Page 23 of Montana Delta Rescue
Herc sat in the back, watching them both. He didn’t miss a thing.
Rock got out and came around to her side to open the door. He was debating whether to carry her into the house when she sat up and rubbed her eyes. He opened the door.
“Are we there?” she asked, squinting at him.
She was cute when she squinted with that sleepy look on her face.
Don’t go getting attached, he told himself.No falling for the clients. No matter how beautiful they are.
“Yes we are,” he said. “I was just going to wake you.”
“Thank you for letting me sleep,” she said.
“Of course,” he said, holding out a hand to help her down. The running boards helped but he knew it was harder for a shorter woman like her to climb in and out of his tall SUV. Plus, he liked helping her.
Sadie was already out on the porch, running down the steps. “Marilyn!” she cried. “Welcome to the Patterson Ranch!”
The women hugged each other, then Sadie grabbed Marilyn’s hand as if they were schoolgirls and gave it a squeeze. “I’m so glad you are here. Come in the house and let’s get some hot food into you.”
“Sounds good to me,” Marilyn said. “I’m glad to be here, finally. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever make it here.”
“But now here you are,” Sadie said. “And we want to hear all about your adventures once you have something to eat.”
“Okay,” Marilyn said. She turned over her shoulder to look at Rock. “Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome,” he said.
He let Hercules out of the SUV for a run and gave his dog some attention before telling him to stay on the porch. Then he went into the house. He too, wanted to hear what adventures the pretty little blonde had experienced. And not just because it was his job to protect her.
Marilyn had never seen so many big, strong protective males in her life as were gathered at the ranch to listen to her story of what had happened to her over the last few days. She began to tell the tale and they all listened until she was done.
Hank was the first to speak when she’d finished. “You’re a brave woman, Marilyn Mae Teals. The heroine of your own real-life movie.” He gave her a warm smile.
“I never really thought of myself that way,” she said. “But I guess I am.”
“You are amazing,” Rock said, and he gave her a nod.
She beamed at him. He didn’t seem like the type to praise people all the time.
Swede, the teams computer guru spoke up. “You did all right for not knowing much about tech stuff. But let me run through some things to catch you up. There are phone apps that can be installed on a phone which allow a person to see what you text, what you email, to hear what you say on the phone and to see where you are. Your phone can be the spy in your house and in your car. It takes someone who knows what they’re doing to get in and find those apps.”
“So, I wouldn’t have seen anything he put on it,” she said. “Even though I looked on my phone for it.”
“Correct,” Swede said. “Now the next thing. Your car. He could easily low jack your car and see where you were going and where you’d been. You’d never find that either unless you knew where to look for it and what to look for. You’d be surprised how many guys do that to their girlfriends and wives.”
“No trust,” she said, shaking her head.
“Nope,” he said. “That’s why we wanted you to ditch your car and get the rental.”
“I was afraid my credit card would tip him off,” she said. “And rental car places make you use a credit card.”
“The credit card company isn’t going to give him information,” Swede said. “But if he has access to your passwords, he can get into your accounts without hacking in. Does he have access to your passwords?”
She closed her eyes.Oh no.She pictured the little notebook by her desktop computer with all her passwords written in it. “I have a notebook,” she admitted. “And they are all written down in there.”
“Never write them down.” Swede paused then asked. “Do you have it with you?”
“No,” she said. “I left it in my apartment. I didn’t think.”
