Page 22 of Refuge

Cole lay back watching as Leeza got dressed. It took everything he had not to stop her, lay her down, and bury himself deep inside her. She kept tossing looks his way and then as she got fully dressed, she just sat there staring at him.

“What?” He kept his voice low.

“I really want to do this,” she whispered back.

“Then do it, Leeza.” Cole sat up, touching her face softly. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

“Thank you.” She leaned down and kissed him softly, but he wasn’t having it. He grabbed her, laid her on his lap, and kissed her thoroughly, giving her something to look forward to throughout her day with that asshole.

“You’re welcome,” he murmured against her lips. He let her go, then dug into his jeans pocket. He dressed earlier, ready to leave her tent before anyone woke but had instead, watched her sleep. He pulled out his keys. “Take my truck. I don’t want you walking,” he said, not wanting her walking anywhere alone until he knew what was going on with those tracks.

“You sure?” She took the keys with a smile. When he nodded, she sighed in relief. “Good, ’cause I have a feeling I’m going to have a real hard time walking today.”

A proud smile lit his face as he pulled her to him again, giving her a long goodbye kiss. “Be careful, and I’ll see you tonight.” He reluctantly let her go. “I’ll wait till you’re gone before I leave and make sure no one sees me.”

She stopped at the slit door of her tent and turned to look at him. “I don’t care who sees you, Cole.” Her eyes relayed her exact feelings. “I’m not embarrassed.”

Watching her disappear, he fought the urge to reach out of the tent and bring her back. This wasn’t easy for him. No, he really didn’t want her working for Lance Cutter, but it wasn’t because he didn’t trust her. It was Lance he didn’t trust.

* * *

Leeza hurried as she headed toward Sherry, who was waiting for her away from the tent. “Sorry.” Leeza stuck her phone in her back pocket as she hurried toward Cole’s truck. “I can’t believe my alarm didn’t go off.”

They got inside the truck, and before she could even start it, Sherry chuckled. “Maybe it had something to do with Cole Jackson.”

Glancing up after putting the key in the ignition, she saw Cole emerge from her tent. Shirtless, he stood staring straight at her. Damn, he was a fine-looking man. With a grin, she looked over her shoulder as she backed up. “It is totally Cole Jackson’s fault.”

Once on the road, she glanced at Sherry who was gazing out the window. She felt bad that she hadn’t spent hardly any time with her the previous night of her arrival, but everyone had welcomed her back with open arms, and that made Leeza damn proud. She was happy Sherry agreed to go with her this morning to see if Lance had a job for her too.

“I’m sorry I didn’t spend more time with you last night.” Leeza looked back at the road. “I—”

“Don’t.” Sherry shook her head. “I’m fine. I can never repay what you did for me, Leeza, and I know you don’t expect that. I’ve learned a lot about myself this past month and am stronger than I ever believed I was.”

“Yes, you are,” Leeza agreed as she clicked on her blinker and pulled onto Lance Cutter’s property.

“He will not win. Foster Manning will not control me.” Sherry’s voice was full of fight and venom. “I will have a normal life. It won’t be easy, but I swear to God, I’ll fight every step of the way.”

Parking, Leeza turned the engine off, then reached across and hugged Sherry tightly. “Damn straight you will, and I’ll be right by your side. We all will.”

Sherry hugged her back, sniffed, and smiled. “I know, and that’s exactly why I came back. I need you, this pack. Plus, I talked to Gemma for a long time last night. I really like her.”

“She really is amazing,” Leeza agreed as they sat in the truck.

“She’s setting me up an appointment to talk to someone,” Sherry replied, her expression and tone of voice unsure. “I just don’t want people thinking I’m crazy or something.”

“I think that’s an excellent idea, Sherry. Even the strongest of people need someone to talk to. And sometimes it’s best if that someone is not close to you or even doesn’t know you,” Leeza assured her. “And no one is going to judge you.” And if they did, Leeza would beat their ass, but she only added that to herself. She wanted Sherry to have no doubts.

Looking away from her, Sherry turned toward the window, her face hidden, but the shaking of her shoulders alerted Leeza that she was crying. Glancing away, she gave Sherry her moment. Leeza took the time to get her first real look at Lance Cutter’s place. And damn, the man definitely had money, or at least, appeared to have money. The house was huge and gorgeous, with outbuildings scattered along the property.

“I should have listened to you.” Sherry’s voice brought her attention back to her.

“Stop.” Leeza reached over and gently tugged her, so she was again looking at her. “You will get past this, Sherry, you said so yourself. What happened is in the past, and we’re going to work to keep it there. If you need me to ever go with you when you talk to whoever it is, I’m there. You understand me?”

Sherry nodded, wiped her eyes, and took a deep breath. “Understood.” Her smile was shaky, but Leeza saw the brave girl behind it. It was going to be a hard road for her, but Leeza vowed that she would travel it with her if she was needed. Sherry would not battle this alone; Leeza would make damn sure of that.

“Okay, you ready to shovel some horse shit?” Leeza broke the silence, then laughed at the horrified expression on Sherry’s face.

“Is that what we’re here to do?” Sherry shook her head. “I didn’t agree to shovel horse shit, Leeza.”

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