Texas Lightning. Gerry Bartlett
were in there. Hopefully no one would be able to figure out her peculiar shorthand and crappy handwriting. Damn it! Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back. Crying wasn’t going to help. The clerk had come out from behind the counter.
“Do you want me to call security to report this?” She was young, probably working part-time on weekends while she went to college. “I’m so sorry.”
“Not your fault.” Anna dredged up a smile for her. “I’m having a bad day, and this just capped it off. Don’t worry about it. You didn’t do anything wrong. We’ll notify the authorities.” She looked around. “Do you have security cameras? We could use the footage if you have it.”
“Everywhere else in the store, but not in underwear. Store policy.” She smiled apologetically. “But the security office on the second floor might be able to help you. Maybe you could spot them leaving the store.”
“Do we want to take the time to do that now, King?” she asked him when he came back from checking the closest exit. “Go to security?”
“We can get Ron’s people to follow up on that. They can get the footage and we can look at it later.” He took the bag from her and handed her the dog. “You look done in. Let’s get out of here.”
Anna had to admit she was tired. Between the heat outside, which was ridiculous in January, the stress of being a target, and relying on a stranger, she wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a nap. Maybe that seemed cowardly, but it was all she had the energy for at the moment.
“There are other things I’ll need. Female things.” God, she hated to say that.
“My twin stays at the house when she’s in town. I bet you can find whatever you need in her bedroom and bath.” King ushered her toward the truck, stopping first at a patch of grass for YoYo to do his business. “Karen’s taller than you are, and bigger in spots.” He glanced at Anna’s chest. “That just means the clothes she left will be loose, comfortable. She always leaves behind plenty of makeup and hair stuff. She’ll never miss it.”
“Says a man who has no idea how a woman feels about a stranger digging through her things.” Anna sighed. “But it beats trying to stop again. I just hate to take advantage…”
“Hey, if it’ll make you feel better, keep track of what you use and we’ll make Ron reimburse Karen for whatever it is. She’ll get a chance to go shopping for replacements. Trust me, my sister lives for shopping.” King started the truck, constantly looking around the parking lot as if he thought they might be followed again.
“That does make me feel better.” Anna settled into her seat, curious about this lake house and King, who had a sister he let stay with him and talked about with affection. “Your twin. Do you look alike?”
“We used to. But she’s always messing with her looks. I’m a big hairy guy, she’s a tall beautiful woman. For some reason, she doesn’t believe she’s fine as she is and keeps having this plastic surgeon ‘fix’ her. Makes me crazy.” He drove out of the lot, checking the rearview and side mirrors frequently. “You see anyone following us? I’d love to run into the sons of bitches that snatched your pack.”
“You and me both. Now I don’t have ID or even a hairbrush.” Anna pulled down the makeup mirror again. Good thing King liked natural, because that was what he had riding with him right now. Her makeup was gone and her hair was an uncontrollable frizz.
She used the mirror to scan the street behind them. No sign of the silver car. Not surprising. The couple probably took off thinking they had all they needed to hack into her computers. Well, they’d be disappointed. She never wrote down her passwords. Not like her dad, who kept all his passwords in a notebook next to his computer at home. And they weren’t very imaginative. Her name and birthdate. Her brothers and the same. Then there was the dog’s name. At least she’d talked him into moving on from one-two-three-four.
She glanced at King. What would he use for a password? The name of his horse? His favorite cow? She caught him glancing at her.
“What are you smiling about? I figured you’d be in tears by now.” He reached over and patted her thigh. “It would be nice if you’d rigged that laptop in your pack to blow up when those assholes turned it on.”
“Wish I’d thought of that.” Anna leaned back in her seat, suddenly too exhausted to fight the depression that had been threatening to take over since the pack vanished from right next to her feet. “How far is this house of yours?”
“It’s a ways yet. About twenty minutes if the traffic doesn’t hold us up.” He picked YoYo off his lap with one hand and set him in hers. “I don’t see any signs that we’re being followed this time, so why don’t you close your eyes and rest until we get there?”
“Thanks, King. I will.” She rubbed the dog’s head and endured YoYo’s pacing over her stomach until he found a spot to settle in her lap. “And don’t think I don’t appreciate your taking me home with you.” She touched King’s hand where it rested on the gearshift between them. “I don’t know what I’d do if you hadn’t come along when you did. If I’d gotten off the bus and walked into that apartment and that mess alone…” Oh, shit. She was not going to cry. Not now, when she was safe and on her way to a bazillionaire’s lakeside home away from home.
“I’m glad I was there for you, Anna. Fate brought us together. Fate and a hell of a heat wave for January.” King held on to her hand. “Now, don’t you turn on the waterworks. If you do, I’ll have to pull over. Nothing like tears to make me go all to pieces.”
Anna looked at where their hands were joined. His hand was tanned, strong, and made two of hers. She gave his a squeeze, pretty sure nothing made this big Texan go to pieces. She sniffed, then eased her fingers out of his grip.
“I’m okay. Just tired. I’m calling Mr. Zenonsky. I can’t believe those assholes got my laptop. At least you made me put my gun in your glove compartment or they’d have that too.” Anna sighed. But her phone was in that damned pack. She let her head flop back on the leather head rest. It was the last straw. Yes, her numbers were saved in the cloud, but until she got a new phone…
“Here, use mine.” He pulled it from his shirt pocket. “Last number I dialed. Remember?” He dropped it into her hand. “Unlock it.” He told her his code, just like that. Trusting her.
Anna shook her head. Not even her parents knew the code to unlock her phone. She made the call. Her boss answered on the first ring and listened while she told him about the latest disaster. He quickly agreed to send her a new laptop, cell phone, and credit card to cover any expenses for personal items. If Anna needed any reassurance that the project she was working on was important to the company, she got it in that call. By the time she hung up, King was steering them off the freeway and taking a winding route into the hills surrounding one of Austin’s many lakes. This was high-dollar real estate, which didn’t surprise her.
“Everything all right?” King stopped in front of an iron gate and hit a button on a remote clipped to the visor above his head. The gate swung open slowly.
“It’s fine. He told me to call him Ron.” Anna still couldn’t believe that.
“He’s a good guy. The computer delivery people can call us from the gate when they get here.” King steered them through then stopped the truck, waiting until the gates were securely closed before heading down the gravel drive.
There were trees on either side and no sign of the lake, though Anna knew it had to be nearby. She leaned forward, eager to see the house. The road became steeper. Clearly he had built on top of one of the hills this area was famous for. Gravel changed to brick pavers when the road turned again, and there was a large garage big enough to hold four cars. Behind it was a sprawling house that hugged the hilltop. It was made of the local stone and natural wood, with windows everywhere. The landscaping consisted of trees and drought-tolerant plants. Anna had learned that was important in a part of Texas that was always one dry season away from a problem with water conservation.
“Oh,