Saving Her (Her Protector Book 2) Page 12

  “Oh, I was just congratulating myself for a job well done.” I said, pasting a smile on my face as I turned and looked at Wil Calhoun. Our gazes sparked as they met.

  “Is that right? What for? Save another helpless life?”

  “Something like that.”

  Wil just nodded, raising two fingers to order a beer from the bartender before leaning his elbows against the rail. He took a long sip before he spoke again.

  “You’re too good for this place, you know that?”

  “I know.”

  “You shouldn’t have come back here.”

  “I know that too.” I said softly, and Wil must have heard some of the longing in my voice because he gave me a sharp look. I met his gaze, unafraid. I’d wanted Wil Calhoun for as long as I’d known what it meant to want someone.

  He was two years older than me, had always hung out with the rougher kids, the cool crowd. Definitely not my group of people. I’d been relegated to bookworm and nerd in high school, working for a scholarship to the university to become a veterinarian. I hadn’t cared then. Well, not much. I was surprised to find that it still stung, that sense of dismissal.

  It had me throwing my shoulders back and sticking my chin in the air, anger simmering in my eyes and voice as I turned on him.

  “You need to call off your brothers, Wil.”

  His own gaze sharpened even more. “What are you talking about?”

  “There was a threat painted on the southern fence of my brother’s ranch this afternoon. Very threatening. I don’t take kindly to anyone threatening my family, Wil. Not even someone as good looking as you.”

  “You know I didn’t have anything to do with that.”

  “Do I?” I took a sip of my beer, staring at him through my lashes as heat flushed along his sharp cheekbones. Everything about Wil Calhoun was sharp. Exciting. Dangerous. God, so dangerous. Especially for me. That made me want him even more.

  “Of course you do! For fuck’s sake, Beth. You know I’d never touch your brother. Or you.”

  “You didn’t used to think so.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “Not that long, Wil. Not long enough.” I took a long sip of the beer, hoping to drown out the memories that haunted me. Memories of him. Of me. Both of our bodies tangled up together, breathing heavy as I came with him buried deep inside me.

  He reached out, putting his hand on my arm and I felt his touch like a brand. It had me sucking in a deep breath, choking on my heart that was suddenly lodged in my throat. Why did I have to respond so strongly to him? Always him? Only him?

  “I swear to you Beth, I don’t know anything about it, but…”

  “But what?” I prompted after he trailed off.

  “I’ve been overhearing Lucas say some crazy shit. You know how he is.”

  “Yeah, rabid.”

  “He’s not that bad.”

  “I know he’s your brother, Wil, but he’s like a rabid dog.” I saw the way Wil flinched. We both knew it was just the truth. Lucas had always been a little off but over the past few years he’d gotten worse and worse, more violent. I’d heard what he’d done to Betty, the waitress at the diner down the street, when they’d dated for a few months. I’d seen the bruises myself. I wouldn’t put anything past him.

  “He’s got a mean streak, that’s all. He doesn’t mean anything by it.”

  I just shook my head. I knew that Wil loved his brother, and probably couldn’t see all his faults. That wasn’t my problem.

  “Just talk to him Wil. I don’t want him causing any more trouble at the ranch,” I finished the last of my beer, “I don’t know why your brother and your dad are so obsessed with getting that property anyway. You have more land than you harvest as it is. What the hell are you going to do with another forty acres?”

  “No clue.” Wil shrugged again, suddenly looked at anything but me and the back of my neck tingled in that way it did whenever someone was lying to me. My special Spidey sense. “I’ll talk to Lucas, and my pa, but just…stay away from the southern part of the ranch okay? And let your brother know too. It might not be safe.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Just tell him!” Wil said, as he was walking away. He slapped a wadded dollar bill on the bar as left, the door swinging shut behind him. Leaving me, as always, with that same mix of frustration, confusion, and desire that was unique only to him. Damn that man. Damn all Calhoun’s.

  I glanced at the bartender. “Give me another beer.”

  17

  Zoe

  I stared at my reflection in the bar’s bathroom mirror. I waited to see the fear, the panic, the doubts, the anxiety that all still bubbled just beneath the surface of my skin. But clear green eyes stared back at me, maybe just a touch wide.

  My hair was longer than I’d ever let it get. Elliot had always said he didn’t like when it got too long because it made me look like a wild woman. I nearly smiled at that. If only he could see me now. He’d hardly recognize me.

  That posh, overly groomed, manicured woman was nowhere in sight.

  The red dress, one I’d finally splurged and bought for myself out of my small stash of hard earned cash, hugged newly formed curves. Working on the ranch agreed with me.

  It skimmed my thighs, the soft fabric fitting snug around me and for a moment I imagined Jake’s hands on me, shoving up the hem, taking me, just like he’d taken me earlier in the barn. It made my blood rush through my veins, hot and out of control.

  In the mirror, I could see the blush steal over my cheeks and admonished myself.

  “Get a hold of yourself, Z.” I told my reflection. “You’re only having fun. Remember that. A little bit of fun.”

  But it felt far from just fun. So far from just fun. Not even in the same world. I shook off the train of thought, instead reaching into my small bag with trembling fingers and pulled out my tube of red lipstick. I stared at it, holding it in my hands. I’d always thought of it as my war paint, my ritual mask that I’d wear before every rehearsal. My good luck charm.

  “Just fun. That’s all.”

  “That’s my motto, darling.”

  I glanced over as a woman elbowed me out of the way so she could check her own reflection in the mirror. She was blond, but not naturally, and she wore a skin tight leopard print mini dress that was even shorter than mine.

  “Oh yeah?” I said politely.

  “Yep. Love em, then leave em. Before they leave you. Besides, the ones that want to settle down, that say they care about you, that want to maaaaarry you,” She drew out the word and I could hear the scorn in her voice, the contempt, “Those are the boring ones. And I don’t do boring.”

  Her dark kohl lined eyes met mine the mirror, “Might be more your speed though.”

  I felt a spark of outrage, followed by disbelief. I had more than enough danger and excitement in my life. The very idea of my life being boring surprised a laugh out of me.

  The other woman rolled her eyes, leaving me chortling to myself in the bathroom as she left in a swish of attitude.

  God, boring. I wished my life was boring. Boring would be nice compared to the constant fear, the looking over my shoulders, the running.

  You’re not running now, my reflection reminded me, and it settled me. In that moment, in the dive bar, in the tiny, dimly lit bathroom, it solidified something inside me that had been unmoored for over a year.

  Now, I wasn’t running now. There had a been a moment earlier, staring at the fence, at the threat scrawled across it, where I’d wanted to. But I hadn’t. I hadn’t run.

  Staring at myself, I leaned close to the mirror. I painted my lips scarlet then stood back to look at the affect. It made me feel even more wild, more wanton. More real.

  With a grin, I turned and left the bathroom.

  I walked back out into the bar and I was hit by the cacophony of sound. Old Johnny Cash was playing from the juke box and there was the
ever present bar sounds of loud chatter, louder laughter, and the clink of bottles and glasses.

  To my right was a dart board and the left a pool table, the steady thwunk of the pool cue hitting the ball, sending it rolling into the felt lined edge of the table.

  I scanned the bar, finally catching sight of Beth sitting at the bar in an intent conversing with a dark haired man with intense eyes. Actually, everything about him was intense but Beth seemed to be more than holding her own.

  “I wouldn’t interrupt them, if I were you.” The slurred words came from my right and I looked over at a brooding specimen of a man.

  “And why’s that?”

  “Because I know Beth, and I know that stubborn look on her face. She wouldn’t appreciate.”

  “You know Beth, huh?”

  “Not like that.” He laughed darkly, taking a sip of whisky, though from the way he swayed unsteadily it looked like he didn’t need it. “Now, you on the other hand, I wouldn’t mind getting to know you a little better. Or much better.”

  “Dominic, you are way too drunk to be flirting with Zoe.” Beth said, stepping up beside me and throwing an arm around my shoulder.

  “Zoe, so that’s your name. It’s pretty. It suits you.” He tipped his glass towards me in a mock salute.

  “Dom, leave her alone,” Beth glared at the man but there was no heat in it, just a rueful gleam that said she knew him and he was getting up to his usual tricks. “Besides, she’s taken. She’s with Jake.”

  “Wait a minute, I’m–.”

  “Damn, Alright. Off limits. I won’t touch Jake’s girl. Now, Beth, you on the hand…”

  “Don’t even try it, Dom.” Beth, said with a shake of her head as she lead me back to our seats by the bar. “Don’t mind Dominic. He’s charming, in his own way, and when he’s slightly more sober.”

  “I’m…Beth, I’m not…You know I’m not dating your brother right?” I was finally able to force the words out as I took a seat on the stool and ordered another cocktail.

  “Well, what would you call it?” Beth gave me a long look as I waited for my drink and took a long sip, savoring the mix of sweet and tart and booziness. It also gave me another moment to think over what I was going to say to Beth. How the hell could I answer her question?

  “Look, we’re just…we’re just having fun. That’s all.” I was sure that even I could hear the lie in my voice but Beth just sat there, holding her beer, looking at me. “You were the one who suggesting we should go out on a date. A date. Not to actually date each other. Damn it you know what I mean.”

  “I know what you mean.” She finally said with a sign. “I also know my brother, and he doesn’t just ‘go on a date’ with a girl more than one or two times unless he’s serious about her. How many times exactly have you two ‘gone on a date’.”

  She raised one eyebrow and I was glad of the dim lighting in the bar because I could feel my cheeks heat at the innuendo in her voice.

  “Um, well, I’m not sure exactly,” I said with a shrug, “More than ten. Maybe…twenty?” I hid my face in my drink as Beth let out a rich laugh.

  “Good for you.” She was still chuckling, “and good for my brother. But listen, at that point, it’s a little more than just ‘fun’ isn’t it?”

  I shrugged again, not willing to acknowledge what she was saying.

  “I should tell you something about Jake,” Beth said slowly, and nervous butterflies filled my stomach, “He was with this girl, Valerie, they were together for a long time. He’d known her since high school, and he fell head over heels in love with her. He was going to propose and everything. The house. The white picket fence. Two and a half kids. The whole nine yards.”

  The butterflies swarmed.

  “Anyway, basically the entire time they were together, she was cheating on him. Everybody knew it. Solace is a small town and word got around almost as fast as she did.” Beth said on a bitter laugh, “It ripped him up inside when he found out. It just killed him. He hasn’t let anyone into his life since then. He still, it’s hard for him trust. That was three years ago. Three years he was alone, three years where he never let anyone close. But with you, he’s different.”

  Her words hit me square in the chest and I nearly choked on the sip of cocktail I’d just taken.

  “You’ve been really good for him, Zoe. I know…I know that you have a past of your own and I’m not going to ask you about it unless you want me to.”

  I froze, giving the smallest shake of my head.

  “That’s okay. I get it. We all have shit in our past that we’d rather forget. Believe me, I really get it.” She downed the rest of her beer, “I just want you to know that you can trust me if you want, and you can trust Jake too. He’d never betray you like that.”

  Guilt ate at me. A part of me felt terrible for keeping the truth from them, but the other part, the part that had kept me on the run and in survival mode for over a year kept me silent. I couldn’t talk about it. Not to Beth. Certainly not to Jake.

  I didn’t know what to say. Luckily, Beth broke the moment by grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the small makeshift dance floor in the middle of the bar.

  “Come on. Enough talk. Let’s dance!”

  * * *

  Jake

  “Okay, Sheriff Copper. Yes, I understand. Yes, I…of course. It’s evidence. No one will touch it, but...” I had to grit my teeth as I let him ramble on for another moment before finally cutting him off, “Listen, I really have to go. I’ll make sure it stays pristine until you can get here. Alright, bye now.”

  I hung up the phone and let out a sigh of relief. I’d interrupted the Sheriff while he was watching his nightly shows and he just couldn’t manage to get out to the ranch this evening, so he’d have to come by tomorrow.

  And then he’d recited what had felt like an entire goddamned encyclopedia regarding evidence tampering and things that I had never even heard of, and was pretty sure the sheriff hadn’t either. At least not until he’d read it. Turns out I’d been half right. He’d been reading from the Wikipedia page for collecting criminal evidence.

  I squeezed the bridge of my nose between my finger and thumb to try and relieve a little bit of the pressure headache that had started pounding in my temples at the long winded conversation. And the knowledge that I would have to repeat it all with him when he came by in the morning. It was almost too much to bear.

  Zoe rose in my thoughts, haunting me. At least Sherriff Copper’s ridiculous conversation had kept my mind off of her for a little while, but like always she came creeping back in.

  The way she’d reacted earlier to the threats, I could still see it so vividly. She’d gone pale, nearly white and for a moment had looked like she was going to pass out or make a run for it or both.

  It reminded me of her ex, what she’d told me about the abuse. The thought of anyone laying a hand on her had my own fists clenching in rage. She was so kind hearted. So gentle. So giving and compassionate. How anyone could ever hurt her was beyond me but just thinking about it made me see red.

  I thought of Zoe, and the bar that Beth had taken her to. There was only one bar in Solace and I normally avoided it like the plague because I didn’t want to accidentally run into to someone from my past. Besides, I knew the type of guys that went there. Guys just looking to pick up a girl for a night. Or girls looking for the same. One night stands wasn’t something I was exactly interested in.

  But now, that was all I could think about. Zoe there. With those guys that I knew where there, staring at her, ogling her, hitting on her.

  Unfamiliar emotions rose up inside me. The first was jealousy. I knew it was stupid, but the idea of her flirting with someone else drove me a little bit crazy. I knew we’d never talked about it. Hell, we’d hardly really talked. We hadn’t put any sort of labels on…whatever the hell we were, and I was fine with that. I thought I was fine with it.

  But the idea of Zoe going home with someone else was enough to have me on my feet
and halfway to my truck before I’d even realized what I was doing.

  Zoe wasn’t my ex, I told myself. She wouldn’t just jump into any guys bed. Not while she was with me.

  But is she really with you? Have you let her know that you want more than just a roll in the hay? Do you want more than that? I thought you were just having fun. The thoughts haunted me as I gunned the engine and headed into town, and as I pulled up in front of the bar I still hadn’t figured it out. But I knew one thing. I wanted Zoe, and I wanted her all to myself. I just prayed that she felt the same way.

  18

  Zoe

  The music caught me up, made my hips sway and my feet move in a rhythm that was deep and wild and sensual. I had forgotten how much I loved dancing. Elliot hated it. Said it made him feel self conscious, and of course little old me couldn’t go dancing by herself. That was just asking for trouble, he said. It would be scandalous.

  I threw my head back and laughed at the feeling of freedom that rushed through me as I twirled and spun. I hadn’t realized what a cage Elliot had put me in. A gilded cage. A comfortable cage. But a cage, nonetheless.

  Beth was swaying with someone as the song changed, the tempo changing, slowing, taking my body along with it. As always, the music claimed me. Wrapped me up in it until it became a part of me, and me a part of it. Like magic. Like a spell that could take me at any time, and I willingly went along with it.

  No one bothered me thanks to Dominic. I pretended I hadn’t seen him not so discreetly elbow the couple of guys that had tried to approach me. A part of me was angry at the Neanderthal mentality, but another part, the scared part, was grateful for the intervention. I was still feeling raw from that afternoon and the last thing I wanted was to deal with some drunk assholes.

  I just wanted to let loose for a little while. To pretend I was just a normal woman, out for a normal girl’s night out with a friend. Drinking a little and dancing a lot and just having fun. No worries. No cares. No ex-fiancés. No stalkers. And no threats.