lori king rough ride romeo (7 page)

resolve, she shook her head.

“I have to do this on my own. I have to make sure that Vivi is safe, and then

she and I can go to the cops to get justice. What do you think Goat would do to

her if he caught wind of her sneaking a cal out to me? He beat her when she

wouldn’t have sex with a man who’d bought her for the night. I can’t risk her

safety.”

Roman’s golden green eyes met hers, and she could see he finally

understood. He gave her a slow nod. “Okay, so what’s the next step? Where in

Montford is he keeping her? I know this town inside and out, I can get you there

and help you get her to safety.”

He made the offer so readily that a smile stretched her lips. “Thank you, but

I don’t even know where to start looking. She said she was in a large house, with a

lot of rooms. There were other women being kept there but she didn’t know how

many. She was locked in a bedroom that had a bathroom attached, and the only

time the door was unlocked was when they were bringing her food or a client.”

“It’s got to be one of the old ranch houses.” He paced the foor again. She

came to realize that it was his habit when he was deep in thought, much the way

she chewed her lip. “Like this one.”

Franki’s heart thudded harder in her chest. “Yes! That would make sense.

This place is huge, and it’s on enough land no one would hear any screams if a

girl were to try.”

“There aren’t many ranch houses left around here that are as big as this. In

fact, Crawley Creek is the biggest of them, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t

some that would have the same privacy.”

“I can do a property search to see if there are any matching a general

description. It won’t take long to access the county property records. What county

are we in exactly?” she was pulling her laptop out of its bag in a rush to get more

information when Roman stopped her, reaching for her hands.

“Franki, what happens when you find her?”

“What do you mean?”

“What happens then? She’ll be suffering from a serious case of PTSD, and

God only knows what her physical injuries will be. You can’t throw her on the

back of your bike and head back to Minnesota with her.”

“That’s—” She stopped as the reality of his words hit her. He was absolutely

right. Once Vivi was free of Goat, that didn’t mean everything would go back to

the way it was. And if she was able to rescue her sister, would her abductor ever

truly leave them alone? “I don’t know. I didn’t get that far in my plan. I just had

to get here before they took her away and I lost her again.”

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to feel out my brothers and

some friends for places that might be harboring a set up like this. I’ve never heard

of this guy, Goat, or anything like this happening around here, but that doesn’t

mean it’s not. It just means I have to ask the right people. While I’m doing that, I

want you to talk to Marilyn and Lacy about staying here for a while. Your sister

can meet with the therapist we’re bringing on staff. She’s a specialist in PTSD.

That’s what we specialize in here, foster children, and people who’ve suffered

trauma. It will give you both time to get back on your feet and decide what’s

next.”

“We can’t do that!” she protested.

“Why not?” he asked, cocking his head and stepping closer.

“Because that’s not fair. You’re already fixing my bike, you don’t have to

provide long term housing for me too. I can figure something else out.”

His brown hair brushed the tops of his shoulders as he shook his head, “You

still don’t get it. I’m not offering this up out of some displaced sense of obligation.

I’m doing this because I can’t stand the thought of you leaving the ranch yet.”

His admission left her speechless, and he let out a laugh.

“Say you’ll think about it.”

She slowly nodded, “I’ll think about it.”

Dropping his lips to hers for a sweet kiss that was over much too fast he

whispered, “Good, now to bed with you. Keep your phone charged in case your

sister has a chance to try cal ing again. I’ll start digging up information

tomorrow...and Franki?”

“Yes?”

“We’ll find her. I promise you, I won’t stop until we find her.” It was there in

his eyes. The truth of his promise, and for the first time in almost three months,

she felt a spark of hope.

“I’l never stop looking for her, that’s for damn sure.” She felt it way down

deep inside, like she’d just made a commitment to her sister—and herself—that

she’d been unsure of before. Leaving St. Paul behind wasn’t as hard as it should

have been. It wasn’t like she had anything there to hold her down, but not many

people could uproot so easily. Perhaps she’d just been in limbo for this particular

purpose. Someone with greater power than hers had to have a plan. Otherwise,

well…

“You should probably get some sleep.” Roman said, softly stroking his

thumb across her jaw line. The touch was like a whisper against her skin, and she

shivered. The motion brought a smile to his face. “See, you’re cold. Into bed with

you.”

She should have argued. Any other time she would have, but he was right.

She was exhausted. Emotionally and physically wiped out. Under the guidance of

his firm hand, she moved to climb under the heavy comforter on the bed and

sighed with pleasure when the pillow gave under her head.

“There. See? Better already.” He patted the blanket down around her like a

concerned parent might. She was oddly comforted by his desire to care for her,

but she wasn’t sure how to tell him she liked it, so she just smiled back at him and

nodded.

He hesitated briefy before reaching for her lamp. “Good night Franki,” he

whispered. “Tomorrow things will look better. I promise.” With that he left her

bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him.

Franki drifted in and out of sleep throughout the night. Restless, and yet

extremely comfortable in the strange environment. Images of Roman consumed

her dreams way more than she would have liked. His loose hair, always glistening

in the sun or rippling in the breeze, and his muscular body. She could feel a pull

towards him in each new dream, like she desperately needed to reach him. And

for the first time in days, her sister’s face never appeared to her. By the time she

woke, she was almost as afraid of Roman’s presence in her life as she was of

Vivi’s absence.

With an air of determination, she showered, dressed and joined Marilyn in

the kitchen for a late breakfast.

“You’re looking vibrant today.” Marilyn complimented as they each ate a

bowl of fruit and a plate of pancakes.

Franki had pulled on the only other shirt she’d brought along. It was a neon

green long-sleeved t-shirt with a picture of the Hulk on the front. Grimacing at

how juvenile it probably looked, she gave Marilyn a reluctant smile, “I didn’t

exactly pack for a vacation. I only have a few things to get me through.”

“Oh dear, well we’ve got lots of odds and ends around here. I’m sure we can

put a few outfits together for you. After you’re done eating we’ll tackle the extras

closet and see what’s there.”

Franki stared at her in confusion, “The extra closet?”

“Extras closet. It’s a closet we’ve had since the very first foster child came to

stay at Crawley Creek. Those boys and girls were always arriving with nothing

but the clothes on their back, and Sera wanted to be able to clothe them properly,

so every summer she and I would raid the thrift stores and yard sales to put

together several pieces in almost every size possible. Saved a lot of money, and

brought a smile to more than one sad face.”

“What a kind gesture.” Franki was amazed at the lengths to which these

people would go for kids placed in their care only temporarily.

Marilyn just shrugged. “Kind yes, but that was Seraphina Crawley. Sweet,

and kind to a fault.”

They finished their late breakfast and Franki thanked her for making a

special meal outside of the routine.

“Pfft. I do this al the time for Roman. He’s the least likely of the boys to

make it down to breakfast on time, so he and I have a lot of morning brunches

together. It’s really no problem. My thyroid medication has to be taken on an

empty stomach, so it works better if I eat later than everyone else.”

Dishes clanked as Franki helped Marilyn clean up the mess, and she relished

the sound of someone else’s voice. Just mundane conversation was nice

occasionally. “I suppose the ranch starts work pretty early?”

Marilyn nodded, “Up with the rooster every morning. The milking cows

have to be tended, and I have to get the eggs from the chickens before the snakes

do. The fellas like a good hearty meal before they head out. Drannon used to be

the first down every morning, but he seems to sleep in later and later these days.”

A soft giggle startled Franki and she dropped the plate she was drying as she

spun around. Lacy hurried over to help her pick up the pieces. “I’m so sorry. I

didn’t mean to scare you. I just heard that last part Marilyn, and I believe that

probably has something to do with me. I’ve never been a morning person.”

Marilyn laughed and nodded. “He appreciates his bed more is all I’m

saying.”

“What are you two ladies up to today? Any updates on the bike parts yet,

Franki?” Lacy asked.

“I’m sure Vin wil update me later, but I just got up. Marilyn is going to help

me find a few extra things to wear since I’ve had to extend my stay.”

Lacy’s brown eyes grew big. “Oh, my God, yes! We get to go through the

closet!”

Franki looked at Marilyn in confusion at Lacy’s excitement, but Marilyn just

rolled her eyes. “I’ve never seen a woman get so excited about a closet full of used

clothes.”

Snorting, Lacy waved her hand at the older woman. “Closet hell. It’s more

like a castle of fabulous finds. Seriously Franki, if you have any interest in vintage

clothing whatsoever you’ll enjoy this.”

Frowning down at her jeans and shirt Franki shrugged. “Not real y. I go for

comfort mostly.”

“We can do comfortable too,” Marilyn said putting the last dish away and

hanging her towel. “Better get going so that you still have some time to scope out

the ranch. Maybe Lacy can give you a tour? It wasn’t so long ago that she was the

newbie around here.”

“You’ll love Crawley Creek,” Lacy gushed. “I never even knew a place like

this truly existed before I booked a trip here. I ended up falling in love and

staying.”

“Drannon seems like a great guy.” Franki offered.

“He is, but I didn’t just fall in love with him. I loved the ranch, and the whole

family. They took me in and treated me like I belonged from moment one.” Lacy

explained.

“Do you not have a family?” Franki asked.

“My dad lives in Des Moines, but we don’t have a very close relationship.

My mom died in childbirth with me. I was a working introvert back in Chicago. I

only left my house to go to my day job, and when I got sacked, I kind of fell into a

bit of a depression.”

They reached what seemed to be a bedroom door tucked back in the far

corner of the house, but the moment Lacy pushed the door open the scent of

cedar filled the air. What was once a bedroom now looked like a small clothing

store. A complicated looking closet organization system had been added to the

walls, and two partial walls that bisected the room in half. One side clearly held

female clothing, while the other held male. There was a meticulous sense of

organization to the room, and as Franki followed the two women inside, she

realized that each section of hanging space and shelving was neatly labelled with

the sizes.

“This is incredible.” She murmured, her hand drifting out to run over the

tops of the hanging clothing.

“This was Sera’s doing. She was a pretty incredible woman.” Marilyn said,

nodding her head.

“This was all for foster children?”

“Mostly, but Sera was also known to let someone stay here when they had a

need. There was one family who stayed for a year while they rebuilt their house

after a fire, and a few ladies from the church were here when they went through

their divorces. Crawley Creek has been a salvation for many.” Marilyn explained.

Ignoring them completely, Lacy had made her way across the room, and was

already selecting pieces of clothing. She was making a small pile of utilitarian

looking pieces that didn’t seem to suit her style at all and Franki moved closer to

question her.

“Is that for me?”

Lacy nodded, “Yep. I think I’m guessing the size right, but if something

doesn’t work we’ll just pick something else. Black is your go-to color, huh?”

Franki felt her cheeks heat and she nodded.

“No worries. I’ll have you all set in a minute.”

Instead of responding, Franki just watched and listened as Marilyn and Lacy

selected an almost perfect collection of clothing and set her up nicely for the rest

of her stay.

“I can’t thank you enough.” Franki said, trying to ignore the lump of