Page 35 of Cowboy

It went against everything in him to stand there arguing with these fuckheads when all he wanted to do was knock their heads together and race past them to get to Ava. But Cowboy forced himself to follow the plan.

Deke would get her out of there if he had to throw her over his shoulder and haul her out. Cowboy hoped he didn’t have to do that. Mostly because of how badly it might scare her.

He was still arguing with Rooster when Miles signaled to him from the corner of the building that Ava was safe. That was the end of Cowboy’s patience. He closed the distance between himself and Rooster and with a single punch to the face, knocked the other man to the ground.

Miles and Caden closed in on Jonesy from behind, taking him down and pinning him to the ground.

“Call the police. Now that Ava’s safe, we do this right. I’ll testify even if she won’t.” He turned to go get Ava from where they’d agreed Deke would take her once he got her out, but found her on her way to him. He wasn’t sure when, but she’d come around the corner and was now running for him.

She ran into him and threw her arms around his neck. He held her close, letting her catch her breath. When she lifted her head from where she’d buried it against his chest, he searched her face for any sign they’d been rougher on her than they’d had to be.

“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. I wasn’t even tied to the chair.” She inhaled a shaky breath. “If I’d have been braver, I would have tried to walk out sooner. But they threatened to tie me down or let things get ‘ugly’.” She dropped her face to his chest again, seeming to take a deep breath as she hugged him closer. “I’m so glad to see you. Do you know them?” She pulled away to look down at the men who were still on the ground, Miles and Caden each having pinned one down while he’d been distracted by Ava.

“I do. I’m sorry you got mixed up in this. If I’d known they would do something so stupid I would have warned you. We’ve already called the police, but I saw them take you and there was no way I was going to wait to make sure they weren’t hurting you.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

“You saw them take me? How? I looked for you and didn’t see you.”

“I saw you come out of the building, and I could tell there was something wrong by the way you walked. I didn’t know who it was or that it was about me until they passed me pulling out of the parking lot. I followed. There was no way I was going to sit there waiting for the police while they took you God knows where.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” She hugged him.

A police car pulled in, followed by a second. They spent the next hour answering questions and repeating what had happened.

26

By the time Ava made it home she was shaking with exhaustion and stress. She was ready to collapse and sleep for a week. She knew that wouldn’t happen, but at least tomorrow was Saturday and she had no plans.

“Come sit down for a few minutes. I’ll heat this stuff up and at least we can eat.”

Cowboy guided her to the sofa where she sat while he carried the food he’d pulled from the things on his motorcycle into the kitchen. She didn’t know if she would be able to eat but she would try.

While he was gone, she stared at the wall, trying to process what had happened. She’d been terrified, but they hadn’t hurt her. But there was nothing saying she wouldn’t be hurt next time. Could she handle a next time?

Her mind went blank. She didn’t want to think about something like this happening again.

“Here’s your plate.” Cowboy came into the room carrying a pair of plates. “You want to eat in here or in the kitchen?”

“In the kitchen.” She pushed herself to her feet and followed him to the other room.

They sat at the kitchen table, Ava ate mechanically, barely registering what they were eating. Something was off, but she couldn’t say exactly what.

When they were done, Cowboy cleaned up, putting their dishes in the dishwasher, and wiping down the counters before he went to the table where Ava still sat.

“Come on, Angel. Let’s go lay down.”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m in the mood.” She didn’t resist, but followed as he took her hand, tugged her to her feet, then led her into the bedroom.

“I’m not after sex, Angel. You’ve had a rough evening and I think you’ve got a little bit of shock going on. Let’s just lie down and maybe get some rest and see how things are in the morning.”

He peeled her shirt off, Ava moving on autopilot to let him get her ready for bed.

“You’ll be gone tomorrow.”

“What was that?”

“You’ll be gone tomorrow. You have that thing with your club.” She blinked but didn’t follow his movements as he bustled around the bedroom getting them both ready for bed. The whole world seemed fuzzy and out of sorts.

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