Page 14 of The Billionaire Who Saved My Cat From The Mafia

Karl knew me only as Fawn, my stage name.Nobody but my boss knows that I’m Frances Marie Lyles, and that’s only for payroll and tax purposes.

The second sheet of paper I pulled from the envelope was heavier and yellowed, dated 1932, and its message was hand-written in fountain pen.It was a deed to a cabin and one hundred acres on a mountaintop near Sweetbriar, Nevada.My mouth fell open when I saw it.

Paperclipped to the deed was an equally old hand-drawn map, smudged with barely readable descriptions of natural landmarks and back roads, things I never managed to locate on my drive up here.

No wonder I got so hopelessly lost.

Maybe those roads existed back in the 1930s but no longer do.Or maybe they had different names.Or maybe they never existed at all.

Could it be that this is some sort of scam?That I have no right to be here, just like the sexy rancher says?

“Well,shit.”I drop my head into my hands.In less than a minute, I feel the familiar touch of Pussy as she serpentines between my ankles, purring and rubbing against my too-thin socks.It’s her way of settling my nerves.Telling me I’m not alone.

“You’re such a good kitty.”I drop my hand to her fur and let my fingers stroke her from the top of her little cat head, down her back, and along the length of her entire tail.She loves that.

Then I reach down and grab my bag from the floor near the couch.I check to make sure the envelope is still in there and close my eyes in relief.Legit or not, the deed and map are why I’m here.I’d be in a shitload of trouble without them.Because “here” is smack in the middle of the wilderness, a place where Niko would never even think to look for me.

I remember that Karl said the one hundred acres of land was beautiful.He wasn’t lying.But that’s beside the point.Even if this spot was barren and ugly—but still managed to keep me out of Niko’s reach—I’d consider myself incredibly fortunate.

Except for one minor detail.

The super-hot rancher.Kevin MacLaine.He’s a wrinkle I didnotexpect.

“Mmmmrraaaooww.”Pussy’s eyes dart to the dirty windowpanes.I tip my head to listen.Great.More noises.What is it this time?

This better not be another wild animal.I grab my kitty and clutch her to my chest, now completely paranoid.I didn’t think this through.What if there really are mountain lions and snakes and whatever else MacLaine said was up here?Maybe I shouldn’t have brought Pussy.It’s dangerous for her here.But I couldn’t just leave her.

I could never just leave her somewhere.

I stand with her in my arms and walk to the window.

Oh,hellno.

I grab the door handle and pull it open.A loud creak cuts through the morning quiet.I stare as the hot rancher rides his horse right into the bare patch of pine needles out front.

I blink.I must still be half asleep because it looks like he’s got a pair of shoes dangling from around his neck.

“Morning,” he says.No emotion.No inflection in his voice.Absolutely zero sign of what the ever-loving fuck might be going on in that spectacularly handsome head of his and why he thought it was okay to just show up here at the crack of dawn like he owns the place.

Oh.Right.Maybe he does?

He dismounts, throws the horse’s reins over a tree branch, and pulls what looks like a coat from the back of the saddle.

And he walks right up to me.

Smooth.Sensual.All power and grace in such a huge male body.I can’t even handle the imagined perfection of his naked body.Over me.Under me.Lifting me.

This man is so fucking hot.If only things were different…

“Here.”Hiking boots swing from the laces he’s clutching in one hand while the other presses a coat toward me.“You look cold.”

CHAPTER 7

Special K

I know I’m not much of a conversationalist.Aside from my family, ranch staff, and folks in Sweetbriar who’ve known me all my life, I can baffle people.My lack of flowery words can sometimes be mistaken for rudeness or disinterest.

Like Boots, here.She’s staring at me like I’ve got five heads and a set of giant antennae.