Page 9 of Unguarded

On the other hand …

I could use a break from this place. And with five hundred thousand dollars, I could build my own damn house and actually get some solitude.

With Kacie’s recent rejection and the insufferable love bubble that Holden and Rosie are constantly in, I’m starting to miss being an ocean away from everyone who knows me.

There’s the issue of physical proximity to people—to strangers—that makes me want to say no.

Then, there’s the issue of emotional proximity to people—my family—that makes me want to say yes.

I consider the offer, mulling it over in my head—if it’s worth being around that many people for four weeks—when the red-haired woman appears from the hallway.

She rushes toward us with a phone in her outstretched hand. Her face is pale, eyes wide. Monroe takes the phone. She stares at the screen silently. She takes one more deep, steady breath before looking up at me, eyes growing hard.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. Redford. This isn’t your problem, and I’ll be forever grateful for what you did last year at Sundance.”

She turns to Dolly and Rosie with a tiny smile. “If I do ever choose to do another tour and you’re interested in seeing the show, please reach out. I’d love to offer you tickets and backstage passes. Cash can give you the number to call. It was lovely to meet you.”

She turns then, not looking at me again as she grips thephone in her left hand, knuckles white. She walks toward the doorway leading into the hall, passing directly by me. My hand reaches out to grip her wrist, drawing an inhale from her. She stops abruptly, eyes trailing up my chest until she finally meets my gaze. I’m a foot taller than her, and at this proximity, she looks tiny.

I lift her hand holding the phone so that I can see the screen. She lets me, not offering any resistance.

The photo on the screen is of a bedroom. It has cream-colored decor with luscious green plants, a large and ornate mirror in the corner, and a massive king-size canopy bed. On the plush, undisturbed covers, there is a whip, a scrap of red lace underwear and a matching bra, and a camera. The text underneath the photo says,

When are you coming home, Monroe Blue?

The number isn’t saved as a contact, and there are no previous messages between them. Without releasing her wrist, I meet her eyes. They’re glassed over, but her bottom lip is beginning to tremble.

“Who is that?” I grit out, my chest tightening.

She shakes her head. “I don’t know,” she whispers.

Fear, along with an ounce of acceptance, has filled her eyes. This is her life, her normal. Rage and fierce, foreign protectiveness surge through me. I slowly loosen my grip on her, letting her hand drop, but not fully letting go.

I turn my gaze back to where my brothers are standing. Holden has his arm wrapped around Rosie. Dolly and Dukeare whispering to each other, but they stop when they see me looking at them.

“We’ll be just fine without you for a month. You think you’re irreplaceable or something?” Holden says, a smirk touching his lips.

Duke chuckles. “Yeah, seriously. You act like Holden didn’t up and disappear for three and a halfyears.”

Dolly swats his arm. Holden went to prison for bravely defending our little sister from a monster of a man, much like whoever sent Monroe a picture from inside her own bedroom.

“One month,” I confirm.

She nods, her eyes sparking with hope. “Okay.”

I let go of her. “And I’m bringing my own gun.”

4

MONROE

Idon’t normally have a thing for cowboys. Most of the men I dated in the past had softer skin than mine. I stare at the thick calluses on Cash’s hand resting on the white leather armrest of my private jet.

I bet they’d feel amazing in certain places. Lucky Texas women.

He showered, packed, and said goodbye to his family, but he’s still wearing the dirty cowboy hat he had on when I arrived at his ranch. The chain of the dog tags I saw around his neck a year ago at the Sundance Pavillion is peeking out of the neckline of his shirt. The visual of him riding the enormous bull so up close is burned inside my brain.

Hottest thing I’ve ever seen, hands down.

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