Texas Lightning. Gerry Bartlett
has the potential to save lives. It’s why that huge company across the street paid big bucks for the little Boston company I worked for, and why I had to move here.” Oh, hell. Tears. There was nothing she’d like better than to be in her mom’s kitchen right now, surrounded by her older brothers. Safe. Instead she was telling this to a stranger. Could she trust him?
Wait a minute. She didn’t believe in coincidences. Never had. So why had this man been the one to rescue her when she’d been about to faint today? And he’d been so determined to stick with her and keep her busy for hours. Was it so his buddies could break into her place and steal her computer? She faced him and looked into his dark eyes. He looked back, all innocence and interest. That in itself was suspicious. Men didn’t fall for her at first sight, and certainly not men of his kind. Rich cowboy types were as foreign to her as that lunch in the diner had been. Yes, at first it had been delicious, but now it was sitting like a greasy lump in her stomach, making her wish she’d never taken the first bite.
He still held his gun, resting it across his knees like he was just a little too familiar with it. Why? Did all ranchers in Texas carry guns in their trucks? She had no idea. But her brothers had warned her to be careful here. And her boss had cautioned her about the program she was working on. It was valuable. Worth millions, maybe more. She was the brains behind it. Which meant taking her computer could be just the first play in a clever plot to steal her software. The second play? Well, there was no play at all without her to solve the glitches in it.
“Anna?” King shook his head. “You going to tell me what’s going on? I can help you.”
“I just thought of something.” She ran into her bedroom. Was it possible the thieves had missed her hiding place? She’d brought her heavy-duty snow boots to Texas even though her brothers had teased her about it. The boots had been just right for slipping what she needed inside. Sure enough, they were where she’d left them, lying on the floor of her closet. They’d obviously not been thoroughly searched, and when she stuck her hand deep inside she hit pay dirt.
Anna walked back into the living room ready to confront King. She took a deep breath, determined to stay calm despite the nerves that threatened to make her sick and shaky.
“What the hell?” He stared at the gun in her hand she aimed at him. “Is that a .38 Special?”
“Sure is. It’s loaded, and I’m not afraid to use it either. Now why don’t you try to convince me you’re not in on this.” She waved her free hand at the mess around them. “I wasn’t born yesterday, King. It seems a little too convenient that you came to my rescue today, then managed to keep me busy while someone broke in here and stole my computer.” If he went for his gun she hoped like hell she had the nerve to blow him away. But he wasn’t a paper target and she’d never aimed at anything else. Please, God, don’t let it come to that.
Chapter Two
“You’re nuts. Why the hell would I need to do that?” He left his own gun where it was and pulled out his phone. “You work for Zenon, right?”
“Yes, I told you that over lunch. But maybe you already knew that. Maybe that was part of your plan. My computer program is worth millions, King. I’m not kidding. I’m calling the police and I hope they find fingerprints that will help them figure out who did this. Will it show a link to you?” Anna knew she was getting worked up but, damn it, if this had all been a setup then she’d been played and it made her furious. Just when she’d thought she might have attracted a good-looking guy, made a connection, and possibly had something to look forward to here in Texas…
He was ignoring her, on his phone. He glanced at her, then she heard her name. Whoever he was talking to must have reacted to it, because his eyebrows rose. He finally handed the phone to her.
“Listen to this.” He was solemn.
“I’m not putting down my gun.” Was this a trick? Would he try to grab her gun when she reached for the phone? She backed up a step.
“I didn’t ask you to, it’s on speaker.” He held out the phone.
Anna watched him closely, waiting for him to make a move. If he did, she’d have to shoot him. She swallowed, focusing on keeping the gun steady. Who had he called? That policeman at the capitol who might have been fake? Oh, she didn’t know what to believe. He just watched her and aimed the phone in her direction.
“Anna Delaney?” The deep voice sounded vaguely familiar.
“Who is this?”
“Ron Zenonsky. King says you’ve been robbed. Are you all right?” He sounded concerned.
“Mr. Zenonsky, is it really you?” Anna glanced at King. He wasn’t smiling but she could see he wanted to. Had he actually called the owner of her company? “Prove it to me. How many plants are in your office? What color is your iPad?”
“Are you kidding? No plants. I kill them. My secretary, Mona, finally forbade me to bring in any sacrifices, as she calls them. I have a pink iPad because my daughter Lea gave it to me for Father’s Day last year. My dog’s name is Zero and I drive a Tesla but keep forgetting to charge it so I usually arrive at the office by Uber. Does that convince you I’m the real deal? I know King. He and I go way back. You can trust him.”
“Yes, sir.” Anna finally let the gun drop and grabbed the phone. She held it tight because her hand was shaking. “I’m sorry about the robbery. But I’ve got everything backed up on my laptop, which I’ve kept with me at all times. And the program is on a thumb drive in my pocket. The other computer is heavily encrypted and password protected. Whoever came in here didn’t get anything worth stealing.”
“Good girl. Now put King back on for me. I’d rather you didn’t shoot him. He’s a friend, and happens to be one of our investors, Anna. You’re lucky you ran into him when you did.”
Anna walked over and set her gun on the kitchen counter. What were the odds? “That’s a coincidence.”
“King has fingers in lots of pies. You’d be hard put to find a successful business in town he doesn’t own a piece of. The guy has a nose for a good investment, and Zenon is about to hit it big with your program. I’ve told you that before.”
“Yes, sir.” Anna studied the man lounging in the ruins of her apartment. She’d known the minute she’d been able to focus that King Sanders was not an ordinary man in a cowboy hat. Now it seemed like he was a high roller in the business world. Mr. Z had been pressuring her to finish her program fast because he knew it would make Zenon a fortune.
“But it was wise of you to be leery. Obviously we’re dealing with corporate espionage here. Don’t call the police. I’ll cover your losses personally. I don’t want news of this theft to get out. We have other investors. This kind of threat to our security could cause some concerns we don’t need.”
“Yes, sir. Here’s King.” Anna handed him his phone then ran to her bathroom. She barely made it before she threw up that delicious lunch. God. What had she fallen into here? Ron Zenonsky was a billionaire, so King Sanders must be one too if they were buddies.
When King’s hand landed on her back, she wanted to scream. She did not want or need company right now. But all he did was hand her a wet washcloth, then step out and close the door. Okay, so maybe he understood. Good thing one of them did. When she finally emerged from the bathroom, King was roaming her apartment, his gun stuck in his belt.
“You need to pack.” King issued it like an order.
“Excuse me?” Anna wasn’t in the mood to take orders. She’d brushed her teeth after running scalding water over the toothbrush she’d found on the floor. Savages! What the hell had they thought they’d find in her bathroom drawers? But they’d dumped them anyway.
“I’m taking you out of here. You don’t want to wait to see if they come back, do you?”
“No, of course not.” Anna wasn’t sure she ever wanted to come back to this impersonal and now defiled apartment. But where would she