Page 49 of Sadie's Highlander (Highland Protector 1)

“Holy shit—look at this!” Sadie shoved the envelope under Miss Martha’s nose, pushing it between the letter and airline tickets Miss Martha held in her hands.

Miss Martha scowled and opened her mouth, apparently about to scold Sadie again for her language, but when she looked down at the money, no words came out. Instead, she gasped in a sharp intake of breath and clutched the handfuls of paperwork to her chest. “My word, how much is in there?”

Thumbing through the bills, Sadie silently counted—twice. “Five thousand dollars,” she whispered. She closed the envelope, snapped the band back around it, and shoved all the items back into the manila mailing packet. “All of this is going to the sheriff. This is just too weird and it’s scaring the sh…” She caught herself. “Scaring the crap out of me.”

“Are you crazy?” Miss Martha snatched the package out of Sadie’s hands. “Fate drops a chance like this in your lap and you’re not going to take it? Even when this sweet little cake is iced with five thousand dollars? What’s wrong with you, girl?”

“It’s too good to be true.” Sadie took the envelope back and clutched it safely to her chest. “And if something seems too good to be true, that’s because it usually is. I’m not about to fly off to New York, alone, and walk into who knows what kind of twisted trap this is.” Sadie willed Miss Martha to understand because she could tell by the look on the old woman’s face that she was gearing up to spew out a sermon. “This is messed up. Stuff like this just doesn’t happen. Especially not to me.”

Calmly removing her reading glasses and tucking them into the neckline of her blouse, Miss Martha folded her arms across her chest and glared at Sadie with a pinched, disapproving expression. “What if it’s not a scam?” she asked sharply. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that someone discovered your stories and recognized your talent?”

Poor deluded Miss Martha. Did she really believe that stuff like this actually happened in the real world?I’ve got news for ya, my dear sweet lady, this shit ain’t real.Sadie had been through too much to fall for something like this. Oh, it was good. She’d give whoever had done it credit for their creativity. But that was just it—the bait for this trap wastoogood.

Sadie slowly shook her head and smiled. “I appreciate your belief in me, but trust me, this isn’t legit. I’m turning it all over to the sheriff. His office can hash it out. If it turns out that it’s not some elaborate con, I’m sure he’ll give it back to me—or send it to me in Texas. Once I get settled, I’ll contact him with a forwarding address.”

“But that will be too late!” Miss Martha thumped the packet, then shook her finger within inches of Sadie’s nose. “That old coot and his staff are slower than salted slugs. By the time they figure out which end is up, you’ll be as old as me—and I’m seventy!”

“You can’t expect me to do this—fly to New York and hand myself over to total strangers?” Sadie stared at the old woman, her amazement at Miss Martha’s naïveté somehow helping to calm the chaotic mix of emotions the arrival of the packet had stirred. “I mean…I realize I’m not some important heiress that’s worth bazillions, but this could be how some screwball pervert gets his jollies. You watch all those crime shows about sickos and the things they do. Where do you think they get those stories?” Sadie didn’t wait for Miss Martha to respond. “I’ll tell you where they get those stories—from the evening news and actual cases.”

“I’ll go with you and see that you’re safe.” Miss Martha jerked down her chin in a decisive nod. “You’ve seen me scald Jimmy Wilson’s ass with my pellet gun when the little brat was throwing rocks at Harold. You should see my aim with a pistol.”

“You just saidass.”

“Stop trying to change the subject.” Miss Martha snatched the packet out of Sadie’s hands and yanked the cover letter back out. Returning her reading glasses to her nose, she pointed at the company’s contact information at the bottom of the page. “Look. Their number’s right here. Call them and tell them the only way you’ll agree to do this is if they’ll pay for your assistant to come too. Ask them questions. Feel them out. See how they sound.”

“You know you can’t bring a gun, right?” Visions of TSA agents dragging Miss Martha kicking and screaming through the airport almost made Sadie cringe.

She gently took the letter, glancing down at the phone number. The area code looked right for Manhattan. Sadie had called that region enough when she was Delia’s flunky to have it memorized. There was also an 800 number and it looked like the agency had an office in the United Kingdom too. That explained the flowery wording of the letter. She could at least call the people and run a Google check on them before she turned everything over to the sheriff. Maybe that would appease Miss Martha and get her to stand down. “I’ll call them. Okay?”

Miss Martha excitedly patted her hands together. “Excellent! While you do that, I’ll get to packing.” Then she hurried down the hallway before Sadie could reply.

Sadie watched her go, amazed at the speed the woman of seventy could move when properly motivated. Blowing out a heavy breath, she looked back down at the letter softly wavering in her trembling hand. “I hope this is real—for Miss Martha’s sake.”

Who am I trying to kid? I need this—badly.

Something like this might help keep her mind off all that she’d lost in Brady, North Carolina—well, keep her mind offalmosteverything she’d lost, at least for a minute or two.

Chapter 28

“Yes. Absolutely.” Dwyn nodded, staring out the window as he spoke into the phone. “Very well then. I’d like an update as soon as ye confirm the details with Miss Williams. Aye, that’ll be all for now.”

“Well?” Alec felt as though he were about to explode. Heart pounding. Palms sweating. His gut tightened into knots. This sorry business was worse than any battle he’d e’er fought. He’d take a sword fight over this sly parrying any day. “What the hell did she say?” Sadie had to accept. There was no other option. This scheme had t’work.

Dwyn slid the phone back into his pocket, one side of his mouth lifting in a sly smile as he perched on the edge of the boardroom table. “The only way she’ll accept our offer and come t’New York is if her assistant accompanies her and we cover those expenses as well.”

“Her assistant?” Alec frowned. Sadie had always kept to herself and from all he could find out, she’d not grown close to anyone in the small town of Brady. Delilah from the café had said she figured that Sadie thought the whole town was angry with her, and knowin’ his Sadie, Delilah was probably right. The woman shouldered the blame for everything. “Who the hell is her assistant?”

“Mistress Martha.”

“Mistress Martha?” Alec rolled his eyes. “That conniving old woman. That’s why she assured us she’d get Sadie to ken the agency was real.” Miss Martha had been wanting to return to New York City for years. She’d been there once and fallen in love with the place. She’d even taken to flirting with Dwyn and hinting to him about relaxing over a long weekend with an experienced woman while they enjoyed the town’s sights. Alec tensed even more, the pounding in his temple turnin’ into one hell of an ache. “Ye agreed with the request, aye?”

“Of course.” Dwyn looked at Alec as though he’d just asked if the sun still rose in the east every mornin’. “Ye think me daft?”

“I dinna ken what I think anymore.” Alec paced back and forth across the room, thumping the top of his and Dwyn’s packed suitcases each time he passed them. “This must work.” He halted after a third pass across the area rug. “If this doesna work, I’ll be stealin’ the woman and heading deep into the mountains with her until she sees sense. The felony charges can just be damned.”

“This will work,” Dwyn reassured him. “And not only will it bring her back t’ye, ’twill provide her a great deal of the healin’ the lass sorely needs. Borgus and Lyles are truly verra interested in her. They read her stories on that website Miss Martha told us about and both were greatly impressed by Sadie’s talent.”

Dwyn’s voice softened as he walked over to the desk, scooped up several scattered papers, and tucked them into his briefcase. “She needs t’hear that, Alec. She’s known nothin’ but cruelty all her life. Ye’ve sensed it in her ways and I saw it when I looked into her history.”

---