Run To You

came down to it, she’d rather be a cute goat than a maggot.
    “About two hours from the Texas state line,” Beau continued.
    Two hours . Two hours closer to meeting Sadie. Stella dug around in her backpack and pulled out her red lipstick. She put it on for something to do with her hands.
    “No. From Dallas it’s about another six. I’ll shave it to five.”
    Five hours. They’d talked about stopping for the night in Dallas before continuing to the panhandle the next morning. For a few hours she’d forgotten why she was sitting in an Escalade speeding toward Lovett, Texas.
    “I’m still on the road, so call the office and leave the intel with Deb.”
    About this time tomorrow, she’d be at the JH, her father’s ranch. Now her sister’s ranch. The one place on the planet where she’d always known she was not welcome.
    Two hours closer to the Texas state line. She didn’t know whether to be afraid or excited. She was probably both. She drummed her fingers on the middle console and took a deep breath. Either way, her stomach felt all light and queasy like she was going to vomit.
    Beau hung up his phone and tossed it on the dash. “Everything that was in your apartment is now in a storage unit in northeast Miami.”
    “Oh.”
    Beau glanced at the back of Stella’s head as she turned and stared out the passenger side window. Strands of her dark hair fell across her shoulder and down her bare arm. Last night he’d held her soft hair in his hands as she’d used her softer mouth on him. He didn’t know if it was because he hadn’t had sexual contact in eight months, or her, but he couldn’t remember anything that good.
    “I guess my car will be okay for a few days until I can get it.”
    His gaze dropped to her breasts in a little blue dress before he looked back at the road. Best not to think about her breasts. Not too small. Not too big. Perfectly fit in his hands. Jesus. “Miami is still too hot. The Gallo brothers showed up and tried to intimidate my guys.” He would have loved to have witnessed the two mobsters trying to muscle three Marines.
    “They haven’t given up?”
    “I guess Lou Gallo is real bitter about his hand,” he joked.
    She looked over at him with big blue eyes and full red lips. “Did they learn where I am?”
    They were actually more interested in him. “Nah, but they did learn not to mess with pumped-up Marines with serious attitude problems.”
    Her eyes got big and looked like they were getting a little watery. “Don’t worry.” He surprised himself again by reaching for her hand. He usually wasn’t that guy. In fact, he’d never been the type of guy to pat a woman on the back or shoulder or take her hand like they were friends or something awkward like that. Only with Stella it didn’t feel awkward. More like a chance to touch her. A chance to touch her that he should avoid but couldn’t. “They won’t find you.”
    She swallowed hard and reminded him of the other day when he’d found her hiding outside the airport. Young. Scared. Vulnerable. So sexy he wanted to do real bad things to her. Some of which he’d done the night before. Her red mouth, soft and slick on his—
    “Pull over. I’m going to be sick!”
    “What?”
    She rolled down the window and fanned her face. “I’m going to be sick!”
    Beau didn’t have to be told more than twice. He jerked the steering wheel to the left and exited the interstate. The SUV skidded to a halt in the middle of a flat grassy field, and the passenger door flew open and Stella jumped out. A rusted-out red-and-white Ford rattled down the exit as Beau got out of the Cadillac. He grabbed a bottle of water and walked around the front. Stella stood with her hands on her bare knees, her hair falling forward like a shiny black curtain.
    “Do you need some water?” he asked as he moved toward her.
    She nodded and gasped for breath.
    “Breathe, Boots.”
    “I’m scared.”
    “You’re going to pass out.”
    She pulled air deep into her lungs and let it out.
    “Are you going to puke?”
    She straightened and pushed her hair from her pale face. “No. I’m having a panic attack, though.”
    “Ricky and his boys will never find you.” He unscrewed the plastic bottle cap handed her the water.
    “I don’t want to go to Texas.” She took a drink and it dribbled down her chin.
    Texas?
    “I can’t go.” She took another small drink and wiped her chin with the back of her hand. “What if she doesn’t like