Free Rocky Ride (Thompson & Sons) by Vivian Arend Page A

adrenaline count had to be off the charts—wakened from a solid sleep full of dirty sex dreams, she’d jerked on her clothes and hightailed it to Calgary as quickly as possible after Mitch had called.
    Fortunately, showing her police identification had given her a chance to talk to the head officer of the raid. Detective Mackie had been more than reasonable, especially once they’d spotted the mix up on numbers between the manifest Mitch had presented and the bills of sale.
    It was a mistake that would have been found eventually, but with the sheer number of arrests made that day it would have taken a lot longer to prove Mitch’s innocence if she’d been someone off the street.
    “You okay?” she asked Mitch as he joined her.
    He dipped his head, but avoided meeting her eyes. “Do I need to do anything before we get the hell out of here?”
    Detective Mackie rose from his desk, holding out a thin envelope. Mitch eyed it with suspicion. Anna grabbed the papers as Mackie explained. “Receipt for the items you brought in. I can’t let you back into the yard today—you’ll have to make another trip to pick up your transport. Sorry for the inconvenience, but the teams are working through there nonstop.”
    Mitch nodded then pushed past Anna to the exit door without another word.
    Anna paused. “Thanks for your help, sir. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me and help fix this mistake so quickly.”
    Mackie’s gaze lingered on Mitch’s back where he waited by the door, shoulders rigid under his jacket. “Let me know if there’s anything else you need a hand with.”
    Mitch had to be watching, because he had the door open as soon as she was within touching distance. Only he didn’t storm through like she expected, instead letting her step past him as he rotated to face the office.
    “Detective Mackie?” Mitch called back.
    The man looked up from where he’d returned to his paper-strewn desk. “Yes?”
    “Thanks.”
    That was it. No waiting for a response, Mitch caught hold of her and pushed her before him, out of the building and into the parking lot.
    Anna couldn’t blame him for not wanting to stick around. “Come on, I parked over here.”
    She linked her fingers through his and tugged him in the right direction. He squeezed once, then let her lead. Silence accompanied their walk.
    He grunted in surprise, though, when they turned the corner. “You drove my truck.”
    “You had a full tank of gas.” She looked up at him. “I hope that was okay.”
    “Damn it, Anna.” Mitch pulled her to a stop beside the driver’s door and hauled her into his arms. The hold he had was less of an embrace and more as if he were drawing strength from the contact. Anna wove her arms around his waist and clung tightly. Waiting for him to get past the moment. Hoping he’d open up and talk…
    Realizing that she wanted more intimacy—she wanted to know what he was feeling inside—and that knowledge turned her heart over in a weird flopping motion.
    Mitch exhaled long and hard, his breath heating the side of her cheek. “Thank you for coming and getting me. Thanks for keeping my ass out of jail.”
    “You didn’t do anything wrong, Mitch,” Anna pointed out. “They would have found the proof eventually.”
    Mitch opened his door and gave her a hand in. “Eventually might have meant time behind bars, and trust me, I’m not game to repeat that experience ever again in my life.”
    He slid in after her and held out his hand.
    Anna was in too much shock to understand what he was asking for at first. “Oh, your keys. Right here.”
    She dropped them into his palm before examining his face closely.
    Mitch’s dark eyes were pinned on hers. “You didn’t know I got arrested once?”
    She shook her head. “Too many speeding tickets?”
    The side of his mouth twitched. Almost a smile. “I’m surprised you never heard about this. I was hanging out with a bunch of friends during high school, and things went a