He turned slightly and handed her his phone. “Watch the signal. Check it every thirty minutes or so. We should catch up to them soon.”
She took the phone from him and looked at the small red dot. “Okay.” Every thirty minutes? She wanted to stare at it until her sister was standing right in front of her. “Aren’t you afraid I’m going to see texts from your other women?”
“What other women?” He kicked his foot down to start the motorcycle. The engine revved loudly. “Hold me tight. This baby can fly.”
The bike took off. Her words were lost in the wind. “I thought you were going to go slow!” Her hands tightened around him.
If she died tonight, it would be in the arms of a gorgeous man.
The beastly machine reverberated through Ronnie’s body. So, this was what a motorcycle felt like. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of power between her legs. Her thoughts drifted and wondered what it would be like with Oz. She wasn’t a virgin by any stretch of the imagination, but she’d never met anyone like him before. He had a quiet way about him and a strength she admired.
It made her want to know more about him. How he liked to be touched; liked to be kissed; his favorite position; if he wanted to be on top; if he would let her be on top.
Lord, had it been that long since she’d gotten laid? That had to be it. That’s why she was undressing and sexing this man without knowing a thing about him.
Ronnie loosened her grip a little and raised her head from his back. His scent was more intoxicating than any drug. Between that and his warmth, it also had to be playing a part in why, during all of this, she was thinking about him and not her sister. With that, she checked the phone.
For the last two hours, the signal seemed to be going in a circle, hitting every no name town in East Texas. Either they were trying to make sure no one was following them, or they had no sense of direction. From what she remembered, there were only guys in the SUV. She could believe they wouldn’t stop to ask for directions.
A phone vibrated in her pocket. She thought it was his and reached into her left pocket, and the screen was blank. The pulsation continued in her other pocket, where she’d placed her own phone when this search began. She quickly put his phone away, then snatched her own out.
The wind whipped all around her and she could barely hear, but she knew that number.
“Golden! Is that you? Hello.” Ronnie patted Oz’s stomach.
He pulled over without her having to explain why. But he must have heard her.
Without the noise of the bike and wind, Ronnie heard a slight tremor through a whispered familiar voice.
“Ronela.”
Chapter One Hundred Two
“Golden!” Ronnie hopped off the bike, yelling into the phone, plugging her other ear with her finger. “Goldie, where are you? Are you okay?”
“I don’t know where we are. Lots of trees. You have to help us.”
“Bitch!” A man’s voice growled. “What’s that in your hand?”
“Give it back. You can’t…” Golden screamed.
The slap of a hand against flesh echoed through the phone.
“Dude, you didn’t fucking check her?”
Silence.
“Goldie!” Ronnie looked at the phone, then put it back to her ear. “Goldie?” But the phone had gone dead.
Ronnie’s body quaked with wracking sobs. In those few seconds, her entire world had shifted. Some monster had her sister, and she had no way of saving her. Oz’s crisp, minty scent calmed her. At some point, he took the phone from her hands. Now her arms were filled with this man. A man she didn’t really know, but his very existence was the only thing keeping her sane.
Once she cried herself out, she wiped her cheeks dry. She never cried this much, but since meeting Oz, that’s all she seemed to do. This man had seen her at her lowest and hadn’t abandoned her on the side of the road. She couldn’t help but wonder why he was sticking by her through this. He must have something better he could be doing. She would have to ask him later. If her life wasn’t such a mess, she would like to hang around to get to know Oz. This man was loyal and genuine. That was something worth fighting for.
“Sorry about that.”
Oz rubbed a hand up and down her arm. “Don’t worry about it. What did she say?”
“Nothing really, before the guy slapped the phone out of her hand. Just that she was near a lot of trees. That’s every place out here.” She waved a hand around the miles of trees surrounding them.
Oz nodded, then held out his hand. “Can I have my phone?”
After she gave it to him, he touched the screen, tapped a few things, then looked around. “C’mon, we might just catch up to them.” He caressed her cheek. “She’s still alive and we’ll find her.”
Ronnie heard the words, but at this point she was losing hope and fast. Knowing her little sister was in this situation and she couldn’t stop it or fix it - hurt her. She wasn’t broken, but she was drowning in a sea of helplessness and that was pretty damned close.
A firm finger lifted her chin, and he didn’t speak until she looked into his pale green eyes. She marveled at how much they reminded her of the big cat’s eyes back at the wildlife sanctuary.
“Trust me. We’ll find her,” he said.
Something inside her cracked open as she looked into those depths. He had a resolve she didn’t have right now. A fierceness that mirrored her own, although it was hidden right now. He seemed to know something she didn’t
