Sudden Setup. Barb Han

news.

      “How did you find me?” she asked as the initial shock began to wear off while they were on the move.

      The motorcycle was parked at the end of a quiet street.

      “I saw the news story about the attempt against your life,” he responded without missing a beat. “I recognized this area as close to where I dropped you off and tracked you by the blood trail I found.”

      He made it sound easy but it couldn’t have been. How had this stranger become so good at hunting down a person? She decided this wasn’t the time to ask. By all accounts he was helping her...but he was so secretive before and it had her imagination churning against all logic. She didn’t like the confusing feelings she had toward him.

      “How do I know you’re not going to hurt me?” she asked.

      A frustrated-sounding grunt tore from his throat. “Seriously?”

      Now all her defenses flared. “Yes. I’m a woman. I’m injured. Basic survival instincts kick in at some point. I have no idea who you are. I don’t even know your name.”

      “If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve already done it.” That deep voice reverberated through her, sending a trill of awareness coursing through her. “We’ve already covered that.”

      Okay, she could concede that point.

      “Who are you?”

      “My name is Holden Crawford. Now that you’ve heard it, forget it as fast as you can. Knowing my name will only end up hurting you more,” he said. “That’s why I didn’t tell you before now. It’s not because I’m trying to hide something from you or don’t trust you. I haven’t had a real conversation with someone in more than two years. So I’m guessing by your reactions to me that I’m pretty bad at it. Can’t say I was especially good with idle chitchat before, so...” He shrugged massive shoulders. “And the last person I really cared about ended up dead.”

      She gasped.

      “Not telling you my name has been my way of trying to protect you,” he continued. “Your father was good to me, offered to let me stay on his land, and I figured I owed him one for it. That’s the reason I helped you and didn’t walk away. I’m not that good of a person to stick around for pure reasons. It was a debt. One that has been paid.”

      “Sounds like you’re a better man than you want to admit,” she said.

      “Me? Nah. I know exactly who I am, what I am, and it’s not good for someone like you,” he stated. “You’re better off without me.”

      A frustrated grunt tore from her throat.

      He turned to face her.

      “I’m sorry about that.” He glanced at her thigh and a trill of awareness blasted through her, which was unwelcomed. There was something primal and magnetic that pulled her in when she was near Blue Eyes. Sex appeal over standard good looks? “That was my fault, and I came back to make it right.”

      “You’re on the run from something you didn’t do.”

      “That’s what I said.” He held out a helmet and waited for her to make a decision.

      “Maybe I can help you,” she offered.

      The look on his face said he doubted it.

      “It’s now or never, sweetheart. The choice is up to you. Go with me and I can’t take you to the law.”

      Ella figured her options were pretty limited at the moment. She had no idea who was after her. Going to the sheriff was logical, but getting there safely wasn’t guaranteed and the man who was after her would most likely expect her there. Striking out on her own wasn’t even a consideration. She was injured and had none of the necessary skills to survive. Go back to the ranch and she couldn’t be certain that she’d be safe.

      “Let’s go,” she said, taking the offering. “And my name is Ella, so you can stop calling me sweetheart.”

      She slid onto the seat behind him. He took her hands and wrapped them around his chest.

      “Hold on,” he said, like there was another option.

      Ella turned her head and pressed it against his strong back as wind whipped around her.

      Adrenaline had long since faded by the time they reached the cabin and exhaustion made it difficult to lift her leg over the motorcycle. Holden helped her take off the helmet and then he secured it to the back of the seat, mumbling something about needing to get another one. Texas didn’t require one by law, but most riders seemed smart enough to take the precaution.

      Ella stared at his face. Beneath all that wild facial hair was an attractive and capable man, and she ignored what the revelation did to her stomach.

      “Did you get a look at who did this to you?” he asked.

      “No. He had on a ski mask and it was dark outside, so I couldn’t get a good look at his face,” she said.

      A disgusted look crossed his features. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have left you there and especially not without a vehicle.”

      She leaned her weight on him as he put his arm around her waist, hoping she’d feel less vulnerable if she knew a little more about the stranger who was helping her. More electricity fizzed through her as he walked her inside the cabin, and the overwhelming feeling that she was safe for now settled over her.

      “Sit still,” he said as he retrieved a bottle of water and poured it over her thigh. “I have something that’ll help with the cut on my bike.”

      He brought in medical supplies and attended to her wounded leg.

      “Who are you really?” she asked, staring up at him.

      “A man defined by his mistakes.” He stepped back but maintained eye contact, holding a second too long. The dark lines of his serious expression said he meant every word of that. Fire shot through her when she realized the implication of what he said.

      “You think helping me was a mistake?” She scoffed. Anger had been building and she’d explode if she held it in any longer. “Well, then, I’m sure glad you went against your superior judgment or I’d be dead.”

      “Twice,” he said through clenched teeth as he stood. His breath was a mix of mint and coffee. An infuriating part of her wanted to see what that tasted like. He raked his fingers through thick, wavy hair.

      “Now that you’ve saved me again, why not just leave? My Jeep isn’t far from here. I’ll head north, away from the ranch, until I figure out who’s doing this to me,” she said with more anger than she’d intended.

      He took a threatening step toward her, closing the gap between them even more, and this close she could almost sense what his skin would feel like pressed against hers as she stood.

      Ella blew out a frustrated breath. She thought the same curse that he muttered when she said, “Mistakes aren’t the only things that define a person.”

      Holden caught her gaze again and she felt the moment her anger turned to awareness. Awareness of his strong, masculine body so close to hers. Awareness of how much he turned her on even though she fought against it. Awareness of how good it would feel to have his hands on her, roaming her skin.

      “Do tell,” he said, and there was so much sexual undercurrent running between them.

      “We’re also defined by our choices,” she said.

      “Fine. This is one of mine.” He dipped his head and kissed her.

      His lips, pressed to hers, sent a current of need rippling through her and heat pooled inside her thighs. She’d never been this aroused this quickly in her life, but then a sexual current had been building between them since she’d first seen him.

      He tensed, like he expected her to fight back, but all she could do was surrender