Texas Prey

He’d known her since they were kids, but they’d been teenagers when he’d fallen for her. There was so much more than her physical beauty that had drawn him in. She’d been the only female Brody had ever trusted and allowed inside his armor after his mother had betrayed the family, stolen money from the town and then disappeared.

The mental connection he’d shared with Rebecca had been beyond any closeness he’d experienced. Looking back, maybe it was the loner in him that could relate to her isolation.

When she’d pushed him away and said she’d never loved him, it had hurt worse than any physical blow. Soon after, she’d left for college, and then eventually moved to Chicago. He’d been the most surprised to learn that she’d moved back to Mason Ridge.

For a split second, he’d hoped she’d called for old times’ sake. Then, he remembered what day it was—the anniversary of Shane’s disappearance—and he knew better.

The conversation had been short. She’d told him what had happened and requested to meet face-to-face at The Dirty Bean Coffee Shop. He’d agreed, ending their exchange. The place was on his way home. Driving to the meeting point had taken ten minutes.

The pale blue sedan parking next to his truck had to be hers.

Knowing she was about to step out of her car and he was about to see her again hit him hard. How many times had he secretly wished he’d run into her in the past few months? Where’d that come from?

Hearing that her abductor had returned hadn’t done good things to Brody’s blood pressure. He wouldn’t refuse her plea for help. And a little piece of him hoped he’d figure out if her case and the memories were the reasons she’d rejected him all those years ago. He’d been a boy back then. Helpless. A lot’s changed.

He’d grown up. Survived his mother’s betrayal of his family and the town. Served his country. Gone on to become a leader of an elite-forces team. Spent time with a lot of interesting women. To be honest, not all of them were interesting, but they were smokin’ hot.

He crossed his arms over his chest and tucked his hands under his armpits.

The first thing he noticed as Rebecca exited her vehicle was her jean-clad long legs and red boots. His body instantly reacted to seeing the woman she’d become. There were enough curves on her lean figure to make her look like a real woman. She still had the same chestnut-brown hair that fell well past her shoulders in waves. She’d be close enough for him to look into her light brown eyes soon. Were they still the color of honey?

Why did seeing Rebecca reduce him to being that heartsick seventeen-year-old brat again?

Brody ignored the squeeze in his chest. Fond memories aside, he didn’t do that particular brand of emotion anymore.

That she moved cautiously, surveying the area, reminded him why she was there. It wasn’t to talk about old feelings.

“It’s good to see you.” She took a tentative step closer to him.

Yep. Same beautiful eyes. Same diamond-shaped face. Brody hadn’t expected her voice to sound this grown-up. Or so damn sexy. He didn’t want to think about her in a sexual way. She’d been all sweetness and innocence to him at seventeen. And this wasn’t a date. He glanced around the parking lot to make sure no one had followed her.

“Wish the circumstances were better. I’m glad you called.” The conversation needed to stay on track. So, why did he feel another physical blow when he saw disappointment flash in her eyes? “Tell me why you think I can help.”

“He’s after me. Neither the sheriff nor the FBI caught him before. I’m scared. You’re the only one I can talk to who knows what really happened that night.” Her eyes flashed toward him nervously. “I’ve heard about the things you did overseas. I know you’ve done some security consulting on the side since you came back. I’d like to hire you to protect me while I sort all this out.”

“I don’t need your money. I’ll help.” He didn’t have to think long about his answer. Brody had experience tracking down the enemy, and this case had always eaten at him. Guilt?

“I’d still like to pay you something. In fact, I’d rather do it that way. I’m not a charity case.” She stared at him, all signs of vulnerability gone from her almond-shaped eyes.

He stared back. “Fine. We’ll figure something out.”

“Thank you.”

He hadn’t expected her to look so relieved. “You want to grab a cup of coffee while you fill me in?”

She nodded.

Brody followed Rebecca to the counter, where they placed their orders. She reached in her purse to pay for hers. He caught her arm. Big mistake. An electric volt shot through his hand, vibrated up his arm and warmed places that he didn’t realize were still iced over.

There’d be no use denying he felt a sizzle of attraction being near Rebecca again. It was more than a mild spark. She’d grown into a beautiful woman. But if he didn’t watch himself, she could put a knife through his chest with just a few words. And Brody had no intention of handing over that power again to anyone.

When their coffees were ready, she located a table in the corner. Brody followed, forcing his gaze away from her backside, ignoring how well the jeans fit her curves.

She took the opposite seat, her gaze diverting to someone behind him. Brody turned in time to see a fairly tall man sit a little too close for comfort. Then again, these coffee shops sure knew how to pack a hundred people into two-foot-square spaces. Brody had had to squeeze between the stacked tables to fit into the tight spot.

“Can you start right now?” Shoulders bunched, jaw set, she looked ready to jump if someone shouted an order over the hum of conversation. Tension practically radiated off her.

“Yes. I’ll need to arrange care for my horses. I can make a call to cover that base. If I’m going to be able to help, you’ll have to tell me everything.” His voice was gruffer than he expected, borderline harsh. Between his need to be her comfort and inappropriate sexual thoughts, being near her wasn’t exactly bringing out the best in him.

She glanced from side to side, told him what had happened that morning with more details this time, and then focused those honey browns on him. Tears welled in her eyes. “After all this time, he’s after me, Brody. Why? It doesn’t make any sense. Where’s he been all these years?”

“That’s a good question. One I intend to answer.”

“And what about my brother? Is there any chance he could still be alive?” Her voice hitched on the last word.

“We’ll find out.” Brody gripped his cup so he wouldn’t reach out to comfort her. “You’ve already been to the sheriff or you wouldn’t be calling me.”

She lowered her gaze. “Yes.”

“What did he say?” The way she kept one eye on the door had Brody thinking he needed to ask her to switch seats so he’d have a better view. As it was, he didn’t like his back facing the door.

“That I should be careful and to call if I see or hear anything suspicious.”

“Did you tell them that’s why you were there in the first place?” Frustration ate at him. He needed to control it in order to focus on the mission. Why would the man who’d abducted her and her brother all those years ago come back? To finish the job with her? She’d never been the intended target. When she’d witnessed a man grab her brother and run, she’d chased him into the woods. He had to know she hadn’t seen or remembered enough of him to help the law track him down or he’d already be in jail. “It’s been fifteen years. Why now? Where’s he been?”

“Wish I knew.” Her gaze ping-ponged from the front door to the exit. Fear pulsed from her. “Then again, the papers always dredge up the past.”

“That wouldn’t suddenly bring him out. They run stories every year.” Brody tapped his finger on the table. “I’ve thought about this a lot over the years.”

“Did we do the right thing back then? I mean, we were just kids protecting our friend by keeping that secret. What if that cost Shane his... What if someone saw something?”

“They would’ve come forward on their own if they had. Unless you think Justin was somehow involved?”

“No. It wasn’t him. This guy was too tall. Plus, I remember that smell. No one in Ryan’s house smelled like apple tobacco, least of all Justin.” The admission brought a frown to her lips.

“The sheriff wrote the case off as a transient passing through town before and found nothing. It’s time to change things up. We need to look at this through a new lens. Our guy could be connected to Mason Ridge in some way. This is where it all started and this is where it ends.” Brody had every intention of following through on that promise.

And if that meant breaking the pact and digging up the past, so be it.

Chapter Two

Rebecca’s shoulders slumped forward. “It’s no use. We’ve been over this a million times and we never get anywhere. I’ve scoured the internet for years trying to find Shane. The case is closed. It was most likely a random mugging this morning. Even the deputy thinks I’m crazy.”

“Except that we both know you’re not.” Brody resisted the urge to take her hand in his, noticing how small hers was in comparison, how much more delicate her skin looked.

“The sheriff told me years ago the trail had gone cold. I just didn’t want to accept the truth. They’re probably right. Shane’s...long gone.” Her almond-shaped eyes held so much pain.

“I know why your parents didn’t leave the area after they divorced. They never gave up hope of finding him, especially your mother,” Brody said, leaning forward. Everyone in town had held out the same hope Shane would be found. Hope that had fizzled and died as the weeks ticked by. “And neither did you.”

“Seemed like a good enough reason to stay in the beginning.”

“There’s no reason to give up now.”

“Do you know how slim the chances of solving a cold case are? I do.” When she looked up, he saw more than hurt in her eyes. He saw fear. He already noted that she’d positioned herself in the corner with her back against the wall, insuring she could see all the possible entry points. And didn’t that move take a page out of his own book?

“Except the case isn’t cold anymore. He struck again. We know he’s in the area.”

“Do you have any idea how that new deputy looked at me when I reported the crime and he pulled me up in the system? No one believes me.” Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to fall.

“I do.” Brody meant those two words.

“He could be anywhere by now.”

“And so could you. But you’re not. You’re here. And so is he.” Brody needed the conversation to switch tracks. Give her a chance to settle down. It was understandable that her emotions were on a roller coaster. Her need to find her brother battled with the fear she never would. “What about after college? You disappeared. I heard that you swore you’d never set foot in Mason Ridge again. What happened?”

“I did. I moved to Chicago and got a job at a radio station. I came home three years ago because of my mom’s health. She took a turn.”

“I didn’t know.” Again he suppressed the urge to reach across the table and comfort Rebecca, dismissing it as an old habit that didn’t want to die.

“I had no way to reach you while you were overseas. Doubt I could’ve found the right words, anyway.”

Brody understood the sentiment. How many times had he thought about looking her up on social media over the years but hadn’t? Dozens? Hundreds? “Is it her heart again?”

Rebecca nodded. The sadness in her eyes punctuated what had to be another difficult time for the Hughes family.

“What’d the doctor say?”

“That she isn’t doing well. They’re doing everything they can, but she’s refusing to try a new medication that will help her. Says she’s afraid of being allergic to it, which is just an excuse.” She shrugged. “I always stop by and see her after I get groceries on Fridays. I couldn’t go today, after what happened this morning. I called to let her know and prayed that she didn’t pick up on anything in my voice. She shouldn’t see me like this. It’ll just make her worry even more.”

“I’m truly sorry about your mom.” And so many more things he wasn’t quite ready to put into words. His own mother had freely walked away from his family after getting folks to hand over their hard-earned money under the guise of making an investment in Mason Ridge’s future. She had no idea what it was like to stick around.

“Thank you.” The earnestness in her expression ripped at his insides. “I can’t help but feel that trying to reopen Shane’s case is hopeless. The task force took all the facts into account fifteen years ago when they investigated his disappearance. All the leads from the case are freezing cold by now. My brother is still missing, probably dead. We’re right where we started, except now this jerk’s back as some twisted anniversary present to me.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Brody reached across the table and thumbed them away, ignoring the sensations zinging through his hand from making contact with her skin and the warning bells sounding off inside his head.

She glanced at him and then cast her gaze intently on the table, drawing circles with her index finger. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t told him to sit down and wait for me by the willow tree so I could finish the mission he’d still be alive today.”

“Don’t do that to yourself. None of this is your fault.”

Her shoulders slumped forward. “What else can we do?”

Yeah, her stress indicator was the same. And Brody wanted to make it better.

“I’ll figure out a way to get a copy of the file so I can review the list of suspects again. I have a friend in Records and she owes me a favor. Fresh eyes can be a big help and might give us more clues.” Brody rubbed the stubble on his chin.

“With the festival going on this guy could blend in again, couldn’t he?”

“Yeah. We have to look at everything differently this time. He might be someone local who hides behind the festival. Maybe he knew that was the first place law enforcement would look.”

“You’re right. He could be a normal person, a banker or store clerk.” A spark lit behind her eyes, and under different circumstances it’d be sexy as hell.

“It’s likely. He could be married and involved in a church or youth group. He might be a bus driver or substitute teacher. It’s very well possible he could work with kids or in a job where he has access to families. We have to consider everyone. Those are great places to start.”

“I just focused on what the sheriff had said before, him being transient. None of these options occurred to me.” She shuddered.

Brody sipped his coffee. “It’s not a bad thing that you don’t think like a criminal.”

“If we need help, Charles Alcorn offered,” she said.

“A man in his position would be a good resource to have on our side.” Brody leaned forward. “So this is how it’s going to go. I follow you. Everywhere. You got a date, I’m right behind you.” The thought of sitting outside her house while another man was inside doing God knows what with her sat in his stomach like bad steak. And yet, they were both grown adults. It shouldn’t bother him. Wasn’t as if he’d been chaste, either.

“I’m not dating.”

Brody suppressed the flicker of happiness those words gave him. He had no right to care.

“And I don’t want to stop you from doing...whatever,” she added quickly.

Why did the way she said that knife him?

“Don’t worry about my personal life. I’m here to do a job. That’s all I care about right now.” Why was that more of a reminder for him than for her?

Working with her was going to be more difficult than he’d originally thought. And not because errant sexual thoughts crossed his mind every time he got close enough to smell her shampoo. It was citrus and flowery. Being with her brought up their painful past, but they’d shared a lot of good memories, too. Like their first kiss. They’d skipped the Friday afternoon pep rally junior year and headed down to the lake in the old Mustang he’d bought and fixed up using money from his after-school job at his dad’s garage.

As they sat on the hood of his car parked in front of Mason Ridge Lake, she’d leaned her head on his shoulder. And then decimated his defenses when she looked up at him with those honey browns. His heart had squeezed in the same way it did earlier today when he saw her again. She still had that same citrus and flowery scent and it made his pulse race just as it had before. He remembered the warmth of her body against his side, her soft lips as they slightly parted.

Brody had leaned in slowly and her lips gently brushed against his; her tongue flickered across his mouth.

Afterward, they’d just sat there, silent, before he’d pulled her into a hug.

The kiss had lasted only a few seconds but was burned into his memory. How many times had he thought about those sweet lips when he was an ocean away with his face in the dirt? How many times since? Too many.

Brody glanced at his watch. “I’ll connect with my friend and see what I can find out about that file.”

“Okay.” She leaned forward, rubbing her eyes, suppressing a yawn. “What else?”

“You used to look for Shane everywhere. My guess is that you haven’t stopped. Am I right?”

“Yes. I scan social media on my days off.”

“Any hits?”

She shrugged. “Not real ones. I’ve been hit on plenty, though.”

“Men can be such jerks.”

“Women are far worse. You’d be shocked at the messages I get from someone calling herself Adriana.” Rebecca rolled her eyes.

“I have a few like those, too,” he said in an attempt to lighten the tension.

“I’m sure you’ve been exposed to worse, having been in a war zone.”

“I’ve seen my fair share of everything, here and abroad,” he said. “You ever follow up on any of those real messages?”

“A handful. Why?” She paused and her eyes grew wide. “You don’t think one of them could be stalking me?”

“Not sure. I was thinking it might be a good place to start.”

She brought her hand up and squeezed the bottom of her neck on the left side, subconsciously trying to ease the tension in her shoulders. Her face muscles bunched. Signs her stress levels were climbing.

“Has anything else out of the ordinary happened to you recently? He had to know your schedule to know where you’d be this morning. I don’t believe the grocery store was a random encounter.”

“Now that you mention it, I’ve been hearing noises in the evenings before I leave for work. I thought it was the neighbor’s cat at first. Now, I’m wondering if it could’ve been him.”

“We’ll check the perimeter of your house. The recent rain might have left us with evidence.”

There’d been one of those open-up-the-sky-and-let-the-rain-pour-down-in-buckets storms North Texas was known for the other night. She scooted her chair back and slung her purse strap over her shoulder.

“There was also that unusually persistent reporter last week. I think his name is Peter Sheffield. I got off a few minutes early, so I was alone in the parking lot. He nearly gave me a heart attack waiting at my car after my shift at the radio station. Do you think he could be involved?”

“From here on out, I want you to suspect every sound, every person.” Brody’s gaze narrowed.

“So, what you’re saying is...act like I always do.”

He didn’t like the sound of those words. “This guy might’ve been trying to scare you into an interview.”

“That’s crazy. People actually do that?”

Brody tapped his knuckles on the table. “I remember him now. He used to hang out with Justin, didn’t he? Then he dropped out of Texas State U to join the military.”

“That’s right. He did. Are you saying you think he might be involved?”

“We need to look at everyone who was out that night playing the game. And especially Justin’s friends.”

Rebecca nearly choked on her sip of coffee. “I hadn’t thought about it being someone so young. The apple tobacco. I just figured it had to be someone older.”

“Maybe it is. But we’re not taking anything for granted this time.” He took the last swig of coffee, tilted the cup and glanced at the bottom, then fixed his gaze on her. “You ready to do this?”

She nodded, stood, walked past him and headed straight to the door.

“I’ll follow you home in my truck.” He threw away their empty cups, checking to make sure no one in the place seemed interested in either one of them. No one did.

Outside, the midday sun shone bright. Rebecca hesitated before spinning around to face him. He expected to be confronted with the same fear in her eyes, but she popped up on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss to his lips. “I’m not sure what I would do without you. Thank you, Brody.”

The way his name rolled off her tongue brought back all kinds of memories he didn’t need to be thinking about right now. “I haven’t done anything yet.”

“Yes, you have. An hour ago I was afraid of my own shadow.”

“And now?”

“I’m relieved you’re here. You look good, Brody.”

The warmth her words spread through his chest almost made him wonder if going to her place was a good idea. He was a grown man, now. And he had desires to match.

“You do, too. Better than good.” Brody took her hand in his, ignoring how right it felt, and walked her to her vehicle.

Once she was safely inside, he hopped in his truck and followed Rebecca home. Her house, a two-bedroom bungalow, was fifteen minutes from the coffee shop. He parked behind her car as he surveyed the quiet residential street. Since the attack had happened hours ago, the monster could be anywhere. No red flags, yet.

“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?”