Page 9 of Haystacks and Hoaxes

The unusual shade of his eyes glinted beneath the fluorescent lights. When he was being nice, they reminded her of raw honey. At the moment, they reminded her of a panther ready to spring. “You sure know how to keep things exciting, don’t you?”

Yep, he was definitely in panther mode. It was impossible to miss his thinly veiled reference to her status as a runaway bride. “Well, maybe this will help cool your jets.” If they were on better terms, she would’ve stuck her tongue out at him. However, that didn’t feel like something that would get her any closer to winning his signature on her job application. “I’ve decided to accept your invitation to dinner, whether or not you choose to hire me.”

“Mila, Mila, Mila,” he sighed, clenching his jaw.

“What?” She was kind of enjoying getting under his skin. Anything was better than the indifference he normally treated her with. “Look at it this way. If you hire me, I’ll show up with a heart full of gratitude.” She stepped around him with her hands spread mockingly. “If you don’t hireme, I’m gonna need the free meal since I’m currently between jobs.”

His confused look made her chuckle as she continued down the hallway toward the parking garage.

“Six o’clock,” he called after her.

She waved without turning around. By the time she reached the borrowed SUV, she felt more like crying than laughing. Her very future lay in her stepbrother’s hands, along with her ability to make her next rent payment.

I really, really, really need this job, Deck.She drew a shuddery breath as she lifted her key fob and tapped the button to unlock the vehicle. Nothing happened. She tapped the button again and could hear a clicking sound. However, the door remained locked. She jiggled the handle, feeling a little panicky. Had her stepbrother decided now was the time to reclaim his vehicle? In which case, she’d be walking home in utter shame.Surely not!She frantically mashed the button on her key fob again.

“Ma’am?” a man called out.

Now what?She yanked her head in the direction of his voice.

A cowboy in jeans and a black jacket bearing the Lonestar Security logo jogged in her direction. His tousled black hair waved haphazardly from beneath his Stetson. “Are you Mila Kingston?”

“It depends.” She shrugged, fighting tears of frustration. “Who’s asking?”

He grinned as he held out a hand to her. “Johnny Cuba. The guy holding the keys to your new set of wheels.”

“My what?” She stared blankly at the key fob dangling from his tanned, callused fingers.

“Your. New. Wheels.” The ruggedly handsome security guard spoke slowly, as if she was hard of hearing, and madea comical rolling motion with his hands. “Decker said the one you’ve been driving is overdue for servicing. He wants to swap it out with a different one.” He angled his head at the silver Lexus SUV parked to their right.

Overwhelming relief washed over Mila, bringing a sting of dampness to her eyes as she drank in the gleaming replacement vehicle. “A Lexus? You’ve gotta be kidding me!” She wondered if she’d heard right. If Decker was upgrading her vehicle instead of taking it away, did it mean…?

She swung her head to the security camera mounted over the glass doors leading into the building. Pressing a hand to her heart, she mouthedthank youto the camera.

For the wheels.

For the consideration he was giving right now to Rock’s hiring recommendation.

For the forthcoming dinner with him and his family.

Johnny Cuba watched her curiously as he unlocked the Lexus and opened the driver’s door for her.

“In case you’re wondering, I started off as a bodyguard here, but I recently got transferred. I’m now one of their P.I.s in training.” He sounded so proud of that fact that she felt bad about not being in the mood to chitchat. It wasn’t his fault that every cell in her body was on standby for the next phone call from Rock Hefner.

“Very cool.” Though she didn’t need any assistance, it felt rude to ignore the hand he was holding out, so she used it to boost herself to the running board.I can’t believe I get to drive this thing home.It was so luxurious inside and out! She slid into the driver’s seat, reaching nervously for the steering wheel. It was a good thing she had something to hold on to while the heady scent of newness assailed her. New leather. New chrome accessories. New navigationsystem. There was nothing stripped down about the Lexus. It even had the backseats installed.

A wave of dizziness washed over her. It was the good kind of dizziness, though. The kind that promised something was finally going right for her. She hoped like crazy that it meant her stepbrother was right this second picking up an ink pen to sign her new lease on life.

She squeezed her eyelids shut for a few seconds, hoping and praying, as she fought to steady her breathing.

Rock glancedup as Decker stepped into his office and quietly shut the door. Instead of moving toward the pair of chairs in front of his desk, his boss leaned back against the door. Though he was only average height, he possessed a commanding presence. “Why her?” He trained an unblinking stare on Rock that would’ve unnerved lesser men.

Rock didn’t pretend to misunderstand. He knew they were speaking about Mila Kingston. He stood and reached for his cane, preferring to argue his case on his feet.

Decker waved him back into the leather swivel chair behind his desk. “I don’t need a speech. Just answer the question.”

Touchy.Rock sat back down, leaning his forearms on the edge of his desk. Though he would’ve preferred to deliver an attorney-style set of opening remarks, he was more than capable of making his point while keeping it short. “Mila is the right person for the job.”

Decker’s jaw remained hard. “Exactly when did you figure out who she was, and why haven’t we discussed her identitybefore now?”

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