24 Karat Ammunition

Langston nodded and pushed back from the table. “It’s too late to try to figure this out tonight, but I’ll make a few calls and get some men on it first thing in the morning.”

“There’s no reason for you to get involved in this, Langston.”

“You asked for my help.”

“I did no such thing.”

“You sent Gina to me.”

“I was hoping you’d keep her safe while I got this figured out. I didn’t mean for you to come looking for me.”

He stood as if the conversation were finished. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“Langston, you really don’t have to get involved. I’m handling this.”

“You’re hiding in the woods. That was a wise escape plan. It’s not a solution.”

He’d been cocky at nineteen. He was downright bossy now. But he was right, She didn’t have a plan and had no clue how to come up with one. She’d faced a lot in her life, but at least before, the cops had been the good guys.

He looked about the cabin. “Is there anything around here to eat?”

“Apples and potato chips that I picked up when I stopped to get gas. Fortunately, I got out of the house with my purse. That was it, except for the clothes I had on and my keys.”

“Which makes me doubly glad I raided Mom’s refrigerator before I left.” Langston took his cell phone from the leather holder at his waist and tossed it to her. “Call your daughter and tell her you’re safe while I get the groceries out of the car. She’s worried sick about you.”

“I’ve already tried to use my cell phone. There’s no service out here.”

“Mine’s satellite. It will work. The number’s programmed in under Mom.”

Mom. Jack’s Bluff. Names Trish remembered from years ago. The Collingsworths were a strong Texas family with wealth and political influence. That was Langston’s reality.

And if she let him into her life, if he found out the truth about her and her past, that reality might become her destruction. So no matter how tempting it might be to let him come to her rescue, it was a risk she couldn’t afford.

IT WAS TEN AFTER TWO in the morning, and Langston was yet to close his eyes or even to lie down. He really wanted to believe Trish, but her story was full of serious holes. The biggest was how this mystery video was supposed to have fallen into her hands. Did the cop, or whoever had trashed her house, think that the carjacker had hidden it in her car before he dashed into the woods never to return again? Not likely. And even if he had, the car wasn’t in her possession. It had been towed away from the scene and impounded by the police.

He had to consider the possibility that Trish knew more than she was saying and that she might be lying about her relation—or lack of one—with Buck Rivers. His cell phone rang and he jumped to get it before it woke Trish. He whispered a hello.

“Langston, are you okay?”

Celeste. Damn. He was supposed to have called her hours ago. He stepped out on the front porch so that he could talk at normal volume. “I’m fine.”

“I was worried sick about you. Why didn’t you call me back?”

“I was tied up, and then it was too late. I didn’t want to wake you.”

“What’s going on with that Trish person?”

That Trish person. She said it as if it was some kind of annoyance, like bad breath or a flat tire. He wished he’d never even mentioned Trish’s name to her, but he’d owed her an explanation for running out on her tonight. He hadn’t mentioned that Trish was an old girlfriend. He wasn’t sure why except that it had been so long ago.

“If there’s even a chance she’s been abducted, you should call the police and let them handle it,” Celeste urged.

“She wasn’t abducted.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’ve located her.”

“Then why did she send her daughter to you?”

“It’s a long story, Celeste, and I’m dead-tired. I’ll call you in the morning and give you a full update.”

“Okay, but I still don’t see why you went rushing off to Dallas just because some kid yelled wolf. It’s probably just a scam to get money out of you.”

“We’ll talk in the morning.”

“Not too early. I may sleep in. The dinner party didn’t break up until nearly midnight. Melvin was nice enough to fill in for you at the last minute, and he and I went out for drinks after that. Just call when you get to the office.”

Thank goodness for Melvin. Not only was he Langston’s most valued VP at the company, but he was also always willing to pinch-hit when Langston couldn’t make one of Celeste’s social events. That was more than his brothers would do.

“I won’t call too early,” he promised. They said their goodnights and Langston broke the connection. Tired as he was, he didn’t go back inside. Instead he stood on the edge of the narrow porch and stared into the shadows that played around the cabin.

He wasn’t sure of the real answer to Celeste’s question about why he’d come running to Dallas but he was glad he had. He’d always needed closure with Trish. Hopefully this would provide it, and he could finally get past the memories of that summer and the two of them reveling in their exploding hormones and thinking it was the real thing.

Sure, he’d had a brief relapse tonight, but that was just the memories and seeing her again after so long a time. He’d see Trish through this, and then he’d go on with his life without a backward glance.

He went back into the house and into the hall to get a pillow from the closet. He passed the bedroom where she was sleeping and hesitated, his senses suddenly intoxicated by her presence. He listened to her breathing and imagined her head resting on the pillow, her hair disheveled with the curls dancing about her cheeks.

He took a deep breath and stepped away. Tomorrow he’d be fine.

Tonight, the memories held sway.

SELENA ARRIVED AT THE BOUTIQUE at six minutes before nine the next morning, though it didn’t open until ten and she’d stayed late to do paperwork last night. Her boyfriend’s truck was in the shop and she had to drive him to work for eight-thirty. Once she was out, she figured she may as well go to work herself.

Selena went back to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. Once the brew was dripping, she made a quick tour of the shop, checking each room to make sure it was ready for business. She saved the blue room for last. It was her favorite. The furnishings were the same type of beautiful antiques as in the rest of the cottage, but it was in the style of a privileged lady’s boudoir.

Selena never tired of laying the silky lingerie across the huge four-poster bed or displaying it in the magnificent, mahogany wardrobe. Not to mention that the white lace and satin bridal set she’d hung next to the eighteenth century washstand practically made her mouth water.

When she and Enrico married, she planned to wear one like that on her honeymoon. Then no matter how many times they’d made love before, she’d feel like a princess bride. She knew he loved her, but he wanted to save money for a down payment on a house before they set the date. But it would be soon. His bank account was growing fast.

Today, even thinking about that didn’t lift her troubled spirits. She started back to the business office, then paused when she thought she heard someone in the front room of the shop.

Just her jagged nerves, she decided, since even during business hours the doors to the outside stayed locked. Customers rang the doorbell as if entering the house of a friend. Trish claimed that was part of the boutique’s charm and made it feel far more exclusive.

Selena dropped to the computer and pulled up the list of customers to be notified that the new shipment of Jimmy Choo shoes was going on display August fourth. But there was that noise again, only closer. She spun around in the chair as the man stepped into the doorway behind her, one hand resting on the doorframe, the other behind his back.

“Nice little setup you’ve got here.”

“Who are you? How did you get in?”