Page 26 of My Cowboy Bodyguard

“I didn’t stick around to find out. But then one night shortly after that, a man crept into my apartment. Hearing the floorboard creak is how I managed to get away before anything happened to me.”

“You think he was working for the mafia?”

“I do. The heavy scent of his cologne was familiar as was the way he walked with a limp. I left everything behind that night and took off wearing just the pajamas I slept in. I was on the outskirts of Lucky River in the wee hours of the night when I had a flat tire.”

My heart nearly stops at the thought of the woman I love stuck on the side of the road. “What happened then?”

“An elderly woman, Claudia Morris, gave me a ride and bought me a change of clothes. She talked a little about the town and said she was responsible for matchmaking.”

“Claudia runs the Lasso a Cowboy event every year,” I tell her. “It’s a charity thing where when a cowboy is roped, he has to do whatever the woman who roped him wants as long as it’s not illegal. I think she does it just to get lonely people together.”

“Well, she’s a sweet lady but she drives like a bat out of hell.”

I laugh. “She does.”

“Then she said she’d given up driving a while and was only out for a wild spin.”

That sounds like Claudia. She used to assist Butterfly Buck in his painting endeavors, being what she referred to as the getaway driver.

Amanda sighs. “Shortly after meeting her, I met Ruly, got the job at the bookstore and fell in love.”

Could she…my heart pounds.Does she mean me?“Fell in love?”

“With Lucky River. I love this town.”

“It’s a good place to live and raise a family.” I wait, but she doesn’t respond to that, so I move on. “Alright, honey. I’ll have someone guard you and then I’ll make a trip to Dallas in the next day or two and handle this.”

She leaps off the desk, spins around, grabs my hand and holds it against her chest. “Please don’t.”

I know what she’s afraid of. “Nothing will happen to me. I promise.” I know how to handle myself but besides that, I’m not stupid. I know better than to walk into a viper’s den without backup.

Amanda releases me and presses her hand to her stomach. “I need to use the bathroom.”

“Down the hall on the right.”

When she’s out of earshot, I call Rio first and arrange for him to go with me to Dallas. Then I call Fury, the President of the motorcycle club, the Villain Crew.

Once I’ve amassed a group of men to watch after Amanda in my absence and another group to take the trip out of town with me, I go to find my woman.

The bathroom door is open, and the light is off.Hell, no, she didn’t.

I tear through the building, racing outside and when I see her leaning against the building, relief hits me.

“You don’t leave my sight,” I say, worry giving my voice a sharp edge.

“I was going to skip town,” she admits.

“What stopped you?”It’s you, Leo, that’s what I want to hear her say. I also want to hear her say it’s because she couldn’t bear to be apart from me.

“I left my purse and phone in your office.”

That’s not what I was hoping for.

“Amanda, you can’t ever leave me. My heart would break.”

“We’ve been friends for so long so I understand that but?—”

“Friendship isn’t what I’m looking for and it’s not what would break my heart.”

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