Austin peered over the top of the menu in the direction of his rig. He squinted, then scrubbed his hands over his face. It had been a long haul. His tired eyes were blurry around the edges. He must be seeing things.

Otherwise, how could he make sense of the sexy-as-fuck pair of legs walking away with what looked like his lucky leather jacket? Had he left it flung over the trailer hitch after finishing his end-of-the-day checklist?

Shit.

He shoved out of the booth. As he passed the waitress, she asked, “Everything okay?”

“Just fine,” he responded with a disarming smile. It would be, as soon as he took care of this situation. “I’d like a bacon cheeseburger with fries. And a beer. Make that two. Be right back.”

“Sure thing, sweetie.” She popped her gum then sized him up as if she’d like to take a bite out of him.

Annoyed at being distracted from one of the highlights of his time on the road—flirting with women who didn’t expect more than a night of fun—he slammed his palms on the doors of the restaurant. He took off at a jog, picking up speed when he realized the woman absconding with his coat was deceptively quick and light on her feet.

As he charged toward the would-be thief, he yelled, “Hey!”

Unsurprisingly, she didn’t respond or slow down. Despite her lack of shoes—or pants, for that matter—she ran fast enough to set her long chestnut brown hair blowing in the wind.

When he caught up to her, Austin grabbed her around her tiny waist and hauled her backward against his chest. “Where do you think you’re going with my jacket?”

The woman in his hold freaked the fuck out. She shrieked and thrashed, dropping the apple and granola bar he’d completely forgotten about, minus a bite or two out of each. What the fuck?

What was she doing out here with hardly anything on, starving half to death?

“Whoa. Settle down.” Austin switched his hold, nabbing the thief by the collar of his jacket and the T-shirt she wore beneath. She swam in the thing. It would have been impossible for her to slip free, but he gave her the illusion of freedom. When he let her stand on her own, she wobbled. He tightened his grip so she couldn’t fall. “What’s going on here?”

“I—” She angled toward him and tried to respond, but it seemed like her teeth were chattering too much for her to get out more than a word or two at a time. Despite the blue tinge to her lips, he couldn’t help but notice how fucking gorgeous she was, even if he hadn’t let his stare wander from her face to her bare, sexy legs.

When she swiped her hair from her face and glared at him fully, he could hardly breathe. Partly because she was easily the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. Mostly because one hell of a shiner marred her natural beauty. Any flicker of arousal died the moment he realized the shadows that darkened both her eyes were much deeper on one side than the other. As he examined the rest of her, he realized her neck, legs, feet, and fingers were also smudged with the evidence of a struggle.

She winced when his tightening muscles inadvertently jerked her off balance.

Damn.

Freckles dotted the tan skin of her cheeks and the bridge of her pert nose. Brown eyes bored into his with a combination of defiance, bravado, and determination that turned him on. Or would have if the situation hadn’t been quite so fucked up.

He had to get to the bottom of this.

Austin used his grip to steer his pretty little crook toward the cab of his truck.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me or call the cops. I shouldn’t have taken your stuff, eaten your food. I’m sorry. I’ve never stolen anything before in my life. Hell, I’ve never even gotten a parking ticket.” She seemed to collapse in on herself then before rasping, “This isn’t the kind of person I am. I swear.”

He recalled the death-grip she’d had on the apple he’d been too full to eat during his afternoon snack. The reality of the situation began to sink in. This woman, whoever she was, needed help. His anger melted away in the face of her desperation.

The frantic whip of her gaze in every direction but his made him sure, though, that if he let go, she would bolt before he could do any good. He didn’t want to scare her by chasing her again or add to her discomfort by tackling her to the rough pavement when she had nothing protecting her bare skin—creamy, soft skin—from the waist down.

So he braced himself for her resistance, then scooped her into his arms.

Sure enough, she went ballistic again.

“Hold still. I’m not pissed,” he promised. “It looks like you could use a few minutes in the truck with the heat on. Why don’t you come inside and tell me what you’re doing out here dressed—well, undressed—like that?”

The woman he held might have been petite, but she sure was strong. She bucked like the unbroken fillies they had on Compass Ranch from time to time. The kind he loved to tame and ride.

Now was not the time to think about that.

The last thing he should do was get a hard-on. That would creep her out for sure. He wasn’t trying to lure her into his truck so he could do terrible things to her. How was she to know that?

“Get off me! I’m not going anywhere with you. I changed my mind—call the cops. Right now.”

To be honest, he would rip his sister or any of his female cousins a new one if they did what he’d just proposed. “Sorry. I’m putting you down, okay?”

After making his way back to the truck, Austin set her on her feet and slowly released his hold. Even still, she staggered before catching her balance. She might have thrashed like a mountain lion caught in a trap, but she was clearly freezing. Exhausted. Injured. Ready to topple.

“Did one of the other drivers kick you out or something?” He took stock of the parking lot, finding it as sparsely occupied as he’d remembered. Two of the rigs belonged to guys he knew in passing. That didn’t mean they didn’t take advantage of some of the women who congregated in truck stops, offering their companionship—and more—on the road. But if they treated them like this, their faces would be meeting his fist next time he saw them.

She shook her head, staring at the ground, as if trying to figure out a way to flee.

Even if Austin let her leave, where would she go? There was nothing around. Speaking of… “Then how’d you get out here? We’re in the middle of a fucking national forest. It’s got to be at least thirty miles to the nearest town. Did you seriously walk all that way without shoes or most of your clothes?”

She bit her lower lip and looked skyward, as if asking for divine guidance.

“Try the truth,” he suggested. “It’s easier than making shit up.”

The woman sighed. The noise was the exasperated sort he’d heard often from his sister when she dealt with her husbands or any of the other Compass men. Then she said, “I came with you.”

“What?” His jaw dropped. She couldn’t mean… “Holy fuck! My last stop was nearly two states ago. You were in the back that whole time? Is that how you got so banged up?”

“Not exactly.” She grimaced.

“Jesus, if you didn’t get hurt in the back of my truck, who did this to you? Did someone see you in there? Jump you? Take advantage—” Austin’s fists clenched as he looked around the truck stop. If the bastard who’d laid his hands on her was still there, he’d make sure the guy thought long and hard before abusing another woman.

Hayden flinched.

The last thing Austin wanted was to frighten her, so he forced himself to relax. His fingers unclenched one by one. “Is he out there?” He jerked his chin toward the inky lot dotted with halos of light from the overhead lamps.

She shook her head no.

It was hard to say if her full-body quivering had more to do with the chill evening air or her fear, but he figured the least he could do was warm her up while he figured out what the fuck was going on. Austin yanked open the passenger side door. He set one boot on the running board and reached for his thermos. After unscrewing the top, which doubled as a cup, he filled it to the brim with the extra-strong coffee he guzzled to help keep himself alert on the road.

He held it out to her. “Here. Take this.”

She lunged forward. When her fingers wrapped around his, he hissed. “Damn, you’re freezing.”

Without bothering to respond, she took a long sip from the metal, then another. Still, she didn’t talk. His patience wore thin.

“You’d better explain what you were doing in the trailer.” He folded his arms.

She retreated a step. “I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear. I got in a fight with my boyfriend last night. It was bad. Really bad.”

“I can see that.” His attempt at reining in his fury at the sight of her bruised skin was pretty much a flop.

“I didn’t have anywhere to go. So I hid in the hay back there, thinking I could lay low until my boyfriend went to work today. Except I fell asleep.”

“Hang on. You were in the truck for almost twenty-four hours? Since before I took off this morning?” Horrified, he imagined a much different ending to the day. One where he discovered her lifeless body in the back of his truck. Son of a bitch!

She swallowed hard and nodded.

“Damn it!” He groaned. “You could have been killed.”

“Believe me, I know. I didn’t plan to stay. You left early. When I woke up we were already moving. And I thought…” She started to hyperventilate.

“You thought it would be a quick way to put some distance between you and the fucker who hurt you.” Austin lightly cupped his hand over hers under the pretense of refilling her cup.

She drank deep, then nodded. “I didn’t have a choice. I’m so sorry I used you like that.”

“Are you okay? Do you need me to call a doctor?” He still couldn’t believe she’d endured the entire trip in the trailer. “My ass is sore from that haul and I was sitting on a throne compared to you. That had to have been miserable.”

“I peed on your hay,” she admitted, blushing furiously. At least some life seemed to return to her now that she’d absorbed warmth from his coffee.

Austin couldn’t help it. He cracked up, clutching his gut. “I think that’s the least of our worries, honey.”

“I really am sorry I got you involved.” Hayden downed the last drop and screwed the lid on his thermos. She handed it to him with a wistful sigh and began to slip her arms from his jacket, revealing even more ugly patches of discoloration. “Let me go and I won’t bother you anymore.”

Fuck that. Austin grabbed the coat, preventing her from fully removing it. He replaced it around her shoulders. She needed it a hell of a lot more than he did. Besides, it looked great on her. “Keep it.”

“If you don’t mind giving some psycho woman your address, I’ll mail it back to you or send you money to buy a new one as soon as I can,” she offered, making up his mind to do something outrageous.

His gut screamed at him that if he didn’t, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Not to mention that his mother would kick his ass if he didn’t do the right thing and help this woman. For once, maybe, he could live up to the Compass legacy.

“Here.” He jammed his hand in his jeans, then held out his keys to her. “Get in the cab. Lock the doors with me and everyone else outside. Crank the heat up. There’s a pretty comfy bed in there. Crawl under the covers. You’ll be safe. Alone. Take a nap if you think you can relax enough to doze off. I’m gonna go eat my supper in the diner and leave you in peace for a while. It seems like you could use it.”

“That thing cost more than what I can make in ten years waiting tables. How do you know I’m not going to try to steal that too? She jacked her thumb over her shoulder toward his rig and shot him a purely female, raised-brow look. The woman waved his keys away. “Are you nuts?”

“I’m not the one who rode in a fucking livestock trailer for over six hundred miles today.” He shrugged. “Do you know how to drive a semi?”

“No. I don’t even know how to drive a regular stick.” Her shoulders slumped, making him wish she’d be open to accepting a hug. She seemed like she needed one.

“Then I don’t think you’ll steal my truck. Go on.” He jingled the keys in her direction. “If you need something, honk the horn and I’ll come out.”

“Seriously?” She nibbled her lip, which is when he noticed exactly how swollen it was. Fuck. It’d be best if he walked away for a bit to cool down and figure out what to do next. How to handle the situation from there.

“Yeah.” He dropped the keys in her palm and couldn’t resist letting his fingers brush over hers, happy to feel they had thawed a bit. Too bad she wasn’t in any condition mentally or physically to let him share his body heat with her. There were much more pleasant ways to get their blood pumping. “What should I bring you? I mean, I’d invite you in, but they have a no pants, no service rule. Pretty sure I saw a sign like that on the door.”

Her jaw dropped. She blinked her innocent and appreciative doe eyes at him, but she didn’t respond for a few heartbeats. Then she cracked the faintest of smiles. “Smartass.”

“No, seriously, what do you want to eat? It’s the least I can do since I made you waste that apple. You like steak? A salad? A bacon cheeseburger and some greasy-ass fries?”

She licked her lips at that last one.

Despite the crazy situation, he chuckled. “That’s what I ordered myself. You got it. Don’t open the door for anyone but me. Understand?”

When she nodded, he spun on his boot heel and headed back inside, afraid that if he stayed longer it might become impossible to leave. His unexpected guest drew him in, made him wonder what her full story was. How he might keep making things better for her because damn, that felt good.

Ah, shit.

He might need some advice from his cousins on this one.

“Hey,” she called softly when he’d taken a couple of steps away.

Her strained voice shot straight to his dick. It sounded like it might if she invited him back to bed after a night spent making her scream with pleasure. His head whipped around fast enough he thought his hat might fly off. “Yeah?”

“Thank you,” she whispered, then hurried toward the cab of his truck, as if he might be dumb enough to change his mind. With her back turned, he thought he heard a faint sniffle.

It took every bit of his gentlemanly willpower to leave before watching her climb into his rig so that he could tell if she was wearing anything beneath that old, faded shirt of hers.

For once, his mother would be proud.