“Berry pie?” she asked.
“Bear-y Hero pie,” she chuckled. “Like the animal. It’s named for a local celebrity. But yeah, it has blueberries, strawberries, and boysenberries.”
“Um, I’ll just have a slice of the apple pie and coffee, please,” she said.
“Coming right up, sugar.”
Sarah waited a few minutes, then Rosie came back with her order, which she finished in minutes. Not wanting to waste any more time, she turned her head, searching for Rosie so she could ask for the check. However, something—or rather, someone—caught her eye in the booth behind her. The blond man facing her was wearing a familiar khaki uniform, as was his companion.
Rangers. Like Daniel Rogers. Were they coworkers? On impulse, she cleared her throat. “Excuse me. Are you guys rangers?” Her gaze dropped knowingly to their uniforms.
It was the other guy—the dark haired one right behind her—who spoke. “This guy”—he jerked his thumb at his friend—“isn’t anymore, but I am.” He wiggled a brow at her. “What can I do for you, sweetheart?”
Oh, brother. She recognized that gleam of interest in the man’s eyes, having seen it many times from players at the casinos. However, she also knew how to use that to her advantage. Smoothing down her lacy top, she slid out of the booth and turned to face them. “I was wondering,” she said sweetly, “do you guys know where I can find Daniel Rogers?”
The dark-haired man’s face fell and he slumped back. “I’m so fucking tired of hearing that name.”
The blond man rolled his eyes. “Sorry about my friend, he’s a drama king. Can I ask why you need to know where he is?”
She detected no hint of attraction from Blondie, so she switched tactics. Crossing her arms under her chest, she gave him a challenging stare. “You could.”
Seconds ticked by as they played a silent game of chicken. When Blondie shrugged, she knew she’d won. “He should be at HQ—that’s the Blackstone Rangers Headquarters,” he said. “It’s on the road that leads up to the mountains, you can’t miss it.”
Finally. “Thank you.” Pivoting on her heel, she dropped a couple of bills on the table and then headed toward the exit. However, a voice calling out to her made her stop.
“Hey, baby, what do you need him for when I’m here?” It was the dark-haired ranger. “Those tats are a piece of art, you know.” He nodded at her arm. “And so are you. Maybe I can—”
“Nail me to the wall?” she finished with a scoff. “Please. Like I haven’t heard that one before.” Sadly, she wished she was joking, but it was one of the hazards of her job. However, soon she would have her own business and shop, and she would no longer have to endure catcalls, innuendoes, pinches, and gropes from horny gamblers. But first, she needed to find Daniel Rogers so he could sign the annulment papers.
Heading back to her car, she was about to reach for the door handle when she heard someone running up behind her.
“Miss! Hey, miss!”
Turning, she let out an exasperated grunt when she saw who it was. “If it wasn’t obvious, let me make it plainer: I’m not interested.” she said to the dark-haired Ranger. He was attractive, she had to give him that, but she had other things to do right now.
The man skidded to a halt in front of her. “Whoa!” He held his hands up defensively. “I wasn’t going to hit on you again.”
“Then why are you following me?”
“I want to help you,” he said. “Find Rogers, I mean.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Why?”
“Why would I help you?” he asked. “Why not? But why are you looking for him?”
“I’m just …” She bristled. “I just need to speak with him. That’s all. I’m not going to hurt him or anything.”
His eyes narrowed. “Talk to him, huh? Well, you won’t be able to get near him or past the door, but I can get you in, no prob. But, you’re not a crazy stalker or a reporter trying to catch him doing something bad, are you?”
“I don’t have any bad intentions, I swear. I just need a few minutes of his time.”
There was something about the way he looked at her that was unnerving. Like he was sizing her up. She wondered if there was more to this guy than meets the eye. “All right, just follow me,” he nodded at the dark blue pickup truck parked a few spaces away, “And I’ll lead you up to HQ and get you inside so you can talk to Daniel.”
“I … thank you, uh …”
“Anders,” he said, holding out a hand. “Anders Stevens. And you are?”
She hesitated, but shook his hand quickly. “Sarah.”
“Sarah …?”
“Just Sarah,” she said.
“All right, sweetheart,” he began. “It’s about a forty-five-minute drive. Try to keep up.” Pivoting on his heel, he strode off toward his truck.
Sarah bit her lip, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake. Still, the thought of facing Daniel Rogers was making her stomach tie up in knots. Truthfully, she didn’t know what she was going to say to him. Did he remember her at all? Or would he believe her? Well, she had the marriage certificate, and surely, he would at least remember being in Vegas that weekend. All he needed to do was sign the papers, and they would never have to see each other again.
With a deep, calming breath, she got into her car and turned the key in the ignition to start the engine. Still, it did nothing to soothe her nerves or make the butterflies in her stomach disappear. Just think of the loan, the business, the boutique, she told herself. Think of Darcey not having to work for Agnes anymore. Think of being able to afford insurance and doctor visits for Adam. For them, she would do anything.
Chapter Three
Daniel let out an unhappy grunt as he shuffled the papers around on the desk for what seemed like the hundredth time that afternoon. Feeling fed up, he pushed them away and propped his chin on his hands. God, I hate desk duty. But he didn’t exactly have a choice. Well, it was this or take a couple of days off, but he knew they were already short-handed as it was with the influx of visitors to the mountains. Which of course, was his fault.
He groaned and buried his face in his palms. All I wanted to do was stop an assassin, not turn my life into a circus. What was I thinking?
Actually, he wasn’t thinking in that particular moment. When he saw someone jump on the stage with a gun, pure instinct had driven him to stop the man before he could do any harm. Really, he knew anyone would have done it, and he just happened to be at the right place, at the right time.
With the vice president’s visit, security was tight around town and the Blackstone Police Department had asked the rangers for volunteers to help with crowd control. He had signed up because it sounded like a cool opportunity. They assigned him right up front near the stage. VP Baker had been in the middle of the speech when the man in the hoodie jumped up on stage.
Daniel had seen the glint of the gun in his hand and leapt up on the stage and tackled him. Secret service agents swarmed them in seconds, and then everything erupted into chaos. He’d been taken into custody, mostly for his own safety, and after a few hours of being interviewed by the head of the VP’s secret service detail, they released him. And when he got out, his life had turned completely upside down.
First, it was the reporters. They ambushed him as he left the precinct and shoved cameras and microphones in his face. Then they followed him as he went home, and he rushed inside without talking to them. It was only when he turned on the TV and checked his phone, he realized the how bad it was. The video of him tackling the assassin and his picture from the official Blackstone Ranger website were all over the news and Internet.
He thought it would all die down by morning, but it got worse. Apparently, he had become some sort of celebrity, and aside from the reporters camping outside his home and the Blackstone HQ, they were also inundating his phone and the lines at work, trying to get him to do interviews or TV appearances.
The media was easy to ignore, but the ordinary people coming up to him while he w
as trying to shop or go out to eat or just do his errands were the worst. He couldn’t even get gas without being stopped and asked for a selfie or a chat. Raised to be polite, he couldn’t tell them to buzz off even though he was getting tired of it all.
Now they were bothering him at work too. Though Blackstone Mountain was private property, it was open to visitors who wanted to go camping, explore the forests and trails or hike up to Contessa Peak. Summers were always busy, but now they were seeing an influx of visitors who all wanted to get a glimpse of the man who saved the vice president. When some overeager admirers rushed into the offices when they saw Daniel, Damon Cooper, the chief of the Blackstone Rangers, declared he’d had enough and put him on desk duty, away from the public eye.
His grizzly was not happy being cooped inside.
Yeah, well neither am I.
Actually, his bear had been acting strange the past couple of months. He’d never really had a problem with his inner grizzly; his father had taught him all the basics of controlling the bear but not smothering it, allowing it to have freedom, but not enough to take over. In fact, he’d always gotten along with his animal, and they worked as a team, making him really good at his job.
But lately, the grizzly inside him had been moody, irritable, and downright unpleasant sometimes. The smallest things would set if off, and he was having a hard time keeping it in check.
And frankly, if he was honest, he felt strange too. Perhaps it was those weird dreams he’d been having.
It was hard to describe them really. It was all flashes of something. Black lace. Warm tawny skin inked with a yellow, blue, and red design. Gloriously thick caramel hair. Plump lips. Or a feeling or a sweet scent he couldn’t name. He’d wake up sweating and aroused, but at the same time, like there was a hole in his chest that he couldn’t fill. Maybe it had been too long since he’d been with a woman. He had a few numbers on his phone he could easily call, girls who were always up for a night of fun, but he couldn’t bring himself to contact any of them. In fact, his inner bear practically tore him up from the inside if he even thought of finding relief with anyone.
Drumming his fingers on the table, he shoved the chair back and got to his feet. Being in here bored him to death, but he couldn’t go out and do his real job. May as well get outta here and get some work done around the house.
Two years ago, when his parents had retired to Texas, they left him their sprawling five-bedroom house, and he had begun renovating and updating it himself in his free time. It was almost ready, and he only needed to work on the backyard and decorating the interior, but he couldn’t bring himself to give up his apartment and move in. Sure, it had been his childhood home, but he knew his parents had left it to him with the intention of one day filling it with his own family. “Don’t let us wait too long to hold our grandkids, now, you hear?” Dad had told him with a wink.
Did he want children? Sure he did, but he was still enjoying his career and was hoping to get a promotion as Damon’s deputy. Plus, he was hoping to find his mate like his parents had found each other, but it felt like he’d been searching forever and that he’d never find her.
His grizzly protested at that. Hmmm, he never knew his animal was an optimist.
Putting those thoughts aside, he sent Damon a quick email telling him he was punching out early and headed toward the locker room. After a quick shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and went to his locker to change into street clothes.
It wasn’t near shift change, so the locker room was empty. However, he was about to take off his towel when he heard the door open.
“… his truck’s still in the lot and the office is empty, so he’s probably in here,” someone said. He recognized the speaker as Anders Stevens.
“ … I’m sure—wait, isn’t this a locker room?”
The second speaker was a woman, and as soon as he heard her voice, his entire spine went rigid and the hairs on his entire body stood up. Why did that voice sound familiar?
“Yeah it is,” Anders replied. “So what?”
“I mean, is this the men’s locker?”
“Well, Rogers isn’t going to be in the women’s locker, that much I can tell you.”
What the hell was going on? Slamming his locker shut, he turned toward the sound of the voices. “What the hell do you—”
Mine.
“—want?” Every nerve ending in his body frazzled as various synapses in his brain fired up. His grizzly roared and stood up on its hind legs, paws raised in victory.
It was her.
His mate.
She’d walked in here like he’d summoned her from out of thin air. But why did this feel like déjà vu? Like it had happened before and he’d stared into her chocolate brown eyes before, seen her pretty face and plump lips. Like he already knew what that smooth tawny skin felt like and how her curvy body fit against his.
She looked stunned too. Human, he could tell, which meant she didn’t hear the call of an animal declaring them as mates. Her gaze dropped down to the towel around his waist, and she quickly jerked her head up, but not before he saw her pink tongue flick out to lick her lips.
Fffffuuuck. He turned around, opened his locker and grabbed for his jeans, placing them over the front of his hips before he embarrassed himself. “Uh, can I help you?” Mate. She’s our mate! He still couldn’t believe it.
“Yes, you can, actually,” she replied. Her voice was low and smoky, and it sent pleasant tingles across his skin. “I need to talk to you.”
“Sure,” he said. “Anders, do you mind?”
The other ranger crossed his arms over his chest. “No, I don’t actually,” he said, flashing him a grin. “Go ahead.”
“Anders,” he warned. What was the tiger shifter doing here anyway? With his mate? His inner bear did not like that and bared its teeth at Anders. “Privacy, please.”
When Daniel didn’t budge, Anders shrugged. “Fine. See you later, sweetheart,” he said to the woman before he turned and left.
Daniel reined in his grizzly before it could take a swipe at Anders. Calm down. Our mate is here! Speaking of which … “So.” He cleared his throat. “What can I do for you?” Aside from keeping you and moving you into my den?
“It’s you,” she said, almost reverently. “It’s really you.”
“Me?” Did she recognize him as her mate?
“Yes. Um, maybe you don’t remember. My name is Sarah. Three months ago, you were in Vegas, and we … we met at The Pink Palace.”
Realization swept through him. The memories slammed back into him all at the same time. Her skin. Those lips. Even the sleeve tattoo on her arm—that of a woman wearing red and blue surrounded by a halo of yellow—lit up something in his brain telling him he’d seen her before.
And those eyes. Those eyes that had been haunting his dreams.
“Yes,” he gasped. God, this was it. The moment he’d been waiting for. But why couldn’t he remember—oh right. The drugs.
When he arrived back from Vegas, the first thing he did was go to the hospital in Blackstone and get a drug test. They confirmed that he had trace amounts of bloodsbane in his system. He was almost certain that it was that asshole from the club who slipped it in his drink, to get back at him for spoiling his plans with the stripper.
He called The Pink Palace and told them what happened. To his surprise, the management took him seriously. They found the CCTV footage of that punk going outside and collecting something from a car that drove by, then going back in and putting it in a drink. They were also able to identify him and banned him for life, plus pressed charges on Daniel’s behalf, even using their own lawyer to represent him.
But then, he didn’t realize it could make him forget everything—including meeting his mate.
“So, you’re probably wondering why I’m here,” she began, twirling a lock of caramel hair between her fingers.
“Er, yeah.” Though he wasn’t going to complain. Maybe she did feel the pull of the mating? An
d she obviously recognized him. Shit, he didn’t even remember her face until now.
“I saw you on the news and—and … this is embarrassing,” she said. “So, we met at The Pink Palace Gentlemen’s Club in Vegas. My friends and I were celebrating because one of us was getting married. And I was pretty wasted, and I think you were too.”
“Uh, kinda,” he said.
“Anyway, I can’t remember anything from that night. Do you?”
“Er, not much,” he said. “I woke up in a motel room, alone.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I mean, I figured you might not want to wake up to me and my mascara raccoon eyes.” She gave a nervous chuckle. “So, I slipped out before you woke up. But, I’m here because something happened that night.”
“Yes?” Did it? He remembered having his pants on, and there was no indication they’d had sex. Shit! Maybe they did earlier, before they wound up at that motel room.
“And I’ve been looking for you to let you know. I didn’t know where to begin, then you showed up on TV, and I realized who you were.”
“Okay, and now you—” Oh God. They had a one-night stand neither could remember and now she was looking for him. His gaze dropped down to her belly. She was pregnant. With his cub.
“So, I was—hey, what are you looking at?” She sucked in a deep breath and covered her abdomen with her arms. “I am not pregnant, you jerk. We didn’t even have sex!”
“We didn’t?” he asked, disappointment pouring through him.
“No, we didn’t,” she huffed. “I would remember that part at least. And I was wearing my clothes, and you had on most of yours when I woke up.”
“Oh.” Was she really here then because they were mates?
Her hands dropped to her sides. “I can’t explain it … I’m so embarrassed.”
Hope filled his chest. “It’s all right,” he said soothingly. “You can tell me.” I understand. At least, now he could. That emptiness inside him for months. That longing feeling for something he didn’t know. Now he knew. He’d been missing his mate since they parted. And now here they were, together again.
Blackstone Ranger Hero Page 4
