lori king rough ride romeo (3 page)

their bodies were much too close for comfort. Spinning she edged away from him

and frowned. Why had he moved so close?

“What are you doing?” she growled when he reached for her.

“Lifting you up onto the back of the truck. I figure you’re going to want to

collect some things from your bags before we start the drive.” With that, he

reached past her defensive pose and wrapped his big hands around her narrow

waist, lifting her like she was nothing more than a bag of four he’d bought at the

market.

She let out a squeak of surprise when her feet left the ground, and a second

later, she was standing on the tailgate looking down at him. Having always been

vertically challenged she usually enjoyed rising to new heights, but this particular

moment left her feeling fustered and way too warm. Roman’s head was level with

her breasts, and they were suddenly very tight and achy inside the snug sports bra

that held them down. His hands left her waist, sliding gently over the curves of

her hips and down her outer thigh before he dropped them to his sides. She

almost moaned at the loss of the warm touch, but then she remembered that

Roman was the asshole who hurt her bike, and she huffed at him.

“Is that how they teach you to say thank you in Minnesota?” he asked, giving

her a smile that stole her breath. Damn he was a sexy bastard.

“No, but in Minnesota men don’t go around touching women without

permission, either.” She moved to the bike and worked the two bags loose from

the clips that held them in place, setting them on the bed of the truck. Roman

immediately picked them up and carried them to the passenger’s side of the truck

stowing them inside. “I could have done that.”

He gave her a surprised frown. “I’m sure you could, but you’re up there and

I’m down here. I was trying to be helpful.”

Embarrassment tasted like ass. She felt herself fush, and she quietly

murmured a quick, “Thank you” before she turned back to the bike. “If you’ll

hand me the tie downs I’ll help get it secured.”

Working fawlessly together, they lashed the bike in place. Before Roman

could offer to help her back down from the truck, she plopped down on the

tailgate on her butt and scooted herself off. He looked like he wanted to say

something, but thankfully, he kept quiet, choosing to open her truck door for her

instead. “Your chariot awaits, my lady.”

She snorted and shook her head. “I’m no lady, but thank you again.”

The moment she went to get into the seat, she realized that her lack of

height was once again going to be a problem. Frowning at her dilemma, she

looked for a handhold on the doorjamb only to find Roman watching her closely.

His hazel eyes glinted with humor, and he propped his weight up on the truck

door.

“Problem?”

Her inner voice calling him nasty names wasn’t going to help, but she did it

anyway. Her outer voice however, said, “Have you considered investing in

running boards or maybe a step ladder for your truck?”

His laughter was loud and hearty, and she felt it all the way to her core.

Smile lines bracketed his full lips, and his hair bounced against his shoulders

making her itch to tug on it. Broad shoulders shook with his mirth, and she let

one nasty word slip before she grabbed ahold of the leather bench seat and began

attempting to hoist herself up into the massive vehicle.

Still laughing, his hand cupped her plump backside and gave her the boost

she needed to take her seat. “Sugar, no cowboy in the world would prefer to let a

woman use a step when he can offer her a hand.” He teased, giving her thigh a

quick pat and shutting the door on her irritated huff.

A few minutes later they were leaving the town behind them, and Franki

couldn’t help but stare in the side mirror at the retreating buildings. This was the

last place Vivi had been, yet she was nowhere to be found. Franki’s gut told her

that her sister was close by, but she had nowhere else to go until she heard from

Vivi again. If she heard from Vivi again.

“Still waters run deep.” Roman said, drawing her gaze away from the

mirror.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Still waters. You know, when you’re looking down into the steady waters of

the river, if it’s barely moving at the top it’s gonna be running like a mare in heat

under the surface because it’s deep.” When she continued to stare at him in

confusion he shook his head and grinned, “You look like you’re deep in thought,

and by that tiny wrinkle between your eyebrows, I’d say you’re thinking about

some pretty heavy stuff.”

Instinctively her hand went to her brow where she did indeed have a wrinkle

between her eyes. Rubbing at the stubborn crease, she shrugged. “Just worried

about how long the fixes on my bike will take. I don’t really have time to sit

around a farm for weeks on end.”

“Crawley Creek is a cattle ranch. One of the biggest in the state,” he said,

giving her the side eye. “And it’s a fantastic getaway spot for those looking for a

little peace and quiet. Any chance you’re looking for peace and quiet?”

“Nope.” She knew she was being deliberately rude, but she couldn’t risk

spilling the details of her sister’s situation to just anyone. For all she knew, Roman

or his friend, Sheriff Bowers, were in league with the bastard who took Vivi in the

first place.

After a couple minutes of silence, Roman looked her way again, “Where are

you from in Minnesota?”

“St. Paul is where I was living,” she answered shortly, rubbing her arms over

the goose pimples on her skin. She nearly fell over when he reached for the

thermostat controls and turned the air conditioner off. Did he do that just

because she was cold?

“Was? So you’re not living there now?” he asked.

“Nope.”

Again he hesitated waiting for her to explain more, but she bit her tongue.

No way was she going to be nice to the guy who smashed her bike. By the looks of

his truck, he wasn’t the type of person she wanted to hang out with anyway. An

empty beer carton was smashed under her feet and several articles of dirty

clothing rested on the foor between them.

“Where are you headed?”

She turned to look out the window at the passing landscape. It was pretty in

a vast and empty sort of way. There really wasn’t much to see in this part of the

country. When she didn’t respond, he smacked the steering wheel startling her.

“Look Franki, I know we got off to a bad start, me wrecking your bike and

all, but I’m not a bad guy. I’m trying to make conversation, and I feel like I’m

talking to a wall.” The muscle in his jaw ticked, and she curled her fingers into a

fist to resist running her fingertip over it. Would his skin be soft like the

businessmen she was used to back in Minnesota?

“I was headed for Montford to…meet someone,” she finally said, reaching

for the end of her braid and releasing her hair just to give her hands something to

do. The heavy brown locks fell in thick waves, and she skimmed her nails over her

scalp as the pressure released. “She wasn’t here.”

“Maybe she’s running late?” he offered. His eyes were darting back and forth

between her and the road, and she frowned at him.

“What?”

He seemed uncomfortable that she’d caught him staring, but he quickly

pulled his charming smile back into place. “Just admiring your hair. You’re real y

pretty when you’re not cussing at me.”

Snorting a laugh, she quickly braided her hair back up, and went back to

staring out the window. There was something about riding in silence with him

that was both comforting and unsettling.

“So who’s your friend? I can probably direct you on how to find them if you

tell me. I’ve lived here most of my life and I know damn near everyone.”

She wanted to tell him, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Vivi’d told

her that there were several men involved in Goat’s operation, and until she found

out who they were and where they were based, she couldn’t risk Vivi’s safety.

Franki had known that her sister’s new boyfriend—who went by the

nickname Goat, was bad news the moment she met him. He leered at Franki

when Vivi wasn’t watching, and touched her way too affectionately for a stranger,

but she’d tried to get along with him for Vivi’s sake. Flash forward three months

and suddenly Vivi and Goat both just disappeared without warning. No phone

call, no message, not even a forwarding PO box for the landlord. Franki had gone

to the police, but they refused to look for a woman who’d clearly packed up her

belongings and left of her own accord. They didn’t care that it wasn’t in Vivi’s

nature to hide things from her older sister, and that there was absolutely no way

she would have left by choice without talking to Franki or their family friend and

landlord, Dottie, first.

Just when Franki had exhausted every possible lead she could dig up on her

sister’s whereabouts, her phone rang in the wee morning hours. Vivi had

managed to pocket a cell phone somehow, but it was a pay by the minute thing.

She’d explained to Franki that it was Goat who packed up the apartment after he

drugged her and secured her at a friend’s house until he could transport her. Goat

was forcing her into prostitution, and he kept giving her some sort of drug. The

only reason she knew she was in Montford, North Dakota was because the same

guy who’d left his cell phone out had left the morning newspaper sitting

underneath it. Before Franki could get more information their call had been cut

off by a recording stating that the purchased minutes had been exhausted.

She’d been out of her mind with frustration and grief, but she’d placed a

phone call to the St. Paul police department immediately. Once again she got

nowhere. They had no evidence that what Vivi said was true, and they had no

idea who Goat was. They wouldn’t even consider searching out the owner of the

cell phone number she’d given them, and supposedly they couldn’t bring the man

in for questioning without a good reason. In her opinion this was a damn good

reason. The police had agreed to fax over Vivi’s description to the sheriff ’s

department in the small town, but that was it. Franki was still at square one, but

this time, she had a location. Without another thought, she packed up, worked

out a deal with her landlord, and hopped on her motorcycle. If law enforcement

wasn’t going to save Vivi, then Franki would do everything in her power to do it

herself.

She just never imagined she’d be sidelined by a cowboy.

Chapter 4

The tough girl who’d nearly busted his balls over her motorcycle was dealing

with something seriously emotional, and it tugged at Roman’s protective instincts.

He could see the tension in her small body as she sank deeper and deeper into

her head, reliving, or struggling through something, he wasn’t sure which. All he

knew was that she was in desperate need of a hug.

Giving up his attempts at conversation he left her to her thoughts, and

focused on how he was going to convince his older brother to fix her bike free of

charge. Vin was a great guy, but he wasn’t exactly the type to ride in on a white

horse and save a damsel in distress. It was unlikely he was going to let Roman

skate on this one, but somehow he’d make it work. Roman might own a stake in

the biggest cattle ranch in North Dakota, but he was land rich and cash poor.

He’d barely scraped up enough cash to invest in the new foster program they

were putting together this summer because he spent so much of his dough

fippantly. Saving was never one of his strong suits. He was the guy at the bar who

bought a round for everyone when he lost a hand of poker, and made sure

everyone stayed happy. It was important to him that he be surrounded by

happiness. It helped him ignore his own sad scars, and made him feel like he was

the king of the world.

In the back of his mind, he’d always wanted to have someone in his life who

looked at him like he was the top dog. He’d never been on top of anything but

the guest list for a tailgating party. Mostly he was invited for pure entertainment

value, and it stung that no one saw him as more than the class clown, or a

playboy. His eyes drifted back over to Franki, and he could almost feel the sense of

emptiness echoing off of her. What had she been through that left her feeling so

lost? It was clear to him that she was alone with no place to go at the moment, so

why shouldn’t she make a home in Montford? At least for the time being he

would focus on making her happy. If he could bring a smile to her face maybe his

own scars wouldn’t hurt so much.

The ranch was buzzing with activity lately, so he wasn’t surprised to find

multiple cars parked in the drive. Thanks to Lacy and Hawke’s new marketing

campaign and their recent hiring of a therapist who specialized in helping folks