No. “Of course. Why would I carry a weapon I can’t use?”
“Because it makes you feel safe even when you have no idea how to use it.”
Heat scorched her cheeks. “I said I know how to use it.”
“You don’t need to be afraid of me, Laney. I’m only here to help. No hidden agenda.”
Okay, so maybe the guy was bored. As much as she felt sure providing him with entertainment would be equally entertaining to her as well, that wasn’t happening.
The last time she’d been in bed with a man was three years ago when she’d been stupid enough to believe more of Terry’s lies. As much as she recognized her own needs—needs that she had ignored for far too long—she had a son to protect.
“Good night, Hayden.”
“I’ll be out of your way at sunup.”
“Suit yourself.”
To her amazement, she made it all the way to the house without looking back. A repeat of her nightly rounds in the house proved the doors and window were secure.
In her room, curtains and shades drawn, door closed, she stripped off her clothes. A shower would just have to wait until morning. She was way too tired. Besides, the washing machine was still running and that meant the water pressure in the shower would suck.
No, thanks.
She dragged on her favorite T-shirt, the one with that silly sponge character her son loved. Tucking her .32 on the shelf above her bed—way out of Buddy’s reach even if he climbed up on the iron headboard—she realized she was sore from unloading that supply truck this afternoon.
She crawled into bed and her whole body sighed.
Her bed was the most awesome piece of furniture she owned besides the lumpy sofa.
Lying on her back, she stared at the slow turn of the ceiling fan blades in hopes that sleep would come quickly.
Didn’t happen.
How could she hope to sleep with him out there watching?
Instead, her brain started throwing out scenarios that had nothing to do with a good working relationship with the cowboy.
Not smart, Laney.
The folks who liked her called her hardworking, nice, friendly … but not a one had ever accused her of being savvy when it came to spotting the devil behind a nice smile and good manners.
She had a feeling it was going to take her savviest maneuvers to head off this collision course.
Joel Hayden was going to be way, way more than she could handle.
Chapter Three
6:30 a.m.
The sun was up and the promise of an early summer scorcher was in the air.
Joel walked back toward his Jeep. The need to stretch his legs had awoken him before sunup. All remained quiet. The last of the lights had gone out in Laney’s house around two. He doubted she and the boy would be up any time soon.
The past five nights had been spent like last night, only without Laney’s knowledge. Parked out of her line of sight, Joel had slept in his Jeep—what sleep he’d gotten—in order to keep watch on her.
It wasn’t the most comfortable assignment he’d had as far as getting any shut-eye but there was no way around it. For now, he couldn’t ensure her safety via any other means.
Clare Barker was still unaccounted for. Her whereabouts unknown since her great escape from the apartment in Copperas Cove. Rafe, her husband, remained on death row. His execution was barely more than three weeks away.
He’d been the one to contact the Colby Agency yet he’d shut down completely since learning of Clare’s disappearance. In part, possibly, because he had learned the one person he had trusted and communicated with in recent years had double-crossed him by helping Clare elude the agency’s surveillance.
Not a whole lot about this case made sense.
The necessity to keep the principals in the dark was primarily to ensure their safety. Until the Colby Agency discovered what Clare Barker was up to, these women’s safety had to be top priority. If word got out, the media circus would hinder the agency’s investigation. Disrupting the lives of the three women who had been confirmed as the long-missing Barker daughters was going to be problematic enough, mostly for them. Sadie Gilmore, the youngest, had accepted this new reality well enough, but there was no way to guess the reaction from the remaining two women. For now, keeping the investigation quiet and finding the truth as quickly as possible was essential.
Bottom line, it didn’t have to make sense to Joel or anyone else. His single mission was to protect Laney and her son.
He settled his Stetson in place and leaned against the front fender. A few more minutes and he would relocate to ensure Laney didn’t grow any more suspicious than she already was.
Laney Seagers had no idea that she had been born Lisa Barker, middle daughter of Clare and Rafe Barker. Prints from her one arrest for assaulting the same jerk who was giving her a hard time at present had confirmed her identity. She had no idea and Joel wasn’t looking forward to sharing that information. And he wouldn’t until one of two things happened—the danger had passed or he was forced to do so in order to keep watch.
The lady seemed reasonably happy considering the less-than-kind hand fate had dealt her. Like most these days it was a rough go on the financial front, but she was managing or she had been until her banker decided to turn testy. To Laney, getting that loan taken care of was her biggest worry at the moment. She had no idea that far larger problems were brewing like dark clouds over her head.
Rafe and Clare Barker were two of Texas’s most heinous criminals, the Princess Killers. The two had allegedly kidnapped and murdered more than a dozen young girls. That number didn’t include their own daughters, who had disappeared under suspicious circumstances the morning of their arrests. The Barkers were sentenced to death. Though Clare’s conviction had recently been overturned, according to her husband she was the one who had actually committed those gruesome murders more than twenty years ago.
Both had been arrested and charged, after so many young girls had gone missing in and around the community of Granger. Several bodies had been recovered from the Barker property. But the bodies of some of the missing as well as those of their three little daughters had not been found.
Now Joel and the other folks at the Colby Agency knew the reason why. Rafe Barker claimed he had turned the girls over to a trusted friend to ensure their safety from their crazy mother. To that end, he’d staged the family car and their room to make it look as if he’d killed them. But now that Clare’s conviction had been overturned, he feared for their lives.
The Colby Agency had no idea as of yet if there was any validity to Rafe’s claim of innocence, but he had been right about his daughters. The woman, Janet Tolliver, he had alleged was his accomplice in that eleventh-hour move to protect his girls had, in fact, arranged for their private, off-the-record
