, climb into my riddled Escalade, and drive for the hospital.

  The nurse at his station looks up at my entrance. He sees the skull on my throat and frowns. He calls Rose’s room to confirm my identity before he issues a visitor’s pass.

  I find Piper sitting at Rose’s bedside, Bandit pacing around the room. The kitten crawls up my leg when she sees me. This is the part where I offer her a treat, but I didn't come prepared, so I scratch under her chin until Bandit lets out a contented purr. I might be imagining it, but she looks bigger.

  Then Piper jumps into my arms.

  “So Hotchkins let you go free,” Rose says from the bed. Her shoulder’s in a cast, but other than that she looks okay.

  “Thanks for the good word,” I say.

  “My pleasure.”

  “About the money—”

  Rose raises her hand. “Piper’s been telling me about your plans to settle in San Diego. She wants to live by the ocean. I’m sure you can do something about that.”

  I smile and think of my girl smiling from a balcony that overlooks a blue ocean. “San Diego sounds lovely.”

  “I’m heading back to Kenedy soon as I’m healed. I’ll be staying in touch. You better count on that, Luke.”

  “Of course,” I say.

  Piper rolls her eyes before I pull up a chair by Rose’s side. We chat for a while about our pasts, getting to know each other better. I take the opportunity to tell them who I really am, everything I told Sheriff Hotchkins and more. It’s true I grew up in wealth, but I never knew the wealth I have now.

  A wealth money can’t buy.

  I check into the Valley View Inn after leaving the hospital, moving Piper to the biggest room with a queen-size bed. We leave Bandit with a soft pillow in the bathtub. Sorry, kitty, but this night belongs to your humans.

  “I love you,” I whisper in Piper’s ear.

  We’re on a soft bed with clean sheets that are about to get very dirty. It’s our first night together free from fear, and I'll make sure she enjoys every minute.

  I’m buck naked, my tongue lashing at my girl’s wet pussy. She tastes like strawberries dipped in honey and I can’t get enough. She says my taste buds must be screwed up, but it’s the fucking truth. I could spend all night licking her nectar.

  Piper’s hands twist in the sheets as she stares down her body.

  My cock’s rock hard. I haven’t cum in two days and my balls are full to bursting. Every drop is going in her little pussy. I’ll make sure my seed soaks into her womb before we ever set foot in San Diego.

  I lean back to roll her clit under my fingers, licking my mouth. “Are you ready for my cock, little girl?”

  “I was ready thirty minutes ago,” she breathes.

  “You better be,” I growl. “I’m hungry tonight.” I stroke myself as I climb up her body. I’ve never been harder. Coming just once or twice won't do it, not with her looking so delicious. I may need to sleep with my cock in her tight hole.

  I drag my tongue over her belly and kiss each nipple, then along her throat. “Do you have any idea how hot you are?”

  Her legs close around my hips. “You keep saying that.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  No more waiting.

  No more doubts.

  She’s mine forever. I line up at her opening, my balls throbbing with anticipation—and then the phone rings.

  “Damn it.”

  The hotel phone on our nightstand. I could smash it to pieces.

  Piper touches my throat. “It might be the hospital or Sheriff Hotchkins.”

  I doubt it. Hotchkins has my cell number, and Rose has Piper’s. But whoever it is, they better have a good reason for interrupting us. Reaching for the phone, I wet the tip of my cock in Piper’s folds, the sensation just enough to keep my insanity intact. Her hands play over my sides, calming me further, as I answer.

  “Who is this?”

  “Molly from the front desk, Mr. Alvarez. Sorry to disturb you.”

  “No harm done,” I grit out. “Is the building on fire?”

  “Uh . . .”

  “I’d kindly ask you not to disturb us again unless the building is on fire.”

  Molly clears her throat. “I’m calling to let you know that Ms. Ginn’s brother is coming up. Joey? He said you know he’s coming.”

  Piper doesn’t have a brother. “What did this Joey look like?” I say.

  “Shaved head, medium build. He seemed agitated.”

  I hold the phone’s mouthpiece and look at Piper. “Gavril Marsh is coming up.”

  My girl sags. “I let Mom know yesterday where I’m staying. She must’ve told him. She still trusts him.” Piper rubs her eyes. “I’m sorry, Luke.”

  “Not your fault.”

  And speak of the devil, there’s a loud knock on our door. Gavril’s voice from outside, “Open up, Piper! I’m here to take you back! You open up this damn door right now!”

  That piece of shit doesn’t know when to quit.

  “Thank you for the notice,” I tell Molly and hang up.

  I kiss Piper on the mouth, my tongue sliding around hers, my hand lingering on her breast. I swallow her moans, the throb in my cock no less. My guts twist with lust for this girl I love with all my heart.

  The knocking gets louder.

  Piper pushes me back. “We can’t ignore him.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll send him away for good.” I get out of bed and crack my fists. No one gets between me and mine.

  “Luke, wait.” Piper dresses in a hurry. “I got an idea. You can’t fight him, it'll only make Mom more upset."

  “What should I do then?”

  She gets her phone, taps something on the screen, then puts it into her shorts pocket. “I’m going to ask him some questions, can you keep him still?”

  “Questions?”

  “Baby, trust me.”

  I find myself smiling. This is the first time she’s called me baby, and lightness fills my chest. “I trust you, baby girl.”

  From this day forward, whatever she needs, I’ll be and do. She is my everything.

  A splintering crack cuts off my thoughts.

  The door swings in on its hinges as Gavril shoulders his way through, and he sees me naked sitting in bed holding Piper’s hand.

  “What the shit?” he yells. “I knew you were screwing that little bitch.”

  Red flashes in my eyes before I lunge out of bed and reach him in two steps. Gavril swings his fist in a wild arc that misses my jaw by an inch. I step aside and twist his arm, knocking him off-balance.

  Then I’ve got him on the ground with my weight on top, both his arms firmly restrained.

  He coughs. “You motherfucker! What—what is that on my back?”

  I have him straddled, secured. What he’s feeling is my hard dick on his back. My body can’t tear itself away from Piper. I should be balls deep in her pussy, but instead I’m sitting on this asshole.

  “Shut up. The lady needs to ask you some questions.” I look up to see her blushing. “Go ahead, darling.”

  She kneels in front of Gavril’s head. “Why do you keep chasing me?”

  “Your ma sent me,” he spits.

  “You don’t care about us. Back home you never cared what I did.”

  “We ain’t back home.” Gavril wiggles under my hold. “I’m, uh, worried about your safety, Piper Ginn,” he says in a voice that couldn’t convince a two-year-old.

  “I’ve never been safer. Now tell me the truth, why are you after me?”

  “Tell her,” I growl. By now my dick’s gone down and my anger’s rising. “Do it.”

  “Okay! Fuck.”

  I ease up slightly on his back.

  Gavril takes a breath. He cranes his head around to look at Piper. He tries to smile. “I like you, Piper Ginn. I never liked your mom. I only lived under her roof because she lets me stay rent free. You were the one I've been after, honey. I just dated your ma to get close to you. Tell this prick to get off me, and I'll take you away from here. I got a real nice place up in Montana—”

  I push my knee into his back. “Wrong fucking answer,” I growl in his ear.

  Piper glares at him. “You used her.”

  “Oh please. Esther Ginn done screwed half the county already. But you, honey, you’re different. You ain’t like her.”

  My girl shuts her eyes, shaking her head. I know she cares for her mother though she ran off from home. Gavril’s words must be like knives in her chest.

  “Shall I break his spine?” I say.

  “No. Let him go.”

  “Let him go?”

  She gives me a weak smile. “You wanna go back to jail? No more violence, not now, not ever. Okay?”

  I shift off. When Gavril stands, he raises his fists before I jam him against the wall with one arm.

  Piper takes out her phone. “I recorded his answers. I’ll send it to Mom so she knows what he’s really like.”

  Atta girl.

  “You tricked me!” Gavril shouts.

  “Yeah she did, didn’t she?” I say.

  His eyes dart to mine. “Fuck you!”

  “I don’t think so. Here’s what you will do. You’re going to walk out of this hotel and go back to Kenedy County. You’ll leave her mother alone. You don’t go near either of them ever again, understand?”

  “I ain’t afraid of you!” He shoots Piper a nasty glare. “Give me that phone you little tramp.”

  My arm falls from his chest as I stand back. Some people do not get the message by words. Gavril swings at me and aims a kick at my nuts. I dodge, slamming him into the other wall with one shove.

  “Take a hint,” I say.

  He thrashes his fists at me but can’t land a hit. His pupils are dilated. I think he’s fucking high on something. It doesn’t surprise me.

  Piper stands nearby holding her elbows, and I’ve had enough. I can tell she’s afraid. And I cannot tolerate anyone making my girl afraid.

  I give him one last chance to repent, but he keeps punching.

  My fist rams him across the jaw.

  He crumbles in a heap.

  I get on one knee to grab the collar of his T-shirt. “Had enough?”

  Gavril’s hand goes to his back pocket.

  “I hope you’re reaching for a snack because whatever it is, you’ll be eating it.” I tear his hand away and a knife falls out.

  He throws up his hands. “Okay man! You got me!”

  Piper touches my shoulder. “He’s had enough, Luke.”

  I lean into him. “It’s your lucky night, my friend. Now get the fuck out of here. And if you ever go near the Ginns again, I’ll make sure you eat that knife. Do we have an understanding, Mr. Marsh?”

  He gulps. “Y-Yes.”

  “Go.”

  Gavril scrambles up and yanks the door open. He scampers off.

  I slam the door shut, latching the deadbolt. Then I turn around to face my girl, moving closer step by step. There’s a full-length mirror near the door. I catch my reflection, a man with wild hair covered in a sheen of sweat. My muscles are swollen, and with that fucker gone, my cock hardens once more. I stare at my girl.

  “Oh my,” she whispers, backing toward the bed. She falls onto the sheets. Her face flushes once more with that hot glow, and she puts her phone on the nightstand. “Guess you’re still in the mood huh?”

  “I’m always in the mood.” I stroke myself a few times, then I remember my dick has touched that piece of shit who interrupted us. “Hang on, darling.”

  I go to the bathroom and soap myself off. And when I get back, Piper’s naked in bed, breathing softly.

  I climb on top of her and rub her pussy until my fingers are slippery. Lining up my cock, I look into her eyes. “You’re mine. You will never know fear or hunger again. I will love you to the end of fucking time. And right now you will cum for me like a good girl.”

  “Yes,” she gasps.

  I thrust into her with one swing of my hips. Her tight pussy clenches around me, and she sucks in a breath. My balls touch her body, the base of my cock grinding on her clit. I don't have the patience tonight for teasing.

  But I take care to press on her pleasure spots with each plunge. I feel her walls tighten in pulses, the scent of her sweet breath in my nose.

  I grab one of her breasts, squeezing gently as I push her up the bed, and when her orgasm breaks, I savor the rush of heat around my cock before my balls pull up, my release flooding her pussy in a tide, our pleasures entwining, hearts beating as one.

  “I love you,” I say in her ear.

  “I know,” she moans.

  Chapter Ten

  Piper

  We spend three weeks in Iraan at the Valley View Inn.

  Luke divides his waking hours between the hospital and a service garage in town to get his Escalade repaired.

  I pass my days looking for apartments in San Diego and keeping Bandit company. She’s getting so big she barely fits in my backpack anymore. Bandit must’ve been about five weeks old when I found her. We’ll have to get her checked out by a vet soon.

  She might not like that, but she looks so happy nowadays I’m sure she’ll get over it. I’m taking no chances with her health!

  I made a nest of sorts for her in the tub at night from a pillow and some bedsheets. Because at night, Luke and I can’t keep our hands off each other. We need the whole bed to ourselves.

  At the end of our third week, the SUV has been repaired, and Sheriff Hotchkins declares the money cleared. Luke deposits it into a bank. After federal taxes and other fees, we’re left with just over $700,000.

  “Not a bad haul,” he says as we leave the bank. “But it won’t last forever.”

  “It’s more money than I’ve seen my whole life!” I sigh. “We need to wire some to my mom.”

  Luke smiles. “No problem. Whatever you want, Piper. And don’t you worry about money. I’ll build you a palace by the beach, you’ll see.”

  “As long as we have our own place, I’ll be happy.”

  “I don’t want you happy, I want you ecstatic.”

  Stopping midstep, I rise on tiptoes. “You do that with your cock,” I whisper in his ear.

 

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