Chapter 6 Lina
lina
From the Augustus Stampede to the Molliville Showdown, I couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that someone was following me …
watching me. It threw me off my game, and for two rodeos straight, Paige beat my time by half a second.
If I didn’t shake it off soon, it was going to be a battle to retain my record.
I was going to need to pull it together for the Bowman Desert Rodeo, or I could kiss my goal to win the Columbia River Finals goodbye.
“Doing okay?” Christian asked, genuine concern spreading across his smooth features as he pet Mushu’s chest to calm him before our run.
Mushu seemed extra fidgety today. I knew he could sense my nerves, and I tried my best to calm my body so it wouldn’t affect him, but I was getting nowhere. We were both antsy.
I shook my head at him and exhaled a long, shuddering breath in an attempt to shake it off. “I’m a fucking mess.”
It didn’t help that I was last in the draw, and it had been raining. The arena was dangerous—slick and muddy—which would make me have to work Mushu harder, digging deeper around the barrels for us to make a clean run.
His brows pinched beneath his cowboy hat. “You got this. Don’t let it get to your head.”
I knew he was right, but I could really use some comfort. I wished my dad was here.
Taking another deep breath, I looked around, and there, with his eyes fucking on me, was that creeper from the bar. His eyes bore into me like a laser. His mouth was set firm, and he wasn’t smiling like he’d been at the Saddle Room.
I immediately felt sick.
“Whoa!” Christian held on to Mushu while he shifted beneath me. “What just happened? Your face went as white as a sheet.”
I swallowed the bile in the back of my throat. I’d have to deal with that asshole as soon as this was over. I was done feeling like I was being watched. I couldn’t continue going into each rodeo with eyes on my back. The dude seriously needed to fuck off.
I was going to have to take this into my own hands.
I shook my head at the same time Mushu tossed his, trying to shake off the nerves.
“Larsen, you’re on deck!”
“I got this,” I whispered, but Christian read my lips and nodded. His eyes were full of concern as he led us to the gate.
I don’t think he believed me, and I certainly didn’t believe myself.
As soon as Mushu was unsaddled and back in his borrowed stall for the night, I stormed right over to the creepy bastard leaning against the stands and gave him a quick knee in the balls.
“Stay the fuck away from me!”
He doubled over, grabbing his junk. “Bitch!” he hissed through his pain.
“When I told you to fuck off in Joseph, you should have listened.”
“You fucking bitch,” he spat, regaining his composure enough to quickly grasp my arm.
I squeaked, surprised by the fast and forceful movement as he spun me around. His arm looped around me like a boa constrictor, pinning my arms to my sides. He gripped the back of my neck with his other hand, pressing me up against the support rail.
I bucked against his grip, but his hand at my neck wrapped around my jaw, wrenching it to the side, putting a strain on my neck until he could press my cheek into the cold metal.
His fingers dug into my skin as he squeezed.
Squeezing so hard, I thought he might break my jaw.
Air puffed out through my nose. My lungs heaved.
“Get the fuck off me,” I tried to say, but it only came out like a desperate groan.
His body pressed against mine, and his sour breath reeked of beer and chew. It made me want to hurl.
“You think you’re too good for me? All you needed to do was say ‘yes’ to a little dance, Lina. You should have let me show you a good time. I can still show you a good time.” Hot air drifted across my face.
My heart raced, my chest heaved. I tried to buck my hips, to squirm my arms loose, to push away from him, to get even an inch of separation, but he was stronger.
The guy was getting off on this, the evidence of just how much was digging into my spine the more he hurt me.
Bile crawled up my throat. I was going to vomit, but the way he was squeezing my jaw closed would mean I’d have to swallow it unless I wanted it coming out my nose.
“I know you like to play. Maybe you even like it rough.” His thumb brushed the underside of my breast where his hand wrapped around me. I wanted to crawl out of my skin and pretend this was not happening right now.
There’d been more than one guy I encountered who got a little too aggressive or handsy, but I’d never had someone who couldn’t take “no” for an answer. Fear washed over me like a bucket of ice water.
The sounds of my labored breathing and pounding heart almost drowned out the distant drunk laughter of the remaining rodeo-goers leaving the fairgrounds. They might be my only saving grace. Anyone could stumble upon us. I could feel him hesitate at my back.
“Next time, you’re not saying ‘no’ to me.” He pushed off me then, letting my cheek dig into the metal one last time before leaving me under the stands in the dark.
Tears stung my eyes, and I straightened my button-up shirt.
My hands trembled as I brushed loose strands of hair away from my face, tucking a piece back into my braid.
I was going to be sick. I opened my jaw, letting the joint pop.
It already ached. Fuck. I clamped my eyes shut and tried to calm down, shaky breaths forcing their way through my lungs.
Shit, I was in trouble. I couldn’t handle this alone.
It was bad, really bad. The only question was, what was I going to do about it?
I turned around, peering out at the shadowed rodeo grounds illuminated by a few arena lights.
Fortunately, I was heading home tomorrow.
I needed to regroup. Maybe I could see if Dad would be able to come to the next rodeo with me?
There was no way in hell I was going to continue traveling the circuit by myself when this guy made it perfectly clear he wasn’t going to leave me alone.
Taking a steadying breath, I willed myself to move, to look forward and head straight to my truck. More than once, I’d slept in my vehicle while on the circuit. I’d get in, lock the door, and make sure my bear spray was within an arm’s reach if anyone tried anything.
I turned the corner from the entrance, heading to the parking lot, when a hand whipped up, taking my arm.
I spun around, swinging my fist right into—
Christian’s gut.
“Ugh!” He blew out a gust of air, grabbing his stomach. “Damn, slugger. What was that for?”
“Shit! I’m so sorry, Christian.” My hands hovered over him, not wanting to touch him and not wanting him to touch me. I felt like my body was shaking, my skin vibrating with static.
“Did Jude teach you that?”
“Sorry,” I said again, wincing. I knew I could pack a mean punch if I needed to.
“Is something up?” He rubbed his stomach, his face in a slight grimace. “You haven’t been yourself the last couple weeks. You look as though something has you spooked … and, what’s this?”
His hand reached for my right cheek, but I moved my head to the side before he could touch it. “Nothing.”
“Did someone sock you in the face? Your jaw is swollen.”
I raised a hand, my fingertips lightly touching the tender skin. Like a nervous doe, I scanned the parking lot around us. It still felt like I was being watched, and I fucking hated it. It made my skin crawl.
“Come with me to my truck.”
“Lina, you’re freaking me out a little bit.”
I didn’t say another word, my eyes darting back and forth as we walked to my truck.
“Get in,” I said, unlocking the doors. I climbed in, waiting for Christian to get in the passenger seat and shut the door. I flicked the locks, the sound click echoing in the quiet cab.
“Lina, what’s going on?”
I turned to my friend. His cool, green eyes were full of concern, and his mouth was turned down in a frown.
“Someone has been following me since—well, I don’t know how long.”
“Wait … what?” His brow furrowed.
“He hit on me in Joseph a couple weeks ago, and I turned him down. He didn’t like that very much.”
Christian’s jaw ticked.
“He made it sound as though he’d been watching me for a while.”
“Fuck, Lina. Who is this guy?” Christian’s hands balled where they rested on his thighs.
I shook my head. “I—I don’t know. He hasn’t told me his name, and I haven’t asked.”
“Was he here today? In the stands, I mean. Did you see him right before your run?”
“Yeah, he was there.” I nodded.
“That’s when you went all pale.” Christian looked out the windshield, pondering, before turning back to me. “What happened tonight? Did he fucking touch you? Did he do more than what I can see right now?”
I shook my head furiously, gripping the steering wheel as tightly as I could, hoping it could keep my hands from shaking. “I thought I could tell him off, and I kneed him in the balls.” I stared at my hands. Don’t shake. Don’t fucking shake. “He didn’t like that. He—he grabbed me.”
“So he did touch you!”
I whipped my head back to Christian. Even in the dark, I could see his skin go red with rage. Christian rarely got angry, but when he did, you could read it from a mile away.
“He made sure I knew he wasn’t going to stop. That next time, he wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer.” I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth, attempting to quell the nausea.
“Lina, this isn’t good. What the fuck?”
“No, shit, it’s not good. I have a fucking stalker.”
“Yeah, you do.” Christian shook his head in disbelief. “You can’t be on the circuit by yourself anymore.”
“I’m not by my-fucking-self.” I could feel my own anger rising now, but it wasn’t at Christian. I was angry at myself for not handling this when he first approached me in Joseph. “I have you and Kale.”
“Lina, I’m serious. You need to have someone with you all the time. Kale and I have our own events. We can’t be by your side 24/7. Can your dad come with you for a while?”
I grimaced, knowing Dad would be wanting to kill this guy. “Maybe. He has a lot going on at the ranch right now, though.”
“You have to tell him, or I fucking will. If that’s what he did to your face in the middle of the fairgrounds, he can’t catch you alone anymore.”