Cowboy Cool: Book 5 (Cowboy Justice Association) (12 page)

“He’s succeeding. That last letter was bad enough but now this? It scares me, Reed.”

There, she’d said it. She’d been trying to play this entire situation and all the letters off as if it were no big deal. But now that she knew he had her address everything had changed. First a violent drawing and now a brick with another creepy picture through her front window? She could only shudder at what might be next.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, honey. Anybody trying to get to you is going to have to go through me.”

Reed held her for a long time until she stopped shaking and her pulse was back to normal. Pulling reluctantly away, she grimaced at the drapes blowing in the breeze. “I guess we should cover that up.”

“First we need to call the police and make sure they have a report of the incident. I also want a look at the tape before they get here. Do you have anything in the garage to put over the window?”

“There’s some plywood out there from when they fixed the roof but I’m not sure how much.”

“If there’s not enough I saw some cardboard in your office. We’ll make do.”

Reed picked up his cell from the end table and she padded into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. The police would probably appreciate a cup and she had a feeling it might be a long night. The last thing she could imagine doing was sleeping. Her life had slowly morphed into a nightmare. The only good thing was that Reed was still here.

*   *   *   *

Reed flexed his shoulders tiredly and rubbed the back of his neck. He’d been looking at this footage from the security cameras over and over, zooming in, and slowing it down but nothing worked. He couldn’t make out the figure who had thrown the brick into Kaylee’s home.

His head still buzzing with anger, he’d talked to the police showing them what had been done. They’d taken down the details but without any proof their hands were pretty well tied. Reed had hoped to be able to provide them with evidence in the form of pictures from the security camera but that hadn’t helped much. They’d only learned that the stalker was probably about five-seven based on the height of the surrounding trees and bushes. The perpetrator was also smart enough to dress in an oversized overcoat that dwarfed their frame, heavy boots, a large brimmed hat that covered their features, and even gloves on their hands.

Kaylee’s stalker could be that Brent guy. It could even be the waitress that had served them at lunch today. Reed growled in frustration and re-started the footage.

“Reed? It’s almost one in the morning.”

Kaylee’s soft voice pulled him from his black thoughts and he turned to see her standing tentatively at the door of her own office. Dressed in red and green plaid flannel pajama bottoms and a red t-shirt, she looked delightfully soft and warm. His heart tripped and his chest felt tight. Kaylee Blue was dangerous to the life he’d built.

All he wanted to do was protect her and make all her demons go away. He didn’t like the look of fear on her face that she was still wearing even hours later. It was hard for her to trust someone to take care of her, to depend on someone besides herself. It felt good that she’d allowed him to do exactly that tonight. She’d be back to her stubborn self tomorrow of course, but he’d enjoy the peace now.

“I know, honey. I’m looking at what we got from the cameras again. I thought you were in bed.”

“I couldn’t sleep.” She came up behind him and began to massage the knotted muscles of his shoulders and the base of his skull. He groaned in relief and let his head fall forward. “There’s nothing more you can do tonight. You need to sleep too.”

“I keep thinking there’s something I’m missing. It’s like this guy knew he was being taped.”

“I doubt that. No one knows you put those cameras out there. They’re well hidden. They probably just didn’t want to be recognized and the fact that we can’t tell who they are on film is a bonus. Were you able to see the car we heard?”

“No, but I’ll talk to the neighbors tomorrow and see if they saw anything. One of them might have heard the squealing tires and looked out their window. I’ll also change the angle of one of the cameras to capture a view of the street.” He wrapped his arm around her middle and gave her an encouraging smile. “You should go to bed. I’m just going to stay up a few more minutes and see if I can enhance this picture any more than I already have.”

He felt a shudder go through her body and her teeth sunk into her full lower lip. “I don’t want to be by myself.” Her fingers clutched his shoulders tightly. “Will you sleep with me? Just sleep.”

Kaylee’s words came out quickly but he could tell she was still scared. “I’m not propositioning you or anything. I just don’t think I can sleep alone tonight.”

A few days ago Reed wouldn’t have known how much that confession must have cost her but he knew now. He closed the laptop and stood, determined to make her feel safe again.

“Of course I’ll sleep with you. Let me change and brush my teeth. I’ll come to you, okay?”

“Okay—you won’t be long?”

Reed hated to hear the fear in her voice. “Five minutes.”

She smiled her thanks and retreated from the room. Reed rubbed his temples knowing the next several hours weren’t going to be easy. She needed him to hold and comfort her, nothing more.

It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Eleven

“D
id they see anything?” asked Kaylee the next day when Reed stepped in the back door. He’d been talking to neighbors since early this morning trying to catch them before they left for work or school. Neither one of them had slept very well last night but she had finally dozed off about four in the morning and had woken with his arms wrapped tightly around her. She’d never felt so safe and secure in her entire life.

She’d lain there quietly, not wanting to move so she wouldn’t wake him up. He had dark smudges under his eyes and she’d had a feeling he’d stayed awake much longer than she had. She’d had the luxury of watching him sleep, but even in rest his features looked tortured and frustrated. She’d wanted to run her fingers over the lines in his forehead, soothing away his worries.

“One neighbor heard the tires and the engine and looked out of his window. He saw a four-door sedan that he thought might be a Camry or an Accord. Or maybe a Malibu. It was too dark so he can’t be sure.”

Reed poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, clearly frustrated by the lack of witnesses.

“At least we now know it was a sedan,” she said in a hopeful tone. “It was more than we knew yesterday.”

“What amazes me is the complete lack of curiosity of the average American. Pretty much they all heard the car but only one guy even looked out of his window. What is the world coming to when no one gives a shit what goes on in their own damn neighborhood?”

“I don’t know what happens in Montana but cars race up and down the street fairly often. The Miller family down the block has a teenage son and he just got a truck. Add in his friends that come visit and this street is their personal racetrack.” She stood and headed for the stove. “Sit down and let me make you some breakfast. How about eggs and bacon? Or would you rather have French toast again?”

Reed sat heavily in a chair and scraped his fingers through his hair. “I’ll eat anything you make.” His gaze swept over her, taking in every detail. “You look better this morning. Less…tense.”

“I got a few hours of sleep. More than you did, I’d wager.” She cracked a few eggs into a bowl and added milk before beating them with a fork. “Actually, now that I’m over the shock of a heavy object flying through a window and into my home along with a grisly note and picture, I’m mad. Mad that someone is doing this to me. I don’t deserve this.”

“No, you don’t. As for being angry, that’s probably not a bad emotion to have. Being cowed and retreating is not a good way to live. We’ll only catch this guy if we’re aggressive in looking for him.”

“I’m ready to do what needs to be done.” She poured the eggs into the frying pan and sprinkled shredded cheese on top along with salt and pepper. “So what’s next?”

Kaylee dropped two slices of bread into the toaster as Reed re-filled his cup. “I need to talk to Jared and see if he’s made any progress with the background checks. Then we’ll cross-reference the names on the list with DMV records and see who drives a four-door sedan and is around five-seven, give or take a few inches on either side. Narrowing our list of suspects is key.”

She flipped the scrambled eggs onto the plate, adding the bacon she’d cooked earlier and the two slices of toast. “Brent drives a four-door Camry. He’s also the right height.”

She hated to think he had done this. He seemed like a nice man, quiet and unassuming.

“He’s suspect number one on my list,” Reed agreed. “But I’ve learned not to focus in on just one person to the exclusion of others. I try to keep an open mind even when it’s not easy. He did ask you out on a date for last night and you did turn him down. He might think that’s a good enough reason to take out a window and scare you.”

She slid the plate in front of him and thought back to the men she’d dated in the past. “I’ve never inspired a passion strong enough in a man that he committed a crime when I said no. Other women might get reactions like that but not me.”

“I think we’ve had this discussion before. You’ve been dating the wrong men. But this isn’t about passion, this is about obsession. Whoever is doing this is obsessed with you.”

“Why?” Kaylee fell into the chair opposite him at a loss as to why this was happening. “What about me makes them do this?”

“In my experience with stalkers, or harassers for want of a better term, is that the victim has something that the other person wants. Fame, money, admiration, even another human being.”

“This person thinks I write trash,” she reminded him.

“They want to make you feel badly about what you do. They may even actually believe you write trash but I think the real thing is they don’t like that you have some fame and money from it. That’s what really bothers them.”

“They’re jealous? Of me? Ask a hundred people randomly and not one of them is going to know who the heck I am, Reed.”

Make that a million people. Her books were well-known in a small circle of readers but she wasn’t Nora Roberts. Kaylee made a nice living off of her books but she wasn’t considered a big name in publishing.

“Brent would love to have your writing career I bet. That may be why he’s asking you out. If he can’t do it on his own he wants to somehow be a part of it. Or maybe he simply asked you out yesterday because he felt threatened by my presence and thought he’d better make his move.”

Her head hurt from lack of sleep and trying to figure this out.

“I just want to go back to when my life was boring and all I did was write.”

Reed stood and rinsed off his plate before loading it into the dishwasher. “I’ll try and stay out of your way today while you work. Do you have a deadline or something?”

“No, I started a new work in progress a few weeks ago but I have a new book coming out—” Kaylee broke off and slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. “God, this is what happens when I don’t get enough sleep. Shit, I can’t believe it completely slipped my mind.”

“What slipped your mind?”

“I have a book releasing tomorrow. I need to send out my newsletter and do some social media stuff. Damn.”

She’d let this whole stalker thing completely disrupt her routine. She needed to get her head on straight and get back to work.

“Then I’ll definitely stay out of your way. In fact, why don’t we go out to dinner tonight? We can celebrate your new book and you don’t have to cook.”

“I don’t mind cooking,” she argued but the thought was tempting. She hadn’t exactly had her nose to the grindstone since Reed had arrived. She needed a good long day of productivity.

“I know you don’t but this way it’s one less thing to do. How about it?”

“We could do that,” she capitulated. “There’s some great pizza in this town. Is that okay?”

“That sounds fine but I’d be happy to take you some place fancy.”

She simply wasn’t a get-dressed up and go out to eat kind of person. It was a big deal when she got out of her pajamas and put on a bra. She’d worn regular clothes more in the last three days than she had in the last three weeks combined.