Texas Lightning. Gerry Bartlett
sat up straight. There were rules. Leash laws. Then a white ball of fur raced past and stopped at the bottom of the stairs to her apartment. It started barking, obviously upset.
“Oh, my God! YoYo!” She grabbed the handle and tried to open the door. Locked. “Let me out! Now!” She released her seat belt.
“What the hell?” But he unlocked the doors with a click.
Anna almost fell out as she jerked the door open and jumped down. “YoYo! Come here, boy!” She ran toward him and scooped up the dog, frantically checking him for injuries. “How did you get out?” She realized King was right behind her. “I locked up tight when I left. He was inside.”
“Which apartment is yours?” King held out his hand and YoYo licked his fingers.
“Top of the stairs. Two C.” Anna hugged the dog and started up. She could see the door was closed, just like she’d left it. This didn’t make sense.
“Stop! Stay here. The only way the dog got out is if someone let him out. You did say you live alone, right?” When she nodded, King ran to the truck, then came back with a handgun.
“Are you kidding me?” She gawked at him. “Put that away!”
“What if someone is still inside? They could be loading up, robbing you blind.” He gently moved Anna aside and started up the stairs. “Who else has your key?”
“Just a friend from Boston. She’s here for work too. But she’d never leave YoYo out in the parking lot. And I didn’t expect her. She’d text if she was coming over.” Anna stayed on King’s heels. “What are you going to do?”
“Depends on what we find. Call the police, of course. Hold the thief till they come if someone is still in there.” He looked all business, like he was ready to take on whoever had dared leave her dog at the mercy of big trucks and the heat.
“I hope they are here. YoYo could have been killed the way some people race through the parking lot. We need speed bumps.” Anna felt sick thinking about it. She reached for the trowel she’d stuck into a bag of potting soil next to the door. “Guess this is better than nothing. It’s got a good point on it.” She set YoYo down and told him to stay. Not that he’d do it. He’d flunked obedience school, twice. The poor thing was panting like he was feeling the heat and needed water.
“You should wait at the bottom of the steps, Anna. Go ahead and call the police.” King stopped like he thought she was really going to just stand meekly in the parking lot while he did his macho maneuvers.
“My phone’s in the truck, in my backpack.” Anna didn’t want to think about why someone might have broken into her place. All her work, notes, things she’d brought from home were in there, along with her computer system. They were the only things of value. “The dog’s not barking now. That’s a good sign. If someone is still here, I think YoYo would be going crazy. Look at him.”
King reached down to pat the tiny dog who sniffed his boot, then scratched against the door. “I hope you’re right. I don’t hear anything. Stand back anyway.” He tried the door and the knob turned easily. “You did lock this when you left?”
“Of course. I have a computer system worth a fortune in there. It’s my livelihood. I do a lot of work from home.” Anna stayed close. No way in hell was she just going to obey him.
“Last chance to wait by my truck.” He gave her a look, still not opening the door.
“If you’re scared, hand me your gun. I’ll use it on whoever might be lurking inside. I know how to shoot. Remember those brothers I told you about? They taught me.” Anna tried to push past him.
“Now you’re scaring me.” He threw open the door. “Police!”
Anna gasped when she saw the chaos inside. Whoever had let out her dog had obviously been looking for something. Her gaze went right to her dining room table. Her computer was gone. Her heart sank. At least she’d taken precautions with her work. But to break in like this…
King stalked through the house, gun out in front of him as he searched every room. It didn’t take long since there was only one bedroom off the living room, a tiny kitchen, and the bathroom. She heard him open the closet door before he shouted, “Clear!” just like in one of those police procedurals on TV.
“No one’s here. What’s missing?” He glanced at the empty dining room table she’d used as her desk. “Is that where your computer sat?”
“Yes.” Anna blinked back tears. “My TV is still here. No surprise. It’s not that big. My friend mocks me for it.” She trailed into her bedroom. The drawers had been pulled out from her bedside table and her chest. Underwear was strewn across the mattress, which was off the bed frame.
“They were obviously looking for something. Money?” King picked up the mattress and slid it back on the box springs. “You keep cash here?”
“No. I don’t fool with much cash. I’m all about my debit card.” Anna grabbed a laundry basket and stuffed the clothes that had been dumped on the floor into it. She shuddered as she left the room. She was washing everything that the cretins who’d invaded her space had touched.
“Stop cleaning. The cops should see it like this.” King picked up a bowl and filled it with water. His new best friend licked his hand, then drank greedily as soon as he set it on the floor. “Wish the dog could talk.”
“You and me both.” Anna picked up a sofa cushion, dropped it in place, then fell onto it. “I guess I should call the police. I have renters insurance.” Her lower lip quivered but she refused to give in to it.
“Hey, talk to me.” King slapped the other sofa cushions next to her then sat. “You want to get a hotel room? I know you probably don’t want to stay here tonight. If these guys come back…”
“What?” Anna stared at him. “Why would they do that?”
“I don’t know. You tell me.” He glanced around the room. “They were searching for something. Did they find it?” He gave her a penetrating look. “You’ve been guarding your backpack since before I met you. I have a feeling there’s something in there that’s valuable. To you, and maybe to the assholes who broke in here. Or am I imagining things?”
Anna took a shaky breath. She’d already figured out that King was sharp. And she hadn’t exactly made a secret of the fact that she wasn’t going to let her pack out of her sight or her reach during their time together. It had even sat between her legs at the restaurant. Thank God she was careful, because she’d be in tears, and in jeopardy of losing her job, if she hadn’t taken those special precautions before her little sightseeing jaunt today.
“No, you’re not imagining things. I’m pretty sure whoever broke in here was looking for what’s in my pack.” Anna realized that, in her fright about her dog, she’d left the thing sitting in King’s truck. Unguarded. She jumped up and ran outside her door. The truck was still there.
“Did you lock it?” She turned to him as he walked up beside her.
“No, but I will now.” He pulled his key fob from his pocket and hit the command that made the lights on the truck flash as the locks engaged. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on, Anna? Whoever broke in here knew what they were doing. They didn’t have a key, but there are no signs of forced entry. So they were professionals. You carrying gold bars in that backpack? State secrets? What?”
“You know that joke, if I told you I’d have to kill you?” Anna tried for a smile but couldn’t twist her mouth into one.
“Oh, come on. I don’t believe you.” He shut the door and turned the dead bolt. “You’re a computer geek. And I don’t mean that to insult you. What’s in the backpack? A new revolutionary program?”
“Got it in one, King.” Anna collapsed on the sofa and YoYo jumped in her lap for a cuddle. She buried her face in his soft fur for