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  Right now, he, Jarrett, and Jeb were riding the fence line along the eastern border of the ranch. They had everything with them they’d need for fixing any broken wires, but if a post was needing to be replaced, one of them would have to ride back toward the ranch house and the barn then get one of the trucks to carry the heavier load.

  When Jay’s horse sidestepped nervously, he gazed about, looking for the danger, but didn’t see anything. He tightened his legs around the horse’s side and his grip on the reins just in case his mount reared up. The last thing he needed was to end up on his ass in the dirt.

  A low sound reached his ears, and he looked toward the trees on the other side of the fence, thinking it was the wind, but not a leaf stirred. His horse shifted restlessly again, its ears twitching before pointing forward, and Jay decided to dismount and see if he could calm his skittish animal. Just as he swung his leg over the horse’s back, he saw something on the ground, behind one of the large trees beyond the paddock, move.

  At first he thought it was an animal, but the sound he’d heard a moment ago came again and this time it was louder. It sounded as if someone was moaning in pain.

  He signaled his brothers, pulled his gun from the holster he wore around his hips, and moved stealthily toward the fence. Instead of jumping over the wire strands and making too much noise, he pulled two strands of wire apart, ducked down, and stepped through them.

  While he was aware of his brothers who’d gotten off their horses and crept closer to the fence, he ignored them as he moved toward the tree where he’d seen movement. Making sure to keep his footsteps light and his body out of the line of fire, he stilled with his back to the tree trunk. Jarrett and Jeb nodded just before Jay peered around the tree.

  “Fuck!” He was down on his knees on the ground less than a second later.

  The woman’s face was black and blue. Her eyes were so swollen he doubted she’d be able to open them, and from the way she was breathing so shallowly, it looked as if she might have broken ribs, too.

  “Call an ambulance and the sheriff’s,” Jay called to his brothers as he ran his hands over the woman’s arms and legs.

  “What’s going on?” Jarrett asked as he and Jeb jumped the fence and race over toward him.

  “Holy fuck,” Jeb snarled.

  “Who the fuck would do such a thing?” Jarrett asked angrily.

  Since Jay didn’t have any answers, he shook his head. He was aware of Jeb talking on his cell phone, but he was too busy trying to make the battered woman more comfortable. He’d pulled off his shirt and folded it up to place under her head, but when he carefully lifted her head, he felt stickiness in her hair and knew it was blood.

  Jay had thought about picking her up, but he didn’t want to exacerbate any of her injuries.

  “The paramedics and sheriffs are on the way,” Jeb said.

  “How long do you think she’s been here?” Jarrett asked.

  “I’m not real sure, but from the depression in the leaves, I’d say she’s been here since last night.” Jay frowned.

  “Look at her legs,” Jeb said. “They’re bloody with scratches and scrapes. Do you think she walked here?”

  “Let’s see if we can track her path. Is there anything we can do?” Jarrett asked.

  “No, there’s nothing I can do until the ambulance gets here. I’m not going to risk moving her and making her injuries worse, but I don’t think she has any broken bones in her arms or legs. I’m not so sure about her ribs though.”

  “We won’t go far,” Jeb said. “Give a holler if you need us.”

  “Will do.” Jay wanted to lift the woman’s shirt and check her ribs, but if she came around and caught him, she might think he was trying to harm her.

  She moaned, sighed, and tried to roll onto her side.

  “Hey, baby, you’re safe. We’ve called the sheriffs and the paramedics,” Jay said softly, trying to soothe her in case she was waking up.

  The woman groaned when she tried to open her eyes, but they were so swollen there was no way she was seeing anything. Jay clasped her hand in his, sighing with relief when he heard the wail of sirens in the distance. He hated that the lady was hurting and, from the looks of it, been used as a punching bag.

  “What’s your name, baby?” he asked, trying to keep her conscious and also trying to ascertain if she was lucid enough to remember anything. “I’m Jay Sonny.”

  “W-wh-what?” she managed to stutter out. “Water.”

  Jay released her hand, raced back to the fence, vaulted over it, and grabbed a bottle of water from his saddlebag before hurrying back to her. “I’m just going to give you a couple of sips,” he said as he knelt at her side again. “I don’t want to give you too much and make you sick. Okay?”

  She nodded, moaned, and lifted her arms to her head. He sucked in a breath when he saw red abrasions around her wrists. He clenched his jaw as he uncapped the water bottle, trying to keep his anger deep inside. This woman didn’t need to hear him cursing because he’d likely scare her. She was probably already frightened out of her mind. Jay placed his hand beneath her neck as well as the back of her head and elevated her slightly as he put the rim of the bottle to her lips. She took one, two, three sips, and though he hated doing it, he pulled the bottle away. When he brushed his fingers over her head as he went to remove his hand, he felt a large lump and sticky blood on her scalp and in her hair. Plus she gasped as if he’d just hurt her.

  “I’m sorry, baby. Are you okay?”

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.”

  “What’s your name?” he asked again.

  “Talia.”

  “Do you have a last name, Talia?”

  “Maxine.”

  “Where are you from, Talia?” Jay glanced toward the narrow road close to the eastern fence line of the ranch, pleased to see that the sheriffs and the paramedics were finally here.

  “Denver,” Talia replied.

  Jay frowned. Denver was almost seven hours away from Slick Rock.

  “Jay, what’s going on?” Raiden Tremaine, one of the medics, asked. His brother, Brigg, who was also a paramedic, was on his heels.

  Jay was glad to see Brigg carrying a backboard.

  “Jarrett, Jeb, and I found Talia lying here about fifteen minutes ago.”

  Deputies Jalen, Dante, and Mica Donnybrook hurried over when they got out of their patrol cars.

  “Talia, the paramedics are here as well as the deputy sheriffs. They’re all friends of mine. You can trust them, baby. Okay?” Jay asked as he once more entwined his fingers with hers. He shuffled toward her shoulders so the medics could look her over and assess her.

  “Hi, Talia, I’m Raiden Tremaine, and this is my brother, Brigg. We need to examine you to make sure you don’t have any broken bones, or a concussion.”

  “Okay,” Talia whispered.

  “Can you tell us what happened, Talia?” Jalen asked. “I’m Deputy Jalen Donnybrook. My brothers, Dante and Mica, here are also deputies.”

  Talia whimpered. Tears leaked out from under her swollen lids, down over her temples, and into her hair. When she started trembling, Jay firmed his grip on her hand but made sure not to apply too much strength and hurt her.

  “Shh, baby. You’re okay. You’re safe now.”

  “I need to try and pry your eyes open and shine a light in them, Talia. I’ll try not to hurt you, but I’m apologizing in advance in case I do,” Raiden explained.

  Talia didn’t respond, but she did tense up in preparation.

  Jay gasped when he saw the broken blood vessels marring the white of her eyes. She had hazel eyes, and while they were pretty, right now they were hazed over with pain.

  “You have a concussion,” Raiden said. “I’ll bet your head is pounding.”

  “It is,” Talia whispered.

  “Do you feel dizzy or sick?” Raiden asked.

  “Both,” she answered.

  “She has a contusion on the back of her head,” Jay said. “I haven’t turned her to look in case she has a whiplash, but she’s been bleeding.”

  “Does your neck feel stiff and sore, Talia?” Raiden asked.

  “I don’t think so.”

  Brigg, who was kneeling on the opposite side to her, ran his fingers over the sides and back of her neck. He’d already taken her pulse and blood pressure. “Does it hurt when I touch you like this, Talia?”

  “No.”

  “That’s good,” Raiden said. “Brigg is going to turn your head to the side so we can check the back of your head. Let us know if we hurt you. All right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Jay held his breath as Brigg carefully turned Talia’s head. He bit his tongue when he saw the gash and the goose egg. Her brown hair was matted with blood, and from the looks of it the wound had bled profusely but thankfully, now it was only seeping a little.

  “Ah!” she moaned.

  Brigg supported her neck and held her head still. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

  “No,” she answered quietly. “I just got a bit woozy.”

  “How’s the stomach?” Raiden asked.

  “Roiling.”

  “I’m going to hook you up to a drip because you’re dehydrated,” Raiden explained. “I’ll also give you something to ease the pain and nausea.”

  “Please. Thanks.”

  Jalen gestured for Dante and Mica to stay put. Then he moved around them until he was standing close to Jay.

  I need to question her, Jalen mouthed.

  Although Jay wanted to tell Jalen to fuck off and leave her alone, he wanted to know how she’d gotten out here too. He hadn’t had a chance to question his brothers if they’d found any tracks, but he’d be able to do that later.

  “Talia, do you know how you got here?” Jalen a
sked,

  “Where is here again?”

  Jay sighed with relief that the medicine Raiden had given her was already working. Her speech was slow and concise as if she was having trouble forming the words. Before long she’d probably end up slurring.

  A frown marred her bruised, swollen face, and she winced. Jay willed the painkiller to work faster. He hated seeing her in pain. From the moment he’d found her lying amongst the trees and ground detritus, he’d felt an affinity with her. Even though her face was all black and blue, as well as puffy, he could tell she was a beautiful woman. And her body was one he’d be remembering in his dreams. He pushed his lustful attraction aside since this wasn’t the time or place for such thoughts and waited for Jalen to answer her.

  “You’re in Slick Rock, Colorado, Talia. Where are you from?”

  “Den-Denver.”

  “Did you drive a car?” Jalen asked.

  “N-no.” She licked her dry lips. “I was leaving work after working late…s-something h-hap-happened.”

  “Can you remember what happened, baby?” Jay prompted.

  “S-so tired,” Talia whispered just before her breathing deepened and evened out.

  “We need to get her to the hospital,” Raiden said as he gazed at Brigg over his shoulder. “Bring the backboard over.”

  Jalen and Jay moved aside to let Brigg in. Though Jay wished he could be the one to help get Talia onto the backboard and into the ambulance, he wasn’t a fully trained medic. He knew the basics and had learned to patch up wounds in the field while he was a soldier, but he didn’t think he knew enough first aid. However, there was no way in hell he was letting her travel by herself. He wanted to be on hand in case she woke up and couldn’t remember where she was.

  “We found her tracks,” Jarrett said.

  “It looks like she’d been walking for a while,” Jeb said. “Her path wasn’t a direct line but considering her injuries, that’s not a surprise.”

  Jay figured his brothers had already shown the three deputies the tracks when Jalen piped up. “We found a set of fresh tire marks in the dirt on the side of the road. From the way the grass and ground were depressed near those marks, it looks as if she was thrown out of a car.”

  “Fuck!” Jay ran his fingers through his hair. “What the hell is going on? Who would do such a thing to a woman?”

  “That’s what we’d like to know,” Dante said in a hard voice.

  “You can ask her all your questions later at the hospital,” Brigg said as he and Raiden carefully lifted Talia on the backboard and carried her toward the ambulance. “When you find out who tied her up and beat the hell out of her, I want names.”

  “You can’t go taking the law into your own hands, Brigg,” Mica said. “Believe me, we’ll find out who hurt her, and when we do, those motherfuckers will wish they’d never been born.”

  Jay waited until the Tremaine brothers had Talia in the back of the ambulance. Raiden hurried to the driver’s seat, and after Brigg climbed into the back of the van, Jay followed. When Brigg met his gaze, Jay quirked an eyebrow but sighed with relief when the other man didn’t tell him to get out.

  Jeb closed the rear doors then thumped the side of the vehicle to let Raiden know everything was secure. Jay sat up near Talia’s head, making sure to keep out Brigg’s way so he could monitor and tend to the injured woman.

  He just hoped that when she came to, she could tell the deputies what had happened and who had hurt her before dumping her body in the middle of nowhere.

  If he ever got his hands on those fuckers, he’d beat them to a bloody pulp.

  By the time they got to the hospital Jay was so full of anger he couldn’t sit still. He’d wanted to follow Talia to the cubicle she’d been wheeled to, but since he wasn’t family, he hadn’t bothered to ask if he could stay at her side. So, now here he was in the waiting room pacing back and forth, eager to hear that she was all right.

  His brothers and the deputies entered the room, and when they all looked askance at him, Jay shook his head.

  While he knew they hadn’t been at the hospital that long, he was impatient to hear news on Talia, and it felt like he’d been walking back and forth across the room for hours.

  When he caught sight of Brigg and Raiden in the hallway, he rushed out to them. “Is there any news yet? Has she even been seen by a doctor?”

  “Will’s with her now and checking her over,” Raiden said, from between clenched teeth.

  Jay’s heart flipped and he exhaled loudly. He could see how tense the two paramedics were. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “We can’t tell you anything, Jay.” Raiden clasped his shoulder. “That would be going against patient confidentiality.”

  “We wish we could,” Brigg said, “but Talia will tell you if she wants you to know about her injuries.”

  “She’s awake?” Jarrett asked.

  “She’s coming in and out of consciousness. She’s tired because of the medicine we gave her.”

  “So she’s going to be okay?” Jeb asked.

  “That we can answer,” Raiden said. “Yes, she’ll recover, but it might take some time. What she needs now is to sleep so her body can repair itself.”

  “How long will she be admitted for?” Jarrett asked.

  “That’s up to the doc. I’m sure the doctor will give you all an update soon,” Brigg said. “Just be patient.”

  “Thanks, Brigg, Raiden.” Jay shook both men’s hands. They nodded before hurrying away.

  “She’s going to need somewhere to recuperate,” Jeb said. “I think we should offer to let her stay with us.”

  “I agree,” Jarrett said. “She’ll be safe on the ranch with us, the Lyndon men, and the other ranch hands looking out for her.”

  Jay nodded his agreement, pleased that his brothers wanted Talia in their home, too. He should have known that they’d be just as attracted to her as he was. What worried the fuck out of him, though, was that none of them knew what had happened to her.

  Who had hurt her? And would whoever had beaten her come back when they realized she was still alive?

  Chapter Two

  Talia knew she was in the hospital, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember why. She remembered being surrounded by men who kept asking her questions, and while she also remembered the men had told her their names, she couldn’t bring them to mind.

  She’d been in and out of consciousness on and off and even recalled a doctor examining her. While her head was no longer pounding, she felt sluggish, as if her head was filled with fog.

  As she tried to think back and work out what had happened to her, she heard the door open, and footsteps approached the bed. Even though she knew the medical staff was just doing their jobs, trying to take care of her, she was getting sick and tired of being poked and prodded and woken what felt like every ten minutes.

  While she was weary and felt depleted of energy, she was more awake than she’d been before whatever happened to her happened, but when she tried to open her eyes and her eyelids wouldn’t cooperate, she whimpered with fear. What had the doctors and nurses given her to affect her this way? She’d never had a problem opening her eyes before.

  “Shh, stay still, Talia. You don’t want to hurt yourself. You’re safe here.”

  That voice…it was familiar. And then it was if a light switch had been turned on, everything in her head was illuminated, as if a spotlight was shining down on her memories.

  Talia remembered everything.

  “Jay?”

  “Yeah, it’s me, baby. My brothers, Jarrett and Jebediah, are here too.”

  “Slick Rock, right?” she asked.

  “You remembered.”

  “Yeah. How bad is it?” she asked.

  “How bad is what, sweetie?” a different voice asked. When she turned her head toward him with a frown, he introduced himself. “I’m Jarrett.”

  “And I’m Jeb.”

  “How bad is my face and why can’t I open my eyes?” Talia asked, although she was pretty sure she already knew the answer. She’d been tied up and beaten by two men wearing ski masks. They’d hit her over and over again, asking her about a package her brother, Callen, was supposed to have sent her.