Asha King

by Wild Horses

  A thump sounded downstairs and her heart leapt to her throat.

  “Dani!” Randy called, softer this time. “Come on...it’s gonna be okay. I love you—I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Pretty sure that’s exactly what crazy people say before they stab you. She bit her lip and winced as it stung from him hitting her in the car. She glanced. Let’s try door number one.

  Her steps ghosted down the hall. She made a right and slipped through the half-open door, into the bathroom. Once again, she scanned for a weapon and came up short. Nothing in the medicine cabinet, no old scissors or...

  The long metal towel rack drew her attention, old bolts sticking out of the wall.

  She gave it an experimental shake—it was loose. A crack over the skull might put him down for a bit, then she could grab his keys and return to the car.

  Good plan. Well, only plan.

  “Dani!” he shouted again downstairs.

  “Please don’t be loud, please don’t be loud,” she chanted in a whisper as she wrapped her hands around bar and fought to wiggle it loose. When it wouldn’t go any farther, she took a breath, braced, and yanked.

  The towel rack popped free but loudly, metal against metal screeching.

  Shit!

  Footsteps thumped up the stairs. Dani glanced around, then darted for the open doorway to the side, which led to a bedroom. If he went in the bathroom, she could slip back downstairs and outside, right?

  Although I’d feel safer if I hit him over the head first.

  She stepped softly toward the other end of the bedroom and pressed herself against the wall, scarcely drawing a breath as she peered through where the door was slightly ajar to reveal the hall beyond. The steps stopped for a moment, then started again, slow and measured. Randy walked by, his focus on the entrance to the bathroom next door.

  Rain hammered against the windows and the light streaking through the slats in the boards was dappled, water casting moving shadows across the floor. Dani tightened her grip on the bar and breathed deeply, fighting her thrumming pulse. Water slithered down her spine, T-shirt clinging and irritating her flesh. She waited—she just needed him about to reach the bathroom doorway and she could whack him once from behind.

  Randy moved closer to the bathroom.

  Count of three...open the door and run....one...two...

  “Dani!”

  The shout downstairs startled them both. Her heart seized, fingers trembling so much she thought she might drop the towel rack. Adam?

  Randy spun and headed back for the stairs. The sudden warm relief enveloping her went cold at the sight; he headed down the steps, abandoning his quest for her. She hadn’t seen a weapon on him, but the element of surprise could be a great equalizer.

  Randy was mid-way down the stairs, top of his head disappearing from sight as he descended. His steps matched Adam’s pace on the first level, noise disguised.

  “Dani?” Adam called again, voice echoing.

  She couldn’t see Randy anymore.

  With a breath she threw open the door and burst into the hallway—no sign of Randy. He must already be down there—fuck, Adam!

  “Adam!” she shouted, hoping it would distract Randy and send him back upstairs. She ran for the steps, weapon ready.

  Adam was at the bottom of the staircase, soaked through, eyes alighting and expression softening as he saw her. “Dani!”

  A fist collided against the back of his head before he could move to greet her, Randy stepping around the corner. Adam stumbled, slumped, blinked. He braced his hand on the steps for a moment before turning and swinging, cracking Randy across the chin.

  Dani clambered down the steps as the men grappled, heart fluttering, pulse seeming to throb painfully with fear. Adam punched hard but Randy wasn’t the one who got knocked on the back of the head to start with; his strikes were slightly slower, went slightly wider, and it took seconds for Randy to gain the upper hand. He got Adam on his back and sputtered as he delivered a knee to the ribs.

  “Randy!” she screamed and as he paused, turned, looked up at her and blinked, she swung the metal bar like a baseball bat.

  The towel rack hit, cracking him across the nose and knocking his head to the side. Blood arched from his nose, spraying the wall, and he fell forward, heaving out a painful breath.

  She flexed her fingers on the bar and brought it down on his back, right between the shoulder blades.

  Just for good measure.

  That knocked him flat and he thumped on the floor, barely moving. She stared at him a moment longer before going to Adam. He struggled his way up onto his elbows, face a bloody, bruised mess, and blinking against the swelling in his left eye.

  She dropped to her knees and scooped up his head, feeling the back where a bump was swelling. “Just be careful—you could have a concussion. Try to stay awake—”

  Movement caught her attention, Randy about to rise, a dark shape in her peripheral vision. She reached blindly for the bar again—

  But once again he went down, barking out a curse when he hit the floor; Tash Whitaker had her knee in his back and the barrel of her gun pressed to the top of his spine.

  She grinned at Dani. “This is going to be great for business.”

  Epilogue

  NEW POST: Published

  Hey there Dani-girls and Dani-boys!

  Well, you’ve all been waiting, I know. The two week countdown to Dani Dancing in Her Underwear: The Return.

  Usually I hate sequels. Never good as the original. But sometimes a story calls for it.

  I also hope you’ve enjoyed the past few weeks of posts chronicling my time as a farm hand. Yes, it’s all true. Yes, I’m just as bad at it as I claimed to be. And yes, the bruise on my foot after being stepped on has at last faded and I really don’t recommend traipsing about a farm in heels.

  I keep getting emails about the stalker-thing. That’s true too and while there’s legal shit going on, I’m not supposed to talk about it. So here’s me, NOT talking about it. But I will be blogging about the karate self defense classes I’m about to start taking because when being chased through a house by a guy much bigger than you who thinks you have some secret love affair, a towel rack should NOT be your only option.

  If you skipped the above to get to the video, hey there! tl;dr, stuff happened and I came home and I hope you like the new vid

  Love ya (in a platonic, non-stalker-encouraging kind of way)!

  ~Dani Girl

  Adam smiled wistfully for a moment at her flowery blog signature, a scrolling font with a daisy dotting the “i”.

  He missed her, there was no denying it He’d taken time every day to steal moments on Gus’s laptop to read what was going on with her and how she was coping. And, he admitted a little bit, to see what she said about the farm in her posts. True to form, she never mentioned him—except for occasional references to Hot Cowboy—and certainly didn’t breathe a word about his sister or those issues. The occasional photo she’d snapped of herself at the farm included with the posts and vlogs filmed in her room at night squeezed at his heart, for a moment stealing his breath and letting him remember what it was like to briefly have her there.

  Adam was in love with her. He admitted that to himself now. Not falling and not even in passing: the head over heels love song type.

  Country music was becoming a regular staple in his days now.

  Even though she’d stayed two extra days, splitting her time before visiting him in the hospital for a concussion and talking with police, he knew she couldn’t stay. This wasn’t her home.

  But he missed her still.

  He hit play on the video and waited for it to load, having been there waiting at 1:14 in the afternoon specifically for the post to go live—she’d had a countdown up for weeks and like the rest of her loyal followers, he’d been eagerly anticipating it. Even yesterday he’d run into Mark Goodwin, the large animal vet, who made a joke about how he should’ve asked for her autograph but hadn’t made t
he connection until later—he’d followed her blog for a year.

  The video buffering finished and film began to play, starting with a white screen. Then her smiling face appeared, apartment full of yellow sunlight. Her long black curls brushing around her shoulders from under a Stetson. This time her underwear was turquoise, more shorts than panties, with a matching tank top. A hairbrush was clutched in her hands as the music started.

  Immediately she started belting out—badly, of course—“Need You Now” like the first video, her charity one, twirling around and shaking her hips. He smiled absently, part of him liking to think she had him in mind when she did it.

  Especially when she got to the chorus and hit the mention of it being quarter after one; a glance at the desktop clock revealed it being 1:15.

  Gooseflesh ran down his arms, heart leaping for a moment. Did this mean...she wanted him to call her, maybe? Gus had her home number. And address. Surely he could find her...

  She continued crooning to the camera, staring straight at him. When the male vocalist began, she ceased singing and moved to the camera, reaching down to lift a stack of cue cards.

  HEY HOT COWBOY.

  His body froze over, not daring to even breathe.

  Her blue painted nails flashed as she flipped to the next card.

  GO TO THE FRONT DOOR.

  She cycled to the next while the song continued on.

  AND IF YOU DON’T, I’M GOING TO FEEL LIKE A DORK & THEN BE MAD ’CAUSE YOU DON’T READ MY BLOG.

  Adam bolted from the desk, the room, racing down the hall to the front door. He didn’t hesitate, just threw open the door.

  Dani stood in the gravel driveway, two feet from the front porch.

  He froze, staring. Blinking. Certain he was dreaming, but...

  Her hands were knotted behind her back and the Stetson kept the sun from her face. She was dressed casual, jeans and the turquoise tank top from the video. “So.”

  Adam continued to gape.

  “I was going to feel really stupid if you didn’t open the door—”

  He managed to shake himself from the shock of seeing her and stepped forward, down the porch steps. Relief touched her features, eyes softening. He didn’t pause, didn’t think, just scooped her up the moment he reached her, enjoying the familiar feel of her body against his. The Stetson slipped as she tilted her head up, hat falling back and hanging from the strap around her neck. Her mouth opened to his immediately, meeting his fierce kiss, her tongue darting out to sweep past his. His body heated, hardened, endorphins making him lightheaded just holding her again.

  She sighed contentedly as their lips parted. “Seriously, so relieved. You don’t even know. Gus said if you weren’t watching, he was going to casually say something later—”

  Hoof beats thundered in the distance and they both froze, glancing around.

  “He’s going for the grain!” Dewey shouted an instant before Bud came galloping around the side of the house.

  Dani squealed and tightened her arms around him, shutting her eyes.

  “I got it!” Carlee darted out, arms extended, and Bud slowed his approach. When he started to the left, she grasped his trailing lead, braced her feet against the dirt, and held on until Dewey joined her.

  Dani released her tight grip on Adam. “Okay, that never stops being scary.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. God help him, it was actually endearing now.

  “Hey!” Carlee said brightly as Dewey took Bud’s lead and swung onto the horse’s back.

  “You’re still here?” Dani blurted out.

  Carlee laughed and waved her left hand where a small diamond sparkled. “He finally put a ring on it. Takes trauma to make a man move sometimes.”

  Very slowly, Dani turned her gaze to Adam cautiously.

  “Not me,” he muttered, and nodded at Dewey.

  “Wow, I totally didn’t pick up on that.”

  Dewey turned Bud back for the field and Carlee followed.

  “Well.” Dani glanced back up at Adam. “Good surprise?”

  “I still can’t believe you’re here.” He tightened his embrace, as if that would make it seem more real and push away any lingering doubt.

  “You know...wild horses, can’t drag me away, yadda yadda. That whole deal. I was thinking you could give me some riding lessons.”

  He brushed the hair back from her face, fingertips trailing over her skin. “Western?”

  “I was kinda hoping for naked.”

  “I think that’s doable.”

  Looking for More Stirling Falls?

  Check out Sympathy for the Devil by Asha King

  Natasha Whitaker is a workaholic, putting in long hours to acclimate herself to the P.I. business in preparation to take over for her aging mentor. But the day after her boss’s retirement doesn’t bring the usual insurance fraud and cheating spouses: instead, a dead body shows up in a startling similar fashion to a home invasion cold case from years ago.

  Complicating matters is the return of Devin Archer—estranged husband of the original victim—to Stirling Falls. He was the prime suspect in the first case, though slipped away when there wasn’t enough evidence to prove his guilt. With bodies piling up the same time as his arrival, all eyes in town turn to him once again.

  Tash is hired by the brother of the first victim to keep tabs on Devin, a task she eagerly accepts. But she can’t help her attraction to this dark, potentially dangerous suspect, or deny the instant heat between them. Is Devin a broken man still suffering from the loss of his wife, or a cold-blooded killer setting his sights on Tash as his next victim?

  Coming Soon from Phaze Books!

  Also Available:

  Circle of Friends Series by Asha King

  Six friends. Three romances.

  Book One: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

  Book Two: Still In Love With You

  Book Three: Let’s Stay Together

  ****

  Near to You by Asha King

  Twenty-something divorcee Niara Morgan has moved back to her small hometown, buying a cottage on the lake where she hopes to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. In fixing the place up, her path crosses that of Brady Trewin, a friend from high school she hires to help. He’s grown up and filled out, but her difficult past keeps her from contemplating anything more than business.

  Brady has loved Niara for as long as he can remember, but long ago gave up the dream of ever seeing her again when she moved after graduation. He's saved up and is planning to finally leave his small town for good, just as she steps back into his life. One touch, one feel of her lips might get her out of his system...

  Although this near to her after so long, he might never want to let her go.

  About the Author

  Asha King likes good-looking men and hot books, and often strives to combine the two. She lives in the exotic land of Alberta, Canada, where she doesn’t ride a polar bear to work but does drink vast amounts of locally brewed beer and watches hockey.

  You can email her at Author.AshaKing@gmail.com, visit her on the web at www.midnightkisses.com/asha.html, and check out her blog at www.ashaking.blogspot.com.

  Find more Asha King books at www.phaze.com

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