“Will do.”
Drew hung up his microphone. But instead of heading toward the interstate as he had told Harold, he pulled into the next gas station and parked his rig behind the building. He was glad there weren’t any other truckers around. If a lot-lizard had stowed away on his truck, she would be sorry.
Getting out of his rig, he headed toward the back. Opening the rig’s door, he knew a woman was somewhere among his boxes since the scent of her was even more potent. Climbing in the back, he looked around before he found her. A woman was asleep on one of his blankets.
He frowned. A stowaway was the last thing he needed. By habit, whenever he saw a woman, sleep or awake, his gaze would automatically check her out. This one here, dressed in a pair of jeans and a top, was almost too thin for his taste, though her body appeared shapely. Although one side of her face was resting on her hands while she slept, he could see that she looked young. It was his guess that she was probably not even eighteen. And she had the smoothest, most radiant-looking light brown skin he had ever seen. From the texture of the medium brown hair that hung past her shoulders, he figured she was biracial.
What would make such a pretty young girl take up the life of a lot-lizard? Of course, given her age, there was also the possibility that she was a runaway. Even with all the hell Walleen Steele had put him through growing up, he had never considered running away from home. This girl should be with her parents, who were supposed to love her and protect her from all the cruelties in the world.
There were some men out there who wouldn’t think twice about preying on someone young and innocent. She was lucky that he was not that type of man. He wondered if she had even finished high school. Her clothes looked decent enough. Even a bit costly. He’d heard some lot-lizards, as well as some runaways, were pros when it came to shoplifting. They referred to it as survival of the fittest and best dressed.
Drew checked his watch. It was time for his sleeping beauty to wake up.His sleeping beauty?Damn, how could his mind conjure up such a thought? She wasn’t his anything. No woman was. He needed her out of his truck. “Hey, you, wake up,” he said in a loud voice. “You need to get out of my rig now!”
Her eyes immediately flew open, and when she shifted her head to look up at him, he blinked, then suddenly felt like a deer caught in headlights. She had the most gorgeous pair of green eyes he had ever seen in his entire life, and for an unprecedented moment, Andrew Darryl Steele got lost in their beauty.
CHAPTER 3
Dread washed over Eden at the horrifying realization that she’d been discovered. But how was that possible when she hadn’t made a sound? The man who had loudly awakened her was now frowning, staring at her like he’d never seen a woman before. Still, she felt she should say something, so she did. “I can explain.”
He lifted a brow, and that gesture made her zoom in on all his features, not just his frown. His chestnut-colored skin looked like velvet, but in a tough sort of way. His eyes, which seemed focused on hers, were dark brown, and the shape of his mouth looked way too sinful. Even though he was standing over her, frowning down at her, she thought he had to be the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. And he looked pretty darn good in those jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket.
“There’s nothing to explain. You are a stowaway. I want to know if you’re a lot-lizard or a runaway.”
Her breath nearly caught at the sound of his voice, now that he was speaking in a normal tone and not yelling. How could his voice be raspy and throaty at the same time? All she knew was that it was, and she found it as sexy as the rest of him.
When she didn’t say anything, he said, “I’m going to ask you again. Are you a lot-lizard or a runaway?”
Eden had been so focused on him that she had missed what he’d asked. Pulling up in a sitting position, she pushed her hair back from her face and asked, “What’s a lot-lizard?”
“Since you have to ask, I guess you aren’t one. That meansyou’re a runaway.”
She could classify herself as one of those. “Yes, I’m a runaway.”
“Figures. Being a cargo stowaway is thoughtless as well as dangerous.”
She wasn’t sure she appreciated being considered thoughtless. She glared at him. “At the time, I felt it was the right thing to do.”
He glared back. “Well, you were wrong. It was not the right thing to do, and definitely not in my rig. How old are you anyway?”
“Twenty-one.”
“Look, miss, I don’t take kindly to liars.”
First, he had all but called her thoughtless, and now, he was assuming she was a liar, too. It was too much. The Tysons might stretch the truth a little bit, but they didn’t lie. At least not outright, anyway. Easing to her feet, she squared her shoulders and all but got in his face. “I know how old I am, mister.”
“Prove it. And I want to see a real ID. Nothing fake.”
She pulled her wallet from the back pocket of her jeans, took out her driver’s license, and handed it to him. She tapped her foot while she waited. She saw the frown settle in his features again. He looked at her and then back at the photo ID, as if to make sure it was the same person. Then he handed it back to her.
“Eden Tyson, you don’t look a day over seventeen. But what I want to know is why a twenty-one-year-old woman would be running from anyone.”
Eden nibbled nervously on her bottom lip. She could stretch the truth a little and say she was fleeing an overly jealous boyfriend or, like Beth, a crazy husband. However, for some reason, even without fully knowing this guy, she believed thatshe might be able to talk him into at least letting her ride the rest of the way to California.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he said, “I’m already missing time on the road because of you, so I would appreciate an answer. I think I deserve one since you uninvitedly occupied space in my truck for a good ten miles or more.”
She nodded, then took a deep breath. “I’m running away from my parents. Well, actually, just my father.”
**
