Callum (Cowboy Tough Book 1) Read online

  Callum

  Cowboy Tough

  Vanessa Devereaux

  © 2016 Vanessa Devereaux

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, or events, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  This is an erotic romance and therefore intended for a mature audience.

  Published by Coldstream Publishing After Dark Imprint

  www.coldstreampublishing.co

  Edited by Sydney Morgan

  Cover Design by Jamie at Melgraphics

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  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

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Have I been dreaming? Olivia, suddenly unsure of her current surroundings, opened her eyes and tried her best to focus on the room she was in. The piercing sound of an alarm rang in her head. She squinted at the clock by the bed. Its bright orange numbers told her it was barely nine p.m. It meant she’d been asleep for less than twenty minutes. She’d gone to bed early because she’d felt a headache coming on and had hoped to sleep it off. Less than a minute after the shrill sound of the alarm had disturbed her, the sound of a woman crying out for help made her remember exactly where she was. She wasn’t home free just yet. She was in the shelter where she’d taken refuge and cries were common place in the still of the night. However, this one had sounded more urgent and she was pretty sure it wasn’t because one of her fellow housemates was having a bad dream.

  Something was very wrong. She shivered.

  Please no more trouble. She whispered a silent prayer, sending it out into the universe as she flicked on the light. She heard panicked, raised voices. Someone who shouldn’t be there was in the building. Mark was the first person who went through her mind. She guessed he’d managed to track her down and he’d come for his revenge like he’d told her he always would if she ever thought of leaving him. Thinking, she might have to flee and run as fast as she could, Olivia got out of bed and threw her raincoat around her shoulders, and quickly put her feet into her sneakers. She walked to the door and opened it slightly so she could see what was going on, and if it was indeed Mark who’d broken through the fortress. All she saw were a few of the other women standing in the hallway with Mira, the supervisor, and but then she spotted a man with a gun pulling another woman, Arlene, by her hair. Olivia was about to shut the door but he’d somehow caught sight of her before she could do it.

  “Another one to join the party, get out here and now.” He waved the gun around at her. She’d always hated those things and luckily Mark had hated them too.

  Olivia couldn’t do anything besides obey him. Tears ran down Arlene’s cheeks and she mouthed the word sorry as Olivia stepped into the hallway and joined the other two women who were now huddled together.

  “That’s it, keep going,” he shouted. “Anymore bitches in the rooms? If there are then I suggest you come outside and join us or one of your fellow roommates is going to get a bullet in one of their pretty little faces,” he shouted.

  The last remaining women came out into the hallway.

  “I do love it when women do as they’re told,” said the man. “Now all of you keep walking and head into the room at the end of the hallway.”

  He’d ordered them into the library where all the women met for their counseling sessions. How ironic that Olivia had fled one bad man only to run into another one.

  “In you go, and don’t anyone try anything heroic because you’ll pay the price,” he said. They hurried inside and then Mira turned to speak to him.

  “These are innocent women and that includes your wife who has come here seeking refuge from a life of abuse and violence so I’m asking you to let them go and then you and I can sit down and talk,” she said.

  He burst out laughing. “All I want is my wife to cooperate and to come home where she belongs. No one needs to interfere with that plan, and no one needs to get hurt. Are we all on the same page about that?” He waved the gun in the air and a few of the women started crying.

  Olivia’s heartbeat picked up double time. He appeared crazy with his hair looking like it hadn’t been washed or combed for days, and his eyes were bloodshot like he’d either been up all night or maybe doing some non-stop drinking. He seemed nervous too which she knew was never a good combination when someone was holding a gun.

  “You tripped the alarm when you came in here, and the police are on their way,” said Mira. “I know you don’t really want to hurt your wife so just leave and we’ll forget this ever happened.”

  “Spoken like the true bitch that I’m sure you are. I’m betting you’re all bitches to your men.”

  Oh god, that word again. Mark had used it over and over again to describe her. She wanted to cry out, but I’m not, none of us are, but she was too scared.

  “Please don’t do this,” Arlene begged him as a police siren wailed in the background.

  “I told you what would happen if you left. I made it clear,” he said

  Mark had also made it clear to Olivia. The counselor had told them the abusive man is also a possessive one and will find any means to get his victim back.

  He got hold of Arlene’s hair once more and shook her as she sobbed. “But you’re too stupid to do what you’re told, and if someone gets hurt, then it will be on your head and only your head.”

  The sirens grew louder.

  “Well, seems it’s true that my entry did trigger an alarm and trouble’s on its way. Ladies would you all step against that wall so I can see all of you at the same time,” he said.

  Olivia’s hands shook as the women huddled together in the TV room. She was pretty sure everyone would hear the pounding of her heart. Right now it sounded like a drum in her head. Her chest felt tight like it was going to burst through her and her palms and forehead were both sweaty. She took a deep breath, willing herself to be calm and remain strong. She’d survived the years of abuse at the hands of Mark so she could easily deal with this.

  Without her realizing it, a tear run down her face. She wiped it away before anyone saw she was losing it including him. She didn’t want to give another man the satisfaction that he’d brought fear and sadness into her life.

  One of the women’s children began to cry in another room.

  “Let the women go so they can be with their children,” Mira said. She stepped forward toward the man, and Olivia worried for her safety.

  “Kids will be fine. I was okay without a mother when I was a child,” he said.

  And look how you turned out.

  “Mr. Haspath, my name’s Officer Roy Benson and I’m with the Kalispell Valley Police Department. If you come out now this thing’s going to end a whole lot better for you,” a man’s voice sounded from somewhere outside the building.

  Mr. Haspath chose to ignore the police and instead he seemed to be checking the woman out one by
one. When he got to Olivia, she refused to look him in the eye and instead looked down to the rug she stood on. Was that the smartest thing to do?

  “Please do as Officer Benson says,” Mira said. “The shelter won’t press charges, and I’m sure Arlene won’t either.”

  “That’s sort of sweet of you, don’t you think?” he said.

  “Please, let these women go and I promise I’ll come home, and I’ll never leave you again,” Arlene told him through her sobs.

  “You said that last time and I don’t trust you anymore, Arlene.”

  Olivia’s heart went out to Arlene as tears slid down her cheeks and her shoulders began heaving up and down.

  I’m so sorry, she mouthed to everyone.

  Olivia smiled at her, mouthing back, It’s okay.

  “Mr. Haspeth, you have five minutes to come outside with your hands up, or we’re coming in,” shouted the police officer again.

  He dragged Arlene over to the window, broke it with the butt of the gun, and shouted back.

  “You come within a foot of this property, and my bitch wife gets the first bullet. I have plenty more for the rest of them up here. Pop, pop, pop and they’ll go down like the bitches they are. There are children in here too and I’d hate anything to happen to them.”

  Olivia was pretty sure she was going to throw up as her hands shook uncontrollably.

  Arlene’s husband turned back momentarily to talk to the women again “Looks like we have quite the crowd gathering and I think we’ve made the news. What do you think about that bitches?”

  He turned to the window again and fire one shot. Olivia had never been this close to someone using a gun, and her ears rang as more children began crying and screaming.

  “Mr. Haspeth, the police are right, this won’t end well for you so let your wife and the rest of the women go. Take me as a hostage if you want,” said Mira.

  Olivia couldn’t believe how brave this woman was. She had beaten breast cancer twice and lost her home late last year to a nearby forest fire. If Olivia had her courage she’d be proud of herself.

  “I don’t want you…”

  Olivia and the rest of the women screamed as he hit Mira on the side of the head and sent her flying to the floor.

  “You will not hurt women who help other women to be safe from monsters like you,” said Arlene.

  She charged at him and the gun went off. Olivia huddled with two of the other women, another shot was fired and then another, and it seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. Olivia could only watch as a bullet flew through the glass and hit him clean on the temple, sending blood splatter all over them. He hit the ground with the biggest thud she’d ever heard and then her shoulder burned like it was on fire. There was intense pain too and she quickly realized not all the blood on her was from Arlene’s husband. She’d been shot by one of the stray bullets. The room span and she felt herself go to the ground.

  “Is everyone okay?” asked Mira.

  “I think Oliva’s been hit,” was the last thing Olivia remembered hearing before she blacked out.

  Chapter One

  The neon lights of the sign for the Wagon Wheel bar flashed across the hood of Callum’s truck. It was a bitch of a night. Rain continued to pelt down, and dark inky clouds ganged up and hung over the mountain range surrounding the valley. It was the perfect evening to be inside, curled up with a good book or watching a kick ass movie, but he had a killer thirst tonight. Probably due to all the dust his mouth and lungs had taken in a while he’d been riding out and putting bales of hay down for the cattle.

  The Wagon Wheel was his favorite watering hole but it was a Saturday night. Every couple headed to the bar because of the live music and the chance to dance to the early hours of the morning. This wasn’t the place for a lone cowboy on what was typically date night. He hadn’t had been out with a woman for what seemed forever. The older he got the pickier he grew. Well, at least that’s what his mom informed him just last week. Maybe he’d go find another place to quench his thirst.

  Callum started the ignition and decided to get out of the parking lot before it turned into a river of mud that even his big assed monster wouldn’t be able to handle it. He’d head to Blue Sky Brewing over on Main. Okay, he’d vowed never to step foot in the place. The owners were out of towners. Big city folks who along with some other newcomers were gradually turning the area from a quiet backwoods cattle community into a yuppie hub, and in so doing were pushing up the cost of land and houses, and not to mention the over inflated price for a simple pleasure like a bottle of beer.

  Just this once he told himself. No one he knew would see him there and he’d never let on he’d stepped foot inside the place. At least none of his buddies would see him dateless either.

  Callum switched on wind shield wipers and then headed onto the main road. A flash of lightning zig zagged its way down the mountain to the left and then a boom of thunder echoed in the distance. Once he’d had his beer he was going to head home and make some popcorn and watch a movie or two.

  He signaled right and turned onto Fourth Street but saw flashing lights on top of a bunch of police cars. His first thought was they’d been an accident but then he saw a crowd standing on the opposite corner of the street to the women’s shelter. Callum sensed something bad was going on in there and a chill ran over him. His sister volunteered there and he knew sometimes she stayed overnight when they were short staffed, which they often were at weekends. He put his foot down on the accelerator and drove close to the building only to be flagged down and stopped by a police officer. Callum lowered the truck’s window.

  “I’m sorry sir, the road’s closed, you’ll have to find an alternate route to wherever you’re going,” he told Callum.

  Beads of rain splashed into the truck and on Callum’s face and chest.

  “What’s going on?” Callum asked.

  “Some trouble at the women’s shelter.”

  “What sort of trouble? I think my sister might be working there tonight.”

  “Hostage situation and that’s why we can’t let any traffic through here.”

  Hostage situation? Wasn’t a shelter supposed to be a refuge for abused women? Well, at least that’s what Sloan had told him.

  “Please sir, if you could turn around and stay clear of the area we’d appreciate it for everyone’s safety.”

  Callum nodded. He was going to take another road but he’d changed his mind about the beer. If Sloan was in there then he was going to stay close by. His phone, if he’d brought the damn thing with him, he could have phoned her to see if she was indeed in there. No, that probably wouldn’t be too smart. Still if he had the phone, he could at least call his parents and find out if they knew anything and if Sloan was actually working tonight. He’d left his house without it because most of the time he butt dialed people and the whole thing got irritating for him and those he accidently called.

  He turned around in the driveway of the church on the corner and then headed down Fourth Street. He knew the elementary school was two blocks away and if he used their parking lot, he could cut back and be at the corner of Main and Second where the shelter was situated and where he’d seen the crowd gathered. Maybe someone would know more about the current situation.

  Callum made a sharp turn and into the school’s lot. Luckily on a Saturday night, no one was around and he was able to drive across it without any cars being in his way and hence slowing him down. He parked close to the fence and then got out of the truck, pulled the collar up on his denim jacket up made a run for it. He made his way over to the crowd where most people were standing with their coats above their heads or under the big oak tree in hopes of staying dry. Callum spotted a news van parked opposite.

  “What’s happening?” he asked a man leaning against a stop sign.

  “Police shot the guy through the window after they heard shots coming from inside.”

  A lady walked toward them. “They say one of the women got shot and the
y’re bringing her out now.”

  Callum’s heartbeat picked up and he suddenly felt sick.

  Please don’t let it be my sister.

  He pushed through the crowd, worked his way around the cops and was able to get over the road onto the sidewalk by the shelter as the paramedics were wheeling out a young woman.

  At first he thought it was his sister because of the long dark hair but then he realized it wasn’t her but in fact the prettiest young woman it had ever been his pleasure to lay his eyes upon. He didn’t know why but something primeval, kicked in and he ran to her to see if he could help. She had a raincoat on and the left shoulder had blood seeping through it. A woman walked beside her.

  “It’s going to be okay honey, really it is,” she told her.

  “I’m scared so please don’t leave me,” the pretty woman said.

  “I have to honey because I need to talk to the police and well, as you can imagine the whole thing’s been a nightmare. I’ll try and find someone to ride with you to the hospital.”

  “I can do it,” Callum said, stepping forward.

  The woman frowned at him so he put out his hand. “I’m Sloan’s brother, Callum Monroe.”

  “Ah, Callum, your sister talks about you and your other brothers all the time. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m the shelter director, Mira Allensby.”

  “I was worried she was working tonight so that’s why I’m here.”

  “The baby was sick so she changed shifts.”

  Thank god.

  “Olivia this fine young man is going to ride in the ambulance with you. He’s Sloan’s brother so you’re in good hands,” Mira said.

  “Hi Olivia, wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” Callum said.

  Olivia tried to lift her hand but she was pale and pearls of perspiration beaded on her forehead, so Callum touched the back of it and smiled.

  “We need to get the patient to the ER as fast as we can,” said one of the paramedics.

  “Lead the way and I guess it’s okay for me to ride in back with Olivia, right?” Callum asked.