Rough Ride by Piper Stone

Chapter 7

Madisen

Jerkoff.

Asshole.

Prick.

Cowboy.

I said the words over and over again as I got ready for bed. He was the most outrageous, heartless… sexy man I’d ever met. Damn it. I brushed my fingers across my lips as I turned out the bedroom light. Even after brushing my teeth, I could still feel the kiss. He had a way about him that drew me in like fireflies to a flame.

That didn’t bode well for business or anything else for that matter. Including my heart. I yanked back the covers, realizing that tonight I was sick with the feeling of being lonely. For the last number of years, I’d spent at least a couple of hours a day with my dad, often more depending on what was going on with the business. Was I even allowed to think of Rutherford that way any longer? I wasn’t his flesh and blood. I wasn’t the one he’d given the majority of his fortune to.

Stop acting like a spoiled brat.

My inner voice was right. I’d been one lucky little girl after my parents died so tragically, never forced to live in foster care or with strangers. Rutherford had taken me in without hesitation. Why had Jake bothered to ask me about it? What the hell did he care?

However, the thought that he was actually staying at my dad’s house already didn’t sit well with me. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say he was going to destroy everything that my dad had cared about.

His father. Not yours.

I fisted my hands, refusing to accept that fact.

As I slid under the covers, my thoughts continued to dwell on Jake. Why did I have this thing for him? Why did I find him both irresistible and infuriating at the same time? And what the hell did he want? Huffing, I turned off the light, immediately rolling over and pulling the covers over my head. Tomorrow was a new day. Maybe I’d wake up and it will have all been one bad dream.

I clenched my eyes shut, allowing a few tears to fall. I’d tried to be so stoic in front of the riggers, but I was failing rapidly. I’d never prepared myself for the possibility that my dad wasn’t going to be around forever. How stupid of me.

I took several deep breaths, finally calming my heartrate. Exhaustion hit me only a few minutes later and as I started to drift off, a vivid image of Jake’s handsome, rugged face remained in my mind.

“Darlin’. Come here.” Jake beckoned me with a single finger, the mischievous look on his face one that he knew turned me on.

“What if I don’t want to?” I purred, purposely taking a giant stride away from him.

He rubbed his jaw, the two-day stubble giving him a slightly dangerous appearance. God, he was hot when he wore his threadbare jeans and white tee shirt, reminding me of the epitome of a bad boy.

“Then you know what that means, baby girl. I’ll have to turn you over my knee and give you one hard whoopin’.”

“Only if you catch me.” I darted off before he could react, racing through the house. This was our game, one that made us both laugh.

“The big, bad wolf is coming for you.”

“You can’t catch me,” I squealed, darting a look over my shoulder. Damn if he wasn’t gaining on me. He wasn’t playing around. I made it into the living room, but the rugged cowboy was right behind me. Laughing, I shifted back and forth behind the sofa, watching his every move. He had a carnal look worn by a true predator and I realized he had to be the sexiest man alive.

“Sugar, I already have. And do you know what?” he asked in a wry tone. “I’m never gonna let you go.” Within seconds, he had me in his arms, holding me tightly against the heat of his body.

“Oh, you bastard.”

“Tsk. Tsk. Such nasty words there, little filly. I guess I’m going to have to use my belt.”

Buzz. Buzz.

Jerking up, I gasped for air, immediately reaching for the phone. One of the riggers had activated the emergency system. “Fuck.”

I scrambled out of bed, throwing on some clothes and yanking my hair into a ponytail. As I grabbed my boots from the closet, I dialed the drill supervisor’s number then headed for the kitchen to find my keys. He answered on the fourth ring just as I was headed out the door. “Devlin. What the hell is going on?”

“We got a fire,” he yelled over the roar of both the equipment as well as what sounded like crackling sounds.

“Jesus Christ. Is it contained? Did you call the fire department?” I jumped off the porch, racing to where I could look in the horizon. While I noticed a warm glow in the sky, thank God I couldn’t see flames, or everything could be lost on the rig.

“Yeah, they’re on several other calls and will get here as soon as they can. We got this, but I wanted to let you know it appears this thing was intentionally set.”

“What did you say?”

“Yeah, sorry to tell you this on such a tragic night, but I thought you’d want to know.”

I took several deep breaths. “I’m headed there now.”

“Don’t, Madisen. We have it under control,” Devlin insisted.

“Maybe you do but I’m not allowing those fuckers to destroy us. Are you going to be forced to use dynamite?” Often that was the only way to control a fire on a rig, something my dad had taught me early on. Another reason he hadn’t wanted me on the site until I was older.

“Negative. At least at this point. I don’t think the asshole who set this meant to shut us down, just put a halt on production.”

Damn it. If production was held up by even a few days, we wouldn’t be able to make the terms of one of our biggest contracts. How had the fuckers figured that out? There was no way, unless Devlin had mentioned it to someone.

“I’m in charge now, Devlin. I need to see what we’re facing.” I hung up the phone before he could argue with me any further. I was grateful the riggers were protective of me, but I was finished with dealing with good ole boys who thought they could terrorize me into selling. Little did they know how resilient I was. I jumped into my truck, hissing as I started the engine. When I pressed down on the accelerator, I made another proclamation that I would find a way to bring both Brad Whitehorse and Bob Cunningham down.

No matter what I had to do.

I’d never understood how Rutherford could have tolerated their constant beratement or the threats they’d issued over the years. It had never made any sense to me. As soon as I rolled past my dad’s house, I slammed my hand against the steering wheel. Damn it. Jake needed to be fully aware of what we were dealing with. He deserved to know.

I screeched to a stop, keeping the engine idling as I rushed out of the truck, pounding on the door with all the fury that had built up inside of me. When he didn’t come to the door in thirty seconds, I pounded again.

Jake threw open the door, growling as he tried to find a light switch. When he finally did, the sly smile crossing his face was enough to push me over the limit of sanity.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Did you come back for more?” he asked, the same velvety voice skittering through every freaking muscle in my body. I refused to allow him to get to me.

Even though he stood in bare feet and boxer shorts, his tousled hair creating an even sexier aura than before, I did my best not to gawk at his gorgeous physique. Now wasn’t the time or the place. “It’s time for a trial by fire, cowboy. You wanted to experience more regarding this business. Now’s your chance.”

“What does that mean? What’s wrong?”

“It means you need to get dressed. We have a fire on one of the rigs and it looks like it was purposely set.”

He reared back, searching my eyes before his features turned to stone. “Fuck. I’ll be right there.” He left the door open as he rushed back inside. To his credit, he wasted no time, bounding out of the house only two minutes later. I was surprised he wasn’t wearing his signature cowboy boots. Instead, he’d chosen a more rugged work boot. Interesting. Maybe he could learn that being a prima donna in this world meant shit.

“Come on. I’m driving.” I raced toward the idling truck, jumping inside. As soon as he’d climbed into the passenger seat, I shifted the gear into drive.

“How bad is it?” he asked as he slammed the door.

“I don’t know. The supervisor on duty said they had it contained, but you never know about this kind of fire. It can get out of control quickly.”

“Who the hell would set it intentionally? The two assholes?”

I shot him a look, rolling my eyes. “You heard what was said at the attorney’s office. The two property owners flanking both sides have tried for years to get my father… I mean Rutherford to leave. Bob Cunningham and Brad Whitehorse are conniving dicks who will stop at nothing. There have been dozens of arguments, even threats over the last two years in particular. They hated Rutherford’s success since they aren’t producing as much oil.” I could barely breathe as anxiety kicked in. I knew this was only the beginning of a new barrage of attempts. They were using Rutherford’s death to their advantage.

“Anything happen like this before?” Jake asked.

“No, not to this degree.”

“And you’re certain they’re responsible?”

I laughed as I pressed down on the accelerator again, the truck jerking to the right when I hit a patch of gravel. “You haven’t met the assholes. Once you do, you’ll know in your heart one or both are behind this. Of course, that means if you have a heart.”

“Can we cut the crap?”

There was a distinctive tone to his voice, something entirely different than his usual bravado. I also detected a hint of admonishment. While I should be incensed, even angry, he was right that now wasn’t the time. “Yes. Of course. I’m worried about this one.”

“We will get to the bottom of this.”

As I made my way toward the rig, the glow in the sky seemed more ominous than I would have thought if the riggers had begun to contain the fire. Seconds later, we were able to see flames. “No. No! This isn’t good.”

“Jesus,” he whispered as he glared out the windshield.

I drove as close as possible, killing the engine within seconds and jumping out.

“Whoa. What do you think you’re doing?” Jake barked.

“Whatever needs to be done.” I didn’t wait for him, racing toward the scene. There were at least a dozen men, several of them positioned on the platform. When I was only a few feet away, I could tell a least one man was trapped on one side of the derrick, the tall metal structure looming over the entire rig. The sky around it was bright orange, embers ticking far too close to where he was positioned. “Oh, no.”

“What?” Jake hissed as he flanked my side.

“A rigger is trapped by the fire.” I pointed to the taller structure rising two hundred feet about the platform. “See that? It’s called the derrick.”

“What the hell is he doing there?” Jake demanded.

Devlin hissed. “He was working on the traveling block.”

“What?” Jake shook his head.

“A set of sheathes that move up and down on the derrick. It digs the hole for oil. This was our newest rig.” I didn’t have time to explain it to him. Christ.

“Any other way for him to get down?” the cowboy continued, so obviously out of his element.

I half ignored him as I noticed Devlin. “He should be able to use the Geronimo, an escape device.” But even as I approached, I wasn’t able to see the mechanism. What the hell?

Devlin rushed toward me, immediately trying to push me back. “Don’t, Madisen. We’ve got this under control.”

“It doesn’t look like it. Who the hell is trapped up there?”

While the roughneck could try to climb down the pedestal, it would be precarious at best given the location of the fire.

“It’s Big Wally. We’re going to get him down,” Devlin answered, immediately eyeing Jake. “It’s just going to take us some time.”

“Where the fuck is the Geronimo?” I demanded, trying to move past him.

“There was an issue with one of them.” Devlin’s answer just pissed me off.

“So you let him go up there? That is reckless, Devlin. You know better.”

“And you know Big Wally,” he countered. “He did so without my authorization.”

What I knew is that Devlin had been careless on more than one occasion. That kind of shit wasn’t going to be tolerated.

“What the hell is going on?” Jake asked.

I glared at Devlin, making certain he was well aware of just how furious I was before answering Jake. “It’s the lifeline of escape. There’s supposed to be a backup installed if one needs repair. And not a single rigger is supposed to go up on that derrick without one present.”

Jake moved around both of us, inching closer to the rig.

“Who the hell is that?” Devlin asked, his tone full of disdain.

“Someone you need to pay attention to. You are going to get Wally down. Now! I don’t care what the hell you have to do. You ignored protocol,” I barked, pushing past him and jogging closer. I could tell the riggers had their hands full just trying to contain the fire before it reached the main pipe. If that happened, there would be no way to stop an explosion.

Devlin yanked my arm, pulling me to a full stop. “We can’t get to him right now. The fire is too hot at this point.”

“Then get it out,” I ordered through clenched teeth.

“We’re doing our best, Madisen.” Devlin shook his head.

“When this fire is out, you and I are going to talk. You’re never going to allow men to work on the rig without the appropriate safety measures again. If you continue to ignore protocol, you will be fired. Do you get that?” My words were some of the harshest I’d said to any of the roughnecks or drillers. But Rutherford had warned me that cutting any corners would result in certain death.

“Fine, Madisen. We’ll talk. I need to get back to saving this fucking rig.” Devlin’s anger was fueled by the fact he believed he should have gotten a significant promotion, placed in charge of every rig. That wasn’t going to happen now.

“Is there a problem?” Jake asked.

“Nothing I can’t handle. Devlin is a bit of a jerk.” I started to walk closer to the rig.

“You need to talk to me. What can we do?” Jake growled as he pulled my arm.

I jerked it away, trying to figure out what to do. “As you just heard, one of the men is trapped. There’s no way to get him down at this point. The riggers need to get the fire out.”

“Then I’m going to help them.”

“Are you out of your mind? You’re going to get yourself killed.”

Jake grinned in his usual signature style. “Not tonight, sweetheart.”

I stared in disbelief as he raced toward the platform. The man was freaking crazy.

“Jake. No!”

Of course he was going to be stubborn and refuse to listen to me. As he climbed onto the platform, I watched in a mixture of shock and horror. While the man had no idea what he was doing, he was determined to bulldoze his way into the situation.

Every time I tried to join in, one of the riggers pushed me away. I was furious with the entire situation. All I could do was watch as the fire continued to roar. It was easy to see that Jake had pushed himself into the thick of things, doing everything he could to help. After a full minute, I was ready to call the fire department myself. They would get a piece of my mind. As I yanked out my phone, there was a slight rumbling sound then a small but powerful explosion.

Riggers were pitched off the platform, the vibrations to the rig powerful enough Big Wally was pitched further down. The scene was instantly chaotic. “No. No!” Fortunately, the larger than life rigger was able to grab onto one of the bars. I moved closer, able to catch sight of Jake in the massive beams of light surrounding the structure. While I couldn’t hear what he was yelling, there was no doubt he was attempting to control every man as well as the situation.

As I raced toward the three fallen men, the heat became oppressive, the entire situation ready to get out of control. “Are you guys all right?” I yelled as two of them struggled to their feet. The third remained on the ground. I crouched down beside him, making certain he was still breathing. The air was thick with acrid smoke, enough to burn my throat and eyes.

“Don’t worry, Madisen,” one of the fallen men called as he headed toward the platform again.

Worry. That’s all I was going to do from now on. “Don’t worry, Steve. You’re going to be all right.” From what I could tell, the man was only winded. He waved his hand, grunting as he sat up.

“Go back,” Steve managed, coughing several times. “Too risky.”

“Don’t try and talk. Just rest.” I dialed 9-1-1, every nerve on edge. “This is the Big Horn Ranch. I’m calling again to report a massive fire in one of the rigs.”

“Yes, ma’am. Trucks are on their way.”

“How far out?” The smoke was getting to me, making it impossible to think clearly. I was forced back by several feet, furious that I wasn’t on the platform trying to help.

“Ten minutes. They should be there any time.” The operator was curt.

I hissed and ended the call. Ten minutes might be too late. Why did I have the distinct feeling the firefighters had been held up on purpose? I could barely shake the nasty thought. After moving to a standing position, I shifted my attention to Big Wally. He was still holding on. How could this have happened? Given four of the rigs were productive twenty-four hours a day, there was always someone around. Either the saboteur had managed to sneak onto the property or someone from the inside was working with Whitehorse and Cunningham.

I’d never been the kind of girl to pray about much of anything, especially since my parents were killed, but on this night, I felt obligated to do so. I closed my eyes, fighting with the anger inside of me. That wasn’t going to do anyone any good.

A few seconds later, there was a slight boom, then a series of hisses. When I glanced at the rig, I no longer noticed any flames. Unable to stop myself, I raced toward the platform, climbing to the surface.

“Get out of here!” Devlin called.

Seconds later, Jake saw me and took long strides in my direction. “Get off this platform. You don’t belong here.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

He shook my arms. “Just do it. I’m not asking you to. I’m telling you. It’s still volatile.”

“As if you know what you’re talking about.”

“God damn it, Madisen. Just do it!”

“We’ve got him!” one of the riggers called from a distance.

I shifted my attention toward the derrick, realizing that Big Wally had managed to climb down by several additional feet, but he was still a solid two stories high.

Damn it.

“Both of you get off this rig,” Devlin directed, shifting his heated look toward Jake.

I could tell Jake was ready to explode with anger. The sound of sirens drew my attention.

“Come on, Jake,” I encouraged. “We need to talk to the fire department.”

While we both climbed down, I could tell he remained furious.

Jake cursed under his breath as he jumped on the ground, yanking me into his arms. “What the hell were you doing up there?”

“My job,” I snarled, pulling away and heading away from the rig.

He grabbed my arm once again. “You don’t listen very well.”

“And you can’t tell me what to do. That was dangerous up there.”

“Which is why you shouldn’t have been here in the first place,” he countered.

“Because I’m a woman.” This was ridiculous. I backed away, holding up my hand. “We’re not talking about this now.”

He was about to retort when we both heard a hard thud followed by a horrific cry. As I turned my head toward the platform, I realized that Big Wally had been allowed to fall.