The Nauti Boys Collection Read online

  “Put your pants on.”

  “Why? I’ll just have to take them right back off,” he promised her. “Take the shirt off.”

  “No.” She crossed her arms over her breasts again. “We’re not finished talking.”

  “Of course we are.” He moved closer. “The only thing left is your decision. Do we stay or do we leave? Because whichever, Kelly, we do together.”

  Before she could evade him he had her in his arms again, ignoring the sharp little nails that pressed into his shoulders as he pulled her hips in against his and pressed his cock against her lower stomach.

  “Feel how hard I am, Kelly.” He nipped at her ear as she trembled in his arms. “Do you really want to leave me like this? Hot and hard for you? Aching for you every night that you’re gone? Like I’ve ached for the past eight years.”

  “You survived,” she moaned.

  “But I hadn’t had you then.” He licked the shell of her ear before trailing his lips to her throat. “I hadn’t felt your hot little pussy wrapped around my cock, milking me dry. I’ve had that now. I don’t think I can live without it.”

  He watched as heat began to fill her eyes, as the anger in her expression softened, just a little.

  “I don’t want you hurt,” she whispered breathlessly. “He’s crazy—”

  “Damn right he is,” Rowdy bit off the fury that would have filled his voice, barely managing just anger. “He touched you, Kelly. He made the mistake of taking from you, of hurting you. Do you think I’ll ever forget that? That he won’t pay for it if I ever manage to find out who he is? The son of a bitch would have served himself better to run as hard and as far as he could from me, rather than stalking you. Because I won’t rest until I find him.”

  Kelly opened her lips to speak, to argue he was certain, only to be interrupted by a less than polite pounding on the side of the houseboat.

  “Open up, cuz,” Dawg called through the sliding doors. “We have trouble, man.”

  Kelly’s eyes widened in alarm as Rowdy stalked to the back of the houseboat, grabbed a pair of shorts, and jerked them on before stalking back to the door.

  Dawg and Natches stepped into the room seconds later, their expressions dark, cold.

  “He hit the house while we were on the hill, Rowdy,” Dawg growled as he glanced over at Kelly. “Kelly’s room. He trashed it.”

  He was going to kill the motherfucker. The minute Rowdy walked into Kelly’s room, he made that vow. This wasn’t like the promises he had made before to kill a son of a bitch. This was a vow, a soul-deep pledge to kill the sleazy, fucking bastard crazy enough to do this to his woman.

  Her room was destroyed. Everything she had was destroyed.

  Bits of lace and silk that had once been a treasure trove of frilly feminine panties and bras were scattered on the floor. Her hair bows were broken, ripped, cut. Her bedspread was slashed to ribbons as were her clothes.

  Rowdy knelt in front of the closet and picked up the tatters of what had once been a pretty scarlet sundress. Beside it lay a shoe, the heel broken off, the red leather hacked at.

  Makeup was smeared, swiped, and dumped over her dresser. Jeans were shredded, frothy nightgowns were unrecognizable, and more than a dozen pair of lace and silk stockings were destroyed.

  The feathers from the pillows drifted along the floor, the dresser mirror was smashed, and the padding in the chair had been ripped out.

  Kelly was still waiting downstairs to come up and see if anything was missing. The sheriff and his boys had finished dusting for prints, but nothing had been found.

  “Someone was pissed.” Deputy Carlyle stood in the doorway, his expression curious as he stared around the wreckage.

  Rowdy lifted his gaze and stared back at the younger man. Carlyle was new on the force. An unfamiliar face and therefore suspicious as far as Rowdy was concerned.

  And Rowdy didn’t like the way he was staring around Kelly’s room. Curious. A little too interested in the bits of fluff that had once been her clothes.

  Carlyle was young, maybe in his early twenties, definitely not long out of the Police Academy, with an ego that showed clearly on his handsome face.

  “Did you get any prints?” Rowdy raised slowly, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the deputy.

  “Nothin’.” Carlyle leaned against the door, his too lean body rangy, his brown eyes surveying the room again. “No prints on the door either. He slid right by the security system, came straight up here, and sliced and diced. Good thing Kelly wasn’t here.”

  Rowdy restrained a growl. Bastard had no right to act so familiar with Kelly.

  “Yeah. Good thing,” he retorted instead.

  “Sheriff contacted your parents, they’ll be here soon.” Carlyle smiled. “They were upset of course.”

  His parents? Rowdy frowned at the hint of condemnation in the deputy’s voice. As if Kelly were his sister, or some blood relation. The judgment set his teeth on edge.

  “Are you finished here?” Rowdy asked tightly. “Anything else you need, Deputy?”

  Carlyle lifted a brow. “Nothing, Mr. Mackay. We have everything.” He smiled confidently.

  “Then maybe you should leave.” Rowdy smiled back, all teeth.

  “I will.” Carlyle nodded. “As soon as we get Kelly up here to see if anything is missing. I need that before I leave. The sheriff insisted.”

  Assaulting an officer of the law was a very bad thing, Rowdy reminded himself. Kelly would be upset. She wouldn’t be happy with him at all.

  “She can give her statement tomorrow afternoon, Deputy,” he all but barked. “She won’t be able to tell you shit tonight.”

  Carlyle smiled again as he lowered his head and shook it slowly.

  “I heard you were a real tough guy,” he commented, his voice on the wrong side of mocking. “I’d rein that in if I were you, boy.”

  Boy? Rowdy narrowed his eyes slowly.

  “Get the fuck out of my house,” Rowdy growled. “Don’t piss me off any further, boy. And before you get on your high horse maybe you should call your boss and ask him just how far back we go together. You’re risking more than my fist in that smirking face of yours.”

  Beating around the bush wasn’t his style, and he’d just had enough of this little dweeb’s sneer.

  “Dawg and Natches are still downstairs, Mackay,” the deputy said.

  “So?” Rowdy snapped.

  “Last I heard, there isn’t much you boys don’t do together. Don’t tell me you’d actually fight without them.”

  Rowdy smiled at that one. The kid was a punk, and he was about to learn a lesson he didn’t want right now. “I managed to kill just fine without them for four years, Deputy. Want to test it?”

  Carlyle’s smirk was going to get him killed for sure.

  “I’ll just leave you to your business here then,” he chuckled. “Bring Kelly into the office in the morning. I’m looking forward to talking to her.”

  Carlyle turned then and ambled down the hall as Rowdy reminded himself that killing outside the Marines was a bad thing. Very bad. Especially smart-mouthed deputies.

  Son of a bitch, when had kids like that decided the job was a power trip? Rowdy had half a mind to follow him outside and show him what real power was. The kind of power that slipped up on you in the dark and left you bleeding.

  And he could have, hell, he would have taken him out while he was standing there in the doorway with that sneer, but all he saw was Kelly. She would have been horrified if he had actually hurt that little punk while she was around.

  Shaking his head he moved downstairs, mentally gearing himself up to face Kelly. Every little treasure she possessed had been in that room. The teddy bear he won for her at a fair when she was just a kid. The porcelain doll one of her friends had gotten her for a birthday. Her frilly hair bows and her silky clothes.

  He stepped into the living room, his gaze connecting with Dawg and Natches as Kelly jumped to her feet from the chair she had been sitting in.r />
  “How bad is it?” Her fingers were twisting together in front of her, her face pale.

  Damn, he hated this.

  “It’s pretty bad, baby,” he sighed, moving to her and pulling her into his arms.

  She fit against him perfectly. A warm weight he hadn’t known was missing in his life until now.

  “I’m okay.” She shook her head against his chest. “I need to go up there, though. I have to see what’s left. The sheriff wants a statement.”

  And he couldn’t keep her from going up there, despite the fact that it was killing him.

  He stared at Dawg and Natches over her head and with a small movement of his head indicated that he wanted the area outside of the house checked. The sheriff’s boys could have missed something. Something his cousins might identify quicker than the investigative team that had come out could have.

  Dawg nodded as he and Natches moved from the room.

  “Come on,” Rowdy sighed, keeping his arm around her. “Let’s go check it out.”

  There was nothing left, just as Rowdy had warned her. Kelly stared at the mess silently from the doorway and fought back her tears. Even the jewelry box had been destroyed.

  “How am I supposed to tell if anything is missing?” The destruction was complete.

  “We’ll get it cleaned up.” Rowdy’s arms were wrapped around her from behind, his presence sheltering her. “I’m sorry, baby.”

  “It’s not your fault.” Kelly shook her head, trying to hold back the fear growing inside her. “He’s angry now, isn’t he?”

  Always be my good girl. You’ll always be my good girl.

  “Yeah, he’s angry now,” Rowdy admitted. “But he’s not the only one. Do you want to go through the room now or wait till morning? It might be better to wait.”

  She had been violated again. Kelly could feel the pervasive knowledge that even though the attacker hadn’t touched her again, he had still violated her. He had taken something else from her.

  She shook her head. “I need to get this cleaned up. I can’t stand knowing it’s destroyed like this.”

  She had to force back her tears. It broke her heart, seeing her treasures destroyed as they were, knowing there was nothing she could do to bring them back. But wasn’t that the purpose behind this sort of attack? To take her mementos, the things she loved away from her?

  She moved into the bedroom, staring around at the destruction, and wanted to scream. This was her room. She had had all her treasures here. Her jewelry, her stuffed animals, her dolls. And her hair bows. For once Rowdy hadn’t been able to save her hair bows.

  She bent down and picked up the pieces of a hair comb. The small fake pearls were crushed, the little crystals shattered. It had been one of her favorites.

  “We’ll replace them, Kelly,” Rowdy promised behind her. “All of them.”

  She cradled the bit of plastic that was left in her palm. They could replace the hair bows, but nothing could replace the sense of security that had been stolen from her.

  FOURTEEN

  Rowdy had finally managed to convince Kelly and her mother to leave the bedroom alone until morning. They were both exhausted when he and his father walked into the bedroom at three a.m to find the two women crying in each other’s arms.

  Rowdy had taken Kelly to his bedroom where he held her as she slept, and Ray had taken her mother to their bed. Rowdy was certain his father had gotten no more sleep than he had though, despite the fact that Dawg and Natches had slept downstairs until the security system could be repaired.

  At eight, Rowdy met Ray in the hallway heading downstairs.

  “Kelly still asleep?” Ray kept his voice low.

  Rowdy nodded sharply.

  “Coffee?” His father’s eyes glittered with anger.

  “If I know Dawg, it’s already on.” Rowdy was certain he had smelled it moments before he left his bedroom.

  Ray tugged at the band of his jeans and sniffed sharply, his jaw bunching. “Let’s go get some. I’ve had about all I can take of sitting around and thinking.”

  Rowdy knew exactly what he was talking about.

  They met Dawg and Natches in the kitchen. Both men were hunched over steaming cups of coffee, talking quietly as Rowdy and Ray entered the room.

  “It’s fresh.” Dawg nodded to the pot on the counter.

  “Did you manage to find anything this morning?” Rowdy asked as he moved to the cabinet and pulled two cups down.

  “Nothing.” Dawg sighed. “Me and Natches went over this place with a fine-toothed comb. Whoever it was slipped in like a damned ghost and back out the same way.”

  “Bastard!” Ray snapped. “I’m about tired of this, Rowdy. Maria and Kelly are losing enough sleep. They don’t need this.”

  “I know, Dad.” Hell, he didn’t need it. He was having nightmares the way it was.

  “He was just watching her until you came back, Rowdy,” Dawg informed him. “We found several places where he’s been watching the house from. The rains have wiped out most of the evidence of someone watching, but he likes to snack while he’s watching. A few candy papers, a couple of soda bottles. No prints though. We checked for that. He’s watching from points above the house, several different areas.”

  “She said she knew she was being watched,” Rowdy sighed. “She felt it.”

  “We’ll find him.” Natches’s eyes were flinty, cold. “He’ll make the wrong move soon.”

  Rowdy rubbed the back of his neck as he pulled out a chair and sat. His cup smacked the table as he sat it down.

  “He destroyed every fucking piece of clothes she owns. Every goddamned hair bow and frilly girly thing she possessed. He destroyed her.”

  And Rowdy would destroy him, it was that simple. Once Rowdy got his hands on the bastard, he was dead. Painfully dead. The hurting, screaming kind of dead.

  “How do you catch a damned ghost?” Ray snarled as he sat at the other end of the table. “The sheriff has been looking for him, I’ve been watching out for anyone suspicious, and no one has seen shit.”

  Rowdy’s gaze connected with Dawg’s and Natches’s. The bastard had come after Kelly again because he knew she was on the boat with Rowdy. He was pissed. He would make a mistake soon enough.

  “Don’t you three think you’re going to keep me out of this,” Ray warned knowingly. “You’re not as good at those sneaking little looks as you think you are. Tell me what you’re up to.”

  “We’re not up to anything, Dad.” Rowdy pushed his fingers wearily through his still damp hair. “He’s mad. He had to have known Kelly was on the boat with me last night. He considers her his good girl. She’s not waiting for him, so he’s punishing her. He’ll make a mistake soon enough.”

  “Especially if you have your way?” Ray growled. “Be careful, Rowdy. Don’t try to play games with this bastard.”

  “No games.” Rowdy lifted his cup to sip at the coffee as he stared back at his father. “I won’t have to play any games. He won’t be able to stand her being with me. He’s trying to scare her away from me with this. When it doesn’t work, he’ll come after me.”

  “Or Kelly?” Ray snapped. “What if he goes after Kelly?”

  Dawg shook his head at that one. “He’ll come after Rowdy. And when he does, we’ll all be waiting.”

  Ray stared at the three of them harshly. “Don’t play with Kelly’s reputation, Dawg,” he warned him. “I won’t like that.”

  Dawg glanced at Rowdy.

  “The three of you are going to piss me off,” Ray snapped.

  Hell, just what he needed, his father getting in on this. If Ray was suspicious, then Maria would be too and then she would start working on Kelly. Rowdy knew what it was going to take to bring Kelly’s attacker out of the woodwork. If they didn’t push him, then he would strike when none of them expected it. They couldn’t take that chance.

  “I’ll take care of this.” He stared back at his father firmly. He wasn’t arguing over it. He wasn’t debating it. O
ne way or the other, he would make certain Kelly was safe.

  “Without hurting Kelly further?” Ray’s expression was suspicious.

  “There’s no way to keep Kelly out of this,” Rowdy warned him. “She’s the one he’s after.”

  “And she’s the one that needs to know how we’re going to stop him,” Kelly’s voice stated from the doorway.

  All eyes turned to her. She was dressed in one of her mother’s gowns and a robe, her long hair flowing around her, her gray eyes stormy.

  She was scared and fighting to be strong. Enduring. Kelly was enduring. He had known that years ago, but he was learning it more now. She wouldn’t go down easy. She might have her weak moments, but she would come back fighting. And what he needed her to do now was fight.

  He watched as she moved to the coffeepot, filled her cup, then turned back to stare at the four of them in determination.

  “Whatever happens, Ray, it’s my decision,” she stated. “You and Mom can’t protect me forever.”

  Ray’s jaw bunched with the anger that acknowledgment brought.

  Turning back to Rowdy, his eyes narrowed warningly as he rose from the table. “She better not get hurt,” he snapped. “Or the three of you will answer to me.”

  He stalked from the kitchen then and stomped up the stairs, obviously heading for the bedroom he shared with Maria.

  Silent, Rowdy watched as Kelly moved to Ray’s chair and sat down gingerly, placing her cup carefully on the table before asking, “What’s the quickest way to draw him out?”

  FIFTEEN

  Knowing what Rowdy had planned and actually seeing it being put into effect were two different things. Kelly found that watching the men converge on a project was almost scary.

  The Nauti Boys weren’t known for playing nice, in any way. But seeing the hard, cold men studying the banks as they maneuvered into the wide, deserted cove two days later, reminded her that they had been warriors for years, Marines who had survived a long, bloody war.

  The men gathered in the living room. Dawg stood at the sliding glass doors that led to the deck, while Natches watched the back, and Rowdy kept a check on the bank along the side of the river.