Millie's Second Chance (11 page)

“There’s no way I’m letting you travel that far on foot,” Marco scolded as he headed toward the front and grabbed his bag that lay in one of the cubbies by the front door.

Millie placed her hands on her hips and stared at him.

“Excuse me, Deputy Lewis, but I don’t know you or your brothers, so if you don’t mind, I feel more comfortable taking care of myself and jogging back to the Triple C. I appreciate your kind and hospitable offer, but no, thank you.”

Millie grabbed her things, bowed her head before exiting the dojo, and left.

“Hot damn, that woman’s got a fire in her.” Marco watched her head down the street, adjust her bag so it was a backpack, and begin to walk out of town.

Dalton was beside himself. They each had women like Stella, Paula, Lisa, and Melody throwing themselves at them, which drove them mad with annoyance. Now here was Millie, a sweet, very interesting young woman and she avoided him and his brothers like a plague.

“She is something else, isn’t she?” Hank whispered.

“Sure is,” Marco replied.

“Did you feel it when you touched her?” Marco asked Dalton, but Dalton didn’t want to go there. Women were trouble and he was farthest from good enough for a woman as beautiful as Millie.

“Naw. Not a thing,” Dalton said then attempted to walk away.

“Bullshit, ‘not a thing.’ When you touched her hand to help her up the two of you were locked in a deep gaze and even I felt the electrical current around us,” Marco stated.

“Me, too. When we were both touching her at once, I had flashes of images moving in my head.” Hank sounded shocked himself.

Dalton knew he had the same thoughts.

“Well, don’t go acting on those thoughts. She seems really sweet but also like she’s hiding something. Why is she here and how long is she planning on staying in Pearl?” Dalton asked aloud and his brothers mumbled.

“As the local deputy in town, I may be able to find out that information, brother,” Marco said then grabbed his bag and headed out of the dojo with a smirk on his face. Dalton and Hank shook their heads then went about getting ready for the next class.

Millie was leaning against the doorframe, cringing at the thought that tomorrow she would be climbing up ladders and painting the rec center along with Anna, Stacy, Lena, and Sage. After her excursion this morning of working out at the dojo, sparring with the Lewis brothers, and then running the five miles back to the Triple C, her body was in pain.
What the hell was I thinking?

She watched Stacy labeling which areas in the rec center would be painted specific colors. She had to admit that Stacy was definitely a control freak and enjoyed being in charge. At the moment, that suited Millie just fine. She adjusted her stance and swallowed hard at the achiness. She figured a few months out of her routine of working out would leave her achy on her returning days, but this was crazy. It had to do with the run back to the ranch. She hadn’t run like that in ages. But it was better than accepting a ride from a man she didn’t know, despite her body’s cry to accept the ride and spend some more time in the hottie’s presence. She shook her head at the thought. She couldn’t trust her judgment of men anymore. She sure as hell wasn’t going to allow her physical attraction to any man to make decisions for her.

“Hello, Millie. Did you hear me?” Stacy asked and both Lena and Anna smiled at Millie.

“Sorry. I’m just a bit tired, I guess. Being out of practice from the dojo for a few months had really set me back. I’m not as good as I used to be.”

“I tend to argue with you there, Millie. Sage and I saw you sparring with Marco, Hank, and Dalton. You looked amazing.”

Millie felt her cheeks warm at the compliment.

“Thanks.”

“She was sparring with Marco, Dalton, and Hank?” Stacy asked as she walked closer to Millie and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Spill the beans, sister, or else,” Stacy demanded.

“What?”

“What went down?” Anna asked.

“Nothing went down. I sparred a little with them. They were testing my abilities to see what class I would fit into better.”

“Oh, there was some testing going on, all right,” Sage chimed in and both Stacy and Anna smiled.

“Did you get really touchy feely with the Lewis brothers? You know we saw how Anthony and Jeremy were talking to you before. Both were standing real close and looked a bit annoyed when their workers were checking you out,” Stacy teased.

“Oh, cut it out. They were not flirting and no one was getting touchy feely,” Millie replied.

“You should have seen how annoyed Paula and the girls at the dojo were that the men were paying them no attention and giving Millie full attention,” Lena added.

“Stop that. Nothing happened. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“They like her,” Sage whispered then glanced around just as Deputy Marco Lewis pulled up in the patrol car outside.

“Look who’s coming to visit our Millie,” Anna teased.

“Let’s go see if the guys delivered the supplies for tomorrow,” Stacy suggested.

“Don’t you dare leave me here alone with—”

“Why hello, Deputy Lewis, how are you doing?” Anna interrupted.

“Doing well, Anna. I came by to check out the construction. Spoke with Jeremy and Anthony a little while ago. Said things are moving along smoothly,” Marco stated.

“They sure are. We’re actually headed out to check on supplies for painting tomorrow. Millie can show you around.” Stacy ushered the others out of the building. Millie shook her head. She was going to have to tell the women to stop playing matchmaker. She wasn’t interested.

Although, Marco looked exceptionally good in a uniform.

“So you made it back in one piece after all?” he teased as he took off his hat and held it with his hands. His fingers played with the rim of it and she imagined those fingers on her skin, brushing against her cheek. She shook the thoughts. Hadn’t she just said “no way” to men?

“Yeah, well, I may look like I’m in one piece, but I’m definitely feeling a bit exhausted. I haven’t worked out like that or ran that far in a while. My poor body is paying the price.”

“Well, you looked really good on the mat. My brothers and I were impressed. Also I’m curious about what else you know how to do.”

She locked gazes with him a moment, wondering what he meant. Why did it feel like this conversation was going to supply hidden innuendoes and flirtatious retorts?

“I told you guys back in the dojo about my experience in the martial arts.”

“I think you held back a bit. Should be fun to see how Dalton and Hank pull out some more of your hidden secrets,” he teased and she felt her cheeks warm and her throat close up.

How would they feel when they knew she had been involved with an abusive man, was nearly killed, and was now being hunted by him? Or the fact that she hadn’t learned her lesson the first time around and got involved with an egocentric, verbal abuser like Stewart?
Shit!

She felt her confidence deflate and the battle within herself turn to defeat and disgust. Why had she been so stupid?

“Hey, what’s wrong? You look upset,” he said, and she snapped her head back up to look at him.

She pulled away from the wall and stepped toward the doorway.

“Listen, there’s nothing interesting about me. I’m just trying to live my life and make some big decisions about my future plans either here in Pearl or elsewhere. I like martial arts and I definitely could use the exercise. There’re no hidden secrets, so please just let me be.”

She began to walk away when Marco stepped in her path. He didn’t touch her and she was grateful. He seemed to sense her need for space.

“Sweetheart, I’d have to disagree with you on a few points. First of all, you are a fine-looking woman.” He looked her body over from head to toe. His expression and tone made her belly quiver and her pussy come alive like no words had ever done before. It was wild.

“You are most definitely interesting enough to get to know. I’m not trying to be pushy, I’m just interested. So why don’t you show me around the center here and let me know what the plans are. I’d love to help out if I could.”

Millie was surprised by his words and actions but grabbed the opportunity to speak on a lighter subject. She nodded her head then began to show Marco around the rec center and what they planned on doing there.

* * * *

The following day, Millie was sitting on the porch, trying to get her cell phone to turn on. The battery had died on her trip to Texas and she had forgotten to check it. A few days had passed and she had been so busy she forgot all about charging it. Last night she had charged it up and she couldn’t help but feel some anxiety about who may have called or left messages for her.

Surprisingly, there were messages from Clare and a few people she worked with during the women’s shelter project. As she listened to the voice messages she felt good that they complimented her and bad-mouthed her boss and Stewart. Apparently, they knew Stewart caused her to lose her job. Hopefully, his reputation suffered a bit. She smirked just thinking about it. She guessed the old saying, “what goes around, comes around,” really was true.

She listened to a call from Clare stating that she had her award and wanted to drop it off at the apartment. Then she went on to say that their boss was a jerk and Stewart was a huge asshole. She chuckled and went to her text messages.

There were numerous texts from Clare.

She scanned through them until she got to the one about her award and Clare standing outside of her apartment. Millie heard some vehicles approaching and looked up to see the sheriff’s truck and a car driving rather quickly toward the ranch and her cottage.

She was eager to read Clare’s text message. Glancing back down at the cell phone and ignoring the fast-approaching vehicles, she read the text.

“Hi, Mill. I’m at you apartment w/ award. U R not here. Where R U?”

Millie read the next text.

“Your X is
HOT
! If U don’t arrive soon he’s MINE!

”

Millie didn’t get the message. Did Clare mean Stewart? What the hell?

She sent a text back.

“Hey, Clare. Sorry I wasn’t home. What x bf?
A few seconds passed
. Clare must have her phone in hand.

“The tall, muscular, sexy one. Ur favorite.”

“Who? Where r u?”

Millie had a funny feeling in her gut. What the hell was this about? But now Wyatt and his deputies took precedence over the texts
. Why are they here and looking…upset?

She stood up and looked at Wyatt as he got out of his truck. He appeared determined as he approached in quick strides toward her and then she saw Marco and Deputy Kenny Jones get out of the cruiser.

“Who’s on the phone?” Wyatt asked and his tone frightened her.

“What’s wrong?” she replied.

“You’re not talking to anyone on there, are you?” Marco asked with just as intense of a tone as Wyatt. All three men looked angry.

“No. I was just checking voice mail and text messages. I was texting my friend Clare back. She just texted me.”

“Millie, give me the phone,” Wyatt commanded as he reached out for it and climbed the porch steps. Marco and Kenny were following close behind him. Millie stepped back and held the phone away from them.

“No. What the hell is going on?” she demanded to know as she looked up at all three men. They were each very big and filled with muscles. She knew she shouldn’t challenge their authority, but she wanted an explanation for their abrupt behavior.

“Give it to him now,” Marco demanded She jumped and then immediately handed her phone over to Wyatt without a word, shocking herself. Wyatt glanced down at the phone and scrolled over the messages.

“Shit! She didn’t say where she was so it should be okay,” Wyatt told the other deputies, but he still hadn’t made Millie aware of the situation. Millie felt her gut clench with fear. Something was wrong.

“Please, tell me what’s going on?” Millie asked.

“Millie, honey, I heard from Detective Flynn.”

She glanced at Marco and Kenny.

“Wyatt, maybe we can discuss this in private.”

She didn’t want them to know what was going on.

Wyatt continued. “They know what’s going on. Marco and Kenny, as well as the other deputies, know what the situation is. I told you that we protect the people we care about.”

She felt the tears reach her eyes.

“You’re scaring me,” she whispered then felt someone touch her hand. She flinched a moment then looked to the side to see that it was Marco. He squeezed her hand and she looked up until she locked gazes with his eyes. They were dark blue and appeared beyond concerned. Marco was stocky and a bit over six feet tall. She felt his presence entirely. She looked back toward Wyatt as he spoke and simultaneously her cell phone chimed, indicating another text message.

“Honey, Detective Flynn called from New York. Your friend, Clare, has gone missing.”