Page 96 of Her Rugged Guardian

“I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Her soft whisper grabbed at my heartstrings. “I know.” I wanted to be angry with her, but her love of the winery, her insistence that she would find a way to save the place no matter what happened had been another reminder of all the time I’d lost. No more. I would do what it took to ensure Malcolm and his criminal friends were put away.

Even if it meant losing everything I owned.

I smacked her bottom brutally, losing count, finally forced to take a deep breath. She whimpered softly as I caressed her bottom, the scent of her desire becoming a powerful aphrodisiac.

“Six more,” I managed to say.

She kept her eyes closed as I doled them out, undulating her hips back and forth but to her credit, remaining in position. WhenI was finished, I backed away, noticing Moose was watching us intently.

Maybe it was the crisis we were facing or the way the pup had accepted me into his sheltered world, but I knew at that moment I wanted to spend my life with her.

Nothing and no one would stop me from doing so.

Even if…

“That’s what we’re facing,” Cassandra said after explaining everything she’d heard from her friend. “I don’t know what else we can do. I still think my mother’s signature was forged on the contract, but without proof, Jessica doesn’t seem to think there’s a lot I can do.”

“Malcolm is a cunning fuck,” I told her. “Always has been.”

“Here’s something interesting I found.”

She handed me a document I hadn’t seen before. While I studied it, I wasn’t entirely certain what I was looking at. “What is this?”

“That’s really why I went out today. I wanted to check on properties the man owned. This was a bonus, although I don’t know where those properties are. However, it appears that one of the dummy corporations owned by Malcolm, Mr. Stocker the asshole wine consultant, and some guy named Darcy Lee has its sights set on purchasing it.”

“Shit. This is a housing location designed for low income. It was a special project that the city council didn’t want to approve but given public pressure, they had no choice.”

“Is it prime real estate?”

“Yeah. The best in the city, the views even better than what you have. If Malcolm can manage to get his hands on that property, he’d tear the houses down. Those families have nowhere else to go. Not with the real estate prices. They’ll need to move out of the city. Shit. This might be the smoking gun.”

“But it appears it’s already in front of the city council.”

“Who is this other guy?”

I shook my head. “A judge.” But not the one I thought Malcolm had in his pocket.

“He’s covered all his bases.”

“Maybe. Do you really think your mother was working with someone to bring Malcolm down?” I took a sip of coffee then shoved the mug aside. We’d been going over everything for almost three hours, the afternoon fading into darkness.

“I think so, although I don’t know what it could be. I keep going over her last phone call.”

“When was that?”

She rubbed her chin, lifting her gaze from the papers. “Maybe a week before she died. It wasn’t what she said as much as the lamenting she was doing. At the time, I didn’t think much of it since it was close to her wedding anniversary, which bothered her to the end. She’d believed she lived a fairytale for a long time.” She had a faraway look in her eyes for a few seconds before laughing. “I’m sorry. There are no such things as fairytales.”

“I believe there are.” I grinned when she made a face.

“You’re Mr. Grinch. What would you know?”

“I take exception to that, little Cinnamon Girl.”

She laughed but I could see continued pain in her eyes.

“What else do you remember?”

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