Suddenly she was hyperaware of a presence behind her.
“Appreciate the meal, ma’am.” A brush of warm breath skimmed the back of her neck and raised the hairs on her arms.
The low, gravelly voice turned her stomach. It was close. Too close.
She swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat and attempted to step to the side and take back her personal space, but a hard grip on her bicep pinned her in place.
“No reason to be scared, miss. Just wanted to give you a proper thanks. It was awfully nice of you to give me such a great meal for free.”
“No thanks necessary.” She yanked her arm, but he refused to release her.
He spun her around, letting go of her arm just long enough for her to face him. He reclaimed her bicep with his clammy hand, bracing his other on the bar at her back. He leaned close, the smell of cigarettes and sweat mixing with the beer on his breath.
Fear tightened her chest, but she refused to let him see it. She lifted her chin, staring him straight in the eyes. “You need to let me go. Now.”
His soft chuckle grated her nerves. He lowered his mouth to speak softly into her ear. “I’m just trying to be friendly. Give a man a chance, darlin’.”
“I said, let me go.” She couldn’t stop the quiver that shook her words.
He moved his lips to her jawline. His wiry beard scratched her skin.
She hiked up her knee as hard as she could until it connected with the sensitive spot between his legs. His grip loosened and she lunged away.
He fisted the neck of her shirt and hauled her to him, molding his big, lean body to hers. A sneer twisted his lips. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
Eve opened her mouth and screamed.
Disconnecting the call from his sister, a little bit of the tension wrapped around Reid Sommers’s neck loosened. As much as he loved his baby sister, their conversations got harder and harder. She might stay in their hometown in Indiana to help theirdysfunctional father, but Reid had run as far away from that mess as he could the moment he’d turned eighteen.
The Marines had made him into a man. And twelve years later, the town of Cloud Valley, Wyoming, gave him a home.
A home he’d spent the last year protecting as best he could as a security specialist at Sunrise Security.
Madden McKay, his boss and best friend, leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest. “Hey, man. You done with the case at the Wilson ranch?” The lines around Madden’s eyes told him his friend had suffered just as long of a day.
Reid propped his elbows on the desk. “Yeah. Finished late this afternoon. Was making my notes when Tara called.”
Madden’s dark brows rose. “Everything okay?”
“As okay as they can be.” Reid dropped his arms and shoved away from his desk. Needing to move, he paced between the lone window in his office and the cream-colored wall on the other side of the room. “Dad talked his way out of rehab then stole money from Tara. She’s upset, and I feel for her. I really do. But damn it, Dad will never change, and she’ll never accept that. I can’t keep getting sucked into this mess.”
Madden frowned. “I’m sorry, man. Wish there was something I could do.”
Stopping in front of the window, he stared at the mountains in the distance. The jagged peaks and explosion of colors that came with late summer calmed his jangled nerves. He pulled in a large breath. “I learned a long time ago there’s nothing anyone can do.”
Enough. Don’t waste another second on trouble hundreds of miles away. Not my problem anymore.
Except when Tara called and dragged him back into the middle of the mess he tried to avoid at all cost.
“Anyway,” he said, facing Madden. “We should talk about hiring more help. Things have finally picked up. I’ve finished the Wilson case and have three more waiting for my attention. Have you considered hiring Dax?”
Madden scowled but gave a tiny nod. “We’ve talked. I’ve also spoken with Ben recently. He’s searching for his place after leaving the Marines. This could be a good fit.”
“Agreed.”
After struggling to win over the citizens of Cloud Valley and the surrounding area, Sunrise Security had grown beyond anything Reid could have imagined. Business was booming, which left him and Madden with full hands and even fuller schedules. He trusted Dax, Madden’s younger brother, and Ben Besler, whom they’d served with in the Marines.
A quick glance at the clock ticking on the wall reminded him of the time. “Can we discuss more tomorrow? I need to get my head on straight after that call, and I’ve been here all day. I need to find some dinner and head to bed.”
