lori king rough ride romeo (16 page)

with.” Vin answered. Roman growled with frustration and tossed a pillow at his

brother who just laughed. “Stop trying to force it, Roman. She might not be able

to trust anyone, but if ever there was someone she did, it would be you. You got

her to tel us what was going on didn’t you? Did you imagine she’d agree to that a

few days ago?”

“No. Actually I was starting to worry that I’d have to go behind her back to

tell you guys what was going on.”

“But you didn’t?”

He shook his head, and sighed, “I couldn’t. She was trusting me.”

Vin just nodded and sat there silently giving Roman time to think through

what he’d just said. There was so much in that one word. Trust. It could make or

break a relationship permanently. He’d held up his end of the bargain so far, and

so had she, but she’d also been honest with him about her desire to keep things

friendly. He was the one who couldn’t keep his hands off her. Even if she’d

ultimately asked him to make love to her, was it because of the constant attention

he’d been paying her or a desire to forget? Maybe she couldn’t resist anymore?

“What now?”

“I don’t know.” Vin said, “I guess we track down her sister and then it’s up to

her. Franki seems like a smart woman. I’m sure she’ll make the choice that’s best

for her.”

Unspoken was the fact that her choice might not be the one Roman wanted.

In fact, this time he might be the one getting his heart broken by a fing.

Chapter 13

Anticipation and anxiety filled Crawley Creek the next morning. Everyone

was waiting on pins and needles to hear from Bran. He’d sent a text to Roman

before the sun rose assuring him that the sheriff ’s department would be at the

Kilburn place within hours with a warrant. No one had been able to track down

Zeke Palmer apparently, but that was the least of Roman’s concerns.

Franki paced back and forth across the long length of the front porch non-

stop. Her eyes darting around her as though she was waiting for someone to jump

out and tackle her all of a sudden. She’d refused breakfast, and then refused to

come inside when each family member in succession suggested it. Like a caged

animal she was chomping at the bit to hit the road and see her sister. Roman

didn’t have the heart to remind her that they had no idea if Vivi would actually

be at the Kilburn place, and he sure as hell didn’t want to bring up what

happened the previous night. For the moment he’d locked his feelings away, and

he was determined to ignore them until they’d found Vivi.

Curious ranch hands watched them from the barn. They’d never seen the

entire Crawley bunch just sitting around the main house all morning leaving the

chores to the hands. It was an unusual situation that required a special level of

patience and discretion. They didn’t know who in Montford had a connection to

the people who were holding Vivi, so they had to keep mum about what was

happening for now.

When his phone started ringing on his hip, Roman’s eyes automatically met

Franki’s through the front window. She was there and then gone in the blink of

an eye, and as he said hello into the receiver he could already hear the front door

slamming behind her.

“Roman?” Bran’s voice was deep and solemn, and Roman instantly got a

sinking feeling in his gut.

“Bran. What do you know?”

The line crackled for a minute and then Bran said, “It’s empty, wel , almost.

We’ve found three victims.”

Roman’s eyes closed. He could feel Franki inches away from him, and the

eyes of all of his family were on him, and he didn’t want them to read his

emotions before he was ready to spill. “Tell me.”

“Two DOA, one severely beaten. We’re pretty certain Zeke Palmer is one of

the deceased, but the other is female. So is the one we just life-fighted.”

“What’s he saying? Did they find her? Is she okay?” Franki asked

impatiently, grabbing Roman’s free hand, and clutching it to her chest.

“What do you need from us?” Roman said into the phone, ignoring her

pleas.

“Right now I need you to stay put. I’ll be over soon with photos for Franki to

look at. I don’t know if one of these girls is Vivienne Scott or not, and an ID

would be faster than dental records.” Bran paused as someone spoke in the

background, and then he said, “Roman, it ain’t gonna be easy on her. They’re

pretty roughed up.”

“I understand, Bran. We’ll be here when you get here.” Roman couldn’t

think of anything else to say, so he said his goodbyes and faced the woman of his

dreams, knowing he was about to break her heart.

~ ~ ~ ~

Franki could see the sunshine hitting the skin of her arms, but she couldn’t

feel its warmth at all. Like a feather foating in the air, she’d felt her hope whisper

away on the breeze when Roman hung up the phone and finally faced her. He’d

gotten as far as “they found two bodies” and she’d been unable to hear any more

for several minutes. Her emotions buzzed in her ears so loudly that it was like

someone had muted the entire world. She remembered him reaching for her—

catching her, perhaps? She didn’t think she’d fallen, but right now, her entire

being was numb so anything was possible.

When the audio of the world around her came back on, she only picked up

on certain details. They’d gone to the farm and found it abandoned. They’d

found two dead bodies. One male, and one female. As of that moment neither

was identified. They’d also found one woman unconscious, beaten nearly to

death. Again, she was unidentified, and had yet to regain consciousness. The

doctors didn’t know if she ever would.

Three lives possibly snuffed out, and Franki knew in her heart it was because

of her phone call with Vivi, just as surely as she knew that the dead woman

would be her sister. Sure, there was a chance that Vivi was the one in the hospital,

or that she’d been taken away to another location, but some part of Franki, deep

down, knew the truth.

“It’s not like we’re getting married, sis. We’re just having fun. You remember that, right?

Fun?”

Franki couldn’t deny the joy on Vivienne’s face anymore than she could ignore the gut

feeling that Goat wasn’t what he seemed. “Of course I remember it, but I don’t see how dating a

stranger you met online is fun. You know there are a lot of bad people out there—”

“Geesh, you’re worse than mom was. Lighten up. Internet dating is the way of the future.

No one goes to bars to meet people anymore, and besides isn’t that how Jeffrey Dahmer picked his

victims? Not exactly the safest option either.” Vivi’s blue eyes glinted with humor, but Franki

didn’t feel the same.

“Is this the first time you’ve gone out with him?”

“No, actually we’ve been hanging out for a couple of weeks. That’s why I brought it up. I

want you to out with us so that you can meet him.” Vivi said.

“I don’t go out.” Franki protested.

“No kidding. When was the last time you left this place? It smells like an old ladies

apartment.”

“Dottie would take offense to that.” Franki grumbled. “And for your information I go to

the grocery store at least once a week.”

Vivi snorted in disbelief. “I’m surprised you don’t order your groceries too. Seriously, sis,

loosen up. Come out with us. It’s just one night and it’s a week night so the club will be quieter

than usual.”

“Is this guy really that important to you?”

“I don’t know, maybe.” Vivi looked away and Franki got a sinking feeling in her gut that

she was lying.

“I’ll go tonight, but only because I want to check him out. You’re my only family, Vivi, it’s

my job to protect you.”

The sound of a car door echoed, shaking her from her memories, but Franki

stayed in place on a stack of hay bales behind the barn. She wasn’t ready to face

the image of her dead sister, or the pity of a family who’d treated her so well.

She’d come all this way for nothing, and now she’d be going home to nothing.

No one had come looking for her when she’d ducked out of the house, and

she didn’t know if it was because they were giving her some space, or because

they didn’t know what to say, but she was grateful. The serene landscape dotted

with cows and trees eased the burning in her chest. She could sit and literally

imagine herself anywhere but there. Doing anything but what she had to. Right

now, it was all she could do to keep from fying apart into a million pieces. She

felt completely alone. Unlike when her mother had died, and she and Vivi had

held each other up, she was on her own trying to absorb everything.

“Franki?” Roman’s voice was soft, and he stood several yards away, but she

could feel his concern. Looking up into his handsome face, she felt the first crack

of emotion ripple through her. It was obvious by his reaction that he saw it, too,

and he hurried to close the distance between them, scooping her up in his arms

and plopping down in her place with her on his lap. “Oh sweetheart, don’t do this

to yourself. We don’t know anything yet.”

“She’s dead,” Franki heard herself whisper. “I feel it.”

Roman was quiet, but he held her tight to his chest, his face buried in her

hair, and her nose pressed against his throat. His scent fil ed her senses with a

warmth that she never imagined she’d feel again. The pain in her chest was

suffocating, but with him close, she felt like she could breathe again.

“You don’t know that for sure. Bran just got here with the photos. Come in

and get it over with so that we can go on looking for Vivi.” He sounded

determined, and she fought against the urge to argue. How was she going to

explain that the part of her that had always been connected to her sister was

broken?

“I feel lost, Roman.” She whispered. “Like I’m in a funhouse with a maze of

mirrors only they’re all showing me Vivienne, begging me to find her.”

“Oh sugar. I can’t even imagine the pain you’re feeling.” He said, hugging

her tight.

“When my mom died, Vivi was the first person to assure me that I couldn’t

have stopped it. She never felt any sense of guilt over it. She figured at least mom

went quickly, and peacefully. She’s always been that kind of person, you know?

Positive, and outgoing. Quick to forgive…”

Roman just let her ramble on, stroking his hand up and down her back

softly. She turned her head, rubbing her cheek against his hair. Sitting here in his

arms she could almost forget.

“She used to have to push me out of the house. I hated being outside of my

comfort zone. Being around people made me nervous.”

“Why?” Roman asked curiously.

“After my dad drank himself to death, mom was on her own to raise two

little girls. Times were tough. We had to move into a homeless shelter for several

months at one point. The rooms were small, and we were packed into them like

sardines. The three of us shared a double bed, and there were two other families

in the same room each with their own double bed. I hated not having any privacy,

or space to call my own.” She felt her chest grow heavy with anxiety just

remembering the claustrophobic space. “On top of that the kids at school found

out and teased Vivi and I unmercifully about it. Vivi was only in first grade, so I

had to protect her. I became her bodyguard, but it meant I took all the licks

myself.”

“People hurt you?” he gasped in outrage.

“No, I meant figuratively. Words hurt more than fists sometimes.” She

paused, and looked up into his eyes. “I don’t know how to live without her.”

“Maybe you won’t have to. You won’t know until you go inside and look at

those photos. It will only hurt for a minute. Then, when you’ve confirmed it’s not

Vivi, we’ll be able to move on.”

Unable to find it in her to argue with him, she nodded reluctantly and let

him help her to her feet. He brushed his lips over hers, and when he went to

move away, she pulled him back down for another kiss. The taste of him, the feel

of him, alive and solid beneath her gave her courage to face what she knew she

had to. When they finally separated, his blue eyes had grown dark with desire, but

she could still see the lingering concern in their depths. He gave her a half-

hearted smile and then led her back into the house.

Bran and the others were seated around the living room. Some looking

antsy, while others looked downright uncomfortable. Before she could make it

four steps into the living room Hawke jumped to his feet and gestured for her to

take his seat next to Bran. She tried to smile at him, but her lips just kind of

curled up in an awkward grimace.

“Franki, I’m sorry to have to do this to you.” Bran said. The large man

seemed genuine in his sorrow, and his granite cut jaw fexed with tension as he

watched her. “I just need you to look. If you’re not one hundred percent sure, it’s

okay. The coroner’s office will run dental records for confirmation either way.”