Page 6

Chapter Six

BEAU

M otherfucker! I stand next to Brynn’s white Toyota 4Runner, pacing back and forth. It’s three in the morning, and the curtains are pulled in the back. The woman’s sleeping in her car, parked along a side street near the Paradise Inn, begging the copycat murderer to come for her.

I saw her parked here on my way home from the crime scene, pulling my truck in front of her vehicle. I can’t let her stay out here alone. Of course, how do I know she’s alone at all? She could be getting it on with some random guy in the back. After what I’ve seen from the woman this week, however, I highly doubt it.

Thoughts run through my head of next steps. I push the car back and forth slightly, feeling it rock. No e-brake. I could hook her up to my truck and tow her back to my place. But the thought of the woman waking up in a panic as I’m driving makes me reconsider. Instead, I knock on the back window.

Nothing.

I knock again and again until finally a thin, shaking voice says, “I am fully armed and capable of protecting myself. What do you want?”

What she means by fully armed, I can only imagine. After all, California’s not an open carry state and getting a concealed weapons permit is highly difficult, though her father is a former law enforcement agent. The curtain tugs open slightly, and she eyes me.

“I want to talk about your current sleeping arrangements, Brynn.” To my utter amazement and horror, she unlocks the trunk. I lower the tailgate, sit on it, and stare at the sleeping beauty cuddled up in her sleeping bag.

“What are you doing out here so late?”

“On my way home from discovering two dead bodies near Lake Florence. You sleeping in your car was the last fucking thing I needed to see. What in the hell are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?”

Her eyes round. “So, you found the missing hikers?” she asks in breathy tones.

“We found two recently deceased bodies wearing feminine clothing. The coroner still has to do a full investigation, but I’d say decomposition was in keeping with seven days. And they were found in the right location. So, you tell me, Brynn, do you think those are the missing hikers? Or would you like to go on pretending there’s no one in this town who wants to hurt vulnerable women?”

She crosses her arms. “I’m well-armed and taking all necessary precautions. Women get abducted from homes, too, you know.”

“Not you. Not from your car or your home. I refuse to let something happen to you, even though you insist on living recklessly. Why aren’t you still bunked up at the Paradise Inn?”

“Because my reservation ran out…”

“And?”

“And I’m between paychecks. That’s all.”

“I can cover your room.”

“And with all of the new media coverage, there are no vacancies,” she adds sadly, pointing up at the sign.

“Well, in that case, you’re bunking with me.”

“What?” she questions in a breathy tone somewhere between a hiss and a pant. It does devilish things to my semi-hard cock. “Weren’t you the stalker trying to convince me of how dangerous you were on the trail today?”

I shrug. “I was trying to convince you to stay off the HRT altogether. At least, until the copycat murderer is captured.”

“So, you think whoever’s doing this is copying someone else?”

I shrug, growling low in my throat. “Don’t quote me on anything. But that’s the direction the evidence may point. At least at first glance. But we can discuss all of this at my place.”

“I am not going with you to sleep at your place.”

“Either you’re riding in the passenger seat of my truck next to me, or I’m towing your ass in the back of the 4Runner. Those are your two options.”

She knits her brows. “This seems a little over the top.”

“Yes, I fucking am cover the top when it comes to your safety,” I confess, exasperated.

A warm smile crosses her still sleepy face, capturing my heart. “Then, you are my guardian angel. Just like I thought.”

“I’m no angel, Butterfly, because I’d kill in a heartbeat—without hesitation or thoughts about right or wrong—to ensure your safety.”

“Let me grab my purse,” she says.

“Let me work on that tow strap.”

“B-b-but you don’t need to tow my vehicle,” she protests.

“My cabin’s not too far, and there’s no way in hell I’m trusting you to follow me. You seem to have a death wish, woman, and I’m not tempting it.” My eyes narrow on her. “You scared yet?”

“I would be,” she says, measuring her words carefully. “But I can’t shake the feeling you’re a good man, or that you have good intentions for me. Even if the way you go about protecting me is a bit … unorthodox.”

Before I can filter myself, I admit, “When it comes to the things I want most in this world, I will always be a bit unorthodox.”

“Me, too,” she says softly.

“Glad we have something in common, Butterfly.”

On the drive back to my cabin, Brynn makes herself at home in the cab next to me. She plays with my satellite radio, flipping from rock station to rock station before finally settling on Oasis’s “Wonderwall.”

“You and your weird Brit bands,” I chuckle before I catch myself.

“Wait, how do you know what kind of music I like?”

I raise an eyebrow, glancing in her direction. “I know a lot about you, Brynn. A week of candid observation will do that.”

Her cheeks redden. “Why have you been following me?”

I pause, rubbing my hand over my beard and making a scratchy sound. I don’t want to lie to her, but I had to sign an NDA along with my contract for her father. So, instead, I say, “To keep you safe.”

She twists her hands in her lap, looking crestfallen.

“What’s wrong? You didn’t like that answer?”

Brynn’s eyes flutter towards mine. “Want to hear something stupid?”

“Nothing you could say is stupid.”

Her bubblegum pink tongue darts out, wetting her bottom lip and doing all sorts of wild things to my heart. “I was hoping you were interested in me.”

“I am interested in you,” I reply, shifting uneasily in my seat.

“No, I mean like attracted to me.”

“Attracted to you?” I repeat, running my hand through my hair as embarrassment heats my cheeks.

Her eyes dart to my face. “I’ve never seen you smile before. But I like it.”

“That’s because I don’t smile often, Brynn. I can’t honestly remember the last time.”

“So, I make you smile, then?” she questions hopefully.

I swallow loudly, not remotely ready for this conversation. “You make me do a lot of things I don’t normally, Brynn.”

“Oh, yeah? Like what?”

“For one, watch every fucking move you make … learn everything I possibly can about you.”

“Like what?”

“Like your taste in music,” I answer, nodding towards the radio.

“Yeah, but anybody could figure that out. I mean, all you’d have to do is pass me in my car when I have my music blaring.”

I nod. “I did plenty of times. More than you probably know.”

Her cheeks burn. “But what else did you find out about me?”

Inhaling sharply, I dive into an unfiltered account, making myself look like the ultimate creep. I expect Brynn’s face to harden, her voice trembling as she begs me to pull over and let her go. Instead, she’s got bedroom eyes when her gaze meets mine, all soft and sensual.

“One thing I can’t figure out is what you’re doing out here alone, traveling like this and living out of your car. You’ve got decent parents who are still together and had an uneventful childhood, from everything I researched. I don’t get it.”

The corners of her mouth turn down, and she takes a couple of deep breaths before explaining, “My parents are both very controlling. Total helicopter parents, especially my dad. He was in law enforcement, and so he’s uber-terrified of anything ever happening to me. I know they mean well, but they make me feel totally smothered, and they don’t understand my life decisions. Like foregoing college to become a yoga instructor and digital nomad. I don’t need them to understand my decisions to make them right for me. But I can’t put up with them trying to manipulate me through fear and guilt. That’s literally my worst pet peeve. Downright unforgivable in my book.”

“Unforgivable?” I grumble, swallowing loudly. Shit, I did just that earlier today at her father’s bidding. Would she ever be able to forgive me for that? I doubt it. Not that I could tell her anyway with the NDA.

“Yes,” she states firmly. “What’s unforgivable in your book?”

I narrow my eyes, grimacing. “Betrayal.”

She nods. “And how do you define betrayal?”

“Saying one thing and doing another.”

“Who hurt you?” she asks quietly as I drive slowly down the gravel driveway to my cabin, the final leg of this trip.

“Every fucking person I knew in childhood. And then, almost everyone in adulthood. To say I have trust issues is an understatement. That and abandonment issues.”

“Again, from your childhood?” Her voice is curious, with no detection of judgment.

Nevertheless, I still feel uncomfortable with this level of honesty. In my experience, nobody’s ever this plain-spoken. I nod. “Now that I’ve drudged up the past and made myself sound like a total pussy, welcome to my humble abode.”

Brynn smiles at me, her face open and reassuring. “Telling the truth takes way more courage than lying.”

I cock my head to the side. “You make a good point.”

“I’ve never done this with anyone before,” Brynn says, eyeing me quizzically. “But what if we swear here and now to never lie to each other? No matter what.”

“From this moment forward?” I clarify, my face a storm of emotion.

She holds out her hand, arching her lovely eyebrows. “Deal?”

“Deal,” I say gruffly, meaning it with every part of my heart, soul, and mind. As for the past, it needs to stay buried along with the NDA.

Climbing out of the truck and rounding it to open her door and offer her my hand, sparks flicker between our flesh. My breath comes in short pants, and my body fills with a deliciously warm feeling as I stare into her welcoming eyes, noticing her beet-red cheeks.

No expectations, Beau. This is just you keeping Brynn safe. End of story.

“I’ll get you set up in my cabin with a hot shower and fresh sheets and towels in the guest bedroom. And then I’ll head out here and unhook your 4Runner.”

“So, you’re not planning on holding me against my will?” she asks, sarcasm dripping from her words.

“It’s tempting as fuck,” I admit. “But I want you to want to stay, Brynn.”