Flint Read Online Free PDF Page B

trust him…to the questionable overdose that killed her mom, to the frantic escape from the house she’d been virtually held prisoner in for so long. And when she finished, she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her chest.
    In the tense silence that followed her explanation of the situation, she stared at the dashboard, afraid to look at either man. The foul expletive that erupted from Curley’s throat was accompanied by Flint pulling her tighter into his embrace, and lips pressed against her temple. She jerked her eyes up to his angry face, and her heart skittered in her chest.
     
    “So this motherfu…this bastard got away with murder? What kind of screwed up law enforcement do they have there in Garfield?”
    Flint’s eyes were filled with rage as he stopped his tirade, and he pressed her bruised cheek against his shirt front protectively. “Look, you can stay at El Diablo, and I’ll get hold of Max Daly. He’s our attorney. He’ll know how to handle this.” His voice shook with anger, and he was practically squashing her against his body with trembling arms. When she whimpered, he eased his hold and ran his hand over her mussed hair.
    Curley growled and glanced down at her tear-streaked face. “You’ll be safe at the ranch. Nobody’ll find you until you want to be found, Susan.”
    “It’s Lily.”
    “Lily what, darlin’?”
    “Lily Thomas. I was afraid to give my real name because I wasn’t sure you wouldn’t turn me over to the cops.” Her voice was weary, and Flint swallowed hard to calm his sudden burst of protectiveness. He wasn’t sure why he believed the woman who was pressed to his side. He wasn’t sure she was telling the absolute truth. But something about her made it hard not to trust her. He was pretty good at judging folks on first sight. His instincts had never failed him yet. And Lily Thomas dragged at something deep inside him every time he looked into those amber eyes of hers. He hoped like hell it wasn’t just his libido leading him around by his too-willing dick…but he was certainly going to check her story out, and if someone had truly gotten away with murder, the bastard would pay.
     
    The ranch road cutoff ahead signaled the beginnings of El Diablo, and the microwave tower that he’d built last summer would allow him to use his phone. Pulling it from the glove box, he hit the speed dial for Max’s number, and left a terse voice message to call him the minute he got back from lunch. When he glanced down, Lily Thomas was staring up at him like he had just opened the gates of Heaven to her, and a rush of emotion hit him like a tidal wave. Fighting the sudden urge to lower his face to hers and taste her parted lips, he turned his gaze to the lush ranchland he called home.
    He caught Curley’s questioning look, and shook his head slightly. He wouldn’t answer the obvious questions his friend had…at least, not in front of Lily. Flipping his phone open again, he called ahead to the house, and advised Dora that the guest bedroom needed to be aired and the bed needed to be made up fresh.
    A tug on the front of his shirt brought his eyes back down to her pale, worried face. “If I’m putting you out, I really want to know. If your wife isn’t expecting company, she may be pretty unhappy with you.”
    Curly’s laugh made her jump a little, and Flint’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Dora’s my housekeeper, sweet thing. There is no wife tucked away on El Diablo. Dora’s been with us since my father hired her back in 1987. Best cook in Texas, that one.”
    Lily looked almost relieved as she asked, “So your family owns the ranch?”
    Flint lifted one dark brow, looking decidedly like a satyr with his wicked smile. “ I own El Diablo, darlin’…and Curley here is my foreman. Lucky for you we were in Austin for a bit of R&R.”
    Lilly’s confused look brought another chuckle from Curley. “That means Rodeoin' and Refinancin'.”
    When she glanced up at him