Jessica Frost: The Good, the Bad, and the Naughty

He left the room and locked the door behind him. Relief cascaded over Belle that instant.

“So can you tell me what the hell is happening?” she whispered, taking a deep breath.

Mat whispered back, “We don’t know much. All we know is when we broke into Trevor Kent and James Sanford’s room, we were ambushed and knocked out. There was someone or more than one person in there already. My guess is they were looking for something.”

“So I guess they don’t know who you are?” She shook her head in bewilderment.

John nodded. “Yes, and we made it seem like we’re thieves who broke in to steal money and jewelry. Whatever we could find.”

“They didn’t seem to believe your story.”

Mat glanced at the door. “I don’t know. But Tom and the other guys don’t appear smart enough to figure things out.” He stared back at her. “So that is the Sally you told us about?”

She nodded. “But apparently, she isn’t just another saloon girl.”

Mat responded this time. “Well, this is the first we saw of her. And from what I see, I think she is the brains behind whatever scheme they have going here.”

“Uh-huh, it looks like that. But what I don’t understand is what they want with Trevor and James.”

“We’ve been asking ourselves the same question all this time.” Both John and Mat nodded in agreement.

Belle’s head hurt from the swirling questions bombarding her brain. So much to think through. She hoped Trevor and James were all right. God, her heart longed for them.

After ten minutes of worrying and thinking, she decided the time had come to plan their escape. She needed to find her men and make sure they were safe. Her inner voice screamed she had to locate them soon before it was too late.

Tumbleweeds rolling over the desert sand farther up the road made James want to scream. The place was deserted as far as he could tell. No one hid in the surrounding buildings up ahead, and Eden’s Paradise was closed. He didn’t like that one bit. He had staked out the place, hoping to get a clue as to where they held Belle and who the hell her kidnappers were. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out who they could be and what in God’s name they wanted with Belle.

It’s not like he and Trevor were rich, or even Belle. And what did they mean by naming Belle as “their lover”? Obviously, someone had been spying on them up close for quite some time, but who and why, and more importantly, how? How the hell could someone know so much about them without him and James even having an inclination?

He slouched and bowed his head, rubbing his scalp while he waited for Trevor to get back. He had gone to the neighboring buildings behind Eden’s Paradise, scouting them out to see if anyone lay hidden aiming a gun at them, waiting.

He worried about Belle. He envisioned her frightened, crying, scared to death. They probably had her tied up in a dark, cold room. He prayed they hadn’t harmed her in any way. This was all their fault. They never should have gotten involved with her. Because of their selfish, lustful urges to satisfy their sexual desires, they put her life in danger.

And now, as he delved deeper into his conscience, he realized most of the blame should be on his shoulders. He came up with the outrageous idea Belle was Wild Isabelle LaRue. What a stupid, stupid man he had been.

Lifting his head to take an exasperated breath, he saw Trevor approach.

As he walked up to him, he asked, “So?”

He shook his head, frowning. “It’s clear. What time is it?”

“Almost ten. Whoever they are that took Belle should be coming in a minute or two since they certainly aren’t here now.”

And sure enough, the moment he ended his sentence, he heard galloping horses approach. He turned behind him to see three riders, two men and a female.

And when they came close enough for him to see clearer, he lost his breath. Glancing at Trevor, he noted his eyes practically popped out of his head.

“That’s Sally.”

James nodded. “Yes, what the hell is she doing here and with those guys?”

“I don’t know, but one of the guys with her, I recognize from the other night. He was in the back of the inn with a girl that night I took Belle out. He was a real pervert. He ogled Belle while we passed him and the girl he was with. I wanted to punch his face. And now I regret I didn’t,” Trevor responded.

James’s head continued to hurt trying to assimilate everything happening at this instant.

“So maybe he was the one spying on us all along. How else could they know Belle and we were lovers?”

Trevor never broke the fixed and cold stare he maintained as he observed the threesome’s advance.

“Partner, I think you hit the nail on the head there.” He took a deep breath. “Well, I guess we’ll soon find out for sure.”

As she dismounted from the horse, Sally handed her reins to one of the men, who then tied her horse to the fence next to the saloon. She walked over to them, taking off her gloves.

“Well, well, boys, nice to see you again,” she said with a side grin.

James took a step forward. “What are you doing here?”

She headed for the door and unlocked it. “Come on in, boys, and we’ll talk inside.”

James glanced at Trevor and followed her in, along with one man who tailed him. Her other companion entered a few seconds later. They took out their guns the moment they stepped inside and pointed them at Trevor and James. James went for his hidden gun, but Sally spoke before he could slip it out.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. My men are good shots, and if by some miracle you have a quicker draw, then my man who has Belle has instructions to kill her if we don’t come back in time.”

James lowered his hand slowly and stared at her with rage brewing in his veins at the thought of anyone hurting Belle.

“No one better hurt her, or I’ll kill you.”

Sally laughed. “Boy, you’ve fallen for her.” She looked at Trevor next. “So have you.” Then with a wicked, wide smile, she added, “Lucky girl.”

It suddenly hit him then like a ton of bricks, and his heart lurched into his stomach with dread and surprise. He pointed his finger at her. “You…you’re Isabelle LaRue.”

Her brow lifted, and she did a little curtsy for him like an opera singer did when she finished her performance and responded to the crowd’s applause. “The one and only.”

“How can that be?” Trevor frowned.

“LaRue is supposed to have long black hair and have a beautiful voice,” James added.

Isabelle laughed harder still. “Oh, I see the rumors I started got all the way down to Texas. Good. I started them to defuse the attention off of me.” Then she lifted her finger up and wagged it to and fro in front of them, acting like a school teacher reprimanding her students for their intolerable behavior.

“Tsk, tsk. You boys should know better than anyone else that rumors are made-up stories bored folks create to entertain themselves. More often than not, there’s as much truth in them as I can lift with my little pinky.” She finished her closing sentence by raising her tiny pinky into the air and twitching it.

The part of the rumor that she had raven hair and a beautiful voice may have been completely off, but that she was sly, ruthless, and could fool any man was right on the spot. And as he stood their motionless, pondering this over, it dawned on him she mentioned Texas. Did she figure out who they were?

If she had figured out they and Belle were lovers, then odds weighed heavily that she put two and two together and surmised they were Texas Rangers, too. But he certainly didn’t want to play into her trap any further and replied in coolness and fake ignorance. “Texas?”