Page 46 of Wild Bliss

Sawyer pulled into the parking lot and noticed the back doorby the trash bins was standing open. Lark walked out, wearing jeans and hercoat, a cell phone at her ear.

That was when his cell buzzed.

She looked up, and a visible sigh went through her.

Something was wrong. Sawyer cut the engine and was out ofthe truck as his longest-running server jogged up to him.

“Hey, boss. You know how you always say we have to make surethere are no holes in the walls because the rats will come in looking forwarmth?” Lark frowned. “This time they were looking for cash and booze.”

“Is everyone okay?” Wyatt asked, Bella at his heels.

“Are they still here?” He didn’t want to think about whatcould happen to his servers if they came across some assholes trying to robthem. “You know what I said.”

Bella joined Lark, rubbing her head against the server’sthigh. Lark nodded as she ran a hand over Bella’s head, seeming to get comfortfrom the gesture. “Yes. Give them anything they want if I can’t get to youroffice and lock myself inside. I know, boss.”

His office was something of a safe room. The door was steelreinforced and had an electronic lock. It also had a way out. His grandfatherhad often kept large sums of cash and wanted protection.

Joe walked out. He didn’t bother with a coat. The big guydidn’t wear one even in the coldest weather. He was six foot four inches ofpure muscle. “They were gone by the time we came in. Likely for more than a daygiven how cold it was in there. They knocked over some tables, took the hundredyou leave in the register and a couple of bottles of the cheap stuff. Dumbassesdidn’t find the twenty-one-year-old Scotch you keep for Taggart.”

He kept a small stash of more expensive stuff for the richTexans who liked to walk on the wild side when they visited their vacationcabins. There was a reason he kept a hundred in the register. “They didn’t findthe safe?”

“I can’t be sure they even looked for it.” Joe put a hand onLark’s shoulder, which let Sawyer know she was more freaked out than she wasletting on. “I don’t know this was anything more than a couple of kids lookingfor a thrill. They took some cheap booze and knocked over some of the tables.Hell, as far as I know they were caught in the storm and needed shelter, butthey’re assholes about it.”

“And what happened to the security system?” It wasn’t likehe simply locked the door and hoped for the best.

“It was going off when we got here, but I think the wirelessgot knocked out in the storm,” Lark said, sounding more sure now. “The physicalalarm works on batteries, but the part that pings your phone requires theInternet to work, and it’s been up and down even in the valley. I called themayor’s office, and they said they expected things would be back up and runningsometime this morning.”

His cell started to ping. Apparently the mayor had someoneworking on it. Likely the Farley brothers. They were far faster than anyprofessional group, though they would likely have to hack some systems. It wasthe way things tended to work in Bliss. Sure enough, he had a notification hissecurity system had gone off. Helpful.

“Should I call the sheriff?” Wyatt asked.

Technically they were on unincorporated land and Wrightdidn’t have jurisdiction. Practically, he knew what he had to do. “Yeah.Insurance won’t pay unless there’s a police report, so give them a call. Idon’t suppose the security cameras were working.”

“They were off and on because electricity was spotty. I toldyou we needed to upgrade the generator,” Joe said with a shake of his head.

He would never hear the end of it.

“Hey, Gemma. This is Wyatt Kemp out at Hell on Wheels. Wehad a break-in over the weekend and were hoping someone could… Yeah, he knowsI’m calling,” Wyatt said. “He’s standing right here. Well, Sawyer might notthink he needs the sheriff’s office involved, but I assure you the insurancecompany is going to…”

Sawyer sighed. Sometimes his reputation made thingsdifficult.

He walked into the bar that had been in his family for overfifty years. At least the break-in would take his mind off the fact that thesweetest woman in the world was once again firmly out of reach.

* * * *

“Hey. Sorry I didn’t see you yesterday.” Elisa walked intothe office, tugging the hat off her head. She was dressed in her khaki uniform,her hair pulled back in a neat bun. “There was a nasty accident coming intotown, and it took forever to get it all figured out, and then there was thepaperwork. By the time I got home, I thought you would be in bed. Then Hale letme sleep in because I got home so late, and I missed you this morning. So Ithought I would catch you before school starts.”

Sabrina felt a smile cross her face. “It’s almost one.”

Nell Flanders and Holly Burke were with the younger kids forlunch so Sabrina could have an hour of admin time. Will and Bobby almost alwayswent home for lunch, but they’d brown bagged it today and were helping Del withthe older kids.

“Yeah, I missed that, too.” Elisa put her hat down on thedesk and took the seat in front of Sabrina’s desk. “It’s been a day. I’m sorryI didn’t come get you myself.”

Sabrina sat back. “No, you sicced Dad on me. Or did you meanto sic him on Wyatt and Sawyer?”

Elisa’s brows rose. “Did I need to sic him on Wyatt andSawyer? He wouldn’t tell me anything beyond you were safe and you had dinnerwith him and Cass last night. And he told me the electricity problem you wentup to complain about isn’t Sawyer’s fault.”

It was good to know Mel Hughes didn’t simply report back tohis bio daughter. He was the dad she’d always longed for. Even if he was alittle weird. “Don’t tell me it’s an alien.”

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