by Lea Kinkade
“Maybe it would be better if we met at my apartment for now. I don’t need everyone at the Ranch knowing that we’re sleeping together after what happened out there today,” she said lightly.
“Baby,” he said with a smile and a shake of his head, “everyone in Deseo already knows we’re sleeping together. My Harley is parked overnight at your place several times a week. Your car is parked outside my house overnight several times a week. I’m sure the grapevine has already made its way through town and through the Ranch. Plus, after the way I just reacted in the horse barn, those out here who hadn’t heard we’re sleeping together know without a doubt now. Hell, my parents probably already know.”
“That may be, but your mother doesn’t strike me as the type to go around gossiping.”
“She’s not, but there’s no shortage of busybodies in town who like to share any tidbit they can about her children. She’s probably already gotten several calls from ‘well-meaning’ friends. Given that, and my bringing you to Sunday lunch, she knows we’re romantically involved. Don’t worry, baby. She knows I wasn’t a virgin when we met. I promise to make sure she knows you didn’t steal my virtue.”
To which she replied, “Hummph.”
* * * *
He liked the fact that Abby was modest enough to be dismayed that people knew they were sleeping together, but he had no intention of hiding their relationship. She was his and he wanted everyone to know it. He was going to stamp his brand of ownership on her so that all the men around Deseo would know she was off the market and belonged to him. His mom already knew he’d found “the one” and, knowing his parents’ relationship, his dad probably did as well. They wouldn’t think badly of her just because she was sleeping with him. They were realists and would just be thankful that he had found the person he was going to spend the rest of his life with.
“Look, Abby, the reason I came looking for you was that I made a picnic lunch for us to share. We don’t have as much time as I would have liked because of everything that happened, but I have sandwiches and fruit in the basket. Want to eat at our desks before we get back to work?” he asked, pointing to the picnic basket that was on his desktop.
“Fine,” she said, still a little peevish. “I’m not happy about everyone knowing my business, Dillon. I think we need to be careful about public displays of affection, especially here at the Ranch. I don’t want anybody to think I only got this job because I’m sleeping with the boss.”
“Okay, baby. No PDA. Can I kiss you in here when nobody’s around?” he asked with a smile.
“We’ll see. What kind of sandwiches did you make?” she asked as she giggled at his hopeful smile.
“Roast beef, what else? Are you coming home with me tonight, or do I have to drive all the way into town before I can fuck you?” he asked in a cajoling voice.
“Language, Doctor. What would your mother say about your potty mouth?” she reprimanded him with a smile.
“You’re the one that says ‘shit’ in every other sentence. Besides, if my mother knew how much pain I’m in when I go longer than twenty-four hours without sinking my dick into your hot pussy, she’d take my side. She’s a mom. She hates to see her kids in pain,” he told her loftily.
“You’re coming into town tonight anyway. It’s Friday night and you have your pool game with your brothers,” she replied knowingly.
“I was going to skip it tonight. I need to be inside you something fierce. I don’t think I could concentrate on pool. It’s been two nights, Abby,” he said in a full-out whine. Last night, they stayed up late talking and had just decided to go to bed when the foreman at the Ranch called about the mare having trouble foaling.
“Too bad. I feel like going out and dancing tonight. Since you won’t let me dance with anybody else, you’ll have to do it yourself,” she chided him. “By the way, thanks for the flower. It’s beautiful.”
He stilled behind her. Although she was eminently worth the effort, he hadn’t gotten her any flowers. “What flower, baby?”
“The one on my desk. It’s a wild rose, isn’t it? It’s beautiful.”
“I didn’t leave you any flower, Abby. Where did you find it?” He stepped closer and saw the rose she was talking about floating in a rose dish.
“It was on my desk. You mean you didn’t give it to me?” She looked a little wary.
“No, baby. Someone here at the Ranch must have a crush on you. Was there a note or anything?” It was a simple enough gesture, but Dillon couldn’t shake the slow slink of dread that began to crawl up his spine.
“No. Nothing else. Just the rose in the dish.”
“Have you received anything else from this admirer?” Dillon didn’t like this. The vet office was always locked. The door locked when it closed, and it closed automatically unless it was propped open. Nobody but Dillon, Abby, Xander, Levi, and a few select other people had the keycard necessary to get in here.
“Why? You jealous?” She gave him a smile that faded as she watched his serious face.
“I don’t like it, no. Nobody should have access to this office. It locks when we leave. How did this guy get into the office to leave that?”
“Oh. I hadn’t thought about that. You’re right. They shouldn’t have been able to get in.” She was watching him closely, probably trying to get a clue as to why this seemed to bother him so much.
“You didn’t answer me. Have you received anything else?” He spoke gently.
“No. Nothing else.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” She was holding something back. He could tell.
“It’s probably got nothing to do with the flower.”
“Tell me, Abby.” He didn’t like the idea that she wasn’t telling him everything.
“Shit. I’ve been getting these phone calls. At first, the other person hung up right away and I thought it must be a wrong number. The last few, though, the person stayed on the phone and there was just the sound of breathing. I hung up when they wouldn’t talk to me. It’s probably just kids.”
“Last few times? Dammit, Abby. Why am I just hearing about this now? I’m with you nearly every night. How could I not know about these calls?” He and Abby were together nearly five nights a week. How could she have been getting harassing calls and he not know it? He didn’t like this. Not at all.
“Well, I think it’s because the calls always come on a night we’re not together or before you get to the apartment.” She said it like she was just putting things together in her own mind. “How would someone know you’re not with me? How would they know I’m alone? It’s just a coincidence. It’s got to be. Why would anyone purposely harass me like that?”
“Have you ever done the star-69 thing on your phone after one of these calls?” He wasn’t liking this at all. Was it just a secret admirer, or was this more sinister? He would get Rio on this right away. Rio Andrade was one of Dillon’s best friends, a former Navy SEAL and the head of security for the Ranch. Although the phone calls weren’t going to the Ranch, someone had gotten through a locked door to deliver that rose.
“No. I didn’t think about it. Should I have?” She was beginning to look concerned, and he didn’t want to scare her until he looked into this a little more.
“No, baby. It’s all right. You didn’t have any reason to think it could be important. Just—in the future, if you get one of these calls, hang up right away and do the star-69 thing and write down the number. If we need them to, the police can track down who’s making the phone calls that way.”
“Oh. Okay. I’m sure it’s just some teenagers having fun. They’ll move on to something else and the calls will stop.” She seemed pretty sure that the calls were innocuous, and he tried to tamp down his fear that something else was going on here. He needed to contact Rio and get him in on this. There’d been a breach of security here when whoever it was got into the clinic and left the rose. They had drugs in that building and, though they were in a med room that was also locked, the Ranch limited access
to the office for a reason. Rio needed to know about this soon.
“I’m sure you’re right, baby. Look, I need to let Rio know that someone was in here. He should be able to find out whose keycards were used and when. I’ll go talk to him now.”
“Okay. I have some more vaccinations to give before I finish Diablo’s at five. Don’t forget you agreed to be there. I’ll see you later.” She gave him a kiss and sat down at her desk to pull up the next round of vaccinations as he left the building. He looked back at her sitting at the desk and saw her shiver once. She wasn’t as unaffected as she wanted him to believe. He needed to talk to Rio.
Chapter 5
Dillon was angry. Royally pissed, as a matter of fact. Rio had downloaded the data about the keycard access to the veterinarian offices and found out that Frank Childers’s keycard was the only one used to open the door besides Dillon’s and Abby’s in the past twenty-four hours. It had been used at 11:17 a.m. when both of the vets were out in the horse barns.
Frank was seventy years old and worked for the Ranch for more than fifty years. Five years ago, Alex Chisholm, Dillon’s father, talked Frank into a job as general handyman around the Ranch. Frank worked as a hand in the cattle operation for nearly forty-five years but was simply getting too old to keep working in that capacity and stay safe. Frank hadn’t wanted to retire, so they created a job for him that would let him keep his pride intact but not be so hard on his aging body.
The older man had access to most of the buildings that needed a security keycard to get into them. He was trusted implicitly and handled the janitorial work for those buildings, including the vet clinic as well as corporate headquarters. When Rio found out that Frank’s keycard was used to enter the vet office, he called him in to find out what was going on. Frank denied having used his keycard to enter the vet office since the day before yesterday. He was completely befuddled. He had his keycard on him and couldn’t remember any time today that it wasn’t in his possession.
“Did you take it off today for any reason?” Dillon and Rio had already talked about the possibility of Frank’s involvement. Both were sure that Frank wasn’t the secret admirer and knew that someone else on the Ranch had gotten hold of his keycard and used it to deliver the rose.
“No. I don’t take it off until I get home at night. Don’t see how anybody could have lifted if off me without me knowing.” Dillon could tell that Frank was getting distressed. He obviously didn’t like the fact that someone used his keycard to get into a restricted area.
“Where were you at eleven seventeen this morning, Frank? That’s when your keycard was used to get into the vet offices.” Rio had evidently decided not to pussyfoot around anymore.
“Well, let’s see. You know I get a two-hour break for lunch. I normally take it from eleven to one. I sit on the porch at the bunkhouse in one of the rockers.” Looking like he didn’t want to admit what he was about to say, he said, “Sometimes I drift off for a little while when I’m sitting there. Nobody’s usually around at that time and it’s pretty quiet. Chow time, ya know?”
Rio had asked more questions, but Frank seemed to have no idea who could have gotten hold of his keycard and returned it to him without his knowing. Finally, after another hour of questioning, Rio and Dillon let Frank go back to work, admonishing the old-timer to keep his keycard in his pocket from now on.
“I don’t like this.” Rio was pacing in his office at CRE headquarters. “I don’t like the fact that someone stole Frank’s keycard to get into a secure building, even if it was for something as innocuous as a gift from a secret admirer. Add to that the phone calls she’s been receiving, and it sounds like a clusterfuck in the making. Whoever is making these phone calls knows her, and your, movements. Close enough to know when you aren’t with her. He’s watching her, or you. That’s dangerously close to stalking.”
“Fuck. I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”
“Well. It’s just my gut saying that. I don’t have a lot of experience in dealing with stalkers. In the teams, we are the stalkers. I need to contact Decker. We need to know what to expect if this guy is stalking Abby. Maybe he’ll have some ideas about how we can insulate her better so this guy can’t get to her. Does she have a security system at her apartment in town?”
“No, nothing like that. She has a lock and a dead bolt. That’s it.” Dillon didn’t like the feeling that this situation was spiraling out of his control. He needed to be in control, dammit. He needed to keep her safe. She was his woman. It was his responsibility.
“She’ll move in with me here at the Ranch. You and your team can’t watch out for her in town. I want her here where she’ll be safer.” Dillon knew it wasn’t going to be easy to talk Abby into moving in with him because of a possible stalker, but he couldn’t think of another way to keep her safe.
“What’s she going to say about that, amigo? I heard about the tussle you two had in the barn this morning. Still got your balls?” Rio asked with a smile.
“Barely. It was a close thing, but I managed to apologize my way out of it.”
“Let me talk to the sheriff. Get some information in general about stalkers and things Abby can do to protect herself. I’ll do it now and I’ll call you this afternoon when I get more information.” Rio was already dialing his phone when Dillon let himself out of Rio’s office and headed back to the clinic offices. When he got back to the vet clinic, Dillon decided to do an inventory on the meds they had on hand just to make sure the break-in didn’t have a more sinister meaning.
Half an hour later, Dillon was on the phone with Rio. “I did an inventory of the drugs we have on hand here, and four to six doses of ketamine are missing.”
“What’s that used for?”
“It’s a sedative. Sometimes we need to sedate an animal while we’re treating it. It’s a psychotropic drug. I’m required by law to report that we’ve got some missing.”
“Can it be used on people?”
“Yes. It has some bad side effects for people. Hallucinations, increased blood pressure, that sort of thing. Depending on the dosage, the person can be anywhere from incapacitated to fully unconscious.”
“Damn. This thing is getting more serious all the time. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Dillon could hear the frustration in his friend’s voice. Rio didn’t like the fact that someone had gotten past his security measures today. He would be doubly vigilant until they caught whoever had done this.
“I think so. Whoever this guy is, he’s getting bold. He might be planning to drug her for some purpose, and I don’t like to think of what that might be.” Dillon was angry, too. He didn’t like the idea of someone out to hurt the woman he loved.
“Xander and I will be down in a few minutes. I need to see what this ketamine looks like, how it’s packaged, that sort of thing.”
“See you in a few, then.” Dillon rang off and waited for Rio and Xander to show up.
“Where’s Abby?” From what Dillon could see, Rio was in full mission mode when he and Xander arrived at the vet offices. Rio would want as much information as possible. According to Rio, missions failed or succeeded on intel. “I thought she might be here. I’d like to talk to her about what’s been going on. See if she can think of anybody that would want to do this to her. Has she dated anyone but you since she came to Deseo?”
“No, she didn’t date, but she danced a lot on Friday nights with quite a few men before we started seeing each other. You think this guy could be one of those men?” Dillon was more thankful every day that he’d kept her too busy to date other men. He was already jealous as hell when men still asked her to dance at Chaps & Spurs.
“Anything is possible. When exactly did y’all start dating? It might help if we constructed a time line. You’ve been together a while now. We need to know when the calls started in order to see if there was some trigger that brought this on.” Rio walked over to the med room’s door and looked around for signs of tampering.
“By the way, I heard
about this morning. Do you still have your balls? I can’t imagine Abby putting up with that shit.” Changing the subject, Xander looked at him sardonically.
“Barely, bro. I had some major groveling to do, and I had to promise to show everyone on the Ranch that I know she can do the job by being in the barn at 5:00 p.m., staying out of her way, and letting her finish Diablo’s vaccinations. Man, she can be tough.”
“No surprise to you there, is it? I’ve heard about the tussles you two got into when she was an intern. She doesn’t take any shit from you.” Xander looked closely at his brother. “She’s good for you. Maybe she can get that stick out of your ass and get you to ease up a little.”
“Fuck you, Xander. Why does everyone think I’m so inflexible?” Dillon wasn’t really mad at Xander. How could he be? Everything Xander said was the truth. He just hadn’t realized he’d been so transparent about his wants and needs. He hadn’t realized that what he wanted in the bedroom had bled over into other areas of his life. He’d led a pretty vanilla life since returning to Deseo. Most of the women he had dated and fucked would have run away if he had shown his full dominant tendencies in bed.
“You have a tendency to take over, and you know that. Now, I hear tell some women like that attitude in the bedroom and, if they’re a true submissive, they may let you get away with it in other areas of their lives. I don’t think Abby Barnes is one of those. When you push too hard, she’s gonna push back. The question is, what are you gonna do when she does?”
“Let her, I guess. She says she’s ‘educating’ me. I must have a lot to learn. Should be fun letting her. Can’t really see the downside unless she takes off on me. I don’t see that happening. Sure, I like to get my way, but she’d never let me get away with any crap anywhere but in bed. Shit! I can’t believe I just told you that. She’d knock me into next Sunday if she knew I’d shared that.”