Barb Han - Texas Prey

“How long have you lived here?” he asked, once they’d both exited their vehicles, examining the front windows for any signs of forced entry.

“I rented it three years ago when I moved back.” Her hand shook as she tried to unlock the door.

“I can do that for you.” He looped his arm around her waist as she turned to face him. Touching Rebecca came a little too naturally, so he pulled back rather than allow himself to get sucked into the comfort.

“Guess I’m still a little shaken up.” She smiled weakly as she handed over the key ring. Her fingers brushed against his flat palm, causing a sizzle to spread through his hand.

“You’re doing great, honey.” He closed his fist around the key, then stepped beside her before unlocking and opening the door. A high-pitched note held steady until she hit numbers on the keypad, four beeps followed by silence. The state-of-the-art security system was no surprise, given her past.

This place was all Rebecca. Soft, earthy feminine colors. Furniture he could see himself comfortable on— especially with her nearby. Her place was exactly as he’d imagined it would be, which had him thinking about the strong mental connection they’d shared. Still shared?

That was a long time ago. People change. He’d changed.

Walking around the living room, he ran his hand underneath lamp shades, tables and other flat surfaces.

The coffee-colored cabinets in the kitchen were his taste, too. He checked them and then swept his hand along the white marble countertops, stopping at the sink. There was a nice-sized window looking onto the backyard. The best thing about this part of North Texas was having trees. Her yard was a decent size, so someone could easily hide and watch her while she worked in the kitchen. Especially if she stood at the sink. His first thought was to install blinds.

Brody started making a mental to-do list as he moved through the house. He’d run to the nearest big-box store and pick up supplies later. He could make the changes himself.

She had a decent alarm.

“Do you live here by yourself?”

“Yeah.” She bit back a yawn. Dark circles cradled her brown-as-honey eyes.

“You should try to rest. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll wake you if I get any new information.”

“I’m okay.” She moved to the kitchen. “Besides, my nerves are too fried to sleep. I can’t force down another cup of coffee. Want some herbal tea?”

“No, thanks.” He still needed to check the master bedroom and he couldn’t stall any longer. He shuffled his boots down the hall. The thought of being in the exact place she brought other men didn’t sit well. There’d been no framed pictures of her with another guy so far. Brody didn’t want to admit how happy that made him.

Hoping his luck would continue, he breached her bedroom. He’d open the nightstand drawer last, in case there were condoms. It wasn’t his business what she did anymore, or with whom, but he couldn’t help feeling territorial about his first love. The thought of her in bed with another man would rank right up there as one of his worst mental pictures. And he really didn’t want to see any leftover men’s clothing or shavers in the bathroom, either. Which was exactly the reason he’d put off checking her master bedroom.

As he walked the perimeter of the room, nothing stood out.

“Everything okay in here?” The sound of her voice coming from the doorway coupled with the visual of her bed didn’t do good things to him.

“Doesn’t look like you slept here last night.”

“I work deep nights at the radio station.”

“Right. Of course.” Why did that ease his tense shoulders?

She stopped, almost as if she was hesitating to cross the threshold. Did she sense the heat filling the short distance between them? All he had to do was reach out and he could pull her close to him, protect her.

Brody mentally shook off the thought and moved on. “What time did you go to work last night?”

“I go in at ten o’clock. The show airs from midnight to six. We always wrap afterward.”

“Any new employees in the last couple of months?”

“No. Not much ever really changes in this town.” Her smile warmed his heart, threatening to put another crack in his carefully constructed armor. He took a couple of steps toward the door.

“The body needs sleep in order to perform. Why don’t you close your eyes and rest while I check out the grounds?”

She looked up at him with big, fearful brown eyes. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

“No. You’re stuck with me. Like I said, I’m not going anywhere without you until we figure this whole thing out.” He shouldn’t notice how good he felt when her face muscles relaxed into a smile. “I need to make some calls, though, and you might as well get some shut-eye.”

“What if he...” She didn’t finish, but Brody knew exactly what she was going to say.

“I doubt he’ll show up while I’m here. Think about it. This creep snatched little kids before and then surprised you this morning, which sounds like someone who’s afraid of confrontation. I doubt he has the gall to try something with me around.”

She nodded and her shoulders lowered.

“You have an extra key?”

“Sure.” She disappeared down the hall, returning a moment later with a spare held out on the flat of her palm. She relayed her alarm code.

Taking it caused his finger to brush her creamy skin again. The frisson of heat produced by contact pulsed straight from his finger, to his arm and through his chest. In the back of his mind, he was still thinking about the feel of her lips against his at the coffee shop, the taste of coffee that lingered.

Physical contact was a bad idea. If he couldn’t find and keep his objectivity in this case, the moral thing to do would be to help her find someone who could.

“You need me, just shout,” he said, resigned. He needed to get in touch with the sheriff’s office, too. See if Brine would offer information about the case.

“Okay.” She paused. “Any chance you could stay inside until I get out of the shower?”

“I’ll be in the living room,” he said, hearing the huskiness in his own voice. The last thing he needed was the naked image of her in his thoughts.

He almost laughed out loud. They’d been together in high school. Not in the biblical sense, but they’d been a couple. Twelfth grade was a long time ago. Feelings changed. Their current attraction was most likely residual. She was beautiful. No doubt about that. And she was exactly the kind of woman he’d ask out if they’d met today and could forget about the past. But all the extra chemistry he felt had to be left over from before. That was the only reasonable explanation. Because Brody hadn’t felt like this toward any woman since her. And he’d been in several relationships over the years. Yet, something had always stopped him from taking the next step. Marriage was a huge commitment, he’d reasoned. There’d been no need to rush into a big decision like that.

“I saw a laptop in the living room. Mind if I use it?” he asked.

“Not at all. Go right ahead,” she said.

“What’s the password?”

“Capital N-V-M-B-R . Then the number fifteen.”

Brody turned without giving away his reaction. November fifteenth was his birthday.

* * *

REBECCA CHECKED THE CLOCK. She’d showered, hoping the warm water would relax her strung-too-tight muscles, before the tossing-and-turning routine began. She flipped onto her right side and placed a clean sock over her eyes to block out the light.

Rolling back to her left, she repositioned the sock.

No luck.

The sun was firmly set in the eastern sky. She’d closed her black-out curtains. This was normally the time she’d be asleep, but the way her mind was spinning no way could she rest. All she could think about was the possibility of Shane being alive. Even she knew the chances were slim. And yet, odds didn’t matter in her heart, where she still held hope.