by Zoey Marcel
“Hey, it’s okay. The flight attendant is gonna bring you some snacks, and I’ve got some beef jerky and nuts in my bag. It’s not much, but it should tide you over ’til we land.” He kissed the top of her head and held her close. “When we get to Sioux Falls, I’ll stuff you full of so much food you’ll resent me.”
“Thank you. You’re so wonderful.” She nuzzled against him, eyes closed and milking the tears from her ducts. “I’m so glad I met you.”
He glided his hand over her back in a soothing rub. “I’m glad I met you, too.”
She wasn’t sure why he would be so grateful for meeting her. He hadn’t exactly gotten anything out of this, except, of course, for that kiss. Still, it was sweet of him to say.
In a matter of hours, she would be home in McKenna Downs, South Dakota…for better or worse.
* * * *
Gavin Donnelly answered his cell phone and kept walking. “Yeah?”
“We didn’t find her,” Buzz said. “Not sure if she got on a plane or chickened out at the last minute and fled the airport on foot.”
“Keep looking.”
“Why didn’t you just kill her right away instead of shitting around and locking her up?”
“I had my reasons. Get back to work.”
“Want me to send somebody over to take care of the bitch that helped her escape?”
Gavin stood outside the apartment complex his cleaning lady lived in. “No. You two keep searching for Danielle. I’ll take care of Deb.”
He hung up, sticking his cell phone in his pocket. He strode into the building with confidence and a nonchalance that would in no way arouse suspicion. Stepping into the vacant elevator, he waited until the door closed before reaching into his other pocket and pulling out a pair of black suede gloves. They, too, wouldn’t give cause for fright when they looked so fashionable with his classy attire. The bitch would just suppose his hands were cold.
Her hands would be cold shortly.
The elevator dinged and the door opened. He made his way down the long hall. He knew where she lived. When he reached her apartment, he knocked on the door.
Generally this sort of thing was a job to him, but this time was different. He wasn’t getting paid for this act, and he felt a dark thrill at the knowledge that he would make this meddling bitch pay dearly for what she’d done.
The door opened and his cleaning lady poked her head out, seeming apprehensive. “Gavin, hi. What brings you here?”
“Business actually. Can I come in?”
“Oh, actually I’m sort of busy at the moment.”
He put his hand on the door to stop her from closing it. Her eyes widened.
“I just want to talk with you. A friend of mine wants to do business with you, too. However, he’s very particular about his things. I’ll have to go over his preferences with you.” When she hesitated, he added, “Is there some reason you’re not letting me in? What have you done?”
“Nothing.”
“Then let me in.”
“Can I see your pockets?” she asked nervously.
“Of course.” He showed her his empty pockets. “See, just my cell phone. I didn’t come here armed. Why would I want to kill the best cleaning lady I’ve ever had?”
She returned his faux smile. Hers barely concealed how petrified she was, and his masked his murderous intent perfectly.
“I’ve been thinking of retiring.”
“You’re too young to retire, Deb. I’d hate to think you’re ending business with me. I walk away. Nobody walks away from me.”
She gulped anxiously. “I wasn’t trying to quit doing business with you.”
He put on a friendly facade. “Then let me in.”
“Can you take the gloves off first?”
“Of course.”
He removed them and then slipped them back into his pockets, one in each side. They would be much easier to slip back on undetected that way.
He showed her his bare hands. “Feel better?”
She breathed out in relief, opening the door wider so he could enter. “Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you.”
He gave her another casual smile as he walked into her apartment. “I know.”
Chapter Two
Heath Brodie couldn’t stop looking at her. He tried to keep his glances discreet and natural. No idiot perv gawking. Danielle was lovely with what struck him as a sweet disposition.
He gave her a ride in his truck after their plane landed at the airport in Sioux Falls. He was pretty hungry by the time they pulled into the drive-thru.
She was starved. He ordered the large size for both of them so she wouldn’t feel self-conscious eating a bigger portion than him. He had an ex-girlfriend who’d been funny about that. He didn’t care if a woman ate more than him sometimes, but he didn’t want to make her feel like a pig.
They talked a little while eating, but mostly he let her chow on her fries and burger instead of keeping her from the sustenance she’d been deprived of.
Danielle was beautiful in a simple, natural kind of way. Even though it didn’t look like she wore any makeup at present, she pulled it off almost effortlessly. Her soft, round face had the dulcet appearance of innocence that drew him in.
Straight, light-blonde tresses fell softly to her shoulders.
Her enchanting brown eyes glistened with rich beauty in the sunlight, unmistakable warmth radiating from them. The color reminded him of Coke or Pepsi in a glass that shimmered with depth when light touched it.
Her body was shaped like an hourglass, with soft skin and lush curves. He wanted to brush his hand over the plump softness of her meaty arms. She had nice shapely legs that would probably feel great wrapped around him.
She smelled like a citrus grove and flowers. Her delicate scent of orange blossoms and sunshine reminded him of lazy summer days and happy times spent in good company.
He had so many questions for her, but he waited until she was finished eating to ask them.
“Feel better?”
She nodded with a thankful smile. “God, yes, much better. Thank you so much for that.”
“It was my pleasure. You want me to take you home?”
“That’s okay. I live over four hours from here.”
“Where’s that?”
“McKenna Downs.”
His brows popped up, and he couldn’t help smiling. “No kidding. I live out in Stone River, not too far from there.”
“Get out.” She grinned at this. “Really?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What a small world.”
“I know. It’s on my way, but even if it wasn’t, I’d still be happy to take you there.”
Her features softened with feeling. “Thank you. You’ve been really good to me.”
There was something special about her in that she had the unique ability to inspire sympathy with her baby-kitten sweetness, and hunger for her sexy natural beauty.
“Not to be a drag, but do you mind if we stop by a hotel first?”
His cock perked.
“Why is that?” He tried not to show any kind of keen interest in her proposition. He’d look like a dumbass if she had platonic motives for going there.
“I just wanted to shower and brush my teeth, get cleaned up a bit. I don’t want my brother to see me looking like this.”
“Gorgeous?”
She gave him a coquettish smile and lowered her eyes demurely. “That’s nice of you to say. I was thinking something more along the lines of crap. I haven’t seen them in years. I want to look nice.”
“Your family?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure. I’ll take you to the hotel. Then we’ll hit the road.”
“Thank you.”
* * * *
Heath sat on the bed in the hotel room, watching TV while Danielle showered in the bathroom. He’d call inviting a stranger up to a hotel room without the promise of sex insane, but he knew he was a fairly decent guy, even if she didn’t. She had
her purse in there with her and had probably locked the door, too, which might have explained her happy-go-lucky trust in him.
Afterward she came out of the bathroom with damp hair, smelling clean with a fresh spray of perfume on and looking like a goddess of summertime in that flimsy yellow sundress with sprigs of tiny white flowers all over it and white flip-flops on her feet. Her toenails were painted a pretty light-pink color.
She wore makeup now. Her lips were stained a soft pink, and her eyes were accentuated by the subtle earth tones that graced her angelic face.
“I didn’t think you could get any prettier.”
“You’re sweet.”
He shut the TV off and then held out his arm to her. “You ready to go?”
She appeared coy for a second or maybe surprised by his chivalry. Smiling, she accepted his arm. “Yep, all ready.”
After they got back into the truck, he drove while she sat in the passenger’s seat.
“I know it’s none of my business, but you know I have to ask,” he began.
She looked like she already knew what was coming.
“Why hadn’t you eaten in two days?”
Danielle was quiet for a minute. “My ex-boyfriend Gavin was kind of a bastard. I saw something I shouldn’t have, and he locked me in his basement. I couldn’t get out. The cleaning lady stopped by two days later when Gavin was away, and she let me out. I packed a small bag as fast as I could and headed straight for the airport.”
Heath threw a concerned glance at her. “Seriously? The son of a bitch had you locked in his basement like a psychopath?”
She nodded, focusing straight ahead. Her demeanor, while in a shadowy place at the moment, seemed mellow, like she felt relaxed in his company.
“That’s fucked up. You should report him to the police.”
“I probably will.”
“Not probably. Do it.”
“I want to, but the guy has ties to the Mafia.”
Heath’s eyes bugged out, and he blinked at this. “You dated someone in the Mob? What were you thinking?”
“He’s not in the Mob. He’s a friend of a friend of the Mob, but he’s done dirty work for them before. I didn’t know he had any ties with them, or I wouldn’t have dated him, obviously. I’m not a complete idiot.”
“Does he know where you live?”
“No. If you’re scared, you can dump me off somewhere so he doesn’t come after you.”
“I’m not scared,” he said indignantly. “I said I’d take you home, and I will. I’ll protect you from that asshole. You don’t deserve that.”
“How do you know what I deserve?”
“You seem like a sweet girl. There’s no way in hell you deserve to be locked in some sicko’s basement and starved half to death.”
“Well, thanks. It’s a shame he didn’t share that sentiment.”
Heath wanted to wrap her up in his arms and never let her go. He’d kill that evil bastard if he ever came to South Dakota looking for her.
“Do you have someplace to stay?”
“Yeah. I can always stay with my brother…for a little while.” Her face dimmed with fear and a hint of sorrow. “I can’t stay with him forever.”
“You guys don’t get along?”
“We get along just fine, but I can’t endanger his life by staying with him. If Gavin locates me, he might hurt Dominic, too.” Her head drooped. “I couldn’t live with myself if that happened.”
“Come stay with me then.”
“What?” She shot a quizzical look over at him, but her quirky smile said she kind of liked the idea as much as he did. “That’s generous of you, but I couldn’t.”
“Why not? I’ll be staying with my dad until I get a place, but you’re welcome to bed there for a while if you need to.” He grimaced and rolled his eyes. “Shit, that sounded bad. I don’t live with my father.”
She grinned.
“I’ve been living in Chicago, and I just got done with my schooling and internship there, so I decided to come home and open my own clinic. That’s why I have to stay with him until I sign a lease for an apartment.” He raised a finger near his side. “That’s all I meant.”
She laughed lightly, a musical sound that made him feel good inside and only added to his desire to spend some more time with this enthralling woman.
“I honestly didn’t think anything when you said you would be staying with your dad, but now that you mention it…”
He threw a worried glance at her, eyes narrowing at her teasing smirk. Shaking his head, he reached over and tickled her when she laughed. Her girlish squeal was so damned cute he wanted to pull her onto his lap and cuddle with her.
“I’m just kidding.” She let out an amused sigh. “So are you some kind of doctor? You look a little young for that, unless you made a fake license.”
He smirked. “I actually studied to be a veterinarian.”
Her countenance sparkled—a reaction that seemed popular among the ladies whenever he mentioned that he took care of animals for a living. Women loved a man who was good to animals. Apparently his honest devotion to the critters came with the perk of attracting females as well. He sure as hell wasn’t going to complain about that.
“Aw, you like animals?” she asked.
“Well, if not, I made a shitty career choice.”
She cracked a bright smile. “Yeah, that was kind of a dumb question. Are you gonna open up a clinic in Stone River then?”
“That was the plan. Not sure how to pop the news to my father.” He raised his eyebrows briefly in an “Oh Lord” manner before letting them fall again. “That should be fun.”
“What, does he have something against animals?”
“No. He thinks I went to seminary instead.”
Her eyes bulged, and she puckered her lips in shock. “You went to school for years and never mentioned what you went for?”
He nodded slowly, keeping his attention on the road.
“Did he pay for it?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s good. Why didn’t you tell him?”
“I don’t know. He had his heart set on me going. It’s not what I wanted, though.”
“Ah. Is he one of those dads?”
Heath nodded slowly.
“Honestly, that would be a hard town to grow up in.”
“Why is that?”
She gave him a questioning look that made her appear all the more adorable. “Wow. You must be used to it having grown up there. That town is so judgmental.”
“They have their moments, but the people mean well.”
She snorted. “Mean well? They’re assholes, except for you, of course. Do you know that sometimes some of the people protest other lifestyles? Some of the gays over there got beaten up years ago.”
“Not all the citizens are like that.”
“No, but a lot of them are, especially that congregation of assholes.”
His brow furrowed. “Which congregation?”
“Malachi Brodie’s church,” she said with disdain.
Heath didn’t know how to respond to that. Malachi Brodie was his father and a good man. True, he and some of the members of his congregation were a teensy bit unfriendly, borderline hostile, once in a while to those with alternative lifestyles. Still, he’d grown up in Stone River. It was home, and he loved his dad tremendously.
“They’re not all that way, and Malachi is a good man. You don’t know him.”
Danielle scoffed and gazed out the window at the golden prairie and light-blue sky beyond. “Well, I’ve heard things. Did you know his eldest son turned out gay?”
That would be Carsten, my older brother, and yes, I do know.
“Rumor has it, but he got married to a woman and had a baby with her. I guess that ex–gay camp changed his mind.”
“Oh brother.” She rolled her eyes. “Nobody genuinely changes from places like that. It’s called denial. Carsten’s still gay.”
Heath wondered about that, t
oo from time to time, but he hated the idea that his sister-in-law, Sharon, was trapped in a relationship with someone who secretly wasn’t attracted to her in a sexual context. She was a good woman and a real catch. She didn’t deserve that.
Hell, he felt bad for Carsten, too. A relationship without sexual satisfaction was hell, to his mind.
“You never know,” Heath said.
“And then there’s the younger Brodie son. I forget his name.”
Heath, sugar, and he’s sitting right next to you.
He didn’t dare say that. Her judgment on him and his family irked him, but for some reason, he didn’t want to lose her good opinion of him. He wanted to stay a hero in her eyes, her rescuer and protector. Not be the self-righteous echoes of a past for which he was now ashamed. He’d changed so much after he’d gone away to school in Chicago.
“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” He peeked up at the clouds through the windshield, hoping to distract her from her bitchy rant.
“It is,” she agreed. “What was his name?”
“The name doesn’t matter. Just say what you were gonna say.”
He already knew, and he really didn’t want to hear it and be reminded of what he’d done to his former best friend, his first fascination.
“Crap, I can’t remember his name. Oh well. Malachi’s youngest son outed poor Heller Enos about ten years ago. Heller ended up getting beaten up, and his younger brother, Kale, also got beaten up. They’re both bisexual. I’d never met them, but I heard about it. News travels fast.”
“Do you believe everything you hear?”
“Not everything, but everyone was talking about it. Heller and Kale ended up having to move away because of the hostility that came from that town. Heller was the prick’s best friend, and the guy just outed him like that. Stupid homophobe.”
Heath went on the defensive, trying to keep the bitterness and pain out of his voice. “Well, maybe the guy had a good reason for doing it.”
“He sounded like an asshole. There’s no reason to get someone beaten up just because they’re bi. It’s sickening.”
“Well, believing rumors without proof isn’t much better. And McKenna Downs isn’t a perfect town either. All those free-loving freaks fucking everybody and having polyandrous relationships.” He scoffed and shook his head. “Love, yeah.”
