Page 39 of Westin

“Now you can tell me what Lea said to you last night. Who the hell was that guy who broke into her room? What was he looking for?”

Clint took his time shutting down the computer before he finally turned and focused on Westin. He rested his hands on his belly the way he did when he was thinking. Westin knew by the pensive look on his face and the way he was studying him that he wasn’t going to tell him a single thing Lea had said. And it pissed him off.

Westin jumped out of his chair and headed for the door. “I’ll just go ask her myself.”

Clint was fast, more adroit than he sometimes appeared. He got between Westin and the door in a flash, blocking his exit. “You won’t ask her.”

“Why the hell not? She’s keeping secrets, Clint! She could have gotten Miss Dulcie hurt! Have you thought of that? What if that guy had broken into the main house before he went to the guest bunkhouse?”

“I think the question we should be focusing on right now is how the hell the guy knew to look in the guest bunkhouse. Do you have any idea?”

Westin threw up his hands. “Hell if I know! She called that guy the other day. Maybe she said something to him.”

“She said you heard the whole call. Did she say anything about the ranch?”

Westin started to insist that she had because how else would the guy have known where to find her? But as the memory of that phone call played through his mind—along with the memory of Lea wearing nothing but a towel—he struggled to remember one thing she’d said that might have led anyone to Golden Sphinx Ranch.

“She never mentioned the ranch by name.”

“Did she mention Milsap? The diner? Anything that might have given the guy an idea of where we are?”

Westin had only heard her side of the conversation—he should have made her put the damn thing on speaker!—but he was almost certain she hadn’t mentioned any of those things.

Colorado. Fang found me… I don’t know. I must have left a trail somewhere… Not usually. I’m safe where I am, for the time being. I think I’ll lie low for a couple of days, let things play out.

“She told whoever it was that she was in Colorado, but that was the only thing she said. No town names, no mention of any landmarks. Nothing I can recall.”

“You’re sure?”

Westin nodded. “What did she tell you? Was it the same guy, that Fang guy who broke into her room last night?”

Clint nodded, his expression a little wary. “She has something on him, something that could cause him some real trouble. She thinks that’s what he’s after.”

“Where is it?”

Clint touched his throat and Westin immediately remembered the necklace she’d been wearing. A sunflower he’d desperately wanted to be for a brief moment, nestled there between her breasts. He couldn’t imagine what that pendant might hide, but the understanding that what that man wanted was so close to her only notched up the fear he was trying to pretend he wasn’t feeling for her another space or two.

“What could a chemist get on a guy like that?”

“Chemist?”

“That’s what she told me she was.” A cold finger began to dance in Westin’s stomach. “She’s not a chemist, is she?” He cursed, not really needing Clint to verify what he already knew even as the foreman shook his head. All these lies…

“What are we going to do?” He rubbed his cheeks, feeling like they’d gone numb, like everything about him had gone numb. “We’re in over our heads, man. Maybe it’s time to call Sheriff Reeves.”

“I was going to have her spend the day with Miss Dulcie at the main house. But I’m not sure that’s a good idea now.” Clint was quiet for a second, then he cleared his throat. “You should take her to the foreman’s cabin. Melanie’s taking Katie to Denver for a few days. It’ll be empty.” He sighed, his own baggage rearing up with that statement. “I’ll make sure someone will be outside her room at all times.”

“We tried that already, remember?”

“Yeah. And it worked. You were with her when that guy broke in last night. She wasn’t alone, and she wasn’t harmed. That’s all we can offer her.”

“And tomorrow?”

Clint hesitated a moment. “She wants to go into town and contact her people. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“At least we agree on something.”

“I think it would be better if she stayed here and lay low. We need to figure out how that Fang found out she was here, and what room was hers. No one knew that but the five of us.”