LITMIR.BIZ

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ransom? Someone wants to kidnap me?”

      “That’s a possibility.”

      “So that’s why you freaked out at school.”

      “Yeah. Someone called with a threat against you. Then when no one could locate you…” His voice faded into the silence as he relived the fear he’d experienced when he couldn’t find Abbey. The beating of his heart accelerated and sweat popped out on his forehead as though he were back in that school hallway at his daughter’s classroom with no Abbey in it.

      She glanced behind the car. “Why is that lady following us home?”

      Another fortifying breath. “That lady is your bodyguard.”

      She bolted up. “What? A bodyguard?”

      “Yes.”

      “She’s gonna follow me around?”

      “She will be with you at all times.”

      “When I go to school? The mall? To my friends’?”

      “Yes.” His throat dry, he swallowed hard and continued in a firm voice. “To school, but there won’t be any mall trips. Your activities will be curtailed.”

      Abbey shook her head. “I’m grounded? I haven’t done anything wrong.”

      At a stoplight he pinned her with a look that he hoped conveyed the seriousness of the situation. “This isn’t about right and wrong. This is about your safety. You will do what Elizabeth Walker says. She’ll be there to protect you.”

      “Protect me? I’m taller than she is. How’s she gonna do that?”

      “She works for Kyra, and Kyra highly recommends her. That’s good enough for me.” It had to be. He was putting his daughter’s life into Elizabeth’s hands, and he hadn’t trusted another person that way since Catherine.

      “I’m not gonna have any privacy?”

      “At home, to a certain degree. Whenever you’re out, no.”

      “I don’t have a say in this?”

      “No,” he bit out between gritted teeth, slanting a look at his daughter.

      Her mouth was set in a stubborn line. She swung her full attention out the window and crossed her arms over her chest.

      The rest of the fifteen-minute drive was done in silence. A silence Slade relished because any conversation he and Abbey had would end up in an argument.

      When he arrived at the estate, he pushed his opener and waited for the gates to slowly swing open. As a boy, he’d wanted to be a cowboy, ride his horse and camp outside. That was why he’d bought the property. Yet this period of house arrest until the stalker was found would be the most waking hours he’d spent on the ranch in years.

      Instead, he worked. If he worked hard enough, he didn’t remember what he was missing or what he couldn’t change—most of the time. But every once in a while he thought about his wife. Losing her had been devastating. How much more would he have to lose?

      “Dad, the gate’s open.”

      Blinking, he straightened and focused on the task at hand—drive the car to his house and meet with the sheriff. Try to make some kind of sense of all that was happening to him and his daughter. Try to figure out who was behind this. Because when he found the person responsible, that guy would regret ever coming after his family.

      As he passed through the gates and navigated the road to his house, he peered at the red Trans Am behind his vehicle. He wasn’t alone. He had help. Would it be enough?

      Through the trees, the sight of his two-story white house with six columns across the front came into view—along with the sheriff’s car and a black SUV. Standing on the large porch that ran the length of the front of the antebellum home were Hilda, Mary, the sheriff and an older gentleman who must be Joshua Walker. When Slade pulled up in the circular drive and parked behind the sheriff’s vehicle, he slid his hands from the wheel and rubbed them on his pants. He couldn’t deny the fear that blanketed him at the moment, but he wouldn’t let others see it.

      Abbey flounced out of the Lexus, and the slam of his passenger door prodded him to move. As he climbed from his car, Elizabeth parked her Trans Am behind his vehicle.

      “You’ve got a nice little reception.” She nodded toward the porch as Abbey charged toward her grandmother, said something to her, then stomped to the black wicker settee a few yards away from the cluster of people in front of the open door. She plopped her book bag down by her feet.

      “Yeah. You know, up until recently my life has been dull.”

      “I think that’s about to change.”

      “Let’s find out what happened here first. This might not be tied to the threats.” He hoped this was the case, although he doubted it. “I’m afraid I waited too long to upgrade the security system.”

      Sheriff McCain ambled toward him and shook Slade’s hand. “I just got here. I haven’t had time to check the house out. I have a deputy checking the exterior, talking to your men. Hilda said she came home and found the front door wide open. Leaves had blown into the foyer. She walked inside and called out for Mary. When she didn’t respond, Hilda got out of the house and placed a call to me.”

      “So you don’t know if anything was taken?”

      “She didn’t see anything but didn’t go very far in. Mary filled me in about the photo you found this morning at your office.”

      “I also received a threatening call against Abbey later at the office on my private line. I informed Captain Ted Dickerson of the Dallas police.”

      “I’ll call him and let him know I have an interest in the case. We can coordinate our investigations.”

      “As you no doubt know,” Slade said, gesturing toward Joshua then Elizabeth, “I’ve hired help. Ms. Walker will be Abbey’s bodyguard while Mr. Walker will be guarding me. He’s going to do a security assessment of my house today. Whatever it takes, I’ll make this place a fortress.”

      “Good. You can never be too careful. I’m going inside and look around. You can come in when I think there isn’t any danger.”

      “Okay.” When he and the sheriff joined Hilda, Mary, Elizabeth and Joshua, Slade said to the group, “Sheriff McCain is going inside to make sure it’s all right for us to go in.” As the law enforcement officer moved toward the entrance, his hand on his holster, Slade glanced around.

      “Where’s Jake?” Slade’s foreman had been with him from the beginning, and he’d come to depend on him where the ranch was concerned. Jake would need to be kept informed because he knew this place better than most.

      “I didn’t get hold of him. No one answered at the barn, and I thought I shouldn’t leave since the sheriff was on his way.”

      Slade nodded. “He said something about working on the fence in the north pasture. I’ll let him know later what’s going on if the deputy doesn’t talk to him. I haven’t had a chance to apprise him of the threats. As soon as we get the all clear, Joshua, I want you to start your assessment. It’s obvious I could use more security.” As his first security measure, he needed to make sure Jake had his cell on him at all times.

      “Will do.”

      Slade peered at Abbey, who sat on the settee with her legs clasped to her chest, her chin resting on her knees. A pallor to her face, she looked shell-shocked. He made his way to his daughter and eased down beside her. “Okay?”

      “Sure. What girl doesn’t want a maniac after her and a twenty-four-hour bodyguard?”

      He settled his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey.”

      She shrugged away and turned toward him. Tears misted her eyes. “I’ve done nothing wrong, and yet I’m the one

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