Page 12 of I Want Crazy (Loco, Texas 3)

“And leave my bar alone.”

“It’s my bar!” She shut the door before he could say anything and flipped him off. As she ran into the front door of the hotel, heat pulsed in his veins. Excitement and arousal weren’t new to him, but it had been a long time since a woman had gotten to him this way. Since before Jake and Rand’s wedding to be sure.

As he drove home, his mind went into overdrive, scenes flashing in his head for his novel. Several minutes later, he hopped out of his car and ran inside. He flipped on the light, and Orange opened one eye from his sleeping position on his laptop.

“Sorry, buddy, but you got to move.” Red scooped up the cat, whose chest vibrated against his hand with a deep purr until he set him down. When he started to pull away, the cat swiped at him with one of his paws.

“Watch it, asshole, or you can kiss your comfy life good-bye.”

The cat’s tail twitched rapidly, but Red didn’t have time to soothe him. After making a fresh pot of coffee, he sat down and started writing. His characters had just shared their second kiss and some heavy petting when Red’s hands started to cramp. His eyes were bleary, and as he squinted at the clock, he realized it was almost six in the morning.

Saving his work, he shut his laptop and stumbled back to bed. As his head hit the pillow, Jessie’s face popped up behind his closed eyelids.

Whatever else, the girl was great for writer’s block.

Chapter Four

Jessie was up at the crack of dawn and at the bar to finish painting. It was a lot of work for one person, but she wanted the inside updates finished before she bought the new widescreens. Besides that, she needed a new oven and deep fryer for the kitchen, furnishings, and a staff. She had already set up the insurance and applied for her liquor license before she’d even arrived in Loco. They’d approved her a few days ago, so she was good on that. She had already paid for an inspection and business license, but there was still so much to do. It was such a daunting job that sometimes she wondered if she had really thought the whole thing through.

The answer was no. She just wanted out of a bad situation and to fulfill her dream.

And now she had really gone and done it. After Red had kissed her, she had tossed and turned half the night. She didn’t need the distraction or complication of “feelings,” especially for a guy like him.

Oh, you mean a guy who sticks up for a lone woman and offers to drive her home because it’s late?

No, a guy who used her explanation about friendship to kiss her.

Maybe he really had been just proving a point, but even if he hadn’t felt anything, she had. Briefly. Just a little spark, no big deal.

Ha, more like a Fourth of July light show. No, no, no. Stop thinking about him or whatever things you may have felt when he kissed you. You…do…not…want…him.

Trying to do what her brain demanded, she’d been painting for several hours when she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. Turning down the music, she looked at the cell and didn’t recognize the number. Pressing the decline button, she let it go to voice mail.

A minute later, her phone chirped. Putting down the paint roller, she tapped the voice mail icon, and held it to her ear. A familiar voice came over the line and a chill shot down her spine.

“Hey, baby.”

Jessie gripped the phone, her heart pounding hard and fast.

“I can find you anywhere you go, baby. Technology is amazing that way.”

It was impossible. Will was sitting in jail, so the only way he could have gotten her new cell number was if he’d had one of his tech friends search for her.

“I miss you, baby. Don’t you miss me?”

No! In fact, every time he called her “baby,” her skin crawled.

“I have good news. Looks like I’m getting out of here sooner than later. California prison system is overcrowded, and they’re looking for people who are nonviolent and truly repentant.”

“You aren’t sorry for what you did, you bastard,” Jessie muttered to herself.

“I’d love to tell you in person how sorry I am, but I heard you moved closer to your dad. Maybe when I get out we could—”

Jessie hung up the phone and tried to slow her breathing. It was the first time Will had called in over a year. It was why she’d changed her number three times and spent a year traveling; the last thing she wanted was Will getting out and looking for her. Especially after the last phone message he’d left her.

“You owe me, bitch. You ruined my life and if you think you’re getting away from me, you are delusional. I own you, baby. And I have the videos to prove it.”

Going behind the bar, she poured a shot of whiskey and tossed it back, hissing as the liquid heat singed her throat. She didn’t care that it was eight in the morning; she needed it. She knew the police had confiscated all the videos from Will’s computer, but the idea he might have had a backup somewhere haunted her, along with who might have seen it.

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