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“There’s Nan,” Avery rushed to point out before he could question her again. She recognized the suspicious look crossing his face as he eyed Cassie’s retreating back. “I’ll go sit with her while you tend bar.” She pulled away from him and wound her way over to Nan’s table, feeling those eyes now following her until she sat down.
It was after ten the next morning by the time Avery roused, showered and found Grayson on the phone at the kitchen counter. She must have been more tired than she thought to sleep so long; either that or the tossing and turning she’d done all night as Cassie’s words kept replaying in her head was responsible. It wasn’t until Grayson’s muttered, frustrated swearing pre-empted his hard arm clamping around her waist to pin her against him that she settled down to a few hours of sleep.
“I’ll head out shortly and get back to you.” Snapping the phone shut, he nodded toward the full pot of coffee. “I refilled it when I heard you moving around. I’m sorry,” he said, coming around the counter to drop his mouth onto hers for a quick kiss. “Today was my day off, but Caden called to tell me a neighboring rancher spotted the same truck Connor went after. I need to get their statement, but it won’t take me long.”
“No problem. I planned to go into town anyway and pick up a few things. I’m… not sure if I’ll be back before I go to the diner.” Avery held her breath, praying he didn’t read more into her plans than she wanted him to. She needed to put space between them, figure out how to keep her heart from crumbling when she returned to her life in Chicago, or went back on the run. The best she could figure, those would be her only two options once IA finished their investigation and Grayson informed her he’d done all he could.
“I’d rather you returned here by early afternoon and let me drive you back to work. The forecast calls for snow by then and you suck at driving in bad weather.” He softened his criticism with a teasing smile that didn’t erase the doubt darkening his eyes.
“Thanks to you, I have snow tires, so I should be fine.” She averted her eyes and inched around him, turning her back on his scrutinizing gaze.
“But, because it concerns your safety, which falls under my control, you’ll do as I suggest, won’t you, sugar?”
She whipped her head around as she reached for the coffee pot, the implacable, hard edge to his tone a sure sign he wouldn’t back down. A curl of resentment festered inside her as she thought of him moving on to the next submissive woman who caught his eye after he finished with her. Avery tamped down the urge to lash out, which would get her nowhere, shrugging with an evasive reply as she poured her coffee. “I should be done by then. I hope you get another lead on those rustlers this morning.”
“We’ll get them; it’s just a matter of time.” Snatching his Stetson off a hook by the door, Grayson stepped out with a parting shot that heated Avery from head to toe even as it sent a ripple of unease slithering down her spine. “I’ll introduce your ass to both sides of my hairbrush if I don’t see you back here in a few hours.”
“That’s just wrong,” she mumbled, her buttocks clenching and her pussy spasming as she imagined how the bristles on his brush would feel scraping over skin reddened after he applied the wooden side. “Huh, it might be worth it to ignore his order, in more ways than one.”
Chapter 13
Chad Banks pulled the pickup rental into a parking space in front of the Willow Springs library and cut the engine, turning to his partner as Darren warned him for the umpteenth time, “Remember, don’t go off half-cocked so people will recall the two strangers in town after she disappears.”
Gritting his teeth, he snapped, “If you had listened to me in the first place, we wouldn’t have to make this desperate attempt to track her down and take her out. We could have planted evidence in her apartment right after she fled and led IA right to her.”
“So sue me. I never thought the bitch would have the guts to do anything with just a few suspicious files, let alone managing to attain more.” Opening the passenger side door, Darren slid out and looked up and down the quiet street with a sneer. “If she is here, or has been since getting that ticket, someone should have seen her. People in small towns like this are up in everybody’s business since there’s not a God damned thing else to do. Call or text me if you get a lead and then we’ll come up with a plan.”
Chad didn’t wince when Darren slammed the door in frustration and stomped into the small library in the town’s center square. As far as hubbubs went, his partner was right; the cobbled street and covered sidewalks running in front of the hundred-year-old buildings housing a mixture of city offices and small shops presented an idyllic picture of Hometown, USA. Like Darren, he would take the crowds, noise and traffic of the big city to this nauseating blast from the past of life back in the fifties. Yanking his coat around him, he stepped out into the cold bite of fresh mountain air he appreciated no more than he did Avery Pierce’s jeopardizing interference into their tidy, profitable enterprise.
Thirty minutes later, as the first soft snowflakes started falling, Chad left the mercantile no closer to subtly unearthing any knowledge of Avery than when he’d first started out. With his head tucked down against the damp weather, he trudged toward the corner diner, intending to text Darren as soon as he sat down. Thinking about getting something hot to eat and what plan B could be, he wasn’t paying attention and bumped into someone exiting a tea shop.
“Sorry.” He looked into a pair of blue eyes that showed an immediate spark of interest as a slow smile curled the attractive blonde’s full mouth.
“Oh, absolutely no problem, sir.” Cocking her head, she gave him an easy opening to pry for information. “You’re not from around here. Can I help you with something?”
“As a matter of fact, maybe you can,” he answered, tired of tiptoeing around people for information and getting nowhere. “I’m looking for my… sister,” he improvised on the fly. “She took off a few weeks ago after a fight with her boyfriend and my parents are worried sick about her. The last time I spoke with her, she mentioned staying in a small town outside of Billings.” Pulling out the only picture Darren had of him and Avery, Chad showed it to the young woman whose expression hardened as she looked at it.
Much to his delight, she proved to be lousy at hiding her knowledge of and animosity toward Avery. Fucking perfect, he thought with satisfaction as she answered with a calculated gleam replacing the friendly light in her gaze.
“She’s here. Works at the diner and lives above it.” She pointed right to where Chad had been heading to next. “I hope you find her. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see someone from home. She doesn’t fit in well around here. Sorry if that offends you.” Handing back the picture, her expression said she was anything but sorry.
Chad knew his smile revealed elation at her reply and didn’t care. “That doesn’t surprise me. Thanks for your help.”
Cassie watched the tall, good-looking stranger stroll toward the diner at a fast pace, delighted at the opportunity to rid herself of Master Grayson’s new interest. It was unlike her favorite Dom to spend so much monogamous time with one sub, and she’d never known him to be interested in such an inexperienced, naïve one. It had irritated the hell out of her when he’d turned his back on her desire to hook up with him again, and the more he did it, the more time and undivided attention he lavished on the mousy nerd, the more annoyed she’d become.
She never did take kindly to being told no. But now she’d gotten a little payback. She only wished the stupid interloper would know it was she who had informed Avery’s family about her whereabouts that with any luck, would result in her being hauled back home, where she belonged. Far away from here and out of Cassie’s way.
Chad was pulling out his phone as he neared the diner when he spotted an older sedan coming around from behind the building. Even from a distance, he recognized Avery’s pulled back hair and black-framed glasses. Fearing losing this chance, he snapped his phone shut and dashed back to the truck parked across the street. With no plan in mind, he hopped behind the wheel and whipped around to follow her, the thrill of a chase mingling with anger that had been festering inside him these past weeks.
The snow fell thicker now, but still soft enough not to cause problems on the roads yet as they both picked up speed once she hit the highway leading out of town. Wondering where she was headed and hoping for a chance to pull her over and snatch her, he set aside his frustration and stayed a safe distance behind for now.
Avery clutched the steering wheel tighter, her breath burning in her throat as dread clawed at her abdomen. She would never forget the instant, icy fear that had gripped her the moment she’d glanced out the diner’s front window and spotted Darren’s partner, Chad talking to Cassie, or the satisfaction etched on her nemesis’ face as she pointed toward the diner. The heartbreak over Cassie’s cruel words last night that she’d been struggling with all morning took a backseat to the sudden need for not only Grayson’s protection, but the comfort his nearness always seemed to envelop her in. She’d known last night her feelings went beyond sexual pleasure and had seeped into her soul, and the trust he’d been asking for is what gave her the nerve to flee back to him without a thought as soon as she’d seen Chad’s threatening presence.
His sexual interest in her might be temporary but she trusted in his friendship and offer of protection enough to believe he would set aside his irritation with her for not returning before the snow started as he’d instructed. She hadn’t counted on Chad seeing her and following. Jitters danced over her skin and nausea churned as she glanced in the rearview mirror again and saw the truck continuing to barrel down on her despite the snow now falling harder. As she neared the turnoff leading to Grayson’s house, she prayed she was wrong, and that wasn’t him, but when she chanced another quick look back, Avery knew with sickening clarity she was in trouble. With the truck now riding her bumper, she could clearly make out Chad’s cold, determined face
.
“Oh, God,” she gasped, slowing only enough to make the turn before the jarring impact coming from behind sent her careening toward a stand of snow-blurred trees. A cry wrenched from her throat as she struggled to control the inevitable impact and prayed Grayson would once again prove to be her miracle out of another untenable position.
