Cowboy Cool: Book 5 (Cowboy Justice Association) (13 page)

“What are you in the mood for? I know a few good steakhouses.”

“Whatever you want. Your wish is my command.” His smile was designed to charm and it did exactly that. He was flying right over all the defenses she’d built up as if they were nothing. She was beginning to depend on Reed Mitchell.

*   *   *   *

“Please tell me that you’ve found something. Anything.” Out on the back patio, Reed was talking to Jared while Kaylee worked in the office. “I’m hitting roadblocks everywhere I turn here. He’s escalating, I can feel it. His first contacts were remote, almost impersonal. Then he sends a more threatening type of letter to her home. He was letting her know he could get to her if he wanted to. Now he’s damaged her property and threatened her again. He could have hurt her if she’d been sitting in front of that window.”

“It does sound like it,” Jared replied. “But here’s the thing. He didn’t injure her. Does she sit at that table very often?”

“I’ve never seen her sit there. We eat at the island or in the living room. I doubt she sits there when she eats alone.”

“I bet your stalker knew that too. He’s probably watching her. That may be why he’s escalating. Your presence has shaken him up.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. It’s a funny coincidence that things started heating up when I got here. I’ll be honest—I don’t like these cat and mouse games. I much prefer when the enemy comes straight after me in a fair fight. This one’s acting like a big pussy with all this creepy shit.”

“He’s fucking with her head, just toying with her. I doubt he intended to hurt her last night.”

“He wanted to scare her,” Reed stated, still pissed that this asshole was jerking them around. “Shit, he succeeded. She didn’t want to be by herself, and we sure as hell didn’t get much sleep. I think she dozed off about three and I fell asleep about five.”

“It sounds like you and Kaylee are getting rather close.”

Fuck Jared. Reed knew when he was being baited and he was too tired and irritable to appreciate it at the moment.

“I’m not in the mood to play games with you. Say whatever it is you want to say, dammit.”

“Fine, I’ll say it. Are you sleeping with her?”

“No,” Reed answered shortly. “I am not. At least in the sense you mean. She was scared and didn’t want to sleep alone. Nothing happened.”

“When was the last time you slept in the same bed with a woman out of the goodness of your heart? It sounds like you have feelings for her. Do you?”

That was the fucking million-dollar question. Reed hadn’t felt this vulnerable about a female in about fifteen years. That little factoid wasn’t improving his mood any more than the lack of sleep.

“She’s an easy woman to like,” Reed finally said. “I’m not falling in love with her if that’s where you’re going with this. But I do want to protect her.”

“It’s nice to see you give a shit about anything other than work.” Reed searched for amusement in Jared’s words but there was none.

“This is work,” Reed said abruptly. “I want to find this guy because it’s the right thing to do. Then I’ll finish my vacation and head back home.”

“You know, nothing bad would happen if you let someone into your life, man. I don’t know what’s happened to–”

“Let’s change the subject,” Reed interjected. He loved Jared like a brother but digging up long-buried ghosts wasn’t on the agenda today. “Did you find anything or not?”

At first Reed thought Jared wasn’t going to drop the subject but then he finally answered. “I did find a few things as a matter of fact. Out of the writing group, Linda had a juvenile record. She stole beer from a liquor store when she was seventeen. Hell, probably did it on a dare or some shit like that. Been clean ever since. Then this Cheryl doesn’t have a record but her personal life is interesting. She’s been married four times. She’s not even forty yet. Four times. And with each successive husband she gets better at taking them for their money. She’s got quite a tidy sum in the bank.”

“What about Walter?”

Reed had gotten a hinky vibe from the man that day and hadn’t been able to shake it since. If Brent wasn’t their guy, the next on his list was Walter.

“Now this Walter Cummings is interesting and do you know why? He exists but he doesn’t exist. I see he was born in Kankakee, which is north of Champaign. He graduated from high school and he has a checking account with a balance of two hundred and six dollars. He doesn’t own any property or have any credit cards. He’s not even registered to vote. From what I can see he has no visible means of support. Is he handsome enough to get women to pay his bills?”

Reed sighed in frustration. “I don’t think I’m a good one to ask. Damn, I need to talk to him. He’s still on my list along with Brent.”

“What did you find out about him?”

“He’s got a record. Selling drugs. He did some time in a minimum security prison here in Illinois. Other than that he seems pretty ne’er do well. He’s gone from job to job, apartment to apartment with no real direction in his life. From what I can see he has less than five hundred bucks to his name and no real assets.”

“Doesn’t make him a criminal though,” Jared said doubtfully. “Did you find anything else? You said you were going to check out Kaylee herself and see if there was something in her past that was coming back to haunt her. What about this David she used to live with? Do you think he could be doing this?”

Reed flipped open the file folder on the desk that contained everything he’d found out about his hostess. He already knew he had more information about her life than she did. She hadn’t known about her father. Would she want to hear that her ex-boyfriend was now single? Did she still have feelings for him despite her statements that he was an asshole?

“Kaylee lived a quiet life in East Central Illinois. She was in the drama club in high school and got good grades at the University of Illinois. There’s no report of run-ins with campus police or anything. Even in Portland she didn’t even get a parking ticket. From what I can see she was a model citizen. If she garnered someone’s attention she certainly wasn’t trying. As for David Benton, he’s newly single in the last six months but he still lives in Portland. I’ve pretty much eliminated everyone Kaylee knows from Portland or social media. I think this guy is local.”

“So what’s the next step? What can we do?”

Jared Monroe was just one of seven other small town sheriffs that Reed met and worked with on a regular basis. They were always there for one another and it made keeping the peace much easier.

“I’m waiting on fingerprint results from the cops. They have the two letters and drawings. Also I’ve scanned the hand-drawn pictures into the computer and I have a program running in the background scouring the Internet for anything that looks even remotely close. I also have a program running that’s cross-referencing DMV records with the list of names. I’m looking for those that have a four-door sedan registered to them. And this morning I put up more cameras to capture different angles and put sensors on the every door and window. A good stiff breeze would set this place off now.”

“You’re a busy man. Sounds like she’s safe as long as she stays in the house,” Jared chuckled.

“Wish me luck with that,” Reed groaned. “This woman is stubborn as a mule. If she wants to leave the house, believe me she will.”

“She sounds like your perfect match. Seriously though, is there anything we can help you with?”

Reed stroked his chin. “I can’t think of anything right now but I’ll definitely call you if anything comes up. Right now I’m trying to be as proactive as I can in a reactive situation.”

“I don’t envy you,” Jared agreed. “But it sounds like you have things in hand. You’ll get this guy. He’ll slip up and you’ll catch him. It’s only a matter of time.”

Reed could only hope that was the case. He ended the call but before he could set the phone down on the table next to him it was ringing again.

“Hey Logan, what’s up? I just got off the phone with Jared.”

“Then my timing is impeccable. I was calling to see how everything is going but also wondering about Kaylee. Ava has been trying to get her on the phone for the last hour or so and there’s been no answer. She was worried. Since I was going to call you anyway I offered to see if she’s okay. Did she write all night and need a nap? Ava does that all the time.”

“Actually Kaylee is writing now so I bet she turned off her phone. If it’s okay I’ll have her call Ava when she takes a break.”

“Sounds good. Is everything going well there? Any more communication from the stalker?”

The last thing Reed wanted to do was upset Ava and by extension Logan. They were both worried about Kaylee and for good reason, but Reed wasn’t the type to keep something like this from his friend. Without any drama or emotion he recited what had happened and the steps he’d taken to mitigate any risk. He tried to make it sound like business as usual in Kaylee’s home.

“Shit, is she okay?” Logan asked when Reed was done. “Is she scared?”

Relating truthful facts to Logan were one thing; characterizing Kaylee’s fear was something else. There was nothing to be gained by describing how shaken up she had been last night and even today. That would only worry Ava more.

“She’s hanging tough. She told me this morning that she’s mad this is happening to her and I think that’s a healthy response.”

“That sounds like something my Ava would say,” Logan laughed heartily. “I feel better knowing you’re there and protecting her. I know I’ve said thank you before but I’ll say it again. I appreciate what you’re doing.”

Reed had stopped doing this for Logan and Ava at some point last night. Now he was doing it for Kaylee and himself. Something had happened to him as he’d held her in his arms, listening to her even breathing and feeling the steady thrum of her heartbeat. She’d felt small, vulnerable, and scared. He’d vowed to protect her with his life. Nothing and no one would hurt her. He’d made mistakes in the past but this time he would do things right.

“I’m happy to help, Logan. Nothing is going to happen to Kaylee.”

Chapter Twelve

R
od’s hand slipped beneath the hem of her skirt, sliding up her thigh and leaving a trail of heat in his wake. Tamsyn shivered as he traced patterns on her skin before his fingers delved under the elastic of her panties. She was hot and wet for him and he groaned his approval against her neck and whispered that she was beautiful and sexy.

Whew.

Kaylee pushed her chair away from the desk and took a deep, calming breath, fanning her warm face. Writing a sex scene was always difficult but today seemed extra challenging. It might have something to do with what had happened last night and to her life in general. She had someone who was threatening her and they had no idea who they were or why they were doing this.

But that wasn’t the real reason she was having problems.

This was entirely Reed Mitchell’s fault. Every time she tried to imagine her characters Rod and Tamsyn making love her brain completely twisted things and suddenly she had pictures of Reed and herself naked and entwined on her king-sized bed doing incredibly naughty things to one another. The whole endeavor had her hot, bothered, and wanting to do something about it. It had been many months since she’d had sex, and she was sure that sex with Reed would be like nothing she’d had before.

If she were brutally honest with herself she hadn’t had much luck with making love. It was one of the reasons she’d chosen erotic romance when she’d started writing. If she couldn’t reach those passionate heights she’d read about—and she sure as heck didn’t with David—then writing about them was the next best thing. Most of the time she took care of business herself with a variable speed Hitachi vibrator that had been worth every penny of its expensive price tag.

She needed a break and a cool drink. Heading into the kitchen she spied Reed on the back patio talking on the phone. She must have caught his eye because he nodded and ended the call, setting his laptop on the side table and joining her in the kitchen.

“Taking a break?” he asked with a smile. “That was Logan on the phone. Ava’s been trying to call you this morning and was worried. I told them you were writing but I would pass on the message.”