Chapter Twenty-Six

Channeling everything he'd seen from the feral cats that were kept in the barns to keep out the rats and mice, Dallas felt an overwhelming need to bite, scratch and hold the fucker down to take his cock.

There was only one problem with that. Marius was there, and he wanted the same thing.

Not that it was a problem. It was more of a challenge. How would they both take out their needs on Ruben? Well, he always loved a challenge.

The condom was on him, so he was definitely doing the fucking. He brought Ruben to his knees, and he sunk another inch after that, with the mud getting churned from them walking in it. Keeping his hand on Ruben's shoulder, he said, "Open up and get that dick of his in that big mouth."

Ruben opened even as his lips quivered pitifully. Marius walked over with his dick held in front of him and he deposited it right on Ruben's tongue. "Suck, kitten."

Dallas took a fistful of Ruben's hair and started to manipulate him into taking Marius's cock deep in his throat. It was a lustful sound as Ruben gagged and choked, but he tried to take each thrust like a champ.

With his own cock swollen and throbbing, he wanted to fuck so bad, he started to slowly stroke himself while he watched Ruben's work. Man, that cock disappearing in Ruben's full, stretched lips, his eyes watering, hands curled into fists on his chest.

"Good little cocksucker. Take it all, baby. I can tell Dallas wants in that ass. Let's not keep him waiting long."

Once Marius arched his back, Dallas knew that Ruben would soon be swallowing a load, so he kept his cock nice and hard, his plan to spear Ruben making him moan low.

"Atta boy," Marius grunted then thrust his hips, his eyes rolling back in his head and Dallas knew he was shooting.

Surprising Dallas and Ruben, Marius pulled his cock from Ruben's mouth as soon as he was finished filling Ruben's throat with cum and then carelessly pushed Ruben over in the mud. "Get this mother fucker dirty."

Dropping to his knees, Marius pushed his face into the mud, extracting a series of loud, whining complaints from Ruben as Dallas laughed and dropped to his knees. "Yeah, dirty little fuck."

"I'm never confessing my love to you guys again, ever!"

"Aw," Marius hummed as he got right in Ruben's mud-coated face. "This isn't the candlelight and wine you wanted? Suddenly romantic?"

"Yeah, right! With you two?"

"I'll show you romance later," Dallas said. "We'll have a beer over the burn barrel."

Ruben was flipped onto his stomach and Dallas yanked his hips until his ass was right where Dallas wanted it. "Keep his face in the mud for me."

"Yes, sir, baby. Yes, sir."

Dallas tore the packet of lube with his teeth and slathered it all over his sheathed cock until it glimmered in the light. Ruben's sweet pucker was ripe for the fucking, clenching at him like it was calling Dallas to tear it up.

That's what he had planned. Pushing in, he smiled as he heard the low, gritty grunt that escaped Ruben's sweet lips. The cattle's lowing was like some chant in the background of their sexual encounter, like they were helping build the music of their climax.

The mud, the cold, the breeze blowing over them, it was all leading to a crescendo that he knew would leave the three of them spent and let their tension leave for even a little while.

In other words, this was needed.

As Marius kept Ruben's face planted right in the mud, Dallas started to fuck, and fuck hard. He held those hips and used his own to pummel him. It felt good, letting loose on Ruben, and watching the smaller man's eyes rolling back in his head, it gave Dallas all the incentive he needed to keep going.

Marius could be counted on to egg him on. "That's it, give it to him. He likes it, this one."

Ruben's hands were curling into fists in the mud, the rope loosened and sliding up his back. "Ahhhh, fuck, fuck," he screamed, then spit mud that has slipped into his mouth.

"That's what he's doing, boy! He's fuck, fucking you!"

Marius was having a good time playing the middleman. Dallas wondered how he felt submitting to Dallas, that he'd pushed him to it, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it.

Dallas pounded the hell out of him as the minutes wore on, but he felt the cold mud as it soaked through his jeans and knew they couldn't be there much longer. They'd all surely get hypothermia if they tried, so he let himself feel everything, that tight hole milking his cock, the cold flesh in his hands, the rumble and rocking of their fucking jarring him and Ruben alike.

It propelled him to orgasm, and when it happened, he thought he'd lose himself in it. The cold was gone, the voices gone, the cattle gone, and all he felt were those beautiful electric waves of ecstasy moving through him at the speed of light.

Marius pulled Ruben into his arms as soon as Dallas freed himself of him and Dallas saw them both shivering. He got to his feet after a few slips in the mud and grabbed their clothes. "Follow me."

They went inside the shelter for the cattle and moved along to the heaters. They didn't put out a ton of heat, but enough to keep the cattle from freezing to death, so he hoped it would do the same for his men.

He set the clothes near the solar wall mounted heaters that kept the water in the troughs from freezing. Then he took both into his arms. "That was stupid of us."

"That was fucking great," Ruben said as drying mud cracked and fell from his cheeks.

He hadn't gotten a chance to look at them properly, and as he did, saw they were covered in mud. Ruben's face was glowing red from being in the cold mud, but he was smiling from ear to ear, even though his lips were quivering.

"It was stupid. You two could have gotten frostbite on your damn dicks. As soon as those clothes warm up a little, you're getting dressed. We'll head back in after that, and you two can warm up more in the bunkhouse."

"I actually can't stop at the bunkhouse," Marius said. "I need to get some things done."

"Anything you need help with?"

Marius shook his head. "Nah. It's gotta be me."

Ruben was blanching once they were ready to dress. "I need an hour-long shower, which I'm not getting at the bunkhouse. Those people will kill me if I use all the hot water."

"Warm up there, then get your sweet ass to the ranch house. You hear?"

Ruben smiled sweetly. "Yeah, I hear. Sorry, if I'm…being a smart ass. I don't mean to."

Dallas kissed him. "I know. It's the stress."

"I can't stand that he's got one of our guys. No, we don't know him good, but Felix was one of us. Not to mention, if we don't find this guy before we're supposed to open, we won't open."

Marius agreed with Ruben. "I know Dante, and he won't allow it if there is danger for the guests."

"That's our top priority, finding him and not for the fucking imaginary guests. I'm not losing more of my people, and Jace feels the same. I'm going to call him so we can meet up in the morning to go over this stuff."

"I'm meeting some folks tomorrow too, but we can't leave Ruben," Marius said.

"What do you mean? I'm fine," Ruben hollered as he got his pants buttoned.

"I'm keeping you at the ranch tomorrow, shoeing some of the horses with Avery and maybe one of your guys, Mar."

"Definitely," he agreed. "I'll send a couple over. They were going to help watch over Vic already."

"Well, great, now I'm a sad little man that needs protection. Great!"

Dallas laughed and grabbed his chin. "I'd do the same if I thought Marius was going to be alone, or Avery, or Bonita, or any of you. Maybe I'm a little more worried for you, but we just discussed why before I fucked you in the ass."

Ruben's tension eased and he managed a smile, though Dallas still held tightly to his chin. "Fine, I guess. Don't coddle me, though, just because I've become the defacto submission to you two brutes."

"Oh, never coddling you. Unless I just got through hurting you."

"Deal."

At the ranch, Marius split off from them, but when Dallas said he wasn't going alone, Marius was about to argue before the helicopter flew overhead, heading right for Dante's place. Dallas decided to go with Marius to grab some of the GPS trackers and see if there was any news. As soon as Ruben was in the bunkhouse, drinking a huge mug of hot chocolate, they headed out and Marius confessed a lot.

"Listen, I get you're the head of the ranch, so all this does affect you and your job, but I don't want to have to tell you everything. If things go south, I can't have you or Ruben in trouble."

"You're talking to the wrong man, Marius. I don't give a fuck about all that. Yeah, I want to run the ranch the best I can and stay out of trouble doing it, but if more people show up missing or dead, and if Felix is found dead, you're gonna see someone that doesn't give two shits about the law. I'm to the point now where I want to go on the offensive and do some hunting."

"We're on the same page then. I'm having my cousin find out some things, and he's sending more men up here. We don't have the fucking room to put everyone, Dallas. That is the problem. We could have five hundred men up here patrolling and looking for that Joseph fucker, but where they going when it's time to sleep?"

"Those trailers are full, I'm taking it."

"Yeah, they are."

"Then why don't we get the ranch house set up for some? It's got a basement, it's got a couple extra rooms. We won't fuck like rabbits all over the house for a while, but as we've just figured out, the house isn't the only place to fuck."

"You'd do that?"

"It's selfish," he admitted. "The more people around you and Ruben, the better in my estimation."

Marius grinned over at him. "That guy…he's special. Sweet as sugar and spicy as a ghost pepper."

"Good description," Dallas said, laughing. "Stubborn too. I hate telling him he can't be alone or do certain things, but…"

"Yeah, I know. I worry about him too, but I worry about you, and Dante, and the rest of the people around here. We've got to figure out this guy and take him out. I don't plan to send the cops for him."

"Me either. If you don't get to him, I will take him out myself."

They saw the helicopter near Dante's trailer and Marius laughed a little. "Only Dante, man."

"What?"

"See the crate in the back? Those aren't GPS trackers."

"Guns?"

"A lot of them, yeah."

They got out of the truck and moved over to the door of the trailer, Marius knocking for them. Bruno opened the door with a handgun pointed at them, but he lowered it once he saw Marius. "Oh, Marius, come in."

Dante greeted them with handshakes. "Good to see you. Dex tried to call you, but didn't get through. He's found more about our attacker."

Dallas was all ears as they went inside the trailer. Blaine was serving wine to men Dallas hadn't seen, and he assumed they'd brought the helicopter. After kissing each of their cheeks, Blaine asked if they'd like wine. "Got anything stronger?" Dallas asked.

"Scotch, whiskey, vodka and bourbon. Not a lot to choose from, but we've had a lot of guests lately."

"Bourbon, please."

"Marius?"

"Thanks, Blaine, vodka and cranberry, if you have it. Straight if not."

"Me? Without cranberry? I'd move back to the city in that case."

"Come, sit," Dante called, and there were no more seats, so they each sat on the floor, leaning on the outer wall. "You're a mess," Dante said. "Trouble?"

Dallas laughed and said, "They were helping me today deal with the cattle. It gets…messy," he said, though his eyes were shining with mischief.

"I see. The cattle, right," Dante said with a chuckle. "Well, Dallas, Marius, all your underlings will have the trackers by morning. That will help a lot of frayed nerves. As for Alexander Joseph, I was just telling Anton and Steve what we've found. I haven't introduced you. These men are here to help and more are coming."

Anton was a tall blond man with a scruffy beard. "Hey," he said with a nod.

"Anton is a member of the Devil's Rebels motorcycle club," Dante explained. "They've been part of our larger family for over a decade. The president of their club in Denver and his husband are coming to help, along with members of their brother club, The Aztecas. Steve is a member of that wonderful organization. They're newer to us, but have proved invaluable."

Marius nodded to each of them. "Welcome aboard. I may have the room for you all to stay too. Dallas and me just figured it out on the way here. The ranch house. As soon as we can get it up and running, we throw some mattresses and a shitload of food and stuff, and you all can use it. We just need one room."

"Excellent," Dante said. "I admit I hoped to give Dallas the room he needed to decompress after the hard days managing the ranch, but this is terribly generous."

"I don't need all that space if there are folks that need someplace to crash while they're helping us through this shit."

"Dallas, you're wonderful," Dante said. "We'll arrange for the mattresses tonight and have them delivered as soon as possible."

Marius grabbed Dallas's hand, squeezing it like he was saying thanks for the offer. Dallas didn't mind. Most of his life he'd bunked with a lot of others, so it wasn't like he'd be put out by it.

"That's it then, for that part of things. Dex, now, has called and told us plenty about the entire situation."

Marius perked at hearing it, and Dallas waited, skeptical. Sure, they might know a lot, but he didn't understand how that would lead to finding the fucker.

Blaine handed them their drinks, then left them to the bedroom with the dogs. As he left, Dante told them, "This is what he's found. Alexander Joseph was born Alexander Brooks."

It was Dallas's turn to sit up straight. "Brooks? Like Sondra Brooks? The dead waitress?"

"Yes. Exactly. Turns out that Rita Ann Brooks was Sondra's sister. She married a man for about six months named Clayton Joseph. He allowed Rita Ann to give her child his last name."

Marius was as confused as Dallas. "So he was related to her? But he killed her."

Bruno said, "It gets better."

"Yes," Dante said, grinning. "Rita Ann told people she'd given birth at home, with her sister as midwife. Turns out, however, that Sondra left town for over five months right before that. It was the only time she'd ever taken off work."

"How the fuck did they find this?" Dallas asked in awe.

"They're geniuses," Dante boasted. "Anyway, Rita Ann raised her son until she died. The thing that was interesting, however, is that every year a check was deposited to her in the amount of?"

"Fifty and then seventy-five grand," Dallas finished for him. "Harrison's deposits."

"Correct. It wasn't easy to trace the bank transfers, being some of them were so long ago, but Harrison supported that kid for his whole life."

"Why was it such a secret then?"

Marius echoed that. "If he was the old mean fucker I've heard he was, why would he care?"

Dante waved his hand through the air gracefully, like he did most things. "Simply saving face, I'm guessing. He had a wife, two legitimate sons and a position in the community. To have an affair with someone like a waitress would likely send his reputation into shreds, his marriage to divorce court and his sons would likely never speak to him again."

Bruno added, "This started back at a time when people saw that kind of thing as business killers. He was probably more afraid for his business than his family."

"Right," Dante agreed. "But, regardless of the reason, he kept it a secret for all these years. Now, that secret has come back to haunt him."

Dallas remembered the picture of Harrison and the boy. "He knew him, though. I'd bet that picture I found in the office was Harrison and Alex Joseph or Brooks or whatever."

"Probably so. He seems to know this land well. Why haven't any of our cameras caught him, the search parties? He knows this place," Dante said with a sneer. "And he has the advantage. Few of the people that work here know the entire area. I've interviewed them all for that."

"Avery's been here a long time, Del has been here the longest, but only for about fifteen years. Harrison had issues with anyone staying around a long time," Dallas recalled.

"Meaning he has more than an illegitimate son to hide. Well, that gives us more motivation. Dex is having the DMV picture of Alex sent to us, and any others that they find. We'll send them to every phone on the place. He may not be found immediately, but he will be found."

Marius sighed, "Let's hope you're right. More people go missing, and anyone that doesn't belong here, we won't be able to keep the feds away."

"That other problem has been dealt with," Dante said in a low, serious tone. "Far from here. It will look like he took off and got himself killed in the city."

Dallas knew they were speaking about the man they'd found in the woods. "At least his family won't have to wonder."

"Our thoughts too, Dallas," Dante said. "Listen gentlemen, we have a long winter ahead of us to get through before we can build much. The laborers can get some things done in better weather, but until spring, we're stuck in trailers and in borrowed spaces. The one advantage that gives us is the time and motivation to get this piece of human bile out of the world."

Dante reminded Dallas of Marius. A smooth, slick-talking man with a certain power and confidence that made him terribly attractive. That was besides the looks of the man. Like some movie start flown straight from Italy, dark olive skin and dreamy brown eyes that sucked a person in and held them captive.

Before saying goodbye, Marius and Dante went into the kitchen to speak in whispers and Dante took him into the bedroom after that. When they left with a big box of GPS trackers and a bag Marius had when he came out of the bedroom. After tossing the box and bag into the back, Marius asked to be dropped off at the farmhouse, and Dallas argued. "Not alone!"

"Listen, we have maybe another night or two before we're packed wall to wall in wiseguys and bikers. I want to get the place ready; you need to go pick up Ruben and do your paperwork."

Dallas took him into a loose embrace. "I feel like I'm…I don't want to leave you alone."

"I have a gun, babe. I have a temper that would curl your toes and I have fought bigger than him, I guarantee it."

Regretfully, he didn't have time to argue. "Fine, but I'm not leaving you there until you lock up and I know you're secure in the house. Mar, the guy we found in the woods…he was no little guy. He worked construction, he was pretty big. I'm not saying you can't handle yourself, because I know you can. Just don't get caught off guard. Pay attention."

"If you start a fire for me, yes, stay until I lock up."

"Blackmail?"

"Of course," he said as his forehead touched Dallas's.

Dallas's eyes slid closed as he took in the presence of the man, how it made him feel, and how he didn't regret for a moment falling in love with the guy. "Okay. I'll get a fire going for you, I'll get the place locked down and then I will go get shit done. Tonight, though, I want to be with you and Ruben alone in our house."

Marius came up and stared at him, lips parting.

"Yeah. I said it. You two have to live there with me so I can watch over you," he hurried gruffly. "Then, when this shit is over, you can do whatever."

After they both got in the truck, he heard Marius's laugh, and he turned to see his smug grin. "You want to shack up with us."

"That's not what I said! I know it's only been a couple months. I'm not fucking proposing!"

"Awww, you love us soooo much."

"No, I hate you. More so by the second."