Page 63 of Seaside Cowboy's Fairy Tale

They squeaked something back, probably that they had no clue what Tex did or thought.

Her eyes narrowed. Barging in when it was the middle of the night might be rude, but once again, she wasn’t raised with royal manners. Besides, this could be an urgent matter.

She strapped on her purse, gun secure inside, and tucked handcuffs into the waist of her jeans. Not that she intended to handcuff Tex to get him to tell her why he'd been avoiding her. Never go anywhere unprepared was her motto.

Her mice squeaked again.

“Okay, I’ll take you with me, too. Why not?” She picked up the cage and rushed to her car. Maybe they could relieve the tension and provide some comic relief during the upcoming meeting with Tex.

“I’m not pathetic. I’m resourceful,” she muttered under her breath.

She recalled what she knew about Vanya Patel, the young lady from whom the necklace was stolen, and more things fell into place.

As she drove through the night city to Tex’s office in the prestigious part of town, her palms became damp. Not only because of the excitement of moving forward in the investigation but also because of the excitement—with a touch of dread—of seeing him soon.

Her pulse spiked. What if he wasn’t in his office but somewhere else? What if he wasn’t glad to see her? Then a lump formed in her throat. She’d be telling herself fairy tales if she thought he’d be excited to see her. He’d all but asked her to stay away from him. She should save herself embarrassment and turn around, then call him in the morning to provide new information.

Instead, she pursed her lips and pressed the gas pedal. This concerned Tex’s safety, and that was more important than her feeling awkward over meeting with him.

Her heart stuttering, she neared the tall dark building. There were lights only on one floor, the floor where Tex’s office was located. She entered the parking garage and parked, picked up the mouse cage, then waited for the elevator in an eerily silent building. When the elevator chimed and opened its doors, it nearly made her jump.

On the needed floor, she muttered, chastising Tex for the lack of security. Even if he’d hired a bodyguard as she suggested, he should be in a much better guarded place than this with nobody allowed to approach him.

Well, nobody besides her.

Yeah right.

Apprehension tightening her rib cage, she let Button climb her arm to her shoulder before closing the cage door.

“I need you for moral support,” she told the mouse perched on her shoulder. “Well, and maybe some entertainment value.”

She entered the room Jennifer usually occupied and peered at the heavyset, graying man at the desk. Despite his disguise, she recognized Brady Matthews. Hiding her surprise, she carefully arranged her face into a bland smile.

And she shouldn’t be surprised. Brady worked for Irene’s company, but also freelanced for others. She’d seen his name among the people providing security to the charity gala, one of the few with camera access. He was the same height and build as the thief who’d snatched the necklace. The thief had much darker hair and a beard, unlike clean-shaven Brady, but she’d long suspected it was a disguise, along with the fancy suit and shoes, a disguise easily traded for his security uniform.

His start of recognition was obvious, and his expression slid into a frown.

Please, let him believe I don’t recognize him.“You must be Tex’s new bodyguard. I’d like to see him, please?” Somehow, she kept her voice light and pleasant as worry for Tex ripped through her.

“Sorry, but I can’t let you pass through. He said no visitors. Please leave.” He blocked her path. “Now.”

Her eyes narrowed, her heartbeat picking up. “Could you, um, call him on the intercom? He might make an exception for me.”

His frown deepened. “He told me not to bother him.”

“I understand.” Her stomach lurched, but she’d been trained long enough not to show her distress. “It’s super late, anyway. I’ll call him in the morning.”

His posture relaxed. “Good idea.”

Then she mentally apologized to her mice and hoped their love for sweets would be enough to bring them back to her. As she turned toward the door, she placed the cage on the floor and shielded it from view as she opened the door. “Oh no! I wanted to show Tex my pet mice, but the cage door got open somehow! My mice have escaped!”

“Well, just buy new ones,” Brady snapped.

“They are like family. You can’t buy new family.” She’d always been afraid of them running away from the cage, and now she begged them to do just that.

As if understanding her, Sneaky and Squeaky dashed out of the cage before she closed it, and Button ran down her arm and torso and then her leg while Big Cheese, the lazy bully, stayed in the cage as if to guard their food source. “Would you please help me look for them?”

Brady lurched back a step. “You want me to dowhat?”

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