Taken by the Lawman (Lawmen of Wyoming Book 6) Read online

  TAKEN by the LAWMAN

  Lawmen of Wyoming

  Book 6

  RHONDA LEE CARVER

  2018 Rhonda Lee Carver

  Copyright 2018 Rhonda Lee Carver

  All rights reserved

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author, Rhonda Lee Carver—except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages written in a review. For information, please contact Rhonda Lee Carver @ [email protected].

  This work is fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue in this work are from the author’s imagination and creation. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, dead or alive, is completely coincidental.

  This book is for your personal pleasure. Ebooks are not transferrable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. If you have enjoyed this book and wish to share with another reader(s) please purchase another copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, purchase a copy. Thank you for appreciating the hard work the author invested into this book.

  This book contains material that isn’t suitable for anyone under the age of 17.

  To read more books by Rhonda Lee Carver check out the list of her books at the end of this book.

  DEDICATION:

  I’d like to say thank you to my dear friend, Dianne Kenes. She’s always there to lend an ear and helping hand. She handles the sharing group like a pro.

  Also, thank you Rhonda Butterbaugh. For your belief in me.

  This book wouldn’t be the same without my BETA readers…

  Mary L., Amanda B., Ginny P., Sara K., Mary B.L., Michelle D., Vickie P.R., Shyla W., Eileen M., Emily K., Eileen M., and Deborah M..

  A big shout out to my sharing team for being my biggest supporters…

  Beverly, Christine, Courtney, Diane, Elaine, Emily, Ginny, Jennie, Mary, Rhonda, Stacy, and Tianna.

  Thank you, Todd Tinker, for being my editor for so long that I think we’re starting to think alike.

  AND last but not least…

  To my daughters. Without them there would be no me, at least not who I am today. They are the wind beneath my wings.

  Acknowledgements:

  First, I want to say how much I loved writing this book. When I started it was supposed to go one way and then it went completely opposite of what I had in mind. It worked out wonderfully. I so enjoy writing female characters who are bad-ass. Kiersten Cade is that and a lot more. She’s smart, beautiful, successful, and can defend herself in the time of need…and yet, she has a sensitive side that needs stroked on occasion. Now let’s get to Deegan Bronx. How about that name? I love it! And I absolutely adore his character. Sexy lawman who is calm, collected and isn’t afraid of a tough woman. However, he also isn’t afraid to put her in her place when she crosses a line. He has so many positive attributes that make him a perfect hero.

  If you love lawmen as much as I do, please watch for my newest series coming in 2019. Lawmen of Texas. I’m excited to see how much fun I’m going to have in Texas…

  Blurb:

  She’s his boss. Can he handle her?

  Kiersten Cade has always been skilled at catching criminals, bur finding Mr. Right not so much. Lately she’s been feeling a void that work no longer fills. Not getting any younger, she decides to steer her trajectory toward motherhood. She’s ready to take the next step into single parenthood, until a dashing, green-eyed Lawman sends her life compass all out of whack.

  Agent Deegan Bronx is known for his cool-hand and polished skills, but why is it that every time he gets around Kiersten he’s a blubbering idiot? Not only is she his boss, but she thinks he’s incompetent. When they are partnered to find the monster wreaking havoc in Wyoming he’s hell-bent on proving his capabilities. He finds outs she wants a baby and he sees the perfect opportunity to show her he’s the best man for the job.

  Together they’ll face peril and deceit, but what neither of them expect is the danger brewing inside their hearts.

  Table of Contents

  Front Matter

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Back Matter

  Bonus – Without You (Chapter 1)

  1

  Agent Deegan Bronx clicked off the TV. He couldn’t watch another minute of the media coverage on Senator Max Kline’s extramarital affair with his aide. That morning she was found dead in her bathtub with an empty syringe on the bathroom floor.

  The media wanted to bust his buddy’s balls by blaming him for the young woman’s death. From their take, Max had driven her to stick the needle into her arm. The newspaper headlines read, “Older man seduces younger employee into death”.

  The microwave dinged and he took out his dinner—, beans and rice. Giving them a stir, he stuffed his mouth and coughed. “Shit!” They were burnt mush.

  Dumping the container in the trash, he opened the refrigerator and scanned the contents with disappointment. His choices were a moldy block of cheese, a slice of two-week-old pizza, and a six pack of international snobby beer he’d received as a gift. He was a domestic sort of guy, but in a pinch he’d certainly adapt.

  Popping the lid to the bottle he took a long swig, but it did nothing to ease his hunger pangs. Opening the cabinet, he found an unopened bag of crackers and munched on them.

  This was the first time he’d been home in days after working an out of town undercover case and what he needed was a good night’s sleep, a home cooked meal, and a shave—not in that particular order. Scrubbing his palm down his whiskered jaw, he groaned. He’d take care of his hygiene later. For now, he was headed to bed.

  He deposited the crackers and bottle on the table and made it halfway to his bedroom when he heard a knock on the door. “Go away,” he growled. Toeing off his boots and stinky socks, the definite sign of a hard-working man, he fell onto the bed.

  His ribs ached from an earlier scuffle with a giant of a man on a Wyoming mountain. Deegan had gotten the best of the drug-runner and hoped the bastard enjoyed his new accommodations, three meals, and a cot.

  Closing his eyes, he was almost asleep when another knock sounded, this time more commanding.

  Grabbing the pillow, he covered his head, but the visitor was relentless.

  Realizing he’d need to take care of the little issue, Deegan stomped across the living room and practically ripped open the door. Opening his mouth, ready to curse the person who’d disturbed his peace, he spotted the two official looking men in black suits and frowns. “It’s a little late for Halloween, boys.”

  The balding man laughed, but the tall gruff-looking one didn’t flinch a muscle. “We have orders. Get dressed and come with us.”

  “Orders?” Deegan chuckled. “I think you have the wrong place, big guy.” He started to slam the door when the shorter, and uglier, suit stuck his polished square-toed shoe out to block the bold action.

  Looking from the shoe to the man, Deegan gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to reach for his Glock 22 sitting on a nearby table. He was known for his patience, but a lack of sleep combined with hunger made him touchy. “L
isten, buddy—”

  “Agent Deegan Bronx, right?”

  “I don’t know who you two are or who sent you here, but you can go back and tell them I have plans to get some shut eye.”

  Neither of the men moved. They widened their stances and clasped their hands, and Deegan immediately sized up the situation. They weren’t Feds because they were missing the fake smiles and they weren’t goons because their shoes were too shiny.

  The hairs on Deegan’s neck stood at alert and he clenched his fists.

  Although he could easily grab his gun, it wasn’t needed. He’d take the largest one down first because the bigger they were the harder they fell. The other—the one with the shifty gaze—would probably run for cover and cry for mommy.

  His cell vibrated from his back pocket.

  “You’ll want to take that,” the tallest said.

  Keeping his focus on the men, he dug out his phone and read the screen. “Well, well, Max Kline.” Deegan took a step back, his shoulders naturally releasing some of the tension. “You have anything to do with the suits standing in my doorway…You want me to come there tonight…Can’t it wait?” Grimacing, he ended the call. “I guess you two beefcakes are my escorts.”

  “Lucky us.”

  Deegan shut the door and went to his bedroom to put on a clean pair of socks, drag on his boots, then grab his gun. He started for the door when he decided he’d finish the rest of the beer. The shakiness he heard in his buddy’s voice told Deegan this would be a long night.

  The men ushered him downstairs and into a black Escalade with tinted windows. Deegan sat alone in the back watching the scenery pass as they headed into downtown Cheyenne where Senator Kline’s office was located. “Hey, fellows. Can we run through a drive-thru?”

  Neither responded.

  So, ten minutes later when he was in Max’s office Deegan’s mood hadn’t improved.

  His buddy looked like shit. There was no doubt he would. Politicians weren’t strangers to rumors, and Max had suffered his fair share during elections, but the current scandal was different. His personal, and professional, life had been slammed all over the front of every newspaper and TV broadcast. The scum-seekers were digging up every bone, even portraying Max’s wife, Lisa, as a frigid woman who drove her husband to have an affair. Or that she was too busy laying under the plastic surgeon’s knife rather than supporting her husband. Unfortunately, the only person who knew the complete truth about the situation was the disgruntled man sitting behind his desk that looked like he needed sleep too.

  Deegan and Max hadn’t seen much of each other since he’d been elected to office, but they shared a brotherhood that only a fellow Marine would understand. Their lives had taken considerably different paths since their contract ended, but they had remained friends. Over the years they’d helped each other in times of need, but Deegan wasn’t sure why he was here because the dirty deed needed a time machine to fix, not a Fed.

  “Thank you for coming, Deegan.”

  “Did I have a choice? Your suits weren’t leaving unless I was in tow.”

  “Have a seat. I guess you’ve seen the news?” Max clasped his hands until his knuckles were white.

  Deegan sat down and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “Yeah, I have.”

  “I can’t go home. There are a half a dozen news people outside of my house and here on the street. Sorry, but that’s why I had to send my security. I’m holed up here. Lisa’s at her mom’s and I’m not sure she’ll come back.”

  “Marriage is forever…until someone fucks up. She might not come back. This doesn’t just involve you.” Deegan didn’t know what Max and Lisa’s personal life was like, but he knew her. She had always been kind, supporting Max from the very beginning, even when he decided to run again after he’d lost the first election. In two years, Max had aged incredibly fast. Deegan guessed politics would be hard on any relationship.

  After three beats of silence, Max said, “Tell me how stupid I was. Drill me, bro. I deserve to be raked through the coals a dozen times.”

  “Hell, if you want your emotional puzzle pieces put back together, you’ll have to talk to your therapist. Why am I here? Why did you have me dragged out of my apartment in the middle of the night? If you needed a friend to sit with you while you cried in your beer we should have gone somewhere a little less…stuffy.”

  Max stood and paced the floor, tearing a hand through his styled hair. “I’ve done a lot of decent things in my career. I have fought for the rights of veterans, better safety equipment for local law enforcement, affordable housing and insurance, among many things, and yet this is what the public will remember me for? A sleazy affair with an aide. This isn’t who I am.” He stopped pacing and looked at Deegan with heavy eyes marked by dark circles.

  “Nature of the beast, my friend. The public loves negativity. You’ll have to pay the piper on this one.”

  Max plopped back down in his chair, making the springs pop. His jaw was tight under an unfitting layer of whiskers. “Look, Deegan, I know we don’t talk much these days, and you wouldn’t know, but Lisa and I were having trouble in our marriage, had been for some time. Sure, we’d done a damn good job of keeping it from the public. We’d become trained monkeys in the spotlight, but at home it was cold…distant. God, she hated me, probably more now.” There was a thick huskiness to his voice. He swiveled his chair and looked through the window out onto the lighted buildings.

  “That’s what marriage is about. You have problems and you work them out or divorce, but you don’t screw the aide. We both know you never shit where you eat.” Deegan rubbed his tired eyes. “But who am I to judge? I’ve never been married so I wouldn’t have a clue what it’s like.” Although he wasn’t against the idea of marriage, he’d never been in a committed relationship long enough to start thinking diamond rings. Growing up with a mom and dad who adored one another, he’d devoted himself in staying single until he found the one—the one who challenged him, made him want to be a better man. A woman who could tolerate his flaws, accept those times when he needed to shut the world out and destress. Deegan was known to go off on weeklong fishing trips where the only sound was one of silence. Maybe he could find someone that liked to fish too. He didn’t need, or desire, a partner who was cookie-cutter, but someone who had their own ambitions and goals.

  “I fucked up, but Lisa…what if she doesn’t come back? This isn’t what I want. I do love her.”

  “I don’t know, man. Maybe she’ll talk later.”

  “She’ll never forgive me. Not after the media has slandered her,” Max said in a quiet voice.

  “That doesn’t answer why I’m here.” He was dog-ass tired and could barely think straight. He’d been up nearly forty-eight hours chasing damn criminals.

  “I need your help. You’re the only person I can trust to find the answers to this.”

  “Answers to what?” Deegan narrowed his eyes. “Max, you cheated on your wife with an aide and now she’s dead. Whether you played a role in her death or not, you’re guilty in the eyes of the media. Now you must apologize to anyone you’ve hurt. The young woman’s parents. Your people. Lisa too. Take responsibility for fucking up.” His words seemed to float straight through the man’s head.

  “This thing with Annie,” he blew out a long breath, “it just happened. I didn’t plan it and I wasn’t looking for an affair. The feelings, the emotions, they all snuck up on me and I was weak. I admit it, I was a weak man. Lisa and I weren’t sleeping together, she didn’t care what I was doing. Hell, she recoils when I touch her. Annie though, she was an amazing woman, brilliant, full of life. My God, she liked all this political bullshit. She was beautiful and always made me laugh. And for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was appreciated.”

  “You have staff who get paid the big bucks to handle things like this for you. Where are they?”

  “I need your help.”

  “She overdosed. There’s not much I can do—”

>   “She didn’t do drugs. She wouldn’t. Annie loved life and didn’t need an artificial high.”

  Deegan sat back in the chair. “How do you know? How well did you know her?”

  “As much as any man can know a woman.”

  “My father always said a woman had many facets.”

  “For six months we were together, not once did I see her high or out of her head. I’ll show you what she was like. Every evening before bed she sent me a video message. Last night was no different.” He reached into his suit pocket, took out his phone, and said. “Watch this,” as he started a video.

  A young brunette with bright blue eyes and infectious smile came up on the screen—the same woman whose face had been plastered all over the news dubbed as “Senator Kline’s aide and lover”.

  “Look, Max—”

  “Just watch it.”

  Deegan pushed ‘play’.

  “Hey, Mr. Senator. I missed you today. I know you’ve been busy rubbing elbows with money-makers, but I’m excited because I get to see you this weekend. I have a surprise.” The camera view shifted to her reflection in the full-length mirror. She was wearing a mesh one-piece that left little to the imagination. She sexily gyrated her flared hips, thrust out her breasts, then blew a kiss. “What do you think? Think about me, lover. I love you. I’m off to bed to have dreams about you,” she said as the video ended.

  “What does this prove? If anything, it makes it look worse on you because it wasn’t just a fling,” Deegan pointed out.

  “It proves that she was heading to bed, not to take a bath.” Max said, a noticeable hitch in his voice.

  “Maybe she wasn’t tired and warm milk wouldn’t do. I have no clue.” Deegan handed the phone back. “Did you show this to anyone? Any of your staff? Police?”

  “No.”

  Deegan scratched his temple, attempting to wrap his head around what he’d just watched. “This video is a double-edged sword. If she didn’t overdose, that means they’ll be looking for a suspect and you’ll be number one on that list. You have a motive. You’re a perfect suspect.”