Luke, page 24
He was playing with her. Had to be. No way he was clean on these thefts. Douglas didn’t have an abundance of criminals, so who else would it be? “What kind of crime lord are you?” Rylie grumbled. “I thought you assholes knew everything about what went down in your territory.”
Sunlight glinted through the showroom window as people moved around outside. Rylie was glad humans were in close proximity, because Guerrero’s expression finally changed from lamb to wolf. Pissed-off wolf.
Werewolf, maybe?
Uh-oh.
“Crime lord.” His voice came out low and cool, and his new smile was anything but friendly. “That’s a rude thing to say to a successful businessman who gives back to his community at every available opportunity.”
Rylie had a moment to think that his accent got worse when he was furious, and another moment to wonder what a man like Guerrero did when he got enraged and couldn’t just shoot the person who ticked him off.
Maybe she should have thought this through another five seconds.
Guerrero flexed his fingers but kept his body relaxed. “Such insults, they’re beneath a beautiful woman.”
For another handful of long moments, Rylie was sure the man was about to hit her. A knot tied tight in her belly and she stood very still, ready to do whatever she had to do to defend herself, but Guerrero never raised his hand or made any aggressive move.
Unsmiling, but obviously regaining control of himself, Guerrero said, “May I show you a truck, Ms. Thorn? I’d be happy to loan you one of our showroom prizes at no charge until your insurance company settles with you.”
Rylie was just about to tell the slick bastard exactly what he could do with his showroom trucks when the glass door opened and she found herself facing Guerrero and the tall, handsome sheriff, Clay Wayland.
The sight of him took her breath away all over again. He seemed to tower over Guerrero, but his gaze was fixed firmly on her—and he looked worried.
She guessed she should give the man a few points for figuring out she planned to have a word with Guerrero, and extra points for worrying about that enough to show up and make sure she hadn’t done any real damage.
For some reason, she couldn’t hold the sheriff’s gaze.
Like, maybe you just made a total fool of yourself and him, too?
What had she been thinking? That a major player in organized crime would just roll right over and confess because she challenged him?
Driving the wreck had given her heat stroke, or something. Or maybe it was the gorgeous new sheriff that had addled her mind so completely.
“Sheriff Wayland.” Guerrero nodded at his new guest. “I haven’t seen you since the Christmas party at Navaeh’s Bed-and-Breakfast in Bisbee.”
Rylie winced. Every rancher in Douglas was supposed to attend that charity dinner, but she’d blown it off this last year. She had to. Not enough money to buy a ticket, much less afford any of the drinks. Everybody in town knew it, too, and Guerrero probably knew his little jab had struck home. He didn’t so much as glance at her to gloat over it.
“Mr. Guerrero.” Clay Wayland’s deep voice boomed through the big showroom, sending chills up and down Rylie’s spine. “Is, ah, everything okay here?”
Guerrero’s expression turned patient, even long-suffering, and Rylie had to work not to clench her fists. “Ms. Thorn and I were just discussing a loan of a vehicle for her until her insurance settles. I hope you’ll find the people responsible for robbing our local ranchers. Times are hard enough without them losing property they’ll have difficulty replacing.”
Clay said nothing. The lines of his face stayed tight, and his green eyes seemed way too intense as he glanced from Rylie to Guerrero.
Rylie had no words. This level of blow-up-in-her-face hadn’t been in the plans when she motored onto the car lot. All she could do was stand there and look at the fancy showroom trucks, the ceiling, the adobe floor tiles—anything but either man in the room.
“You’re right, of course, Ms. Thorn. I should do more than I have to help with this local crisis.” Guerrero relaxed completely again, falling back into his affable posture and firing up his smile. “Sheriff, please inform the theft victims that Arizona Motors South is happy to arrange rental vehicles, new or used, for any Douglas rancher hit by these thefts. Five dollars per day, and we’ll cover the first tank of gas.”
Clay Wayland’s eyebrows shot up.
Rylie’s did, too.
Before she could recover, Guerrero gazed at her like a saint waiting for approval from God. He looked so innocent she wanted to throw up on his pricey hat and his shiny black boots, too. “Does that help your trust level, Ms. Thorn, me taking a loss like that on a daily basis?”
No. Rylie wanted to tell Guerrero off all over again, but she was afraid he’d take back the offer, and her friends and neighbors would suffer.
“Yes,” she made herself say. Damn, but that felt like pulling a tooth with no anesthetic, never mind the sweet smile she felt obligated to tack on to the end of the lie.
The worst part was, Guerrero wasn’t quite finished yet. “Leave it to Ms. Thorn to remind me of my civic duties, but to refuse my charity herself. Are you certain you won’t let me send you out of here in something other than that?"
He pointed to the wreck still taking center stage outside his showroom window.
“Thanks, but no.” Rylie kept her sweet smile pasted on her face, hoping he could pick up the hefty dose of fuck-you behind all the teeth she showed. “Just help out the other ranchers who have taken hits. That’s good for now.”
“Fine.” He gave her a little bow. “Come back any time. Lovely women are always welcome in my showroom, Ms. Thorn.”
Clay Wayland’s expression darkened, but Rylie could tell he didn’t know what to say any more than she did.
Holding her head up and keeping her chin forward, she managed to make it to the door without ever looking at Guerrero or Clay Wayland in the face again. When she got outside, she realized she’d been sweating in the showroom. So much for bold investigative techniques.
At least the heap had the good graces to let her in and start on the third or fourth try. Somehow, she managed not to hit any of the bright, shiny trucks as she hiccuped and bucked out of the lot, heading for the safer ground of home.
Read more of Clay!
ALSO BY CHEYENNE MCCRAY
(in reading order)
~Contemporary Cowboys~
“Armed and Dangerous” Series
Zack
Luke
Clay
Kade
Alex (a novella)
Eric (a novella)
“King Creek Cowboys” Series
The McLeods
Country Heat
Country Thunder
Country Storm
Country Rain
Country Monsoon
“Riding Tall 2” Series
The McBrides Too
Amazed by You
Loved by You
Midnight With You
Wild for You
Sold on You
“Riding Tall” Series
The McBrides
Branded For You
Roping Your Heart
Fencing You In
Tying You Down
Playing With You
Crazy For You
Hot For You
Made For You
Held By You
Belong To You
“Rough and Ready” Series
The Camerons
Silk and Spurs
Lace and Lassos
Champagne and Chaps
Satin and Saddles
Roses and Rodeo (with Creed McBride)
Lingerie and Lariats
Lipstick and Leather
~Romantic Suspense~
“Deadly Intent” Series
Hidden Prey
No Mercy
Taking Fire
Point Blank
“Recovery Enforcement Division” Series
Ruthless
Fractured
Vendetta
Single Title
Chosen Prey
Save by purchasing Boxed Sets
Riding Tall the First Boxed Set
Includes
Branded for You
Roping Your Heart
Fencing You In
Riding Tall the Second Boxed Set
Includes
Tying You Down
Playing with You
Crazy for You
Riding Tall the Third Boxed Set
Includes
Hot for You
Made for You
Held by You
Belong to You
Rough and Ready Boxed Set One
Includes
Silk and Spurs
Lace and Lassos
Champagne and Chaps
Rough and Ready Boxed Set Two
Includes
Satin and Saddles
Roses and Rodeo
Lingerie and Lariats
Armed and Dangerous Box Set One
Includes
Zack
Luke
Clay
Armed and Dangerous Box Set Two
Kade
Alex
Eric
~Romantic Suspense~
Deadly Intent Box Set
Includes
Hidden Prey
No Mercy
Taking Fire
Point Blank
~Paranormal Romance~
“Dark Sorcery” Series
The Forbidden
The Seduced
The Wicked
One Breath (novella)
The Shadows
The Dark
Cheyenne Writing as Debbie Ries
~Shawna Taylor Cozy Mysteries~
Cooking up Murder
Recipe for Killing
Pinch of Peril
Delicious Death
Taste of Danger
ABOUT CHEYENNE
Cheyenne McCray is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author who grew up on a ranch in southeastern Arizona and has written over one hundred published novels and novellas. Chey also writes cozy mysteries as Debbie Ries. She delights in creating stories of suspense, love, and redemption with characters and worlds her readers can get lost in.
Chey and her husband live with their two Ragdoll cats and two small dogs in southeastern Arizona where she enjoys going on long walks, traveling around the world, and searching for her next adventure and new ideas, as well as hand embroidering crazy quilts and listening to audiobooks.
Find out more about Chey, how to contact her, and her books at https://cheyennemccray.com.
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Cheyenne McCray, Luke
