A flare of panic turned her hot, then cold. “How do you know I’m from Texas?”
“License plate on your car.”
So that was what had taken him so long outside. It hadn’t occurred to her that he’d check out her car, but she’d locked it. She was pretty sure she’d locked it. So she told herself it didn’t matter and lifted her chin.
“Where are they?”
“Why should I tell you?”
She decided she didn’t like him. He was too handsome, too arrogant and more than a little intimidating. And he knew it, too. He was deliberately baiting her. On the other hand, she needed his cooperation.
“We don’t have time for games, Mr. Monroe. I’m a private investigator. Lester Boyington knows his wife came here to meet you. He found your e-mail about Heartskeep.”
Watching him closely, she saw his jaw harden as his body tensed.
“If he gets to her,” she added firmly, “he’ll kill her.”
He tossed the uneaten cookie to Lucky who snapped it out of the air and waited hopefully for more.
The man didn’t look at the animal. His gaze remained fastened on hers. It took real effort not to squirm under that steady stare.
“And you know this because…?”
Anger made her snap at him. “Because I broke into their house early this morning and found your e-mail on their computer. I half hoped it was a false trail she’d laid for Lester to follow. But it wasn’t, was it?”
“You broke into their house?”
She shouldn’t have told him that, yet it didn’t seem to shock him. He probably figured investigators did things like that every day. Still, she picked her next words with more care.
“I’d been watching the house since dawn. When I was certain Lester wasn’t inside, I went in to get them out but they were already gone. Valerie had left the computer on—or someone had. Your message was on the screen.”
R.J. swore. His expression was angry enough to send her hand toward her waistband.
“Why were you trying to get them out?”
“Because Lester Boyington is dangerous.”
He studied her expression as if trying to read her mind.
“Who are you, Teri?”
Her eyes flicked away from his gaze afraid he’d see the lie. “I told you, I’m a private investigator. My name’s Teri Johnson.”
“Let me see your license.”
She set her jaw. “It’s in my purse and as you’ve already seen, that’s in the car.”
“Who are you working for?”
She was on safer ground now. “That’s privileged information.”
“Consider me privileged, then.”
“I don’t think so.”
He seemed to grow larger and even more menacing as he straightened in his chair. She’d already seen the strength of those work-hardened muscles and once again she was conscious of how isolated they were in this old farmhouse. Not to mention how unprepared she was to deal with a man like this. She couldn’t afford to show a single sign of weakness.
“Where’s Valerie?” she forced herself to demand once more.
The expression that flitted across his features came and went too fast for her to categorize. His eyes narrowed.
“Do you know Valerie?”
She hesitated. “I know she’s in danger. I need to get to her.”
She should have said yes. What was one more lie? He considered her for a long, lingering moment.
“Valerie told me she had no one else to turn to. Yet you claim you came to rescue her.”
Teri clamped her mouth shut. What could she say unless she told him the truth?
“How do I know you aren’t working for her husband?”
“Never!”
He seemed momentarily startled by her vehemence.
“So you don’t know Valerie, but you do know her husband.”
Dark anger stirred. Her stomach clenched. She didn’t lower her gaze. She willed him to listen and believe.
“I know that men who get off on hurting women, children or animals should be tortured, castrated and imprisoned for the rest of their natural lives.”
R.J. blinked and sat back. His brow furrowed as he studied her.
“Tell me where Valerie is,” she pressed.
He scowled while his jaw clenched with some dark emotion. “I wish I knew.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Valerie disappeared from Heartskeep sometime last night.”
Teri closed her eyes as defeat washed over her. She was too late. Again. Bleakly she opened her eyes and regarded him.
“Lester got to them?”
“We don’t know what happened.” His voice roughened. “The police found her cell phone crushed behind the house near the fountain. Her car, all her belongings, everything was still there, except her.”
Her heart pounded faster. “What about Corey?”
To her surprise, R.J.’s features gentled. “The boy’s fine. Valerie left everything behind, including her son.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to protest that Valerie wasn’t Corey’s mother. She stopped the words in time, but it rankled all the same. Still, Lester hadn’t gotten Corey.
The jolt of hope was tempered by questions. “Why would Lester take Valerie and not Corey?”
Could Valerie still be alive?
“We don’t know that anyone did take her. It’s possible she left on her own.”
“Right. After crushing her cell phone.”
To her surprise, a hint of embarrassed color washed his face.
“It’s possible.”
Anything was possible. Maybe Teri hadn’t been too late after all. Maybe Valerie had sought asylum at Heartskeep in order to leave Corey behind so she could continue to run unhampered by a young child. She could have crushed the cell phone herself in an effort to point the police in Lester’s direction.
Staring at his troubled expression, Teri decided R.J. didn’t have the answers she needed.
“This Heartskeep place is a woman’s shelter, right?”
He nodded.
“Can you take me there?” If he noticed the edge of demand in her voice, it didn’t seem to bother him.
“At the moment? No.”
“In the morning, then.” But she let her dissatisfaction show.
“Valerie is gone, Teri.”
But Corey wasn’t. “She may come back.”
“For Corey,” he agreed. “I can’t see her leaving her son behind.”
She swallowed a retort. “Doesn’t Heartskeep have safety precautions in place to protect the women?”
“Of course it does. For one thing, there’s a high fence around the perimeter of the estate.”
She