Redeemed by the Cowgirl (Mills & Boon Desire)
Everything he does is for family—including moving in with a woman he can’t trust...
Cash Barron has always been the good son, protecting his father’s billion-dollar empire. So when grifters target Barron Enterprises, Cash focuses on the femme fatale of the bunch. To keep tabs on Roxanne Rowland, he’ll move her into his luxury condo. And one step closer to his bed...
But Roxie is innocent—just a pawn in her family’s criminal game. Worse still, she’s long had a crush on ruthless Cash. So can Roxie find the chink in his armor and redeem this hard-hearted, hard-muscled man?
Redeemed by the Cowgirl is part of the Red Dirt Royalty series.
“Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?” He offered a smug grin. “Cleaning up after you?”
“No. Making me lose control.”
“Is that what I do to you?” Damn, but he hoped so.
Her breathing deepened, her chest expanding with her heavy breaths. “Yes.”
Things were progressing right on track. “Good. I think you need to lose control, Red.”
“No, I don’t. That’s not a good thing.” She pushed against his chest but the gesture seemed halfhearted.
“I think it’s a very good thing.”
“Ha. You would. You’re a man.” Her eyes glittered like whiskey in a cut-glass tumbler. “I think you need to lose control.”
To prove her point, she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and tugged his face down to hers.
* * *
Redeemed by the Cowgirl is part of the Red Dirt Royalty series—
These Oklahoma millionaires work hard and play harder.
Dear Reader,
Writers often get asked where we get our ideas and how we pick the characters we write about. I joke about my coffee-swilling Muse (named Iffy), who runs with scissors, because I don’t always have an answer that would make sense to a nonwriter. In the case of Roxanne Rowland, she strutted into my imagination one day and demanded a book. I wrote down a few notes and promptly delegated her to the back burner. For several years. Because I had no idea what her story might be.
Did I mention Roxie was patient? She was—up to a point. When it came time to find a heroine for Cash Barron, the baddest of the billionaire brothers, Roxie held up her hand—not to be recognized but to deliver a classic “Gibbs slap” to the back of my head. I’m slow. It took me a while to figure out what she wanted, but she’s right. She was meant to be Cash’s happily-ever-after.
Watching her stretch her wings while he confronted his demons turned this book into a labor of love full of surprises and a couple of detours I didn’t see coming. I hope you have half as much fun reading their story as I did writing it.
Love can conquer all!
Silver James
Redeemed by the Cowgirl
SILVER JAMES
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Silver James likes walks on the wild side and coffee. Okay. She LOVES coffee. A cowgirl at heart, she’s been an army officer’s wife and mom, and worked in the legal field, fire service and law enforcement. Now retired from the real world, she lives in Oklahoma, spending her days writing with the assistance of two Newfoundlands, the cat who rules them all and the characters living in her imagination.
To Clary. You know why. And to my dream editor, Charles. You know why, too.
Also to Stacy and Tahra, and the whole fantastic Harlequin Desire team! Y’all are made of awesomesauce.
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
Introduction
Dear Reader
Title Page
About the Author
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Extract
Copyright
One
Cash Barron was a man who understood duty—especially to his family. Unlike his brothers. Staring out the window of his twin’s apartment on the fiftieth floor of Barron Crown Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, he did his best to stuff his anger into a corner of his mind. He’d watched his three older brothers turn their backs and walk away from the very thing that made them Barrons—their loyalty to one another. Even his twin, Chase, had chosen a woman so completely unsuitable that Cash could barely comprehend their marriage. And now Chase and Savannah were about to celebrate the first anniversary of their quickie Vegas wedding.
A sharp rap on the door jerked his attention from the vista outside the window. Bridger Tate, his cousin and second-in-command, entered without invitation. He didn’t like the look on the man’s face.
“What?”
“Last night’s video from the casino floor has been analyzed.”
A series of curse words ricocheted through his brain but he refrained from speaking them. “Is it them?”
Bridge looked angry but resigned. “Yeah. Tucker isolated images of the Rowland clan on the casino floor.”
Tucker Tate was Bridger’s brother and vice president of Barron Entertainment, the media and hotel conglomerate that was Chase’s domain. They’d been dealing with a security problem at the casino for almost a year. As president of Barron Security Services, all problems—from the security detail for his brother Senator Clay Barron to the theft of oilfield pipe from a Barron Energy drilling site—landed on his desk. The occasional missing cow from the ranch, the odd employee embezzlement, the more frequent crackpot sending threatening emails—these bucks all stopped with him. It was his job to protect his family, even from themselves.
“Cash?”
Glancing up, he realized he’d tuned out Bridger’s play-by-play. “Sorry. What were you saying?”
“Tuck did a good job isolating the Rowlands.”
“Are they all present and accounted for?”
“Yup. Max, Alex and Ajax, Braxton, Dexter. The king of cons and his larcenous princes. I had IT highlight their positions in each of the videos.”
Cash huffed out a breath that was a thinly disguised sigh. He strode to Chase’s in-home office, settled heavily at the desk and called up the info on the giant monitor. He leaned back, eyes tracking the glowing orbs highlighting faces on the screen.
Bridger settled a hip on the corner of the desk and twisted his head to see the monitor. “I have our IT team checking footage from Scottsdale, Nashville, Miami and New Orleans.”
“What’s their objective?”
“Who knows? Seems they really like Barron properties, though.”
“Jolly.”
“Yeah, figured that would please you.”
“Are we the marks or is it a guest?”
“Probably both.”
Cash closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. Could it get any more complicated?
* * *
Roxanne Rowland lined her lips with red pencil before adding bright red gloss. The woman in the mirror staring back at her was a stranger. Dragging fingers through her red hair, she fluffed the waves, startled anew by the bright color tipping her nails. She wasn’t used to the manicure, either. Dark, smoky shadows fringed her eyes, making them
sparkle like amber. She refused to wear the tinted contacts sitting in a case on the counter.
Smoothing down the borrowed body-hugging black dress, she opened the bathroom door and collided with her older brother. His fingers gripped her biceps none too gently. “Time to go, Rox.” He studied her a moment. “You didn’t wear the contacts.”
She winced at the accusatory tone in his voice. “They hurt and make my eyes water. I had to redo my makeup three times before I gave up.”
He squeezed her arm as he strode away, pulling her along. She wobbled on the stiletto heels and teetered for a moment as she scrambled to find her balance. The high heels were as foreign to her as the rest of her getup. She wore jeans and boots. Not haute couture. Especially not a dress that cost close to a month’s salary—a dress she’d been told to tuck the tag inside and not to get dirty. That meant it would be returned to the store for a credit.
“What’s going on, Dex?”
“You don’t need to know, little sister.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Max is working.”
Maximilian Rowland—her father and sire of her four older brothers, Lex, Jax, Brax and Dex—whom they never called “Dad.”
“That doesn’t explain why I’m here. I don’t work with him.”
“You do now.” His voice remained implacable as he ushered her out of the hotel room. “This is big, Rox, and you’ll do your duty to the family. Or else.”
Or else? What did that mean? Dex didn’t enlighten her as they rode down in the elevator. When he’d picked her up at Las Vegas’s McCarran International Airport, all he’d said was that their father needed her help, and it was time to take her place in the family.
“Stop fidgeting.”
“I can’t help it.”
Dex cut his eyes in her direction and smirked. “What’s wrong, your feet hurt?”
“As a matter of fact.” Her feet didn’t just hurt, they ached like someone was shoving cold needles into her toes and hammering her arches with rusty nails. “You try wearing these shoes for five minutes.”
“I’m a guy. I don’t wear heels.”
“So?”
“So, you’re a girl. You do.”
“No, I don’t. I—” She didn’t get to finish her argument. The elevator doors opened and Dex grabbed her arm, jerking her out into a swirl of color and noise. He guided her into a corner, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.
“Stand here until one of us comes to get you.”
“What? No—”
“Shut up, Roxie. Do as you’re told.”
“You are not the boss of me, Dexter.”
“Tonight I am. Shut up and listen. There’s a man at the blackjack table. He has a propensity for redheads. Tall, curvy redheads.” He flicked the strap of her dress so it sagged off the curve of her shoulder. “When the time comes, you will sashay that sweet ass of yours to Max. You will ignore Max but you will make nice to the man next to him. Understood?
“No.”
“Tough. Just do as you’re told. You flirt. You distract. And you get him to take you up to his room. You get him naked and we’ll do the rest.”
“Now you wait just a minute, Dexter Row—”
He pushed her back into the corner, eyes hard. “You’ve had it easy all your life, baby girl. Time to pay up. We told Max he screwed up sending you off to those snooty schools instead of teaching you what you needed to know about the business. That ends tonight. Starting now, you’ll do your duty to this family.”
Dex draped a heavy necklace around her throat. Colored diamonds and old gold. He bent to her ear. “There’s more where this came from—all hidden where you won’t find the evidence, but the cops will. You try to walk away or turn us in? They’ll know just how deeply involved you are.”
“That’s blackmail.” Her voice remained remarkably steady despite the fear zinging through her.
“Welcome to the family, little sister.”
With those parting words, he disappeared into the crowd bustling around the entrance to the casino floor. When they’d arrived at the Crown Hotel and Casino that afternoon, she’d been excited. The resort was one of the jewels on the Las Vegas Strip. Like the naive twit she evidently was, she thought she was coming for a vacation at the luxurious hotel. Yeah, no.
She slipped her feet out of the heels and almost whimpered in relief when the thick rug cushioned her toes. She wasn’t sure she believed Dex’s threat. He’d always been something of a bully—a fact she’d put down to him being the youngest brother. Sibling rivalry rolled downhill. Alexander—Lex, her oldest brother—had always been aloof. He’d been thirteen when she was born, and they had nothing in common. By the time she’d turned five, he was already traveling with Max. Ajax, two years younger than Lex, was the next oldest. Tall, handsome and gregarious, Jax was a charmer. He’d always attracted the opposite sex. He and Braxton were what were sometimes referred to as Catholic twins—barely nine months apart. Brax was the scholar, always reading and studying. Wickedly intelligent, he had an innate ability to plan. Then there was Dex. He’d been five when Roxie came along, and he’d pretty much hated her from the beginning.
Roxie jerked her thoughts away from her family and concentrated on how she could get out of this mess. She didn’t doubt for a minute that Dex would carry through with his threat and not only set her up but make sure she took the fall. She knew that from experience. At the moment, she had no choice but to follow orders until she could figure out their endgame and how to avoid involvement.
“Get your shoes on, girl.”
Startled, she retreated deeper into the corner and squinted at Lex. At 35, he was debonair and aloof, and he scared her just a little. Okay, if she was honest, a lot. He might have been absent—like Max—for most of her childhood, but when he was around, he was as much a father figure as Max had been.
“I don’t want to do this, Lex. Whatever this is.” She made air quotes for emphasis.
“Don’t care what you want, Roxanne. You’re doing it. Get your shoes on and get out there. You make that smart mouth of yours pouty, bat your lashes and get the mark up to his room.”
“Or else? Dex already threatened me with that. I’m not impressed.”
He slid his big hand around her throat, and she gulped but raised her chin. “Not telling you again. Get to work.” Squeezing his fingers for good measure, he didn’t let her go until she had both shoes on her feet and was wobbling into the throng of vacationers.
She was terrified of falling flat on her face, arms and legs akimbo, her tush displayed in the air and her thong hiding nothing from the crowd of onlookers. “Slow down,” she hissed over her shoulder at Lex. He didn’t, the hand at the small of her back pushing her harder. “If I fall off these darn shoes and break my ankle, the great con will be a bust.”
* * *
Cash rubbed his eyes, a dull headache caused by staring at the bank of security monitors throbbing at the base of his skull. Tucker handed him a cup of coffee and a bottle of painkillers. He tossed back a couple of the pills and chased them with the hot black liquid.
“When did you tumble onto their presence?” Cash didn’t take his eyes from the live footage.
“Yesterday when they checked in. That new facial recognition software you had installed works like a charm. I have footage if you want to see.” Tucker watched the monitors, too.
“Just give me the rundown.”
“Max arrived first. Had reservations for a mini-suite under the name Grant Franklin.”
Cash scrubbed at his forehead with the heel of one hand. “And his sons?”
“Alexander and Ajax checked in together. Another mini-suite. Hamilton and Jackson Grant.”
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Nope.” Tuck’s voice hardened.
“Great. Go on.”
“Braxton checked in about an hour later. Lincoln Washington. And then Dexter checked in this afternoon. Reservations were for Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Cleveland.”
“It’s all about the money.”
“Yeah. Wait. Dexter brought a woman?” Cash pushed out of the chair. “Do you have a picture of her?”
“No. He checked in alone, was up in his room for about forty-five minutes and then left in a cab he caught at the front entrance. He hasn’t been back since.”
“You sure of that?” Cash walked to a monitor and tapped it. “That’s Dexter at the roulette table.”
“How the hell—”
Bridger walked up to them and cut his brother off. “We have a gap in the security surveillance somewhere. We’ll find it, Tuck. Sorry I’m late for the party, Cash. I was double-checking footage.”
“I want eyes on all of the Rowlands. Max is at the high-stakes blackjack table. Alex walked out about five minutes ago, after Dexter tossed him a high sign. Ajax and Braxton are roaming around on the slot machine floor.” Cash returned to his chair and swiveled it around. “I want our guys on them, Bridger.” He held up a hand to stop Tucker’s rebuttal. “Your security is good. Heck, we hired and trained them, but they look like casino security. My guys won’t.”
Bridger offered a feral grin to Tucker. “Little brother, you pick my guys out, I’ll buy you the biggest steak they have at the Barron House.”
The radio at Cash’s elbow hissed. “I have target two in sight. He’s with a woman. Redhead. Black dress. Lobby entrance.”
Cash’s eyes swept the bank of monitors until he picked out Alex Rowland. His eyes locked on the woman preceding the thief. She was tall but not slender. No, she definitely had curves in all the places a woman should, but she still looked sleek in the short cocktail dress. Her auburn hair was a mass of wavy curls, but he couldn’t tell the color of her eyes through the grainy camera lens. He stared at her, a memory swimming in the back of his mind. He knew her from somewhere.