Chapter 19
Valor Creek is less than an hour from the warehouse, just a dozen miles from my ranch, but the terrain feels foreign today.
Or maybe it’s my internal landscape.
I’ve never been gutted before.
Stone hasn’t said a word. He drives with complete focus.
I’m glad he hasn’t asked me anything. Or tried to talk me out of going to see Gray. Whoever the hell Gray is.
Stone takes a turn on a road I never use, then hangs a left into the entrance for a private ranch road.
It’s well maintained, almost magazine perfect. Every fence and building is freshly painted and tidy. This makes sense when nothing else does.
If the owner of Lone Star Security is like Diesel, Caleb, and Stone, nothing goes without extreme attention to detail.
“Tell me about your boss,” I finally say as we stop in front of a building that matches the rest of the ranch, but on closer inspection looks newer.
“Grayson Calhoun.”
I look at Stone who still has on sunglasses and wait.
And wait.
“Is that it, don’t you have anything else to say?”
“Ma’am…” he slowly turns to face me and my reflection distorts in his glasses lenses. “With all due respect. I’ll let Gray speak for himself.”
This does not make my mood better. “That’s helpful.”
“You’re welcome.” He has the nerve to sound sincere.
Just what I need right now.
I fling open my door, making him choke. The next instant he’s by my side, looking murderous, as I stride toward the small building.
The inside of the building doesn’t match the outside. It’s ranch standard from the front, but behind the door is a state-of-the-art office. There’s even a smiling woman to greet me.
“I’m Mae! Come on in. Grayson said you’d be showin’ up.”
Probably Stone’s doing.
Or Caleb. Given that my brother is all up in the middle of everything even though he’s on the other side of the world.
“Here I am,” I say, barely sounding civil.
A cup of cold water is shoved into my hand. “Have a seat. I’ll tell him you’re waitin’, hang tight.”
Maybe I look hot. Or mad.
Or both.
Stone, being the granite column he usually is, stands by the door. Hands folded in front of his lap again, still wearing his sunglasses.
Good damned grief.
“Ms. Allison,” a deep male voice reaches me before I realize a tall man is watching from the open doorway to my left. He fits the bill. Scowly like all the other men in my life these days.
Well, I’m scowly too. My anger is simmering when I stand and walk toward him. “Appreciate you seeing me.”
He nods toward a large leather chair—made for accommodating large men, I suspect. It’s angled in front of a spotless wooden desk that’s big enough to hold a table setting for six.
Gray takes his place behind the desk. Solemn, with cold eyes and a hard angle to his jawline.
Before I can say anything, he speaks. “I want to start by telling you that your brother is one of my favorite people.”
Oh. This disarms me for a half a second.
“He’s one of my favorite too, when he’s not meddling in my business. But thank you for telling me that.”
“What brings you here today, Ms. Allison?”
Sitting straight, I get to the point. “I need to know what’s going on.”
His left brow goes up, but that’s his only physical reaction as he watches me like I might be a grenade with a pulled pin.
“With?” he asks cautiously.
“My security detail,” I say, forcing my tone neutral. “The case. All of it.”
Gray glances at Stone and back to me. “Why do I feel like this is a trick question?”
I lean forward, slightly, blinking at Gray.
“Technically it wasn’t a question. It was a demand. And I’m sure you’re aware that there was a sudden change in my protective detail. Given that you’re the kind of man who runs a tight ship—who would know every nuance about every client’s case—I’m sure you have answers.”
There’s a subtle twitch to his mustache.
The receptionist’s tapping on her keyboard in the lobby is the only sound for at least 60 seconds.
“I have a right to understand what’s going on, it is my life at risk, and you’re the man who can provide me with the reassurance I need to sleep comfortably tonight.”
“Well, hell,” Gray rubs a fingertip over his eyebrow. “Did your brother teach you interrogation techniques?”
“I taught him,” I deadpan.
He shakes his head, and for the first time, I hear a break in Stone’s strict control. A muttered curse covered with a cough.
“Diesel, Caleb and I decided on a personnel change.”
So it’s true. The fact that Diesel and I got… close—crossed a line—is the reason. “I’d like to void Caleb’s contract.”
This time Gray reacts immediately looking at me like I’m sprouting hay out of the top of my head. “That’s not happening.”
“Then I’ll assume control of the contract.” Before he can react, I add, “I’m not rich, but I’m good for my word. I’ll make payments.”
Gray’s pale eyes seem to grow darker. “Again. Not happening. Why are you asking this?”
“I don’t want Stone.”
Gray shifts his attention to the man behind me and then back to me. His lips twitch. “What’s wrong with Stone?”
“Are you going to play games with me, Mr. Calhoun?”
He smoothes his mustache down, leaning back in his desk chair until the leather creaks. “Why would you think I’m playing games?”
“Because you know I don’t want Stone. I want Diesel and the reasons are not up for discussion.”
“Shit.” He mutters. “Just like your damned brother.”
I cross my arms and refuse to blink. “Since he’s one of your favorite people, you should like working with me too, then.”
“I understand what happened to Diesel now,” he mutters. “But even if I could accommodate that request, I can’t, Diesel’s not available.”
Not. Available.
My neck burns so hot I tug at the collar of my shirt. The new shirt that Diesel paid for.
For a minute I simmer until my mouth takes over. “I would appreciate it if you would get him on the phone.”
Again Gray glances at Stone. “Can’t do that. He’s working.”
“It’s been less than an hour. I find it hard to believe that he’s already with another client.”
I’m not even going to think about Diesel guarding another FEMALE client.
There might be shrapnel all over Gray’s desk if that happens.
He watches me for a few seconds, then nods to Stone. “Leave us.”
Heavy boots clop on the wooden floor and the door closes, sealing me in alone with the owner of Lone Star Security.
“He’s not with another client, I know what you’re thinking.” he says, looking directly at me like a man who doesn’t have a problem delivering bad news.
I chew on this and don’t like the taste of the line I’m being fed.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he continues. “I need to ask you about another lead. “Does the name, Cleveland Raleigh sound familiar?”
“No. I don’t know the name.”
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 word recovered. “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. ”