twinge of emotion that was too akin to envy to suit him. “Max? Are you married?”
Paige shook her head and the sparkle in her emerald eyes was so appealing, he almost stared.
“No,” she said. “Max is short for Maximum, which is what I named the biggest dog I’ve ever had. He’s part Old English sheepdog, part fence-jumper, I think. I have to keep trimming his hair so he can see where he’s going.”
Cade gave a soft chuckle. “Well, I don’t want to keep you, ma’am.”
Paige stripped off her gloves and disposed of them while he zipped the bag closed. “You can leave that here so you don’t have to tote it all over Austin with you,” she said. “I have a big vault for secure storage.”
“Thanks. After the strange goings-on tonight it’ll be a relief to have it locked away safely.” Cade patted the closed top of the bag. “Are you the only one who knows the combination to your vault?”
“Of course not. Why?”
It occurred to him that maybe he should keep the skull with him, even if it would be a real pain to guard it every second. “Sharing the combination is not good. I told you how important this clue is. We can’t take any chances on losing it.”
“I have never lost a shred of evidence. Not once.”
“You probably aren’t normally as edgy as you were tonight, either. Suppose somebody was prowling around looking for this skull? What then?”
“We never saw a soul,” Paige countered.
“True. But if the Lions of Texas are as well connected as we suspect, they probably already know you’ve been chosen to do the facial rebuild.”
She arched her brows and rolled her eyes, almost making Cade laugh out loud. “That doesn’t take a rocket scientist. I’m the only forensic artist the Rangers have.”
“My point, exactly,” he said, watching her expression until he sensed that she’d begun to comprehend the importance of his warning. “They know what your job is.”
“And maybe they were watching you instead of me and knew you’d just delivered that evidence. Did you think of that?”
“Unfortunately, yes, which means your safe is the most secure option.” He took the carrying case to the safe. “Let’s get this guy locked up and get out of here. I’ll check in with the troopers before I go and have them keep an eye on this building. Especially your office.”
To his chagrin, Paige began to laugh softly.
“What’s so funny?”
“You are. You seem to have forgotten you’re on foot. You don’t have your truck anymore.”
“It’s around here somewhere. Probably still in the maintenance garage. It’s dented and scraped but the running gear didn’t look damaged. If they aren’t through checking it for clues yet, I can probably borrow some decent wheels from the motor pool.”
Taking her arm as soon as she locked the safe, he started to urge her toward the door. “Come on. I’ll walk you out.”
“Okay. Give me a minute to grab my things.”
Cade stayed on alert and by her side as she secured her office. Watching Paige that closely, it was impossible to avoid noticing how attractive she was. Her jeans, plain green T-shirt and fitted denim jacket were extremely well suited to her. So was the soft, draping leather shoulder bag she carried. They also indicated that she wasn’t into fancy clothing and such. His kind of down-to-earth, simple-pleasures woman, not given to prissiness.
Oh, well. He shrugged with resignation. He knew from his fellow Rangers that her assignments were usually completed quickly and efficiently, which meant his stay in Austin would be brief. Too bad he and Paige would never have a chance to really get to know each other.
That thought brought him up short. It wasn’t bad, it was good. Not only were in-house romances frowned upon, he’d had his fill of ladies who fretted over his dangerous occupation so much that it drove them away. The nervous tendencies Paige had recently demonstrated meant she was not suited to being any part of a Ranger’s personal life. Matter of fact, he was a bit surprised that she was able to cope with her daily tasks as well as she did.
Puzzled, he wondered what had formed such a forceful personality, yet had left an unreasonable fear of the dark and perhaps other vulnerabilities in her psyche? If he had some spare time, maybe he’d look into her past.
Just to satisfy his natural curiosity, of course.
Paige led the way across the well-lit parking lot with Cade at her side. “Do you think I need to take any extra precautions?” She smiled. “Except for not staying after hours in a deserted building while I wait for a tardy Ranger, I mean.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“No problem. It’s my hang-up, not yours.”
“Well, it’s always good to keep an eye out for the unusual,” he said.
“Like what, for instance?”
“Anything out of the ordinary.”
Although she nodded to indicate she understood and agreed, there were several reasons why Paige doubted she’d be able to spot danger before it was too late. For one thing, her head was usually in the clouds and her mind drifting, or so she’d been told often enough, first by her parents, when she was younger, and then by her friends and coworkers.
“Earth to Paige. Which is your car?”
“The baby blue pickup right over there. It’s not necessary for you to walk me all the way. I can take care of myself from here on.”
“Humor me.”
Paige huffed and gave him a lopsided grin. “I’m starting to get the idea that you intend to do as you please no matter what I say.”
Touching the broad brim of his cattleman’s hat and, nodding politely, he drawled, “Yes, ma’am. And it will be my pleasure.”
Being on the receiving end of the Ranger’s overt courtesy made Paige feel decidedly shamefaced. She climbed into her truck while he held the door, then said, “Why don’t you hop in and let me drive you over to the motor pool? I’m sure you must be tired.”
He yawned, covering his mouth. “You could say that. It’s been a long day.”
“And a long last few months, I imagine. I can’t believe the Rangers haven’t solved the murder of one of their own yet.”
“Neither can I.” She saw him eyeing the passenger side of her pickup as he asked, “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all.” Paige concentrated on bestowing a gracious smile to confirm her invitation. She understood his frustration with any unsolved case, especially the one he was currently working. Even this many years after the fact, she sometimes found herself wondering about her sister’s disappearance and wishing she could go back in time and do things differently.
Starting
