The ringing of Grayson’s phone woke them from their sleep.

“Make it stop,” he heard Kara mutter as she pushed at his back, trying to wake him up. By the fifth ring, he reached over and grabbed his smartphone off the nightstand.

He answered the phone and barked, “What?”

“He’s gone.”

At Hank’s words, Grayson was wide awake. Kara sat upright beside him. Her blond locks cascaded down her shoulders. She was even more beautiful in the morning sun after a night of lovemaking. The thought of Kara under him last night had his dick stirring. It was hard to concentrate on the conversation with Hank.

“Frank or Rovshan?”

“We’ve been watching the private airfield. When we saw Rovshan getting his plane ready, Bear and I headed out to have a visit before he boarded.” Grayson heard Hank take a drink of something, probably coffee since it was so early. “He’s not coming after Kara anymore. Said something about Kara being a bigger problem than he wants to deal with.”

“Do you believe him?”

“Surprisingly, yes. I think your brother might’ve given him a little trouble.”

Grayson was happy Noah had never used his hacking skills on him. Many times, while they were in the navy, the CIA had tried to recruit him to come work for them. Grayson still wondered if Noah had done work for them on the side. He would call his brother to thank him and find out what he’d done. More than likely, he drained Rovshan’s accounts and then electronically killed the man. That was one of Noah’s favorite things to do—kill people electronically.

“Thank you for your help, Hank. I will come out to the ranch tomorrow. Kara will want to head to her family ranch today.”

They said their goodbyes. Kara was vibrating with energy by the time he clicked off the phone.

“Rovshan’s gone?”

“Yes.”

Grayson decided they could discuss Rovshan later. He had other things he wanted to do at that moment, such as bury himself deep inside the woman who had just straddled his hips.

Grayson wrapped his hands in Kara’s hair and brought her lips down to his. Her golden locks fell around him, and she ground her hips against his girth. The feeling was close to sending him over the edge. Grayson grabbed her hips and steadied her movement before he embarrassed himself as if he were a teenager.

As the tension in Grayson’s body increased, he flipped Kara onto her back next to him. He dragged his fingers through her slick folds, and her body arched off the bed, a moan escaping her lips.

“Grayson.”

“What do you want, Angel?” he whispered into her ear.

“More.”

Grayson slipped his finger into her velvety folds and increased his speed. He could feel her walls pulsing around his finger. He lowered his head to her nipple and sucked. He could feel her hands running through his hair, pulling his head tighter to her body. With each suck, she moved faster on his hand. When Grayson glanced up at Kara’s face, she had her eyes tightly shut.

He could tell she was close and brushed his thumb across her nub. Grayson could feel her body shake underneath him with each pass. Her folds were trying to suck his fingers in, needing every ounce of pleasure he was giving her. The cry of his name from her lips as she climaxed was almost too much for him to handle.

Grayson watched Kara come out of the fog of her orgasm. Her blond curls were spread across the pillow. He slowly kissed his way up her body until he captured her lips, then he kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re so beautiful when you fall apart on my hand.”

Kara smiled. “That was earth-shattering.”

“Your body is like a fine harp, and when I strike the right strings, the beauty under my hand is amazing.”

“Now it’s your turn.” Before Grayson could say anything, her silky lips were wrapped around his hard girth. Using her delicate hands, she cupped his balls and took him down her throat.

It took everything Grayson had to hold back his climax. “Angel, I need to be inside you.” He pulled her up to his body and flipped her on her back. The need to be inside her was strong. He was in her in one thrust. It felt like heaven, and his body was on fire.

“Move, Grayson.” She gripped his ass, trying to get him to move. “I need you to move.”

A smile came across Grayson's face. He slowly worked his length in and out of her. “How’s this, Angel?”

She made a cute frustrated noise under him. “Faster.”

At her command, he worked himself in and out of her velvety folds. Grayson put his thumb on her nub and worked it in a circle. When he knew she was close to coming again, he captured her lips. The feeling of her clenching around his length sent him over the edge.

When she was satisfied, Grayson kissed her again and pulled her to his side. An image of Kara at the Lazy S Ranch, cooking in the kitchen, floated through his head.

“Wow. That was amazing,” Kara whispered.

“No, you were amazing. I have a feeling I will never get enough of you.”

Grayson heard Kara’s stomach growl. They looked at each other and laughed.

“Do you want to hit Al’s Diner for breakfast and then head to your ranch?”

“Sure. Do you think my father will be there?”

“I’m not sure. Let’s take one hurdle at a time. We’ll talk to the foreman and see if he knows anything, and then we can figure out what to do about your dad.”

One booth in the back of the diner sat open. All the other seats were taken. Kara scooted into the side with her back facing the door. She had learned over the last few days that Grayson didn’t like his back facing the exits.

The waitress came over right as they sat down and took their food and drink order. Out of habit, Grayson checked her name tag. It read “Wendy.” They hadn’t met her yet. Kara and Grayson both ordered the daily special.

Grayson rested both of his elbows on the table and gave Kara his full attention. “Have you thought about what you plan to do? Are you going to stay in Montana?”

He was hoping she would come back to Denver. He understood she had a lot of responsibilities she’d have to take up on the ranch. He held his breath, waiting for an answer.

She let out a long sigh. “I know I should stay here and take care of Montana Gold, but my life is in Denver. The ranch will need my attention for the next week while I get everything in order.”

He was excited to hear she was going back to Denver. Grayson didn’t care how selfish he was. The more time he spent with Kara, the more he wanted her around.

“Do you trust me?”

“I know I shouldn’t completely because we only met a few days ago, but something deep down makes me trust you blindly. You know what I mean?”

“Yes. I have the same feelings. I might know someone who can run the ranch for you. After we go out there today and see what is going on, I’ll let you know.”

“I’m going to run to the bathroom.” Grayson stood to accompany her as a guard. She frowned at him. “Alone, Grayson. Rovshan’s gone. I don’t need you following me into the bathroom.”

Grayson lowered himself back into the booth. His jaw was clenched. Grayson didn’t like her going anywhere alone. Kara brought out his alpha-male side, and he wanted to keep her tied to his bed for the rest of her life. That way, he knew nothing would happen to her. He knew it wasn’t a sane way to think, but that was how Kara made him feel.

Kara had been gone too long. Glancing down at his watch, Grayson noticed it had been almost ten minutes. He rose from his seat, intending to find out what was taking so long, when the waitress came by with the check.

“Sir, can you help me with something?”

“What is it?” Grayson really wanted to go check and see what was taking Kara so long in the bathroom, but he was raised to be polite.

He followed the waitress to the side of the diner opposite the bathroom, and she pointed to a box high on a shelf.

“Can you grab that box down for me?”

Grayson grabbed the box and set it on the table next to her. When he went to turn, she stopped him.

“Can you hold on a few seconds? I need a couple things out, and then you can put it back up there.”

He ground his teeth. For the first time that he could remember, Grayson didn’t want to be a gentleman. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he felt something wasn’t right. Just when he was about ready to bolt toward the bathroom, she spoke.

“I’m done.”

He grabbed the box and threw it up on the shelf.

The waitress had a few dishes in her hand as she wiped down the closest table. He had already taken a few steps toward the bathroom when her words stopped him. “Sorry. I almost forgot. The lady you were with told me to tell you she would meet you at the ranch. She had an emergency.” When she turned to move away, not waiting for his reply, Grayson reached for her arm. It must have startled her because she dropped the dishes she’d been holding. They fell to the ground, causing a crashing noise to echo through the restaurant. All the patrons turned to watch them.

“You need to let go of my arm, sir.” Her voice was low and demanding.

Grayson immediately dropped his hand from her elbow and stepped back. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you turned too quickly, and I had a question.”

She nodded her head tightly. Her back was stiff as if she were preparing to be hit.

“Did she leave with someone? Which way did she go?”

When it looked like she wouldn’t answer, Grayson added, “Please, I need your help. There was a man after her, and we thought he’d left town. She could be in great danger. Please.”

The waitress wrung her hands in front of her. “She told me to stall you, and the woman with her said you were here to hurt her.”

He didn’t recognize Wendy from his previous visits to the diner. He had no clue who she was or if what she said could be trusted. Their conversation was drawing an audience. Another waitress came over to clean up the mess on the floor.

“Can you sit with me for a second? I will call Hank Patterson. Do you know who that is?”

“Yes, he’s a hometown hero.”

“He is one of my really good friends.”

Grayson slid back into the booth where he and Kara had been a few minutes ago. Every minute he spent trying to get information out of this lady meant Kara was another minute farther away.

He grabbed his phone and dialed Hank immediately. Grayson didn’t look up to see if the waitress had followed him to the booth. The creak of the old leather seats was the only confirmation he needed. Grayson put the phone on speaker and laid it on the table between them. It rang twice before Hank’s deep voice boomed through the line.

“What’s going on, Gray Wolf?”

“I’m at the diner, and there has been a situation. I need your help. I’m sitting with…” Grayson didn’t remember the woman’s name.

When he looked up from the phone, she responded. “Wendy.”

“Hey, Wendy. How—”

Grayson cut him off before Hank had time to ask how the woman was doing. “Hank, someone kidnapped Kara from the diner. They told Wendy they were running from me and to tell me a few minutes after they left. Kara left with a woman. Can you tell Wendy I’m the good guy?”

In the background, running footsteps indicated that Hank was on the move, probably heading for the diner.

“Wendy, you need to tell us everything. Grayson is one of the good guys. The woman that took Kara wants to harm her.” Hank was breathing heavily from running to his truck. “I’m on my way to the diner. I’ll have Bear and Taz meet us there.” The phone went dead.

When Grayson looked up from the smartphone to Wendy, she had tears running down her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I thought I was helping her.”

Grayson pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t fault this woman for wanting to protect his angel, but she was protecting her from the wrong person. After taking a couple of deep breaths, Grayson gave Wendy his full attention.

“What did the other woman look like?”

Wendy wiped the tears from her eyes. “She had to be in her late thirties. Her clothes looked old and dirty. I’ve never seen her here before. They both seemed so desperate. I’ve been hurt before, and when she said you hurt her, I wanted her to get away.”

Grayson would get his brother on the phone to see if he could help figure out who took his angel. He didn’t care what satellite Noah would have to hack so he could find his woman. He repeated the words in his head. His woman. That sounded good, and he had to get her back.

Rovshan had said he was done and didn’t want to deal with the hassle of taking Kara as a bride. Or it could have been the money Noah drained from his account. Grayson didn’t think it was Rovshan coming after Kara this time. He had a feeling this had to do with her father. They needed all the information they could get on her dad and anyone he dealt with.

“I don’t know who that is. Can you tell me every word that was spoken? Even if you think it has nothing to do with her leaving.”

“When I walked around the corner to the kitchen, they were standing by the back door. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about because they were whispering. I told them they needed to go out front because the area they were in was for staff only.”

He nodded, showing he wanted her to continue.

She blew out a long breath. “The woman spoke up.”

“Kara?” When Wendy looked confused, he said, “The woman who was with me. Her name is Kara.”

Wendy nodded. “Kara said she could no longer be with a man like her father. She said you were abusing her and the woman with her was trying to help her get away.”

Grayson’s jaw clenched. Kara was probably trying to save the day by keeping him safe. When he got his hands on her, he was going redden her ass. She wouldn’t be able to sit down for days. Why would Kara say Grayson was like her father? Unless she was sending a clue.

“The woman said to wait five minutes and then let you know they went out the back. I was supposed to distract you and not let you back there.” A sob burst from her throat. “I’m so sorry.”

He was about to respond when the doors to the diner flew open. Hank entered, followed by Bear and Taz. They would help him find his woman.