LITMIR.BIZ

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right,” Tony replied. He shrugged. “I guess I can live without the hot tub for a few weeks.”

      Jared put a hand on his shoulder. “Sure you can. You need to reread Sun Tzu.”

      “I can quote it verbatim,” Tony told him. “This isn’t my first job.”

      Jared chuckled. “No. Of course it’s not.” He stared back at Sara. “We can’t let them hurt her.”

      “We won’t,” Tony replied. “I promise.”

      Jared relaxed a little. But just a little.

      Sara woke up and it was dark again. She’d slept for a long time. She looked around curiously. She was alone, but there was a cowboy hat occupying the seat beside her bed. It looked familiar.

      The door opened, and Harley Fowler walked in, carrying a foam cup of coffee. “You’re awake,” he exclaimed, smiling.

      “Hi, Harley,” she replied, returning the smile. “Nice of you to come check up on me.”

      “I had tonight free.”

      “No date?” she asked with mock surprise as he moved his hat and sat down.

      He chuckled. “Not tonight.”

      “No exciting missions, either?” she teased, recalling that he’d helped some of the local mercs shut down a drug dealer two years before.

      “Interesting that you should mention that,” he replied, his eyes twinkling. “We’ve had word that the drug cartel has reorganized again and been taken over by a new group. We don’t know who they are. But there’s some buzz that we may have trouble here before long.”

      “That’s not encouraging,” she said.

      “I know.” He sipped coffee. He looked somber. “Two DEA agents bought it on the border this week. Execution-style. Cobb’s fuming. My boss is calling in contacts for a confab.” His boss was Cy Parks, one of the small town’s retired professional soldiers.

      Cobb was Alexander Cobb, a senior Houston DEA agent who lived in Jacobsville with his wife and sister.

      “Does anybody know who the new people are?”

      He shook his head. “We can’t find out anything. We think somebody’s gone undercover in the organization, but we can’t verify it. It’s unsettling to have drug dealers who’ll pop a cap on cops. They killed a reporter, too, and a member of the Border Patrol.”

      She whistled softly. “They’re arrogant.”

      He nodded. “Dangerous,” he said. “There’s something worse. They’re kidnapping rich Americans for ransom, to increase their cash flow reserves. They got an heiress last week. Her people are scrambling to meet the deadline, without knowing for sure if they’ll return her even so.”

      She moved restlessly on the pillow. She was sore, but the pain was better. “Aren’t most kidnap victims killed in the first twenty-four hours?”

      “I don’t know, honestly,” he said. “Cash Grier is working with the FBI, trying to get informants who might know something about the heiress.”

      “Our police chief?” she asked.

      He grinned. “Like a lot of our local citizens, he’s not quite what he seems.”

      “Oh.”

      He stretched. “Mr. Parks had me working on our tractor all day. I’m stiff. I guess I’m getting old.”

      She laughed. “No, you aren’t, Harley.”

      He leaned forward with the cup in both hands. “I heard you had a close call,” he said.

      “I didn’t know I had an appendix until yesterday,” she said wistfully. “They brought me in by ambulance.”

      “What about Morris?”

      “Mr. Danzetta fed him for me,” she said complacently.

      “Cameron’s bodyguard?” He looked strange.

      “What is it?” she asked curiously.

      “One of our cowboys was driving past your house last night and saw lights on inside. He knew you were here, so he called the sheriff’s department.”

      “And?”

      “When they got there, the lights were off, the doors were all locked and there was nobody around.”

      She pursed her lips, wondering.

      “Did you give the bodyguard a key?” he persisted.

      She hesitated. “Well …”

      Before she could speak, the door opened and Jared walked in. He stopped when he saw Harley and his eyes began to glitter.

      Harley had great reflexes. He exercised them by getting out of the chair, wishing Sara well, promising to check on her later. He walked out with a nod to Cameron. He passed by Tony, who didn’t say a word.

      “You had company,” Jared said quietly.

      She wondered what he was thinking. His face gave little away. “Harley came to tell me about my house.”

      He frowned. “What about your house?”

      “He said one of the Parks cowboys saw lights on inside and knew I wasn’t there, so he called the sheriff,” she began. “But when the deputy got there, all the lights were out and nobody was anywhere around.”

      He managed to look innocent. “How odd.”

      He looked too innocent. She frowned. “I didn’t give Mr. Danzetta a key to my house, so how did he get in to feed Morris?”

      He sat down in the chair beside the bed, looking thoughtful for a minute. “Tony has some, shall we say, unexpected skills.”

      “Like breaking and entering?” she probed with a grin.

      “This is a conversation we shouldn’t have right now,” he replied with a quiet smile.

      Her eyebrows lifted. “Is he wanted by the law?” she asked, keeping her voice low so that Tony wouldn’t overhear her.

      “Only in two countries,” he said absently. “Or was it three?”

      She looked shocked.

      He scowled at her. “I’m kidding!”

      She relaxed. “Okay,” she said. “That’s a relief.”

      Outside the door, a tall, dark-eyed man was chuckling silently.

      “I talked to Dr. Coltrain,” Jared said. “He told me if you’re still improving like this, you can be released Monday.”

      She grimaced. “I’ll miss work.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, gosh. Dee! I didn’t even phone her …!”

      “I did,” Jared said lazily. “She’s coming to see you tonight.”

      “Thanks,” she told him.

      “She already knew, of course,” he added ruefully. “It’s amazing how gossip gets around here.”

      “We’re a very small town,” she reminded him.

      “You’re a very large family,” he contradicted. “I’ve never lived in a place where people knew so much about each other.”

      She smiled. “I know. I love it here. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

      “Well, you’ll be living with me for a few days,” he replied, crossing his long legs. “My attorney’s coming down Monday, so we’ll be chaperoned. Less gossip.”

      “Does your attorney come to stay?”

      “Only when I have legal matters to discuss,” he said easily. “I’ve had the same attorney

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