by Susan Stoker
Claire cupped his cheek and tipped his head up so she could see his face. “How on earth did you find me? I thought for sure I was on my own.”
“We tracked your cell phone.”
“Oh my God, my cell phone.” For some reason she pulled out of his arms and went on her knees on the seat and riffled around in the back. When she plopped down again, with a sigh, she had her cell phone clutched in her hands. “The bastard took it from me.”
Suddenly he had the burning desire to get her the hell out of this truck. “Come on. Let’s go to the cruiser. Your brothers will want to see you’re okay.”
She blinked. “They’re here? Both of them?”
“Can you imagine one of them staying behind?”
“No.” She laughed and grabbed her purse. As he escorted her to the other car, he saw Henry leading Dustin back to the road. Turdblossom was handcuffed and limping, but in Charlie’s professional opinion, not limping enough. It was also a relief to see the lights of the other cruisers heading toward them from the small town of Vega.
Henry and his compatriots could wrap this up. All he wanted was to get Claire home and safe and into his bed…where she belonged.
As they approached Henry’s car, a cacophony from the vehicle captured his attention. His gaze stalled on Cade and Cody, there in the back, and he barked a laugh. He’d completely forgotten about them. Since they were in the rear seat, where the perps usually sat, they couldn’t get out of the car without assistance. They were clearly annoyed about this.
So Charlie stopped Claire, right in the headlights, turned her around and pulled her into his arms.
“So you love me?” he asked. It didn’t hurt to be sure.
“Of course I do.”
“A lot?”
She narrowed her eyes. “More than I should.”
Her expression made him chuckle. “Why do you say that?”
“Because you drive me crazy.” Then she added as an afterthought, “Oh, and you give me tickets.”
That old chestnut? “I’ve only given you one ticket.”
“But you could have given me a warning instead.”
“I can give you a warning now…” He infused his tone with a wicked, dominant thrum. Her eyes widened as she caught his meaning.
She arched against him. “You are a naughty boy to say such things with my brothers watching.”
“They’re trapped in there.”
“What?”
“They can’t get out unless we let them out.”
Her smile blossomed. “Well, that is promising.”
It was.
“So you’re going to marry me?” he asked, just to hear it again.
She frowned. “I said I would.”
“Excellent. That’s all I wanted to know,” he murmured. And then he lowered his head and he kissed her.
He kissed her long and hard, right there in full view of her brothers.
It was a glorious, perfect moment.
Their bellows only enhanced his delight.
The End
If you loved Charlie and Claire, check out Crystal and Ford in The Real McCoy, Cade and Lisa in Come Hell or High Water and the coming full length story featuring Logan Landry and Hanna Stevens in Stud for Hire, Coming from Berkley Intermix in August. Porsche’s story, Cowboy to Command is coming soon, and watch for the 3rd full length novel in the Stripped Down series, Spurred On.
About the Author
Her Royal Hotness, Sabrina York, is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of hot, humorous stories for smart and sexy readers. Her titles range from sweet & sexy to scorching romance. Visit her webpage at www.sabrinayork.com to check out her books, excerpts and contests.
For more information, or to connect with Sabrina, visit SabrinaYork.Com
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Books by Sabrina York
CONTEMPORARY
Stand Alone
Heartbreak on a Stick (Contemporary Romance)
Pool Man (Sexy Vacation Debacle)
Whipped (Contemporary Romance)
Fierce (One Night Stand, Decadent Publishing)
Snow Angels (Calendar Men Series from Decadent Publishing)
Stone Hard SEALs—Action Adventure Romance
Stone Hard SEALs (Action-Packed Military Romance Duet)
Guard Dog (Stone Hard SEALs/Hot SEALs Crossover)
Herding Cat (Stone Hard SEALs/Hot SEALs Crossover)
Hot Rod (Omega Team)
Stripped Down Cowboys (And Prequel Novellas)
Stud For Hire, Book 1
Cowboy to Command, Book 2
Spurred On, Book 3
Prequel Novellas
The Real McCoy Prequel Book 1
Come Hell or High Water Prequel Book 2
Protect and Serve—Cowboy Justice 12 Pack Prequel Book 3
Tryst Island Series—Steamy Contemporary Romance
Rebound Book 1
Dragonfly Kisses Book 2
Smoking Holt Book 3
Heart of Ash Book 4
Devlin’s Dare Book 5
Parker’s Passion Book 6
REGENCY
Stand Alone
Tarnished Honor
Untamed Highlanders!
Hannah and the Highlander Book 1
Susana and the Scot Book 2
Lana and the Laird Book 3
The Dundragon Time Travel Trilogy
Laird of her Heart Book 1
Her Hot Highlander Book 2 (Coming Soon)
His Highland Lass Book 3 (Coming Soon)
COLLECTIONS
Historical
Luscious—Seven Nights of Sin (Regency)
Cowboys
The Real McCoy—Cowboy 12 Pack
Come Hell or High Water—12 Alarm Cowboys
Protect and Serve—Cowboy Justice 12 Pack
Elite Metal/Action Adventure
Lithium’s Rescue—Elite Metal Ghosts
Sterling’s Seduction—Elite Metal Collection
Badge and a Saddle
Randi Alexander
‡
Chapter One
‡
Rex Tarrow set his badge, gun, and keys on the night table next to his bed and sat down, still fully clothed, on the mattress behind him. Dropping his head to his hands, he fisted his fingers in his black hair, which had needed a cut for the last two weeks.
This missing persons case. It had consumed him, kept him awake nights, drew his attention away from his other duties during the day. Nothing about it made sense. Doctor Mina Cooper, an astronomer at the U of Texas, way down in Austin. Why would a woman like her—single, young, beautiful—go on a turkey hunt on a ranch outside of Fort Worth, and then disappear? The woman was a friggin’ vegetarian.
The neighbor’s dog barked right outside his window. Three in the morning, and the damn thing was outside? This city living was not easy to get used to. He missed the wide-open spaces and lazy quiet of Wild Oak County. Here, his neighbor’s fence ran a foot away from the side of his house.
A beam of light flashed through the room. It had to be the guy next door. Was that raccoon after the garbage cans again?
Rex stood, even though every muscle, tendon, and bone in his body told him to lie down and get some sleep. Hell, what would one more night without rest matter? He trudged down the hall toward the back of the house as footsteps clomped up the steps.
“It’s Jeb from next door.” The man’s gruff voice nearly rattled the pane of glass out of the door and his flashlight beam caught Rex in the face.
Shielding his eyes, he pulled open the door. “What’s going on, Jeb?”
The neighbor’s
flashlight redirected to a woman’s face, partially shielded by blonde hair and…sunglasses? She held up her hands at her shoulders as if in surrender.
“The lady here, she says you know her.” Jeb shifted his shotgun away from its deadly aim at her back.
Tipping her head up, she stretched to her full height of nearly six feet, just a few inches shorter than Rex.
He snapped on the porch light as she removed her glasses.
“Holy fu…” Rex had to swallow. Twice.
Dr. Mina Cooper stood right in front of him, living, breathing, and lifting an eyebrow at him. “Are you gonna keep a girl standing on the back porch all night?”
Jeb looked around her, peering into Rex’s face. “Ya know her or not?”
“Yeah, I know her.” Rex reached out and wrapped his hand around her arm, feeling more bone than muscle through the long sleeve of her black sweatshirt. “Come on in, sweetheart. You’re here to apologize, huh?” The words just flowed out of him, while his brain kept speculating over her presence at his house.
Jeb chuckled and walked away.
Rex guided her into the house, shut the door, and closed the curtains on the window. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She deflated like a popped balloon.
Rex put an arm around her and helped her onto the bench. “I didn’t know what else to do.” Tipping up her face, Mina blinked away the tears that made her sky-blue eyes glow in the low light. “You have to help me.”
He scratched the side of his head. “Why me? Why not go to a police station?”
Wrapping her arms around herself, she shook her head. “I can’t trust that the Austin PD and your police department aren’t in this together.”
“In what together?” Was he missing something in his exhaustion, or was she talking in circles?
She doubled over with a groan. “Can I use your bathroom?”
“Uh, yeah. Are you alright?” He took her thin arm in his hand and helped her up, walking her toward the bathroom door.
“I get nauseous when I run too far.” She grasped the doorframe and made her way to the toilet, pulling off the blonde wig to reveal short, choppy red hair.
Rex closed the door, giving her privacy. “Yell if you need anything.” No wonder they hadn’t spotted her, despite the APB out on her. Her photo showed long, deep-red hair.
He stepped back a few feet, but still heard retching noises. She’d been running? How far was too far? She’d been missing from Austin for five days, from the turkey hunt for three. She couldn’t have been on foot since she’d come to Tarrant County. Could she?
The sound of water running in the sink snapped him into action. He grabbed his small notebook and pen and started writing his questions for her.
Mina opened the door and stepped out. “Thanks. Sorry.” She carried her wig and glasses in one hand.
Rex looked down at her jeans and running shoes. From her knees down, she was covered with dirt.
“Hey, no problem. Drop by any time.” He gestured toward the living room.
She gave a half-smile and tottered that way, flopping down onto the couch and dropping her head back. “Can I just have ten minutes to sleep? Then I’ll answer all…your…que…” Her breathing went deep and the wig and glasses fell to the floor.
Rex just stared. This was something completely new, unexpected. Of course, almost everything dealing with missing persons was new to him. He’d only been a detective for a few months. Working his way up from patrol cop to vice cop in three years, he’d aced his detective exam and had fast-tracked to Missing Persons. Homicide was his ultimate goal, but he’d take his time and earn that.
He shook his head and sat in his recliner. She didn’t care about his history, but somehow she knew he was a clean cop, and was one of the team searching for her.
“How the hell did you know that, Doctor?” He whispered the words, then wrote a few more questions in his notebook, including, How did you find out where I live?
Should he contact his partner? Sontag had been in the unit for eight years, and knew what he was doing, but she’d mentioned corrupt cops in Austin and DFW. How much did he trust his partner? The guy was lazy and unprofessional, but dirty? Not likely.
She cried out softly, and he got up, pulling the blanket off the back of his chair and covering her with it. Mina stood six feet tall, but her weight looked to be a barely healthy one-hundred-forty pounds. Pretty, though, with her pale skin, a few freckles on her cheeks and nose, and a decent set of round, maybe C-cup…
“Shit.” He turned away and walked into the kitchen. Creepy cop, staring at her like she was flirting with him in a bar instead of passed out on his couch. He opened the refrigerator. A box of pizza from three days ago, some lunch meat, but she was a vegetarian. In the cheese drawer, he pulled out a block of cheddar. It looked a little green on the edges.
He cut off the bad parts and sliced the rest of the cheese, set it on a plate with some crackers and an apple that had been lurking in the back corner of the refrigerator. Grabbing a bottle of water, he stepped quietly into the living room.
She hadn’t moved.
He put her snack on the table next to her and looked back toward the bathroom. Why hadn’t he thought of it earlier? He must have been in shock, and it felt like he still was. He grabbed a new toothbrush and travel-size toothpaste and put that next to her plate.
Rex went back to his notebook, filling up five pages before she coughed and made a smacking noise with her mouth, then jerked and looked around.
“How long was I out?”
“About ten minutes. You’re safe, Doctor.” He gestured to the table next to her. “Have a freshen-up, a snack, then I’m going to ask you about fifty questions.
“Sure.” She nodded and sat forward. “Thank you for this.” She blinked at him. “You wouldn’t have any tea, would you?”
Rex snorted. “Do I look like the kind of guy who has tea in his house?”
*
Mina pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. Was it just the relief of finally feeling safe after so many days on the run, so many sleepless nights hiding?
He groaned and got out of his big recliner. “I’ll check.”
Tall, black-haired, black-eyed, and tanned-skinned, Rex Tarrow had a sterling reputation in his department, according to the records she’d accessed. After meeting him, her intuition substantiated her decision to ask him for help. He was the one person she’d risk trusting with her life, but it was still a risk. He may not be as squeaky-clean as he appeared on paper.
Watching him walk away was a pleasure, and one that surprised her, considering her current status. Long legs and a nice ass encased in worn jeans. Mina grabbed the toothbrush and toothpaste, then stood and followed him as far as the kitchen door. His wide shoulders and big arms in a white T-shirt struck her as super sexy. She’d spotted a bedroom just down the hall…
Wow, had the stress and sleepless nights finally made her lose touch with reality? She let herself take a moment to watch him stretch to dig through cabinets looking for tea for her. He was one perfect example of a man.
Mina walked down the hall to the bathroom. The house looked old and dated, but well maintained. The neighborhood wasn’t the best in the city though, and she’d had some doubts as she ran through the streets and alleys. Was a detective’s salary so skimpy that he had to live in such a marginal area?
She loaded the toothbrush and stuck it in her mouth, then wandered to the back entryway. A few photos on the wall caught her attention. Rex as a teen with a smiling older man in a law officer’s uniform. She couldn’t see the patches.
Another one showed three men in light-brown camo in the desert, holding their helmets and guns, all smiling. She looked closer. Was that Rex? Wow, short, nearly shaven hair, his skin even darker than it appeared now.
“Marines.” He walked up behind her, silent in his stocking feet.
She jumped and goobed some toothpaste onto her chin.
“Sorry
, Doctor.” He held up a steaming cup with a teabag string hanging from one side. “I’ll set this next to the couch.”
“Thank you.” Her knees wobbled a little as she walked back to the bathroom and rinsed.
In the living room, she sat next to the food he’d kindly prepared for her.
Rex pulled a chair from the corner and set it close in front of her. As he sat, he opened his notebook. “I have some questions for you.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and set it on his thigh.
Panic roared through her. “You didn’t call anyone, did you?”
His brows drew down. “No. I’m going to record your answers.”
She chomped on a thick slice of cheese and washed it down with a swig of tea. “I’ll answer all your questions.” Her stomach rumbled and she paused, making sure nothing was reversing in there, then ate some of the crackers. “But we have to get out of here.”
His perfect black brows rose up on his forehead. “Why? What is going on?”
The sound of a car door closing made her jump. Her meal nearly came back up. “Is that—”
He held out a hand to quiet her, stood, and walked to the window, looking out through the side of the curtains toward the street. “Just the neighbors.” Turning, he cocked his head. “I’m assuming someone is looking for you, besides the authorities.”
Nodding, she ate as quickly as she could. She should have gotten them out of there within minutes of her arrival. What was she thinking? She was not safe yet. “The killers are the authorities, and they’re looking for me.”
That made him pause. “Killers?”
She finished everything on her plate, and stood with it in one hand and the cup of tea in the other. “I’ll tell you the whole story.” Or at least most of it. There were things he didn’t need to know. “But we have to leave. I got your address using a state database through the college, and it’s probably already been traced.”
He just shook his head. “Why me?”
Walking to the kitchen, she glanced longingly at the box of tea bags, then turned her back on them. There was no time for another cup.
“Take the tea bags with you, if you want.” He gestured to the box.
