Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
I duck out of his arms, putting distance between us. "I, um, I'm going to pee…and shower."
And find a window to crawl out of.
Surely there's one in the bathroom, right?
"You do that," he says, his eyes locked on my face. "I'll be waiting in the living room."
I nod, shuffling toward the bathroom, only for him to grab my arm at the last second.
"Don't run from me, Calamity," he murmurs. "I'll tear this town apart to find you. I'll be mad as hell when I do. And unlike the sheriff, I know every place you could even think to hide in."
"I wasn't going to run," I lie.
He stares at me for a long moment and then his lips curve into a grin. "Yeah, you were. But do us both a favor and just don't. Okay?" He says it like this actually matters to him, a tension in his voice that shoots right through me.
I'm not sure why I nod.
I'm not even sure why I mean it…but I do.
Chapter Four
Blaze
Iwait until I hear the shower running, and then I stride back out to the living room, where Flint is still waiting.
"We've got a problem," I growl, fully prepared to hop in my truck right now and go handle it. Fuck Roger Burkett and his bullshit police report. I'll shove it up his ass. Maybe he'll think twice about fucking with her when his lies have his guts bubbling, and he's shitting the ink they're printed on.
"I can see that," Flint says, grinning at me. "I assume she's yours?"
I just grunt instead of responding, because what the hell am I supposed to say? I met her an hour ago, and she's already got me feeling like I'm ready to tear the town apart to clear her name. That isn't me. This isn't shit I do. I wrangle cattle, drink, and raise more than my fair share of hell around here. I don't play the knight. No one could ever even mistake me for one. And yet…saddling up to fight for her honor feels like the only thing to do right now.
So yeah, she's mine. I just need a minute to process how utterly and thoroughly fucked that makes me. Because Morgan Lott does not look like she wants to be mine. Not even a little bit. And I think she may raise a whole lot more hell than I've ever even imagined.
"She worked for Roger Burkett as a maid," I say instead of telling Flint any of that. "He filed a police report accusing her of stealing over thirty thousand dollars' worth of jewelry."
Flint's brows rise, a shocked whistle bursting from his lips. "No wonder she was sleeping in the barn."
"She didn't do it. She says he still has the jewelry and that this is an insurance scam. She thinks he's probably done it before."
"You believe her?"
I glare at him.
"Don't look at me like that, motherfucker," he says, crossing his arms. "It's a valid question. I knew Darius. He spent some time upstate for theft. A few times, actually."
"Doesn't mean his daughter is the same," I growl. If we're judging her by the sins of her father, then we need to judge me by the sins of mine. And Flint knows damn well how much time my pops spent in prison for drugs. The few times he actually blew into my life, the police dragged him right back out because the drugs were always more important to him than his kid and the wife he left behind.
"Oh, I'm aware," Flint murmurs. "But it makes her an easy target. I'm guessing Roger knew it when he hired her as his maid."
I tilt my head, studying him. "Where is your head at?"
"Roger is a prick," he grunts. "He cheats at everything. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if he hired her specifically because he knew people would never believe her over him when he started casting aspersions."
"You believe her."
"Of course I do," he mutters. "There are three empty cabins on the property. She could have broken into and stayed in any one of them. She chose the barn. And if she were a thief, there are things far more valuable on this ranch than whatever jewelry Burkett claims to have. I imagine she'd have had a hell of an easier time getting away with stealing any of it than by stealing from her boss, where she was bound to be the first suspect."
He has a point. We didn't even know she was here to point the finger at her. She could have waltzed off with anything, and we would never have suspected her. But she didn't.
"The question is, what are you going to do about it?" he asks.
"Kill him."
"Figured you were going to say that." Flint shoots me a big grin. "Want a little advice?"
"I'm pretty good with my plan, actually."