Free Her Survivor: A Black Eagle Ops Novel by Vonnie Davis Page B

his chest, burning his gut.
Motherfucker!
“Are you shittin’ me? Where does he work?” He was really going to check this dude out now. He was getting a feeling about him.
    “I haven’t asked much about Jim, because I don’t care to know anything about him. His wife, Chloe, comes in sometimes with their rowdy twin boys. Jim wears a tan shirt with a ‘Gas-N-Go’ emblem on it, so he must work there. It’s about five miles south of town, on the main road. Honestly, he gives me the creeps.”
    He stared into the depths of her green eyes and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him, her softness feeling like heaven against his hardened muscles. “Call me every time he comes in. I’ll stay on the line with you until the bastard leaves. I want you to feel safe.” Before he thought it through, he leaned and kissed her beneath her ear and she trembled in his arms. With a quick turn of her head, she pointed to her other ear. “I’ve got one over here, too.”
    He chuckled softly and kissed her where she’d indicated, and then slid his teeth along her jaw. “I saw on your hours sign, you’re closed tomorrow afternoon. Do you have any plans?” He grazed his lips down her neck. How had he suddenly become so protective of her and, dammit, a tad possessive, too?
    “N…no. I usually do my errands or laundry or something.”
    “Did you know ‘something’ was my middle name?” He bit her gently where her neck joined her shoulder and she moaned. “What if I became your something—for lunch? I saw a couple benches across the street, closer to the falls. I could bring a pizza and a couple sodas. We could share lunch. Talk. Listen to the falls.”
    “Pepperoni and mushroom?”
    He shook a finger. “With extra cheese.”
    She flashed a smile that rivaled the sun. God, she had a gorgeous smile. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll look forward to it.”
    Dustin kissed her forehead. “Remember, if Jim bothers you again, call me. Women deserve respect. My two older sisters beat that fact into me. Tomorrow, Kelcee.”
    On his way out, he waved to Junebug and another lady walking up the street, talking and elbowing each other. The other woman, rather chunky, her platinum hair teased into a Marilyn Monroe style, gaped at him as if he were the last piece of chocolate in the candy store. It didn’t take him long to get into the borrowed truck.
    When he stepped into the kitchen at the ranch, ZQ was standing duty over the pie, his face contorted into a scowl, and his index finger pointing to the empty spot in the pie pan.
    “Don’t start with me. Kelcee hadn’t eaten all day, so I took her some lunch. I gave her my piece of dessert. Do you know a married guy in town by the name of Jim, works at the Gas-N-Go?”
    “Jim Dobbins, self-proclaimed ladies’ man and all-around asshole? Yeah, I know a little about him. Why?” ZQ opened the refrigerator and snagged a longneck.
    “I was talking to Kelcee over the phone and the motherfucker said some inappropriate things to her. I catch his ass, by damn, he’ll leave her alone.”
    ZQ popped the top and took a long draw. “Changing your tune about her, aren’t you?”
    Dustin shrugged as he focused once more on her drawing. “Like you said, she’s a sweet person. She makes me smile. God, she can be comical as hell sometimes and I don’t think she has a clue. It just comes natural to her. Hope it was okay I borrowed your truck. I drive and brake with my right foot so the loss of the left one doesn’t hamper my driving.”
    “No problem, Dust. What you did was right. In fact, use it whenever you need it. Just keep the gas tank filled.”

Chapter 6
    ZQ carried his beer into his office and closed the door. He hadn’t heard a peep from Ashley since he’d offered to come for her in his helicopter. Time to touch base. He dialed her number. No answer. He waited fifteen seconds and dialed again. This was the first time he’d called her. He’d always waited for her to