by Lori Foster
Awed by the gift of trust, Charlotte stood. “He’s not.” She felt very sure of it. “Settling down, getting some roots and having family is too important to him. I think he wants that more than anything.”
“Funny, because I think he wants you more than anything.” She dropped her hands into her lap and studied Charlotte. “He may have first come here for his brothers, but it’s you, Charlotte, who will get him to stick around.”
Wow. The weight of responsibility weighed heavily on her. “I’ll certainly do my best.” For her own selfish reasons, she too wanted Mitch to stay.
“Good.” Ros drew her into a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I think you’re both pretty special. In the nicest possible ways, you deserve each other.”
After securing the door behind Ros, Charlotte checked the time. Hopefully she got back soon because they had one last local job to fit in.
It’d probably put them over a bit, but the delivery was for a friend and neighbor, not just a customer. Charlotte couldn’t wait to see Mitch again, but she also believed in great service for their return people.
Lost in thought, it startled her when the landline rang. That’s what she got for imagining how things would be tonight with Mitch instead of concentrating on the work schedule for tomorrow.
She answered with a crisp, “Mustang Transport, this is Charlotte. How may I help you?”
“Sweet Charlotte.”
The unfamiliar voice made her senses prickle. She pushed back from the desk, her brows pulling in a frown. “Yes?”
“I heard Mitch was looking for me.”
The world came to a standstill. “Newman?”
Without confirming or denying that, he said, “Tell him not to worry. I’ll find him—when I’m damn good and ready.”
Drumming up meager courage wasn’t easy, not when her limbs trembled and her stomach bottomed out. “He’s not alone anymore.”
“No, he’s not, is he? Now he has you.” She heard breathing, and then, “I’ll be seeing you soon, and then we’re going to have us some fun.”
That sounded like a threat, making her mouth go dry. “So this is Newman. I’m hanging—”
“Don’t you fucking dare!”
Alarm shot her heart into her throat and she automatically slammed down the phone—a perk to having a landline.
It immediately rang again, each loud peal jangling her nerves. She stared at it until it stopped.
Seconds later, a knock on the front door brought her half out of her seat, ready to slam the door to the inner office again.
Then Ronnie called out, saying, “Hey, Charlotte. It’s me. Let me in.”
Relief turned her legs to noodles. Ready, even anxious for an ally, she rushed to the door, scanning the surrounding lot through the glass as she opened it.
Dressed in black jeans and a white tank, the bangs of her short platinum hair swinging from a side part, Ronnie entered with her usual swagger. “Hey, girl, what’s up...” Always observant, she took one look at Charlotte and her words died a quick death. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“A call.” Locking the door again, Charlotte headed back to her desk. She needed a seat before she started explaining.
Ronnie stayed hot on her heels. “From him?” she asked, a sneer in her tone.
God, how she wished she had Ronnie’s courage. Trying to contain her thundering heart, she flattened a palm on the desk and drew a shuddering breath. “That’s what he said.”
Suspicion sharpened Ronnie’s gaze. “What else?”
“Maybe just nonsense, but...”
“But probably not, so spill.”
Seeing no way around it, Charlotte nodded. “He...well, he toyed with me and I maybe overreacted.”
“What did you do?”
“Slammed down the phone—after he warned me not to.”
Ronnie grinned, and offered a high five. “Way to go.”
Helplessly, Charlotte smacked her palm to Ronnie’s. “Yeah...pretty sure it only made him mad.”
“Too bad for him, right?”
When the phone rang again, Ronnie’s grin widened. “I’m putting him on Speaker, so don’t say anything.” With that warning, she answered the call. “Lo.”
There was a startled pause, and then: “Hmmm, no longer sweet little Charlotte, huh?”
“Nope.” Sitting on the edge of the desk, Ronnie folded her arms. “So what do you want, asshole?”
“To talk to her.”
“Tough titty. Anything else?”
Charlotte gaped at her. Thank God it was the same voice, and not a potential customer.
The caller laughed. “Oh, you fancy yourself a little badass, huh?”
“Bad enough to cut out your heart, if you weren’t a coward who resorted to childish prank calls—and dicking with cars.”
“Bitch!”
“But hey, you are, right? So how about I’ll just hang up on you? Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.” Unlike Charlotte, she didn’t slam down the phone. She merely pressed the button.
“Ronnie...”
“Just wait. He’ll call back. They always do.”
Nails tapping on the desk, Ronnie waited while Charlotte sat there feeling...exposed. Like people could see her, could know her fear.
Trying to hide her uneasiness, she whispered, “Maybe—”
The phone’s jarring ring didn’t jolt her quite so badly this time.
“So,” Ronnie said by way of answer. “Working up to something, are you?”
“Yes, I am.” He sounded more composed this time. “Soon we’ll see how good you are with that little blade.”
Ronnie laughed, a sound that was both mean and anticipatory. “Anytime. Anywhere.” Taunting the caller, she added a few clucking chicken sounds.
A feral snarl erupted through the line. “You just sealed your fate.”
“Uh-huh. Well, thanks for hanging on the line long enough for me to trace the call.” With false satisfaction, she stated, “Gotcha.”
Immediately the line went dead.
Ronnie shook her head. “Idiots will believe anything.”
“Oh my God,” Charlotte whispered, dumbfounded by Ronnie’s audacity. “You taunted him.”
“Yeah, so? We need him to act. Now he’ll be more inclined.”
“To kill you!” To kill me too. But then, she hadn’t yet told Ronnie what he’d said.
Hyperventilating was a very real possibility.
Giving Charlotte a long look, Ronnie left the desk and went to peer out the door. “Odds are he called from a cell, and that’s a whole different matter—not that the idiot seemed to know it.”
Sympathizing with Jack and his efforts to keep Ronnie safe, Charlotte followed her. “You really shouldn’t have done that. I’m pretty sure the guys won’t approve.”
“I can guarantee Jack, Brodie and Mitch feel the same way I do. Waiting is the tough part, not knowing where the creep is or when he’ll do something.”
“When he does something,” Charlotte pointed out, “they want it to be toward them, not you.”
Indifferent over that possibility, Ronnie shrugged. “Once he comes out of hiding, the guys will get him.” She glanced back, her gaze intent. “If I don’t get him first.”
Charlotte could only shake her head. “You’re—”
“Yeah, Jack has a few names for it, none of them all that complimentary.” Dropping back against the wall, she smiled. “At least not all the time.”
“I don’t understand you.” In case she took that wrong, Charlotte added, “I adore you. I love having you in the family. But the things you do—”
“I know.” Voice so low Charlotte could barely hear her, Ronnie whispered, “You’ve never been attacked—and I’m glad. But it changes things.”
Gently, Charlotte asked, “Like
?”
“I’ll never be the victim again. I’d rather attack first.” Turning back to the door, she said, “Mitch is here,” as if they hadn’t been discussing something so very dark.
Anxious to see him, Charlotte stepped up next to Ronnie to watch his long-legged, easy approach. Dark sunglasses hid his eyes, but his hard mouth held a sexy curve of anticipation.
To see her.
She loved seeing him like this, carefree, happy. He deserved peace and quiet. He deserved a secure life.
“God, I hate to tell him about this,” Charlotte murmured, dreading his reaction. “He’s already dealt with so much. Finding out about this is really going to upset him.”
“Upset him?” Ronnie snorted. “It’s going to piss him off,” she corrected. “Besides, he’s not a little kid who needs to be protected.”
He was once...and he’d had no one.
“Charlotte,” Ronnie said in gentle reprimand. “He needs to know.”
“I know.” She wished for a way to shield him, to insulate him from this new ugliness, but he couldn’t guard himself unless he had all the details.
Reaching the door first, Ronnie unlocked and swung it open, greeting him with, “Perfect timing.”
Arrested by the cryptic comment, Mitch stalled just inside the door, instantly alert. Pulling off the sunglasses, he studied first Ronnie, then Charlotte.
The transformation was startling. His shoulders seemed to bulge right before her eyes. He stood taller, looked more dangerous.
Ronnie shifted her gaze to Charlotte. “See what I mean?”
Charlotte nodded.
“What happened?” Striding in past Ronnie to Charlotte, Mitch clasped her shoulders. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Seeking to have just a speck of the courage and calm Ronnie possessed, she told him everything that had happened, every word Newman said.
Ronnie dropped back against the wall. “You didn’t tell me he was after you.”
“It’s me he wants to hurt,” Mitch said. “But he’ll use all of you to make it happen.”
Charlotte twisted her hands in his shirt. “You can’t leave us.” You can’t leave me.
“No, I can’t. Not now. That opportunity came and went.”
“At least you’re clear on that,” Ronnie said.
His hand came up to cradle Charlotte’s cheek. “I’ll see you home.”
“No.” She covered his hand with her own. “You promised me a date, and I plan to hold you to it.”
“But—”
“I’ve been waiting all day.” She got a smile on her face, and knew it reeked of determination. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
AFTER FOLLOWING RONNIE to Ros’s house, where Elliott was already camped out, Mitch drove out of town. While trying to get his rage under control, he kept quiet—and that bothered Charlotte.
He could tell by the way she kept looking at him, the way her hands knotted in her lap. “You’re okay?”
Hoping his smile looked genuine rather than forced, he nodded. “Fine.”
With a delicate clearing of her throat, she pointed out, “You don’t sound fine exactly.”
Because he wasn’t. When he caught up to Newman, he’d take him apart with his bare hands. Overall he was in a killing mood—literally. Newman’s threats against Charlotte were bad enough, but... “What Ronnie did was incredibly reckless.”
“I don’t disagree. From what she said, she’s someone who needs to face things head-on.”
That’s not what she’d done. With Newman baiting them from the shadows, no one could face him. That didn’t mean Ronnie should poke him with a stick. “Will she tell Jack?”
“Yes. From what I can tell, she doesn’t keep things from him, and vice versa.” Charlotte fiddled with her purse strap. “He’s going to hit the roof, that’s for sure. Not that Ronnie cares.”
“No?” If he could keep her talking, maybe she’d relax. Dinner tonight shouldn’t be about Newman. It should be about them.
“He accepted who she is before he married her.”
Some of what they’d gone through sounded horrendous. He’d heard bits and pieces, and each time Ronnie’s daring impressed him. He imagined Jack hadn’t stood much of chance. “Had they known each other long?”
“Before he knew she was the one?” Shrugging, Charlotte gave it some thought. “Not really. But they went through enough early on to fill a lifetime.”
“And here she is, asking for more trouble.” It bothered him most that the trouble was attached to him.
“She could no more hide from it than you could. In some ways, she’s even...bolder than Brodie and Jack.”
“You were going to say ballsier, weren’t you?” Her mouth twitched and he teased, “You were, admit it.”
“The term suits her.”
“I agree.” He felt compelled to say, “I like her,” so she wouldn’t misunderstand his criticism. “I probably have more in common with her than the rest of them.”
Her smile disappeared. “Them—including me?”
Reaching out, he caught her hand and gave her fingers a careful squeeze. “You’re in a class all your own.”
“That’s better.”
Laughing, he lifted her hand to brush a kiss over her knuckles. “I like Ronnie, but it was wrong of her to make herself a target. She might think she understands Newman’s ilk, but she doesn’t. I want him coming after me, not anyone else.”
Abruptly she yanked back her hand, her frustration palpable. “Well, I don’t want him coming after you! None of us want that, okay?”
“Don’t get riled,” he said, and that just seemed to rile her more.
“When will you get it?” In a dramatic display of temper, she leaned closer to growl, “You matter to all of us.”
He’d found that mattering to her was the most important. “I know, and I appreciate it—”
“Oh God,” she groaned with a heavy dose of disgust, flopping back into her seat. “You appreciate it? Great. Exactly what a girl likes to hear.”
Until this moment, he’d forgotten what a temper she had. He thought back on how she’d given Brodie hell a few times, and damned if it didn’t make him smile.
He didn’t want the polite regard of a stranger, or the kid gloves reserved for guests.
From Charlotte, he wanted everything, and that meant knowing her moods, understanding what mattered to her.
Relishing the fact that, apparently, she cared enough to let down her guard and be herself with him.
She’d said so. Hell, she’d claimed to be falling in love.
But then, she was new to intimacy and that could confuse anyone. Her temper almost meant more to him than anything else.
In a softly threatening tone, she asked, “Are you smiling?”
“I’m happy, so yeah.” One glance at her, and the smile became a grin. “Few people have ever worried enough about me, or cared enough, to give me hell.” She might be a sexual virgin, but when it came to emotional involvement, he was the inexperienced one. “It’s a novel thing and I’m enjoying it.”
“Mitch.” She deflated, poignant insistence replacing the anger. “I care a lot.”
“I wouldn’t mind hearing that every day.” For the rest of my life. “You’re like a very special gift, Charlotte, one I didn’t ask for, one I didn’t even know I wanted.” One he would cherish.
Cautiously teasing, she replied, “Good, because you’re stuck with me now.”
He hoped so. Pulling out his phone, he said, “In case Ronnie doesn’t tell anyone soon enough, I’ll get hold of Brodie and he can talk with Jack, okay? Between them, they can let Ros know, and I guess Colvin.”
“Thank you. I do worry about her.” Glancing out the window, she murmured, “I hope she’s not out waiting on the porch again.”
“Lord help us.” He scowled. “Elliott wouldn’t—”
She snorted. “Elliott would have no influence with her. No, if anyone does, it’d be Ros.”
“I have a feeling that lady could tame lions with her smile.”
Fond regard brightened her eyes and lifted her spirits. “No doubt.”
They had a few minutes yet before they reached his house, so Mitch put in the call. Luckily, the country roads were deserted with very little traffic, and the scattered trees left no room for an ambush. He could afford the slight distraction, but still he put the phone on Speaker and rested it in the console between them so he could keep both hands on the wheel.
Once Brodie answered, it didn’t take long to convey everything. He’d expected Brodie’s anger, but instinctively knew the quiet rage was even worse.
“I’m done screwing around with him,” Brodie stated, his tone flat. “It’s impossible for him to be anywhere in the area without being noticed. Someone has seen him and I’m going to find out who.”
He made it sound so easy. “If you could do that, why haven’t you?”
“Because I hesitate to strong-arm friends and neighbors—”
“You try it with me all the time!”
With a shrug in his tone, Brodie said, “You’re a reluctant brother, so it’s different.”
Mitch glanced at Charlotte. “Not so reluctant.”
There was a moment of surprise. “Glad to hear it.” Then Brodie added, “If I have to grill everyone from the grocery bag boys to the elders at the church, I will. I promise you, we’ll find the prick.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. When?”
“I’ll start tonight at Freddie’s.”
Well, shit. Mitch rubbed his mouth, hating the idea of cutting his visit short with Charlotte, but her safety was more important.
“I’ll join you.” More than his next breath, he’d looked forward to having Charlotte all to himself. He’d been anticipating that uninterrupted time all day.
She looked at him, her own disappointment keen.
His number one priority had to be protecting her, and that meant doing whatever it took. He damn sure wouldn’t let Brodie do it for him.
With him, maybe—but not in his place.