Walker grinned at Doll. She really was shocked, apparently.

“Right now?” She let out a small squeak. “Don’t you need to meet your friends at a club or something?”

“Nah. I mean, I do have to send word. But I’ll let them know something came up and that I had to head home. They’ll be fine.” He leaped to his feet and grabbed his leather carry-on bag.

“Okay, so I guess we better get some basics out of the way before we leave.” 

He smiled at her as he fired off a quick text to Ace, letting him know that he had to leave. He said he wouldn’t be joining them for the rest of the bachelor party.

“What basics are we getting out of the way?” she asked once he’d slid his phone back into his pocket. She still seemed to find him suspicious. 

He didn’t blame her though, no one could. She’d been nothing but used and hurt and lied to by men for close to a decade. He was going to have to earn her trust, not just make promises and have her blindly believe them. And he was okay with that.

“Uh, you know. Basic stuff people in love know about each other. Like, my last name is Roman. I’m twenty-nine, I served as a Navy SEAL for just over eight years. I’m now in satellite recruitment for the Navy."

He took a breath, and screwed up his face.

"I'm a traveling recruiter, not someone who recruits satellites. I work on my family ranch with my brothers. That’s why I moved back home. I can do the recruiting from anywhere with a fast internet connection. They needed my help with the business end of things on the ranch. My father turned the place over to my brothers and me. He threatened to sell if we didn’t manage it ourselves.”

She blinked at him, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

“Uh, okay. My name is Ashleigh Walsh. But everyone calls me Doll. My mom gave me the nickname as a kid and it stuck. Eventually it became the name Dimitri and the others called me. So it was the name they gave my customers. I’m twenty-four. You already know everything about what I do and how I got into it.”

“Speaking of which, have you got any clothes and toiletries somewhere other than what’s in that backpack?”

“At Igor’s, but it’s not much. And there’s no way to get it now anyway.” Her eyes turned down as she shrugged.

“Okay. We’ll make a stop on the way out of town, pick up some stuff for you. Sound good?” 

With that, he turned toward the bathroom to gather his things.

“I... uh... I don’t have enough money--" she said quietly, rooted to her spot.

He cut her off as he emerged from the bathroom and strode over to her. 

“But I do.” His voice was gentle, but sure. He reached his hand toward hers, but stopped short of taking it until she offered it to him. 

She did, albeit slowly. He gave it a reassuring squeeze as he continued. “Come to think of it, I’m adding one more term to this agreement of ours. From now on, you don’t worry about money. While you’re ‘with’ me, I pay for everything. No argument, okay?”

“But, I--” she started. 

“No argument, Doll. Please? You let me pay. You don’t think about the money. I know you’re used to taking care of yourself, but I’m asking you to let me take care of you for now.”

She sucked her lower lip in between her teeth again, a clear sign of her uncertainty. She nodded as she dropped her eyes, but set off to gather her things.

He shouldered her backpack and his own bag. He swept the room one last time, making sure that they had packed everything. Then he held the door for her, letting it slam shut behind him.

Once they reached the parking area, he led her to his black Escalade. He stowed both their bags in the back and slid into the driver’s seat after he’d helped her in the passenger side. 

“You ready?” he asked as he fastened his seat belt and pulled out the parking bay.

“I hope so,” she said in a voice so low, he almost hadn’t heard her.

He gave her a reassuring smile as he pushed the car into gear and pointed it toward the exit. 

“You’re safe now, Doll. Really. Well, from Russians anyway.” His grin turned almost grim for an instant as he continued. “My family, on the other hand...” He trailed off. “You are going to love my brothers though.” 

An easy grin spread across his face as he spoke of his brothers and their families. He was actually happy to be heading back to them. 

They’d spent a lot of time apart in the service, but they’d always been close. They’d grown even closer since they had returned to manage the ranch together.

“There’s Sawyer, he’s the oldest. He’s married to Remy. They’ve been in love forever, but they went through a rough patch for a while there. He knocked her up when he was stateside a couple of years ago. Only then he had to go back on tour, and she never told him about the baby.” 

He surprised himself by telling her the family drama. He never talked this much. Yet it seemed easy with her. He wanted to tell her about his family. More than that, she needed to know. A real girlfriend would. 

“The Colonel, my father... Let’s just say he contributed to Remy’s silence.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel. He remembered the sheer hell The Colonel had caused for Remy and Sawyer with that particular act of intimidation and deception. “But they got through it in the end. Shiloh’s the coolest kid.” He grinned as he thought of his nephew. He missed the little man. “Then there’s Harper. She’s six months old. She’s just started crawling, and she’s keeping everyone on their toes.”

"Sounds like Sawyer and Remy have their hands full," she said.

He pulled up outside a strip mall toward the edge of the city. 

“You should be able to pick up some stuff in there. How much time do you think you’ll need?” 

He handed over his credit card to her. Some may have thought it was a foolish move, but he trusted her for some reason. Besides, he could always cancel it if she ran off.

A slight panic flared in his stomach at the thought of her running off, but he squashed it quickly. She wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t. She’d agreed to come back with him.

Damn it. He hated that he needed someone else to pull this off. That he needed her to stay...

“I could be done in about an hour, probably? Is that okay?” Her eyes shifted nervously as she turned the card around in her hand. “Are you sure about this?”

She held the credit card up and away from her as if it frightened her.

“Absolutely. And don’t worry about what stuff costs. Okay? The limit on that bad boy can handle it.” He winked.

She still looked tentative as he opened her door and helped her out of the car. “How will I find you again?”

“Do you have a phone?” He pulled his iPhone out of his pocket to program in her number, but she shook her head.

“I wasn’t allowed...” she said, a deep blush spreading across her cheeks.

“Well then, I think we just found our first order of business.” He nodded toward the cellular phone store across the way. 

“You’re buying me a phone?” She gawked, staring up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. “That’s too much, Walker!”

“You’re going to need one. Besides, it'll look suspicious if you don’t have a phone.” He cocked an eyebrow at her, daring her to refuse. “I told you, Doll. You need to let me take care of you, okay? I’m not holding you hostage. You’re not living by their rules anymore. Consider it a symbol of your freedom.” 

She seemed to study his eyes, searching for a hint of something. From what he knew about her now, she was probably searching for dishonesty or a trace of maliciousness. His stomach turned as he took in the distrust in her emerald eyes, the ever-present hurt.

He tried to push down the rage bubbling up his throat at the assholes who’d done this to her. The cowards who had exploited her and made her believe that she was nothing more than a possession, her body their toy. 

If he ever saw any of them again, he’d rip them limb from limb with his bare hands... But he knew that it would scare her if he let her see the depth of his wrath, his dark desire to put each and every one of them in the ground.

So instead, he sighed and tucked a stray strand of brilliantly red hair behind her ear. He cupped her cheek.

“I know you’re used to being hurt, Doll. But you need to know that I would never intentionally hurt you. I would never use you. You’re more than what they’ve made you believe. I see that. And I’m going to make sure you see it, too.”

She blushed to the roots of her hair, dropping her gaze. Walker smiled and led her into the Apple store.