Nathan's Storm

Nathan’s Storm

NM Ranch Friends and Relations

Revised Edition

By: CJ Hunnel

Cover design by Dusty Burling using book stock from Alanpoulson | Dreamstime.com - Cowboy Couple Her Try To Leave Silhouette Photo

Published by Dusty Burling at Smashwords

Text copyright © 2015 CJ Hunnel

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

To Dottie,

my sister, best friend, and confidant.

You can raid my closet any time.

I am so proud of all you have accomplished.

Love you, Sis.

Prolog

She drank more than she should. She knew this. She was at the end of her stay here in Dana Point, California. She’d completed the turnaround of another store. Cleared out all of the non-essential staff, found the issues in the loss of store profits, and trained the management staff to her satisfaction. In two weeks she would go to Oregon and start the process all over again.

This evening she took the management staff to the elite Charter House on the hill overlooking the harbor. She was impeccably dressed as her husband had always demanded of her. Magnificent views, wonderful lobster and steak, combined with a reason to celebrate. She enjoyed none of it. She was dead inside; had been since the birth of her second son, and her marriage had turned on its head. Or longer than that, she could not remember at this point.

Well almost dead at any rate. She had felt, more than saw, the man who had been watching her for months now. This was surreal. She felt like a leading character in one of the Gena Showalter Dark Brotherhood series, she’d read. She felt like prey. She felt exhilarated at being the center of someone’s attention. She kept going back to the feeling that she’d been waiting all of her life for this dark, brooding man. The few times she caught a glimpse of him she felt an absolute loss of self-control.

Shaking her head she finished her glass of wine and paid the waiter for the meal. She could not recall when everyone left, but she was now sitting alone feeling the heat of eyes on her. She felt primed to be dominated in lurid sex for hours into the dark looming night.

She got up thinking, I’ve finally gone insane like my husband has been accusing me of doing for years now. I’m done playing this game. She knew in the back of her mind she was not thinking rationally. Something had snapped for her tonight. She wanted more than what was her life right now. Tonight she was taking control of it, too.

Outside, she took a taxi down the hill then walked along the marina. She knew he was there following her. She felt him like a second skin. She felt his emotions, his questing, his confusion, and most of all she felt his attraction to her. She did not know his name. She had not talked with him. She’d never gotten a good look at him. She just knew he was there. Watching, following, searching, and debating.

Her heel slipped out from under her. She fell, but she didn’t panic as he approached. She felt the heat of his hands on her before they touched her. She had not fallen deliberately, but she was not going to let this chance encounter go by either. She needed to find out. She wanted. That’s all she knew in this moment, she wanted to lose herself and feel something besides dead inside, just feel.

He’d been trying for months to pick up the pieces of his investigation. Six months ago, he watched the last vestiges of hope go up in flames as a scorned wife set fire to all of her ex-husband’s belongings. Everything went up in the smoke with a legal bonfire to rid the wife of any tie to the husband. Her vengeance was complete, his case was gone. He’d decided to go another route to find the evidence needed. He was going to investigate the money, rather than the man. To do that, he had to go to Phoenix, Arizona. He was going to find out what the accountant knew.

But the wife of said accountant had pulled him off course. He rationalized that she was the weak link and he could learn more from her. All of the accountant’s assets were in her name. She should know something. Yeah, right, that was why he stayed in the shadows and followed everything she did. From the moment he saw her, he felt an attraction like nothing he’d ever experienced in his life. She blinded him to anything that came before her. He knew he should have backed off a long time ago, but didn’t. He let the possessive, primal need to be near her, to claim her, override all common sense.

When her heel slipped, he did not think, he reacted. The closer he got, the stronger the mindless need to touch her became. All the years of hardened training to disconnect were gone. His focus was on one thing, this woman. Right here, right now, she was his. No thought of why or how, but he needed to be with her, feel her, bury himself mentally and physically, in her.

He helped her stand, keeping a possessive hand on her lower back. She looked up into his face, he just reacted. She responded. Her tight hold on him, as he kissed her, was just as possessive as his. She was everything he imagined. She was all warm, soft feminine curves and heat. He could not have let her go if his life depended on it. Oh he tried, he really did, but she would not let him. She demanded as much as he wanted.

In short heated huffs, she said. Get me out of here. Take me anywhere, but let’s get out of the middle of the sidewalk.

He groaned. Oh, God, that is not a good idea. I should walk away. Let you get back to your room. This is insane.

She smiled at him, and then laughed. Yeah you should, but you’re not going to. You have been following me too long to do that. You need something from me. I don’t know what this has been about, but I have felt your presence in my life for months. I know when you are watching. I feel you out there somewhere. I’m not running from this. It’s too strong, and I’ve had just enough to drink that I don’t care. I want to be with you. Take me out of here, now.

He wanted nothing more than to comply, 500 feet away, through a security gate, was the boat he’d borrowed from a contact. It would be so simple to just take her there and lose himself in this sexual haze he was in. Common sense dictated something different. He tried again. Looking in her stormy, lust-fogged eyes, he tried. This is insane. You don’t know me. You don’t even know my name.

She reached down and took a firm hold of his rock hard erection and said, I don’t care. For the first time in my life, I want the touch of a man. Of you, specifically, I want to feel, I want to take, and I want to be the center of your attention. I just want. She said running her hand along the length of him with one hand and pulling his head down to her with the other.

He had tried. He really had, but he was done trying to separate himself from this. He picked her up, moved to the security gate, punched in the code, and marched down the pier onto the boat, and down into the ornate master bedroom, to the huge bed. Within minutes they were undressed, and he was buried to the hilt inside of her.

Home, he thought, as he paused for a moment. She was too far gone for him to stay still for long. This first time was hard and fast as she peaked and took him with her. For hours, they did not talk. Even in the quiet before she brought him back to life, they did not talk. They demanded, they encouraged, and they worked hard to catch their breath. But there was no conversation. Then, they drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.

He expected her to be gone when he woke up. That was part of why he’d fought sleep for so long, why, he held her until they were ready to plunge back into the mindless void of tangled limbs, lips, and sweat covered bodies. He felt whole when they were joined. He wanted to hold on and never let go, but he knew that was a dream so he embedded the night and this woman into his memory.

When he woke, he was amazed. She was in the kitchen making breakfast and offering a fresh cup of coffee. They spent 9 days on the boat. It was well stocked, and there was no need for them to leave. They talked, they shared. She had no problems with his investigation, not that she knew the details of it. She told him what she could. There were no regrets, and no expectations. They were both grateful for the days spent out of time. It would be a memory for both to fall back on, when they needed the comfort from the harsh reality of their lives. They both knew it was time to get back to the real world when they parted.

Chapter 1

5 years later:

2 a.m. and he was awake. The dream, so very real, he ached from the memory of it. These connections are occurring more often, now. This time it woke him with a sense of restlessness. She is anxious about something, and it has triggered her memories of their time together. He knew this, as sure as if he felt the thing in his own skin.

At least it’s not the nightmare of his former wife, daughter and unborn child as they died. It had been forever before that nightmare lost its hold on him. Not until after he stopped drinking did they stop. The onset of that decision came from losing the last hope of getting his case wrapped up. The scorned wife was an author and he thought she might write something in one of her books, for him to follow. Oh she’d written something alright, her next book depicted a main character, which he found resembled his own life. The similarities were startling. He didn’t like what he read, so he’d worked at changing that image. That was over five years ago.

Now, instead of the nightmares, he feels the silent signal from his Storm, as she drifts off to sleep. He’s used to it. He intuitively felt her thinking of him. At other times, when he was awake, he would be halted by the sense of her emotions. If she was sad, angry, or just quiet he knew. This is the way it has been since his return to the real world, as she put it. This was the change in him that took root, and fed his motivation to move through his day. The time out of time, as she called it, was now his reality. And he was a damned philosopher these past five years, too.

His laughter rang out in the dark empty bedroom. Alright, Nate, get your ass out of bed and get moving. If she says it’s time to start, then you better listen, he said to himself, as he stood up to his full 6’1" and stretched his aching muscles out.

An hour later, Agent Graves, Nate to the few closest to him, was on the third floor of the Federal Building in Albuquerque. When he checked his messages he found one from Agent Turner, and knew something was happening. The one case he had not finished was a big one. They had been looking for enough evidence to bring charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The restless anticipation he woke with returned as he walked into Turner’s office.

You left me a message earlier. What in the hell are you doing in here at this hour? You are as bad as I am with the whole no sleep thing going on, Nathan said.

I know you have your meeting with the Section Chief today. I wanted to show you what I found while I was going through some accounts that trace back to the Caimans. This is on that case from five years ago that you were trying to get the evidence for RICO charges. This is an account that has been dormant for just over five years. About the same time Tomlinson shifted all of his visible assets to the wife. There’s activity again. This time I got a clear link to Tomlinson. The money was transferred to purchase a home in Dallas. It looks like he is planning to move closer to Greenley. Speculation? Yes. But get this, I found that Greenley has gotten a real estate license in Texas, and he took a commission on the sale, Turner said.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), was exactly what Nathan had wanted to use to take down Greenley and his organization. For years they had just enough information to lead them to look into Greenley’s activities, but nothing solid enough to actually make charges stick. Nathan lost his opportunity with the bonfire that destroyed any potential evidence. Following the accountant’s activities after that did not help with gathering what they needed. What Turner was saying now might help to get this case going again.

Damn, Turner, I think that is the most I have heard you say at one time. Did someone give you an extra jolt of caffeine or something? Nathan asked.

A huge, full smile, displaying perfectly straight, white teeth was Nathan’s answer.

Narrowing his eyes, Nathan said, Alright, spill. What is it that you’re dying to tell that is going to send the Chief through the roof? I can’t tell you to go ahead, if I don’t know.

Leaning his head towards Nathan and talking very low, The judge in Phoenix, Arizona, who happens to be my sister-in-law, called to chat last night. I know, great surprise, right, I mean, she is married to my brother. Well, that’s just it. My brother always calls. Nancy will yell a hello, but she does not initiate a call to me from her office. With the exception of when we needed a warrant to tap the Tomlinson phones, she called back to pass on that, with the shift in his assets, the warrant for the tap would no longer be valid.

Frowning at this, Nathan said. Alright, big guy, point taken. Yes, that was when I shifted my investigation to the wife. Get to your point, and stop busting my balls.

Ah, there he is. The tough agent who smells his prey and can’t wait to sink his teeth in, welcome back, Turner gleefully said.

Nathan practically snarled at this. James!

Nate!

What did Nancy say to you?

Oh well, nothing much, you know the weather there is warm. The monsoons are a bitch. They had a dust storm last week that shut down Interstate 10, and…

Damn it, James, get to the point, Nathan yelled.

She called to mention that there was a divorce petition filed by Tomlinson, about three days ago. She delayed signing it until just before she called me. He only has another few days to provide a list of the marital assets if he wants to make any claims on them. Of course, by the time she called me it was a matter of public record, since she had signed them, but she did not pass them on to the bailiff until the close of business, Turner said.

Smiling, Nathan said. And, there is always an ‘and’. What are you leaving out?

Smiling again Turner said, Nothing she said, but I took the liberty of finding out that the wife just finished a job in Seattle. She put in her resignation two weeks ago, effective at the end of her paid vacation. She has booked a flight home and should be in Phoenix in the morning. The process server is planning on meeting her at her home when she gets in. Should I send a bottle of Champagne for her?

OK, right, the joke at the end of a long string of what you found. So now you are done. What do you want from me? Nathan smiled, Oh, and don’t send the celebratory bottle until the divorce is final.

With a robust laugh, Turner walked over to his desk and picked up a leave chit, handing it to Nathan he said, I want to take leave. I am going to visit my brother, in Phoenix.

Taking the chit from Turner, Nathan smiled, and turned to walk out of the office. I’ll think about it. Nathan heard the laughter all the way down the hall. Then he heard his name being called. He stepped into the conference room and waited.

Agent Graves, I think I have some information you might be interested in, The tech said as he set the stack of papers down.

Raising an eyebrow Graves waited for the tech to continue. Well, back in January we started getting some feedback on one of your old cases. There were a few inquiries on a Donald Greenley. There has been a private investigator looking into Greenley’s finances and background.

OK that is interesting, anything else? Graves asked.

Nodding, the tech continued, There seems to be a tie between Greenley and the Davenport ranch, just south of Grants. I haven’t put the pieces of it all together as of yet, but we’ve had a lot of phone calls between Greenley and the former police lieutenant you had under surveillance six years ago.

Section Chief Cooper came in and sat down then asked, Is there enough to justify opening the investigation again?

The tech nodded, I think there may be. What I have is that the private investigator is headed to Dallas to dig further into Greenley’s finances. He was hired by Matt Davenport, but again, I don’t know why. He took a deep breath and continued, The Lieutenant is now the county Sheriff. Well, temporarily, until the election. The phone calls between these two also appear to be generating some commotion here regarding the ranch and finding some records.

If I recall, Jonathan Davenport died last September and there is a new owner of the ranch, Cooper said.

The tech nodded again as he shuffled through some pages. Here it is, yes, Mr. Davenport sold the ranch a year before he died to a Summer Dawn Greenley. Is she related to Donald Greenley?

Graves chuckled. She is his ex-wife. She set the bonfire that destroyed all of the evidence I thought Greenley might have left when he moved to Texas.

OK, but I want to know why the interest now after all this time? Cooper asked.

I don’t know, but it may be time to find out. I found nothing on her since her husband left. As far as I know, they have had no contact in the past five years, Graves said.

Well, let’s look at it again and see what has changed. If you have enough evidence to get phone taps, do so. If I recall, you were working towards RICO charges on this case. So make sure you find out how far this thing reaches before you move in for an arrest. This is a priority, Cooper said and left the room.

And just like that, he was back up on the horse getting ready for the ride of his life. Oh, yippy! Nathan swiftly walked into Turners office. Before he got there, however, he said a silent, Hang in there, Storm, we’re coming. Just a little longer.

Pack your bags you’re going to Arizona. Check with IT and get the latest they have. This thing is officially an investigation again. We’ve been ordered to gear towards the RICO statutes, so you get everything you can out there. Keep in touch, and let me know where we can start looking. If you get enough for search warrants or phone taps, I want to know. Nathan turned and quietly said, Thank you, James.

~~~

Jolting upright from a sound sleep, Autumn couldn’t figure out where she was. Shaking her auburn hair out of her face, trying to understand what she was feeling. She sensed a change about to take