Gray gets up from his chair and walks around the desk. He passes me a tablet with a photo on it.
“Do you recognize him?”
A mugshot of a twenty-something man in a dusty T-shirt and oil-stained baseball cap stares at me from the screen.
“He looks like a lot of people.”
“Anyone in particular?”
I huff, “Mr. Calhoun, I compete in rodeos all the time. There are a thousand guys that look like that around the barns. He doesn’t stand out. Why are you asking?”
“He was just arrested for stalking and B&E of a competitor’s trailer. Turns out he was sending the same kind of flowers you were getting. The detective said there are several other women pressing charges too. ”
I stare at the photo, a chill creeping up my spine like a spider is ascending my back.
“That’s creepy as hell.”
Gray nods, taking the tablet when I hand it back.
“Did he burn anyone else’s truck?”
Gray is slow to answer. “Not that we know of.”
“Then my truck must have been a fluke accident.”
There’s a shift in Gray, but it’s hard to pick out exactly. But I’ve felt it in Caleb, so I know it’s there.
“The arson investigation is ongoing. Your truck has not been recovered so the investigator hasn’t been able to complete the report.”
It takes a few seconds to register the wordrecovered. “What do you mean? The tow company picked it up off the side of the highway where it burned.”
Gray’s mouth thins into a hard line. “Actually, your truck was stolen from the scene.”
I cannot make any sense of what he’s just said.
My truck? Stolen?
There’s a soft knock on the door as I sit, staring at Grayson Calhoun, trying to catch my breath.
“Gray,” Mae calls through the wood. “Your next meeting is here.”
He puts the tablet away and motions me toward the door. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a new client meeting now. Stone is taking you to see your horse this morning. You’ll be staying there at the ranch. I have a full team on site. We’re doing what we can to get you to the competition this weekend. Stone and two of my other men will be attending, just to make sure you’re safe until we wrap up some loose ends.”
CHAPTER 20
Twenty Four Hours Later
Rae Lynn picks up on the first ring, even though I’m calling from a secure satellite number she won’t recognize. “It’s about time you called.”
The words are stuck in my throat as I watch the security feed at my sister’s ranch.
River just walked into the barn, disappearing into the shadows as Stone followed in her wake.
“How’s she doing?” I finally manage to ask.
“She’s holding up. Angry as hell at you. But better than you from the sound of it.”
What do I say to that?
