Page 4 of Mountain Rescue
“You’re devious. You keep asking two questions.”
He swallowed a smile. “My apology. Choose one.” The last thing he’d expected from this trip was all the smiling his mouth wanted to do around this woman.
“Robert isn’t my boyfriend.” She crossed her arms, which resulted in pushing her breasts up, and being a man who happened to love breasts, his eyes fell to her chest before he could stop the rascally things.
“Eyes on mine, cowboy.”
Heat flamed in his cheeks at being called out. He didn’t mean to disrespect her. It was what men did with a woman who interested them, and however inconvenient, she definitely interested him. She had on jeans and the same thin white T-shirt from last night but had added a gray hoodie. Still no bra, and no complaint from him on that.
“Are you a cowboy?”
“I guess I can claim the title. Grew up on a working ranch. Rode some bucking broncs when I was young and reckless.”
Her gaze fell to his stomach. “Is that a championship belt buckle?”
“Yep. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re two questions ahead of me now. If Robert isn’t your boyfriend, then what is he to you and why are you afraid of him?”
“I’m tired of this game.” She turned her back to him and stared at the mountains.
“No problem. I’ll ask Jack if it’s okay if you hang out here for a while.”
She spun around. “No, please don’t.”
He thought that would get her attention. She didn’t need to know that he’d already decided to keep her existence here a secret, at least until he found out why she was hiding and how much danger she was in. It concerned him that her trouble wasn’t a boyfriend. Asshole boyfriends were easy to deal with. “Then give me a reason not to.”
“You’re a jerk, you know that?” She glared at him, and he was glad she didn’t have that tree branch in her hands.
He swallowed another smile. Damn if he didn’t like that fire in her eyes. “I’ve been called worse.” Recently, in fact. His captors had had a long list of insulting names they’d thrown at him.
“Fine. Here’s your reason. Jack’s wife, Nichole, is my best friend. I didn’t break in.” She pulled a key out of her pocket and held it up. “I stayed here for their wedding because her house was full of family. I forgot to give it back, and when I needed someplace to go, I came here.”
That didn’t make any sense. “If Nichole’s your best friend and you’re in trouble, why wouldn’t you turn to them for help? Believe me, Jack’s capable of protecting you. He’s not a man to mess with.”
“That’s exactly why. He’d want to get involved, and I’m not about to put the man Nichole loves on the radar of a man who’s a ruthless son of a bitch. Robert wouldn’t see much difference between killing Jack and stepping on a bug.”
Dallas was seldom at a loss for words, but she’d left him speechless. What the hell had she gotten herself involved in? While he was scrambling for a response because he suddenly had a shit ton of questions, she walked past him back into the cabin, then popped her head back out.
“If you care about your friend, you won’t tell him and Nichole I’m here.” Then she was gone again.
He thought about the little she’d revealed and decided she was under his protection, Ruthless Robert be damned. After giving her time to cool down, he went inside to see if he could sweet-talk a wildcat into making him breakfast.
Chapter Two
Rachel wanted to scream at the infuriating man and crawl onto his lap at the same time. He was or had been a SEAL like Jack and would have the skills to protect her, and a part of her wanted to let him. If ever she needed someone at her back, it was now, with Robert looking for her.
But no. She wouldn’t let anyone risk their life for her. Not Jack, who was Nichole’s everything, or this man who called her wildcat. She’d never tell him how much she liked his calling her that, as if he got she wasn’t a woman he could tame.
Her regret was that she hadn’t listened to her instincts when she’d met Robert. The man had made her uneasy from the start, but his wife was a sweetheart, so she’d ignored the alarm bells going off in her head.
Robert would find her. With his money and resources, it was only a matter of time. She had to be ready for him, both mentally and physically. Because her job required it, she was in good shape from daily workouts, and she needed to continue to keep it that way. Unfortunately, she didn’t have her trainer or a gym handy, so she’d have to improvise.
She exchanged her jeans for running shorts, added a sports bra under her T-shirt, and slipped on a pair of track shoes. After a good run, she’d find a grocery store. The refrigerator and pantry were stocked, but not with the things she wanted. She’d wondered why there was so much food when she’d arrived the day before. Now she knew the reason for the steaks, hamburgers, and the like. All man food. Cowboy food to be more accurate.
Speaking of cowboys, why did he have to be so hot? It was distracting, and she couldn’t afford to be distracted. She’d make another attempt to get him to stay with Jack. If he didn’t want to do that, he could rent his own cabin.
“Heading out?” he asked when she walked into the living room.
“Going for a run.”
