She’d gotten her last bit of fun.
Now she was getting back to her normal. Waiting for her car to come back. Convincing herself she was done with Lance Wheelerforever.
And listening to hypnosis tapes in the meantime.
Her only real priority needed to be getting to Germany.
The sun was sinkingin the sky when Lance pulled through the gate to the base, then promptly parked beside Pony’s truck. “Lipstick?” he said.
“Shut up and help me get her in the truck.”
Lance stepped onto the grass beneath the life-size F-16 mounted on a stick at the entrance to the base. “How’d you hear she’s back?”
He snorted and pointed to the gate. “Half the base saw two women dragging her out here while they were headed home for the day. Whodidn’tcall is a better idea. By the way, the colonel wants to see us in themorning.”
No doubt. “About Gertrude, or about our extracurricular activities out at the campus?”
“Better be about Gertrude, or I’m stringing Juice Box up by his toes.”
They squatted on either side of the stuffed boar, then lifted her and carried her to Pony’s truck.
“You boys need any help?” one of the security forces cops at the gate called.
“We got it,” Pony called back.
Gertrude wasn’t heavy. She was justbig.
“Hope so, since Mrs. Sheridan and her girlfriend didn’t have any problems with it.”
Lance and Pony shared a look.
“Dr. Blondie knows the base commander’s wife?” Pony said.
“We’re fucked.”
“No shit.”
“You tell the guys to deliver her Jeep?”
Gertrude wobbled between them. Probablywould’ve withered under the weight of Pony’s glare if she’d still been alive. “Boar first. Then the Jeep.” He swore under his breath. “If she told Mrs. Sheridan…”
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Lance said.
“And then let’s stay the hell away from that fucking nuisance of a physics professor,” Pony said pointedly.
Lance ignored him.
Didn’t need Pony telling him who he could and couldn’t hang out with. And he damn well knew for himself that he needed to walk away.
Didn’t mean he wanted to though.
Kaci Boudreaux was a pumpkin-sized boulder dropped into the placid lake of Lance’s life, and he wasn’t ready to let go.
She was unexpected. She was funny. And there was something about her—a puzzle, a mystery, or maybe just the fact that she was crazy—that had him hooked.
He’d wanted a distraction.
Looked like he had her.
