Charlie's Angel by Aurora Rose Lynn Page B

where you are, and I respect your privacy, but your life is in danger. If you come with me, I can protect you. If you don’t come with me then Rowter will hurt you. His intention is to kill you.” His eyes darted everywhere restlessly.
    She shook her head. None of this made sense. “Rowter? Who is he? You’re making this up, aren’t you?”
    Charlie fished his cell phone from a small pouch hanging from his belt. “I’m trying to save your life so you can enjoy it however you desire.” He scanned the area behind her and flicked through some photos on his phone, before he lifted it up. “Rowter. The man at the diner. Have you seen him before?”
    She squinted. A shiver of dread hurtled down her spine. Was it possible Charlie was telling her the truth?
    “He was on the bus with me, all the way from Maine to L.A.”
    She hadn’t thought much of it, but he was hefty and always wore a plaid shirt, and she disliked plaid. He hadn’t posed a problem, as far as she’d seen. She might not have liked him, but he hadn’t threatened her.
    “That man has been in jail countless times for assault with a deadly weapon. He’s been searching for you.”
    Roxie bristled. “He’s not who you say he is. He helped me with my luggage several times. If he intended to hurt me, then why hasn’t he?”
    Charlie remained absolutely still, although his eyes were busy scanning the area over her shoulder. “I can’t answer that. I’ll explain in the car.” He began hauling her toward the end of the alley.
    “You can show me anyone you want and declare he’s a danger,” she protested, dragging him to a standstill. “I’ve got to get to work.”
    Glaring at her, he pursed his lips. His phone rang softly. “Yes?” he answered, his voice barely above a whisper. His fingers didn’t ease from her arm.
    Roxie watched his sensual lips and craved to outline them as she had his eyebrows and his nose. His jaw was rigid and tense. She could meld her body with his, touch his cock, and play with the burgeoning hardness, to watch his gray eyes light up with pleasure.
    A garbage truck rounded the corner, its gears grinding harshly. Roxie turned to look.
    Without warning, Charlie pulled her in the opposite direction toward the dead-end. “We’ve gotta to get out of here. That’s Rowter, meaning to run both of us over.”
    “How do you know?” Roxie dug in her heels. She wasn’t moving until she got some answers. Was Charlie being followed too? Was he in on this? Was that why he could get a call and figure out what was happening?
    The truck driver ground the gears again. For all she knew, the garbage disposal vehicle could be picking up the trash in the alley and posed no threat to her whatsoever. Then she heard the engine rev up, and the vehicle sped forward. Metal crumpled against concrete in a horrendous, earsplitting sound. Charlie’s eyes bored into hers as terror took hold of her.
    A quick glance at the driver through the darkened window told her that the man at the steering wheel was Rowter. His facial features weren’t set in kind lines either. His lips were curled in a vicious snarl.
    Disbelief seized her. Rowter, if that was his name, had never been cruel to her. What had made him change?
    Charlie hauled her forward, already at a dead run. “Explain later.”
    This isn’t the way she’d expected to die.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    Panic, an unusual emotion for Charlie, threaded through him. His heartbeat accelerated. He could think of a number of ways to breathe his last, but this wasn’t one of them. For a flashing second, he’d seen Rowter up in the cab. His truck would flatten Roxie and himself against the solid wall, and the cops would have to use a spoon to retrieve their bloody remains. He didn’t relish the thought. If only he’d thrown Roxie over his shoulder and run after he’d seen the truck, they wouldn’t be here racing for their lives. He could only fervently hope that the back door of Woody’s