Run Wild by Lorie O'Clare Read Free Book Online Page B

winking as she smiled. “There’s also the meat loaf. What’s your poison, darling?”
    Helen had gone to school with Trent and was a decent woman. She’d run with the wrong crowd right after high school and ended up with a son and no husband. Today she raised a sharp young boy and worked her ass off to make sure he was brought up right.
    “Meat loaf sounds good.” Trent sipped coffee and leaned back in his booth, glancing around the diner and noting everyone in there. There wasn’t anyone eating he didn’t know.
    Helen brought him his meal and hurried off as the diner started filling up. Trent took his time eating, enjoying the hot meal. He tried relaxing although he was barely able to take his attention from the drive across the street, even after it grew dark and became impossible to see through the large windows facing the road. He still knew where it was and willed headlights to appear and head to the road.
    Trent couldn’t explain why he was so eager to see Natasha again. Very likely, she was a primary part of his murder investigation. So far, she’d given the impression she didn’t have a clue where her father was and that they weren’t close. She’d made a bit too much of a show trying to prove to Trent she didn’t know anything about what was going on in town. When she acted as if she hadn’t heard about a murder happening, his radar went up a notch. Natasha had access to all the best search engines and programs in her line of work, especially considering who she worked for. He’d done his homework and Natasha wasn’t a licensed PI, which was a requirement in the state of California for all bounty hunters. But she’d been with KFA for just over seven years and was the office manager. He’d found a few newspaper articles that put her on location when KFA captured the criminals they’d been hunting. Trent didn’t doubt she knew at least as much as he did about how to hunt and investigate. If she had something to hide, she quite possibly would be better at doing it than most.
    Trent ate his supper, barely tasting it, as he remembered how she’d felt pinned underneath him. The look on her face when he’d grabbed her off guard had been priceless. He had to admit he’d been surprised and, after the immediate shock, more than a bit impressed that she’d taken on such a tough move and pulled it off perfectly. He hadn’t planned on taking her down or revealing pertinent information about himself, such as being a black belt. Natasha would notice his move was more that of mixed martial arts than karate, though.
    Maybe he simply wasn’t able to let a woman take him down without proving he could be the man and put her where she belonged, or at least where he wanted her.
    Damn. He’d enjoyed the hell out of having every inch of her sexy body pressed against him. It wasn’t often a woman got him that hard. Usually he had better control over his actions, and his dick.
    There were blessings in disguise, though. For once, Matilda’s interruption was needed. He’d told Miss King even more about himself. She now knew how much she turned him on. Not that he wasn’t fully aware the feeling was mutual. Nonetheless, he would have to tread carefully if he was going to learn what she knew.
    Trent glanced down at his plate, realized he’d scraped it clean, and pushed it toward the center of the table. Helen was immediately by his side, taking the plate and refilling his coffee. A retired ranch hand and his wife sat at a nearby table and grabbed Helen’s attention. She gave Trent a wink and hurried off to take care of the couple. The three of them started in on local gossip and catching one another up on everything going on in town.
    It wouldn’t hurt to clear his head of Natasha, and the case, for at least the evening. Relaxing a bit, listening in as folks around him gossiped and caught up on one another’s lives, might help him keep a better perspective on everything. Getting worked up over a dark-haired