Rescued by the Cowboy (WEST Protection Book 1)

by Em Petrova

  She snuggled against his shoulder once more. “I’m warm.”

  Fuck.

  No way in hell could he sleep, so he flipped through the emails. After reading through information on several of her coworkers, and seeing the same boring lives over and over, he had to wonder how a woman with a mind like Pippa’s managed to work with such duds. She must find herself yawning her way through conversations at the water cooler—unless they stood around discussing gene editing.

  Which they might. He and his family talked ranch life, didn’t they? Hell, at the last bonfire a few weeks back, he and the employees of WEST Protection kicked back with beers and talked over their cases long into the night.

  He was a dud too, it seemed. Older than his time for damn sure.

  He flipped to an email with an in-depth look at MIZR and all the executives of the board. He followed the trails down rabbit hole after rabbit hole, until he knew whose wife had slept with which director and who wintered in the Caribbean. What he didn’t find was a single person with a motive.

  Nobody with ties to another company looking to steal Pippa’s research. He shot off a text to his brother to send someone to start interrogating the staff at the lab.

  “Don’t you ever sleep?” Pippa’s question broke through his thoughts.

  He offered a tip of his lips in a gentle smile. “Speak for yourself, Hamlin.”

  She gave him a full smile in return. “What are you doing on your phone? I know you’re not crushing candy.”

  He grunted with amusement. “I’m investigating your workplace and everybody in it.”

  When she sat up straighter, her thigh brushed the length of his, shooting sparks of fire through every inch of his body. Just when he thought he was finished being aroused by his family friend, she did a small thing like move.

  “Did you find anything about them?”

  “No. That’s why I’m sending one of our team to question them.”

  Her mouth fell open into a perfect O…and he refused to think about what would fit inside that opening.

  Fuck, he just did.

  She wet her lips, making his pain worse.

  “Won’t that alert whoever it is that we’re on to them?”

  “Exactly. People slip up more when they get scared.”

  She leaned forward, dropping her face into her hands. She scrubbed them over her face and raked her fingers through her hair, freeing the scent that’d been driving him crazy all day. Two days? Hell, he’d lost track.

  All he knew was if he sat here with her much longer, he couldn’t account for his actions.

  He reached behind him for the door handle. “Time to start the truck.”

  * * * * *

  Pippa swallowed down another blueberry bar and then extended her cold fingers toward the heating vents. Ross had the engine running and the heat blasting while he cleared the snow off the truck.

  The long hours of the night provided little sleep but strangely she didn’t mind the exhaustion.

  Maybe it was sugar rushing through her veins…or time spent with Ross.

  She wished her girlhood crush hadn’t risen from the depths of her soul to torment her, but she liked him more than ever. After she was safe and they parted ways, she’d have to wait another decade before seeing him again or risk making an ass of herself.

  Everything about the man appealed to her from the way he wore his Stetson pulled low over his eyes to the way he drawled certain words. And don’t get her started about that moment when he’d cupped her face.

  She couldn’t make out his reason for doing such a thing, and her insides still fluttered from the impact of the look in his eyes.

  When she reached for the box of blueberry bars again, she found a lone bar in the bottom. She started to unwrap it and drew it to her lips. Ross opened the driver’s door and wind blasted in.

  He glanced at the bar in her hand. “Got one for me?”

  She swallowed hard. “Uh…this is the last one.”

  Dropping into the seat, he slammed the door and stared at her. “You ate the whole box?”

  “It was a small box.”

  “But you ate them all.”

  “You said staying hydrated is most important.” She knew she wasn’t making sense, and her argument was trash.

  His eyes widened, and the green depths burned her to the seat. An inferno rushed into her belly and settled between her thighs.

  “Gimme a bite.” The command came off with those drawled syllables she’d started asking herself if she could live without.

  She held the bar out of his reach.

  Or so she thought.

  Ross had long arms—long enough to swipe out a hand and pluck the bar from her fingers. A squeak of surprise escaped her as she watched him bring it to his lips.

  Either hunger kicked in or an extreme sense of competition. She threw herself at him. He moved the bar, but not in time—she closed her jaws over it, ripping off the top half.

  “You little…” He gaped at her in shock while she chewed. He was so distracted that hardly an eyelash flickered as she took the bar from his hand and stuffed the rest in her mouth.

  Jaw gaping, he shook his head. “Who knew you’d ever battle a man for the last blueberry bar?”

  “I was hungry. You don’t want to see me when I get beyond hungry. It’s not pretty.” She offered him a smile but that fell away as he lunged for her again.

  He trapped her against the passenger door with his big body looming over hers. A wall of heat and strength pressed her down. When he looked into her eyes, she sucked in a breath.

  In a swift move, he stamped his lips on hers.

  It wasn’t a quick, chaste peck but a hard demand of his lips. Need flooded her. She started to gasp, but he withdrew two inches, still staring at her.

  “Wh…what was that for?” she whispered.

  His eyes creased in a smile. “I at least wanted a taste.”

  He plopped into his seat again and gripped the wheel. During the night, a plow had cleared some of the snow on the road, and while flakes still fell fast, they were smaller and the wind wasn’t blowing as much.

  As they pulled onto the road, she gaped at what Ross had just done. Wanted a taste? Of the blueberry…or of her?

  The latter had her core coiling with desire and her pussy squeezed in response.

  After all these years of crushing on Ross Wynton, she’d finally gotten her kiss.

  Staring at him for several miles didn’t offer her any clues as to why he’d done it. She wished she knew what was going on in his head.

  If she had another bar, she’d tempt him a second time.

  Being on the road for the umpteenth hour reminded her how grungy she felt. She hadn’t brushed her teeth. And squatting on the roadside to relieve herself after ‘staying hydrated’ didn’t count as using a bathroom.

  “How far until the next stop?”

  “Twenty miles or so. There’s a gas station at the bottom of the mountain.” He tossed her a look. “You still hungry?”

  “I might be.” Though she’d never been sassy in her life, Ross drew it out of her.

  His dimple was her reward. As was the tingle lingering in her lips from his kiss.

  She analyzed the shocking caress for the entire ride, replaying it over and over and wondering if she’d reacted in a way that put him off or egged him on.

  By the time she spotted the stop with a gas station and diner, relief struck that she could spend a few minutes away from Ross. He plucked at her nerves—heartstrings too—until she chimed with a melody of confusion and desire, neither of which she knew how to handle in such close proximity to the cowboy bodyguard.

  “I’m surprised so many people are out today.” She pointed to the full parking lot.

  He slowed but stopped short of the commitment to turn in.

  “Aren’t we stopping?”

  “I don’t like the crowd there.”

  The road zipped by. “Well, how far until the next stop?”


  “Two hours barring we don’t hit more bad weather.”

  The thought of waiting two more hours for a real restroom facility where she could wash her face and brush her teeth made her groan internally.

  “I’m sure it’s safe. Nobody attacked us back at the last truck stop.”

  “You attacked me,” he said.

  “Because you were skulking around the bathroom door!”

  “First you said I was lurking. Now I’m skulking. If you really need to stop, wait ’til you see the level of protection I provide in this place.”

  What had she gotten herself into?

  He parked at the end, farther from all the other trucks and SUVs in the lot. She started to get out, and he told her to wait.

  So she sat there like a child waiting for her parent to come unbuckle her from the car seat. When he opened her door and helped her down, she discovered just how stiff her muscles were from being cramped in a truck all night.

  “Okay?” He took her elbow.

  She nodded. “I just need to stretch my legs.”

  Two people exited the convenience store, and he reached around his back. A shiver of awareness took hold of her—he carried a weapon.

  He led her the long way around the lot, which gave her a chance to walk the stiffness out of her legs, but she got a feeling he was doing it to keep her safe.

  When they located the restroom, fear suddenly surged inside her. She stared at the closed door.

  Ross placed his mouth to her ear. “You don’t think I’m going to let you go in alone, do you?” After dropping that bombshell, he shoved the door open and swept a look over the room like one of those cops she saw on TV.

  One other stall door was closed and the tinkling sound of the woman peeing reached Pippa.

  “You can’t come in,” she whispered hotly. “It’s an invasion of privacy!”

  “Your safety comes first.”

  She’d been attacked in a restroom in a crowded public place. Maybe Ross was right. She didn’t relish the thought of someone coming at her again.

  He remained frozen to his spot. It was either use the facilities with him standing there or go along the roadside again, this time with cars driving past.

  She looked him in the eye. He arched a brow.

  In a huff, she whirled and strode to the stall. She slammed it a little too hard and locked it. When she heard the other woman in the restroom issue an exclamation, she knew she’d encountered Ross.

  “Pervert!”

  Pippa heard a thump and her heart rocketed into her throat. Then she heard Ross drawl, “Ma’am.”

  Pippa could just see him thumbing the brim of his hat and offering his dimpled Wynton charm to the poor woman as she washed her hands and scurried out.

  Pippa hovered over the seat.

  Long seconds passed.

  “Ross.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t…go…with you standing there listening.”

  “Well, I’m not leaving. How ’bout this?” A hand dryer roared to life. Then another and another.

  Seconds later, she emerged from the stall, and she ducked her head to hide the heat in her face. He watched her as she washed her hands and waited while she dried them.

  So much for changing her clothes. Or brushing her teeth. She’d have to do that in the parking lot with a bottle of water.

  She slanted a look at him. “That was uncomfortable.”

  “But you’re safe.”

  She couldn’t argue with that fact.

  “What did that lady hit you with?”

  “Her purse.” Amusement teased his lips.

  She bit back a smile as they left the restroom with him acting like a wolf guarding his dinner from the rest of the pack as they approached the food counter.

  She hated that she’d lost her purse. She’d never gotten around to setting up an electronic wallet to pay on her cell phone, and now she regretted it because the menu boasted a big, juicy burger that her mouth watered for.

  Peeing with Ross within earshot was embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as having no money and wanting a burger.

  He took her arm in a protective hold and led her to the clerk. “Two o’ those loaded burgers.”

  Pippa blinked. How did he know she was craving that burger?

  “Everything on them?” the kid at the register asked.

  “Yup. Fries too. And two o’ those apple pies.”

  Her stomach burned with hunger that even an entire box of blueberry bars couldn’t touch.

  “To go,” Ross added and paid with cash.

  She noted how he kept tabs on every person surrounding them. Also, how he angled his body in a certain fashion…like he was prepared to take a bullet for her.

  She stared at his handsome profile, focused on his hard lips and remembering the feel of them on hers.

  When they had the food bag in hand and started across the parking lot, Ross tossed several looks behind him.

  “You’re making me edgy. Why are you looking around like that?”

  “Just have a feeling is all.”

  “A feeling?” Her boot slipped on some ice and she almost face-planted, but he caught her and pulled her into his side.

  Something bit her leg. Or stung it.

  She screamed in surprise even as her mind landed on the fact it was winter and all the bees were hibernating. In the parking lot, other people screamed. She heard an engine rev as though gearing up to escape.

  Next thing she knew, she was in Ross’s arms. His boots thudded on the icy pavement and he shoved her between two vehicles.

  “What the—” she started to say and then saw his reason for spiriting her away.

  Two tall men in black wearing black ski masks to conceal their identity came at them, one with a weapon raised.

  The pain in her calf—that sting—had come from a bullet.

  She’d been shot.

  She couldn’t glance away from Ross to check the sticky blood she felt on her leg. One man ran forward, and the other fired on them.

  A shriek bottled in her throat. Her head spun with terror that froze her in place as if a winter king had prodded her with his fingertip and stopped her in her tracks.

  She couldn’t let Ross handle two men at once.

  With a war cry, she threw herself forward. But her injured leg couldn’t launch her into the jumping strike she intended to snap her attacker’s neck.

  She crumpled to the ground, barely catching herself before her cheek hit the ice. Ross shoved her behind him as he tore his weapon from the waist of his jeans. His shot rang out.

  A thump sounded, and a man fell feet from her. Blood bloomed on the ice, but his staring eyes told her all she needed to know.

  Ross struck the second attacker with a swing of his fist. When he slammed into the frozen pavement, she checked her scream of horror. More thudding noises landed in her ears as Ross pummeled the man on the ground next to her.

  She clawed her way to a sitting position. Breathing hard and fast, she used the SUV beside her to pull herself up. A haze of shock froze her in place, the only things registering were Ross’s grunts and the thump of his fists against flesh. She stared at Ross’s back as he delivered blow after blow to the man on the ground.

  “Ross!” She stumbled forward. “Stop!”

  His ski mask had peeled back to reveal most of his slack face.

  “He’s unconscious!”

  Ross grunted and then kicked him one more time with enough strength to ensure the man urinated blood for a month. Then panting, fists curled, he turned to look at her.

  She balanced on her good leg, chest heaving.

  Ross’s eyes still blazed with fury, and in that strangely still second, with snowflakes swirling around them, she saw everything the man was capable of.

  Chapter Six

  Rule number one: Always have an escape plan.

  Don’t engage in a shootout and leave your ward unguarded was a close second.

  He�
��d broken both rules.

  And worse, he’d kissed her. He might as well turn the company over to Boone to run and Ross could return to something he was actually good at—ranching.

  “What do we do?” Pippa’s hot whisper reverberated with terror.

  “I’ve got plastic in the back of the truck.”

  Her eyes flared wide. “You can’t be serious! We can’t take them with us! You have to call the police!”

  He knew she was right. But he was still staring through a red haze that marred the snowy white world with his rage. His pulse hammered with it. His stomach clenched with it. He would kill every single man who came after Pippa, and he’d fight dirty.

  “Ross!” She stumbled toward him, and he dropped his gaze to her calf. Blood soaked her jeans in a dark stain.

  His fury retreated enough for his training to kick in again. Leaving the bodies for travelers to come across wasn’t ideal, but getting Pippa safe came first.

  He lifted her and ran to the truck, swinging his head right and left and tossing glances over each shoulder. He got her into the truck and met her gaze.

  “I’m going to cut open the hole in your jeans and look at your wound.”

  She bit down on her lip but nodded.

  After pulling out his pocketknife, he sliced the denim. His balls shriveled at the sight of the deep gouge in her leg—then relief flooded in that the bullet only nicked her.

  “The bullet just grazed you. You’re bleeding a lot, but it’s starting to clot already. Are you okay for the moment?”

  She slumped in the seat, head in her hands. “Yes.”

  Jumping behind the wheel, he tossed her his phone and told her his passcode. “Call Josiah and tell him what happened. Tell him to get the state police here immediately and inform him we’re getting back on the highway.”

  “We’re getting back on the highway?” Her voice pitched higher with every word.

  He backed out of the parking space and all the way across the lot to where the attackers lay. One still breathed, though Ross had made damn sure he’d never reproduce.

  He reached across her and popped the glove compartment, locating a burner phone. “Stay here. Don’t unlock the doors. If you hear anything, do not get out. You hear me, Pippa?” His cutting tone gave him what he needed from her—a nod of agreement.